Acts 3:17

Acts 3:17 says, And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.  Peter said they and their leaders killed Jesus through ignorance, and until we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we will always be acting in ignorance.  Why did God's people reject Jesus? They rejected Him through ignorance Peter said.  Why do people reject Him today?  They do it through the ignorance of disbelief.  I think this is a willful ignorance.  God has revealed Himself through the very nature of the order of the universe enough for anyone to acknowledge that there must be at least a Creator.  More importantly, God revealed Himself perfectly through Christ.  Since Christ ascended, God has continued to call all people to Him through the work of the Holy Spirit.  Verse eighteen adds, But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.  Peter said that God had fulfilled the prophesy of the prophets when Jesus suffered and died for our sins.  Peter reminded those he was speaking to, God's chosen people, that they should have known Who Jesus was.   His coming was not a surprise.  God had been telling them that Jesus was coming since the world began.  Verse nineteen continues, Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.  Peter called on them to repent and put their faith in Jesus Christ, and this is still the only way to salvation. Verse twenty states, And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:  When we repent and call on Jesus Christ, the Heavenly Father will send Him to us.  Verse twenty-one adds, Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.  Peter said that heaven would retain Jesus until He is sent again to restore all things.  If we have accepted Him as our Savior and Lord, we will be restored to God forever at that time.  Veres twenty-two continues, For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.  Again, the coming of Jesus should not have been a surprise to them, since even Moses had spoken of His coming.  His return should not be a surprise to people when it does happen either, because the Bible gives us plenty of prophecy about His return. Verse twenty-three says, And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Those who go away into everlasting destruction will have no excuse, because the way to salvation has been made clear and available to all.  Verse twenty-four adds, Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.  Peter said that all the prophets from Samuel on had foretold of these days.  Verse twenty-five continues, Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.  Peter told the Jews that they were the children of the prophets and of the people who entered into a covenant relationship with God, so they should know these things.  Of course, salvation does not come to us because of who our parents are but comes through faith in Jesus Christ alone.  Verse twenty-six concludes, Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.  Peter said that God sent His Son to redeem the Jews first, but they were not the only ones.  Peter also told those there that Christ came for the whole world, not just the nation of Israel.  People today still reject Him through their own self-will.  God's chosen people refused to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah because He wasn't what they wanted Him to be.  God's people today need to be careful to not be ignorant of what He wants us to be and do.