Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah appointed for you, that is, Jesus, who must remain in heaven until the time of universal restoration that God has announced long ago through his holy prophets. (Acts 3:19-21 NRSV emphasis mine.)
Reflections by Keith Funk
The wonder of Scripture is often revealed in the details that can be overlooked. So, it is with reference from the story of Peter’s and John’s encounter with a lame man who laid at the gate of the temple.
The story in the book of Acts follows the events of Pentecost. A man who was lame from birth was placed daily at the gate leading to the temple to beg. Upon seeing the man Peter, fixing his attention on the man, directed him to likewise look at Peter and John. Peter told the man he had neither silver or gold for him. Rather, Peter gave the man what he had with the words, “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk” (Acts 3:6). Peter took the man’s hand, and he stood on his own feet for the first time in his life. What followed was quite a commotion. In response, Peter preached Jesus as the culmination of God’s story beginning with reference to the patriarchs. It was this very Jesus, “the Author of life,” they had both rejected and handed over to Pilate. This was the one they had killed, but God raised him from the dead. And it was this Jesus, through faith in him, in whom the lame man walked, being restored to health.
What a wonderful story! But there is the “something more” here that we dare not miss. We find it in the words which I have featured in bold from Acts 3:19-21 above. Peter calls his listeners to repentance that brings a present refreshment from the Lord and anticipates the coming “universal restoration” in the return of Jesus. The word for “universal restoration” here is apokatastaseos. It has much in common with the palingenesia (again genesis) we considered last week from the story of the rich man from Matthew 19. Here in Acts, the story of the healing and restoration of the lame man points to this coming restoration of all things.
Last week, we saw that God is not in the business of consigning us or his creation to the trash heap. With Jesus’ resurrection, we see the beginning of new creation, the palingenesia, and from this “again genesis” there is the full complete healing and restoration, the apokatastaseos of all things. The event of the healing and restoring of one lame man following the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost points to what we have to look forward to, i.e., the restoration from all that is broken, distorted, and disordered in life throughout all creation.
Oh, there is so much more to be said. But for now, may we live with anticipation of this “something more” that God is doing and will do through Jesus Christ, and by the presence of his Holy Spirit. But this “something more” of God is also a call to “something more” not only for us but from us. It has to do with the way we now live in anticipating the New Creation, the “again genesis” and “universal restoration” that is to come and is taking place as we speak presently. In the meantime, we see so much anguish, pain, and seeming futility in our world today. But as we enter the season of Pentecost, and reflect on the coming of the Holy Spirit, may we take hope! God’s new creation is taking place, and we are being beckoned to both anticipate for it and participate in it.
With more to come, peace be with you.