Jesus Christ in His Church..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour, and a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple, that is called the beautiful gate, to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms.

And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, look at us. And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, I have no silver and gold, but what I do have, I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And it took him by the right hand and raised him up.

And immediately his feet and ankles were made strong and leaping up. He stood and began to walk and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. Nine. And all the people saw him walking and praising God and recognized him as the one who sat at the beautiful gate of the temple asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

While he clung to Peter and John, all the people utterly astounded ran together to them in the portico called Solomon or Solomons. And when Peter saw it, he addressed the people, men of Israel. Why do you wonder at this? Or why do you stare at us as though by our own power or piety, we have made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant, Jesus, whom you delivered over to be and denied in the presence of Pilate when he had decided to release him.

But you denied the holy and righteous one and asked for a murderer to be granted to you. And you killed the author of life whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses in his name. by faith in his name, has made the man strong whom you see and know. And the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent, therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send his Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. Moses said, the Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you.

And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people. And all the prophets who have spoken from Samuel and to those who came after him also proclaim these days, you are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, in and in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. God having raised up his servant, sent him to you first to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness. Amen. This is the word of the Lord.

Brothers and sisters, we are only three, or this is only the third study in the book of Acts. We have 28 chapters and it's, It's a book that has tremendous, tremendous content and insight about the early church and its growth and the way the Lord Jesus Christ was powerful in effecting his growth and bringing in his lost sheep through the power of his Holy Spirit. It's the work of Jesus Christ indeed. And his work is definitely evident in every one of the chapters in the book of Acts. Now we know that the book of Acts, when we started from the beginning, we know that it is a book that is chronological.

So it's a narrative that the physician Luke has given to the church. And it's a narrative that goes from when Jesus ascended into heaven in Acts chapter one, all the way to when Paul, the apostle Paul, is in Rome under trial or in house arrest in Rome. So it is a chronological book starting from beginning to end. And now as we come, and even last week as our brother took us through Acts chapter two, we've seen how the New Testament church is growing and the emphasis is on the apostles. It's the apostles, those hand chosen men by Christ, who have been commissioned, if you will, to do the work of Christ in his absence, when he is physically and bodily at the right hand of the Father in heaven.

But we must always remember, We must always remember that it is Jesus who said, I will build my church. And therefore it is Christ who builds his church. He's the one who accomplished everything that is required for the redemption of his people. He's the one who has accomplished that on the cross in his perfect life in his sacrificial death and they buried him in the ground and then he rose from the dead in his resurrection as the first among the resurrected life and now he ascended to the father. He has done all that is required for the salvation of his people.

However, that salvation is now being accomplished. through the means that he has ordained. And that means, as we can see now, are the apostles of Jesus Christ working through the empowerment of the Spirit of God. And so we need to remember that it is the work of Christ. We need to remember always, as we think about this book, that we need to remember the very first verse where Luke reminds us that in the gospel that bears his name, that gospel that speaks to the life and the birth and the life and the death and the resurrection, even the ascension of Christ, that gospel is all that Jesus began to do in his new covenant redemptive work in his earthly ministry.

And now the risen ascended savior continues his work in real time, saving his people through, as I said earlier, through the apostles. But this, this is a great task. This is a task that is too great and too lofty, too high. It's too superior for me men. And so we know, we know that the apostles are not on their own.

In fact, our brother Nelson took us through the second chapter of Acts, because that is the fulfillment of what Christ said in the first chapter, when he commissioned the men, he said, you don't go anywhere. until you don't leave Jerusalem until the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the promised Holy Spirit is poured out upon you. That Spirit that is promised that will be poured out by the Father. It is a Spirit that is poured out by Christ we're told also. And that spirit, unless you have the Holy Spirit, you are unable to accomplish this work.

And of course, they are now empowered and enabled by God's Holy Spirit, who endows them to do the supernatural, to authenticate their very mission, and also to authenticate their life-giving message in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, the very words of Christ, the words of salvation, the words of life. And of course, as I said earlier, our brother has already taken us through Acts chapter 2. The immediate presence of God, he now dwells no longer in the manifest presence in a temple or the tabernacle in the wilderness or the temple that was built in Jerusalem by Solomon and then rebuilt by the people of the exiles when they returned and then enhanced by Herod. No, no, the manifest presence of God is now in his people. Because the many prophecies of the Old Testament spoke of the eternal messianic kingdom that finds its fulfillment in the time when God will dwell in and among his people.

And we saw that take place last week when some 3,000 people were added to the church in a single day. Beloved, 3,000 new converts. Imagine the massive responsibility now upon the apostles Because now those 3,000, they need to be discipled. They need to be taught. They need to learn the things of Christ.

They need to understand how to interpret scripture. They need to be taught. And so, and so now it's time for the disciples to teach them the things of the kingdom of God and the restoration of all things, just as Jesus had personally taught his disciples in the three plus years of his ministry and also in the 40 odd days in after his resurrection, before his ascension, we're told, he taught them the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. And so now the disciples will teach these 3,000 new converts who are so eager and excited to become more like their resurrected Savior. And that's why in verse 42 of the previous chapter, we're told, and they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship and to breaking of bread and prayers.

