By Not Known
Have you ever made an enormous mistake and then realise it afterwards? As is often said, what matters is not the mistake we make but what we do with them.
In Acts 2: 36-37 we read of people in this situation. They had shared in killing Jesus. At the time, they thought it was an expedient execution of a blasphemer and troublemaker. Now they knew better. They knew that Jesus was God’s Lord and Christ.
What should they do? What should we do when we understand who Jesus is? Peter’s words were clear: they had to do a u-turn (‘repent’) and purt their faith in the Jesus whom they had killed, but whom God had raised to life.
Notice how this was ain individual act of deliberate choice: ‘Repent and be baptised every one of you…’. They had to choose Jesus and choose him individually.
That remains God’s call to all who hear the message about Jesus. We too must choose Jesus for ourselves. The Bible hold out big promises from God for those who believe in Jesus, including forgiveness of sin and the gift of God’s Spirit. However, these promises mean nothing to us until we choose Jesus.
Our passage tells about some people who moved on from their mistake and chose Jesus. They lived for Jesus. They showed the sincerity of their choice by changed priorities with time and money, a changed object of worship and a changed dependency on God. Their choice was real and changed their lives.
What about the other listeners? They are not mentioned in the passage but they also made a choice. Some may have chosen against Jesus as an act of their will. Others may have ‘KIV’ and done nothing. But, to hear about Jesus and do nothing is also a choice. It is a choice against Jesus.
How about us? We will hear the message about Jesus today. But what is our choice?
A final thought: those who chose Jesus soon came to realise something wonderful. While they had chosen Jesus, it was really God who had added them to his people and called them to faith (2:39b & 47). We must choose Jesus, but God choose us first.