Acts 5:31, commentary and pictures

God raised Jesus whom the rulers killed and set Him at His own right hand as Ruler and Deliverer to give sinners turning from sin and pardon for sin. Both that turning and that pardon are gifts given only through the exalted Christ, which no person can originate by his own effort or receive apart from Him. Only the broken and contrite heart feels its need of a Saviour, so whom He pardons He first makes penitent, and He pardons none but the penitent. The Spirit of Christ awakens the conscience and convicts of sin, and beholding His love in giving His life and bearing sin's penalty on the cross softens the hardest heart and draws the sinner to turn from breaking God's law. Therefore the sinner must not wait until he has repented or is good enough to come, but must come just as he is to be enabled to repent, receiving forgiveness through faith in Christ as substitute and advocate whose blood cleanses from all sin, for He alone is the way of escape with no other name to trust.

Setting Before Council

An angel freed the apostles from prison and commanded them to teach in the temple, and they kept obeying that divine command at any cost, declaring they must obey God rather than men. The declaration was spoken boldly under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, with no fear or hesitation even when standing a second time before the Sanhedrin bent on destruction. Their words and works represented their Teacher and showed they had learned from him.

In Acts 5 the speech comes after the death of Ananias and Sapphira for lying to the Holy Spirit and keeping back part of the price. It comes also after many signs and wonders by the hands of the apostles, when believers were added to the Lord and the sick and those vexed with unclean spirits were healed.

The accused became the accusers by charging the priests, rulers and council with killing Jesus by hanging him on a tree, while affirming that the God of their fathers raised him. This fastened guilt on them as murderers of Jesus. These fearless words enraged the leaders to plan killing the apostles again until God moved Gamaliel to counsel restraint and warn that opposing the work might be fighting against God. They then beat the apostles and forbade preaching in the name of Jesus, yet the apostles left rejoicing to be counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. They continued daily in the temple and in every house teaching and preaching Jesus Christ and charging his blood on his murderers while performing mighty miracles through his name.

Exalted Titles and Rule

God raised Jesus whom the Jewish leaders and rulers and council killed by crucifying and hanging on a tree, and exalted Him with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour. His exaltation stands in direct contrast to His death at their hands, for the One they slew God lifted up. Exalted at God's right hand, He is appointed Prince and Saviour — Ruler and Deliverer, King and Saviour, Prince of life and Mediator — with authority both to rule and to save. As Saviour He grants turning from sin and pardon for sins, and as Ruler He reigns by that same right hand.

His enthronement in His mediatorial kingdom after His ascension was made known at Pentecost through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. That outpouring enabled His witnesses to reveal the risen Jesus as able to give repentance and forgiveness, so that those misled by false teaching recognized Christ, saw their own sinfulness and His saving work, were convicted, and three thousand accepted Him by faith. His exaltation followed His pouring out His precious blood on the cross as an atonement for sin and His obedience unto death by which He brought in everlasting righteousness. In Him eternal interests can be trusted fully and implicitly, with no other name to trust.

From that exalted position He gives repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. Israel means sinners who need turning from sin and pardon, and He is the source from whom both repentance and forgiveness come.

Gift of Repentance and Forgiveness

Both repentance and forgiveness of sins are gifts from God through the exalted Christ as Prince and Saviour, received only as He gives them, and this includes pardon, justification and brokenness of heart. No person can originate the repentance essential to save the soul any more than he can bring about his own conversion, and no one can repent or be pardoned without Christ, for repentance is not achieved by human effort alone. Repentance comes through the aid and grace of the Spirit of God, who convicts of sin, makes the need for pardon felt, draws sinners to Christ, and makes the heart penitent. The virtue going forth from Christ leads to genuine repentance, and no one can repent without the Spirit of Christ to awaken the conscience.

Repentance comes before forgiveness, for only the broken and contrite heart feels need of a Saviour and only the contrite are forgiven. Whom Christ pardons He first makes penitent, and He pardons none but the penitent. By His Holy Spirit He works upon mind and heart until He makes the soul penitent, and then pardon comes, procured only through His atoning sacrifice. Repentance is born by beholding the love of Christ who gave His life to save the sinner. Seeing Jesus on the cross bearing sin's penalty reveals both God's abhorrence of sin and evil and His love for fallen humanity, and Christ's sacrifice and revelation of God's love and justice draw sinners to turn from breaking God's holy law.

That love and virtue softens the hardest heart, breaks down every barrier, and breaks the hard heart into a broken and contrite heart which God will not despise. It strengthens the heart's purpose to turn away from sin and cleave to truth, making repentance sincere and genuine. Salvation is received through faith in Christ's grace, not earned by obedience or by faith itself. The penitent receives forgiveness through faith in Christ as substitute, surety and advocate, by accepting the propitiation made by the Lamb of God whose shed blood cleanses from all sin.

Salvation in Christ Alone

God has lifted up Christ alone to be Prince and Saviour, and in him lies the single way of escape for the sinner and the single agency by which cleansing from sin comes. Salvation is found in Christ himself, not through Abraham or family descent, and there is no other name in which eternal interests can be trusted fully and implicitly. That cleansing is received by accepting the propitiation made by the Lamb of God, whose shed blood cleanses from all sin, because a complete offering has been made in the giving of the only-begotten Son.

The Christ so exalted is not a son by creation as angels are nor a son by adoption as the forgiven sinner is. He is a Son begotten in the express image of the Father's person, in all the brightness of his majesty and glory, one equal with God in authority, dignity and divine perfection. In him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

His cross, though an instrument of shame and torture, brought hope and salvation to the world. He came to reveal God's justice and love, and God grants mercy, forgiveness and love to the penitent. He is the crucified and risen, sin-atoning Saviour, slain for transgressions, the Man of sorrows acquainted with grief who heals, and the Advocate in the court of heaven. The Father accepts his merits for every soul that becomes part of God's family, and his wounded hands bring the consolation of eternal life.

He died for each person and is to be loved personally with a new love. He satisfies the starving soul as the Bread of Life and quenches thirst as living water brought to parched lips through true interpretation of Scripture. He is reached directly, without forms and ceremonies of popes and priests and without anyone coming between the soul and him, and one such soul saved is worth all effort and cost. His exalted position has opened an open door that no man can shut, making costly mercies freely available. With repentance and forgiveness God will freely give all things to believers, and God will not falsify his word.

He does not save because sinners are perfect but because they need him and trust him in their imperfection, even when faith is feeble and prospects confused. His exaltation followed his pouring out his precious blood on the cross as an atonement for sin and his obedience to death by which he brought in everlasting righteousness. His shining through the life gives reason for joy and makes even failing strength, affliction and dying days fragrant.

Witnesses and Mighty Works

The apostles are witnesses of these things — that Christ was crucified, rose, and ascended — and the power of the risen Saviour accompanied their witness of His work and mission. The Holy Spirit also bears witness to Jesus alongside them, for God gives the Spirit to those who obey Him. Their testimony centers on the Jesus whom the council killed by hanging on a tree, whom God raised and exalted to appoint Prince and Saviour to give Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins.

Jesus is the source of the apostles' miraculous power, and He alone is to receive the honor and praise for their works. Their miracles were done in Jesus' name as the exalted One at God's right hand, for they were only His instruments and refused credit for themselves. Unlike the apostles, Jesus spoke and acted with power of His own.

After Christ's ascension His enthronement in His mediatorial kingdom was made known at Pentecost through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit revealed and glorified Jesus and enabled His witnesses to present the risen Jesus as Prince and Saviour, able to give repentance and forgiveness of sins. Those who had been misled by false teaching recognized Christ, saw their own sinfulness and His saving work, and were convicted, and Peter's sermon led three thousand to repentance and acceptance of Him by faith in one day.

Jesus' character and work are not discerned by natural sight, but the Spirit quickens people to see His beauty and desire Him. Through the Holy Spirit people are brought to recognize Him, turn to Him in faith, and receive repentance and forgiveness of sins. When the Spirit reveals Christ's power and majesty, those who had been deceived reject false representations of Him and acknowledge Him as the Son of God.

This work seen among the early disciples will be repeated with greater abundance in the latter rain. Then Christ is glorified and the earth is lightened with His righteousness.

Call to Respond

The proclamation of the exalted Prince and Saviour was addressed directly to the leaders who had arranged His death, as a warning of their danger and a test of whether they would turn from opposition. The charge that they had killed Him was itself the call for them to repent, and further evidence was given them through the works done by the apostles. Their answer showed they had no repentance.

The sin that cut them off from salvation was not only killing Jesus but persistently rejecting the conviction of the Spirit and the light sent to them. They could have yielded, but they chose to resist the Holy Spirit.

The sinner must not wait until he has repented before coming to Jesus, and must not make repentance an obstacle between himself and the Saviour. He must come just as he is in order to be enabled to repent, without waiting until he has worked himself up to excited feeling or to sorrow deep enough to merit forgiveness. Repentance is born by contemplating the love bestowed on him all unworthy as he is, until the hard heart is broken into a broken and contrite heart. As he responds to the drawing of the Spirit and comes to Christ, trusting His merit and grace, he is led to repent.

Believing in Him means coming to Him, following Him, confessing and forsaking sin, and holding fast to Him as a personal Saviour and chief good, claimed personally in faith. Through Him people return to loyalty to God and draw near to the Father, and living by His words and depending on Him brings rest, peace and security. Humble contrition lays hold by living faith upon His merits, piercing through every cloud and fastening upon Him for peace, refusing to let Satan cast shadow between the sinner and the Saviour. The helpless soul must be cast on Christ to be placed where He can work with His renovating power, in association with those constantly receiving a rich measure of the power of God.