Acts 3

15. killed the Prince of life--Glorious paradox, but how piercing to the conscience of the auditors.

16. his name, through faith in his name, hath made this man strong, &c.--With what skill does the apostle use the miracle both to glorify his ascended Lord and bring the guilt of His blood more resistlessly home to his audience!

17-21. And now, brethren--Our preacher, like his Master, "will not break the bruised reed." His heaviest charges are prompted by love, which now hastens to assuage the wounds it was necessary to inflict.
I wot--"know."
through ignorance ye did it--(See marginal references, Luke 23:34 , Acts 13:27 , 26:9 ).

18. that Christ--The best manuscripts read, "that His Christ."
should suffer--The doctrine of a SUFFERING MESSIAH was totally at variance with the current views of the Jewish Church, and hard to digest even by the Twelve, up to the day of their Lord's resurrection. Our preacher himself revolted at it, and protested against it, when first nakedly announced, for which he received a terrible rebuke. Here he affirms it to be the fundamental truth of ancient prophecy realized unwittingly by the Jews themselves, yet by a glorious divine ordination. How great a change had the Pentecostal illumination wrought upon his views!

19. when the times of refreshing shall come--rather, "in order that the times of refreshing may come"; that long period of repose, prosperity and joy, which all the prophets hold forth to the distracted Church and this miserable world, as eventually to come, and which is here, as in all the prophets, made to turn upon the national conversion of Israel.

20. he shall send Jesus Christ--The true reading is, "He shall send your predestinated (or foreordained) Messiah, Jesus."

21. until the times--embracing the whole period between the ascension and the second advent of Christ.
restitution of all things--comprehending, probably, the rectification of all the disorders of the fall.

22-26. a prophet . . . like unto me--particularly in intimacy of communication with God ( Numbers 12:6-8 ), and as the mediatorial Head of a new order of things ( Hebrews 3:2-6 ). Peter takes it for granted that, in the light of all he had just said, it would be seen at once that One only had any claim to be that Prophet.
him shall ye hear in all things, &c.--This part of the prediction is emphatically added, in order to shut up the audience to the obedience of faith, on pain of being finally "cut off" from the congregation of the righteous ( Psalms 1:1 ).

24. foretold of these days--of Messiah; all pointing to "the time of reformation" ( Hebrews 9:10 ), though with more or less distinctness.

25. Ye are the children . . . of the covenant--and so the natural heirs of its promises.
in thy seed,

26. God, having raised up--not from the dead, but having provided, prepared, and given.
his Son Jesus--"His Servant Jesus"
sent him to bless you--literally, "sent Him blessing you," as if laden with blessing.
in turning away every one of you from his iniquities--that is, "Hitherto we have all been looking too much for a Messiah who should shed outward blessings upon the nation generally, and through it upon the world. But we have learned other things, and now announce to you that the great blessing with which Messiah has come laden is the turning away of every one of you from his iniquities." With what divine skill does the apostle, founding on resistless facts, here drive home to the conscience of his auditors their guilt in crucifying the Lord of Glory; then soothe their awakened minds by assurances of forgiveness on turning to the Lord, and a glorious future as soon as this shall come to pass, to terminate with the Personal Return of Christ from the heavens whither He has ascended; ending all with warnings, from their own Scriptures, to submit to Him if they would not perish, and calls to receive from Him the blessings of salvation.