City Life Starter

Written by Paul Lane

The Word

¹⁴ But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, ¹⁵ but put to death the ^[Or Author] Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. ¹⁶ And on the basis of faith in His name, it is ^{[Lit His name]} the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.

¹⁷ “And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. ¹⁸ But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His ^{[Or Anointed One; i.e. Messiah]} Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. ¹⁹ Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; ²⁰ and that He may send Jesus, the ^{[Or Anointed One; i.e. Messiah]} Christ appointed for you, ²¹ whom heaven must receive until the ^{[Lit periods, times]} period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. 

Acts 3:11-26 (NASB 1995)

Reflection

Verse 14 in the passage for today can be found at the center of a deep hatred notably practiced in the Middle Ages.  That is the blaming of the Jewish people for the murder of Jesus.  But this line of thinking is founded on a deeply flawed understanding.  First, we need to understand that the crucifixion of Christ was a singular event, which played out as the result of a group of people living at a certain time.  So, if you want to find someone who literally killed Jesus, you have to look to someone who lived during that time. Blaming the children of the people involved with the crucifixion would still not be true to the claim of “finding the murderers.”

Second, think about this. The people Peter is talking to in this passage were Jewish, but we should remember that Peter was also Jewish.  So, this conversation was really a discussion between insiders to the Jewish faith.  The funny thing here is that Peter accuses them and says that they are forgiven because they were ignorant.  So, the actual people who had a hand in the crucifixion were given a path to repentance, and there is no need to visit the punishment of this murder upon the children.

Third, and most important we each are on the hook for killing Jesus, but Peter, and all of the rest of the Bible, explains that it was God’s plan that Jesus would come and die for our sins. So, while we do not say, “let us sin so that grace might abound,” we are to repent and accept this sacrifice even though it came about in a strange way.  Christ having been crucified sinless, and risen from the dead, is now able to redeem you.  So, God’s plan has been accomplished.  There is no need to “fix” anything here. It is time for you to take your hands off the planning process and simply obey the Lord’s leading.

Application

What are you doing in your life that might be considered running ahead of God’s plans for you?  Are there some thoughts, deeds, or attitudes that you are holding on to that are stretching out farther than the Lord has led you?  If so, repent quickly, and pull back to the last place you knew the Lord was leading you. You may be on the verge of a very big mistake. It’s really not any more complicated than that. Don’t let yesterday’s decisions made without the Lord keep you from walking in the blessings the Lord has for you today.  The better path is just one repentance away.

Prayer

Dear Lord, may Your grace find its way into my heart and mind.  Show me thoughts and decisions that I have made that are not consistent with You and Your kingdom. 

“O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!”

Psalm 119:5 (KJV)

Amen