Peter's Second Salvation Sermon
Peter's next recorded salvation message is found in Acts 3. Both Peter and John had visited the Jerusalem temple at the hour of prayer, and there was a man on the temple steps who had been lame since birth. Unable to work, he would sit there and beg for money. Peter told the man he had no money to give him, but he did have something else to give him. Peter spoke to the man, "In the name of Yeshua the Messiah of Nazareth, rise up and walk!" Immediately the man began walking, leaping, and praising Yahweh for his healing! Everyone around them saw this take place, and they were astonished because they had known the lame man for years (the man had been lame for over 40 years, Acts 4:22). We pick up the story in verse 11.
Acts 3:11-12 As the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering. When Peter saw it, he responded to the people, "You men of Israel, why do you marvel at this man? Why do you fasten your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him walk?"
Who is Peter speaking to here? Verse 12 tells us: the men of Israel, and it was probably some of the same men of Israel who had listened to him preach the message recorded in Acts 2. There were only 3,000 Israelites added to belief in Yeshua in Acts 2 (vs. 41), so that means the vast majority of Israelites there on the day of Pentecost had not accepted Yeshua as the resurrected Messiah.
Peter asks the men of Israel why they are so amazed at the miracle, even though it is rather amazing! His point is that he and John (as disciples of Yeshua) did not have the power or holiness in themselves to make this lame man walk. They were operating under the power of Yeshua who had been given such authority from Yahweh (Matthew 28:18).
Acts 3:13-15 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Servant [Son, KJV] [1] Yeshua, whom you delivered up, and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had determined to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, to which we are witnesses.
Pay close attention to what Peter says here. He says that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - the God of our fathers (the "our" stands for Peter, John, and the men of Israel listening) - has glorified his Son Yeshua, whom they had delivered up to death and denied in front of Pilate.
Do you see how Peter separates Yahweh and Yeshua again in his second salvation message? Yahweh is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,[2] and Yahweh glorified his Son Yeshua. Yeshua is Yahweh's Son. Yahweh really does have a Son.
The men of Israel had denied Yeshua, and Peter says they instead asked for a murderer to be granted unto them. Peter is referencing what took place in Matthew 27, where there was a custom at the Passover for Pilate to release one of the prisoners of the Judahites. Pilate was wanting them to pick Yeshua who is called the Messiah for release. Instead they chose the man commonly known as Barabbas; a notorious prisoner, a murderer, as Peter calls him here in verse 14.
Peter goes on to say that they, the men of Israel, had killed the Prince of life, whom Yahweh raised from the dead. The Prince of life is Yeshua (the Son).[3] However, Yahweh vindicated him, by raising him from the dead.
Acts 3:16-19 By faith in his name has his name made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which is through him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. "Now, brothers, I know that you did this in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But the things which God announced by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he thus fulfilled. "Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, so that there may come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord,
Peter tells his brethren (the men of Israel) that he knows they killed Yeshua in ignorance, just as the rulers (chief priests, elders) did. They didn't realize that Yeshua was the Prince of life. They didn't realize that Yeshua was the promised Messiah, the Son of Yahweh. Peter also goes on to mention how this all had to take place because the prophecies of the suffering servant (Isaiah 52-53) had to be fulfilled. God was announcing these things all through the Hebrew scriptures, but the way He announced them was through the mouth of His servants, the prophets.
Peter then tells the men of Israel to repent, just like in Acts 2. The men that Peter tells to repent are the men who are guilty of murdering Yeshua the Messiah. Peter tells them that they must repent of what they did to the Son of Yahweh, so that their sins can be blotted out, and times of refreshing can come from the Lord (Yahweh).
Acts 3:20 and that he may send [the] Christ Yeshua, who was ordained for you before,
The "he" here is the "Lord" at the end of verse 19, Yahweh. Yahweh shall send Yeshua the Messiah, who had been ordained unto the men of Israel.
I have to point out again that nothing has been said about a Trinity in this second salvation message of Peter. There has also been nothing said about Yeshua actually being Yahweh wrapped in a robe of flesh, as the Oneness doctrine teaches. These doctrines aren't found anywhere in these first two salvation sermons preached by the apostle Peter.
