Acts 3:26 says that God raised up Jesus and sent him first to the people of Israel, so that they would receive a blessing by turning away from their wickedness. The verse is the closing line of Peter’s speech in Solomon’s Portico after he healed a lame man at the temple gate. Peter is speaking to the crowd of Jewish people who had gathered in amazement, and he is calling them to repent and believe in the Messiah they had rejected.
God, having raised up his servant Jesus, sent him to you first to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your wickedness.”
Acts 3:26 (WEB)
What Acts 3:26 Means
The phrase “God, having raised up his servant Jesus” points to the resurrection. Peter’s hearers had recently handed Jesus over to be killed, but God vindicated him by raising him from the dead. The word “servant” recalls the figure of the Lord’s servant in Isaiah, the one who suffers and is then exalted, so Peter is presenting Jesus as the fulfillment of that promise.
“Sent him to you first” carries the sense of an invitation given to a specific people at a specific moment. The “first” reflects the pattern of salvation history described across Acts, in which the good news goes to the Jews before it spreads to the Gentiles. Peter is not saying that the offer ends with his audience, but he is saying that they are its first recipients.
The verse explains the purpose of this sending: to “bless you, in turning away every one of you from your wickedness.” The blessing is tied to repentance. It is not a promise that wrongdoing has no cost, and it does not guarantee that every person who hears will respond. What it does affirm is that God’s kindness acts to turn people from sin toward a life that honors him.
The Context of Acts 3:26
The Book of Acts was written by Luke, the same author who wrote the Gospel of Luke, and it is addressed to a man named Theophilus. It traces the early spread of the Christian message from Jerusalem outward. Chapter 3 records one of the first public sermons after Pentecost, and Peter’s audience is made up of Jewish worshipers at the temple who had witnessed the healing.
Just before verse 26, Peter quotes Moses and the prophets, reminding his listeners that they are “the children of the prophets, and of the covenant” and that the promise to Abraham that “all the families of the earth” would be blessed is now being fulfilled. Verse 26 is the conclusion of that argument. Read in this setting, the blessing is the fulfillment of God’s ancient promise to Abraham, and turning from wickedness is the way that promise is received.
Key Phrases in Acts 3:26
Acts 2:38
Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
(WEB)
In Peter’s earlier sermon at Pentecost he calls the crowd to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, promising the gift of the Holy Spirit. Reading it alongside Acts 3:26 shows that repentance and forgiveness are central to how Peter understands the blessing God offers through Jesus.
Genesis 12:3
I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treates you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
(WEB)
This is God’s original promise to Abraham that through him all the families of the earth would be blessed. Peter cites this covenant promise in Acts 3:25, and reading the original source helps you see how Acts 3:26 presents Jesus as the fulfillment of that long-standing hope.
A Short Prayer From Acts 3:26
Lord, you raised up Jesus and sent him to bless people like me. I confess that I have turned toward my own ways and away from you in ways I know well. Give me the courage to turn back to you today, and help me to leave behind the habits and attitudes that keep me from your blessing. Thank you that your kindness is offered to me first, before I have earned it. Teach me to receive it with a humble heart and to walk in the new life you have made possible through Christ. Amen.
