Have you ever looked back on something you said or did and thought, “I had no idea… what was I thinking?”
We’ve all had those moments where ignorance blinds us, and only later do we see the consequences.
I’ll never forget when my wife Dawn got into poison ivy just a few days before we got married. She didn’t even realize it until the rash hit full force. She didn’t mean to wander into it. She didn’t see it. She didn’t know any better in the moment. But the consequences still came.
That’s the strange thing about ignorance—it doesn’t shield us from results.
But it does shape how mercy meets us.
Acts 3 gives us one of the clearest pictures in Scripture of how God deals with misguided people who didn’t know what they were doing—and how He calls us to respond once we finally see the truth.
A Prayer Jesus Began… and a Work He Continues
Before Peter ever preached in Solomon’s Colonnade, Jesus prayed something shocking on the cross:
“Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”
—Luke 23:34
He prayed mercy over the very people who mocked Him, beat Him, and killed Him. Mercy for the misguided. Mercy for the ignorant. Mercy for those who didn’t understand the weight of their actions.
Fast-forward to Acts 3.
Jesus has ascended.
The Spirit has come.
The believers are preaching.
A crippled man is healed.
A crowd gathers.
And Peter—filled with the Spirit—picks up the same thread Jesus prayed into the world.
A Miracle, a Crowd, and a Mistake We All Make
Peter and John are on their way to the temple when a man begging for money receives something far greater—healing in the name of Jesus. The man leaps, praises, clings to the disciples, and suddenly a crowd forms in Solomon’s Colonnade.
But the people assume something we often assume:
“They must have healed him.”
Peter immediately corrects them:
“Why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness?”
—Acts 3:12
In their day, miracles were often thought to come from the spiritual perfection of a person. You lived right, God rewarded you. But Peter dismantles that idea completely.
The power didn’t come from them.
The miracle wasn’t proof of their goodness.
The healing wasn’t a badge of honor.
It was all Jesus.
“Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.”
—Acts 3:16
But before the crowd can celebrate the miracle, Peter does something surprising: he reminds them of their past.
Ignorance Doesn’t Erase Responsibility
Peter says:
“Friends, I realize that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was done in ignorance.”
—Acts 3:17
That’s a heavy sentence filled with mercy.
He softens the blow—they genuinely didn’t know.
But he doesn’t remove accountability:
- They handed Jesus over.
- They rejected Him.
- They chose a murderer instead.
- They killed the Author of Life.
Ignorance explains.
It does not excuse.
In our modern world, many people want the excuse without the accountability. Yet Scripture shows us:
God doesn’t weaponize our ignorance—He works through it.
But He still calls us to repent from it.
Peter goes on:
“But God was fulfilling what all the prophets had foretold…”
—Acts 3:18
Their blindness did not derail God’s plan.
Their misguided choices did not stop redemption.
Their sin—even committed unknowingly—was still sin…
but sin that God willingly forgave.
This is the collision point of the gospel:
human guilt meets divine grace.
What God Asks of Misguided People: Repent and Turn
Peter ends his message not with condemnation but invitation:
“Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.”
—Acts 3:19
Repentance is more than sorrow—it is a turning.
- Turning from ignorance to understanding.
- Turning from our way to God’s way.
- Turning from our sin to His mercy.
And when we turn?
Peter says times of refreshment come.
Not shame.
Not punishment.
Not spiritual exhaustion.
Refreshment.
The kind of deep soul-rest Jesus describes:
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
—Matthew 11:28
Is repentance easy? No.
Is following Jesus always comfortable? Also no.
But is it worth it? Absolutely.
The most refreshing rest is the kind that comes after the hardest work—like taking your socks off before bed after a long day. That moment where your body sighs and your soul settles.
Repentance leads to that kind of rest.
The Privilege and Purpose of Mercy
Peter closes by reminding the crowd of something important:
“You are included in the covenant… God sent His servant Jesus to bless you by turning you from your sinful ways.”
—Acts 3:25–26
Mercy isn’t just forgiveness.
It’s an invitation.
A privilege.
A calling.
God doesn’t forgive us to leave us as we are.
He forgives us to bring us into His mission.
Just as Israel was meant to bless the nations, we are meant to extend mercy to others—especially to those still blind to their own need for it.
So What About Us?
Let’s put ourselves in that colonnade for a moment.
The healed man standing.
Peter preaching.
Truth hitting the heart.
Have you ever done something that hurt someone—even though you didn’t understand the consequences at the time?
We all have.
So how does God help misguided people make things right?
1. He lets us see the truth. (Guilt)
We name it honestly:
“I was wrong.”
Not:
- “I didn’t mean to.”
- “I didn’t know.”
- “It wasn’t my intention.”
Guilt is the honesty that opens the door to grace.
2. He responds with mercy. (Grace)
Even if our actions were ignorant, hurtful, or self-focused, the heart of Jesus still prays:
“Father, forgive them…”
The invitation stands for all who will receive it.
3. He calls us to change direction. (Go)
Not “try harder.”
Not “live in shame.”
But:
“Repent, turn, and walk in new life.”
I once heard someone say:
“Admit it. Quit it. Forget it.”
There’s freedom in that kind of simplicity.
We leave the past behind and live in the refreshing presence of Jesus.
Conclusion: Mercy for Misguided People Like Us
How does God help us make things right—even when we didn’t know we were wrong?
He reveals our guilt.
He gives grace.
He calls us to repent.
He brings refreshing.
He restores us into His purpose.
Ignorance doesn’t disqualify you.
It doesn’t doom you.
It doesn’t define you.
Jesus’ prayer on the cross—and Peter’s sermon in Acts—remind us:
There is mercy for the misguided,
forgiveness for the unaware,
and refreshment for all who turn to God.