Acts 3

I would invite you to turn back with me to the portion of scripture we read earlier on, so this is Acts chapter 3 and we will be looking at the second part of that Peter's speech is his sermon from verse 11, Acts chapter 3.

Acts 3 · chapter mention Acts 3 · chapter mention

I was reading recently an interview with a footballer, an interview where this footballer spoke of the practical jokes that were played on him by his teammates and his fellow professionals.

So these guys, his fellow players, they didn't like the fact that this player in question, that he was, as they saw, a bit of an intellectual, which I think for footballers basically meant that he used to occasionally read a book or two.

But they didn't like this.

So on one occasion, what they did, without his knowledge, was they took a pair of scissors and they cut out, what a terrible thing to do, they cut out the very last paragraph of this long novel that this guy had been reading.

And in this interview, I was reading, the player spoke of his dismay.

Imagine reading this novel for week after week after week and then in his words he said, he was now unable to properly grasp the story because of the absence of a few crucial words.

Now, a great practical joke, I'm sure you would agree.

But I think the player's words there can equally be said of this week that we've got in front of us, the book of Acts.

Because when we consider Acts, if we fail to just have a few key words in our minds, then we're also going to fail to grasp much about what is really happening in this book.

Because you see, in chapter 1, right at the beginning of Acts, in Acts chapter 1 and verse 8, the author, Luke, what he does is he really sets out his skull.

Acts 1 · chapter mention

So there, in chapter 1 and verse 8, what he does is he tells us what's to come in the rest of the book.

So he tells us that Acts is going to show us the disciples being Jesus witnesses, first in Jerusalem, then to all Judea and Samaria, and then to the ends of the earth.

That is how the book of Acts is going to be structured.

And that means, of course, that what we've got before us this evening, in this first part of the book of Acts, is an account of the advance of the gospel, not in Judea and Samaria, exactly.

It's not an account of the advance of the gospel to the ends of the earth.

What we've got in front of the earth.

What we've got in front of us is an account of the advance of the gospel in the city of Jerusalem.

Something that we'll see tonight is crucial to any proper understanding of Acts chapter 3.

Acts 3 · chapter mention

So with the theme for tonight, in our minds, the theme that is all about Jesus, that is all about Jesus, let's consider our first of three points.

And let's consider that the speaker here was all about Jesus.

The speaker was all about Jesus.

Now, we know, having just read it, what the background is here, don't we?

Peter has just healed this crippled beggar.

So this man, who was suffering from a congenitive, debilitating disease, he has been healed to the extent, you see it, that he's now followed Peter and John into the temple courteous.

And you see how he's managed to do that?

He is now walking, and he is jumping, and he is praising God.

And then this miracle seems to draw a crowd, doesn't it?

Let's think about that.

These people, who were familiar with this cripple, so people who would have walked past this cripple thousands of times on their way into the temple courteous.

They see the guy, now we're in the distance, and he's walking, and he's jumping, and so, they run towards him.

And they're desolate to find out what's going on, what's happened.

Forget this, this is the important thing.

clearly their attention

is actually specifically

on Peter

and John

isn't it?

It isn't so much on that guy but on Peter

look what Peter has to say to this large guy

of Christus here

he says why do you stare at us

as if by

our own power or piety we have made

this man walk

you see

the attention is on

Peter

and John

and what I would dearly love for you to see

and appreciate this evening

is how Peter

redirects

that attention group

because surely think about it

see at that moment in the temple

warrior Peter's the man

isn't he?

I mean every eye

is on Peter

he's got this crowd that's before him on

tender looks

but he doesn't observe

bask in the glory of the healing

does he?

I mean he doesn't just

pause for a minute

and enjoy the line right there

does he?

you know not a bit of it

look

immediately

without even a second thought

look he moves the focus

away from him

and he moves it straight to Jesus Christ

look at this

look at what he says

why do you stare at us?

the God

of Abraham

has raised his servant

Jesus

so he directs

or redirects

he diverts

he deflects the crowd's attention

and he deflects it to

Jesus Christ

and note

as well

that he doesn't do that

just to explain

what's happened

in this miracle

with the crippled bear

right

he doesn't sort of

just deflect attention

to show that it was

Jesus power

rather than

his own

that's healed this man

I mean yeah

okay

he is going to do that

and he'll tell them that

but before he does that

what does he do?

he seizes

this moment

of attention

doesn't he?

and he presents

to this crowd

that's before him

in the temple

some of the key events

of Jesus

before he speaks

about this miracle

with the crippled

he speaks about

Jesus' betrayal

and he speaks about

Jesus' day

and he speaks about

Jesus' resurrection

so what we've got

is Peter

redirect

redirecting

attention

from himself

to the glory

of the risen

Christ

now folks

please hear this

we currently

live in a culture

that really

exists

in antithesis

to the attitude

that Peter

displays here

don't we?

