Day 17 — Peter's Second Sermon (Acts 3:17-26) | May 12

Uh by the way, this is the the pivot of every great gospel presentation, from confrontation to grace, from guilt to forgiveness. So so Peter's about to show them that even crucifying the Messiah. didn't put them beyond the reach of God's mercy. In our text today, he's just getting to the good part. So we're in Acts three, seventeen through twenty six. Let me read it to you. And now, brothers and sisters, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your leaders also did.

In this way God fulfilled what he had predicted through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. Therefore, repent and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out, that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. And that he may send Jesus to the Who has been appointed for you as the Messiah? Heaven must receive him until the time of the restoration of all things, which God spoke about through his holy prophets from the beginning. Moses says.

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers and sisters. You must listen to everything he tells you. And everyone who does not listen to that prophet will be completely cut off from the people. In addition, all the prophets who have spoken from Samuel and those after him have also foretold these days. You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, saying to Abraham.

And all the families of the earth will be blessed through your offspring. God raised up his servant and sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways. So Pivot P Peter makes a quick pivot. He says, I know you acted in ignorance just as your leaders did. And so he's not excusing what they did. Ignorance doesn't erase guilt, but it does open a door.

that the grace comes a little easier to someone who didn't fully understand what they were doing. And Peter's giving them that benefit of the doubt. So he builds the bridge. He names the sin But then immediately makes room for the center. The rhythm uh that he's using here runs through every good gospel presentation, conviction followed by invitation. And then he makes the offer. Repent and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out.

That the word he uses here for wiped out is i uh has a pretty cool backstory actually. Ancient documents were written on papyrus or vellum, it was called, and the ink that was used in that era had no acid in it. So the ink would just sit on the surface of the material rather than soaking all the way in.

Wh which meant that a scribe with a wet sponge uh could pass over a page of vellum and completely remove all the words on that page, leaving the surface completely clean, a as if nothing had ever been written there in the first place. So I the modern version it's like shaking an an etrosketch, you know, that and so everything gets removed. And that's the Peter uh sorry, that's the image that Peter is using here.

God doesn't just minimize your record. He doesn't just file it away somewhere so that he can come back to it at a later date. He literally wipes the surface clean. Ur so repentance doesn't just clear your conscience, it erases the whole record of your wrongdoing. And then Peter describes what follows repentance. Seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. I love that phrase. It paints a picture of relief after exhausting.

Air conditioning after coming in from the blazing sun, a deep breath after holding it for a long time underwater. Carrying guilt around is tiring in a way that's hard to explain until you've set it down. People who've spent years dragging around shame and performing for approval and weep, you know, keep keeping up their appearances before other people. They know exactly what Peter's describing. There's a beautiful rest on the other side of repentance.

Peter then starts to tie Jesus backwards, so he goes to Moses, he quotes Deuteronomy eighteen. He says, The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me. Now for anyone in that crowd, Moses is the gold standard. Like he's the one. He's the prophet, the one who stood face to face with God on the mountain. He's the one who led Israel through the wilderness, who delivered the law. Peter is saying to to the crowd. Jesus is the one that Moses was pointing you to all along.

And Moses gave Israel the old covenant. Jesus brought the new covenant. Moses led people to Sinai. Jesus opened the way into the very presence of God. And this comparison now is the most compelling argument that Peter could make to this Jewish crowd. Every prophet sends Samuel, he

was aiming at this moment and this Messiah. And then Peter closes with something unexpected. After the indictment, after the offer of forgiveness, after the theological heavy lifting, he reminds them who they are. You are the sons of the prophets. and of the covenant. So they had just participated in the crucifixion of the Messiah, and Peter now calls them heirs of the promise that was given to Abraham.

That the blessing meant for all the families of the earth was supposed to flow through these people in this crowd. And he says, God sent Jesus to you first. Not to condemn you, but to bless you. The people who needed grace the most We're also the people God chose to carry it to everyone else. That's the shape of the gospel in every generation.

So, what might a step of ordinary obedience look like today? Here's a challenge that I'd like to issue today. Would would you focus on one sin for a moment? Like think of something maybe you've confessed to God, but you've never fully let it go. Something you keep picking back up and carrying it around even after God's already dealt with.

Now I want you to picture Peter's words with that sin in your mind. He says your sins can be wiped out, not minimized or managed. He says your sins can be obliterated. I just want you to take some time today to receive that. Write down maybe that sin that you've been carrying, and then just cross it out. Put a mark right through it. Tear up the paper, burn it up, like whatever physical act helps you to remember that that sin has been.