Acts 3:23
ESV
And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’
NIV
Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.’
NASB
And it shall be that every soul that does not listen to that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’
CSB
And everyone who does not listen to that prophet will be completely cut off from the people.
NLT
Then Moses said, ‘Anyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from God’s people.’
KJV
And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.
NKJV
And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’
What does Acts 3:23 mean?
Peter is talking to a crowd of Jews in Solomon's Portico on the Temple Mount; likely, there are proselytes there, as well. They are there for the 3 p.m. prayers at the temple (Acts 3:1). They consider themselves followers of God and heirs of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. What they need to realize is that in order to remain Abraham's heirs, they need to follow Jesus, as well."That prophet" is Jesus. In Deuteronomy 18:15, Moses promised the Israelites that another prophet would come and take his place. A prophet is someone who receives a message from God and passes it on to His people. Sometimes that message is instructions, like how to build the tabernacle (Exodus 25:9). Sometimes, it's a warning, like the Old Testament books of the prophets' record. Other times, it's images of the future, like in Daniel 7. Jesus did all of this throughout His ministry, being careful to speak what God the Father told Him to (John 12:49).
The Jews in Peter's audience knew to look for "the prophet," but they didn't know that prophet was Jesus of Nazareth. Now, they're being told that to remain true Jews, they have to listen to a man whom the Sanhedrin contrived to have crucified. They can't just call Jesus a good teacher or even a miracle worker. Peter tells them, "The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus" (Acts 3:13). Jesus said Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets will enter God's kingdom, but those who do not accept Him will be cast out (Luke 13:28).
Fortunately, from this crowd, thousands of men plus women do believe (Acts 4:4). They understand that Jesus is the Messiah and following Him is the fulfillment of what Judaism promised.
Acts 3:11–26 transcribes the sermon Peter gives at the temple. While Peter and John enter the temple to pray, Peter heals a lame beggar who has asked for alms. The man is healed and leaps up, praising God (Acts 3:1–10). When this catches the crowd's attention, Peter explains that the healing power did not come from them but from Jesus of Nazareth whom the Jews killed. The results are mixed; the Jesus-followers gain unwanted attention from the Jewish officials (Acts 4:1–3), but five thousand men plus women find faith in Jesus (Acts 4:4).
Acts 3 is comprised of two sections: the healing of a lame man and the explanation of that healing. First, a man who has been lame his whole life approaches Peter and John to beg from them at the temple. When Peter heals him in Jesus' name, a crowd gathers around. Peter gives witness to Jesus (Acts 1:8) and tells the crowd that Jesus' authority and power healed this man. Looking back as modern readers, we see how, as the man's body symbolically ''repented,'' or turned away, from its broken form into freedom of movement, so the people can repent from their broken thoughts, actions, and beliefs, and find freedom from sin.
