Peter explains to the Jewish people something they were well versed in from their earliest years. They knew some day the Messiah would come to them, rescuing them from their many afflictions. He would free them from the hands of their oppressors. They understood well God’s covenant with their father Abraham. Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed. They were cognizant that the promised Messiah would come to them, for they are the chosen people of God. Now, Peter tells them that Jesus was and is the anticipated Messiah. He performed miracles of all kinds in their presence, miracles and wonders that no one else from the beginning of time performed so readily and often. But they rejected this Jewish man and allowed the Romans to pierce him to the point of death. They deposited his body in a tomb, believing his dead flesh would rot there. But instead of rotting and decomposing into dust, He was resurrected on the third day. Peter tells his audience that because of their heinous act of murdering the Holy One, Jesus, they need to repent of this wicked deed and of their own personal sins, turning to God in true repentance. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. Peter’s words struck their hearts like a thunderbolt, for they knew what he was saying was true. They had been taught about the prophesies that the Messiah would come to them some day, and now Peter is telling them that they forsook the Messiah and had him crucified. They were the people Jesus heard yelling, CRUCIFY HIM. They were guilty; their generation was guilty of despising the Messiah, for they killed the Lord. Isaiah’s words of prophesy must have been ringing in their ears as they heard Peter. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:5-12). Probably many of these Jewish people had either memorized these words of Isaiah or knew of them well, for they were often read and spoken about in the synagogues. Now they realized their own ignorance had fulfilled these words, cutting them to the heart. Many of them readily accepted Jesus as the Messiah, turning them from their wicked ways.
In these early days many Jews turned to Jesus. They heard the knock of Jesus on the doors of their hearts, and they turned willingly to the idea that Jesus was truly the Lord, the Messiah God had promised them. Thousands of Jews heard this message and received it readily, but the leaders of the religious sects were very jealous of this startling phenomenon of Jews everywhere believing in this man Jesus as their Savior. They immediately tried to crush this nascent church of Christ. The apostles were attacked physically, thrown into jail and whipped. The general public was ignorant when they called for Jesus to be crucified. However, they had been encouraged by the religious leaders to demand Jesus’ death. The elite of the Jewish society were fearful of losing their power and deference with the people, so they needed Jesus’ death. The Lord had called them hypocrites for wanting to murder him, for to murder an innocent man was against the laws of Moses that they supposedly taught so diligently. Because of their opposition to Jesus’ popularity, they fulfilled Isaiah’s prophesy, he was pierced for our transgressions. The religious elite led many to reject this Good News, causing the church to spread throughout the area to avoid persecution and even death. Peter’s words of redemption through faith in Jesus Christ would become dangerous in Jerusalem, the headquarters of Judaism. Even the future apostle Paul led in this campaign to stamp out this perceived apostate belief. Paul had a major role in the persecution of the church. But later after his conversion, we see him lamenting the condition of the Jewish people, for many of them were as he had been in strong opposition to THE WORD of God: Jesus Christ. I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people (the Jews), those of my own race, the people of Israel. (Romans 9:2-4) Paul relates that he willingly would stand in the gap between God’s judgment of the Jewish people, giving up himself for their redemption. He would face eternal judgment for their salvation. As with Moses before him, his love for the Jewish people was so great he would be willing to lose his own place of favoritism with God and face eternal judgement away from the God he loves. Peter in his above address to the Jews tells them to be willing to open the door of their hearts to God’s redemption plan through Jesus Christ the Lord. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. (Revelation 3:19-20) As with the two believers on the road to Emmaus, when Jesus entered their house and broke bread with them, they then knew Jesus was the Messiah, the Deliverer of Israel. Anyone who will open the door to Jesus and break bread with him and drink the wine of deliverance will be saved. The reality of this message is that you do not have to go and seek after Jesus, but He is at the door knocking. Peter proclaims this message loudly, God raised up his servant, HE SENT HIM FIRST to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.
Peter illustrates the fact that Jesus came as a ransom for sin. He was led to the slaughter as a propitiation for the sin of the people. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. God knew what people who have sin in their hearts from conception would do to his beloved sinless Son, who always did the will of the Father. He knew the people would kill him, for they wanted to organize their lives outside of God as Eve did in the Garden. Man wanted to be as God with control over his own life. Jesus was asking men to be different from their own will. He was asking them to love their neighbors, to put others’ best interests above their own, to care for the poor, the widows, the lame, and the aliens. Jesus was rubbing the cat’s fur the wrong way. Soon the cat would jump off his lap. Man jumped off his lap and shouted, Crucify Him! Now Peter is reminding these people that they rejected Jesus and that by doing that, they rejected God’s will in their lives. But he established that redemption is near, a rightness with God is near. The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame. ”For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:8-13) The Good News has touched down to earth in the form of God’s grace and mercy, Jesus Christ himself. He is the Good News, The Way to God. Many in the early days after Pentecost accepted this Good News. The Holy Spirit enlivened the hearts of many, the hearts that were once dead in trespasses and sin came alive when they heard the Good News, but others fixated on the law. They championed works as a way to God, rejecting the gift of God from heaven itself. As all humans who want to be their own god, they chose works over grace, law over mercy. But the day of atonement was only for those who did no work on that day. They accepted the atonement in rest, not works. The Israelites were commanded to deny themselves on the day of atonement, to forego their usual activity in life, a repentance of self-life. The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present a food offering to the Lord. Do not do any work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God. Those who do not deny themselves on that day must be cut off from their people. I will destroy from among their people anyone who does any work on that day. You shall do no work at all. (Leviticus 23:27-31) Jesus is our day of atonement. He freely was given to ransom our souls from perdition. Work is not required, atonement is MADE FOR YOU before the Lord your God. Jesus is presented to God; it is his works before God, not yours. The world wants to put their work before God, but God says, I will destroy from among their people anyone who does any work on that day. Man’s work is not acceptable before a righteous, holy God. Man’s works are never without fault. Jesus is faultless. Peter is exclaiming this message before those who yelled Crucify Him. He is telling them that there is another way to God other than their works. Jesus, the Messiah, has come to them. Breakfast friends, put your trust in him and you will be saved, for the Messiah has come for you and all who will put their trust in his saving grace. Make this your Atonement Day, and accept God’s unfailing grace. Amen forever!
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