Bible Strands
Acts 3:14
You rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Peter addresses the Jerusalem crowd immediately after healing a lame man at the temple gate. He confronts them directly for their role in Jesus' trial and execution.
The words — ἅγιον (hagion) and δίκαιον (dikaion) literally mean "Holy" and "Righteous." The verb ἠρνήσασθε (ērnēsasthe) denotes a formal denial or rejection of Jesus' identity.
The thread — The title "Holy One" echoes the demon's confession in Mark 1:24, while "Righteous One" aligns with Stephen's indictment of his ancestors in Acts 7:52. Both passages frame Jesus as the innocent victim of religious persecution.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment of the listeners' complicity in rejecting Jesus and choosing a criminal instead. It requires a reader to confront the reality that religious authority can actively oppose divine revelation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
Cross-references
- Mark 1:24 “What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
- Acts 7:52 Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—
- Acts 4:27 In fact, this is the very city where Herod and Pontius Pilate conspired with the Gentiles and the people of Israel against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed.
- 1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,
- Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
- Luke 23:18 But they all cried out in unison: “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”
- Acts 22:14 Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear His voice.
- James 5:6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous, who did not resist you.
- Luke 1:35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.
- Luke 23:25 As they had requested, he released the one imprisoned for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over to their will.