I mean

Peter here

lives to deflect

attention

away from himself

where our culture

is absolutely

obsessed

with drawing

attention

to the

individual

we in the 21st century

we live in a

self-free society

don't we?

we live in a

culture

where everything

everything

is about

self-promotion

our TV shows

like the

X Factor

or

what's the other one

Britain's Got Talent

you know

they show us

sneaking crowds

of thousands

of hopefuls

all

just desperate

for some sort

of deserving

time in the

spotlight

don't they?

the internet

has made it

easier for us

to upload

videos of

ourselves

to YouTube

or upload

pictures of

ourselves

to Facebook

I think you

could probably

also sustain

an argument

for saying

that popular

music

has changed

you know

songs about

unacquainted

love or

protests a few

decades ago

to songs

today

that kind of

just say

look at me

look how much

money I've got

look how many

cars I've got

look how many

girls

I can get

we are perhaps

more than

any other time

in history

firmly immersed

in this

look at me

culture

a self-free

society

and so please

friends

I urge you

tonight

just to look

at Peter

and see that

the Christian

life must

hold entirely

different values

to that

that instead

of us

following that

sort of

pervasive

self-promotion

society

that we

consider the

apostle

and we

see this

we see

that the

Christian

life

must be

in essence

a life

of redirection

that we

should in

everything

that we

do

seek not

glory for

ourselves

but in

everything

that we

do

we seek

to promote

the glory

and the honour

of Jesus

Christ

that if

we do

attract

attention

to ourselves

that it's

only through

our good

works

that Peter

with his

cripple

but that

only so

that we

can redirect

people to

the fruit

of the

cross

friends I

hope you

see this

clearly

what we've

got here

under

what is it

Solomon's

portico

is a

paradigm

and it's

a pattern

for the

whole of

Christian

life

that we

live to

direct

attention

to our

saviour

we live

to direct

attention

to our

Lord

the speaker

here

is Peter

and the

speaker was

all about

Jesus

let's know

because

secondly

that the

scriptures

are all

about Jesus

the scriptures

are all

about Jesus

okay let's

go back

and consider

the text

in a little

bit more

detail

so we've

seen that

Peter has

taken this

miracle

and the

resultant

intrigue of

the crowd

and he has

used that

to speak

about

what

to speak

about

God's

action

in Jesus

Christ

but there's

something we

need to

notice about

the manner

in which

he does

this

and there's

something we

talked about

right at the

beginning of

the sermon

because in

this speech

the sermon

in the city

of Jerusalem

what we've

got in front

of us

is actually

a very

Jewish

presentation

of the

gospel

a very

very Jewish

presentation

now do you

see what I

mean by that

if not

observe

firstly

the way

that Peter

addresses the

crowd

what does he

say

he calls

them men

of Israel

then

observe

how he

speaks about

God

what does he

call God

what does he

speak about

God

he says

the God

of Abram

the God

of Isaac

the God

of Jacob

the God

of our

fathers

then observe

especially

how Peter

speaks about

Jesus

what does

he say

God

has done

here

think about

this

he says

that God

has glorified

his

servant

Jesus

now

that might

not mean

all that much

to us

in here

but it would

have jarred

the first century

Jewish audience

wouldn't it

that would

have sent

them straight

back in their

minds to

Isaiah 52

and to the

exaltation

of the

suffering

of the

servant

wouldn't it

and it's

the same

with this

other

messianic

title

that he

uses

here

you see

that

the

holy

and

righteous

one

do you

see what's

happening

do you see

what Peter

is doing

here

he's showing

the crowd

that this

man

that he

is talking

about

Jesus

of Nazareth

that he

was the

one that the

Jews

had been

waiting for

he's saying

that this

man I'm

speaking about

Jesus of

Nazareth

he was the

one that

dares

the

old

testament

was

pointing

to

and we

may listen

to him

just now

think

okay maybe

I see

that

maybe

look at

the second

half of the

sermon

Peter makes

his point

so explicit

because he

is effectively

saying to

this crowd

before him

in the

temple

friends

the old

testament

is all

about

Jesus

look what he

says

verse 18

God

foretold

the

sufferings

of Jesus

of Nazareth

in all

the prophets

verse 21

Jesus was

promised long

ago by the

holy prophets

verse 22

Moses

spoke

of the

government

of Jesus

verse 24

Samuel

and all

the prophets

thereafter

spoke about

these days

what is

the days

of Jesus

Nazareth's

death

and

resurrection

everything

in scripture

Peter says

to this

Jewish crowd

everything

in scripture

is about

this man

that has

just been

put to

death

Jesus

of Nazareth

but I

would urge

you

not to

read

Acts 3

and think

of it

as a

dry

monotonous

lecture

where Peter

mechanically

points out

where Jesus

pops up

in the

Old Testament

it's not a

lecture

this is a

man in the

temple

giving this

heartfelt

evangelistic

appeal

to these

people

why?

because Peter

could see

that by

this

crowd

not

recognising

Jesus

of

Nazareth

as the

one

Old Testament

spoke of

him

that they

were rejecting

and renouncing

their own

longed for

Messiah

I mean this

is not about

missing a

sort of

detail or a

technicality

about identity

this was

about denying

their

Christ

and with

that

please allow

me to

pose to

you a

couple of

crucial

questions

firstly

when you

read your

Bible at

home

and I

assume

what you

do

when you

read your

Bible at

home

are you

seeing

Jesus

are you

see when I

was studying

for the

ministry

a few years

ago

we had a

teacher

a lecturer

!

and he

would say

the same

thing every

year to

his class

and he

would tell

us

if you

have something

important to

say to an

audience

what you

do

I'm sure

you've

probably

heard this

before

from

someone

else

what you

do

is first

of all

you tell

the audience

what it

is that

you are

about

to tell

them

and then

the second

thing you

do is

you tell

the audience

what it

is that

you have

to tell

them

and then

the third

thing

you tell

the audience

what it

is that

you have

just

told

them

but you

isn't

it

but isn't

that what

God has

done for

us with

Jesus

Christ

in

scripture

isn't

it

and he

has foretold

the coming

of the

important

effect

and then

he has

told us

in detail

about

Jesus

ministry

and then

he has

explained

to us

again

the

significance

of all

of that

so I

wonder

are you

finding some

of the

parts of the

old

testament

really

difficult

I mean

are you

finding them

sometimes

almost

impenetrable

I wonder

tonight

do you

see that

this

here

what

Peter

says

to this

crowd

is the

key

to it

all

that we

must

read the

bible

read

scripture

and we

see

Jesus

that we

read

even those

really difficult

parts of the

old testament

I mean

do you not

read them

in isolation

we read

them as

they sit

in God's

perfect plan

of redemption

that reaches

its apex

it reaches

its zenith

at the

cross

now do you

do that

I wonder

is that how

you are

using your

bible

when you

go to

Genesis

you see

that the

seed of

the woman

points

to Jesus

you see

that Ruth's

kinsman

redeemer

points

to Jesus

you see

that Noah's

ark of

salvation

points

to Jesus

you see

that Noah's

fish of

deliverance

it points

to Jesus

that Jesus

is the

everything

and the

every

layer of

scripture

and without

him there

is no

understanding

of the

riches

and truths

of the

word of

God

and then

the second

question

is to

those here

who are

perhaps not

yet

saved

it's a

question to

you tonight

if you're

not a

Christian

friend

with

all

respect

do you

see that

you're

making

the same

mistake

as this

Jewish

crowd

because you

see the

old

testament

came to

them

and it

spoke

very very

clearly

that the

messiah

would

suffer

and they

rejected

him

but we're

told

look at the

end of the

section

we're told

in verse

26 that

the gospel

came

first

to the

Jews

but as we

saw at the

beginning of

the sermon

the gospel

would go

out of

Jerusalem

and it

would go

to all

the nations

of the

world

and you

see the

truth is

that tonight

as you sit

here in this

church

the gospel

has come to

you

look around

you

look at how

many bibles

are in this

place

you have

the good

news

and it

tells you

very very

clearly

that Jesus

is

the

Christ

friends

do not

keep on

making

the same

mistake

as this

Jewish

prayer

do not

deny

Jesus

the one

that

all

scripture

speaks

about

so the

speaker

was all

about

Jesus

and the

scriptures

are all

about

Jesus

so thirdly

let's

conclude

let's

consider

that the

consummation

will all

be about

Jesus

so the

consummation

the end

times

will be

all about

Jesus

and again

let's

let's use

our imagination

and let's

picture the

scene that

we're reading

about in

Acts chapter

Acts 3 · chapter mention

3

okay so

Peter

is at the

side of the

temple

in Solomon's

portico

right in the

side of the

temple

and he's

spoken to

this crowd

and he's

not sugar

coated it

has he

I mean he's

really underlined

