Lechem Panim #132 "When God Erases" (Acts 3:17-26) Pastor Cameron Ury

Hello, and welcome to Lechem Panim. I hope all of you had a good Christmas this past week.

The Frozen Lock— I don’t know where you are listening from today, but let me tell you, it has definitely been cold here in the Seattle area. Particularly this past Wednesday, I remember I went outside to warm up my wife’s car before she left for work and found ice all over both our windshields. Knowing that she would not be able to see, I went ahead and got the defroster going. But, not wanting to open the gate while the car was going, I waited until she began pulling out of the driveway before I attempted to unlock the gate. And she was running a little bit late for work and so I was anxious to get the gate open as quickly as possible. However, to my dismay, I found that the lock was frozen. I remember I could not even get the key into the keyhole. I kept pushing and pushing, but it simply would not go in. But after a great deal of effort, I finally managed to get the key in and turn it and get the lock off. After which she was able to leave. But you know, it made me think. I could not open the gate because the lock was frozen. And it was frozen because the world (or at least my world) was touched by a bitterly cold frost.

Narnia Thawing— It is interesting how in C.S. Lewis’ book "The Chronicles of Narnia" the way that Lewis describes the sin-enslaved land of Narnia is in terms of winter. It is bitterly cold in Narnia, under the spell of the White Witch. And (as Lewis says through one of his main characters) "It is always winter, but never Christmas”. And it is not until Aslan (the great lion; representative of the lion of Judah) comes that the world begins to thaw and come back to life. In a similar way, our world was frozen until Jesus came. The warmth of that quiet stable in Bethlehem marked the beginning of the thawing of the world. And it is through Jesus that the lock to the gate of heaven has been made unfrozen and opened; not by a merely human hand, but by a human hand that was at the same time the very hand of God; a person who was (at the same time) both God and man. That is what was needed in order to break the power of sin and death; the Son of God in the person of Jesus Christ. It is through Him that the defroster was set on the world, as through Him we are enabled to be united again with the sin-melting, holy-making, love-creating presence of God.

Their “Ignorant” Crime— And it is this person that Peter and John are seeking to connect the crowd with here in Acts chapter 3. They have just healed a lame beggar; and so Peter is explaining to the crowd how this beggar was healed; by the very name of Jesus, the one they had crucified. And Peter tells them point blank that they committed the greatest crime in human history; they killed the Son of God. Before salvation could be offered, they first had to come to terms with that reality; with an understanding of who Jesus is and what they had done to Him. Now at this point Peter begins to use a softer tone with his audience. He tells them that he understands that they (and the Jewish leaders) killed Jesus out of ignorance. He says…

Acts 3:17 (ESV)— 17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 

Sins of Ignorance— And this ignorance is key. Because [In the Old Testament law, there is a difference between deliberate sins and sins of ignorance (see Lev. 4—5; Num. 15:22–31). The person who sinned presumptuously was a rebel against God and was guilty of great sin. He was to be “cut off” from his people (Num. 15:30–31), which could mean excommunication and even death. The defiant “high-handed” sinner was condemned, but the person who sinned unwittingly and without deliberate intent was given opportunity to repent and seek God’s forgiveness. {Now} Ignorance does not remove the sinner’s guilt, but it does mitigate the circumstances. {Remember} Jesus had prayed {from the cross,} “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34), and God had answered that prayer. Instead of sending judgment, He sent the Holy Spirit to empower His church and to convict lost sinners.] Peter continues…

Acts 3:18-19 (ESV)— 18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. {And so Peter encourages them by telling them how all of this was foretold by God through the prophets and was a part of his divine plan for the salvation of the world. Then he says…} 19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 

Erasers— Now I’m the dad of two amazing kids; I am blessed with both a son and a daughter; both of whom are in school now; and both of whom have a considerable amount of homework. And every time my wife and I sit down with them to help them, there are two things we need personally. The first is patience, which I confess I am not always the best at. And the second is an eraser. We use a lot of erasers at my house. We have big erasers for big mistakes and little erasers for little mistakes. But you know, none of them work perfectly. No matter how hard you scrub, most of the time you can still see where that mistake was and can often times even read what was written there. However, not so with God’s eraser.

