Peter Preached Repentance

“Now brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, just like your leaders. But in this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through the mouth of all the prophets: that his Christ would suffer. Therefore repent and return to have your sins wiped out, so that refreshing times may come from the presence of the Lord and that he may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you. (Acts 3:17–20)

When Peter and John were in the temple, a man who was lame from birth. When the man asked Peter and John for a donation, they gave him so much more. They gave him the ability to walk. The people who saw the man walking thought that Peter and John had healed the man with their own power, but Peter used that as an opportunity to tell the people about Jesus again. He told them that it was through the same Jesus that they had crucified, that this man was healed. The Jesus that they had crucified was the God of their fathers Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, just as he had said while he was on earth.

As Peter preached to them, telling them that they had crucified the Lord of life, he also proclaimed to them the message of the gospel. They were not without hope. Their sins deserved hell and condemnation, but God had used their sinful actions to accomplish his good purpose. he used them to bring about the salvation of the whole world. That salvation, the forgiveness of sins, could be theirs through repentance, turning back to God.

We may not have been there when Jesus was crucified, but our sins still put him on the cross. In our slavery to sin, we acted in ignorance, just as the Jews of Peter and John’s Day. But we too are not without hope. the message that Peter proclaimed to the Jews in the temple is the same message that you and I need to hear: Repent. Repent of your sins and trust that they are forgiven. Turn to God and he will wipe away your sins. In fact, he already has through his Son, Jesus. Amen.

The song for today is “It Was Finished Upon That Cross” By CityAlight

It Was Finished Upon That Cross (Official Lyric Video) - CityAlight