Acts // Part 13 - Peter Speaks In Solomon's Portico

June 3, 2012 Speaker: Phil Baker Series: Acts

Topic: Book Exposition Passage: Acts 3:11– 4:4

This morning we’ll be examining 3:11-4:4. This particular section contains Peter’s explanation for the miracle in the form of a sermon.

Read Acts 3:11-4:4

11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's.

Commentary

The guy clinging to Peter reminds of the man who clung to Jesus after being exorcised of a legion of demons in Gedara. The guy wanted to climb inside the fishing boat with Jesus and the disciples to return to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus told him to go to his own town and share what happened. Now the healing of the lame beggar attracted an enormous amount of attention. Peter and John lead the "utterly astounded" crowd into the Solomon’s Portico so that they could address them. Once in the portico, everyone else ran over to them.

Solomon’s Portico was a covered colonnade on the eastern side of the Herodian temple area. It was frequently used as a place for rabbis to meet with their Disciples and to engage in public teaching. It was, therefore, the probable site of a number of events recorded in the Gospels. It is named as the specific site of Jesus’ teaching on one occasion (Acts 10:23). The, portico came to be a regular meeting place of the church (Acts 5:12). Look at 12:

Verse

12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?

Commentary

After looking around, Peter turned the attention of the crowd onto himself. The text says he, “addressed the people”.

Peter’s opening statement seems to indicate that the people were already familiar with him and John. This is probably due to the exposure they received at Pentecost. Paraphrased, Peter said, “Why are you so surprised at this man’s healing? Why do you stare at us in wonder? You know that we do not do these things through our own power or religiousness.” Look at 13:

Verse

13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him.

Commentary

Since his message was directed mainly to Israelites, Peter chooses a familiar Jewish description of God. The depiction of God as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers stresses again God’s covenant faithfulness to Israel. This description seems to have been employed on significant occasions.

When Moses received his calling at the burning bush (Exodus 3:6).When Elijah called down Divine fire on the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:36).When David prayed that the Israelites would never allow the future temple to become the house of men (1 Chronicles 29:18). And so on…

By using it, Peter claims continuity with the OT prophets, since he is declaring the same God they preached and the Messiah they promised. Peter proclaims that the God of the covenant, the God of the patriarchs and the prophets, “has glorified his servant Jesus”. Servant is an unusual title for Jesus. It appears only 5 times in the Scriptures. Servant is translated pais (pice) in Greek and it basically means “personal servant or personal representative”.

Verse 13 would sound something like this paraphrased:

“The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his own personal servant and representative Jesus.”

And that is precisely the form that Jesus took on. He came as the Father’s own personal servant and representative to carry out the Father’s plan of salvation through His ministry, through the cross, and through the tomb. He carried it out by:

Fulfilling the law.

Paying the due penalty for our sin with His blood.

Absorbing the wrath of God.

Satisfying the justice of God.

Exchanging His perfect righteousness for our unrighteousness.

Completing His work and conquering death through His burial and resurrection.

That is what the “servant Jesus” did and that is why God “glorified” Him. Peter goes on to point out what his listeners did with the “servant Jesus”. He said,

“whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him.”

Even though the religious leaders pleaded their case and called many witnesses against Jesus, Pilate wasn’t convinced of the Lord’s guilt. At one point he declared, “I find no fault in this man.” He even had Jesus publically flogged in an attempt to appeal to the crowd’s sympathy. He figured that if they saw Jesus bloodied and beaten to a pulp, maybe they’d relent. But they didn’t! Look at 14:

Verse

14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,

Commentary

Swing over to Matthew 27:15-23. Let’s look at how this went down.

Matthew 27:15-23

15 Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. 16 And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. 19 Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.” 20 Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” 22 Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” 23 And he said, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

Peter continues his assault on their consciences. Look at 15:

Verse

15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.

Commentary

MacArthur’s commentary on this section is stellar. Listen to what he wrote.

MacArthur

“Peter has been presenting a series of paradoxes. Although Jesus was a servant, God exalted Him. He was their deliverer, yet the nation delivered Him to Pilate. They rejected the Holy and Righteous One in favor of an unholy, unjust murderer. Now he comes to the greatest paradox of all. They put to death the Author of Life, while asking for the release of one who took life.”

“Author of Life” is a really cool title in the original language. It is arch�"gos in Greek and it means to be the originator or initiator of something. In our text it has a dual meaning. It defines Jesus as the Author of all physical life in creation as well as the Author of all spiritual life through salvation. These two truths about the Lord’s authorship are found in Scriptures like Colossians 1:15-17 and Hebrews 12:1-2.