for these

people their

clear culpability

that God

has promised

a suffering

saviour

that that

suffering saviour

has come

and they

have rejected

him

here's the

thing

surely

the question

that arises

for that

crowd

is what

now

what

now

given

their

sin

given

what

Peter

has

just

pointed

out

given

their

denial

of

Christ

is

there

any

hope

for

them

is that

what

they're

asking

or is

it

too late

are they

beyond

saving

well

what

Peter

does

here

Peter

not only

tells them

what they

need to

do to

be saved

but he

also tells

them exactly

what that

salvation

will lead

to

so what

does he

say is

the only

way to

be saved

do you

see it

in verse

19

as clear

as day

Peter

announces

the only

way of

salvation

he says

what's the

word

repent

repent

turn to

God

turn

from that

denial

of

Jesus

turn

to

Jesus

and see

that his

name

is the

name

that's

above

all

other

names

so he

tells the

crowd

the way

of

salvation

but when

he's done

that

he then

speaks of

what happens

to those

who are

saved

in Jesus

Christ

now what

does he

say

I would

ask you

to soak

these in

okay

he says

verse 19

that repentance

will lead

to sin

being

wiped

out

that

great

divine

record

of

wickedness

is

blotted

out

from

Jesus

Christ

he tells

us that

then he

tells us

that through

repentance

times of

refreshing

will come

that just

like the

cripple

that will

stand in

the side

that salvation

will involve

a wonderful

new lease

of life

in Jesus

but thirdly

and we're

going to

end with

this one

Peter tells

the crowd

that if they

turn from

their denial

of Jesus

that God

will send

his son

again

that repentance

in Christ

will lead

to a

glorious view

of the

second coming

of Christ

and do you

see what

Peter says

will happen

when Jesus

returns

what will

happen

he says

that verse

21

through Christ

God

is going

to work

he is going

to restore

everything

he is going

to restore

all things

that not only

are the speaker

and scriptures

all about

Jesus Christ

but the

consummation

the

restoration

the future

is going

to all

be about

Jesus

Christ

that he

will

return

that his

creation

will be

made new

by his

power

that his

people

will be

transformed

that his

city

the new

Jerusalem

that it

will be

inhabited

that his

power

that his

wiped away

sin

that it

will then

wipe away

all tears

and all

pain

that his

songs of

glory

will be sung

that his

crowns

of glory

will be

handed out

that all

attention

of every

single person

will be fixed

upon the one

who unlike

us

is actually

deserving

of all

the focus

and of all

the praise

and of all

the glory

that the

consummation

will all

be about

him

Jesus

Christ

friends

all of that

is the

wondrous

fruit

of repentance

in Christ

now

the obvious

question

I have to

finish with

is have you

turned from

your sin

have you

really

stopped denying

the saviour

can you see

this evening

that

your life

your

hopes

you know

your future

your affections

above

everything else

it must

all

be

about

Jesus

Christ

do you see

that

it must

be

do you know

what's

beautiful

that

we learn

in verse

four of

the next

chapter

that many

of those

people

before

Peter

they saw

it for the

first time

and we are

told

that they

were saved

I wonder

tonight

do you see

it

do you see

that it's

all about

Jesus

have you

really

repented

of yourself

let's pray

let's pray

Thank you.