But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. (Acts 3:14-15)
We see many undoubted things in these two verses from Peter’s sermon to the people at the temple courts.
In his sermon to the crowd, Peter recognized Jesus as God. He referred to Jesus as the Holy One, exalting him as God. The term Holy One is used more than 40 times in the Old Testament as a high and glorious title for Yahweh, the covenant God of Israel.
With all boldness, Peter told his hearers of their sin. He said to them that they rejected Jesus but asked for a murderer to be granted to you. One of the ironies of the crucifixion of Jesus is that while the crowd rejected Jesus, they embraced a criminal and a murderer named Barabbas (Luke 23:13-25, John 18:39-40). With this truth, Peter reminded his audience about the betrayal they have made with Jesus as the Holy One.
In this sermon at the temple courts (Acts 3:12-26), he used the word you or your at least 11 times. He wanted his message to hit home in a personal way and wasn’t afraid to make his appeal directly to everyone.
What a wonderful truth for us to proclaim – Jesus Christ is the the Holy One--He is the giver of life. This is true because Jesus has life like no one else; no one could take His life from Him – He had to give up His life (John 10:17-18). This is true because Jesus won life for His people on their behalf – He didn’t just win life for Himself, but for His people.
The witnesses prove the fact – Jesus is the Holy One. He the ruler and overseer over your life.
