Daily Thoughts from Acts: Jewish Evangelism (Acts 3:11-26)

While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s. 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? 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. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 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.

   “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 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. 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. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. 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.’ God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”  (Acts 3:11-26 ESV)

The evidence that Peter’s eyewitness testimony to Jesus’ resurrection is valid is the miracle God has performed through him to glorify Jesus, since it was in Jesus’ name that it occurred.  But this means that the Israelites who begged Pilate to release Barabbas instead of Jesus allowed Pilate to crucify the Messiah, the author of life and the righteous one.  So Peter calls them to repentance for the forgiveness of sin. 

It is an accepted truism today that you do not blame the Jews for Jesus’ death.  And indeed, it was not just the Jews who caused Jesus’ death.  The Romans were involved as well, and if we understand the significance of Jesus’ death correctly, we were responsible.  Nevertheless, Peter doesn’t mince words accusing his listeners of their complicity in Jesus’ death.  Of course, such accusations in the mouths of Gentiles have often been motivated by hatred of Jews, which Peter, a Jew, did not have, and have led to persecution of Jews just for being Jewish.  Peter accused in order to bring repentance and faith, a quite different motivation.

Equally startling from Peter’s mouth is the assertion that If Israel as a whole repents, Jesus will return to establish his kingdom on earth, refreshing and restoring all things, as the prophets all promised.  It seems that had the nation come to faith in their Messiah at this time the timetable for Jesus’ return might have been greatly accelerated.  The nation did not embrace her Messiah.  Paul later writes that only a remnant did so, revealing also that in the future Israel will come to faith (Romans 11).

Moses, the primary prophet who declared himself the model for the Messiah, commanded Israel to obey that prophet who came after him upon pain of destruction.  Obedience to Messiah would result in the promise to Abraham being fulfilled of bringing blessing to all the families of earth.  God foretold that Israel’s wickedness would result in the Messiah’s death (Isaiah 53, for example), but now it is time to turn back to Him in repentance. 

As Israel did not obey Jesus, their prophet like Moses, the nation did face destruction in AD 70 when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and its temple as they put down an insurrection.  Many Jews were scattered even more so from the holy land and remained nationless until 1948 began the reviving of the nation.  Unpopular as it is to say, we must keep witnessing to Israel, as to all nations, that Jesus is the Messiah and that life is found in him alone.

See “Jewish Evangelism in Light of a Negative History”