Moving away from the gospels, the initial emphasis in the book of Acts still centres on Jews as God’s chosen ethnic group, with calls being made to them to repent – to think and perceive afterwards. At Pentecost the disciples were filled with the set-apart Breath and began to speak in tongues, and Peter addressed the gathered crowd of Jews to explain what was happening. He told them, ‘Think and perceive afterwards and be baptised within the name of Jesus the Messiah, every one of you. Towards the letting go and sending away of your no share and self-forfeiture, and you will receive the free gift of the set apart Breath’ [Pneuma], (Acts 2 v 38). There is the basic dynamic of the gospel when it comes to those who are not persuaded.
Peter says a similar thing later on in Solomon’s colonnade in the Temple. After explaining to Jews about Jesus and using examples from Jewish history and references to their Scriptures, he says, ‘Therefore, think and perceive afterwards and return towards the whole smearing out of your no share and self-forfeitures’ (Acts 3 v 19). So the initial emphasis in the early chapters of Acts is still on Jews as God’s chosen ethnic group, with a call that after hearing the gospel they think, reason things through and perceive.
Similarly, if a Jew exhibited behaviour that God disapproves of, they were exhorted to think and perceive afterwards. Thus when Simon tried to buy the ability to practice divine favours from the Apostles, Peter rebuked him. ‘Therefore think and perceive afterwards, away from this wickedness of yours, and earnestly request the Lord whether indeed you will be forgiven the purpose and intent of your deep inner core’, (Acts 8 v 22). The exhortation to him is to re-appraise his behaviour and intentions in the light of future judgement.
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