Acts 3:17–19 (NLT)

“Friends, I realize that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was done in ignorance. But God was fulfilling what all the prophets had foretold about the Messiah—that he must suffer these things. Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.”

To give some context, this is Peter speaking to the people of Israel—the same people who had deemed Jesus’ death to be just. This takes place right after Peter, through the power of God and in the name of Jesus, healed a man who had been lame from birth. All the Israelites who witnessed this, or heard about it, were in utter shock and amazement. I would really, really encourage you to read Acts chapter 3—it can truly change your life.

Let’s look more closely at a portion of Peter’s response above. Peter points out that what they did to Jesus was done in ignorance. He uses the Greek word agnoia, translated as ignorance, to describe a lack of understanding. This lack of understanding led the Israelites into rebellion—the same lack of understanding that can lead us into rebellion today.

But here we see Peter being used by the power of God to reveal understanding. Think about this: the people were in awe. And that awe God revealed was an invitation into something even more amazing than a miracle itself. Moving into verse 18, we see that God fulfilled what He promised by sending the Messiah. And the undeserving gift we now receive because that promise was fulfilled is the gift of repentance—turning away from sin and destruction, and turning toward God, the Creator of you and the universe.

God is inviting you into a relationship through this revealed understanding. You are no longer ignorant. The truth has been made known through the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who died for your sins and rose again. He offers you the invitation to choose life—a life of repentance that leads to joy and peace that transcends all understanding.