“An Unassailable Focus on Christ!”
(Acts 3:11-26)
Series: Back to the Basics (Acts 1-9)
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
Henderson’s First Baptist Church, Henderson
- Take your Bibles and join me in the Book of Acts, Chapter 3.
We are preaching through the opening chapters of the Book of Acts, a short series entitled, “Back to the Basics.” We are going back to the early church, the first church, to learn from them. What was important to the New Testament church? Where was their focus?
Our passage this morning follows a famous healing in the Bible, the healing of a lame man, a crippled man—crippled since birth—a man who had been placed at one of the temple gates to ask alms, or beg for money. Peter and John happened upon him and God healed the lame man, despite his congenital defect that crippled him for over 40 years. There’s a crowd of people around the temple and they are amazed at this. They run up to Peter and John as if the two of them are some sort of new side show come to town. And this occasions Peter’s second sermon.
Peter’s first sermon was preached on the Day of Pentecost. You’ll remember that led to 3,000 souls being converted. Now his second sermon beginning at verse 11. We noted last time that one of the characteristics of the first church was that it was a learning church. Recall verse 42: “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine.” So what you have here in the Apostle Peter’s sermon, is an example of “the apostles’ doctrine.” Let’s listen for the apostles’ doctrine, or teaching, as we begin at verse 11.
- Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
11 Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed.
12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.
14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,
15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.
16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
17 “Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers.
18 But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.
19 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,
20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before,
21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.
22 For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you.
23 And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’
24 Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days.
25 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ 26 To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”
- Let’s pray. “Father, as we study Your Son this morning, we ask You work the Holy Spirit within us that we may repent and be converted, that our sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, in Whose name we pray, amen.”
I read recently about a person who was getting snow skiing lessons before getting out on the slopes. And among the helpful teachings and admonitions given by the instructor was this warning. He said, “When you are skiing, do not look at the trees.” He said, “The trees are like magnets. If you look at the trees, your skis will point towards them and you will head right to them and crash into them.” So, “Watch where you point your skis.”
How many times in our Christian life do we talk about losing our focus? Getting our focus on the wrong things? Like pointing our skis at the trees. It’s disastrous.
You “point your skis” at money and you’ll find yourself living for money like it’s your god.
You “point your skis” at your worries and you are totally powerless over them.
You “point your skis” at fame or popularity and you’ll find yourself living to please others.
You “point your skis” at some new guy or girl and you may compromise your faith.
The question, then, is whether our skis are pointing in the right direction. Are they pointing to Jesus Christ? I want to share from this passage how the early church “pointed their skis,” if you like, at Jesus Christ. They had “An Unassailable Focus on Christ.” This passage teaches that. It shows us how Christ is the focus in three main areas. First:
- Christ is the Focus of the Bible
I have often said that the Bible is a “Him Book;” it’s all about Him. It’s all about Jesus. Jesus is the key to the entire Bible. This is especially important as we read the Old Testament. Remember that the Bible Peter is using at this point is the Old Testament. Peter’s sermon is based on the entirety of the Old Testament.
Look again at verse 13:
13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.
Peter goes all the way back to Abraham, the “Father of the Jews.” Peter’s audience is primarily a Jewish audience so Peter is wise to do this. He goes all the way back to Genesis 12, taking them to their Father Abraham. He does this this to show that Jesus Christ was part of God’s plan—the same God as the God of Abraham. The “God of our fathers glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up (or delivered over to die) in the presence of Pilate (who) was determined to let Him go,” a reminder of how the crowd called for the death of Jesus at His crucifixion.
Peter goes on to say that he knows that they called for the death of Christ in ignorance, verses 17 and following:
17 “Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers.
18 But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.
That’s a pretty good sermon outline there. What God has foretold, He has now fulfilled. Christ was foretold through the Old Testament prophets, and what was prophesied about Christ in the Old Testament is fulfilled in the reading of the New Testament.
Peter’s point is that the coming of Christ—including His death on the cross—was all part of God’s plan. Foretold not just by one prophet, but by how many? Verse 18, “But those things which God foretold by the most of all His prophets…”
God’s plan has always been to send Jesus Christ, verse 20:
20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached (or appointed) to you before, (appointed or ordained; this is part of God’s plan, the coming of Christ)
21 whom heaven must receive (that is, Christ is now in heaven in a glorified body; remember He had ascended to the right hand of the Father; for how long?) until the times of restoration of all things (until the future when Christ comes again and we enter into that beautiful glorified final state, a state about which God had also promised through the prophets), which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.
Peter is making the point that all we read about Jesus was part of God’s plan. We’ll know that if we read the Old Testament carefully, realizing that it all points to Christ, like snow skis on a ski slope, pointing directly to Jesus Christ. This truth is proclaimed in all the prophets, all the way back to Abraham and all the way back to Moses. Look at verse 22:
22 For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you.
23 And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’
Peter is quoting from Deuteronomy 18. You can look that up later. Deuteronomy Chapter 18, beginning at verse 15. We won’t turn back there this morning, but if we did, we would read there what Peter is saying here in verse 22 and 23. He is saying that Moses’ promise of the coming of future prophets like himself would find ultimate expression in the Prophet, the capital ‘P’ Prophet, the one everyone was looking for, the Messiah.
Remember when the Jewish leaders went to John the Baptist trying to figure out who he was? They asked, “Who are you? Are you Elijah?” No. “Are you the Prophet?” No. “Well who are you?!” And John says, in essence, “I’m a finger pointing—my skis are pointing!—pointing to the Messiah.”
The people were looking for the Prophet to come, the Messiah. Peter says here in his sermon that the Prophet has come, the Messiah is here, Jesus Christ. And again, a reminder that this prophecy concerting the coming of Christ was foretold in the Old Testament by all the prophets, verse 24:
24 Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days.
25 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’
Peter’s hearers could be blessed to be counted “sons of the prophets” if they believed in Christ. All the prophets taught about the coming of Christ Jesus.
Recall Jesus taught this very thing, that all the prophets pointed to Himself. Remember when Jesus taught that truth to the two from Emmaus in Luke 24? That’s where it says, “And beginning with Moses and in all of the prophets, Jesus began to interpret for them the things concerning Himself.” He took those two on the way to Emmaus on a Bible study through the Old Testament, an expositional walk through the pages of Scripture, showing how Christ is the focus of the Bible.
The key to reading the Old Testament is Jesus Christ. Christ is the focus. Foretold in the Old, fulfilled in the New. In the words of St. Augustine: “The New is in the Old Testament concealed; the Old is in the New Testament revealed.” The point is that Jesus Christ is the key to understanding all the Bible. Christ is the focus.
Alec Motyer (Muh TEER), an Old Testament scholar who passed away just a few years ago, has this great summary statement of the Bible. I mentioned it a couple times when we were in Hebrews. He says, “The Old Testament is Jesus predicted; the Gospels are Jesus revealed; Acts is Jesus preached; the Epistles (or letters), are Jesus explained; and the (Book of) Revelation, Jesus expected.”—from Look to the Rock.
So we’ll read the Bible as the unfolding narrative that it is. We’ll never understand that narrative, that story, by simply dipping in here or dipping in there, reading just a verse one day, another verse randomly the next day. Rather, we’ll be reading regularly, systematically, verse-by-verse through the Scriptures.
We learn from the early church, the first church, that Christ is the focus of the Bible. That leads to the second point as evidenced in our passage, as well as throughout the Book of Acts, number two:
- Christ is the Focus of Preaching
There are several sermons in the Book of Acts and they all show that Christ is the focus of every message. Peter is always preaching Christ. Every sermon points to Jesus. That’s very clear here. Look again at verse 12:
12 So when Peter saw it (this preaching opportunity), he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
Peter is quick to take their focus off himself and place their focus upon Jesus Christ. He’s like, “Why are you looking at us? Don’t look at us. Look at Jesus. Look to Christ.”
13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.
And as Peter preaches Christ, he uses different names for Christ. Did you notice that in verses 13 and following? First in verse 13 Peter refers to Christ as a “Servant,” God’s Servant Jesus. Peter’s audience would have been familiar with the Servant Songs in Isaiah, Isaiah 53 for example, where the Prophet Isaiah prophesies 700 years before Christ, prophesying about His death on the cross. The Servant.
Jesus Himself had said, “I did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28).”
Peter also refers to Jesus Christ in verse 14 as “the Holy One and the Just.” Then in verse 15, “the Prince of life,” or the Originator or Author of life. Jesus Christ is the author of life. He was with the Father at creation. The Bible says in Colossians 1:16, “all things were made through Him,” through Christ.
Peter tells his listeners that they have—verse 15—“killed the prince of life,” see that there? Verse 15:
15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.
