The Wonder and the Word

for water will gush in the wilderness,

and streams in the desert. (Isa 35:6)

Isaiah pointed to this glorious future, inaugurated at Jesus’s first coming (Luke 7:18-23) and fully consummated at his second. This particular lame man, then, became a living example of Isaiah 35. Jesus’s miracles of healing were signs of his identity and glimpses of his kingship. The restoration of this lame man makes us, who groan with the aches and pains of living under the curse of sin, long for the “restoration of all things.” Take heart! That day is coming soon!

Fifth, because Christ gave the faith and worked the miracle, his name alone is exalted. Just notice how often “the name” is mentioned in chapters 3 and 4. The name of Jesus means everything that is true about him. He is to be exalted as the source of life and as the forgiver of sinners. His is the only name by which people can be saved.

Finally, we must affirm that this miracle serves the gospel message. It was a launching pad into the sermon. Peter doesn’t stop after the miracle, say, “My work is done here,” and then move on. No, there’s a purpose for the wonder. The physical miracle was a fact, but it was also a picture, a parable. Jesus’s miracles too were often illustrations or validations of the message he shared. The miracle attracted a crowd, but the message offered to that crowd was more important than any wonder. Why? Simple. You can be healed miraculously today, but your heart and body will eventually wear out. You need the message of eternal life more than a miracle of temporary healing.

The lame man’s healing is a powerful reminder that Jesus is the source of life. He gives life! Jesus heals the disabilities of the human heart! He causes redeemed sinners to dance in his presence with joy!

Not one to pass up an opportunity to preach the gospel, Peter uses this miracle to point everyone to the Messiah. He exalts Jesus in several ways and along the way sharply indicts the unbelieving crowd.

Jesus is the servant of the Lord (3:13,26). In verses 13 and 26 Peter refers to Jesus as God’s “servant.” This title refers to the promised Servant in the Old Testament (e.g., Isa 52:13–53:12). This promised Servant appeared in human history and said, “Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). In a world all about climbing the social or career ladder and being served, Jesus pointed to another, better way to live. He served us all the way to the cross, and he continues to serve his church today. Once you begin to grasp how Christ has served you, you will gladly serve him and others.

Jesus was glorified by God (3:13-14). The God of our fathers glorified his Servant, Jesus. A happy sharing of glory exists within the Godhead. Prior to his cross work, Jesus prayed to the Father:

The hour has come. Glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you. . . . I have glorified you on the earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with that glory I had with you before the world existed. (John 17:1,4-5)

In this first part of the sermon, Peter also gave Jesus this messianic title of Servant (see Isa 53:11; Mark 1:24). But tell people that Jesus alone is the Holy and Righteous One, as Peter does in verse 14, and you will have a religious controversy with which to deal.

Many think Jesus is like other religious teachers. They thus think of him as a historical figure to be studied, like one of the many presidents whose contributions are summarized in a United States history textbook. While an understanding like that might lead a few to honor Jesus by chiseling his likeness on Mount Rushmore, it completely misses the truth that he’s in a class by himself. Peter rightly says there’s Jesus, and then there’s everyone else—including all other religious leaders.

So, in light of this fact, how can we be holy and righteous? We need Jesus’s holiness and righteousness. That, in fact, is the good news of the gospel. Jesus, the Righteous One, traded places with sinners like us. By repentance and placing faith in Christ, we receive his righteousness (2 Cor 5:21). Incredibly, his work gets credited to our accounts. While other religions teach that people work for righteousness, the gospel message so unique to Christianity is that people work from Christ-given righteousness. Only in Christianity—because of the work of Christ—does a verdict come before a performance. As a believer in Jesus, you are declared righteous. Out of that position you get to obey the Righteous One in his power for his glory, knowing that he has already dealt with your greatest problem.

Jesus is the source of life (3:15). Peter exalts Christ with this amazing “source of life” title. John writes, “In him was life, and that life was the light of men” (John 1:4). Paul says, “For everything was created by him. . . . all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and by him all things hold together” (Col 1:16-17). In other words, apart from Jesus there’s no life. Apart from him you don’t even have a physical life. But let’s say you do. Even so, you are dying even as you think about what I’m saying, and you will die a spiritual death as well as a physical one unless you are united to him by faith. When your computer, iPad, or smart phone is detached from a power source, it eventually dies. Similarly, people must be united with the source of life in order to live. Peter found that making such a statement about Jesus before Jewish people enraged many. But his words offer wonderful news about how we can overcome death.

Jesus rose from the dead (3:15,26). Christ’s resurrection is the constant message of the apostles. God raised Jesus from the dead, and the apostles saw him alive. This validated all of Jesus’s claims, displayed the Father’s acceptance of the Son’s atoning death, and proved that he indeed is the source of life. Peter’s point is clear: we aren’t saved by the quality of our faith but by the object of our faith! So put your faith in Jesus, the resurrected Lord, who came to rescue people like you.

Jesus is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy and promises (3:17-26). Peter alludes to several Old Testament texts as he points people to Jesus the Messiah. From Abraham onward, the flow of redemptive history culminates in this Jesus. Peter says “all the prophets” (vv. 18,24) predicted his coming—including Moses, who predicted someone greater and more glorious than he. Peter essentially says, “The Messiah came!” But this audience, like many people today, is still waiting for the fulfillment of all those prophecies. Doing this is as uninformed as saying, “I hope Mickey Mantle plays for the Yankees.” He already played. If you don’t know that, you missed it!

Jesus is the final prophet. There aren’t any prophets after Jesus because he is what the prophets were speaking about! Further, unlike the other prophets Scripture mentions, Jesus doesn’t simply speak the truth; he is the truth! He doesn’t just show us the way; he is the way. He doesn’t just tell us what meaning is; he is the meaning (John 1:1).

As the greater Moses, Jesus led a greater exodus. Jesus is the ultimate Redeemer. As the greater King, Jesus reigns forever. As the offspring of Abraham, in Jesus all the families of the earth are blessed. The Old Testament sustains this messianic hope throughout the narrative, and it gets fulfilled in Christ, our great Prophet, King, and Redeemer.

We should pause for a moment and consider all the indictments Peter makes against his audience:

Repent! (3:19-21). In light of these serious charges, we must ask whether there is any hope for such wicked people. The answer is yes! Look back at 3:19-21. In the center of this passage about the glory of Christ and the gravity of sin, Peter offers amazing gospel hope to everyone.

Notice the necessity of repentance in verse 19. He says there’s hope if you turn from your sins. Down in Verse 26 he tells his hearers that God wants “to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways.” In other words, our ability to repent is God’s gracious gift.

Notice also the blessings of forgiveness. In verses 19-21 Peter mentions three benefits of genuine repentance: (1) total forgiveness, (2) spiritual refreshment, and (3) universal restoration.

Regarding the first, he says that through repentance, “your sins may be wiped out” (v. 19). This is a beautiful word picture. Parchment was expensive, so sometimes scribes used acid-free ink as they wrote on it. The ink just lay on top of the parchment, so a person could take a wet sponge and wipe a message away, blotting it out. To put Peter’s point in modern terms, imagine having all your sins listed on a dry-erase board. Now, imagine sitting there pondering the weight of your sin record and the certainty of coming judgment without having any hope of changing your sad reality. But then, when you feel eaten by shame and fear, someone marches in and forever wipes that record of your wrongs off the board. He declares you innocent. Would that not make you soar in worship to the one wiping away your sin? It should! That’s what’s happened! Jesus Christ has wiped out our wrongs. We have no guilt. We are under no condemnation. And as sure as Jesus wipes our sin away the moment we ask him to do so, he will wipe our tears away later (Rev 21:4).

But there’s more. Through repentance you can enjoy spiritual refreshment (v. 20). The language Peter uses here speaks of respite, rest, refreshment, or relief. It’s a word about the messianic age, when the Spirit will be poured out. It’s a reminder that those who turn to Jesus find rest. What good news the gospel offers to people who have been trying to earn forgiveness of sins and to achieve eternal life: simply come to Jesus and find rest and refreshment for your weary soul. His actions on the cross set us free!

Finally, Peter says, if you will repent, then you will enjoy the hope of Christ restoring all things (vv. 20-21). Paul spoke of the day in which our sufferings will give way to glory (Rom 8:18-37). Christ gives us hope to endure the difficulties of this life because he has given us the promise of glory to come. How terrible would it be to have hope only in this life? The gospel, however, offers an unshakable hope that our best days are yet to come.

According to Acts 4:1-4, some people actually received Peter’s message. The number of believers grew to include five thousand men! This is another reminder that God uses ordinary people to declare his extraordinary message. Lives are transformed as Christ is exalted from his Word. As the Spirit worked through Peter the fisherman, he can work through you.

As we minister in word and deed like these apostles, let’s be confident in the name of the One who saved us. Acts 3–4 contains multiple references to “the name” (3:6,16; 4:7,10-12,17,29-30). Jesus issued the Great Commission by saying, “All authority has been given to me. . . . Go . . . and make disciples” (Matt 28:18-20). When you truly believe Jesus is in control of all things, and he is with you, the way you pray, live, serve, and evangelize will change. John Piper puts the authority of King Jesus in perspective:

All authority. He has authority over Satan and all demons, over all angels—good and evil—over the natural universe, natural objects and laws and forces: stars, galaxies, planets, meteorites; authority over all weather systems: winds, rains, lightning, thunder, hurricanes, tornadoes, monsoons, typhoons, cyclones; authority over all their effects: tidal waves, floods, fires; authority over all molecular and atomic reality: atoms, electrons, protons, neutrons, undiscovered subatomic particles, quantum physics, genetic structures, DNA, chromosomes; authority over all plants and animals great and small: whales and redwoods, giant squid and giant oaks, all fish, all wild beasts, all invisible animals and plants: bacteria, viruses, parasites, germs; authority over all the parts and functions of the human body: every beat of the heart, every breath of the diaphragm, every electrical jump across a million synapses in our brains; authority over all nations and governments: congresses and legislatures and presidents and kings and premiers and courts; authority over all armies and weapons and bombs and terrorists; authority over all industry and business and finance and currency; authority over all entertainment and amusement and leisure and media; over all education and research and science and discovery; authority over all crime and violence; over all families and neighborhoods; and over the church, and over every soul and every moment of every life that has been or ever will be lived. (“The Lofty Claim”)

Minister with this massive promise: Jesus Christ has all authority, and he is with you!