Acts 3:17-19 -- On Ignorance and Repentance

"And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.
But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;"
Acts 3:17-19


Here Peter is talking about the death of Christ, and that the people they are talking to participated in his death, but through ignorance rather than malice. That's a huge thing to say to someone, and it made me wonder how it would feel to realize what a huge mistake you made... not only being a part of killing someone, but the worst possible person for anyone to kill.

I don't think any of us have a regret quite that extreme, but I think we can all imagine it, because we all have our own regrets, and horrible mistakes that we wish we could take back. We can't, and that's hard... but as Peter urges here, we *can* repent, and repentance can cleanse us from the pain and the regret of even the worst things, because Christ is willing to forgive us. In fact, to be able to grant us that kind of mercy is one of the reasons that he lived among us in the first place.

Today, let's listen to God's word, and repent of our ignorance and our mistakes and our intentional missteps (harder, but still possible), and let's turn towards God and live better than we have.