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.”
Comment: There are times to keep quiet and times to speak out clearly. There was an amazed crowd, not understanding what their eyes showed them, but wanting some explanation. Peter spoke to them making several major points.
- They and their leaders had called for Jesus’ crucifixion but they had been ignorant of what was really happening.
- There were clear prophecies in the Old Testament that the Messiah would die and that was what had happened in Jesus’ death.
- Now that you know what you did – repent!
- The Messiah one day will return from His present time in heaven.
- Then followed a summary of the OT teaching and another call for repentance.
They were near the temple and the Jewish leaders would certainly hear the noise and come to investigate!
Prayer: Help me to act on the clues when it is the time to speak clearly for You.
As I read it! 