Day 312: Acts 1-3

(The fifth book of the New Testament was the second book written by St. Luke. The Book of Acts was written about thirty years after Christ's resurrection. The Book of Acts documented the transition from the Dispensation of the Law to the Dispensation of Grace via the Holy Spirit. The main themes of this book were the giving of the Holy Spirit, the growth of the New Testament Church, and the struggle over observing the Law of Moses. Some people consider the Book of Acts to be a non-doctrinal book: a book of the Bible that should not be used to determine Doctrine. The reasons for this are:
1) This book was a historical account that did not have a conclusion
2) This book introduced the Holy Spirit as a main focus.
In the same way these early Christians struggled with the conflict of keeping the Law of Moses, the Christian Church of today is still struggling with the conflict of keeping everything spoken of about the Holy Spirit by this book as well as the rest of the New Testament. We will focus on the Holy Spirit as well as the main personalities' conflicts with each other. The methods used by these earlier leaders of the New Testament Church ought to guide us today.)

Acts 1
¹ The former treatise I made, O Theophilus, concerning all that Jesus began both to do and to teach,

(Luke wrote this book to Theophilus just as he did with his Gospel Account. Theophilus meant "lover of God." There was some dispute whether Luke used this name because he wrote to a specific person named Theophilus or wrote to everyone who was a "lover of God." Regardless, this book clearly came after Luke's Gospel Account.)

² until the day in which he was received up, after that he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
³ To whom he also showed himself alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing unto them by the space of forty days, and speaking the things concerning the kingdom of God:

(Jesus was seen of the Apostles for forty days after His resurrection. In this commentary, we will refer to the twelve as Disciples and Apostles while referring to all other followers of Jesus as disciples and apostles.)

⁴ and, being assembled together with them, he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, said he, ye heard from me:
⁵ For John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days hence.

(Jesus commanded them to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father because they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit very soon, within days. The promise was the coming of the Holy Spirit.)

⁶ They therefore, when they were come together, asked him, saying, Lord, dost thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?

(The Apostles wanted to know if Jesus was speaking of restoring the kingdom of Israel.)

⁷ And he said unto them, It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the Father hath set within His own authority.
⁸ But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

(Jesus responded by saying it was not for them to know the times and seasons in the power of the Father but they would receive power from the Holy Spirit and would be witnesses of Jesus to the whole world.)

⁹ And when he had said these things, as they were looking, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

(Right after Jesus spoke these words He was taken up to heaven.)

¹⁰ And while they were looking stedfastly into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
¹¹ who also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? this Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven.

(Two men in white apparel (angels) told the Apostles that Jesus would return the same way He left, physically from the clouds.)

¹² Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is nigh unto Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey off.
¹³ And when they were come in, they went up into the upper chamber, where they were abiding; both Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James.

(The eleven (Judas Iscariot was dead) were in the upper room where Jesus told them to wait. Notice, Mark and Luke were not Disciples. Bartholomew was also know as Nathanael. James the son of Alphaeus was known as "James the lesser." The KJV stated Judas was "the brother of James," which was James the lesser. Simon the Zealot was also believed to be a brother of James and Judas. In fact, these three were believed to be brothers of Matthew, which would be why these last four names were mentioned in order. Notice, Matthew was a tax collector. Simon the Zealot was so referenced because he was a member of a fanatical Jewish party that openly rebelled against Rome. Not much was known about James the Lesser. As for Judas, he was also referred to as Jude and wrote the penultimate book of the New Testament. The Book of Jude was a one chapter book that was almost not included as canonical because of its reference to the Book of Enoch. Of the twelve Disciples, there were three sets of duplicate names: Simon, James, and Judas. One set were believed to be brothers and not as much was known about them as was recorded about their namesakes, however, it appeared they were passionate men who spoke boldly.)

¹⁴ These all with one accord continued stedfastly in prayer, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

(They all continued with one accord (with one mind; with one passion; in fellowship) in prayer with the women, Jesus' mother Mary, and with Jesus' siblings. At the very least, we would expect the women present at the tomb during Jesus' resurrection would be present at this moment.)

¹⁵ And in these days Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren, and said (and there was a multitude of persons gathered together, about a hundred and twenty),

(The number of disciples was about 120. There were eleven Disciples and each Disciple could have been the leader over ten people.)

¹⁶ Brethren, it was needful that the Scripture should be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spake before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who was guide to them that took Jesus.

