And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer.” vss. 17-18
Acts 3:16-19
By the time Luke wrote his gospel and the book of Acts, the community of believers had figured things out. Initially the disciples had been puzzled by the crucifixion of Jesus. Since they had believed him to be the messiah, they didn’t understand why he had to suffer. Nothing in their readings of scripture had indicated that this might happen. But then they took a second look at the prophets and saw in them a multitude of verses that referred to the coming of a Suffering Servant. With that there was a turnaround in their understanding. In fact, Peter says here that everything that had happened–the arrest, torture, and death of Jesus–all these things had been a part of God’s plan. For that reason, Peter decides to give his audience in the temple a break. Yes, they had killed Jesus, but they had acted in ignorance, and everything had worked out as God intended. It’s an interesting perspective, and one that is familiar to many of us. It’s just the way humans think. We know from experience that the awful things that happened to us–the divorces, the rejections, the illnesses–sometimes those things were for the greater good. We would never have known such joy had we not had such tough times. And we praise God for all that has happened!
Thought for the Day: How have the sins of others turned out for my benefit?
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