The Verdict That Changed Everything

In 2018, a Nashville courtroom fell silent as former police officer Amber Guyger was convicted of murdering Botham Jean, a man she shot in his own apartment. The evidence was undeniable. The verdict was clear. But what happened next stunned the world. Botham's younger brother, Brandt Jean, stood before the woman who killed his brother and said, "I forgive you. I don't want you to go to jail. I want the best for you. And 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.

That is what it looks like when the truth cuts someone to the heart.

On the day of Pentecost, Peter stood before thousands and declared the unvarnished truth: the Jesus they had crucified was both Lord and Messiah. The crowd didn't argue. They didn't deflect. Scripture says they were "cut to the heart" and cried out, "What shall we do?"

Peter's answer was breathtakingly simple — repent and be baptized. Three thousand people responded that very day.

The gospel has always worked this way. It names what is broken with devastating honesty, then offers mercy so extravagant it drops people to their knees. The Almighty does not convict us to crush us. He convicts us to free us. The only question is whether we, like that crowd in Jerusalem, will let the truth do its work and ask, "What shall we do?"