The Author of Life and the Times of Refreshing Text: Acts 3:11-26
Introduction: The Offense of a Public Miracle
We live in an age that loves its spirituality private, personal, and above all, powerless. A little bit of Jesus is fine, so long as He stays in your heart, like a well-behaved hobby. But when the power of the resurrected Christ breaks out into the public square, when it heals a man who has been lame from his mother's womb for over forty years, when it disrupts the normal flow of traffic at the temple, then you have a problem. Then you have a confrontation.
That is precisely what has happened here. A notable miracle has been done, and it cannot be denied. A man everyone knew, a fixture of the daily scenery, is now walking, leaping, and praising God. And as he clings to Peter and John, a crowd gathers, "full of wonder." This is the set-up for the second sermon in the book of Acts. The first, at Pentecost, was occasioned by a miracle of sound, the speaking in tongues. This one is occasioned by a miracle of sight, a creative act of restoration. And in both instances, the apostles do not waste the opportunity. They do not set up a healing tent and start charging admission. They do not form a committee to study the phenomenon. They preach the Word. They explain the miracle by proclaiming the Christ who performed it.
Peter's sermon here is a masterpiece of biblical theology and direct, confrontational evangelism. He is speaking to "men of Israel," to covenant people who have a long and storied history with the God who has just acted so powerfully in their midst. But this history is a tangled one, full of both privilege and rebellion. Peter's task is to unravel it for them, to show them how their entire story, from Abraham to Moses to the prophets, culminates in the man they just murdered. And he does this not to condemn them finally, but to call them to repentance, so that they might enter into the very blessing they had thrown away.
This sermon is a paradigm for us. It teaches us that true evangelism is always grounded in the objective work of God in history. It is bold, it is Christ-centered, it is covenantal, and it calls for a non-negotiable response. It does not offer helpful tips for better living. It presents the Author of life, whom men put to death, and whom God raised from the dead, and it demands that we choose a side.
The Text
And while he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the portico called Solomon’s, full of wonder. But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered 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, but put to death the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which is through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.
“And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. Moses said, ‘THE LORD GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BROTHERS; TO HIM YOU SHALL LISTEN to everything He says to you. AND IT WILL BE THAT EVERY SOUL THAT DOES NOT HEED THAT PROPHET SHALL BE UTTERLY DESTROYED FROM AMONG THE PEOPLE.’ And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also proclaimed these days. It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘AND IN YOUR SEED ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED.’ For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”
(Acts 3:11-26 LSB)
Don't Look at Us (vv. 11-12)
The scene is set. A man healed, a crowd astonished, and the apostles at the center of the commotion. Peter's first move is crucial.
"Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?" (Acts 3:12)
Peter immediately deflects all attention from himself and John. This is the first principle of any true work of God. The instrument is nothing; the agent is everything. The temptation in any successful ministry is to start believing your own press clippings, to think that the power resides in your technique, your eloquence, or your personal holiness. But Peter will have none of it. He shuts down the cult of personality before it can even begin. He asks two questions: "Why do you marvel?" and "Why do you gaze at us?" The answer to the first is that they are right to marvel, but they are marveling at the wrong thing. They are looking at the effect, and Peter wants to direct them to the cause. The answer to the second question is that they are looking in the wrong direction entirely. This wasn't done by "our own power or piety." This is a flat denial of the health-and-wealth gospel before it was ever invented. The power for miracles does not come from some latent spiritual force within the apostles that can be unlocked through sufficient piety. It comes from an external source, from God Himself.
The God of History vs. Your Recent Treason (vv. 13-15)
Having cleared the ground, Peter now lays the foundation. He connects this miracle to the entire history of Israel and then contrasts their God with their own actions.
"The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered 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, but put to death the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses." (Acts 3:13-15)
Peter begins by identifying the God who acted. This is not some new deity. This is "the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers." He is anchoring this new work in the ancient covenant. This is covenantal preaching. He is telling them, "The God you have always claimed to worship is the one doing this." And what has this God done? He "has glorified His Servant Jesus." This title, "Servant," immediately plunges them back into the prophecies of Isaiah (Is. 42, 53). God's whole plan was to glorify this suffering Servant.
Then comes the indictment, a series of brutal, staccato contrasts. God glorified Jesus; "you delivered and denied Him." Pilate, the pagan governor, wanted to release Him; "you denied the Holy and Righteous One." You had a choice between the source of all holiness and a common murderer, Barabbas, and "you asked for a murderer to be granted to you." And the ultimate, breathtaking irony: "you put to death the Author of life." You cannot get a sharper contrast than that. They attempted to extinguish the very source of existence. It is the creature attempting to assassinate the Creator. This is the pinnacle of human rebellion.
