To you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.
first.
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Acts 13:26,32,33,46,47 Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent…
Acts 18:4-6 And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks…
having.
Acts 3:15,22 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses…
sent.
Acts 3:20,25 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: …
Psalm 67:6,7 Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us…
Psalm 72:17 His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.
in.
Isaiah 59:20,21 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD…
Jeremiah 32:38-41 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: …
Jeremiah 33:8,9 And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me…
He sent Him first to you
The "you" here refers to the Jewish people, emphasizing that Jesus' ministry was initially directed towards Israel. This aligns with Jesus' own statements during His earthly ministry, such as in Matthew 15:24, where He says He was sent "only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." This priority reflects God's covenantal relationship with Israel, as they were chosen to be a light to the nations (Isaiah 49:6). The early church, as seen in Acts, began its mission in Jerusalem before spreading to the Gentiles.
to bless you
The blessing mentioned is spiritual in nature, focusing on salvation and the forgiveness of sins. This echoes the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis 12:3, where God promises that through Abraham's offspring, all nations would be blessed. Jesus, as a descendant of Abraham, fulfills this promise, offering the ultimate blessing of reconciliation with God. The concept of blessing also ties into the Jewish understanding of shalom, which encompasses peace, wholeness, and well-being.
by turning each of you from your wicked ways
Repentance is a key theme here, indicating a turning away from sin and towards God. This call to repentance is consistent with the messages of the prophets in the Old Testament, who urged Israel to return to God (e.g., Joel 2:12-13). In the New Testament, John the Baptist and Jesus both began their ministries with a call to repentance (Matthew 3:2, 4:17). The phrase underscores the personal responsibility of each individual to respond to God's offer of salvation and transformation through Jesus Christ.
God’s act of raising Jesus is the bedrock of the gospel.
• Acts 2:32, “God has raised this Jesus to life, to which we are all witnesses.”
• Isaiah 52:13 speaks of the promised Servant whom God would exalt.
• The resurrection proves Jesus is the promised Messiah, validates every claim He made, and demonstrates the Father’s approval (Romans 1:4).
Because the resurrection actually happened in time and space, we have unshakable confidence that every promise flowing from it is trustworthy.
Peter is addressing the people of Israel in the temple courts (Acts 3:11).
• Matthew 15:24, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
• Romans 1:16 affirms the gospel is “first to the Jew, then to the Greek.”
God’s covenant faithfulness meant giving Israel the first opportunity to receive their Messiah. This priority highlights mercy, not favoritism—through Israel, blessing would reach all nations (Genesis 22:18).
The intent of God’s sending is benevolent.
• Genesis 12:3, the promise to Abraham: “in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
• Galatians 3:14 connects that blessing to “the promise of the Spirit through faith.”
God’s blessing is comprehensive—spiritual reconciliation now and eternal life to come. Salvation is not merely escape from judgment; it is entrance into God’s favor.
The blessing arrives through repentance.
• Acts 3:19, “Repent, then, and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away.”
• Ezekiel 18:30–32 shows God’s heart: “Repent and live!”
• 2 Peter 3:9 stresses that God “is patient…not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
Turning from sin is not a human work that earns salvation; it is the gracious gift that accompanies true faith (2 Timothy 2:25). God blesses by opening eyes, softening hearts, and redirecting lives toward holiness.
Acts 3:26 reveals a gracious sequence: the resurrected Jesus, God’s exalted Servant, was sent first to Israel so that they—and ultimately all people—might experience covenant blessing. That blessing is inseparable from repentance: God turns individuals from sin to Himself. The verse underscores God’s faithfulness, the centrality of the resurrection, and the necessity of personal turning, displaying a salvation that is both divinely initiated and personally transformative.
(26) Unto you first. . . .--Here again we note, even in the very turn of the phrase as well as of the thought, an agreement with St. Paul's formula of the purpose of God being manifested "to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile" (Acts 13:46; Romans 1:16; Romans 2:9-10). St. Peter does not as yet know the conditions under which the gospel will be preached to the heathen; but his words imply a distinct perception that there was a call to preach to them.His Son Jesus.--Better, as before, Servant. (See Note on Acts 3:13.)
Sent him to bless you.--The Greek structure gives the present participle where the English has the infinitive, sent Him as in the act of blessing. The verb which strictly and commonly expresses a spoken benediction is here used in a secondary sense, as conveying the reality of blessedness. And the blessing is found, not in mere exemption from punishment, not even in pardon and reconciliation, but in a change of heart, in "turning each man from his wickednesses." The plural of the abstract noun implies, as in Mark 7:22, all the many concrete forms in which man's wickedness could show itself. . . .
Verse 26. - Servant for Son Jesus, A.V. and T.R.; your for his, A.V. Unto you first. In virtue of the covenant, the first offer of salvation was made to the Jews (see Acts 1:8; Acts 13:26, 46; Luke 24:47; Romans 2:10, etc.; comp. Matthew 15:24). His Servant (as in ver. 13). As regards the phrase, "having raised up," however natural it is at first sight to understand it of the raising from the dead, the tenses make it impossible to do so. Nor could it be said that God sent Jesus to bless them after his resurrection. We must, therefore, understand ἀναστήσας as to be equivalent to ἐξαγείρας, and to mean "having appointed," set up, raised up (as the English word is used, Luke 1:69; Romans 9:17). In this sense God raised up his Servant by the incarnation, birth, anointing, and mission to be the Savior. To bless you; to fulfill to you the blessing promised to Abraham's seed. In turning away, etc., deliverance from sin being the chief blessing which Christ bestows upon his people (so Acts 5:31, repentance is spoken of as Christ's great gift to Israel). So closed the second great apostolic sermon.