Acts 3:1-26 Peter’s Second Sermon
Good morning! Turn with me in your Bibles to Acts chapter 3, page 911 in the pew Bibles.
Before we get too far let’s pray and ask the Lord’s blessing on this word.
Let’s pray.
Acts chapter three records the Apostle Peter’s second sermon in Jerusalem. The first was on the Day of Pentecost and now this one some time later just outside the Temple under what is called, “Solomon’s Portico,” which was a covered area on the eastern wall of the Temple complex. It’s a place where the Jerusalem church often gathered in the book of Acts.
Peter preached five sermons recorded in the book of Acts. Remember that Peter was the former loudmouth, ear chopper offer, but now, filled with the Holy Spirit he was the leader of the Twelve Apostles and had been one of Jesus’ inner circle which also included James and John.
On this occasion Peter and John were in Jerusalem on their way to the Temple to pray and through them the first miracle of the church age was performed. Through them the Lord healed a beggar who was born lame. (Not uncool but unable to use his legs.) A nickel would have helped this guy get through the day but new legs gave him new life.
Let’s look at verses 1-10.
1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 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. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 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!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 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.
The first miracle was that the man’s feet and ankles were made strong and the second was that the man, who had never walked or leapt before, immediately knew how and was jumping all over the place!
The man didn’t run home but instead clung to Peter and John in the court of the Temple praising God for healing him and this set the stage for Peter’s second Sermon.
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?
Imagine this scene, this guy who has never walked before and is forced to beg in order to survive is miraculously healed and starts jumping around and hooting and hollering up into the Temple courtyard.
He’s muckled on to Peter and John and he’s jumping around praising God and the people start to notice! A crowd starts to gather around them and the people recognize him as that old lame beggar that always sat by the Beautiful gate.
This crowd is amazed and naturally they’re staring at Peter and John like they are a couple of wizards or something, as if the power to heal this guy came from them.
When Peter realized what was happening he speaks up and says, “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?”
What do you notice about what Peter said there?
Peter knew who he was addressing, they were Israelites, he knew their background, they had the Law and the promises, they knew the stories, they had seen God work in amazing ways before, most of them had even seen Jesus and maybe some of his miracles. Yet here they were dumfounded wondering what just happened and where the power came from to do it!
Peter says, you know that God still works, you should know that it didn’t come from us, you know your own history, but sit down here and I’ll tell you all about it…
Peter then begins his three point sermon.
Point #1 verses 13-15
13 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. 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.
What was Peter’s first point?
You are guilty. You delivered up Jesus. You denied Him. You could have had him released but instead you chose to release Barabbas, a murderer. God glorified Him but you turned Him over. Pilate tried to release Him but you refused Him. He was the Holy and Righteous One but you exchanged Him for a murderer. He was the Author of Life but you killed Him. You know it and we know it, we were there, we saw you do it.
Guilt can be a powerful motivator. But the truth is guilt always leads to destruction.
Ray Stedman said that guilt always produces fear. And fear always produces one of two responses.
The first is hiding. When you feel guilty you are afraid, afraid of getting caught, afraid of getting in trouble, so you hide, you hide the truth.
When I was a kid a couple of my buddies and me thought it would be fun to throw snowballs at cars from a fort that we built on my grandparent’s front lawn. We never thought we would actually hit a car or that the person driving that car would actually stop and turn around. When we saw those brake lights we were gone! We hid but eventually we had to come out of hiding and face the music.
Hiding leads to despair and it’s despair that leads to destruction.
Despair is the loss of hope. Hope is knowing that things will eventually get better. Many people have destroyed their lives because of despair, because they’ve lost hope. They have been hiding, trying to escape through drugs or alcohol or porn or illicit relationships or whatever and when all hope is gone it leads to destruction. Many people have ended their own life because they don’t believe that it will get any better or they don’t believe that they deserve any better because of their sense of guilt.
Guilt and fear lead to hiding but it can also lead to hostility.
Hostility produces violence- violent words, or violent actions. And in the end violence also leads to destruction, destruction of relationships or even the destruction of life.
So the end result of guilt and fear, whether hiding or hostility results in the same thing, destruction.
So why would Peter use such a tool?
Many, too many, churches and church leaders employ this tool to try and build their ministry and try to control people’s lives but in the end the result is always the same.
People are afraid of getting caught not doing what they are supposed to do or doing what they are not supposed to do so they hide their true selves because they are afraid, or they become hostile to the Lord because they don’t like feeling guilty all the time so they disassociate themselves from the Lord and His Church.
Both result in the same, either the destruction of the person’s God-given identity or the destruction of their souls. Both are bad.
So again I ask you, why would Peter use such a tool? Why would he use a tool that most often results in these horrific circumstances?
Because God has a different answer for guilt.
God has a better answer than fear, a better answer than destruction.
God’s answer for guilt is grace, grace through faith in Jesus.
This is Peter’s second point – that faith in Jesus is how we can lay hold of God’s amazing grace.
Peter said, you killed the Author of Life but God raised him from the dead! We saw Him, He’s alive!
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 has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.
The lame man was restored by faith in Jesus, he was just as guilty of sin as the rest of the crowd, he was just as responsible for his choices, but by faith in the Name of Jesus he was made well, he was restored, not just to standing right but right standing with God.
This is how God reacts to guilt, with grace through faith in Jesus!
Peter goes on to say,
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.
God knew that a price had to be paid for the sin of mankind and He freely paid that price, He didn’t ignore it or pretend it wasn’t required; He paid it Himself by dying on the cross.
That’s grace, the gift we don’t deserve.
God continues to work out His plan in spite of, and sometimes even through the ignorance and folly of humankind.
Peter’s third point: now it’s time for you to choose your response, now it is time for you to react to what God has done.
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. 22 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. 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ 24 And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ 26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”
God’s answer to man’s ignorance and guilt is grace through faith in Christ and restoration to life.
He calls us to repent, and promises restoration and times of refreshment.
When anyone turns to God through faith in Jesus he blots out their sin, He erases it from the records, not just past sins but present and future sins and freely gives them the Holy Spirit and eternal life.
But don’t we still struggle with that, the free gift?
We don’t understand just how far God’s grace reaches. Even though through simple faith in Jesus our sins are blotted out, we receive the Holy Spirit, and eternal life, tend to try to work to make ourselves acceptable to Him.
Friends, we need to accept God’s grace, we cheapen it by thinking we can work it off, we can’t! We need to just accept the gift.
We so often reject who God made us to be because we don’t think that that self is good enough for God. Jesus’ death on the cross proves that He thinks you are worth dying for!
The fact is that He made you you so He could use you as you for His glory just as He did the lame man!
So trust Jesus, turn from your sin, follow Jesus according to His Word, be yourself, and glorify God!
This is our call to action, this is how we respond:
Allow God to turn you from your wickedness, your guilt, your feelings of inadequacy, and your lack of acceptance of who you are, and believe that God loves you, and receives you, and has made you His own, and by His Spirit is making you more like Jesus and maturing you as His disciple.
So what are you going to do? I pray that, by the grace of God, you will respond in faith. Let’s pray.
