Acts 3:19

19. Repent ye therefore Such is the bold inference from the whole, pushed with a home thrust upon them. Great is this Jesus, great your crime against him; but his greatness stole upon you in a humble guise, and the excuse of ignorance renders pardon possible; therefore, repent ye! Identify yourselves with the Messiah you have murdered.

Repent The literal meaning of the Greek word for repentance, μετανοια , is after-thought, implying in its sacred use that change of mind by which we renounce the evil and adopt the good with a perfect purpose and effect. It here specially refers to the renunciation of their one great sin, and is properly followed by Be converted, which refers to their turning about from Judaism to Christianity.

Blotted out Rather wiped out, a metaphor borrowed principally from wiping off oil from any surface; thence, to erase from waxen tablets or written parchments any record.

When ’ Οπως αν , which should most unquestionably be translated in order that. They should repent unto the wiping out of their sins in order that, 1. times, etc., may come, and, 2. (Acts 3:20,) He may send Christ, etc. Both the times of refreshing and the sending of Christ are plainly described as having some dependence on their repentance and conversion. Hence arises the not unscriptural idea that the time of Christ’s second advent is conditional upon human conduct. (Note on Acts 1:7.) But it is the blessed side of that advent rather which is here conditional. Times of refreshing and Christ’s glorious coming to us may depend upon our repentance and faith.

Times of refreshing The literal meaning of the Greek Word αναψυξις , for refreshing, signifies a cooling after intense heat, or a recovery from exhaustion of labour. Hence, spiritually, the repose of the blessed after the labour of life. A similar but not the same Greek word is used by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 1:7, to designate the blessed rest, or repose from persecution, of the righteous at the second coming of Christ. And in Paul’s language, while the blessed side of the coming of Christ is described as rest, the adverse side, namely, to the wicked, is also described as destruction. And it is remarkable that the destruction in Thessalonians, like the refreshing here, comes from the presence of the Lord. Peter here speaks, as was usual in the apostolic Church, with that vivid conception of the second advent as if its immediate shadow was cast upon the present.

Some interpreters apply this word refreshing to times of religious revival like the day of Pentecost. This would make a good meaning; but there is no indication of such a use in Scripture.