From: Acts 3:13-15, 17-19
Peter’s Address in the Temple
[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.
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Commentary:
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 as-
tonished 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 wa-
ter: 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,
the 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, ma-
ny 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 Patriarchs,
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 Virgin Mary,
and the Apostles — the foundation, the pillars of the Church — and many 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 Paul VI explained that the word “conversion” can be trans-
lated 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 oul [...]:
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 rea-
son 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 penance
and profound reform” (Paul VI, “General Audience”, 21 March 1973).
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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.