THE KING’ S BUSINESS
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Friday’ October 13 . Acts 3:13-15:
note carefully the titles that Peter gives to Jesus: (1) “ His Servant,” (2) “ The Holy One.” This latter title is used o f Jehovah and Jehovah only in the Old Tes tament, and this shows clearly that Jesus occupies in New Testament thought the position that Jehovah occupies in Old Tes tament thought.' (3) “ The Just,” or bet ter, “ The Righteous One” (as in R. V .). (4) “T h e'P rin ce'of Life” (v. 15). It was not Peter’s “oWn power” (v. 12), but the power o f the name of. this One, once crucified but now risen from the dead, that had “made this man strong” and that had “given him this perfect soundness” which they all could see. There is the same power in that name today: power not only to give soundness to one who has been phys-? ically lame for more than forty years, but even to one who has been morally lame for all that time. The condition upon which the name o f Jesus exercises its Divine power is “ faith in His name,” there is all power in His name but that power is never displayed unless one believes in the name, but it is always displayed when one does really believe. Their treatment o f “the Holy and Righteous One,” “the Prince o f Life,” had been appaling, but what they had done they had done “ in ignorance.” Alas! what many do with Jesus today they do with their eyes wide open, with a full knowledge o f who Jesus is. Through the Old Testament prophets God had centuries before “ foresh ad ow ed .................. , that His Christ should suffer” (see e.g., Isa. 53; Dan. 9:25, 26), and what they had done to Jesus was simply a fulfilment o f these prophecies that God had spoken “by the mouth o f all the prophets.” Sunday, October 15 . Acts 3 : IQ- 31 . Peter now calls upon those guilty o f the appaling sin o f denying “the Holy and Righteous One,” and killing “the Prince o f Life” to “ Repent,” i.e., to change their Saturday, October 14. Acts 3:16-18.
Peter used that name o f God which would show the Jews that it was not some new God that he preached, but the God o f their fathers. The one doctrine that he empha sized was that o f the resurrection o f Jesus. This was the'one doctrine which Peter and the other apostles constantly preached to the Jews (cf. 1:22; 2:24, 32 ; 3: IS, 26; 4:33; 10:40, 41; 13:30, 34; 17:31). The sin that Peter especially pointed out was the sin. o f rejecting and denying the One whom God had so exalted ’(cf. Ch. 2:22, 23, 36; 4:10; 5:30; 7:52'). There are, four counts in Peter’s terrible indictment o f his hearers: (1) Ye delivered up God’s ser vant Jesus. (2) Ye denied the Holy One and the Just. (3) Ye desired a murderer instead o f Him. (4) Ye killed the Prince o f Life. He used four very significant titles for Jesus: (1) God’s Servants (R. V .). The word translated “ servant” could be translated “child” or “son” as in the Author ized Version, but the undoubted reference is to the Servant o f Jehovah so often spoken o f in Old Testament prophecy (Isa. 42:1; 52:13( 53:11) ; see also Matt. 12:18 where the Authorized Version as well as Revised translates the same word used here, “servant.” (2) The Holy One. (3) The Righteous One. (4) The Prince o f Life. And this was the One whom they had delivered up, denied and killed, and this is the One men reject, deny and trample under foot today. But while the Jews had thus misused Jesus, God had glorified Him. He had raised Him from the dead and exalted Him to His own right hand (cf. John 17:5; Matt.- 28:18; John 13:3; Eph. 1:20-23; Phil. 2:9-11). How awful man’s treatment o f JesUs appears when it is looked at over against God’s treatment of H im ! Perhaps it was his recollection o f his own denial o f his Master that led Peter to dwell so Sadly on their denial o f Him. The Same monstrous choice that the Jews made in desiring a murderer instead of “ the Prince o f Life” is repeated by all who reject Jesus and accept Satan. W e should
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