But man's rebellion is never the last word. Peter immediately follows this charge with the great reversal: "whom God raised from the dead." You killed Him; God raised Him. You gave your verdict; God overturned it. And this is not some private revelation or mystical experience. It is a matter of public record, a historical fact: "a fact to which we are witnesses." The resurrection is the non-negotiable center of the apostolic proclamation. Without it, the whole thing is a sad joke.
The Power of the Name (v. 16)
Peter now connects the miracle directly to the resurrected Christ.
"And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which is through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all." (Acts 3:16)
How did the healing happen? Through "faith in His name." The "name" in Scripture is not a magical incantation. It represents the person's full character, authority, and power. To have faith in the name of Jesus is to trust completely in who He is and what He has done. It is the name of Jesus, the very one they rejected, that has made this man strong. The power that healed this man is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. And notice the source of the faith itself: it is "the faith which is through Him." Jesus is not only the object of our faith; He is the source of our faith. He grants the very faith that is required to trust in Him. This is sovereign grace, pure and simple. This whole event, from the power to the faith to the healing, is a gift from start to finish, and it all happened publicly, "in the presence of you all."
The Offer of Refreshing (vv. 17-21)
After such a blistering indictment, you might expect a call for judgment. Instead, Peter extends a stunning offer of grace.
"And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. But the things which God announced beforehand... He has thus fulfilled. Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things..." (Acts 3:17-21)
He calls them "brothers," softening the blow and identifying himself with them as fellow Israelites. He acknowledges that they "acted in ignorance." This does not remove their guilt, but it does make forgiveness possible. It is the very thing Jesus prayed from the cross: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." But this ignorance did not thwart God's plan. In fact, their sinful act was the very means by which God fulfilled what "all the prophets" had announced: that His Christ would suffer. This is the great mystery of providence. God uses the wicked hands of men to accomplish His holy purposes without being the author of their sin.
Because their sin fulfilled God's plan, there is now a basis for an appeal. "Therefore repent and return." Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change of direction. Turn from your wicked ways and come back to the God of the covenant. And the results are threefold. First, "your sins may be wiped away." This includes the monumental sin of killing the Messiah. The blood they called down upon their own heads can become the very blood that cleanses them. Second, "times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." This is the blessing of the new covenant, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, bringing life and joy and peace where there was death and guilt. Third, God will "send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you." This refers to the second coming. But notice the condition: Christ must remain in heaven "until the period of restoration of all things." This is a key plank in a robust, optimistic eschatology. The gospel age is the period of restoration. It is the time when the kingdom of God advances in history, restoring all things under the Lordship of Christ. The gospel is meant to succeed. It is meant to bring healing not just to individual souls, but to families, societies, and cultures, all in preparation for the final return of the King.
The Prophetic Foundation (vv. 22-26)
Peter grounds his entire argument in the Old Testament Scriptures. He is showing them that this is not a new religion; it is the fulfillment of their own story.
"Moses said, ‘THE LORD GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME...’ And likewise, all the prophets... also proclaimed these days. It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant... For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways." (Acts 3:22-26)
He quotes the great prophecy from Deuteronomy 18 about a prophet like Moses. The ultimate test of their faithfulness to Moses is whether they will listen to this new prophet, Jesus. And the warning is severe: any soul who does not heed this prophet "shall be utterly destroyed from among the people." This is a covenant lawsuit. To reject Jesus is to be excommunicated from the true Israel of God. That generation would see this destruction fulfilled in the catastrophic events of A.D. 70.
He reminds them of their immense privilege. "It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant." They are the heirs of the promise made to Abraham, that in his seed "all the families of the earth shall be blessed." They stood at the center of God's redemptive plan. And because of this privilege, the offer comes to them first. "For you first, God raised up His Servant." The gospel was to the Jew first, and then to the Gentile. And what is the nature of this blessing? It is not political power or material wealth. The ultimate blessing is this: "by turning every one of you from your wicked ways." The greatest blessing God can give a man is to turn him from his sin. This is the heart of the gospel. It is not just forgiveness for sin, but deliverance from the power of sin.
Conclusion: The Unignorable Jesus
This sermon, delivered in the temple courts, lays everything bare. A man has been healed. A crowd has been gathered. And a choice has been presented. The apostles did not perform this miracle. Their piety did not perform it. The God of their fathers performed it, and He did it through the name and power of His Son, Jesus, whom they murdered.
That is the choice that confronts every person in every generation. You cannot be neutral about the Author of life. You either bow to Him as Lord or you stand with those who deny Him. You either receive the blessing of being turned from your wickedness or you face the curse of being cut off from the people of God.
The miracle in Solomon's Portico was a signpost. It pointed away from the lame man, away from the apostles, and straight to the resurrected Christ. It was a foretaste of the "restoration of all things." God is in the business of making lame men walk. He is in the business of taking our spiritual paralysis, our deadness in sin, and speaking life and strength into us by the power of His name. The only proper response is to repent, to return, and to receive the times of refreshing that come only from Him.