Acts 3:21-23 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God spoke long ago by the mouth of his holy prophets. For Moses indeed said to the fathers, 'The Lord God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers, like me. You shall listen to him in all things whatever he says to you. It will be, that every soul that will not listen to that prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people.'
Remember, at the time Peter is preaching this, Yeshua had recently went to heaven to be with Yahweh. Heaven has to receive Yeshua, meaning welcome him there, until the restitution that the God spoke about, through His prophets, takes place. I believe this is another way of saying what Yahweh had already said to Yeshua (Psalm 110:1): "Come sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." When this happens, it will equal the times of the restitution of all things, and the heavens will no longer have to receive Yeshua, because he will be sent back to earth in the same manner in which he left (Acts 1:11).
Peter then quotes Deuteronomy 18:15-19, where Moses spoke of Yahweh raising up a prophet like himself, from among the brethren. Peter is applying Moses' promise of the prophet to the person of Yeshua. Yeshua is the prophet like Moses that Yahweh raised up from among the brothers in Israel. He is the fellow brother Israelite who they must listen to. He is the one they must follow, similar to how the children of Israel in the Old Covenant followed Moses. Yahweh sent Moses, and Yahweh sent Yeshua - a prophet like Moses. If the people of Israel didn't take heed to the words of Yeshua, they would be completely cut off from among the people.
Notice again the emphasis of Peter. There is no teaching of a Trinity, or Oneness, or "God-man." We only see Yahweh raising up His prophet from among the Israelite brothers, and they must listen to this prophet. In this entire sermon, the emphasis has been upon Yeshua being Yahweh's Son and Messiah, the one Yahweh raised from the dead, and the one who the men of Israel must believe in order to be in a right relationship with Yahweh, because Yahweh had sent Yeshua (as He sent Moses in the past).[4]
Acts 3:24-26 Yes, and all the prophets from Samuel and those who followed after, as many as have spoken, they also told of these days. You are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 'In your seed will all the families of the earth be blessed.' God, having raised up his servant, Yeshua, sent him to you first, to bless you, in turning away everyone of you from your wickedness.
Peter says that all the prophets have spoken beforehand about the days they were in (at that time), and he tells the men of Israel that they are children (physical descendants) of the prophets, and of the covenant that Yahweh made with Abraham and their fathers. They are the seed or offspring that all the kinsmen of the earth would be blessed in.
Then Peter says, "to you first," and I believe this points out that the men being preached to by Peter are Judahite men of Israel. The point is made in the New Testament that the good news about Yeshua goes to Judah first, and then to the nations (Acts 13:44-48; 28:17-29; Romans 1:6; 2:9-10).
Peter closes by saying that God (Yahweh), having raised up His servant (or Son) Yeshua, sent him to bless you (the Judahite men of Israel), in turning away every one of you (the Judahite men of Israel) from his wickedness. Yahweh sent His Son Yeshua so that the men of Israel could be forgiven of their transgressions. They would be forgiven, if they repented of murdering Yeshua, and received Yeshua for who he was: Yahweh's Son, the prophet like Moses, and the resurrected Messiah.[5]
Acts 3:11-12 As the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering. When Peter saw it, he responded to the people, "You men of Israel, why do you marvel at this man? Why do you fasten your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him walk?"
Who is Peter speaking to here? Verse 12 tells us: the men of Israel, and it was probably some of the same men of Israel who had listened to him preach the message recorded in Acts 2. There were only 3,000 Israelites added to belief in Yeshua in Acts 2 (vs. 41), so that means the vast majority of Israelites there on the day of Pentecost had not accepted Yeshua as the resurrected Messiah.
Peter asks the men of Israel why they are so amazed at the miracle, even though it is rather amazing! His point is that he and John (as disciples of Yeshua) did not have the power or holiness in themselves to make this lame man walk. They were operating under the power of Yeshua who had been given such authority from Yahweh (Matthew 28:18).
Acts 3:13-15 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Servant [Son, KJV] [1] Yeshua, whom you delivered up, and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had determined to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, to which we are witnesses.
Pay close attention to what Peter says here. He says that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - the God of our fathers (the "our" stands for Peter, John, and the men of Israel listening) - has glorified his Son Yeshua, whom they had delivered up to death and denied in front of Pilate.
