May
15th Acts
3 Peter heals the lame man
1:
Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of
prayer, being 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 of them that entered
into the temple; 3: Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the
temple asked an alms. 4: And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with
John, said, Look on us. 5: And he gave heed unto them, expecting to
receive something of them. 6: Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I
none; but such as I have give I thee: 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: And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with
them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. 9: And
all the people saw him walking and praising God: 10: And they knew
that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the
temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which
had happened unto him.
Peter
preaches again
11:
And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the
people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's,
greatly wondering. 12: And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the
people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so
earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made
this man to walk? 13: The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob,
the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye
delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was
determined to let him go. 14: But ye denied the Holy One and the
Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; 15: And killed
the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we
are witnesses. 16: And his name through faith in his name hath made
this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him
hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. 17:
And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did
also your rulers. 18: But those things, which God before had shewed
by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath
so fulfilled. 19: Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your
sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from
the presence of the Lord; 20: And he shall send Jesus Christ, which
before was preached unto you: 21: Whom the heaven must receive until
the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the
mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. 22: For Moses
truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise
up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all
things whatsoever he shall say unto you. 23: And it shall come to
pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be
destroyed from among the people. 24: Yea, and all the prophets from
Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have
likewise foretold of these days. 25: Ye are the children of the
prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying
unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be
blessed. 26: Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent
him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his
iniquities.
Luke
then records the next most significant event – the healing of the
Lame man. Peter and John are going to the temple at 3pm. Now a
particular man was carried and laid at the gate of the temple. The
gate was called ‘Beautiful’. This man had been lame from birth.
The Jews had previously understood that only the Messiah himself
would be able to heal a man who had never walked. For peter to heal
him he was either claiming to be the Messiah or the Messiah was
actually working through Peter. The second was going to be the case.
The man was not expecting to be healed he was asking for alms. His
eyes were probably everywhere so Peter said, ‘look at us’. Peter
was penniless, but he had apostolic power and so he said. I have no
money but what l have l will give to you. Then he said, In the name
of Jesus of Nazareth get up!. Peter took him by the hand and helped
him up. He stood up, walked and jumped around, praising God and he
entered into the temple praising God. Everybody was astounded by this
messianic sign. The people came running to see what had happened.
Peter addressed the crowd. Peter asks two questions, Why are you
surprised about this? (The inference is that this was a perfectly
normal thing for Christ and his Apostles. And secondly why are you
looking at me as if it were by my own power or godliness that this
man can walk. This was a reality check that prevented putting Peter
on a pedestal. Then Peter goes on to explain what is really happening
and its all about Jesus. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the
Jehovah of our fathers has glorified His Son Jesus. It is the
glorification of Christ that is proven by this sign. Then he turns on
the people. He says, who you delivered up and denied in the presence
of Pilate when he was determined to let him go. Peter places the
guilt where it should be you denied the Holy One and the Just. He is
describing Jesus as the Holy son of God and the only ultimate
righteous man. Only he ever kept the whole law. They denied the holy
one and asked for the murderer. And they killed the Prince of life.
But God raised him from the dead and we are his witnesses. Peter then
says that it is faith in Christ’s name that has made this man
perfectly sound. This was no partial miracle! Then Peter says that he
realises that they rejected Christ in blind ignorance. It was Gods
word predicted that this would happen in the OT. Then he called on
Israel to return unto the God of their Fathers. Only then will they
be converted and their sins be blotted out when ‘The Times of
refreshing’ will come from the presence of the Lord. Peter is
promising that they will know the forgiveness of sins when they enter
into the New Covenant in the kingdom. Peter says Christ will come
because the heavens must receive him until the times of restitution
of all things. When Christ comes to establish his kingdom everything
will be restored to Israel. This has been prophesied since the
beginning of the world. Then Peter quoted Moses, A prophet will the
Lord your God raise up unto Israel from your brothers like me; him
you will hear everything he says. Then Peter went on to quote. And it
will happen that every soul, who will not hear Him, will be destroyed
from among the people of Israel. Then Peter went on to say that all
the prophets from Samuel onward spoke of these future days. Peter
says, you are the descendants of the prophets, and of the covenant
which God made with our fathers, who said to Abraham, In thy seed
shall all the families of the earth will be blessed. Lastly he says,
God first raised up his Son Jesus and he sent him to bless you, in
making you to turn from your sins. What a masterful speech.
- In what way was this miracle significant?
- What was the effect of this miracle on the people?
- How does Peter explain the miracle to the people?
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