City Life Starter

Written by Aisha Darwesh

The Word

¹¹ While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s. ¹² 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? ¹³ The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant[a] Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. ¹⁴ But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, ¹⁵ and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. ¹⁶ And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus[b] has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.
¹⁷ “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. ¹⁸ But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. ¹⁹ Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, ²⁰ that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, ²¹ whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. –Acts 3:11-22 ESV

² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.–Romans 12:2 ESV 

Aisha’s Analysis

Today’s verses show us that repentance leads to refreshing, which is the beauty of the Gospel and results from trusting in Jesus for salvation. Peter’s sermon to the people who were astounded by the miraculous healing of the man born lame makes it perfectly clear that Jesus, the glorified servant (v. 13), the Holy and Righteous One (v. 14), the Author of Life (v. 15), is the one in whose name the mighty miracle of the man born lame occurred. 

What’s more, it doesn’t end with the man who got healed. The same person who healed the man born lame of his affliction and the same one whom the Jews delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate is available for the crowd of people who witnessed the miracle to turn to now. 

Interestingly, Peter instructs the people to repent and turn back. Turn back from what? Where had they missed it? Peter gives them a clue in verse 17: “And now brothers, I know you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers.”

Here, we see they were previously acting in ignorance, but now have an opportunity to turn from that ignorance as Peter unveils Jesus. First, through the healing of the man born lame, Jesus is revealed as someone who can do the impossible. Then, Peter follows with a sermon revealing the truth that Jesus was raised from the dead (to which he was a witness). 

This wonderful truth is not ordinary information. The truth that Jesus was indeed raised from the dead opens the door for repentance for us all. It means that God is satisfied with Jesus’ finished work on the cross and no longer holds our sin against us. In turning from ignorance and turning to Jesus, we have the incredibly wonderful opportunity of having our sins blotted out (v. 19) and for times of refreshing to come from the presence of the Lord (v. 20). 

What a glorious exchange! We get to trade our ignorance for knowledge of Christ and in the process our sins are blotted out followed by times of refreshing in God’s presence. What a blessing! And it all starts with a simple change of direction.  

Application

In what ways are you ignorant of who Christ is? This may be a tough one to answer because the truth is we don’t know what we don’t know. However, today’s verses show us that it is possible to turn from ignorance to knowing Christ. The Lord graciously makes the knowledge of Christ available to us through His Word and other Christ-followers via the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Today, spend some time getting to know Jesus through the passage above. Give yourself an opportunity to dig into the Word and read it with fresh eyes with an aim to know Jesus as you read. Try to make this a regular practice. Read the Bible to know Christ and allow the knowledge of Christ to refresh your life. 

Prayer

Lord Jesus, what a privilege it is to know You as the redeemer of my soul. I am so grateful to know You and to experience Your presence every day. May You continue to refresh my soul as I turn to You every chance I get. In Jesus’ name, amen.