Do you see how Peter separates Yahweh and Yeshua again in his second salvation message? Yahweh is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,[2] and Yahweh glorified his Son Yeshua. Yeshua is Yahweh's Son. Yahweh really does have a Son.
The men of Israel had denied Yeshua, and Peter says they instead asked for a murderer to be granted unto them. Peter is referencing what took place in Matthew 27, where there was a custom at the Passover for Pilate to release one of the prisoners of the Judahites. Pilate was wanting them to pick Yeshua who is called the Messiah for release. Instead they chose the man commonly known as Barabbas; a notorious prisoner, a murderer, as Peter calls him here in verse 14.
Peter goes on to say that they, the men of Israel, had killed the Prince of life, whom Yahweh raised from the dead. The Prince of life is Yeshua (the Son).[3] However, Yahweh vindicated him, by raising him from the dead.
Acts 3:16-19 By faith in his name has his name made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which is through him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. "Now, brothers, I know that you did this in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But the things which God announced by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he thus fulfilled. "Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, so that there may come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord,
Peter tells his brethren (the men of Israel) that he knows they killed Yeshua in ignorance, just as the rulers (chief priests, elders) did. They didn't realize that Yeshua was the Prince of life. They didn't realize that Yeshua was the promised Messiah, the Son of Yahweh. Peter also goes on to mention how this all had to take place because the prophecies of the suffering servant (Isaiah 52-53) had to be fulfilled. God was announcing these things all through the Hebrew scriptures, but the way He announced them was through the mouth of His servants, the prophets.
Peter then tells the men of Israel to repent, just like in Acts 2. The men that Peter tells to repent are the men who are guilty of murdering Yeshua the Messiah. Peter tells them that they must repent of what they did to the Son of Yahweh, so that their sins can be blotted out, and times of refreshing can come from the Lord (Yahweh).
Acts 3:20 and that he may send [the] Christ Yeshua, who was ordained for you before,
The "he" here is the "Lord" at the end of verse 19, Yahweh. Yahweh shall send Yeshua the Messiah, who had been ordained unto the men of Israel.
I have to point out again that nothing has been said about a Trinity in this second salvation message of Peter. There has also been nothing said about Yeshua actually being Yahweh wrapped in a robe of flesh, as the Oneness doctrine teaches. These doctrines aren't found anywhere in these first two salvation sermons preached by the apostle Peter.
Acts 3:21-23 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God spoke long ago by the mouth of his holy prophets. For Moses indeed said to the fathers, 'The Lord God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers, like me. You shall listen to him in all things whatever he says to you. It will be, that every soul that will not listen to that prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people.'
Remember, at the time Peter is preaching this, Yeshua had recently went to heaven to be with Yahweh. Heaven has to receive Yeshua, meaning welcome him there, until the restitution that the God spoke about, through His prophets, takes place. I believe this is another way of saying what Yahweh had already said to Yeshua (Psalm 110:1): "Come sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." When this happens, it will equal the times of the restitution of all things, and the heavens will no longer have to receive Yeshua, because he will be sent back to earth in the same manner in which he left (Acts 1:11).
Peter then quotes Deuteronomy 18:15-19, where Moses spoke of Yahweh raising up a prophet like himself, from among the brethren. Peter is applying Moses' promise of the prophet to the person of Yeshua. Yeshua is the prophet like Moses that Yahweh raised up from among the brothers in Israel. He is the fellow brother Israelite who they must listen to. He is the one they must follow, similar to how the children of Israel in the Old Covenant followed Moses. Yahweh sent Moses, and Yahweh sent Yeshua - a prophet like Moses. If the people of Israel didn't take heed to the words of Yeshua, they would be completely cut off from among the people.
Notice again the emphasis of Peter. There is no teaching of a Trinity, or Oneness, or "God-man." We only see Yahweh raising up His prophet from among the Israelite brothers, and they must listen to this prophet. In this entire sermon, the emphasis has been upon Yeshua being Yahweh's Son and Messiah, the one Yahweh raised from the dead, and the one who the men of Israel must believe in order to be in a right relationship with Yahweh, because Yahweh had sent Yeshua (as He sent Moses in the past).[4]
Acts 3:24-26 Yes, and all the prophets from Samuel and those who followed after, as many as have spoken, they also told of these days. You are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 'In your seed will all the families of the earth be blessed.' God, having raised up his servant, Yeshua, sent him to you first, to bless you, in turning away everyone of you from your wickedness.