The early church gathered together to sit under the teaching of Christ's word and to cooperatively enjoy the means of blessing sharing, caring and edification that Christ has graciously given to the church. Activities, beloved, not only evident at the beginning of the church in her infancy, but also we see throughout the book of Acts and even till now. Because the church, the Christians that are redeemed and placed in Christ are not saved into isolation. We'll come to realize this as we continue through the book of Acts. They congregate, they keep coming together because the church, Christians are meant to come together.

It is a body, they can't isolate. There's no such thing as a Christian who wants to be an island, wants to be on his self or by himself. But rather, they're brought into a community of love, a family, the household of God, as the Apostle Paul would say in 1 Timothy 4.15. And they devoted themselves to the Apostles' teaching and fellowship and the breaking of bread and prayers.

And hear this, hear what comes next, 43. And all came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were being done through the Apostles. You see, a sense of awe came upon them. They could see and sense the mighty hand of God at work powerfully in and amongst them in their midst in a powerful way. They saw this through the tremendous preaching of the word at the day of Pentecost where 3,000 came into conversion into Christ in only the one day.

But also, they also were told many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 3,000 born-again Christians right now, as we read in Acts chapter 3, very soon to be 5,000, and the signs and the wonders were being done through the apostles. These signs were to authenticate the apostles' ministry and to confirm that these men are indeed representatives of Christ, speaking the very words that Christ has given them to speak. They come in his name, and they are continuing his work by preaching the good news, by the power of his spirit. Contrary to modern belief, the book of Acts speaks of the supernatural miracles done only by the hands of the apostles and Stephen and Philip.

And if you remember, Stephen and Philip were both deacons who were appointed as deacons in chapter six by the laying of the hands of the apostles. The signs and the wonders, as I've said on many occasions, were purposed by our Lord, not as an ends in themselves, but as a means to a greater ends, namely to confirm the apostles have come in the name of Jesus Christ, their Lord, and they speak on his behalf. And what we have before us here in chapter three is an example. is an example of one of those signs. It's actually quite interesting because we're told in verse 43 of chapter two, the previous chapter, and again, we're told in chapter five, that many signs and wonders were performed at the hands of the apostles in Jerusalem.

Many, we're told. However, the miracle of the healing of this lame man that we've just read about in chapter three is the only one recorded for us that occurs in Jerusalem. That's interesting. But even though it is the only one, it's clear that this miracle in verse 1 to 10 created the platform for the wonderful gospel sermon of Peter in verses 11 through 26, which is an interpretation of what has just taken place. And in fact, beloved brothers and sisters, as Peter's first sermon, by the power of the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 2, brought about 2,000 or 3,000 new converts.

By the end, between chapter 2, where 3,000 of believers are now in Christ, to when Peter finishes his sermon here in chapter three, we'll be told that there will be 5,000 believers in Christ. So it's a powerful sermon by the Holy Spirit. So let's just take a little bit of a deeper look together at the contents. work our way through this chapter. But as I said earlier, each one of these chapters are tremendous.

And if we're going to look at all the details in every chapter, we would have to spend several studies on each chapter. Our brother Nelson did a tremendous job last week in chapter 40, in chapter two, with the many verses there. And you could spend 10 weeks in that chapter alone, but he gave us a great overview. And I intend to do something similar here. So the focus over the next two chapters and the focus over our next two studies will be really predominantly on Peter and John.

They're the two disciples that are in the context here before us in chapter three. Peter more so than John, of course, because Peter is the spokesman. He's the one who'll do most of the talking. This chapter begins with them making their way to Jerusalem temple at about 3 p.m.

That's the 9th hour because the Jerusalem clock starts at 6 in the morning at 6 a.m. And so the 9th hour is 3 p.m. And that's the hour of prayer.

Now from what we can tell that the Jews would engage in time of prayer on three different times in any particular day. This is alluded to in places in the Old Testament. I think particular Psalms where Psalm 55, for example, where David says he prays evening and morning and at noon. And of course, we probably all think of the example in our minds that probably comes up first and foremost is the example of Daniel. And here's another example where he said to fall on his knees three times a day and pray.

And so two of these times are in the morning, and the time of the evening sacrifice, the morning and the evening sacrifice. The priest would offer the blood sacrifice at both 9 a.m. in the morning and at 3 p.m.

in the evening, during which time the Jews will come to the temple precinct and they will engage in a public time of prayer in the temple. An important note here is that the disciples of Christ did not immediately disengage themselves from these devout Jewish practices. We have to see this in the book of Acts. They had already been taught by Christ that the physical temple has no place in the new covenant. We know he told them that he would be torn down because his body is the temple and he dwells among his people.

