Last week, we covered the first part of Acts 3 and learned about a powerful miracle done in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
In that sermon, I mentioned several times that the miracle from last week pointed to something greater found in the name of Jesus.
Today’s sermon is entitled “The Source of Life.”
In today’s passage, Peter is going to explain a bit more about what the greater is that is found in Jesus.
Let’s look at the passage together, and then we will ask God to speak to us through this passage.
Look at Acts 3:11-26:
11 While he was holding on to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astonished, ran toward them in what is called Solomon’s Colonnade. 12 When Peter saw this, he addressed the people: “Fellow Israelites, why are you amazed at this? Why do you stare at us, as though we had made him walk by our own power or godliness? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and denied before Pilate, though he had decided to release him. 14 You denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer released to you. 15 You killed the source of life, whom God raised from the dead; we are witnesses of this. 16 By faith in his name, his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. So the faith that comes through Jesus has given him this perfect health in front of all of you.
17 “And now, brothers and sisters, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your leaders also did. 18 In this way God fulfilled what he had predicted through all the prophets—that his Messiah would suffer. 19 Therefore repent and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out, 20 that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send Jesus, who has been appointed for you as the Messiah. 21 Heaven must receive him until the time of the restoration of all things, which God spoke about through his holy prophets from the beginning. 22 Moses said: The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers and sisters. You must listen to everything he tells you. 23 And everyone who does not listen to that prophet will be completely cut off from the people.
24 “In addition, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those after him, have also foretold these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, saying to Abraham, And all the families of the earth will be blessed through your offspring. 26 God raised up his servant and sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways.”
Let’s pray together before we go any further.
(prayer)
We should remember that this miracle happened as Peter and John were going to the temple to pray.
In today’s passage, the man is now with Peter and John, and people are gathering.
Notice that they are gathering in a place called Solomon’s Colonnade. This is often called Solomon’s Portico or Solomon’s Porch in other places. We Polk County folks would call it Solomon’s Porch.
Solomon’s Porch was a great gathering spot as it was a very large porch with a covered roof. Crowds would often gather here to hear people speak.
This situation is no exception. Peter has something to say, and a crowd has gathered to hear him.
Well, let’s hear more about what Peter has to say. There’s a lot going on in this passage, so let’s ask three questions that will hopefully help us understand what God wants to communicate to us.
First, . . .
I. Who caused this miracle?
We see in verse 11 that this man who was raised to walk, after never having walked before, is holding on to Peter and John.
As he is hanging around Peter and John, people are running over to see what happened.
Verse 11 says, “ . . . all the people, utterly astonished, ran toward them.” The people probably wanted to see with their own eyes what they heard about.
Think of some of the natural questions that may arise after the people saw this miracle:
“Is this the same guy that was unable to walk before?” Yes, it was!
“Has this man truly been healed?” Yes, he had!
Another question might be, “Who caused this miracle?”
This is the question that Peter anticipates and answers very directly in verses 12-16.
First of all, Peter wants to make sure that those present know that it’s not because of him or John that this man was healed.
Peter says in verse 12, “Why do you stare at us, as though we had made him walk by our own power or godliness?”
So, if it’s not Peter and John, who is responsible for this man’s healing? Well, I’m glad you asked.
Peter says in verse 16, “ . . . the faith that comes through Jesus has given him this perfect health in front of all of you.”
Peter gets right to the point and states that it’s Jesus who brought healing to this man.
Church, we must understand that it is through Jesus that these types of astonishing miracles happen.
It wasn’t about Peter and John; it was about Jesus.
So also, in modern times, it’s not about your pastors. It’s not about your grandma who has great faith. It’s not about a celebrity television preacher. It’s about Jesus!
The answer to the greatest problems in your life is Jesus!
Who caused this miracle? Jesus caused this miracle!
Notice that as we look at the passage, Peter is addressing the people as if they should know something about Jesus.
Peter says in verse 12, “Fellow Israelites.”
These are Israelites; these are the Jewish people who should know about Jesus.
Peter’s fellow Israelites should have known, and he wants to make sure that they do know that it’s through the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth that this man was healed.
Of course, as we look at the passage, Peter not only states that it’s through Jesus that this man is healed, he also gives a bit of a recap about the story of Jesus. That takes us to our next question:
II. What happened to Jesus?
Peter doesn’t just say that Jesus brought about this healing, he tells the crowd of astonished Israelites something that they need to know, more than simply knowing that Jesus has the power to make a man walk.
