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From: Acts 3:11-26

Peter’s Address in the Temple

[11] While he (the man lame from birth) clung to Peter and John, all the people
ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s, astounded. [12] And when
Peter saw it he addressed the people, “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this,
or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made
him walk? [13] The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our
fathers, glorified His servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the
presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. [14] But you denied
the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,
[15] and killed the Author of Life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we
are witnesses. [16] And His name, by faith in His name, has made this man
strong whom you see and know; and the faith which is through Jesus has given
the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

[17] “And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance as did also your ru-
lers. [18] But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ
should suffer, He thus fulfilled. [19] Repent therefore, and turn again, that your
sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence
of the Lord, [20] and that He may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, [21]
whom Heaven must receive until the time for establishing all that God spoke by
the mouth of His holy prophets from of old. [22] Moses said, ‘The Lord God will
raise up for you a prophet from your brethren as He raised me up. You shall lis-
ten to Him in whatever He tells you. [23] And it shall be that every soul that
does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ [24] And all
the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came afterwards,
also proclaimed these days. [25] You are the sons of the prophets and of the
covenant which God gave to your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your pos-
terity shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ [26] God having raised up
His servant, sent Him to you first, to bless you in turning every one of you from
your wickedness.”

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Commentary:

11-26. This second address by St. Peter contains two parts: in the first (verses
12-16) the Apostle explains that the miracle has been worked in the name of
Jesus and through faith in His name; in the second (verses 17-26) he moves his
listeners to repentance—people who were responsible in some degree for Jesus’
death.

This discourse has the same purpose as that of Pentecost—to show the power of
God made manifest in Jesus Christ and to make the Jews see the seriousness
of their crime and have them repent. In both discourses there is reference to the
Second Coming of the Lord and we can clearly see the special importance of tes-
tifying to the Resurrection of Jesus; the Apostolic College is presented as a wit-
ness to that unique event.

13. “Servant”: the original Greek word (”pais”) is the equivalent of the Latin “puer”
(slave, servant) and “filius” (son). By using this word St. Peter must have in mind
Isaiah’s prophecy about the Servant of Yahweh: “Behold, My servant shall pros-
per, He shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. As many were asto-
nished at Him — His appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and
His form beyond that of the sons of men — so shall He startle many nations” (52:
13-15).

Peter identifies Jesus with the Servant of Yahweh, who, because He was a man
of suffering and sorrow, the Jews did not identify with the future Messiah. That
Messiah, Jesus Christ, combines in His person suffering and victory.

14. St. Peter, referring to Jesus, uses terms which Jews can readily understand
in a messianic sense. The expression “the Holy One of God” was already used
of Jesus as referring to the Messiah in Mark 1:24 and Luke 4:34. It is reminiscent
of Old Testament language.

The “Righteous One” also refers to the Messiah, whom the prophets described
as a model and achiever of righteousness (cf. Acts 7:52). “Holy”, “righteous” and
“just” all have similar meaning.

15. When St. Peter reminds his listeners about their choice of a murderer (Barab-
bas) in place of Jesus, the Author of Life, we might usefully consider that he was
referring not only to physical life, but also to spiritual life, the life of grace. Every
time a person sins — sin means the death of the soul — this same choice is being
made again. “It was He who created man in the beginning, and He left him in the
power of his own inclination. If you will, you can keep the commandments, and
to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice. He has placed before you fire and
water: stretch out your hand for whichever you wish. Before a man are life and
death, and which he chooses will be given to him” (Sirach 15:14-18).

16. The original text, structured in a very Jewish way, is difficult to understand.
One reason for this is the use of the word “name” instead of simply identifying
who the person is. In this passage “name” means the same as “Jesus”. Thus
the verse can be interpreted in this way: through faith in Jesus, the man lame
from birth, whom they know and have seen, has been cured; it is Jesus Himself
who has worked this complete and instantaneous cure.

