Chapter Three –
Healing the Lame Man – 2nd Gospel Sermon
ACTS 3:20-26:
In our previous lesson, we covered the body of the second sermon of Jesus
Christ as Lord and Christ. The sermon establishes Jesus as the
“Glorified Servant of God” who had been rejected by these hearing
this day while He was in the flesh. They are now commanded to repent and be
converted. No longer rejecting Him as the Son of God, but in fact, receiving
Him as the only way to have their sins blotted out.
In this lesson, Peter is going to define with much more detail,
“The promise” he referred to in
2:39.
Peter is going to include the “Great
Promise” (Genesis
12:1-3;
15:1-18;
18:18;
22:18;
26:4;
28:14),
and include the development of the
“Great Promise” with all that was spoken by the holy prophets, in hope
of its completion.
Text #1:
Acts 3:20-21
“and that He may send Jesus Christ, who
was preached to you before,
21 whom heaven must receive until the
times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all
His holy prophets since the world began.”
There are many who represent this passage as speaking of the second coming
of the Lord, and it is accurate to the extent that we understand that it
will be at the conclusion of the restoration of all things, that He will
deliver the kingdom to the Father in the end (1
Corinthians 15:24-26).
It is in the context of this teaching that we should also note the term
“Jesus Christ” or in many of the
ancient manuscripts, “Christ Jesus”.
The significance of the title used here is based on the fact that God had
already sent His son in the flesh (His name was given,
“Jesus”, lit. ‘Savior’ –
Matthew 1:21; and His coming in the flesh had a
specific purpose; “To give His life a
ransom for many”,
Matthew 20:28; which would also fulfill prophecy of His suffering victory,
Isaiah 53).
It is now; however, that He is preached as both Lord and Christ (2:36).
It is to those who are converted to Him through this message of
glorification by God, that He will not only be to them the blotting out of
sin (2:38;
3:19),
but also their King. It will be in this capacity, that heaven will receive
Him until the restoration of all things, note:
1 Corinthians 15:20-28
“But now Christ is risen from the dead,
and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
21
For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection
of the dead.
22
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
23
But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward
those who are Christ’s at His coming.
24
Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father,
when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.
25
For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.
26
The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
27 For “He has put all things under His
feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is
evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted.
28
Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also
be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.”
Paul, describes the glorification of Jesus the Christ from the resurrection
of the dead (the sign of power that He was the Son of God –
Vs. 20-21;
Romans 1:4),
the giver of life to all who come to Him as the Christ (Vs. 22-23;
Ephesians 1:22-23;
5:23),
the powerful ruler, appointed by God, to be over all His enemies, the last
being death (Vs.
26), and finally the restoration of all things (Vs. 28).
To those who have become part of the His kingdom by repentance and
conversion, it is given to eternally be with the Father (“No one comes to the Father except through Me” –
John 14:6;
“Nor is there salvation in any other,
for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be
saved.” –
Acts 4:12).
All of this, Peter says, has been spoken of in the holy prophets since the
very beginning, which would take away any ignorance on their part concerning
God’s eternal purpose in Christ Jesus.
To this end, Peter will now quote from Moses:
Text #2:
Acts 3:22-23
“For Moses truly said to the fathers,
‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your
brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you.
23
And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that
Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’”
See also:
Deuteronomy 18:15-19.
Moses is distinguished from the other prophets to
the Jews which Peter is speaking to because he was a deliverer and a
lawgiver, as well. He would be a type of the Messiah in this respect. Jesus
has now come to deliver us from sin and to bring His New Covenant (which was
to make the Old obsolete –
Hebrews 8:13) to us. Moses spoke of this superior prophet, that come from among
them, and pronounces a curse upon all who would hear whatever would be
spoken through Him! In fact, obeying the instruction of Jesus the Christ,
was obeying Moses!
Text #3:
Acts 3:24-26
“Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel
and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days.
25
You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our
fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the
earth shall be blessed.’
26 To you first, God, having raised up His
Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you
from your iniquities.”
The children of Israel were
“Sons of the prophets” in sense that they were those born to study
and learn God’s righteousness through their words. In other words, there
were non-other among men more familiar with the prophetic work of God
concerning everything that was unfolding before them.
Seed:
Abraham’s
“Seed”, spoken to him in the
“Great Promise” (Genesis
12:3), was the Christ of God.
Galatians 3:16
“Now to Abraham and his Seed were the
promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one,
“And to your Seed,” who is Christ.”
God sent Jesus as the Christ to them first! To bless
them, by turning them away from their iniquities, thus the commands of
Vs. 19. However, even though it was to be to them first,
it would no longer be exclusively for them (spoken of by the same prophets
who spoke of the Christ, see:
Isaiah 49:6).
Galatians 3:26-29
“For you are all sons of God through
faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as were baptized
into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there
is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all
one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you are Christ’s, then
you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Everything being spoken to the Jews in Solomon’s
Portico, and that which was previously spoken on the Day of Pentecost, was
in fact, God’s eternal purpose in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 3:10-11
“to the intent that now the manifold
wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and
powers in the heavenly places,
11
according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus
our Lord”
All those converted to Christ as the King, would also in their change of
walks, expected to perform specific works prepared, as well, from the very
beginning.
Ephesians 2:10
“For we are His workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should
walk in them.”
The predestination of all that God [purposed]
through the obedience of the Gospel (“The
power of God to salvation” –
Romans 1:16), that all who would become the church (called-out to
Christ, added to the Lord –
Acts 2:47;
5:14)
and separated to good works (Ephesians
2:10), is the true pleasure of God, through Jesus Christ our
King.
Ephesians 1:4-5
“just as He chose us in Him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him
in love,
5 having predestined us to adoption as
sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will”
Next: “Peter and John Arrested!”