Thursday 20 April 2023
- Bible Book:
- Acts
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?' (vs 36-37)
Background
The highlighted verses above are the point of realisation in the passage. The crowd knows they have done something disastrous and are seeking forgiveness and repentance for it. It is also the beginnings of the Early Church from which we are descendants.
For me, the thing that shines out of this passage is how easy it was for the disciples to forgive the crowd for crucifying Jesus. Instead of screaming “YOU KILLED OUR FRIEND, THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO!” the disciples gave them some advice, which is similar to the advice Jesus gave: give your life to God through baptism. I think this truly signifies that Jesus was living in the disciples as the Holy Spirit and, just as Jesus asked when he was crucified (Luke 23:34), the disciples forgave the crowd because the people did not know what they were doing. This is the thing about humanity, we are often so emotional that it blinds our judgement and, even worse, hides the truth when we are being manipulated.
This is also reflected in verse 40, which states “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation”. There has been a morphing of the definition of corruption from biblical times to the present day. In biblical times it was thought, like a water jug, a person was filled with original sin from Adam and Eve that could only be poured away by baptism. However, nowadays we see corruption as singular acts that you do for personal gain through immoral behaviour. This is important because it shows how we have evolved as a species since Jesus saved us. We now believe people are not born corrupt; we become corrupted through influence or pressure from others, and with the right support in place anyone can change their life around and be a force for good.
To Ponder:
- What is forgiveness?
- Is it always good to forgive?
- Is it possible to be entirely sinless?
Prayer
As Jesus taught his disciples, so we pray: Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen.