Acts 3:20

"“Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, so that there may come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord,"

Key Reflection

In the first century, the Jewish people were familiar with the prophets who spoke about the coming judgment and restoration. Acts 3:20 echoes the words of previous Hebrew prophets like Joel (Joel 2:13), urging the audience to repent and turn from their sins in order to avoid divine punishment and instead experience God's favor. The promise of "times of refreshing" reflects the hope for a new era, similar to the prophesied “Day of the Lord” when God would restore his people and bring about salvation.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Verse 20. And he shall send, etc. Ac 1:11. Under this economy of things, he shall send Jesus Christ, i.e. the Messiah, to teach men; to redeem them; to save them; to judge the world; to gather his people to himself; and to condemn the wicked. Under this economy they were then. This, therefore, was an argument why they should repent and turn to God, that they might escape in the day of judgment. Which before was preached, etc. Who has been proclaimed as the Messiah, The name Jesus Christ is equivalent here to the Messiah. The Messiah had been proclaimed to the Jews as about to come. In his time was to be the period of refreshing.

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