Blotted Out— This phrase [“Blotted out” {that Peter uses} compares forgiveness to the complete wiping away of ink from the surface of a document (Col. 2:14).] Once again, this is Old Testament theology. God had said in…

Isaiah 43:25 (ESV)— 25 “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

A Clean Slate— How awesome it is that God when we confess our sins to Him and receive His forgiveness in and through Christ Jesus, we have a clean slate; God remembers our sins no more. And at any moment you are ready to repent, you can have a fresh start with God. Anybody listening need a fresh start with God today? It’s available to you. All we have to do is (as Peter says here) “repent” and “turn”.

A Communal Blessing— And Peter is offering this crowd not only the opportunity of experiencing the overwhelming joy of having the weight of their personal sins removed, but he is also promising them they they will experience a communal blessing if they corporately turn to faith in Christ. Peter says in…

Acts 3:20-22 (ESV)— 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. 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. 

The 2nd Moses— Now Peter is here quoting [from Deut. 18:15. Moses {(if you remember)} was revered by the Jews as their first and greatest prophet, and the Jews viewed the prophet “like him” to refer to the Messiah.] And Jesus really was like Moses in so many ways. [Both were born into a Hebrew world under Gentile domination (Egyptian and Roman). Both had unusual cots at birth (basket and manger). Both were saved from death at the King's order (Pharaoh, Herod). Both were raised in the home of one who was not their father (Pharaoh, Joseph). Both had to put up with criticism and persecution from their own people. Both appointed 70 chosen helpers (Numbers 11:16, Luke 10:1). Both sent out 12 men on special missions (Numbers 13:1-2, Matthew 10:1,5). Both experienced 40 day fasts (Exodus 34:38, Matthew 4:1-2). Both fed multitudes through miraculous means (manna and quails, bread and fish). Both were touched by God so that their faces shone (Exodus 34:29-30, Matthew 17:1-2). Both heard God as an audible voice (Exodus 19:9,19, John 12:23,27-28). Both acted as mediators of a covenant that was sealed by blood (Exodus 24:7-8, Matthew 26:26-28). Both interceded for their people with God (Numbers 11:1-2, Luke 23:33-34). Both delivered their people from bondage (Exodus 3:9-10, Acts 7:25). Both performed miracles (Exodus 3:20, John 5:19-20). Both appeared after death (transfiguration, resurrection)]. And so Peter is saying that this is who Jesus is; the 2nd Moses they had been waiting for. But Peter warns them, saying…

Acts 3:23 (ESV)— 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ 

Losing Blessings— And once again Peter is quoting [from Deut. 18:19 ; cf. Lev. 23:29. Peter’s audience was in the precarious position of losing covenant blessings by rejecting the Messiah.] Peter says…

​Acts 3:24-25 (ESV)— 24 And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. 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.’ 

The Fulfillment of The Covenant— And here Peter is quoting [from Gen. 22:18 ; 26:4. Jesus Christ was the ultimate fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant and its blessings (Gal. 3:16), which are still available to the Jews.] And he concludes once again with the resurrection and what God’s purpose was in sending Jesus into the world. He says…

Acts 3:26 (ESV)— 26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

Repentance & Faith— And that is the ultimate healing that Jesus offers to us. And it is a healing that comes through faith and repentance. Now the two go hand in hand. You can’t have faith without repentance and you can’t have repentance without faith. It is not enough to believe in Jesus; no, we must (like true disciples) choose to follow Him; to leave our old lives behind (our self-destructive, crippled, wicked ways) and embrace lives that (like the beggar’s) are made entirely new. Let us embrace that life today, made possible in and through Jesus Christ. Amen.