Miracle at the Gates

Acts 3 can loosely be summarised into two parts. Firstly, Peter and John perform a miracle at the gates of the temple. Then, the second part of the chapter covers another sermon Peter preached in response to the events surrounding the above miracle. In today’s post, we will think about the miracle itself and then examine Peter’s words tomorrow.

A certain man who was lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask gifts for the needy of those who entered into the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive gifts for the needy. 4 Peter, fastening his eyes on him, with John, said, “Look at us.” 5 He listened to them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have, that I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” 7 He took him by the right hand and raised him up. Immediately his feet and his ankle bones received strength. 8 Leaping up, he stood and began to walk. He entered with them into the temple, walking, leaping, and praising God. 9 All the people saw him walking and praising God. 10 They recognized him, that it was he who used to sit begging for gifts for the needy at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. They were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. 11 As the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.

Acts 3:2-11 (WEB)

Verse 1 (not quoted above) tells us that Peter and John were going to the temple at the hour of prayer. They encounter a man who is entirely dependent on others. Each day they carry him there, and he asks for gifts to meet his needs. In those days, there was no welfare system you could call on in time of need. If you were disabled and not able to work, then you were essentially reduced to begging.

Imagine how difficult that must have been? I guess it would have felt like being trapped, with no way out and very little hope ahead. Speaking from experience, I have a severe sight problem and so have a glimpse (if you excuse the pun) of what it must have been like. Technological advances in the last few years have made such a difference to some with disabilities, and for me personally smart phones and IT kit means I can work and live independently. This man had no such help.

Verse 4 is particularly interesting to me. Peter gazes at this man intently, and asks him to look in return. The phrasing is unusual, and it is not immediately obvious to me what is going on here.

I wonder if Peter, as he was passing by, was moved by the Spirit and this focusing of his eyes on the man was him discerning the Spirit’s call. As he looked on the man, maybe that still small voice was telling him what he could do to help.

Peter tells him to “Look at us!” suggesting he was not, initially, looking at them. I wonder how many times people had walked by, hearing his request for alms and yet not daring to even look.

I used to work in London, and would often see homeless men and women sitting by the side of the road. They might ask for spare change, and yet so many (and I admit myself at times) would walk past without even acknowledging they were there. For this particular man, perhaps the invisibility was as worse as his physical disability.

The man looks up expecting to be given something from these two men. Peter quickly quoshes that idea and informs him he has neither silver nor gold.

Then Peter does something astonishing. He gives the man what he has, and that is the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. In that name, and in its power, he commands him to get up and walk. And with a helping hand from Peter, he does just that!

I want to point out that Peter does not pray. He does not first ask God to heal the man, and then wait on Him to move. Instead, he speaks out of his authority, using the power of Christ.

I was once taught that all believers have this authority, and any of us can call on the name of Jesus and invoke this power. I do not want to explore this thought here and now, as I think it is a whole series of blog posts. You certainly cannot take that view from this event alone. Peter may have been a special case, and this healing miracle was certainly “authentication” for the words he would shortly speak.

I am passionate about healing, and certainly believe it is clearly taught in the New Testament. Of course, not every person receives healing every time they ask, and there are many reasons for this. Suffice it to say that Jesus spent much of His ministry healing the sick, and I do not think He has changed today. There are gifts of healing promised in the New Testament, and James’ letter instructs us to pray for the sick, as does Mark’s version of the Great Commission. Unless someone can convince me biblically that healing is no longer for us today, I will continue to believe in it and ask for it.

Peter speaks these words over this man, and immediately his legs grew strong and he was able to walk. It is an amazing miracle, and one for which I praise God. Verse 8 tells us he joined them in entering the temple, and went in leaping and praising God! Thank God for the miracles He works in our lives, be it healing or otherwise!

Verses 9 and 10 tell us the reason for the healing. When all saw this healed man leaping and praising the Lord, they were amazed! It drew attention. It made people open to the Lord, and as we shall see next time, Peter was ready to speak of what Christ had done.

Something God has challenged me on in the last few days is how I approach Bible passages. My immediate reaction is to look for application, and to ask how I can apply it in my life. I heard someone say the other day that the Bible is not about me, it’s about God. I should not feel the pressure to extract application from every verse, as not every verse is about me. That applies here too. I would love to examine the miracle and look for the steps I need to take to receive my own miracle, or to bestow a miracle on others. There is room for that of course, but it is not primarily a teaching passage telling us what to do. Rather, it is telling us what happened.

As much as I would like my own healing, I praise the Lord for this man receiving his.

Had I only scoured this text for what I could get out of it, I would have missed something important. Today, as I wrote this post, I saw something I had never seen before.

A certain man who was lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask gifts for the needy of those who entered into the temple.

Acts 3:2 (WEB)

They recognized him, that it was he who used to sit begging for gifts for the needy at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. They were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Acts 3:10 (WEB)

Look at what this man was doing at the gate. I have always just assumed he sought fulfilment of his own needs, and most likely he was. But reading the verses above, you could also read it as he was collecting money for the poor other than himself.

Not wanting to overstretch the idea, perhaps this man shared what he received with others and that tells us something important about the kind of man he was. Maybe that played a part in what happened to him.

Don’t just read the Bible for what you can get out of it – it’s not about you!