Peter tells them, even though you killed the Author of Life, “God raised Him from the dead.” This is another reference to the resurrection of Jesus Christ which was, as I’ve said several times before, the main theme of apostolic preaching. And then he says, “We were witnesses of the resurrection.” Look at 16:

Verse

16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

Commentary

After defining who Jesus is as the resurrected personal servant of God and Author of Life and Salvation, Peter then provides them with living proof that his words are true by pointing to the one who had been healed through faith, the artist formerly known as the lame beggar. Verse 16 paraphrased: “This is who Jesus is, now here’s proof, all of you look at this guy for he has been given perfect health through faith in Jesus’ name.” Look at 17:

Verse

17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers.

Commentary

Peter tells them that their actions were guided by ignorance. Jesus pointed this out while dying on the cross when He said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do”.

Peter is in no way releasing his listeners of their responsibility, actions, and sin. These people were guilty just as all people are guilty. And no one will be exonerated on behalf of ignorance. Men are without excuse! Since the days of Adam and Eve, God has sounded the alarm against our sin and rejection of Him. The sacrificial system, the law, and the prophets all cry aloud, "Repent and turn to God." Even creation itself beckons our attention (Romans 1:20). So Peter isn’t letting them off the hook by calling them ignorant. Instead, he is inviting them to understand what they’ve done so that they might not perish. Peter said you acted in ignorance, but you’re still responsible. And then he tells them that God used their ignorance to fulfill His own plans. Look at 18:

Verse

18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.

Commentary

Peter reassures his hearers that their rejection and execution of the Messiah had not thwarted God’s plan. The crucifixion, so unthinkable to them as happening to the true Messiah, did not alter God’s program, nor did it disqualify Jesus as the Messiah. Why? Because God had foretold by the mouths of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, and those prophesies had now been fulfilled.

The OT foresaw Christ’s death in such passages as Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, and Zechariah 12:10. Even the nations rejection of Him had been predicted (Isaiah 53:3). God used their evil intensions to fulfill His own purposes (Acts 2:23; Genesis 50:20). Now as I said before, Ignorance does not exonerate people of their sins before God. No plead of ignorance will be accepted before the throne of God for God has left man without any excuse. Therefore, Peter calls his hearers on the carpet. Look at verses 19-21:

Verse

19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.

Commentary

Peter called for them to repent and to turn from their ignorance so that their sins may be blotted out.

I mentioned this a couple weeks ago but “Repent” is metanoeō in Greek and it is foundational to true saving faith. It means to change your mind and direction. It means to turn from the world and it’s beliefs to God and the truth of Scripture. This is precisely what Peter is asking his audience to do. Look at the phrase “blotted out”. Your translation might say, “wiped away” or something like that. This is probably a reference to Psalm 51.

In Psalm 51 King David lamented over his adulterous sin with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband. In verse 9, He cries out to God:

Psalm 51:9

Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

In verse 20 Peter told them that if they repented, “times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…” Sin does not bring a sense of freshness no matter how much fun it is. It always makes us feel dirty and contaminated. And people engage in more sin to try to cover up the sense of dirtiness. If a person finds a sense of relief in more sin it’s always temporary because when the exhilaration or the buzz wears off, the sense of dirtiness returns. Peter tells his listeners that repentance will usher them into the very presence of Jesus who refreshes the soul.

In order to properly understand the rest of verses 20-21, which seems confusing, we must first understand the words of Jesus in Matthew 23:39. He said:

“For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Jesus said these words during the passion week a couple of days before the crowds rejected Him and turned Him over to Pilate. He knew what the people were going to do. And as an act of discipline and judgment against the nation, He declared that they would not see Him again until after they repented and welcomed Him as their true Messiah (Rom 11:26, Zechariah 12:10-15:9). Peter tells his listeners to repent and to embrace Jesus as their true Messiah so that the Father would send His Son back, for the second time, to establish His earthly throne and Millennial reign.

It’s incredible that the return of the Lord is contingent upon Israel’s right response to Him. Right now there are about 6 million Jews in Israel and 120,000 of them are Messianic or Christian. That means that less than 2% of Israel’s populous is Christian. Sounds like we may have a ways to go doesn’t it? Not necessarily. Many-many Jews will turn to Jesus during the last years of the tribulation period and that period may be closer than we think.

After the seven trumpet blasts, seven bowl judgments, and the great revival, the Lord will return to set up His Kingdom. Let’s move to 22-24:

Verse

22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ 24 And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days.

Commentary

Here Peter quotes Deuteronomy 18:15-22. In this text, God promised to send a prophet/deliverer like Moses, except greater than Moses, to the nation of Israel. Instead of delivering the people out of Egypt like Moses did, the new prophet/deliverer would deliver them from their worst enemies which are sin and death. Peter takes the prophetic words of Moses and applies them to directly to Jesus here. It is Jesus that Moses spoke about.

