Chapter 3 Acts 3

A Lame Man Is Healed (vv. 1-10)
Peter Addresses the Crowd in the Temple (vv. 11-26)

A Lame Man Is Healed (vv. 1-10)

One day a Peter and John went to the Temple b at three o’clock in the afternoon, the hour for prayer. c 2 There at the Beautiful Gate, d as it was called, was a man who had been lame all his life. Every day he was carried to the gate to beg for money e from the people who were going into the Temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John going in, he begged them to give him something. 4 They looked straight at him, and Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 So he looked at them, expecting to get something from them. 6 But Peter said to him, “I have no money at all, but I give you what I have: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth f I order you to get up and walk!” 7 Then he took him by his right hand and helped him up. At once the man’s feet and ankles became strong; 8 he jumped up, stood on his feet, and started walking around. Then he went into the Temple with them, walking and jumping and praising God. 9 The people there saw him walking and praising God, 10 and when they recognised him as the beggar who had sat at the Beautiful Gate, they were all surprised and amazed at what had happened to him.

Interesting Stuff:

a After the events of the Pentecost, Luke tells us that many ‘miracles and wonders’ were done through the apostles. He now gives a fuller account of one of these. Peter and John were the most important among the apostles (Ga1 2:9). Together with John’s brother James, they were the apostles closest to Jesus.

b The apostles continued to live as observant Jews, attending the set services of worship in the Temple.

c The stated times for prayer in Judaism were (i) at the third hour (about 9 a.m.), following the morning sacrifice (ii) at the ninth hour (about 3 p.m.), following the evening sacrifice (iii) at sunset.

Although the Hebrew reckoned their day as starting from sunset, the Hebrew hour was reckoned from sunrise to sunset, from about 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. An hour is one-twelfth of the period of daylight. But because sunrise and sunset varied according to the time of the year, biblical hours cannot be translated exactly into modern clock-hours.

d This was the main eastern entrance into the Temple court. It was a magnificent gate, about 23 m high (75 ft) with huge double doors. Apparently it led from the Court of the Gentiles into the Court of Women (refer to ’The Temple’, p. xxvi). It was also known as the Nicanor Gate.

e Since the giving of alms was considered an act that gained merit in God’s eyes, the man was placed where the religious people might pass on their way to worship.

f It was not by their own power but by the authority of Jesus the Messiah that they ordered the man to be healed.

Questions:

  1. When and where did this incident take place (vv. 1-2)?
Hover Over for Answer:
This incident took place at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple in Jerusalem at three o’clock in the afternoon, the hour for prayer.

2. Who were the people involved (vv. 1-2, 10)?

Hover Over for Answer:
There were the two apostles, Peter and John, and a beggar who had been lame all his life.

3. Why was the man placed at that spot (v. 2)?

Hover Over for Answer:
He was placed at the Beautiful Gate so that he could beg for money from those who were going into the Temple.

What did the man do when he saw Peter and John enter the Temple (v. 3)?

Hover Over for Answer:
He begged them to give him some money.

4. What did Peter say and do to the man (vv. 4-7)?

Hover Over for Answer:
Peter looked straight at him. He told the man to look at them and then he told him that he did not have any money but he would give the man what he had. Peter ordered the man to get up and walk in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He then took him by the right hand and helped him up.

5. Describe what happened to the man after this (vv. 7-8).

Hover Over for Answer:
At once the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped up, stood on his feet, and started walking around. Then he went into the Temple with them, walking and jumping and praising God.

6. How did the people respond (v. 10)?

Hover Over for Answer:
The people were all surprised and amazed at what had happened to the man.

Why did the people respond the way they did when they saw the man walking and praising God (vv. 9-10)?

Hover Over for Answer:
This was because they recognised him as the beggar at the Beautiful Gate who had been lame all his life and now he was walking and jumping.

7. Mention the other occasion when a lame man was healed in the book of Acts (9:32-35).

Hover Over for Answer:
Another healing of a lame man took place in Lydda. There Peter healed Aeneas who had been paralysed for eight years.

Summary of Section:

  1. One day Peter and John went to the Temple at three o’clock in the afternoon, the hour for prayer.
  2. There was a beggar who was lame all his life sitting at the Beautiful Gate. He was carried to sit there daily to beg for money from the people going into the Temple.
  3. When he saw Peter and John going in, he begged them to give him something.
  4. They looked straight at him and Peter told him to look at them. He obeyed, expecting to get something from them.
  5. But Peter told him that he had no money at all but he would give him what he had. Then he ordered him to get up and walk in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
  6. Peter took him by his right hand and helped him up.
  7. Immediately the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped up, stood on his feet, and started walking around.
  8. Then he went into the Temple with them, walking and jumping and praising God.
  9. The people who saw him walking and praising God recognised him as the lame beggar at the Beautiful Gate. They were all surprised and amazed at what had happened to him.

Nuggets of Wisdom

  1. The main theme in Acts 3-5 is about how the witness of the first Christians brought them into conflict with the Jewish leaders, who tried, but with- out success, to put a stop to their preaching.
  2. Peter’s healing of the crippled man shows the continuing power of the name of Jesus to perform the same gracious and healing acts which Jesus did and which were signs of the coming of the Kingdom of God. Peter was able to do what Jesus did by acting in Jesus’ name. Thus we see shown here the continuity between the ministry of Jesus and the witness of the church.
  3. The fact that the man had been lame from birth and was so bad that he had to be carried to the Temple underlines the wonder of the miracle which Peter performed. Luke describes four times the man as walking, as if to emphasise the incredible fact that this man’s legs were being used for the first time in his life.
  4. Peter did not just stand back and watch the man struggle to his feet but he leaned forward and helped him. It was a gesture not of unbelief but of love. One writer commented that “the power was Jesus’ but the hand was Peter’s”. God does the healing but we are the instruments that He uses to accomplish His purposes

Peter Addresses the Crowd in the Temple (vv. 11-26)

         11 As the man held on to Peter and John in Solomon’s Porch, g as it was called, the people were amazed and ran to them. 12 When Peter saw the people, he said to them, “Fellow Israelites, why are you surprised at this, and why do you stare at us? Do you think that it was by means of our own power or godliness that we made this man walk? h 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, has given divine glory to his Servant i Jesus. But you handed him over to the authorities, and you rejected him in Pilate’s  j presence, even after Pilate had decided to set him free. 14 He was holy and good, but you rejected him, and instead you asked Pilate to do you the favour of turning loose a murderer. k 15 You killed the one who leads to life, but God raised him from death – and we are witnesses to this. 16 It was the power of his name l that gave strength to this lame man. What you see and know was done by faith in his name; it was faith in Jesus m that has made him well, as you can all see.
         17 “And now, my brothers, I know that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was due to your ignorance. 18 God announced long ago through all the prophets that his Messiah had to suffer; and he made it come true in this way. 19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that he will forgive your sins. If you do, 20 times of spiritual strength will come from the Lord, and he will send Jesus, who is the Messiah he has already chosen for you. 21 He must remain in heaven until the time comes for all things to be made new, as God announced through his holy prophets of long ago. 22 For Moses said, n ‘The Lord your God will send you a prophet, just as he sent me, and he will be one of your own people. You are to obey everything that he tells you to do. 23 Anyone who does not obey that prophet shall be separated from God’s people and destroyed.’ 24 And the prophets, including Samuel and those who came after him, all of them who had a message also announced what has been happening these days. 25 The promises of God through his prophets are for you, and you share in the covenant which God made with your ancestors. As he said to Abraham, o ‘Through your descendants I will bless all the people on earth.’ 26 And so God chose his Servant and sent him to you first, to bless you by making every one of you turn away from his wicked ways.”

Interesting Stuff:

g This was a covered porch that ran the entire length of the eastern part of the outer court of the Temple. It was just inside the inner wall of the court with rows of 8-metre (27-foot) high stone columns.

h The crowd probably regarded them as either possessing remarkable powers of their own or of being so devout that God would respond to their prayers with miraculous signs. Regardless of what they thought, Peter wanted to direct their attention away from John and himself and to the source of the miracle, Jesus himself.

i This is a phrase drawn from Isa 52:13, the first verse of the last and most important of the passages dealing with the Servant of Yahweh. Peter was claiming that this prophecy had been fulfilled in Jesus. God had glorified Jesus and it was Jesus who had healed the man.

j Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor or procurator of Judea from A.D. 26-36. The Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish court of law, tried Jesus and found him guilty. However, they could not execute a sentence of death. Thus they sent Jesus to be tried by Pilate, the Roman governor (Lk 23:1-25).

k This was Barabbas, who had been put in prison for a riot that had taken place in the city and for murder (Lk 23:18-19).

l Peter was making the point that firstly, the miracle that happened depended on the power that was associated with the name of this Jesus whom they had killed. In Jewish thought, a ‘name’ does not just identify a person. It expresses the very nature of his being. Hence the power of the person is present and available in the name of the person.

m Secondly this power became effective through faith in the name of Jesus. It is not clear whether Peter was talking about his faith or the man’s faith. In any case, the idea that there was something magical about the miracle was deliberately ruled out by Peter.

n Peter quoted from the OT to say that belief in Moses would lead to a belief in Jesus because even Moses, the first and greatest of Israel’s prophets, had spoken of Jesus’ coming as a prophet like him.

o This was God’s promise made to Abraham in Ge 22:17-18 and 26:4. Peter was proclaiming that the promise to Abraham, their ancestor, also had its ultimate fulfilment in Jesus.

Questions:

  1. Where were Peter, John and the healed man when the people ran to see them (vv. 11)?
Hover Over for Answer:
They were in Solomon’s Porch in the Temple.

2. What was the reaction of the people to what had happened (vv. 11-12)?

Hover Over for Answer:
They were all amazed at what had happened. They stared at Peter and John thinking that they had performed this miracle either by means of their own power or their godliness.

3. What did Peter say had enabled the man to walk (vv. 12-16)?

Hover Over for Answer:
Peter said that it was faith in Jesus and in the power of his name that healed the man. This was the Jesus whom they had rejected and killed but whom the God of their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, had raised from death and glorified.

4. Describe briefly Peter’s address to the crowd (vv. 12-26).

Hover Over for Answer:
Peter first told the crowd that the man’s healing had nothing to do with their own power or godliness. God had glorified His Servant, Jesus, whom they had rejected. Jesus was holy and good but they handed him over to Pilate to be killed, even though Pilate wanted to set him free. But God raised Jesus from death and Peter and John were witnesses to it. It was by faith in Jesus and in the power of his name that the man had been healed. Peter then went on to say that they understood that what the people and their leaders did to Jesus was done in ignorance. He told them that God had already foretold of the Messiah’s suffering and death through his prophets. He called them, therefore, to repent and turn to God. Then God would forgive their sins and they would receive spiritual strength from Him. He would send them Jesus, who is their Messiah. Jesus is in heaven now until the time comes for all things to be made new. All these, Peter said, had already been promised by God through Moses and the prophets. These promises were for them who share in the covenant which God had made with Abraham their ancestor to bless all the people on earth through them. God, however, chose Jesus His Servant and sent him to them first, to bless them by making them turn from their sinful ways.

Summary of Section:

  1. The man held on to Peter and John in Solomon’s Porch. People were amazed and ran to them.
  2. Peter spoke to the crowd, asking them why they were so surprised and were staring at them as if they had healed the man by their own power or godliness.
  3. He went on to proclaim that the God of their ancestors had glorified His Servant, Jesus, whom they had rejected even though he was good and holy.
  4. They had handed him to Pilate to be killed even after Pilate wanted to set him free. They had killed the one who leads to life.
  5. Peter said he and John were witnesses to God raising Jesus from death. And it was by faith in Jesus and in the power of the name of Jesus that the man had been healed.
  6. Peter went on to say that he understood that they and their leaders had acted out of ignorance although God had already foretold long ago through His prophets that His Messiah would suffer and die.
  7. He called them to repent and to turn back to God. Then they would receive forgiveness of their sins and spiritual strength from God.
  8. God would send them Jesus who is in heaven now until the time comes for all things to be made new.
  9. All these had been promised by God through Moses and the prophets. And His promises were for them because they share in the covenant which God made with their ancestor Abraham to bless all the people on earth through them.
  10. Thus God chose Jesus and sent him to them first to bless them so that they would repent and turn away from their wicked ways.

Nuggets of Wisdom

  1. Peter seized the opportunity to preach when he saw the crowd gathered around them. Just as the Pentecost event had been the text for his first sermon, so the cripple’s healing became the text for his second. Both were mighty acts of the exalted Christ. Both were signs which proclaimed Jesus as Lord and Saviour. And both aroused the crowd’s amazement.
  2. Peter began his sermon by redirect- ing the crowd’s attention away from both the healed cripple and the apos- tles to Jesus himself:
    i) He went on to explain that it was by faith in Jesus and the power of his name that the man had been healed. This was the same Jesus whom they had killed, but who had been glorified by God.
    ii) He told them that they had acted ignorantly but in reality God was accomplishing His plans for His Messiah as foretold by the OT prophets. Moses himself had foretold that Jesus was the prophet God would sent whom they were to obey. Disobedience to him would lead to judgment.
    iii) Because they were the inheritors of God’s covenant through their ances- tor Abraham, they had first claim on the blessings brought by Jesus. They were thus urged to repent and turn from their wicked ways and they would receive forgiveness of sins and times of spiritual refreshing, and in the future, the return of Jesus.
  3. In his testimony to Jesus, Peter attrib- uted to him a group of significant titles:
    i) Jesus of Nazareth (v. 6)
    ii) God’s Servant (v. 13) who must suffer and be glorified
    iii) Holy and Righteous One (v. 14 – as translated in other versions)
    iv) Author of life (v. 15 – as translated in other versions)
    v) The Prophet (v. 22) as foretold by Moses

All these titles speak of the unique- ness of Jesus in his sufferings and glory, his character and mission, his revelation and redemption. They are all part of Jesus’ Name which has the power to save.

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