The true temple is Christ, John 1, 14, who has come and tabernacled among his people. But his disciples remained to observe some of the Jewish traditions which, of course, came to a necessary end in the destruction of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem in AD 70. Now, commentators have spilled much ink as to the reasons why the disciples at this time continue to practice these Jewish, I guess, religious things in the temple. But without going into them, it seems clear to me, at least in this instance, They can pray wherever they want. I mean, they can pray in their homes and they do.

We'll be reading as we go through acts of examples where they are indeed in their homes and they're praying to God. But they also can engage in prayer in the temple with their Jewish countrymen with a view of evangelizing them, which is clearly what they do here. Plus, wouldn't you think the temple was the most natural place to begin to witness about Christ? Now, first and foremost, in chapter five, the Lord instructs the disciples to continue to evangelize in the temple grounds. And that on its own is reason enough.

But think about it. Think about who's going to be in the temple. Devout Jews. These are men who practiced religious piety, right? Sure, many of them were legalistic and many of them were practicing cold, legalistic, dead religion, but there were some who were eager and eagerly awaiting the coming Messiah.

And Jesus had already told the apostles that the ministry was to begin in Jerusalem. So what better place than to begin evangelizing in the temple? You see, this was one of the reasons why the Apostle Paul commenced his ministry in the synagogues when he entered a new city. Humanly speaking, the gospel to the Gentile would require some groundwork, right? Because they don't have the Jewish scriptures, the true 39 books of the Bible.

But the Jews do. And if they've read their scripture, they would know that the Messiah was to come and they're waiting for the fulfillment of scripture. If they believe the gospel, they would be able to assist in evangelizing the Gentiles. That was most likely Paul's or the Apostle Paul's hope. Now, that's not what happened in the end.

We know the Jews for the most part rejected the gospel, even in the places in Asia Minor and beyond that Paul went to. But it makes sense nonetheless. that the devout Jews in the temple, well, they just needed to be informed that the Messiah that they've read about, the Messiah that they've been eagerly awaiting has come and his name is Jesus. And your response ought to be to repent and to believe in this Jesus. He's the fulfillment of scripture you've been taught about in the temple.

He's the fulfillment of the offerings you've witnessed take place time and time over again in the temple. He's the fulfillment of the priesthood that you've seen serving in the temple. Humanly speaking, the temple itself was the best place to start evangelizing about the coming or the advent of Messiah. But as I said earlier, we'll soon see that the Jews, for the most part, will reject Jesus. They will reject the gospel.

And even by the time we get to the end of the book of Acts, they are the main instigators. That is, they're the main provokers and the main persecutors, even still, some 30 odd years later of the Christian church. But on this day, On this day, the Spirit leads Peter and John to the temple to do much more than pray. In fact, before they even arrive, they are confronted with a man lame from birth. A man of some 40 plus years of age, born crippled, unable to walk so that he was carried to place from place to place.

He was actually carried and he was told he was carried to the gate called Beautiful and Temple Grounds every day to do what? to beg. If you're a beggar, if you're a beggar in the first century, there were really three key places you needed to position yourself in order to get the outcome of your begging. You either were placed on a very busy path, a main walkway, like a main causeway through in and out of the city where people travel to and fro. Because if it's a percentage game, then even if 1% of the people who had walked by had offered you something very modest, then by sheer number of the small contributions, they will add up and that would be enough for a day's needs.

The other place would be at the gate of a rich person. And you probably remember an example of this given to us by our Lord in the Gospel of Luke. An example is Lazarus and the rich man. If you remember waiting, he was waiting to be fed from all crumbs that fell off his table, we're told. His hope, someone who stands by or begs at the house or the gate of a rich person would hope that as the rich person comes and goes, that he'll feel pity on that person and provide them something small, something modest possibly every day to provide for his provision.

And lastly, lastly, the temple gate was a place to be. It's quite clever really, think about it. I said earlier, pious Jews head to the temple to do religious activities. And if confronted by a beggar, such as this man, this man who was lame, well, they knew what their duty before Yahweh was. Because Yahweh's clear in the Old Testament scriptures that they ought to look after the poor.

As they walk by and this man is lying down on the gate there with his hand out begging, possibly Proverbs 19, 7 would come to mind. Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, it says, and he will repay him for his deed. Maybe further on in Proverbs 28, 27, whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse, perhaps. perhaps maybe even just the straightforward command they find in the book of Deuteronomy. In Deuteronomy 15a, where it reads, provide for your poor brother for whatever he lacks.

Either way, strategically setting oneself at the temple gate would most likely be advantageous for a beggar. Now, he would never get rich, the best case in any given day, is to accumulate enough to provide for that day's needs. This was the biggest hope. This was his life. To plead daily and to receive mercy, a few coins would meet his needs.

The need to eat, his need to be clothed, just basic essential living needs is all he required. And if it was to get them, He would have to hope that the people passing by would show enough compassion and mercy as he begs. And if they give to him, then he would be, he would be satisfied. And doesn't this story sort of remind you of the healing of our Lord at the Pool of Bethesda? It does to me at least.

You remember back in John chapter five, the invalid man of some four decades was also carried daily to a pool in hope that the waters would be stirred and he would be the first to be made well. His hope was Bethesda. He knew nothing else. Daily, he would be transported by someone else to that pool and he would hope that he would be made well, that the pool at Bethesda was the key to his healing. that one day it would be moved and he'd be first to come in and he'd be made well.

That was his hope back then. But one day he encountered the Lord and he realized Bethesda was not his only hope. Someone greater than Bethesda stood before him, and at the sound of his voice, this man was made whole, better than he could ever imagine. And so now here at the gate called Beautiful, this lame man from birth, it seems, had no hope of being made well. He would be simply satisfied as long as he had clothes on his back and food in his stomach.

And so when Peter and John men that he may have even heard speaking in occasions before. We don't know because we know they did preach in the precinct there. So we don't know if this is the first time back in since Pentecost. But we know that as they walked by, and as far as he's concerned, these men could give me a donation. So he puts out his hand and he begs for a contribution, no matter how small.

But Peter looks directly at this man and says these words, look at us. As if to say, man, you are going to receive something beyond anything you've ever imagined. So the lame man does indeed look intently at Peter and John. Probably now at this point, he's expecting to get something a little more than just a few coins. And then now they've got his attention.

So what is it that they're going to give them or give him? Verse six, Peter said, I have no silver and gold, but what I do have, I give to you. You see, led by the spirit, Peter begins with what this lame man thought he needed, money. I have none of that, Paul Peter says. I have no silver and gold.

I will not provide you with what you think you need, but I have something that I can offer you. There's a contrast between what the man thinks he needs and thinks is precious and what is truly precious in the gift of God that he has prepared for this man. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand and he raised him up and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. This is an incredible miracle.

Peter, under inspiration of the Spirit, issues a command in the name of Jesus. This is further expounded in the sermon, as we'll see in verses 11 through 26. But it's essentially different to what we're used to when Christ's healing or what we used to in the Gospels when Christ is healing. You see, Christ says the word and the person is healed immediately. But he, Peter, acknowledges the power to heal is not inherently in him.

but in Christ. It is in the name of Jesus. Beloved, it's not a mystical word as though Jesus, that name, has mystical power, as some have tried to use it in history to ward off evil. No, Peter has a real vibrant faith relationship with his Lord. And he's called an apostle to continue his work through the spirit.

And he knows the name represents the person, the authority and the power of his Lord. The name represents all that Christ is. And so he puts out his right hand. And so he puts out his right hand to the lame person. Grab onto it.

so that he could experience walking for the very first time. And it begins to raise him up. Think about what's going through the bear's mind. It's seen people walk over and over and over again, but he's never done it himself. He was carried everywhere, remember.

Peter takes him by the hand and it begins to pull him up. And the language here, does lean toward not that Peter forcefully brought him to his knees, but rather that this lame beggar consented and was also willing to be brought to his feet. And then he does. And he pulls him up. And this man stands.

Incredibly, this man who's never known to stand for 40 years, for over 40 years, stands on his own Two feet. I don't know, brothers and sisters, I don't know if you've ever seen a person who's been unable to walk from birth, but if you have, you would notice that their legs are basically skin and bone. No muscle, no strong tendons. It's literally impossible for such a man to stand on his own feet, alone, walk. And not just as this man walked, but we're told in verse 9, and leaping up, he stood and began to walk and entered the temple with them.

Hear this, walking and leaping and praising God. I love it. I love that Luke records for us, how he records it for us. If any one of us was, for example, to suffer an accident, I hope this doesn't happen, but temporarily, we're not allowed by the doctor's orders to walk, for example, for say three to six months. We have to remain off our feet.

Beloved, even after this amount of time, after our muscles have properly been developed and healed, without the proper rehabilitation, if we were to jump on our feet and begin jumping, we wouldn't possibly do more damage than what we began with. It'll tear our muscle. It'll cause serious injury. Months of rehab is required before your legs are able to support your body weight. But this man, no rehab, no physio, no walking stick.

This man's feet and his thighs and his ankles are made strong and he walks and leaps and praises God. The word used in the original to connote his leaping action is actually a springing action. So as to say that he was jumping up and down in exuberance. Probably if I was to do that right now, I would hurt myself. But that goes to show, when the Lord heals, he does it to the uttermost.

This healing cannot be explained or rationalized away, beloved. It is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. People who'd walked by him every day were amazed. They were filled with wonder. This wasn't a man who had some arthritis in his legs or blisters on his feet.

This was a lame cripple. Seeing him walk caused astonishment to stir among them and they were bewildered and they ran towards him. You see, for those who are familiar with scripture, this was a prophetic fulfillment, because the time of Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament is a time of restoration. The physical restoration will always point to a spiritual unseen reality of the healing or the restoring of the soul. This is what Jesus began to do and now the apostles filled with the spirit of God continue to do in his name.