He is preaching the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. It’s the resurrection that gets him in trouble now with the priests and the Sadducees. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection. That is why they were “Sad, you see.” So if we had time we’d read further in Chapter 4 and see how the Sadducees arrest Peter and the apostles. They lock them up for an evening in jail—but not before many “who heard the word believed; and the number came to be about five thousand (Luke 4:4).”
Peter’s sermon is not about himself. Nor does Peter draw attention to himself. He himself is not the focus. He had said to the lame man, “Silver and gold I do not have, but such as I have, give I unto thee, in the name of Jesus walk!” No preacher really has anything lasting to offer. He offers Jesus Christ! For Peter it is always about Jesus Christ. His preaching is all about Christ. Christ is the unmistakable focus of every sermon Peter preaches.
Is there a lesson here for today’s church? Of course. With the never-ending popularity of “All-About-Me” sermons or “Seven Steps to Help Yourself” sermons, today’s church is wise to go back to the basics and learn from the early preaching. Christ was the focus of preaching. He must continue to be the focus of our preaching today. Christ is the focus of the Bible; Christ is the focus of preaching. All this because, thirdly:
- Christ is the Focus of our Lives
We have already noted in verse 15 the name “Prince of life,” Originator of life. Christ is the originator of physical life and also the originator of spiritual life.
And life comes through faith in His name. Look again at verse 16:
16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
God grants us faith to believe. Faith is in Christ and comes through Christ. God grants us the ability to believe and then we willingly believe. Both are true. Faith is a gift from God. He grants you the ability to believe—then you believe! Conversion—or life change—comes from both turning away from sin in repentance and turning to Christ in faith. Peter preaches the necessity of both faith and repentance. Verse 19:
19 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,
So faith and repentance are the two things we must do to be converted, to be saved. True faith is a faith that includes repentance. Saving faith implies repentance. Both are necessary.
The old puritan Thomas Watson said “faith and repentance are like the two wings of a bird, whereby we fly into heaven, and you need both”—as cited by Derek Thomas
And if we have both—if we turn away from sin and self in repentance—turning to Jesus Christ by faith, then we can be saved. Verse 26:
26 To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”
Our sins can be entirely blotted out, our iniquities forgiven, by looking to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
My favorite verse in the entire passage is verse 19:
19 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,
Times of refreshing. Repent… “so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” Repentance leads to refreshment.
It’s like that wonderful cool breeze that comes at just the right moment. When we repent, initially placing our faith in Christ—and then regularly as we grow in the Lord—repentance results in a feeling of refreshment, “times of refreshing” coming “from the presence of the Lord.”
God makes Himself known to us. We feel His presence. Repentance leads to refreshment.
Like the lame man at the beginning of this chapter, we are all crippled spiritually. The Bible says in Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We’re all a bit like the lame man. He was unable to walk physically. We are unable to walk spiritually. And like him we have been in this condition since we were in our mother’s womb. We have inherited a sin problem and the only way we can get out of this problem is through the name of Christ—through faith in His name. And when we turn to Christ in repentance we experience refreshment. We walk in victory. We can sing of Christ:
I heard about His healing, of His cleansing power revealing.
How He made the lame to walk again, and caused the blind to see;
And then I cried, “Dear Jesus, come and heal my broken spirit,”
and somehow Jesus came and brought to me the victory.
- Let’s pray. Heads bowed and eyes closed. In a moment we’re going to sing about how our life is found in Christ alone. He is the focus of our life. Before we sing, is there sin you need to confess and repent of? Hear the word of the Lord as preached through the Apostle Peter: “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.” Some of you need to confess your sin to God silently right now and repent. Place your faith in Jesus Christ. I invite you to do that right now. Some of you will want to go into the Response Room after the service, going out this door here to my left, following the sign to the Response Room where one of our helpful volunteers will meet with you and pray with you—give you helpful information about the church, or sign you up for baptism. Others of you this morning may have placed your faith in Christ sometime ago, but you have wandered from Him. This morning: repent, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. Right now you can experience the presence of God in your life by turning to Him in faith. Just pray, ‘God forgive me for my sin as I turn to Jesus Christ. I recognize that Christ alone is the focus of the Bible, the focus of preaching, and the focus of our lives. I turn away from other things that have held my focus—money, stuff, wasted time, wrong relationships, my private sin—I turn my gaze from these things and I look to You and trust in Christ alone.” God, we ask that You would grant us grace to believe, grace to live our lives, with an unassailable focus on Christ, in Whose name we pray, amen.”
Let’s stand and sing our hymn of Response. As we sing, you respond however you need to respond.
RESPONSE: “In Christ Alone.”
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