Acts 3:17-26
"Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you-even Jesus... When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways."
Peter reminded the people then, "You must repent". Why do they need to repent? Here it specifically states it is because the Jews have crucified Jesus on the cross. Verse 17 says, "Brothers, I know it was out of ignorance that you did this. Your rulers were ignorant as well." From this verse, we can see that the people that Peter was addressing were generally the people of this generation, not necessarily the same ones who physically crucified Jesus to the cross.
We need to come before God and corporately confess the sin in our generation, and to repent for our generation. The repentance that Peter mentions here is not only a personal confession and repentance, but also one that acknowledges and identifies our sin with that of our country and our society. This is like what Nehemiah did when he came before the Lord and cried out to the Lord, "Lord, please forgive us of the sins that our ancestors have committed!" Nehemiah was willing to come before the Lord and repent for the sins of his ancestors. This is what acknowledging the sin of the present generation is about.
There was a period of time when Christians were going around the Muslim and the Muslim countries, asking for forgiveness for what the Crusaders have done many years ago, confessing the sin committed and repenting of the sin. Many Christians took part in this movement, travelling the road of the crusaders and asking for the Muslims to forgive them of what the Crusaders did a thousand years ago. This movement shocked the Muslims because they did not expect the Christians to apologize for what was done in the past. As some Muslims hear the confession, they were even moved to tears. As a result of what this movement, many Muslims were able to release the hatred and some hearts were even opened to the gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to learn how to confess and repent for this land that we live in, repent for our fellow countrymen, so that the curse of sin can be lifted. Only then can God's mercy and pardon will come, and God's presence will return to our midst.
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