This is the coming of the kingdom of God and it will show to have come by a number of things, one of which is healing of the sick. And lame being healed is specifically mentioned in one of the prophetic writings of old. I'm thinking about Isaiah 35, verse five through seven. There it is written, then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. This is in the Messianic kingdom.

Then shall the lame man leap like a deer and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. Did you get that? The lame man shall leap like a deer. This lame man of 40 years is leaping and praising God. He's leaping like a deer.

Now, how can this be? Well, Peter will spend the next 16 verses explaining how and why it matters to these Jews. You see, there's two parts in Peter's sermon that begins in verse 17. My apologies, in verse 11. Largely, the first part is from verse 11 through 16, and it's an explanation to what they've just witnessed by the power of Jesus.

and an indictment against them for their rejection of this Jesus. And then in the latter verses, in verses 17 through 26, Peter issues an admonition with an exhortation to his listeners to recognize who this Jesus is that they crucified. and to realize that He is, or He has begun, a spiritual restoration of true Israel, according to scripture, and their need for repentance, and there is a need for their repentance, and for them to trust in Him. Because this Messiah has started the restoration. This Messiah has established and inaugurated his kingdom, and it's a kingdom both for Jew and Gentile.

And there's no automatic entry into this kingdom because of one's ethnicity, but rather only those who repent and believe. This is something that these Jews need to hear. They ought to repent and believe. And this all takes place in the outer grounds, you could say, of the temple in a place called Solomon's portico. The man was healed.

And he's still rejoicing and he's still clinging to Peter when the people start coming to see what's going on, how this could have happened. He's still clinging to Peter and John in his desire to remain by their side, not only because he's made whole, but according to the praising and the worship and the praising of God, it's clear and obvious to us that he's now placed his hope and trust in Christ. It's clear to us that the spiritual restoration of which the physical restoration is but a picture has occurred within this man and this is all happening now in Solomon's portico in the temple ground. It's a spacious place that accommodates for a crowd if you remember that in John chapter 10 Jesus taught at this Solomon's portico And also in time, as we work our way through the book of Acts, we'll see that it is one of the favorite places for a meeting place for the Christians to come and gather in this place called Solomon's portico. So let's read from verse 12.

Men of Israel, Peter says. Why do you wonder at this? Why do you stare at us as though by our own power or piety, we have made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant, Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate when he decided to release him. But you denied the holy and righteous one and asked for a murderer to be granted to you.

And you killed the author of life, whom God raised from the dead to this. We are witnesses. And His name, by faith in His name, He has made this man strong whom you see and know. And the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. I love the way Peter begins his address.

Why are you staring at us? It's as though he's saying, well, why are you looking at us like that? Do you honestly think we're the heroes? Don't you dare, don't you dare think that we are the heroes of this story. Don't you dare think that we've accomplished this feat in the power of our own hands, because it's not by our own abilities or our own goodness.

We are but human agents. Peter knows all too well the risk of everyone's nature. Because the human nature is always to admire and to revere the man that is before us. We don't tend to think the spiritual. We always think of who it is that is before us speaking or doing the work.

As though men had a part to play. But Peter is very quick to make it clear. He and John will have no part of that glory. He's quick to deflect the glory to who the glory is due by introducing these people to who's really behind the wonder, Jesus. And I love the way that if you read his sermon and what he says carefully, you'll realize that he's quick to make these men know that this is not a new form of religion.

There is a newness to what they're seeing with their very eyes, that's for sure. But Peter is very careful to make sure his listeners are fully aware that what they are experiencing is the fulfillment of the scripture that they hold so dearly and believe. It's not a formation of a new religion. Something that these Jews were no doubt all too familiar with in the first century, with the rise of so many cults and false religion, so many of the Greek beliefs and mythology around them. No, no, Peter is showing these people that this is an accomplishment that is according to the scripture.

If you have eyes to see, you'll see that here scripture is being fulfilled. How does he do this? because he says it is the word of the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers. He roots what you have seen before you, men. What you have witnessed before you is written of old.

You see, these words are reminiscent to the words that spoken to Moses from the burning bush in Sinai. You remember the Lord God Yahweh saying, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. So what is Peter saying by recurring these words? is saying that what you're seeing now is the very work of Yahweh, this God who gave a covenant to the people he rescued from Egypt, that covenant he gave to your fathers in the wilderness, that covenant that has been preserved and the covenant that you keep quoting from scripture over and over again that you've seen as they conquer, they've gone into the conquest of the promised land and through the judges and through the kings, that covenant keeping God, he's the same God that is behind this, but he's working through his servants, Jesus, who he has glorified. So many references of the prophets come to mind when we think about that word, the servant of Yahweh or the servant of God.

And these Jews, these Pius Jews who had a good understanding of scripture, no doubt at this point in time, many of these or illusions to their minds as well. Because the language Peter speaks, beloved, if I can submit to you, is absolutely full of Old Testament illusions. Just think about the titles he gives to Jesus. Just think of how many illusions are there. He says he's the servant of Yahweh that's been glorified in verse 13.

