The Gospel of the Circumcision

Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

Acts 3:25–26

In Galatians 2:7, the Apostle Paul says that the gospel of the uncircumcision was given to him, as the gospel of the circumcision was given to Peter. That is a Biblical statement and should not be controversial to people that believe the Bible. To understand that sentence, we should take the time and effort (study) to know what these gospels are.

In Acts chapter 3, Peter, full of the Holy Ghost, as God’s spokesman to the nation of Israel after Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension, speaks to his nation forcefully and directly. In verses 12 through 26 of this chapter, we have the most direct message of what constitutes “the gospel of the circumcision”.

“The Circumcision” in the Bible is a way of speaking of the nation of Israel, the people that had a covenant with God, because God made a covenant with Abraham. Genesis chapter 17 is the scriptural record of the covenant of circumcision that God made with Abram. In this covenant, Almighty God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, and made a difference between Abraham’s people, and all of the remaining peoples of the earth. The children of that covenant, Abraham’s seed and their generations after him (Genesis 17:9), are “the Circumcision”. There were blessings, privileges, and responsibilities with regards to that covenant.

There was also a gospel message — a body of good news from God — which was part of that covenant with the children of Israel (the children of the prophets and of the covenant) which covenant God made with Abraham and to his seed after him as children of the promise recorded in Genesis 12:1–4. This message would be rightly named the gospel of the circumcision.

Sometime after the sermon at the Pentecostal festivities in Jerusalem, Peter taking the lead along with John had healed a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb. In other words, by the “name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth” they made a man who had never walked in his life to walk for the very first time. There was no denying this miracle or avoiding the truth of it by claiming it to be some sort of trick. The people in the temple were amazed!

Thus the following is a verse-by-verse study of Acts 3:12–26 to help Bible students understand that gospel.

Acts 3:12 — “And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?”

Now the people that were in the temple were all “men of Israel”, and as such, Peter addressed them. The natural bent of man would be to look at the “healer” and think that the power is in him. But this should not have been the case in Israel because the people in Israel should have realized that their God healed the lame man. As miracles do not happen every day, of course they were amazed because it truly was amazing.

Remember that it was well known that the Lord Jesus had previously healed the lame. This new powerful miracle of healing by Peter would show to the men of Israel that the One that they crucified was indeed alive. So then Peter continued his message, having commanded the full attention of the people in the temple:

Acts 3:13 — “The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified His Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied Him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.”

Peter took the Israelites back to their roots. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was behind this healing, and it was His Son whom they crucified. They could try to shift the blame over to Pontius Pilate but remember that Pilate really wanted nothing to do with the whole matter. Peter is bringing these men of Israel to see their own accountability.

Acts 3:14–15 — “But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.”

Pilate gave the leaders in Jerusalem chance after chance to change their minds about the matter, even giving them a choice between “Jesus which is called Christ” (Matthew 27:17) or Barabbas.

Now Barabbas was in prison for sedition and murder (Luke 23:18–19). Perhaps many of the Jews had sympathy toward Barabbas as one making insurrection against an occupying government that they did not want. But the Apostle John in the Gospel record bearing his name made it perfectly clear what this man was. He was also a robber (John 18:40). The right choice that the people had was Jesus of Nazareth, our Lord Jesus Christ, “who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil” (Acts 10:38).

Finally in desperation, Pilate presented to them their King: “Behold your King” (John 19:14).

But they shouted back, “We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:15) and chose Barabbas instead of Jesus Christ, the long-awaited Messiah.

Accusing Pilate of lack of loyalty to Caesar and to Rome they pledged their loyalty to the same. Then he did their bidding as a weak politician keeping the “peace” by giving in to the demands of the mob. (Democracy anyone?) But Pilate was not innocent in the matter, no matter how many times he washed his hands. But they couldn’t blame him.

Israel by its leaders made the wrong choice, choosing a murderer over the Prince of Life. Notice the contrast, that of life and death. I wonder if these words from Moses convicted them:

Deuteronomy 30:19 — “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live…”

They did not choose life, but chose death, in that they chose a murderer. But God was giving them another opportunity to choose life by the ministry of the Twelve. Peter and John, along with the others of the Twelve Apostles, were the witnesses of the Lord not just with words but with power.

Acts 3:16— “And His name through faith in His name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by Him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.”

Notice that here it was the power in the Lord’s name — at the name of Jesus — the name before which every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father — that Name gave this man the strength in his legs which he could not fake because he had never been able to walk.

The lame man’s own faith did not make him walk. It was of the power of the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ that gave the man strength not only to walk, but to leap!

Isaiah 35:6 — “Then shall the lame man leap as an hart…”

This was a powerful sign of the living presence of Christ’s Kingdom at hand, and of Christ’s resurrection.

Imagine the feeling of being accused of killing an innocent man. Furthermore, imagine the guilt of killing an innocent man who had a place of rightful authority. Then add to this guilt that the rightful authority of that man is from God Himself. And finally, to hear that this man whom you have murdered has come back to life. What then?

