Acts 3:20 is Peter’s promise that a time is coming when the Lord will send Jesus back, the Messiah who was appointed for his people from the beginning. The verse links this future sending to repentance and the refreshing that comes from God’s presence. Peter speaks it to a crowd in Jerusalem after he and John healed a man born lame at the Temple gate.
And that he may send Christ Jesus, who was ordained for you before…
Acts 3:20 (WEB)
What Acts 3:20 Means
The verse begins with “that he may send,” which is tied to the sentence before it. Peter has just told the crowd to turn back to God so their sins may be wiped away and so times of refreshing may come from the Lord. The sending of Christ is the next step in that same plan, so the verse describes what God intends to do after the people turn toward him.
“Christ Jesus, who was ordained for you before” points to Jesus as the one God appointed in advance, long before the crowd gathered that day. Peter is reminding them that Jesus is not an accident of history. He is the chosen Messiah, and his place in God’s purpose was settled ahead of time.
The verse does not give a calendar or say exactly when the sending will happen. It also does not promise that every hard circumstance will end once someone repents. What it promises is that God is working toward a time of renewal, and that he will bring his appointed Messiah into it.
The Context of Acts 3:20
Acts was written by Luke, the companion of Paul, as a second volume after his Gospel. It traces how the message about Jesus moved from Jerusalem outward into the wider world. The audience is a mix of Jewish and Gentile readers, and Luke tells the story with care for how the gospel spread from one community to another.
Just before verse 20, Peter tells the crowd that they acted in ignorance, as their rulers did, and that the suffering of Christ fulfilled what God had announced through the prophets. Just after, he quotes Moses’ promise of a prophet like himself. Read in that setting, verse 20 is not a standalone prediction. It is part of Peter’s argument that the crowd can still respond to God’s offer, and that the Messiah they once rejected remains the one God has promised to send.
Key Phrases in Acts 3:20
Romans 8:19
For the creation waits with eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.
(WEB)
Paul describes all creation waiting eagerly for the revealing of God’s children, which echoes the hope in Acts 3:20 that God will bring renewal and the full display of his purposes in Christ.
Revelation 21:5
He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” He said, “Write, for these words of God are faithful and true.”
(WEB)
This verse shows God declaring that he is making all things new, a vision of final restoration that matches Peter’s language about the times of refreshing and the restoration of all things.
A Short Prayer From Acts 3:20
Lord, you have not left the world to drift without purpose. You appointed Jesus long before the crowds gathered, and you have promised that you will send him again to bring renewal. Help me to turn toward you today, to let go of what keeps me from your presence, and to trust your timing even when I cannot see the whole picture. Let my heart rest in the hope that you are working toward a time of refreshing, and give me patience to keep watching and praying until that day comes. Amen.