Think of Isaiah 52 and 53. We've referenced Isaiah on many occasions in our Bible studies and our sermons. Think of when he says he's the holy one. Verse 14. Peter is already in his Pentecost sermon referenced Psalm 16, which our brother took us through last week, that Yahweh was not allowing his Holy One see corruption.

And Peter made it very clear to his listeners back then that although this is, you might think it's spoken of David, but David, we have his grave and his bones are in the grave. It's not speaking of David who's in view, that Holy One who does not and will not see corruption is Jesus the Messiah. And then Peter also in verse 14 calls Christ the righteous one. No doubt, no doubt. There's so many allusions in scripture spoken of the appointed one of God, the Messiah to come is the righteous one of God.

Even the Messianic king in Jeremiah is called the righteous branch. So one thing for sure is that these men, whether they believe the words of Peter or not, Whether they do or not, they were able to at least recognize that Peter was referring to the Old Testament scripture and referring to this Jesus who was crucified and now risen as the fulfillment of all those Old Testament prophecies. that he is indeed the messianic king, that he is indeed the suffering servant, that he is indeed the fulfillment of the Old Testament scripture. And if you're not able to see it, then it's a matter of spiritual blindness and the hardness of the heart. So now Peter begins to indict these Jews.

And these are, beloved, very serious indictments of guilt among or to the people that are before him, because he's now placing square on their head the murder of Yahweh's chosen one. Listen to verse 13 and 14 through 15. The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.

This is a massive indictment. Just think of the situation, the position he's putting his listeners under. Now it's true in the previous chapter, Peter stands, he actually stands before the crowd and he makes many of these assertions, one would say, that Christ who was crucified was also handed over to Pilate and he was crucified. But in that chapter, in chapter two, Peter was quite neutral in that. He states that Jesus was crucified at the hands of lawless men, verse 23.

But here in Peter, as Peter speaks to these Jews in the temple, he's not using generalities. He's not being general in his terms. No doubt in my mind, he's gracious in how he speaks it, but he's strongly pointing his finger and laying blame squarely at the feet of the men who are before him. Do you see that in the sermon? Men of Israel, he says, you delivered this servant of Yahweh over to Pilate.

Men of Israel, you denied the righteous one of God. This is very much a fulfillment of John 1 verse 11, when he says he came to his own and his own people did not receive him. His own people, the Jews, did not receive him. And Peter's saying, you're those Jews. You're the ones who denied him.

You're the ones who rejected him. And when Pilate could find no fault in this Jesus, and he wanted to release him because he has done no wrong, you, he says, you, you Jews, rejected him and opposed his release. He even tested Pilate by accusing him of being disloyal to Caesar if he continues with the release of the holy and righteous one of God. Peter's accusations are pointy, beloved, and they are convicting. And as hard as his listeners' hearts were, surely they could not, they could not misunderstand what Peter is saying.

But on the other hand, they could not take from their minds the memories of how they chanted, crucify him, crucify him. Let his blood be on us. and on our children. Beloved, preferring instead to see a murderer in Barabbas released than Jesus in whom no fault was found. Peter doesn't square the blame on Pilate.

He doesn't put the blame on the one who ordered his soldiers to effect the crucifixion. but rather he looks at the Jews and declares, the servant of Yahweh, the servant of Yahweh's murder, that's on you. I can imagine him just pointing his finger and saying, that's on you. And they are chilling words. They are chilling words.

How about Peter's designation of Christ in verse 15? That he is the author of life. It's a beautiful name with such rich meaning. That this Jesus is the originator of all life. He is the fountain and source of life.

In him was life, John 1, 4. But the context and the subsequent verses, the verses that follow would suggest that the life that is in view here, in this text at least, is that Christ is the originator of new life for the people who believe. In other words, he is the resurrected life. It's the resurrected life of our Lord that is in view. And Peter is saying to these people that you tried to kill the author of life, but you were unable to do so because God rose him from the grave.

Death could not hold him. And as the resurrected savior, he's the first among the resurrected life for all who believe he is the author of life. And therefore, with his crucifixion being necessary in order for him to be glorified and in order for him to be resurrected unto life and for that life to be bestowed upon his people by faith, the wickedness of man's heart, the wickedness of those who accused him falsely and crucified the Lord did not, hear this, did not thwart the plan of God. But as Peter has already said earlier on the day of Pentecost, and the disciples once again reiterate in their prayer in the next chapter, this was all according to the sovereign predestined plan of God. You know, it's an irony.

There's a strong irony I see in this passage. Remember at our Lord's trial, the Jews called out for the release of Barabbas, a murderer who takes away life. release the murderer who takes away life. And they call for the condemnation of Jesus Christ, the very one who gives life. They call for death and they call against life.

Such is the blindness of the evil corrupted heart. And it's to this resurrected Jesus that Peter and John are witnesses. They tell the crowd that it is because of faith in Him that this man you've seen and you become so familiar laying down as a cripple that the gate called beautiful is now able to walk and leap and praise God. The power is not from us. And God did not grant us the power because of our own goodness or our own righteousness or our own piety, as he would say, but because we've come to believe the name of Jesus Christ, the name of this suffering servant who is now resurrected unto glory and working through the power of his spirit.

The name is not mystical, as I said before, but a representation of all that he is, of all. that he is. And now by his spirit and authority, his disciples will carry out his work by faith in his name. It's his work. It's Christ's work.

Peter makes that crystal clear in verse 16. The man you see before you is strong and vibrant and in perfect health because of the restoring power of Jesus Christ. He was raised in the name of Jesus Christ. Now in the next nine verses, we find Peter's exhortation to the Jews to believe. Yes, they are guilty of murdering the Lord, but there is an abundance of grace to forgive those who repent and place their trust in him.

I love the grace that you find in scripture. It's incredible. The indictment of Peter against these Jews, beloved, is dark. It's horrifying. Judas killed himself when he thought of what he had done.

But beloved, there is a lesson to be learned for all of us when we preach the gospel. It's a lesson that we find in his text. It's true that we must make sinners aware of their violation and their offense against the Lord in hope, to use Luke's words in the previous chapter, that they are cut to the heart, resulting in a contrite spirit and a repentant heart that seeks forgiveness, true forgiveness from God. But we must move from there to offer the abundant grace that is available in him to those that believe. The Reformers would often say that to preach the gospel, you must preach the law and preach grace.

And this is true. Peter has just accused these men of the vilest of sins. They're murderers of the author of life. But in the same breath, almost in the very next words, he'll come and speak words that are dripping with the grace of Jesus Christ. Grace, which is able to forgive even the vilest and most despicable of sins.

Remember this. Preaching law without grace is no gospel, because the gospel, euangelion, literally means good news for sinners, even the worst of sinners. What Peter goes on to explain is that very fact. And now, brothers, verse 17. I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers.

But what God foretold by the mouth of the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent, therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send his Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. It seems now that Peter takes a gentler tone. He now refers to these men as brothers. Make no mistake, he's just indicted them to a horrible sin.

He's done that. But even if it is a sin of ignorance, because of their spiritual blindness and the blindness of their leaders, Peter in no way is removing the seriousness of their sin because of that ignorance. Even if their sin fulfills the very scripture and the predestined plan of God, they are still culpable, beloved. They are still responsible for their own wickedness. And if it was done, even if it was done in wickedness, every man will stand before the Lord and give an account of their own hearts and the wickedness in their own hearts.

But, The words of Peter here, the Spirit-laden, the Spirit-empowered words of Peter tell us that there is an abundance of grace in God. I love this. And I liken Peter to a gentle, caring shepherd saying to these men, yes, I've given you the hard word. I've given you the hard word and you are guilty of sin. And beloved, you are guilty of a doozy sin.

But here you are now. What can be done about this sin? What can be done? And now, grace. It says repent.

Repent for your foolishness. Repent for your wickedness in rejecting this Jesus, this Messiah. Acknowledge your sin before the Lord. Take responsibility of your crime and turn to God. because it's crystal clear to reject God's chosen one is to reject God.

It's to reject Yahweh. And therefore you have clearly turned your back, not upon man, but upon God. You cannot continue to walk as you walk and expect things are going to be okay. You are in grave sin and true repentance requires a radical change of direction. Turn back, Peter says, turn back to God through faith in Jesus and your sins, hear this, will be blotted out, will be remembered no more.

Beloved, this is grace. Peter, are you saying even the sin of crucifying the Lord of glory, are you saying that even the sin of crucifying the author of life himself can be blotted out and forgiven? Yes. Yes, that's what the Spirit of God is saying through the words of Peter. Even the most wicked evil act is not beyond forgiveness by God.

It's not beyond that. If someone comes and genuinely repents before the Lord, if he has shown true repentance in his heart, even the most wicked of sins can be forgiven. These will receive forgiveness through the appointed Messiah who was sent by God to forgive sins and to give life. Beginning in Jerusalem, beginning with his people, the Jews, but then that forgiveness, that grace will be spread to all the nations of the world. Sins, beloved, will be eternally forgiven for those who repent and believe in Jesus.

I believe this is definitely an illusion of the New Covenant promise in Jeremiah 31. For they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." Brothers and sisters, these words are to bring so much comfort and rest to our soul. that if you have truly, genuinely repented and fixed your trust and your faith upon this Jesus, the resurrected Saviour, then your sin will be remembered no more.

That is a glorious promise. And verse 21, speaking about this Jesus, Peter goes on to say, whom heaven must receive until the time of restoring all things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. You see the restoration of true Israel is in view here. In the first week of our study in the book of Acts, we spoke about how the spiritual kingdom of Christ has been established and begun. And Christ has indeed begun the restoration of his people, the restoration of bringing lost sheep into his kingdom.

This is true Israel, spiritual Israel. This is those with circumcised hearts, the people of God. And they come through the preaching of the gospel. The restoration has evidently started, and it will come to the completion when Christ comes back. And so this restoration is pictured even now in this lame man who is now made well.

