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1 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, "Look at us." 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God. 10 Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. ~ Acts 3:1-10
Today, we begin our study of Acts 3 where the early Church has received the promised Holy Spirit and the Lord was adding to their numbers daily. In today's passage you will notice the same pattern that we had in Acts 2 where the believers spoke of the wonderful works of God in languages they did not understand. Then, the people gathered to hear Peter preach, and then, many were saved. The same pattern is found here in Acts 3, there is a miracle, the people gather to hear Peter preach, and people were saved. God provided miracles in order to convince people of the truth which led to their salvation.
In v.1 of today's passage we read, "Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour."
Peter and John went to the Temple daily to pray. It was 3:00 in the afternoon which was the time of Israel’s evening sacrifice. This was also the hour that the Lord Jesus died on the cross. An amazing transformation had taken place in Peter and John as they are now found to be men of prayer. In the past they struggled to stay awake long enough, but now they are prayer warriors going to the Temple everyday to pray. And, they discovered the more they prayed, the more they received strength, courage and wisdom. As a result, they were no longer men of fear who avoided the Temple because of those who killed the Lord Jesus.
In v.2-4 of today's passage we read, "2 And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, "Look at us."
The lame man was positioned at the gate called Beautiful. The Jewish historian Josephus tells us the gate called Beautiful was bigger than all the rest. It was 75 feet high and 60 feet wide. It was made of Corinthian brass, overlaid with gold. It took 20 men to close it. And that’s where the life-long lame man sat begging for money. He asked for mercy in the form of cash, but he was given grace in the form of healing and salvation. This was the scene that brings us to the next event after Pentecost.
This man had been unable to walk for forty years. Who knows how many of those years he had been carried to this gate. His life had been all of his life defined by his disability. That day this lame man was in the spot that he was known to be. He was there everyday begging for money. Many passed him by, including believers in the Lord Jesus, before entering and leaving the Temple. But this time, instead of turning their eyesight away from the beggar, Peter and John went to him and engaged him in conversation.
There were two things that made Peter stop that day to engage the lame man. First, he had compassion on him. Peter, having come into a deeper relationship with the Lord Jesus had developed a heart for this man. This is what spending time in God's presence in prayer does to us. As we give our hearts to the Lord, He gives His heart to us. Out of compassion for the man Peter helped him in a way that he needed most. Money would only solve his problem temporarily. The lame man needed to be healed of his beggar’s way of thinking. Peter knew that only the Lord Jesus could do for this man what he really needed. This highlights the second reason Peter stopped that day to help the lame man: Peter had faith in the name of the Lord Jesus. The man had asked for money, but Peter ended up giving him much more than he expected. Peter followed the example of the Lord Jesus: He healed him in the name of the Lord Jesus.
This man, all of his life, had been kept outside the presence of God. He was spiritually isolated as he begged just outside of the Temple. According to Leviticus 21 the lame were prohibited from entering the Temple. When he asked for money from John and Peter, Peter said to him, "Look at us." This was exactly what the Lord Jesus often said to those who asked for healing. He always captivated their attention first because in order to heal them they had to demonstrate faith in Him. So, Peter focused the lame man's gaze upon the Lord. He did this to create a sense of expectation. This technique always quickens faith. The man desired money but something much more significant was given to him. The faith of this man was awakened by Peter's words. This is very necessary in order to receive anything from God. We must expect something from Him in order to receive from Him.
In v.5-7 of today's passage we read, "So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 Then Peter said, 'Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.' 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength."
The lame man expected money while Peter and John expected the man's healing. Peter thought well beyond the man's temporal need, he anticipated the man's eternity. It was then that the man's feet and ankles had enough strength in them to stand. This man had never stood before but now he stood. This was nothing less than divine intervention in his life. This is the ultimate in ministry, to get people to the place where they are postured to encounter their Creator.
The minute Peter had this man's attention, he did two things which are most important: First, he admitted his bankruptcy in the material realm when he said, "Silver and gold have I none." And then, Peter demonstrated his amazing faith in the adequacy of the Lord when he said, "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." And, in that moment, as this man was looking at Peter and John, and heard these words, at the mention of the name of the Lord Jesus something remarkable happened. Strength came flowing into his ankles, and Peter, sensing it, took him by the right hand and lifted him up. The man rose and began to leap and shout and jump around, trying out this new-found strength in his legs and feet which he had never known before because he was lame from birth. No wonder it had an amazing effect upon the people who looked on at the Temple.
In v.8-10 of today's passage we read, "8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God. 10 Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him."
Both, the lame man and Peter had to act on their faith. The moment faith was born in the heart of the lame man he subsequently praised God. This man's whole world turned on a dime. As the people saw this miracle they were convinced that God had healed the lame man. If the lame man had not been lame this story would not be in this passage. How many of us are known to ask God to take a given abnormality from us not recognizing that most often our abnormalities provide a platform for God to reveal Himself to us and through us.
There is a lot of seeing in this passage: The lame man "saw Peter and John," Peter "looked intently at him" and said "look at us." Once we have been "born again" we will see those in need as God sees them, in need of Him. At the end of the day, the real issue is who do we see. That day, the lame man came to see the Lord Jesus as his Savior for himself which resulted in the bystanders seeing God for they ended up giving the Lord His deserved praise. That day a 700 year old prophecy was fulfilled before all to see. That 700 year old prophecy is found in Isaiah 35:6 which reads, “Then the lame shall leap like a deer.”
