If you’re like me, you might enjoy watching home restorations—the “fix and flip” shows on HGTV where people transform old, neglected houses into beautiful, livable homes. Or perhaps you’ve found yourself scrolling through Facebook or TikTok, captivated by videos of people restoring rusty machines or tarnished pots and pans to their original glory.
But maybe that’s not your thing. Perhaps you see value in old, weathered items just as they are, appreciating the story they tell in their current state. In a similar way, Peter and John found themselves at Solomon’s Colonnade, encountering people, traditions, and systems that were broken and in desperate need of restoration.
These were the very people who had rejected and persecuted Jesus Christ, shouting, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” (Luke 23:21, CSB). They clung to destructive ways and distorted righteousness, unable to grasp the restoration Christ could bring.
In the midst of this, Peter and John pointed to the miracle that had just occurred: the healing of a man who had been lame for over 40 years. This man, who had begged daily at the temple gate, now stood walking, jumping, and praising God (Acts 3:8, CSB). His transformation drew a crowd, astonished at what they had witnessed.
Peter addressed them directly:
“Fellow Israelites, why are you amazed at this? Why do you stare at us, as though we had made him walk by our own power or godliness?” (Acts 3:12, CSB).
Peter emphasized that the healing wasn’t due to human effort but through faith in the name of Jesus:
“By faith in His name, His name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. So the faith that comes through Jesus has given him this perfect health in front of all of you” (Acts 3:16, CSB).
Peter connected this moment to God’s redemptive story:
“The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, has glorified His servant Jesus, whom you handed over and denied before Pilate, though he had decided to release Him” (Acts 3:13, CSB).
Peter’s bold proclamation revealed five significant titles for Jesus:
- The Holy One: Reserved for God alone (Isaiah 43:15).
- The Righteous One: The embodiment of God’s perfect justice (Acts 7:52).
- The Author of Life: The creator and sustainer of all life (John 1:3-4).
- The Servant of God: Foretold in Isaiah 52:13-15 and fulfilled in Christ.
- The Resurrected One: Raised by God to conquer death (Acts 2:24).
These titles highlighted the crowd’s tragic rejection of Jesus. They had chosen Barabbas, a murderer, over the Author of Life. Yet, even in their rebellion, they fulfilled God’s sovereign plan:
“In this way, God fulfilled what He had predicted through all the prophets—that His Messiah would suffer” (Acts 3:18, CSB).
Peter’s response was marked by grace. He addressed them as “brothers and sisters,” acknowledging their ignorance:
“And now, brothers and sisters, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your leaders also did” (Acts 3:17, CSB).
Just as Jesus prayed from the cross, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34, CSB), Peter invited them to repent and turn to God:
“Therefore repent and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out, that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19, CSB).
This call to repentance offered grace and restoration, reflecting God’s promise to cleanse and renew:
“Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7, CSB).
Peter tied the healing to God’s covenantal promises, showing how Jesus fulfilled them as the ultimate prophet, mediator, and redeemer. He reminded the crowd of God’s plan for restoration—a promise that extends to us today.
Through Christ, we experience a foretaste of the ultimate restoration to come:
“Heaven must receive Him until the time of the restoration of all things, which God spoke about through His holy prophets from the beginning” (Acts 3:21, CSB).
This restoration isn’t just for broken bodies but for all of creation. The trials we endure prepare us for an eternal glory far greater than we can imagine:
“For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17, CSB).
As we live in the tension between brokenness and restoration, we are called to point others to the hope found in Christ. Like Peter and John, may we boldly proclaim the name of Jesus, trusting in His power to bring true and lasting restoration.