Because this is a reality that is given, a spiritual reality that is being able to be seen and represented in a physical healing that took place at the gate called beautiful. It's a picture of the healings, of the healing of this man. And it's a symbol of something far more profound that's taking place by the power of this resurrected Savior. The spiritual restoration is in view. So in the last days, there'll be no more tears, no more pain, no more mourning, no more death.

All things will be made new. Praise God, and that day will come. In that day, there will be no sickness. In that day, there will be no disease. In that day, there will be no mourning.

In that day. And so what we see before us is in the early infancy of the church, the Lord was empowering the disciples in a special way, giving them the gift to heal people because they had faith in Christ and there was establishing or authenticating their word and their message in the early church until the scripture is complete and given to the church for which the Spirit of God will work now through the preaching of that scripture. But the newness, the newness of the restoration, beloved, even now, is not so much the physical, but it is the spiritual. It is those who are born and have dwelt and spend their time in the kingdom of darkness. Their desires of their flesh is what they're given over to and now being brought by faith in Christ into the kingdom of the light.

And there is a real newness in this. 2 Corinthians 5.17, the Apostle Paul speaks to this. This is, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. He's a new creation.

The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come. There's a newness. There's a newness in this. Spiritual restoration.

And then one day when Jesus comes back, all things will be made new. All things will be new. Even our bodies will be given new glorified bodies to enjoy Him forevermore. And this is also prophesied in the Old Testament, all the way through the Old Testament. And this is Peter's tender exhortation for his listeners.

It's an exhortation to repent. to believe in this Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. Now in verse 22, he issues another warning. One, from the great prophet Moses. And it's found in Deuteronomy 80, 18 originally.

A passage we've referenced on many occasions before, and if you remember on the Lord's Day Sermon when we referenced this, in particular when the people in John 6 identified Jesus as the prophet like Moses. Because when Moses is writing in Deuteronomy, what the Lord had given him to write to the people of Israel who were to witness, or the generation who were to witness the prophet like Moses to come, he wrote that when he comes, he must be heard and obeyed. The word listen here means exactly that, that they must be, he must be heard and obeyed. and the Jews were anticipating this Messiah to come, this prophet like Moses, and they were able to link that he would be the prophetic king. They were able to link that he would be the prophetic lawgiver, as Moses was the lawgiver.

They were able to know that he speaks the words of Yahweh, even in the reference in this Deuteronomy chapter 18 passage. They would know that if this prophet like Moses was rejected, then Yahweh himself is rejected. And what are the consequences of rejecting Yahweh? It's pure and utter destruction. That's what Peter says here.

You'll be destroyed. But even in the original, it strongly connotes and signifies an utter destruction. Even extermination is the word. This is very scary. The cut off language was familiar to the Jews.

So Peter is saying that this Jesus is the prophet foretold by Moses, and not only Moses, but all the prophets. He goes on to say through Samuel and everyone after him, probably referencing Samuel because Samuel is the one who spoke about the Davidic king, that God had promised that David will always have perpetually one on his throne from his lineage. And that the promises made to Abraham were told here. The offspring promise to bless all the families of the world, both the Jew and the Gentile nations is this Christ. The prophecies of old are now being fulfilled in this Jesus, in this Yahweh's suffering servant that you leaders, you and your leaders have rejected and murdered by your ignorance.

But God raised him from the dead, the first among the resurrected. And now he's presented to you as through the chosen apostles who speak his words and who are empowered by his spirit to give you the good news of the gospel. And if you believe in this Jesus, if you believe in his name, then just like this man who was made well, your soul will be made well. You will be placed out of the darkness and into his glorious light. You will see forgiveness.

You will see redemption. You rejected him once. Don't reject him again. You're this generation, Peter's saying. You're the sons of the prophet who have seen the advent of Messiah.

You've seen him with your very eyes. You've heard of him. Don't reject him again. You rejected him and you crucified him. You called out, crucify him.

He was crucified by the predestined plan and foreknowledge of God. But don't you dare reject him again. Because what Peter is essentially saying is this, that this Jesus is your only hope. Rejecting Him now and you seal your fate for eternity. You will be cut off from the people of God for all eternity.

Turn, turn from your wickedness and come to Him for repentance and forgiveness of sins. Scripture is fulfilled in this Jesus. And if you cannot see this, then you have no hope. Because this Jesus is the final and the fullest gift of God for those who believe. That is, if you reject him, then you wait and wait and wait and wait in vain.

for there is no other Messiah to come. This is him. This is it. This is the Lord of glory. This is the chosen one of Israel.

This is the servant of Yahweh. This is the Messiah. This is the prophetic king. This is a prophet like Moses. No one else is coming.

This is the savior of all who will come to believe in him. Turn from your wicked ways and believe in this Jesus and you will be forgiven of your sins. And that's it. And that's where the chapter ends. And so we will come to our Lord now and we'll pray.

Let's bow our heads and pray before our Lord.