Acts 3:1-11
Welcome! Today we continue our series in the book of Acts,
focusing on the first part of Chapter 3. Before we get into that passage,
however, I want to back up a few verses and set the stage for what is going to
happen. As you know, Acts is all about the birth and growth of the church, the ekklesia,
the “called out ones,” people who are what Jesus once described as “born
again”, people who have acknowledged their rejection of God in their lives and
have put their faith in Jesus Christ, understanding that His substitutionary
death has paid for their sins. These people also understand that God’s
resurrection of Jesus three days after His death means that Jesus was truly
without sin, and so His sacrifice was accepted by God, meaning that we, through
faith in Him, are reconciled to God.
We saw the apostles and their families and those with them experience
the miracles of the rushing wind, the tongues of something like fire settling
on them, and the miraculous situation in which they were able to praise God in
languages that the people around them knew but which they themselves did not
previously know.
After these events, Peter gave a speech to the crowds
culminating in the message to repent and be baptized, and 3000 people did that
very thing on that day. What was it like to be one of those 3000 new believers?
What was this new, developing community of believers, this fellowship of
believers, becoming? We read about this in the end of Acts chapter 2:
They devoted themselves to the apostles’
teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone
was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.
All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold
property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they
continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their
homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying
the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who
were being saved. – Acts 2:42-47
This is beautiful. This is beyond beautiful. Can you
imagine being one of those who had just been saved, one of the 3000 or one of
the later ones being added “daily”? I still remember vividly those first days
when I became a believer in Christ at the University of Illinois at Urbana
Champaign 32 years ago. It was impossible to sing some of the worship songs we
sang without the tears flowing. I remember wondering why everyone wasn’t responding
to the songs the same way I was.
Everything was new to me – I really did feel like a newborn
baby in many ways. I would explore parts of my mind, things I used to believe,
and now suddenly realize that I believed the opposite of what I had once held
so firmly to. The year that I became a believer, there were multiple people in
our home fellowship group who came to Christ. It was wonderful to see the same
newness, the same joy, the same awe and wonder in them that I felt in myself.
Does that feeling go on forever? It doesn’t, at least not
in this world, on this side of heaven. And I think the reason for that is
precisely because we are on this side of heaven. We still live in a broken,
cursed, sinful world, and we too are still subject to sin, to give in to
temptation – because, although, if we are truly regenerate believers, we are
not yet fully regenerated, and the transformation that has begun in us will not
be completed until we are on the other side.
To quote from I Corinthians
15:
If there is a natural body,
there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: “The first man Adam became a
living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come
first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the
dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. As was the earthly man, so are
those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who
are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall
we bear the image of the heavenly man. – I Corinthians 15:44-49
I declare to you, brothers and
sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the
perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not
all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised
imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself
with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. – I Corinthians
15:50-53
I fully believe that once we are changed, once we bear the
image of the heavenly man, once we are clothed with the imperishable, the overwhelming
joy that we only experience for short periods of time – with the newness of
believing in Christ, but also when falling in love, when experiencing an overwhelming
sunset, and at other moments – that experience will become never ending, and even
ever-increasing, in heaven. When we are changed, our capacity to love, to love
one another and, especially, to love God, to love Christ, will become uncorked,
unplugged, unlimited. And those feelings of awe, as it says the new believers
had in Acts 2:42-47, will grow throughout eternity. In this present life, our
ability to grasp the love of God, the goodness of God, the majesty of God, the
holiness of God – is so limited. These things are infinite – and we will always
be growing in heaven in our understanding of God, and so our love and amazement
will continually increase. That is my opinion.
Now, that is not to say that the life the new believers experienced
in Acts 2 is not something we should strive to emulate; indeed, we should
absolutely strive to live, as much as we can, like they did. Let’s look at that
passage again:
They devoted themselves to the apostles’
teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone
was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.
All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold
property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they
continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their
homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying
the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who
were being saved. – Acts 2:42-47
Now, there are some things going on there that are out of
our control. It says that the apostles were performing many wonders and signs. Now
the term “apostles” refers to that original group – so none of us are apostles.
Note also that it wasn’t everyone there was performing these wonders and signs
– it was just the apostles. Now, I am by no means a cessationist – I absolutely
believe that miracles still happen today. But I do not believe it is common. I
also believe it tends to happen most often in circumstances and situations
where the gospel is only just beginning to break into a people group. In
strongly Muslim areas, for example, it is not uncommon today to hear of reports
of unsaved Muslims having visions of Jesus in their dreams, and this vision
eventually leads to them learning the gospel and becoming believers in Christ. Miraculous
events are also reported by missionaries who go to some of the most unreached
people groups. Beyond this, I believe that God often answers our prayers in
ways that require at least some bending of the rules of reality, of how things
normally happen.