Peter says that all the prophets have spoken beforehand about the days they were in (at that time), and he tells the men of Israel that they are children (physical descendants) of the prophets, and of the covenant that Yahweh made with Abraham and their fathers. They are the seed or offspring that all the kinsmen of the earth would be blessed in.
Then Peter says, "to you first," and I believe this points out that the men being preached to by Peter are Judahite men of Israel. The point is made in the New Testament that the good news about Yeshua goes to Judah first, and then to the nations (Acts 13:44-48; 28:17-29; Romans 1:6; 2:9-10).
Peter closes by saying that God (Yahweh), having raised up His servant (or Son) Yeshua, sent him to bless you (the Judahite men of Israel), in turning away every one of you (the Judahite men of Israel) from his wickedness. Yahweh sent His Son Yeshua so that the men of Israel could be forgiven of their transgressions. They would be forgiven, if they repented of murdering Yeshua, and received Yeshua for who he was: Yahweh's Son, the prophet like Moses, and the resurrected Messiah.[5]
End Notes
[1] Many Bibles translate Acts 3:13 as saying "hath glorified His servant Yeshua." The Greek word here is pais, and is even translated as "servant" in the KJV (Matthew 8:6, 8, 13; Acts 4:25). Can the Greek word pais be accurately translated into English as "son?" One example is found in John 4:46-51. Here a man pleads with Yeshua to heal his son. In verses 46-47 the common Greek word for son is used, huios. In verse 51 the word pais is used in reference to the man's son, showing that huios and pais are sometimes used interchangeably (see also Luke 9:37-43). It is not wrong to translate pais as "servant" in Acts 3:13 (Yeshua is the suffering servant of Yahweh in Isaiah 42; 52-53), but neither is it wrong to translate pais as "son" in Acts 3:13. It may be that pais was chosen rather than huios because pais can cross the meaning of servant and son. The YLT puts this into English as "did glorify his child Jesus," while the NET in their footnote says, "The term servant has messianic connotations given the context of promise, the note of suffering, and the titles and functions noted in vv. 14-15."
[2] The Old Testament speaks of the "God of Abraham" or "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." (Genesis 26:24; 28:13; 31:42, 53; Exodus 3:6, 15-16; 4:5; 1 Kings 18:36; 1 Chronicles 29:18; 2 Chronicles 30:6; Psalm 47:9) Each time the God of Abraham speaks in these Old Testament texts, it is Yahweh and never Yeshua. Yeshua is the Son or Servant of the God of Abraham, per Acts 3:13. An interesting text in light of this is Luke 20:37 where Yeshua refers to Moses (at the burning bush) calling the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Yeshua is speaking about Moses referencing Yahweh his Father.
[3] Yeshua the Prince is differentiated from Yahweh the King in the parable of the wedding banquet. This parable comes right after the parable of the vineyard that I explained earlier. Matthew 22:1-2 (HCSB) says: "Once more [Yeshua] spoke to them in parables: 'The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a kin who gave a wedding banquet for his son." The king in this parable represents Yahweh, while the son (the prince) represents Yeshua. Also see Daniel 9:25.
[4] One verse shows that the people of Israel (who crossed through the Red Sea on dry land) did not only believe in Yahweh, but they also believed in His servant Moses. Exodus 14:30-31 reads, "Thus Yahweh saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw that great work which Yahweh did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared Yahweh, and believed Yahweh, and his servant Moses." One action, believed, is ascribed to the people's response to both Yahweh and Yahweh's servant, Moses. It might even be argued that the phrase "the people feared Yahweh" could also apply to the last phrase "and Yahweh's servant Moses." The point is that in receiving and following Yahweh, you must follow who He sends as His emissary. To reject the sent one is to reject the sender. None of this means that Moses was Yahweh, or that Yeshua is Yahweh. Both are sent by Yahweh, but both had to be believed in and followed in their own times and respective ways. (You can see the same thing with Yahweh and His prophet Samuel in 1 Samuel 12:16-18.)