(Peter was speaking of Judas Iscariot. The Psalm he referenced (Psalm 109:8) said to "let another take his office.")

¹⁷ For he was numbered among us, and received his portion in this ministry.
¹⁸ (Now this man obtained a field with the reward of his iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
¹⁹ And it became known to all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch that in their language that field was called Akeldama, that is, The field of blood.)
²⁰ For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be made desolate, And let no man dwell therein: and, His office let another take.

(Peter referenced Psalm 69:25 and Psalm 109:8.)

²¹ Of the men therefore that have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and went out among us,
²² beginning from the baptism of John, unto the day that he was received up from us, of these must one become a witness with us of his resurrection.

(Peter said that one of the men that was with them since Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist must be ordained to be a witness of Jesus' resurrection. Verse 22 is often interpreted to mean that the requirement for all apostles was to have seen Jesus after His resurrection, which would mean that there are no more apostles today. This verse did not say that. The Apostles of that time wanted that to be a requirement for the sake of their ministry to the early believers. This does not mean that there have not been apostles since that time. Actually, according to Ephesians 4:11, Jesus would continue to give apostles to His Church.)

²³ And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

(The decision was between two men: Joseph called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. In this verse, "put forward" was also translated as "nominated." There may have been more than these two men who fit the description, however, only two were nominated.)

²⁴ And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show of these two the one whom thou hast chosen,
²⁵ to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas fell away, that he might go to his own place.

(They prayed that God would choose between these two men who should fill Judas' position.

Doctrine: The blame for Judas' fall was put completely on Judas. This verse did not say, "...apostleship from which Judas was predestined to fall away from...")

²⁶ And they gave lots for them; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

(They cast lots and the lot fell on Matthias who was then numbered with the eleven Apostles. Basically, their names were written on parchment, wood, or stone and placed into a container. They would pray and select the name. Some people wonder if Paul was the Apostle who ought to have filled this role or that Paul actually did fill this role regardless of the casting of lots. The last half of verse 26 showed the Holy Spirit considered Matthias to be numbered with the Apostles, while 1 Corinthians 15:5-8 showed Paul did not consider himself as one of the twelve.)




Acts 2

(**Chapter 2 started the 6th (and current) Dispensation: Pentecost. God administrated this dispensation by grace to individuals by the Holy Spirit upon our hearts.** Everything prior to this (excluding the Book of Genesis and including the four Gospels) documented the 5th Dispensation. So, the first book of the Bible covered the first four dispensations. The next forty-two books of the Bible covered the 5th Dispensation. This book was the first of twenty-three books that covered the current 6th Dispensation.)

¹ And when the day of Pentecost was now come, they were all together in one place.

(Pentecost meant the "Fiftieth Day." According to Leviticus 23:15-16, this was the fiftieth day from the day after the first Passover Sabbath. Jesus rose three days after Passover and walked among the disciples for forty days. It looked like the Disciples only had to wait seven days after Jesus ascended for the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.)

² And suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

(The upper room was filled by a sound that was as of the rushing of a mighty wind. The word spirit came from "a movement of air or breath." In the next verse we will see another description of the Holy Spirit. The "tongues parting asunder" or "cloven tongues" were tongue-shaped, flame-like objects. These symbolized the Holy Spirit baptizing with fire. So far, the two descriptions associated with the Holy Spirit were not plain. This account did not say a mighty wind filled the house. It said a sound from heaven filled the room as of the rushing of a mighty wind. This account did not say tongues of fire sat on each one of them. It said tongues parting asunder sat upon each one of them that were like as of fire. However, this was not the first account in the New Testament that described the Holy Spirit's appearance. During Jesus' Baptism, Matthew 3:16 stated the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove. The rest of the Gospels focused much more on Jesus instead of the Holy Spirit.)

³ And there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, like as of fire; and it sat upon each one of them.

(When a member of the Trinity first appeared in the Bible, they were most like their True Nature. Once they interacted with people, they ended up having to adjust to the flaws in people and we see less of their True Nature and more of their adjustments.

God the Father during Creation and His interactions with Adam and Eve, and Cain and Abel were the best accounts of how/why God interacted with people: Genesis 1-3. God the Father asked questions and tried to guide people through questions and if/then's with promise of reward, not statements and not punishment. It was only when people would not respond to this approach that God gave a list of Commandments (Exodus 34:28) with punishments for those who would not do the statements. By the time the New Testament was written, God the Father made very few appearances. The focus became Jesus.

