Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. 2 And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they used to set down daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. 4 But when Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him, he said, “Look at us!” 5 And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!” 7 And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. 8 And leaping up, he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God; 10 and they were recognizing him, that he was the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
Peter’s Sermon in Solomon’s Portico
11 And while he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the portico called Solomon’s, full of wonder. 12 But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 but put to death the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. 16 And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which is through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.
17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. 18 But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; 20 and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, 21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers; to Him you shall listen to everything He says to you. 23 And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ 24 And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also proclaimed these days. 25 It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ 26 For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.” Acts 3: 1-26 LSB
Acts 3: 1-10
Lenski observes regarding the association of Peter and John - they supplement each other. Diamond polishes diamond, writes Rieger, and it may well happen that each enhances the luster of the other. God often uses the friendship of believers for the good of the church, especially the friendship of highly gifted men; witness the working together of Luther and Melanchthon. (The Interpretation of The Acts of the Apostles)
John Phillips on Peter and John - Peter and John! That was different. It used to be Peter and Andrew, James and John. Now it is Peter and John. Calvary had brought these men into closer fellowship with each other. By nature and temperament they were different. Peter was a doer, John was a dreamer; Peter was a motivator, John was a mystic; Peter had his feet on the rock, John had his head in the clouds. Peter would point to John and demand of the Lord, "And what shall this man do?" (John 21:21). John would quietly whisper to Peter in a moment of doubt, "It is the Lord" (Jn 21:7); John would outrun Peter to the tomb; Peter would push past John and rush right in; Peter would dash on out again, his mind in a whirl; John would walk away thinking deeply over the significance of those strangely ordered grave clothes. Peter and John were opposites. By nature they would get on each other's nerves, but now they walked together. We read, "Now Peter and John went up together into the temple." Before, they had been mutual disciples of Jesus, now they were members of a common body; before, they knew friendship, now they enjoyed fellowship. (Exploring Acts) - Precept Austin
V. 1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour - Peter and John had known each other for quite some time, and in Luke's gospel we come to find that they were associates in the fishing business as well. There is a picture painted often by the brush stroke of authors and artists alike, one of John being this paisley sort, as if he were unmanly for being the disciple of love. Let's not forget, as J Mac points out, he was also one of the Sons of Thunder. He and Peter were both fishermen, and not in any easy sort of way. They did not have modern boats or instruments, they went through the rigors of casting their nets, rowing their boats, mending and building. Now it was idyllic often, a wonderful place to make a living, out on the water, but these were manly men, men well associated with risk and danger. These were men who had been at odds with one another as well, arguing over who would be the greatest in the kingdom, but John has been transformed from the brawler of the docks to one who would always have Jesus before him. I agree with the authors I quoted above, they are different men, but this only makes each of them better. Here we also learn more about the ninth hour, it is the hour of prayer, about 3 in the afternoon. I think there are two types of time that are important in the Christian walk, time alone and time with fellow believers. Two are always stronger on the road, when one is weak the other comes along beside, when one has no experience in a matter, sometimes the other does, or the two heads come together to resolve the matter more efficiently. I used to think the ascetics had it right, but they too often forsake the assembly, too often look within for answers that can only come from without. God has made us relational creatures, even those who are introverts, and I have found that I need more mature brothers to correct me, to make me clarify or even change course at times.
…16restraining her is like holding back the wind or grasping oil with one’s right hand. 17As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. 18Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit, and he who looks after his master will be honored.… Proverbs 27: 16-18
1 After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place He was about to visit. 2And He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.… Luke 10: 1-2
V. 2 Whom they used to set down daily at the gate of the Temple which is called Beautiful - This man and his condition had been long before the people, a common sight. The Beautiful gate was also called the Corinthian gate, and all the gates were beautiful, but this one exceedingly. Josephus describes it as larger than the other gates and more costly adorned.
Vs. 3-6 I do not possess silver and gold - I could see Benny Hinn spitting his coffee out at that, from his nose and his mouth all at once. God has given these Apostles actual, real power, power that they don't use to point to themselves or to get wealthy from. This is fascinating too, because Jesus had been performing countless miracles like this during His earthly ministry. It is foretold also of Messiah and His kingdom that it would be marked by health and old age. The man, you, everyone is suffering from a far worse condition though, that of being spiritual still borns, at enmity with God, and so we see Christ's ministry of atonement as the greater need, yet we see hear the continuing promise of a kingdom where the physical effects of sin are banished as well. Peter freely gives this man something better than money, and for the Jews present, those who had read the prophets, this was another sign. These men belonged to a different kingdom, their words were being attested to by the power of the Holy Spirit.
