Acts 3:19 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,

NIV: Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,

NASB: Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;

CSB: Therefore repent and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out,

NLT: Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.

KJV: Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

NKJV: Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

A crowd has gathered at Solomon's Portico to discover how a lame beggar is suddenly leaping and praising God (Acts 3:8–11). Peter explains that it is not his own power that healed this man, but the power of Jesus, whom the crowd rejected as their Messiah (Acts 3:12–16). He tells them to repent of their sins, including the corporate sin of Jesus' crucifixion.

"Repent" is from the Greek root word metanoeō. It doesn't mean "to apologize;" it means to acknowledge your way is wrong and God's way is right. It's a complete change in your view of the world.

Repentance is a major theme in Jesus' ministry, even now. In order to be saved, we must accept that our sins are wrong and that God provides the way we should live. This isn't just an intellectual exercise; we need to allow the belief to change us, inside and out. That doesn't mean we'll never sin again. It means our goal is to hate sin as much as God does. True repentance is connected to a "godly grief" that we have rebelled against God (2 Corinthians 7:9).

Peter says if they repent, their sins will be "blotted out." At that time, a lot of writing was done on papyrus. Papyrus sheets were made by taking the stalk of a type of aquatic grass, cutting the pith into strips, and pressing the strips together. This material doesn't readily absorb ink; the ink dries on the surface. So a damp cloth can wipe the ink off—those marks can literally be "blotted out."

Acts 3:11–26 transcribes the sermon Peter gives at the temple. While Peter and John enter the temple to pray, Peter heals a lame beggar who has asked for alms. The man is healed and leaps up, praising God (Acts 3:1–10). When this catches the crowd's attention, Peter explains that the healing power did not come from them but from Jesus of Nazareth whom the Jews killed. The results are mixed; the Jesus-followers gain unwanted attention from the Jewish officials (Acts 4:1–3), but five thousand men plus women find faith in Jesus (Acts 4:4).

Acts 3 is comprised of two sections: the healing of a lame man and the explanation of that healing. First, a man who has been lame his whole life approaches Peter and John to beg from them at the temple. When Peter heals him in Jesus' name, a crowd gathers around. Peter gives witness to Jesus (Acts 1:8) and tells the crowd that Jesus' authority and power healed this man. Looking back as modern readers, we see how, as the man's body symbolically ''repented,'' or turned away, from its broken form into freedom of movement, so the people can repent from their broken thoughts, actions, and beliefs, and find freedom from sin.

Acts 3 contains the second major speech of Jesus' followers. In Acts 1, Jesus ascended into heaven. In Acts 2, His followers received the Holy Spirit and gave such witness to Him that three thousand people believed in Him. Here, Peter explains that Jesus' power and authority have healed a lame man, and Jesus can heal sinful hearts, as well. This moment will bring the fledgling church to the attention of the Sanhedrin: the Jewish ruling court. There, Peter and John will set the example for all Jesus-followers. Jesus told them to be His witness (Acts 1:8); nothing a human authority can say will stop them.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.