When Jesus began His ministry, He taught directly through principles: Matthew 5. However, this resulted in the religious leaders becoming worse. It was only after people were not able to handle principles taught directly that Jesus taught through parables, through presenting principles indirectly: Matthew 13. We saw Jesus in Acts chapter 1. Jesus also appeared to Saul/Paul in Acts 9 and to John in the Book of Revelation. However, from this point forward in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit was the focus, and these chapters (and this book) were the best accounts of the True Nature of the Holy Spirit.)

⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

(Those in the upper room, who were all believers, were filled with the Holy Spirit. They began to speak with other tongues as the Holy Spirit led them to speak. These people were taking direction from the Holy Spirit to the point they spoke in other tongues.)

⁵ Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.
⁶ And when this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speaking in his own language.
⁷ And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying, Behold, are not all these that speak Galileans?
⁸ And how hear we, every man in our own language wherein we were born?

(This gift confounded the people of that time because it appeared to be something new and never mentioned in the Old Testament. Through the gift of tongues, the Holy Spirit caused the men to speak in a manner that caused (according to verse 6) every man to hear these tongues in their own language. Notice, verse 6 said the men were "confounded." Here was the specific list...)

⁹ Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, in Judaea and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia,
¹⁰ in Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and sojourners from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
¹¹ Cretans and Arabians, we hear them speaking in our tongues the mighty works of God.

(There were people from at least sixteen different regions that were hearing their own languages through the gift of tongues.)

¹² And they were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
¹³ But others mocking said, They are filled with new wine.

(The men who spoke in tongues were mocked and judged to have been drunk even though the miracle was that every (non-tongue speaking) man heard his own language. The KJV used the words "in doubt" for the word that was interpreted as "perplexed" in verse 12. Just as "manna" (which meant "What is it?" from Exodus 16:15) caused believers of that time to be confused because it was something new, this gift of tongues caused some believers to be in doubt (and ask "What meaneth this?") because it was something new and apparently without precedence in the Scriptures.)

(Verses 14-36: the famous sermon by Peter during Pentecost.)

¹⁴ But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spake forth unto them, saying, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and give ear unto my words.
¹⁵ For these are not drunken, as ye suppose; seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
¹⁶ but this is that which hath been spoken through the prophet Joel:

(In verses 17-21, Peter referenced Joel 2:28-32a.)

¹⁷ And it shall be in the last days, saith God, I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh: And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams:

(Doctrine: The Holy Spirit has been poured out on all flesh. Every person, whether they are a believer or not, has the Holy Spirit on them. Believers are people who have chosen to allow the Holy Spirit in them. These people were baptized in the Holy Spirit. They were full of the Holy Spirit, completely immersed. Visions are harder to have than dreams.)

¹⁸ Yea and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days Will I pour forth of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.

(Prophesying is easier than having dreams. Verse 18 was the same as Joel 2:29. Verses 19-21 were the same as Joel 2:30-32a. Notice, these verses will not occur until the end of the Tribulation, the end of the 5th Dispensation (The Law) once it returned as the 70th Week of Daniel (Daniel 9:24-27), after our dispensation is completed. We were grafted in between verses 18 and 19 of this chapter and verses 29 and 30 of Joel 2.)

¹⁹ And I will show wonders in the heaven above, And signs on the earth beneath; Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke:
²⁰ The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the day of the Lord come, That great and notable day.
²¹ And it shall be, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

(Verse 21 was the same as the first part of Joel 2:32. The second half of Joel 2:32 was: "...for in Mount Zion and Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant as the Lord shall call." This portion of Joel 2:32 will occur after the end of the Dispensation of the Law during the 7th Dispensation: The Millennium. So, this was another example of a prophecy that seemed continuous from an Old Testament perspective, but actually had a gap within a sentence of the prophecy where our dispensation occurred. Other examples were: Isaiah 61:1-3, Daniel 8:21-23, and Daniel 11:35-36.)

²² Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God unto you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, even as ye yourselves know;
²³ him, being delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye by the hand of lawless men did crucify and slay:

(Peter boldly stated that the people to whom he was speaking took Jesus and with their wicked hands had Jesus crucified and slain.)

²⁴ whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

(Doctrine: The Gospel consists of three parts: Christ's death, Christ's burial, and Christ's resurrection. This verse stated Christ's resurrection was the portion of the Gospel that loosed the pangs of death and allowed us to have eternal life.)