Peter wants them to know the fuller story of Jesus. Peter says in verses 13-18:
13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and denied before Pilate, though he had decided to release him. 14 You denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer released to you. 15 You killed the source of life, whom God raised from the dead; we are witnesses of this. 16 By faith in his name, his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. So the faith that comes through Jesus has given him this perfect health in front of all of you.
17 “And now, brothers and sisters, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your leaders also did. 18 In this way God fulfilled what he had predicted through all the prophets—that his Messiah would suffer.
Notice these elements of what Peter shared:
Jesus is God’s servant.
The Jewish people handed over Jesus to be killed.
The Jewish people denied Jesus.
The Jewish people chose to release a murderer instead of Jesus.
The Jewish people killed Jesus, the source of life.
God raised Jesus from the dead.
Peter, John, and others were witnesses of all that happened.
God fulfilled what He predicted through the prophets.
Peter does a fantastic job laying out the heart of the life, death, resurrection, and ministry of Jesus.
What happened to Jesus?
Jesus came from God, Jesus suffered, Jesus died, Jesus rose from the dead, Jesus fulfilled the prophecies about Him, and by the power of Jesus, people are changed!
Well, what should the people do with all of this information? That leads to our last question:
III. How should the people respond?
The people are astonished, they learn that the power of Jesus is what changed the man, and then they learn more about what happened to Jesus.
So, what should they do now? How should they respond?
Well, Peter addresses that question. Listen to what Peter says in verses 19-21:
19 Therefore repent and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out, 20 that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send Jesus, who has been appointed for you as the Messiah. 21 Heaven must receive him until the time of the restoration of all things, which God spoke about through his holy prophets from the beginning.
Again, pay attention to the individual elements of what Peter mentions here:
The people should repent and turn back to God.
The presence of the Lord will come to the people.
God will send Jesus the Messiah back.
Jesus will restore all things.
God prophesied these things.
The amount of content contained in this message from Peter is amazing.
Peter even goes on to say that Moses, Samuel, and the other prophets have spoken about the wonders of Jesus the Messiah.
The Jewish people should have recognized the coming of Jesus because their prophets had spoken about His coming for thousands of years.
What’s more, Peter assures them that they did not miss the boat. They can still turn back to God through Jesus.
Peter says in verse 19, “Therefore repent and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out.” Listen, folks: there is still time for us to turn to God and receive Jesus so that our sins may be wiped out!
Peter is also careful to point out that Jesus came first for the Jewish people, and He is their only hope of salvation.
Peter quotes Moses in verse 23 when he says, “And everyone who does not listen to that prophet will be completely cut off from the people.”
There is no other hope for the Jewish people besides Jesus, and there is no hope for the world besides Jesus.
Peter pointed out in verse 25 that when God says all the families of the earth would be blessed through the offspring of Abraham that Jesus is the offspring about whom the prophecy speaks.
Further, Peter says in verse 26, “God raised up his servant and sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways.”
The Bible goes on elsewhere to say that even though Jesus came first for the Jewish people, His reach of love and forgiveness would be extended to the uttermost parts of the earth to everyone and anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord.
So, how should the people respond? They should turn from their sins and turn to God through Jesus.
The power of Jesus is the hope that the Jewish people need, and He is the hope that all of us need.
By faith in the name of Jesus, we will be healed.
That takes us to our bottom line:
Bottom Line: Jesus is God’s plan for life and salvation.
Jesus is the only hope for the Jewish people, and He is the only hope for all people.
The apostle Paul said in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.”
He is the source of life, and He is the source of salvation.
As Peter said in verse 15, “You killed the source of life, whom God raised from the dead; we are witnesses of this.”
Jesus said of Himself in John 10:10, “A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.”
We learn in Acts 17:25, which we’ll look at later next year, concerning Jesus, “Neither is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives everyone life and breath and all things.”
Jesus gives us all things. He was involved in our very creation. He is life!
He can bring us hope, He can bring healing, and He can bring us salvation.
Challenge yourself this week in the following ways:
Weekly Challenge #1 – Consider where hope is found.
Where is your hope found? When all hope is lost, where will you turn?
When the temporary blessings of this world fail you, where is hope found? Consider this week where hope is found.
Weekly Challenge #2 – Turn from your evil ways.
In verse 26, Peter said to those Jewish people in his day, “God raised up his servant and sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways.”
That message is the same for us: God raised up His servant Jesus to bless us by turning each of us from our evil ways.
We must turn from sin and turn to Jesus. Jesus Himself said in Luke 13:3, “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as well.”
Challenge yourself to turn from your sin and turn to Jesus.
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.
