Tues. July 29th :: Acts 3 :: The Accusation

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.

(Acts 3.13-15a)

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It’s sometimes startling to see just how seeker-insensitive the first Christian sermons actually were. Here’s how Peter introduces the gospel to the crowd in Jerusalem:

“You killed the author of life.”

It’s an accusation aimed at every person in the crowd that day. Jesus was murdered, by you… It doesn’t get much harsher than that.

But perhaps a gospel message must always involve an accusation. The reality is that my sins (& yours) contribute to the unseemly reality of Christ’s death. As Isaiah 53 states: “He was pierced for our transgressions.” We killed the author of life.

Here is the giant take-away for me today: The gospel is only good news if we can stand to hear the bad news first. My sins are serious. They are more than momentary indiscretions or temporary moments of weakness. They are unknowing accomplices in a homicide. As Peter states: We killed the author of life.

But I’m glad the message doesn’t stop there either. As verse 15 says: We killed Him, but God raised him to life. Christ conquered death and in that our forgiveness is certain. As Romans states: there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.

So here is the question I’m meditating on today:

In what ways do I need to hear both the accusation and the forgiveness of the gospel message?

What sinful corner of my heart or actions needs to be called by name and brought into the light?

And on the other hand, what area of nagging guilt do I need to trust God with?

How about you?