²⁵ For David saith concerning him, I beheld the Lord always before my face; For he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
²⁶ Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; Moreover my flesh also shall dwell in hope:

(Verses 25-26 Peter referenced Psalm 16:8-9. Again, the Book of Psalms contained prophecy.)

²⁷ Because thou wilt not leave my soul unto Hades, Neither wilt thou give thy Holy One to see corruption.
²⁸ Thou madest known unto me the ways of life; Thou shalt make me full of gladness with thy countenance.
²⁹ Brethren, I may say unto you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us unto this day.
³⁰ Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins he would set one upon his throne;

(Peter referenced 2 Samuel 7:12.)

³¹ he foreseeing this spake of the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he left unto Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.

(Peter referenced Psalm 16:10.)

³² This Jesus did God raise up, whereof we all are witnesses.
³³ Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath poured forth this, which ye see and hear.

(Doctrine: Jesus received the promise of the Holy Spirit from God the Father and Jesus poured forth the Holy Spirit in order to baptize these people on Pentecost.)

³⁴ For David ascended not into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,

(Peter, with verse 34 and 35 together, referenced Psalm 110:1, and very well. Remember, Psalm 110:1a (verse 34) was the verse that Jesus used to show the Pharisees they did not know the Word of God: Matthew 22:41-46 and Mark 12:36.)

³⁵ Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet.

(This was the rest of Psalm 110:1.)

³⁶ Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified.

(Peter ended his sermon declaring Jesus as Lord and Christ, as supreme ruler and Messiah.)

³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do?

(The people who mocked the Disciples heard these words and were pricked (pierced) in their hearts (they felt conviction) so they asked Peter and the Apostles what they should do.)

³⁸ And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

(Doctrine: Peter told them to repent and be baptized in Jesus' name for the remission (release from bondage or imprisonment) of sins and they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.)

³⁹ For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him.

(Doctrine: The Gospel was intended for everyone.)

⁴⁰ And with many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation.
⁴¹ They then that received his word were baptized: and there were added unto them in that day about three thousand souls.

(Those there gladly received Peter's word and were baptized. They were humble and repentant. This day of Pentecost (fifty days after Jesus death) there were about 3000 souls added to the approximated 120 souls. They grew by a factor of twenty-five.)

(Notice, the 6th Dispensation began on Pentecost and stated 3000 souls were saved that day. According to Exodus 32:28, the beginning of the Dispensation of the Law brought death to 3000 people. The Dispensation of the Law began with 3000 deaths while the beginning of the Dispensation of Grace brought eternal life to 3000 people.)

⁴² And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.

(Doctrine: They continued steadfastly in the four causes of how church ought to be:
1) Apostle's Teaching (Doctrine),
2) Fellowship,
3) Breaking of Bread,
4) Prayer.

They steadfastly did these things, "steadfastly" meaning: intentionally and continually. Notice, these four causes were mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical. These four causes were done during the Last Supper by Jesus according to John's Gospel Account. (See comment after John 17:26.) The first New Testament Church service was at the Last Supper.)

(Verses 43-47: the effects the church will have when they do the causes from verse 42.)

⁴³ And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.

(Respect for God and supernatural manifestations were the first effects that were mentioned: Spiritual.)

⁴⁴ And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
⁴⁵ and they sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all, according as any man had need.

(Unity and Love were the second effects that were mentioned: Emotional.)

⁴⁶ And day by day, continuing stedfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart,

(Notice, both a temple and home were mentioned as places for "church." Teaching was done in the church and at home: Mental.)

⁴⁷ praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to them day by day those that were saved.

(Praising God and having favor with all people were the third causes that were mentioned. These were the First Command (Love God) and Second Command (Love people). The fourth and final cause was the number of people who believed increased day by day: Physical. The church does not need to focus on adding to the church. The focus ought to be the four causes of church from verse 42 and an effect will be that "the Lord added to them day by day those that were saved.")




Acts 3
¹ Now Peter and John were going up into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.

(Peter and John went to the temple to pray. We can see that Peter and John were very close. In the Gospel according to John, there were many stories where Peter was mentioned by name and John's name was never mentioned, only that the author was "the disciple whom Jesus loved." (See comment after John 21:7.) At the end of John's Gospel Account, Jesus made Peter the leader of the Disciples, and Peter was concerned about what would happen to the Disciple that Jesus loved: John 21:21. Now we can see that Peter continued to be concerned for John and the two of them were mentioned as working together during this first evangelism event.)

