There are some things that only happen once in a lifetime. Occurrences that make you stop in your tracks and say to yourself, “I can’t believe that just happened.” Maybe you remember the fall of the Twin Towers or something joyous like the birth of your first child? At the moment, you couldn’t wrap your mind around it. The event was almost surreal. It was an occurrence that will be forever etched in your mind. Today’s scripture is such an event.
READ ACTS 3:12-20
Just prior to today’s text – something happened that made everyone stop and watch in awe. A man who had been crippled from birth; an older man who had begged at the temple gates for decades was miraculously healed! They suddenly saw him “leaping” in the temple courts. They would never forget what happened that day. It was a miracle!
It’s at moments like these – time stopping moments in war, sports, or romance – that a tremendous opportunity arrives. It’s like the blinders of everyday life are stripped from people’s eyes, and they’re so amazed that they’re willing to stop and listen – at least for a moment.
Recently a Heisman Trophy winning Christian quarterback named Tim Tebow won national attention when he played for the Broncos and then for the Jets. He led the Broncos from a 1-4 season to win their first AFC West title and first playoff game since 2005, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime. He was in demand everywhere for autographs and speeches. It also happened with the fire-fighters, the police, and the first responders in New York City – those who survived the Twin Towers bombings were in big demand on talk shows and at book fairs. Unfortunately, we often turn these modern day heroes into the golden calves of other times. Sadly, most of the time these heroes can’t help but eat up all the attention. We’re all vain that way – at heart.
All of us have that selfish-magnet within us; that desire for people to see us, to pay attention and listen to what we have to say. We don’t like it when we aren’t recognized for the great job we think we’re doing at work or at home. We get miffed if someone doesn’t say, “Thank you” or pat us on the back. But we sure like those who tell us what great people we are. It shows that, unintentionally or not, we’re self-centered, but when Peter healed the lame man, it was different.
Luke says that “all the people were astonished and came running to them” as if by their own power they had made this man walk. It was one of those moments when everyone stopped what they were doing and were open to hear what happened. Peter had them right where God wanted them, and what did Peter do? What did he say? Did he say, “Oh, it was nothing; the Spirit is just really strong in me.” ….. Not at all.
Instead, he said, “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. … By faith in the name of Jesus, this man … was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him….”
Peter would not allow the focus to be on himself. Instead, he testified to the true source of the miracle. It was Jesus! Peter didn’t just say that Jesus was “a nice guy and a great humanitarian” – he went far beyond that.
With great detail Peter told them that Jesus was raised from the dead and glorified by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jesus was the “Holy and Righteous One” and the “author of life.” Peter was saying, “You want to know who did this? It was Jesus! YOUR GOD approved of Jesus through His resurrection. He lived a perfect life, and He actually created life as we know it. He is now risen and alive! You Can’t Even Hope to Contain Him. That’s who did it!” Instead of pointing to himself, Peter pointed to Christ.
Opportunities like that don’t come by too often – that people actually look up to you and are willing to hear what you have to say. But they do come. Maybe when your child asks you about God and trusts what you have to say is the Gospel truth. Maybe it’s a co-worker who knows that you’re a “religious person”, and asks, “Do you believe there’s life after death?” Once in a while in life, people’s blinders are removed, and they honestly look to you for some answers. It’s then that you have an opportunity to say something worthwhile.
Esther was a Jewish woman chosen by Xerxes to be his queen. She was put in a very difficult position. Her people were about to be exterminated by an evil man named Haman. She was terrified of talking to her “husband” without permission, since she could be put to death for such presumption. But her uncle Mordecai told her, “if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to this royal position for such a time as this?” She needed to take advantage of her situation at once, or God would raise up someone else to take her place. You need to think of your own life and your own opportunities the same way.
Peter used his opportunity to share Christ, but notice HOW he presented Jesus. If you really think about it, what he was saying would have been a terrifying thing for the Jews to hear. He didn’t just tell them about the Jesus the man. He also told them WHO Jesus really was – the Christ! The Son of God! Then he told them what THEY DID to the Son of God! Look at what he said again. Every verse starts with an accusatory YOU!
YOU handed him over to be killed! YOU disowned him before Pilate!
YOU disowned the Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released instead. YOU killed the author of life, but GOD raised him from the dead.
Peter emphatically told them that they KILLED – not just another man – but the AUTHOR of life – who was now alive and had healed this man!! Think of the implications of that message. When Herod thought that John the Baptist had risen from the dead, he was terrified. Now the Jews were being told – “You didn’t just kill a prophet. You actually KILLED the Son of God in the flesh!” And if that weren’t bad enough, NOW that same man has been glorified by God, risen from the dead and is RULING your universe!”