It may well be that healings like tongues was also a sign from God to unbelieving Jews. Maybe in a little different way. Back in Exodus chapter 15, God made a promise to His people when they came out of Egypt, and they were being constituted as a nation, as a people, being led to the promised land. Verse 22 of Exodus 15. “Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore it was named Marah,” meaning bitterness. “So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’ Then he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree; and he threw it into the waters, and the waters became sweet. There He made for them a statute and regulation, and there He tested them.”
And listen to what He says in verse 26: “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the Lord, am your healer.”
What is this? This is the healing promise. A healing promise from God to Israel. If you obey Me, if you obey My commandments, I will be your healer. Remember Deuteronomy 28, when God said, if you obey Me, there will be blessing, and if you disobey Me, there will be cursing? This could be a promise from God that previews the kingdom.
Now, we know about the kingdom from the prophets. And in the kingdom, if somebody dies at the age of 100, they die like an infant. People will live longer. Life will be very different. A lion will lie down with a lamb. Children can play in a snake pit. It’s going to be very different. And one of the characteristics of the kingdom is physical health and wellbeing. The curse of disease and death will be mitigated in the kingdom. So perhaps, not only is the healing ministry of Jesus and the healing ministry of the apostles an evidence of divine compassion, but it is also an indication of divine faithfulness to a long-ago promise. God will be one day the healer of Israel when they do obey His commandments, and when they do acknowledge their Messiah, His Son.
If you go back into chapter 3, very important. Peter’s sermon, and we’ll get to this. Verse 13. Listen to what Peter says. “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers,” meaning the Jews, “has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him. But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life.” I mean, that’s a severe indictment. Listen, Israel had done a lot of terrible things in its history; none this bad. This takes the cake. This is the ultimate iniquity. “You disowned the Holy and Righteous One. You put to death the Prince of life.” Does that cancel all Israel’s future? Does that make us into instant amillennialists? Is that it?
Go to the end of chapter 3. Verse 23. “And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.” That prophet being none other than the Messiah, Christ. “And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days. It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”
You know what’s remarkable about that? They had killed the Prince of life, disowned the Holy and Righteous One, and He says you are still the sons of the Covenant. Why? Because God’s Covenant is irrevocable. Could it be that in the healing ministry of Jesus, and even after in the healing ministry of the apostles, God is saying to the Jews: though you killed the Prince of life, even though you disowned the Holy and the Righteous One, God’s promise is still valid, and here are previews of what God will do for you if you turn to Him in the kingdom. God’s healing promise is still valid.
So while tongues, in a sense, languages, is a sign of judgment to the Jews, healing becomes, for them, a sign of hope that in spite of the horror of their iniquity, the disaster of their rejection, they are still the sons of the Covenant because it’s an irrevocable, unilateral covenant that God makes with Himself. - John MacArthur
…19I will rejoice in Jerusalem and take delight in My people. The sounds of weeping and crying will no longer be heard in her. 20No longer will a nursing infant live but a few days, or an old man fail to live out his years. For the youth will die at a hundred years, and he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. 21They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.… Isaiah 65: 19-21
Vs. 7-8 Walking and leaping and praising God - Peter gives him this in the name of Jesus the Nazarene, making sure we know which Jesus, and also making sure the credit goes to where it belongs. Peter doesn't have this power of himself, which he makes very clear. Listen, I used to want to be made whole, to not have epilepsy anymore, to see sickness leave other people, but who cares if you heal people without them being made alive. So what if I am healthy and wealthy here if when this life comes to it's unavoidable end, I go into eternity without being freed from sin. You know what will happen, healed or not here, the worst day here, now, will seem like heaven, and you will forever know God's just wrath against sin because you will never stop sinning in your heart. You will forever continue to call God unjust, yet prove his just nature by His continuing to be infinitely opposed to your sin. I like to think that this man is not just walking and leaping and generically praising God because he has been physically healed, but that when Peter pointed him to Christ, he believed. That is of eternal consequence, infinite value.
Vs. 9-10 And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him - This reminds you of the awe from verse 43 in the last chapter. The people recognize him, the story of Christ had gone about, everyone knew of His crucifixion, but also of the miracles He performed, and here are these men who are claiming that He rose again, and they are exhibiting the same sort of power. Their words are being attested to.
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