17-18. The Jewish people acted in ignorance, St. Peter says. Indeed, when He
was on the cross Jesus had prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not
what they do” (Luke 23:34). The people did not know that Jesus was the Christ,
the Son of God. They let themselves be influenced by their priests. These, who
were familiar with the Scriptures, should have recognized Him.

God’s pardon is offered to one and all. St. Peter “tells them that Christ’s death
was a consequence of God’s will and decree. [...] You can see how incompre-
hensible and profound God’s design is. It was not just one but all the prophets
who foretold this mystery. Yet although the Jews had been, without knowing it,
he cause of Jesus’ death, that death had been determined by the wisdom and
will of God, who used the malice of the Jews to fulfill His designs. The Apostle
does not say, “Although the prophets foretold this death and you acted out of
ignorance, do not think you are entirely free from blame”; Peter speaks to them
gently: ‘Repent and turn again.’ To what end? ‘That your sins may be blotted out’.
Not only your murder but all the stains on your souls” (Chrysostom, “Hom. on
Acts”, 9).

The Second Vatican Council tells us how Christians should treat Jewish people
and those who follow other non-Christian religions—with respect and also a pru-
dent zeal to attract them to the faith. “Even though the Jewish authorities and
those who followed their lead pressed for the death of Christ (cf. John 19:6), nei-
ther all the Jews indiscriminately at that time, nor Jews today, can be charged
with the crimes committed during His Passion. It is true that the Church is the
new people of God, yet the Jews should not be spoken of as rejected or accur-
sed. [...] Jews for the most part did not accept the Gospel; on the contrary,
many opposed the spreading of it (cf. Romans 11:28-29). Even so, the Apostle
Paul maintains that the Jews remain very dear to God, for the sake of the Patri-
archs, since God does not take back the gifts He bestowed or the choice He
made” (Vatican II, “Nostra Aetate”, 4). We must not forget this special position
of the Jewish people (cf. Romans 9:4-5) and the fact that from them came Jesus
as far as His human lineage was concerned, and His Mother, the Blessed Vir-
gin Mary, and the Apostles — the foundation, the pillars of the Church — and ma-
ny of the first disciples who proclaimed Christ’s Gospel to the world.

Moved by charity, the Church prays to our Lord for the spiritual conversion of the
Jewish people; “Christ, God and man, who is the Lord of David and his children,
we beseech You that in keeping with the prophecies and promises, Israel should
recognize You as Messiah” (”Liturgy of the Hours”, Morning Prayer, 31 Decem-
ber).

19. One result of sorrow for sin is a desire to make up for the damage done. On
the day of Pentecost many Jews were moved by grace to ask the Apostles what
they should do to make atonement. Here also St. Peter encourages them to
change their lives and turn to God. This repentance or conversion which Peter
preaches is the same message as marked the initial proclamation of the King-
dom (cf. Mark 1:15; 13:1-4). “This means a change of outlook, and it applies to
the state of sinful man, who needs to change his ways and turn to God, desirous
of breaking away from his sins and repenting and calling on God’s mercy” Paul
VI, “Homily”, 24 February 1971).

On another occasion [Pope] Paul VI explained that the word “conversion” can
be translated normally as “change of heart”. “We are called to this change and
it will make us see many things. The first has to do with interior analysis of our
soul [...]: we should examine ourselves as to what is the main direction our life
is taking, what attitude is usually to the fore in the way we think and act, what is
our reason of being. [...] Is our rudder fixed so as to bring us exactly to our goal
or does its direction need perhaps to be changed? [...] By examining ourselves
in this way [...] we will discover sins, or at least weaknesses, which call for pe-
nance and profound reform” ([Pope] Paul VI, “General Audience”, 21 March
1973).

20. A reference to the Parousia or Second Coming of Christ as Judge of the li-
ving and the dead (cf. note on 1:11).

22-24. St. Peter wants to show that the Old Testament prophecies are fulfilled
in Jesus: He is descended from David (2:30), a prophet (cf. Deuteronomy 18:15),
who suffered (2:23), who is the cornerstone (4:11) and who rose from the dead
and sits in glory at the right hand of the Father (2:25-34).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.