17 “Friends,[ c ] I realize that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was done in ignorance. 18 But God was fulfilling what all the prophets had foretold about the Messiah—that he must suffer these things. 19 Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. 20 Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. 21 For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets.
Acts 3:17-21 (NLT) 中文
Peter Preaching – Part 2
Peter started to preach to the crowd that had gathered when he and John healed a man lame from birth by the power of the Holy Spirit. The crowd was amazed and wondering how this could happen. Some likely knew of Jesus, the “miracle worker” and made the connection. “But He is dead”, they must have wondered. Peter had made it clear that they were responsible for His death. He now tones the rhetoric down a bit.
Ignorance – no excuse
Peter acknowledges that what they did to Jesus they did in ignorance, as their rulers. Yet that is no excuse. They are still guilty for His death – as we all are! What’s more, God used their ignorance to accomplish His plan which had been prophesied from ages past.
Repent
So what should every salvation preaching contain? A call to repentance. The Spirit acquired their attention through the miracle and is convicting them of their sin through Peter’s preaching. The fields are ripe for harvest (John 4:35). It’s time for harvesting!
“Peter made it clear that Jesus will remain in heaven until the times of restoration of all things, and since the repentance of Israel is one of the all things, there is some sense in which the return of Jesus in glory will not happen until Israel repents.” (enduringword.com)
Times of refreshment
“Times of refreshment” (v19) is promised to those who repent and turn to God; those whose sins are wiped away. In the context, it probably refers to repentance of Israel as a nation (as noted above). “The phrase … seems to refer to the blessings connected with the day of the LORD, particularly the Millennium, in view of how Peter described these times in verses 20-21. They connect with the second coming of Messiah, the ‘period of restoration of all things’ (v. 20).” (planobiblechapel.org)
RЯeflection
- “I owe it to myself to not only read the Law to ensure I am compliant with it, but also to learn what promises and protections I am entitled to as an abider of that Law. Christ promises a more abundant life (John 10:10), but without knowing or understanding His Law, it’s hard for me to see that potential.” (franthony.com) How diligently do we study His Word?