We’re told that the Pharisees weren’t buying it, but for those who believed Peter, they must’ve thought, “I’m in a world of hurt here!” Courageously, Peter made them see that they couldn’t just disassociate themselves from this miraculous healing of the lame man. It was Jesus who did it; Yeshua HaNazarei – Jesus of Nazareth, the man they killed and who lives.
Do you have that kind of courage? I’m not sure I do. It’s easy to talk about “sin” and “grace” – but it’s hard to apply it so personally. It’s easy to say to people, “we’re all sinners”, but it’s frightening for most to actually tell someone, “You’re disowning Christ through your lack of church attendance. You’ve rejected Christ by having an adulterous affair. You have crucified him by your language and your lies.”
We have friends, neighbors, and even our own children who know “they’re sinners” - but do they stop and really think to themselves – “Am I disowning Christ by what I’m doing or saying?” We know specifically what and how they are disowning Christ, but do we ever call them on it?
Maybe you say, “But everybody does it; so don’t worry about it or change your life.” If that’s what you’d say, then what was Peter doing? He was pleading for their lives, “Repent … and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out; that times of refreshing may come from the Lord!”
The only way you can fill a jar is if it is first empty. Peter was trying to shake up these Jews – to make them see that they were empty and NEEDED Christ. They couldn’t ignore him. As long as these Jews were full of excuses or self-righteousness, they would see no need for Christ. But if they could be brought to their knees – realizing they NEEDED God’s grace and mercy – then their sins could be wiped out, and times of refreshing could come.
Personally, I think the best thing Peter said was, “This is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that His Christ would suffer.” Even though they had done a terrible thing by denying and crucifying Jesus, God used their treachery to save them through the suffering of Christ – their substitute! God used their evil to pay for their evil. Even though they had done something terrible, if they would only confess their sins and turn to Christ, they too could be forgiven through the blood of Christ. Even as Peter accused them, he was giving them HOPE.
Isn’t it great, as well, for us to know that, even though we’ve wasted so many opportunities to share Christ, He also died for our sins? We have the comfort of knowing that, as sinful as we are, our Savior’s blood covers all of our sins, if we will confess and believe in Him. When we come repentant before God, He throws His arms around us and covers us in His righteousness. What comfort and hope that should give us!
That’s what our friends and neighbors need to know about their comfort and hope. When they lose a job or experience something in life that makes them stop and ask for answers, they need to hear the truth. They can’t just keep on working and accumulating possessions and living like there is no God. They can’t continue to have sex with whomever they please and think there’s no consequences. They can’t disown God with vulgar language and think He’ll turn a deaf ear to it. You can’t keep killing him with your actions and your words and think it doesn’t matter.
If you continue revolving your life around YOU, you will be sorry. If you keep ignoring God and trusting in money or doctors to save you or make you happy, you will pay a terrible price. Jesus Christ is the Savior and Hope for all of us! He can’t be contained, and He is still in power – and He is coming again to judge this world. In Christ alone, “times of refreshing will come.”
The basic sense of this word – “refreshing” – is “to cool or refresh with a breath.” In medicine, it means “treating a wound with fresh air.” It’s difficult to take off the bandages of excuses for our sins – because it reveals how ugly our lives really are. But once you expose your wounds and sinful scars to God, then the cool air of God’s forgiveness will begin the healing.
When people ask us for answers, they need to know there is still hope and forgiveness in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It may take some time, but those long felt scars of guilt and shame will eventually heal. By taking your guilt to the cross, you’ll experience a new life of love, forgive-ness, and hope – through the blood of Jesus Christ.
What was the result of Peter’s pointed words? The priests and the captain of the temple guard arrested Peter and John. They were angry because the apostles were proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus – the truth they wanted to conceal. They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
That’s what should happen when you really preach the law and the gospel. People shouldn’t walk away and say to themselves, “hmmm, that was a nice story about Jesus.” No! When you truly preach the Word of God, people will either hate you and your message or repent and believe. That’s what God’s Word does – it cuts to the heart. Either your heart will be hardened, or the Holy Spirit will cut through it.
The question is this: Are you willing to put your friendships on the line?
When the opportunity arises, are you willing to risk having people hate you and get angry at you? Are you willing to penetrate your relationships with the Truth of Jesus Christ? Or would you rather keep your relationships on the surface where you both agree to enjoy cars and comforts but not address the spiritual weaknesses or their need of forgiveness?
The history of God’s church has always been a history of risk-takers. Without risk-takers, churches don’t grow. Clever marketing won’t do it. Only God’s truth can prevail. Peter risked everything that day when he said, “You killed the Author of Life.” He risked everything when he said of Jesus, “You can kill him and bury him, but you can never hope to contain him.”
PLEASE JOIN WITH ME IN PRAYER: Heavenly Father, forgive us for not be courageous enough to speak Your Truth. Grant us new courage today that we may proclaim Jesus Christ raised from the dead to save all who call upon His holy name. In the name of Jesus Christ and for His glory, we pray. Amen
