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.”
invite all people to turn to Jesus.
Highlight the word “ignorance” in verse 17.
Note that ignorance does not pardon us from responsibility in Christ’s death.
Jesus fulfilled hundreds of Old Testament prophecies.
In fact, the entire Old Testament testified about Him (Luke 24:44).
The apostles struggled to understand this while Jesus was on earth, but the Spirit’s work allowed them to see connections they had missed in the past.
The Israelites were expecting the Messiah to come and restore the Davidic kingdom.
This would require a military deliverer who could drive out the Romans.
Peter emphasized that Jesus was building an eternal, spiritual kingdom.
Repent: The Greek word indicates change. Specifically, it relates to a change of mind or a redirection of purpose. In some cases, it suggests a change that occurs when one person spends time with another person.
an experience with Jesus transforms every aspect of our lives.
Peter called his listeners to repentance, even though some of their sin had been committed in ignorance.
(v. 19) Wiped out: Being in right relationship with God is about more than forgiveness, but we should never diminish the blessings of having our sins wiped out. The original Greek means to erase, cancel, or obliterate. The removal is complete.
God’s sovereignty
Acts of ignorance and sin led to the fulfillment of God’s plan.
God stands sovereign over all things,
and He has the divine ability to orchestrate His purposes apart from any human action.
This is a part of His providence, His unseen work to bring about our good and His glory.
God’s complete sovereignty and human responsibility, while seemingly contradictory,
are actually compatible.
This reality can be seen throughout the Bible
whenever God used human beings to accomplish His purposes.
One of the clearest cases is in the story of Joseph,
where his brothers’ plan to destroy his life
was used by God to save an untold number of lives.
This included the lives of Joseph’s brothers and their families (Gen. 50:20).
Note that “repent” is the key to resolving our guilt
because repentance leads to forgiveness.
explain the significance of our sins being “wiped out.”
identify the significance of “refreshing” and “restoration.”
When we come to Jesus, we come on His terms, leading to a time of rest and refreshing.
Luke’s wording suggests a person who was suffocating,
and finding relief from a breath of fresh air.
While Jesus’s immediate work in our lives brings refreshment (v. 20),
His ultimate goal for us (and all of creation) is restoration.
The word here suggests a return to what is appropriate, and it is used nowhere else in Scripture.