The Moment the Verdict Changed Everything

On June 19, 2019, a Dallas courtroom fell silent. Botham Jean had been shot and killed in his own apartment by off-duty police officer Amber Guyger, who claimed she mistook his unit for hers. The jury delivered its guilty verdict, and something extraordinary happened in the sentencing phase. Botham's eighteen-year-old brother, Brandt Jean, took the witness stand. Through tears, he told the woman who killed his brother, "I forgive you. I don't want you to go to jail. I want the best for you. I know if you go to God and ask Him, He will forgive you." Then he asked the judge if he could hug her. The courtroom wept. Guyger collapsed into his arms, sobbing.

That is what it looks like to be cut to the heart.

In Acts 2, Peter stands before a crowd and delivers the devastating truth: the Jesus they crucified is both Lord and Messiah. The text says they were "cut to the heart" — not with guilt that destroys, but with conviction that opens a door. "What shall we do?" they cried. And Peter answered with the most hopeful word in the universe: repent. Turn around. Receive forgiveness. Be made new.

Three thousand people walked through that door in a single day. The same door stands open now — not because we deserve it, but because the God who was wronged is the same God who reaches out His arms.