This is the place that Peter brings this crowd to as he offers them good news, in spite of all they had done to the Prince of Life.

Acts 3:17 — “And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.”

Remember, our Lord from the cross said, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” — Luke 23:34

How merciful is our God, in showing mercy to those who willfully crucified His Son! Christ Himself cried from the cross pleading the ignorance of those that put Him on the cross and Peter examined their ignorance and now he had something to tell them as they are in this guilty state.

First, he lets them know that none of this took God by surprise:

Acts 3:18 — “But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all His prophets, that Christ should suffer, He hath so fulfilled.”

Next, we see that he is offering a remedy for this guilt:

Acts 3:19 — “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;”

This is not a general repentance from sin as it is so often taught today. This is repentance from the sin of rejecting and crucifying the Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth who is God’s Christ!

Peter, like Moses, set before them life and death. To repent was to choose life. They would be either in their sins, or their sins could be blotted out when these times of refreshing would come. This was the same message that Peter preached in his “Pentecostal Sermon” in Acts chapter 2. In that sermon he said “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). This was the same Name that made this lame man strong, proving once again the power of this Name. These Jews from all over the world and those in Jerusalem celebrating the feast of Pentecost would make a choice. As they had once cried out “His blood be on us and on our children” (Matthew 27:25), they were now to be baptized in His name. They could repent and choose life through His Name!

Thus, they are again called to repent. These people are in the temple and there is a further blessing promised — there sins would be “blotted out” at the times of refreshing. I have heard from many a topical preacher teaching on repentance, how that by repenting times of refreshing will come into your own life; and while it is true that by conforming oneself to God and His Word and way, many of the self-created problems in one’s life may be diminished, this is not what Peter is talking about. Read Acts 3:20–21 to find out what exactly it is that Peter is talking about:

Acts 3:20–21 — “And He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.”

The prophetic Scriptures are filled with God’s message of this time of restoration. As a very important aside here when speaking of “the gospel of the circumcision”, notice that we are talking about things which God spoke by all of His prophets since the world began. We see that in Acts 3:18 and in 3:21. We also see Zacharias in Luke 1:70 speaking, filled with the Holy Ghost, addressing his hearers about what God had spoken by the mouth of His prophets since the world began. However, in Romans 16:25 and 26 we are told about the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began, now made manifest to and through the Apostle Paul (“my gospel”). These two messages, one spoken by all of the prophets since the world began and one kept secret since the world began cannot be the same message, or these words of Scripture have no meaning.

But let’s return to these “times of the restitution of all things spoken by the prophets”. Can these times of restitution be anything other than the days of the Son of Man and the Kingdom of Heaven?

While the Kingdom of Heaven had been before preached as “at hand”, it was now actually being offered. The power and filling of the Holy Ghost were the powers of this age to come, and they were tasting it. Peter now brings them back to Moses and the prophets:

Acts 3:22–24 — “For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.”

The men of Israel were reminded of a promise and a warning. The warning was to listen to the man — that Prophet — whom God had sent, and that prophet is the Lord Jesus Christ: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son” (Hebrews 1:1–2). They were to listen to Him or else! (See Hebrews 2:1–4).

All this was just the beginning of all things spoken of by the prophets, and all these blessings were nigh at hand. God is faithful to His Word, and He was showing Himself faithful and merciful to His covenant people in spite of their unfaithfulness.

Acts 3:25–26 — “Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.”

If they would accept God’s Christ — the Lord Jesus — Who is the anointed of God, the One that is truly the Messiah spoken of by all of the prophets, the kingdom blessings would come. This would have been the times of refreshing and the restitution of all things. This was to be the restoration of the kingdom to Israel as was spoken of in Acts 1:6.

The remainder of the book of Acts tells us that they would not and did not repent, but they continued to reject their King. They first had demanded His crucifixion and then when given another chance they refused to repent of that heinous sin by rejecting the Prince of Life who had resurrected from the dead. The state of the world since that time is not the state of the world in Messiah’s Kingdom. We are not in the Kingdom, and we cannot make it come no matter how hard we try to clean up this world. So then the judgment of blindness came from God upon His people and in grace God turned to the Gentiles. In Abraham’s seed all the kindreds of the earth were to be blessed, and in the days of Christ’s Kingdom that will again be the way of blessing. Today, the uncircumcised come to Christ not through Israel, but apart from Israel and the covenants of promise. Today, we are saved by grace through faith apart from works — Ephesians 2:8–9. This is the gospel of the uncircumcision — the gospel committed to Paul. God will still be faithful to HIs covenant with Abraham and the children of that covenant, but not while they abide in unbelief. As a nation, they are blinded. As individuals, the Israelites can come to Christ in the same way that Gentiles do. They cannot come claiming the covenants, but they also can come believing the Gospel of the Grace of God. They can believe that Christ died for their sins, was buried, and rose again the third day and be saved, even as we are saved. “The same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him.  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:12–13).

Have you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation? He died for your sins and is risen again in power showing how greatly He defeated those sins. God wants you to be saved and has done all to make that possible. Will you avail yourself of this justification by grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus?