Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom Ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by Him doth this man stand here before you whole. (Acts 4:10)
Be it known unto you all…Not all have the knowledge of God in truth, or else it would not be necessary to declare ‘be it known unto you all.’ The knowledge of the glory of God in Christ cannot be learned by education, or natural understanding, but is by the revelation of the Spirit of God,“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14). The reason Peter could declare, ‘be it known,’ is that God in Christ had first been revealed to him. When our LORD drew out of Peter his confession in answer to ‘Who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered, ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God,’ Christ declared of him, ‘Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven,” (Matthew 16:16-17).
Be it known…that by the name of Jesus Christ, whom ye crucified…As natural minded sinners we are born in this world, not only as blind, ignorant sinners, but as rebels against God and His Anointed One,(Psalm 2:1-2). Some reason that if they had they been alive in Christ’s day, they would not have crucified Him. Such is the selfish, self-justifying spirit that is in all of us, and we would never own that our sin nailed the Prince of Glory to the tree. We would reason that it was those in Christ’s day who were guilty of crucifying the LORD Jesus, and we would continue to stand in condemnation of them, until it pleases God to reveal in us, by His Spirit of Grace that it was our sin that nailed him to the tree. No one is guiltless as rebels before God, but the Spirit does in time bring each one for whom Christ was crucified, to see that it was for their sin, and theirs alone that He paid the entire debt. Those in Christ’s day were but our representatives, but God in mercy does not hold that sin against His own for whom Christ died. When Christ prayed, ‘Father forgive THEM, for THEY know not what they do,’ He was not praying for all those present doing the crucifying, but all those that the Father had given Him, for whose sins He was paying the debt. Those to whom Peter was speaking did the physical deed of crucifying our LORD, but it was GOD the Father who delivered Him up, by their hand (Acts 2:23). Be it know that by Him, God the Father paid the debt of those sinners chosen from eternity, and justified at the cross by the death of His Son, (Romans 5:9-11).
Be it known that God raised Him from the dead. So complete and final was the death of the LORD Jesus Christ for His people, that God raised Him from the dead, and in so doing, all for whom He died have the assurance that God is satisfied. His people are justified, once for all- “Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification”, (Romans 4:25).
Be it known that ‘Even by Him doth this man stand before you whole,” This is a picture of the sinner’s perfect justification for whom Christ paid the debt PERFECTLY WHOLE, by God’s justifying, redeeming grace in Christ.
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