And then in verse 24 he takes it even further by claiming that every prophet since Samuel testified to the truth of the Messiah. This is really interesting because Samuel never directly prophesied about Jesus. The one that he anointed as king over Israel, King David, did. And Jesus came through David’s royal lineage. This is what Peter must be referring to here. And then what about all the other prophets? I actually tried to count them the other day. I came up with 39! 39 OT prophets from Samuel and up who proclaimed Christ in some way-shape-or-form. Amazing! Look at 25:

Verse

25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’

Commentary

Peter reminds his listeners of their connectedness to the prophets and of the promise that God made on their behalf to their forefathers like Abraham who was told by God that all the families of earth would be blessed through him. The promise made was and still is being fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus came through Abraham’s lineage and the world has been richly blessed by Him. Because of Jesus we have salvation, the church, faith, hope, hospitals, organized education, and countless other blessings. No one has affected and blessed the world like Jesus, no one! And He continues to affect and bless it each and every day whether you believe in Him or not! Look at 26:

Verse

26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

Commentary

The Jews were the first people to have the gospel preached to them by Jesus and the apostles. This was by God’s own design and according to His covenant. The Apostle Paul stated this truth in Romans 1:16. Jesus actually commanded that the apostles begin their gospel preaching in Jerusalem and then go out from there (Luke 24:47). And why did Jesus come to the Jews and why does He come to us? Look at the second half of 26. It says to, “to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

When you boil down Peter’s sermon and cap it off with verse 26, you end up with an amazing offer of hope. Paraphrased it would sound something like this:

The covenant honoring God hasn’t given up on you. Even though you rejected and killed the Author of Life, God raised Him up and has sent Him to you this day so that you might repent of your wickedness and turn to Him in faith. What grace! What happened next? Turn over to chapter 4 and look at verses 1-2:

Verse

And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

Commentary

The religious leaders freaked out. They had done their very best to cover up the resurrection of Jesus with lies and deception. They made up stories of how the disciples stole the Lord’s body. The resurrection wasn’t the only thing that offended these men. They saw the apostles as an band of unlearned raggedy Galilean fishermen who had no business teaching folks about the things of God. In their minds the apostles weren’t sanctioned, approved, or authorized, to preach in Solomon’s Portico. The religious leaders believed that they were the only worthy teachers. When they saw and heard Peter and John proclaiming the resurrection and teaching the crowd they became “greatly annoyed” and they “came upon them”. They also brought with them the captain of the temple guard or the chief of police. Look at 3:

Verse

3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.

Commentary

They threw the apostles in jail. And they had to stay overnight because it was late and afterhours. The courts were closed. This was the first case of persecution against the apostles. And it certainly would not be the last. The religious leaders had hoped that arresting the apostles would stop the spread and the effects of the gospel message. But they were wrong. In spite of the mess and the arrest, God was at work applying Peter’s sermon to the hearts of many of the listeners. Look at 4:

Verse

4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.

Commentary

Luke tells us that many heard and believed. 5000 represents the cumulative number in the Jerusalem church. That means that 2000 more were added to Christ’s church right after this sermon making the grand total of believers 5000. It’s encouraging to know that as Peter and John sat in a dank dirty prison cell, God was transforming hearts and calling men out of their ignorance, darkness, and sin. Verse 4 is proof that the Lord’s words were true when He declared, “I shall build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”

History has proven that persecution causes the church to grow and expand. And that is the case today. The church is virtually exploding in high persecution areas like in parts of Africa, and China, and in many other places around the world. Maybe this is why the church in North America is languishing, lethargic, lean, apathetic, and unscriptural. We live in a virtual “Candy-land” where the gospel of health, wealth, and tolerance is proclaimed. Therefore there really isn’t any persecution.

Our version of Christianity would have been welcomed and widely accepted in Ephesus during the Apostle Paul’s day. Ephesus was a bit of a religious melting pot where many-many belief systems coexisted harmoniously, kind of like the US. But Paul’s version of Christianity inflamed people to wrath, causing riots and mobs, because it exposed their pride, greed, lust, debauchery, adulteries, and idolatry and it challenged them to repent and to trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Paul’s version of Christianity was like an x-ray that exposed the cancer of sin and then it prescribed the proper treatment which was faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The majority of the Ephesians took offense to that diagnosis and treatment and some even turned to violence. But the gospel continued. And a church was planted there.

Closing

How might we be able to ignite a bit of persecution and church growth in our own community?

I believe we can do it by:

Speaking the truth in love plainly.

Speaking the truth in love boldly.

Speaking the truth in love consistently.