Acts 3:13-26, “Ignorance” is No Excuse

We have come to Mark 4, Jesus’ parables concerning the “mystery of the Kingdom.”  I want to begin with several posts having to do with Mk. 4:10-12 where Jesus explains His use of parables. 

In Acts 3:17 Peter notes that the Jewish people, including the rulers, crucified Jesus in “ignorance.”  We need to think about this.  Is Peter saying that God cut Israel some slack because they didn’t know what they were doing?  Jesus said this about His crucifiers as they put the nails in His hands (Lk. 23:34).  Stephen, in the final moments of his martyrdom, prayed that God would not charge them with the sin of stoning him (Ac. 7:60).  Paul also “claimed ignorance” as he testified of his conversion (1 Tim. 1:13).  Does “ignorance” excuse unbelief?

Let me begin by answering that question.  No!  It does not excuse unbelief.  I say this with confidence because Peter, who recognized the ignorance in 3:17, also charged those ignorant people with sin.  They had “delivered up and denied” Jesus when Pilate was determined to release Him (3:13).  Even though Jesus was delivered up by God’s will, the people of Israel were still guilty because, as Peter said earlier, “you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death” (Ac. 2:23).  Paul, while claiming ignorance, made the claim in the context of confessing that “I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man.” 

Paul’s ignorance brought him additional “mercy” (as he says).  The people of Israel were given an additional opportunity to hear the gospel and to believe because of their ignorance, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles.  But it did not excuse their unbelief.  It did not take away their guilt.

While we have answered the question, there is still much to say about this subject that is important, especially in the interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles.  What do we know about this “ignorance?”  Of what were the Jews and the rulers ignorant?  You might try to say that they were ignorant of the fact that Jesus was the Messiah.  But while, in the end, only a few believed in Him as the Messiah, the Holy One of Israel, it seems clear to me that people knew that Jesus was claiming to be the King of Israel.  That’s why the sign over the cross made that charge against Him.  As Jesus performed the various “Rabbinic miracles” the pressure grew for the rulers to need to do something about Him.  (More on this in the next post.)