[5] You can read Peter's third and fourth (recorded) salvation sermons in Acts 4:8-12 and 5:29-32. Peter preaches his fifth (recorded) salvation sermon in Acts 10:34-48. The emphasis remains the same as in Acts 2-3. None of these sermons contain a single word about a God-man, Trinity, or that Yeshua is somehow Yahweh. Peter did go on to write two epistles to the dispersed Israelites (1 Peter 1:1), in which he referred to Yahweh as "the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua [the] Christ (1 Peter 1:3)." He also speaks of the knowledge of God and of Yeshua, our Lord (2 Peter 1:2). Some attempt to say that Peter calls Yeshua "our God and Savior" in 2 Peter 1:1, but it can be accurately translated and read as separating (1) our God (Yahweh) and (2) our Savior Yeshua (as is the case in the KJV, ASV, CLNT, ONTS, IEB, and Weymouth). The footnote on 2 Peter 1:1 in the NAB reads in part, "The words translated our God and savior Jesus Christ could also be rendered “our God and the savior Jesus Christ.”
[2] The Old Testament speaks of the "God of Abraham" or "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." (Genesis 26:24; 28:13; 31:42, 53; Exodus 3:6, 15-16; 4:5; 1 Kings 18:36; 1 Chronicles 29:18; 2 Chronicles 30:6; Psalm 47:9) Each time the God of Abraham speaks in these Old Testament texts, it is Yahweh and never Yeshua. Yeshua is the Son or Servant of the God of Abraham, per Acts 3:13. An interesting text in light of this is Luke 20:37 where Yeshua refers to Moses (at the burning bush) calling the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Yeshua is speaking about Moses referencing Yahweh his Father.
[3] Yeshua the Prince is differentiated from Yahweh the King in the parable of the wedding banquet. This parable comes right after the parable of the vineyard that I explained earlier. Matthew 22:1-2 (HCSB) says: "Once more [Yeshua] spoke to them in parables: 'The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a kin who gave a wedding banquet for his son." The king in this parable represents Yahweh, while the son (the prince) represents Yeshua. Also see Daniel 9:25.
[4] One verse shows that the people of Israel (who crossed through the Red Sea on dry land) did not only believe in Yahweh, but they also believed in His servant Moses. Exodus 14:30-31 reads, "Thus Yahweh saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw that great work which Yahweh did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared Yahweh, and believed Yahweh, and his servant Moses." One action, believed, is ascribed to the people's response to both Yahweh and Yahweh's servant, Moses. It might even be argued that the phrase "the people feared Yahweh" could also apply to the last phrase "and Yahweh's servant Moses." The point is that in receiving and following Yahweh, you must follow who He sends as His emissary. To reject the sent one is to reject the sender. None of this means that Moses was Yahweh, or that Yeshua is Yahweh. Both are sent by Yahweh, but both had to be believed in and followed in their own times and respective ways. (You can see the same thing with Yahweh and His prophet Samuel in 1 Samuel 12:16-18.)
[5] You can read Peter's third and fourth (recorded) salvation sermons in Acts 4:8-12 and 5:29-32. Peter preaches his fifth (recorded) salvation sermon in Acts 10:34-48. The emphasis remains the same as in Acts 2-3. None of these sermons contain a single word about a God-man, Trinity, or that Yeshua is somehow Yahweh. Peter did go on to write two epistles to the dispersed Israelites (1 Peter 1:1), in which he referred to Yahweh as "the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua [the] Christ (1 Peter 1:3)." He also speaks of the knowledge of God and of Yeshua, our Lord (2 Peter 1:2). Some attempt to say that Peter calls Yeshua "our God and Savior" in 2 Peter 1:1, but it can be accurately translated and read as separating (1) our God (Yahweh) and (2) our Savior Yeshua (as is the case in the KJV, ASV, CLNT, ONTS, IEB, and Weymouth). The footnote on 2 Peter 1:1 in the NAB reads in part, "The words translated our God and savior Jesus Christ could also be rendered “our God and the savior Jesus Christ.”