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11 Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed. 12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. 16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. ~ Acts 3:11-16
Today, we return to our study of Acts 3 where Peter and John while on their trek to the Temple in Jerusalem to pray are solicited by a man who had been lame for forty years. He was just outside the Temple at the Gate called Beautiful. It was there that Peter told the man who was begging for money about the Lord Jesus. It was then that the man was healed of his inability to walk and was last seen leaping and walking and entering into the temple with Peter and John.
In v.11 of today's passage we read, "Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed."
Since the crowd drew in on the man and Peter and John, Luke highlights the excitement of the once lame man. At this point he didn't want to be separated from Peter and John. And so, in order for that to not occur, he literally held very tightly onto them. When there is a moment like this, a moment of awe and wonder, people desire to see why the attention of others are so captivated. To prove the veracity of this story everyone there that day scurried to be able to see the healed man at "Solomon's porch" which was a covered colonnade just outside the eastern entrance of the Temple.
There, the people were "greatly amazed" which means they were beyond astonishment to a sense of bewilderment. Most of them were fully aware of the beggar. He was there everyday. Ironically, the name "Solomon" is derived from the Hebrew word meaning "wholeness." The place describes the once lame man appropriately as one who was healed and made whole in the name of the Lord Jesus.
In v.12-16 of today's passage we read, "12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: 'Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. 16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.'"
Just then Peter seized the opportunity to address the crowd and explain the marvel of what God had done for the once lame man. As the healed man had fixed his eyes on Peter and John before, now, the people had fixed theirs upon them. This is why Peter directed their attention to the One who healed the once lame man. He asked them, "Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? " Peter wanted the people to know that he and John lacked the power to heal the man and that it was the Lord Jesus who healed him. Peter's usage of the word "godliness" indicates he was fully aware that he and John were not the ones the people should credit with this miracle.
By introducing the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Peter clearly establishes that the same God who had been faithful to Israel all of those years was the One whom the Lord Jesus represented. Peter identified the Lord Jesus as "The Servant of the Lord" which is a reference to the Messiah mentioned in Isaiah 53 where the rejection of the Servant was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah. Peter reminded the people that it was they who fulfilled this prophecy.
In this second message to the people of Jerusalem, Peter gave the people the bad news before sharing the gospel with them. We do not appreciate the enormity of what the Lord Jesus did on the cross until we have been reminded of the seriousness of our sin. Before we can find joy in the good news, we must see the seriousness of our rebellion against God. Our rebellion separated us from God with absolutely no hope in sight. Our rebellion activated the devilish nature of sin in our existence and it is out to destroy us at all cost. Many view sin as merely a mistake or a weakness. However, in the eyes of God, sin is the most destructive thing there is in this world. It is critical that all of mankind comprehend the weight and the destructive power of sin, because without a real understanding of sin, we cannot truly understand salvation, grace, or the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus.
This is why Peter said in v.14-15 wrote, "14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses."
In v.16 of today's passage we read, "And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all."
Now that Peter has enabled the people to see the seriousness of their wicked choices, he now gives the good news. Like John 3:16, Acts 3:16 directs our attention to the most important and the most welcoming thought. God made a way for sinful man to be redeemed. The once lame man who stood before them was a demonstration of God's reaction to our rebellion and guilt. As the man had been restored and made whole by God's power, so the people of Israel could be restored to a personal relationship with God. It is in response to what God has done for us by sending His Son to the cross where He judged our sin in His body on the tree, it is when we conclude that He paid our penalty and when we place our faith in Him that we are made whole.
Throughout the Bible, we are reminded that we are saved by faith in the Lord. It is the object of our faith that saves us, not the quality or the quantity of our faith. Martin Luther once aptly said, "We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone." It is quite clear in the Scriptures that it is not our obedience that saves us, but biblical faith will produce obedience or good works. Our good works are signs that we have been "born again." Faith in anything makes us vulnerable. Our need of faith exposes the fact that we are not in full control of our lives. It isn't blind faith because God has given us enough evidence of His existence that it could fuel the faith of all for eternity. The reason we struggle with faith is that it exposes us for the fallen people we are but it invites us to be real. Faith in the God of the Bible is risky but it is through this vein that we connect with Him. Vulnerability is being honest about what is happening on the inside. This is where healing happens. This is what connects us to the Lord. This is why faith has always been the determining factor of our rightness with God.