² And a certain man that was lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
³ who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked to receive an alms.

(A lame man asked them for money.)

⁴ And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him, with John, said, Look on us.

(Peter, with John, told the man to "look on us." Peter was helping the man focus. They were also getting the man to state his will, which was an act of faith.)

⁵ And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something from them.

(The man was focused and listened to the point that he knew he would receive something from them, which also showed that he had faith.)

⁶ But Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but what I have, that give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.

(Doctrine: All of the miracles in the Bible were done through people who had little to no money. Peter stated he did not have silver or gold to give the man but he would give the man what he had. This was a statement of his faith. Then, Peter healed the man in the Name of Jesus Christ. This was the first direct New Testament healing done by someone other than Jesus. In the Gospels, we heard about how the Disciples healed people but did not have a direct account. In this healing, Peter first stated his will about what he would do. Then, Peter prefaced his statement "walk" with "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth." Every directly recorded example of Jesus doing a healing did not involve a preface. Jesus only made a statement where the object of the healing was the subject of the statement: "walk." At this point, we know that stating this preface before the command worked for the Disciples. We have yet to see an example where they did not state this preface.)

⁷ And he took him by the right hand, and raised him up: and immediately his feet and his ankle-bones received strength.

(Notice, Peter pulled the man up. Again, this was something different than what Jesus did. Jesus never directly caused the person to express their faith. The lame man's feet and ankle bones were strengthened. This was not an injury or a weakness of muscles. This man had weak bones that were made strong.)

⁸ And leaping up, he stood, and began to walk; and he entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.

(The man was leaping. Clearly this man was completely healed.)

⁹ And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
¹⁰ and they took knowledge of him, that it was he that sat for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.

(The people knew what man this was and were amazed and wondered what happened to him.)

¹¹ And as he held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.
¹² And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this man? or why fasten ye your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him to walk?

(Solomon's porch was a covered open-aired section of the temple that people had to pass through in order to enter the temple. Peter was having "church" just outside the temple. Peter asked why they marveled as if it was by his own power. Peter knew that the power in him to heal was not his power but power from the Holy Spirit living in him.)

¹³ The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Servant Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied before the face of Pilate, when he had determined to release him.
¹⁴ But ye denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted unto you,

(The "murderer" Peter referred to was Barabbas. This was the man the people set free from prison instead of Jesus: Matthew 27:21.)

¹⁵ and killed the Prince of life; whom God raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.

(Again, Peter was bold with his words regarding what the people did to Jesus.)

¹⁶ And by faith in his name hath his name made this man strong, whom ye behold and know: yea, the faith which is through him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

(Peter gave Jesus' Name the credit for healing the lame man. Again, Peter did preface the healing by stating this would be done in Jesus' Name.)

¹⁷ And now, brethren, I know that in ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.

(Peter wanted the people to do the opposite of what their rulers did. Peter was calling them to repentance.)

¹⁸ But the things which God foreshowed by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he thus fulfilled.
¹⁹ Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that so there may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord;

(Peter said to repent so that their sins were "blotted out.")

²⁰ and that he may send the Christ who hath been appointed for you, even Jesus:
²¹ whom the heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, whereof God spake by the mouth of His holy prophets that have been from of old.
²² Moses indeed said, A prophet shall the Lord God raise up unto you from among your brethren, like unto me. To him shall ye hearken in all things whatsoever he shall speak unto you.

(Peter referenced Deuteronomy 18:15.)

²³ And it shall be, that every soul that shall not hearken to that prophet, shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.
²⁴ Yea and all the prophets from Samuel and them that followed after, as many as have spoken, they also told of these days.
²⁵ Ye are the sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
²⁶ Unto you first God, having raised up his Servant, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.

(The "Servant" God raised up was Christ. God sent Christ to bless and to turn people from their iniquities. God had drawn attention to Peter's and John's ministry by doing a healing through them. It gave Peter the opportunity to be heard by a large crowd just outside the temple. Peter gave the credit to Jesus, taught about His death and resurrection, and then called the people to repentance. What do you think happened next? Would thousands be added to their number like at the end of Acts 2?)

(This post covered Christ's ascension into heaven, the baptism of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and Peter's miraculous healing of a lame man at Solomon's porch.)

Day 313