While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.
“Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.’
“Indeed, beginning with Samuel, all the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days. And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’ When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.” (Acts 3:11-26 NIV)
It seems like everyone enjoyed the eclipse, except a certain librarian. I read a librarian’s take on the eclipse this past week. Do you know how she described her day? Awful. Just awful. Why? Because her afternoon was filled with people coming into her library and asking, “What’s going on outside? Why is it getting dark?” Over and over again. That wasn’t the worst part. As those people learned about the eclipse, they started asking her: “Where can we get those fancy glasses? Do you have glasses we can have? Why don’t you have glasses to give us for free?” Doesn’t that sound frustrating? Maybe you could guess what the librarian ended up saying all day long: “Why does this surprise you? For months—years!—people have known this was coming. If you didn’t know there was an eclipse today, you weren’t paying attention! Why does this surprise you?”
Did you notice that Peter said the same thing in the Bible? “Why does this surprise you?” For Peter, it wasn’t an eclipse. One day, Peter and John walked to the temple in Jerusalem. At the gate of the temple was a man begging for money. He had been lame from birth. Peter said to him, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk” (Acts 3:6). What happened? Miraculously, he jumped to his feet and walked. All the people “were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened” (Acts 3:10).
That sounds like people’s reaction to the eclipse, doesn’t it? “Wow!” Why? Well, who can make a paralyzed man walk? Nobody. God has blessed our world with brilliant doctors and scientists and incredible technology. Yet, 2,000 years later, who can make a paralyzed man walk? Nobody. But Peter did. That’s why “all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade.” The lame man was walking! It was an amazing sight.
And Peter said, “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you?” Can you imagine what they were thinking? “What do you mean, ‘Why does this surprise you?’ Don’t you see this? A lame man is walking! Nobody can do this. That man was over forty years old, and he hadn’t walked a single time in his life. Why does this surprise us? Because it has never happened before!”
But, like that librarian during the eclipse, Peter said, “Hold on… Why does this surprise you? If you’re surprised, you haven’t been paying attention. Don’t you know what God just did? Listen to this: The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead.”
It was as if Peter were saying, “You want to talk about big, surprising things? Healing a lame man? That’s nothing. Here’s something big and surprising: You killed the author of life!” Whoa. That’s something to think about. Who is the Author of life? Jesus. “Through him all things were made” (John 1:3), the Bible says. Yet, they killed him. “You killed the author of life.” In fact, “you handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.” “Want to talk about surprising?” Peter said. “You killed the author of life!”
But Peter didn’t stop there. There was something even more amazing: “But God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.” What powerful words! “You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.” Peter could honestly say, “I know Jesus’ resurrection sounds unbelievable. I didn’t believe it at first. But now I do. Because I saw him. I touched the nail marks in his hands. God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.”
That’s why those people shouldn’t have found it surprising for that lame man to be healed. When you know and believe that God raises the dead, there aren’t surprises anymore. Peter declared: “By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.” Peter and John didn’t have power to heal a lame man. Nobody does! Except Jesus. Through their faith in the name of Jesus, God had made his feet and ankles strong. Why does this surprise you? When you trust in Jesus’ death and resurrection, you know that anything is possible. Right?
But there was another reason why nobody should have been surprised that day. Know what it was? God had said it would happen. Peter continued, “This is how God fulfilled what he had foretold though all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer.” If those people at the library during the eclipse would have been paying attention to the news, they would have known about the eclipse. If people in Jesus’ day had been paying attention to God’s Word, they would have known that the Messiah would suffer. That the Messiah would rise from the dead. Why does this surprise you? They were surprised because they hadn’t paid attention to God’s Word!
Can you see the problem? They were ignoring what was right before their eyes! “Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.’” Way back in the days of Moses, God told his people about Jesus. How many years before Jesus did Moses live? 1,500 years. Prophecy after prophecy. But they hadn’t been paying attention. I suppose they were too busy. Does that sound familiar? Did it really matter? Yes! “Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.”
God wants us to pay attention to what he says! So, here was Peter’s message to his surprised countrymen: “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out.” They had ignored the voice of God for centuries. So, when Jesus came, they disowned and killed the Author of life. What did they need to do? “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out.” Wait a minute… Here’s what really is surprising: God used that greatest sin—killing Jesus—to save the world. God sent his Holy and Righteous Son to die so that their sins could be wiped out. So that our sins could be wiped out. Forgiven. What a Savior we have!
There’s even more: “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.” When you trust that your sins have been wiped out, do you know how you feel? Refreshed. It feels so good! Jesus gives you “times of refreshing.” And that forgiveness points ahead to the day when Jesus will come back. On that day, on the Last Day, Jesus is going to make everything right. Even if you’ve disowned Jesus, even if you’ve killed the author of life, there is forgiveness, there is refreshing, there is hope in Jesus. What a message!
So why does this surprise you? I think that’s a great question for us to hear today. We’re often surprised too, aren’t we? We hear of nations attacking other nations, and we’re surprised: “Why is this happening?” We hear of leaders and governments doing very unchristian things, and we’re surprised: “What’s going on? Why don’t they support Christians?” Do you know what Jesus would say? “Why does this surprise you? Don’t you remember what I (Jesus!) said? Nation will rise against nation (Matthew 24:7). You will be hated by everyone because of me (Matthew 10:22). In this world you will have trouble (John 16:33). Why does this surprise you?” If we’re surprised at life, it’s only because we haven’t been paying attention to Jesus. Can you see that?
It’s the same with sin. When we see someone whom we respect sin, we’re surprised, “How could they do that?” Even worse, we see ourselves sin. We see the sinful thoughts and desires we have, and we’re surprised, “How could I be like this?” Do you know what Jesus would say? “Why does this surprise you? Don’t you remember what I said? For out of the heart come evil thoughts —murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (Matthew 15:19).” Where do all those sins live? In my heart. In your heart. If we’re surprised, it’s only because we haven’t been paying attention to Jesus. This is why Jesus calls us to repent and turn to God.
Because when you repent and turn to God, your sins are wiped out. When you trust in Jesus, the blood of Jesus washes all your sins away. If that sounds too good to be true, do you know what Jesus would say? “Why does this surprise you? Don’t you remember what I said? You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved (Matthew 10:22). In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). If we’re missing hope, it’s only because we’re not paying attention to Jesus’ promises.
And the best is yet to come. “Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.” God has one last great promise: Jesus is going to come again on Judgment Day. Did you hear what he’s going to do? He will “restore everything.” Doesn’t that sound good? Jesus will restore our hearts by removing guilt and shame once and for all. Jesus will restore our hopes by showing us our future in heaven. Jesus will restore our bodies by raising our bodies to eternal life. When that day comes, if you and I are standing there astonished, do you know what Jesus will say? “Why does this surprise you? This is just what I—and all the prophets of the past—have promised. It’s all true!”
Do you see the hope Jesus wants you to have? Even if you have spent your whole life as a crippled beggar, God’s not done with you. Don’t be surprised when God suddenly does the unimaginable. Even if you killed the Author of life, God’s not done with you. There is forgiveness for all who repent and trust in Jesus. He wipes our sins out. Even if your life has been lived in ignorance, focusing on everything except what really matters, it’s not too late. It’s not too late to pay attention to the Word of God. It’s not too late to listen to Jesus’ voice.
It was ironic to hear that librarian describe her eclipse day. Of all the places in the world, where could someone have learned about eclipses? At that library! It was right in front of their faces. Do you see how the grace of God is right in front of your face? In the trials, in the blessings, know what Jesus would say to you? “Why does this surprise you? This is just what the prophets said. This is just what I said!” When you trust in Jesus’ death and resurrection, there are no more surprises! We have a Savior. Let’s trust his Word.
(To listen to this sermon on my Upside-Down Savior podcast, please click HERE. To watch this sermon on my Upside-Down Savior YouTube channel, please click on the link below.)
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