It is ironic that in many of the courses I teach, the core
of the subject depends on randomness, on probability. But I don’t actually
believe that probability exists. I believe probability is just a model that we humans
use that models certain things reasonably well most of the time. What are
miracles, then? They are events that seemingly break these rules of
probability, in that, the odds of these things happening are extremely small
“on their own”.
But this is actually a logical fallacy, as nothing happens “on
its own.” With God, there is no probability. All things are certain to the One
who is omniscient. And so, in a sense, with God, there are no miracles, either.
Because God is also omnipotent, it is no harder for God to heal someone than it
is to not heal him – nor is it any harder for Him to turn the entire universe into
a pizza.
And so what is the purpose of the signs and wonders that
God enabled the apostles to perform? It is to reveal to the people that God
really is with them. It is to authenticate the gospel message that they are
proclaiming.
This is the very same primary purpose that Jesus’ own
miracles were for. Remember, for example, the man who was let down in the
rooftop. Do you remember what Jesus said to him? He said, “Your sins are
forgiven,” which shocked everyone – and they were ready to accuse Jesus of
blasphemy. But then, in Matthew 9, Jesus also said and did the following:
Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you
entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are
forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of
Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So He said to the paralyzed man,
“Get up, take your mat and go home.” Then the man got up and went home. When
the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had
given such authority to man. – Matthew 9:4-8
Notice the response of the crowd – it is exactly like that
in Acts 2. There is awe, and there is worship. Now keep this healing of Jesus in mind as we
continue on into Acts 3.
One day Peter and John were going up to the
temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man who was lame
from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was
put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter
and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him,
as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention,
expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not
have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s
feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he
went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.
When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as
the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and
they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. While
the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came
running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. – Acts 3:1-11
How I love this account! This is so beautifully written, as
well, with such masterful detail. Note how there is constant movement in this
account. Peter and John are walking up to the temple. At nearly the same time,
the lame man is being carried to the gate called Beautiful. It is the time of
prayer, 3pm, in the Greek the ninth hour, and this is the time of prayer. So
all around them are lots of other people coming to the same place. The beggar
was being placed at a location where crowds would pass through – and he was
being brought there at this exact time because this was when the crowds would
be there. I am reminded of campus outreaches – we set up where the people are,
when they are.
Note that the beggar had friends, or more likely, family bring
him to this spot each day, at this time. He had likely been doing this for many
years. He was a familiar face, and his call for money was a familiar call.
Probably the locals in Jerusalem were so used to him that most of them hardly
noticed him, and certainly didn’t give to him.
But Jerusalem was the governmental and, more importantly,
religious center of the Jewish people. People were always coming from outside
Jerusalem for many reasons. And when they were there, if they were reasonably
practicing, reasonably observant, they would go to ninth hour prayer
themselves. Many of them would intend to sacrifice something for their sin.
Some would bring animals; others would purchase animals nearby for this
purpose. When you are going to the holy Temple to bring payment for your sin,
and you see a beggar who cannot support himself because he is lame, you are
probably more likely to give something to him than you would at any other time.
And so the beggar probably made a reasonable amount of money by going to this
place at this time.
Begging can actually be fairly lucrative. There are
horrific stories of people purposely crippling their family members so that the
family could make money from the crippled person’s begging. People can also be
frauds as they beg. These kinds of issues are common in many parts of the world
where begging continues in a widespread way to this day. Of course, begging
also occurs in some parts of the US.
But back to our scene. Now their paths cross, Peter and
John with the beggar. This meeting was ordained by God before the creation of
the Universe. To look more needy, and also for reasons having to do with honor
and shame and social standing, the beggar did not look at Peter and John
directly while asking them for money. And under normal rules of honor and
shame, it was not appropriate for Peter and John to look at the beggar either. Most
people when they gave money would toss it at the beggar without looking at him.
Some would purposely toss it some distance away, so that the beggar would be
forced to scoot to the money, possibly having to avoid being stepped on by the
crowd. There were sick people who give money to beggars like this because they
thought it entertaining. There were many more people who believed that either
this man or his family must have sinned a great sin, and who believed that the
man’s physical condition was a result of God cursing them for what they had
done.
Jesus repudiated this kind of teaching. We see this in
another of Jesus’ miraculous healings:
As He went along, He saw a man blind from
birth. His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,
that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus,
“but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long
as it is day, we must do the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no
one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” After
saying this, He spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it
on the man’s eyes. “Go,” He told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word
means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. – John 9:1-7
And in the same way, we can assume that the lame beggar is
this so that, here too, the works of God might be displayed in him. The
accounts are similar in other ways. Although Jesus sometimes responded to
people after they expressed a desire to be healed, that was not the case here.
Jesus simply healed him. And returning to our Acts passage,
One day Peter and John were going up to the
temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man who was lame
from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was
put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter
and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him,
as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention,
expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not
have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s
feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he
went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.
When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as
the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and
they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. While
the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came
running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. – Acts 3:1-11
We see something similar here. The first thing that happens
is that Peter and John looked straight at him, ignoring the societal rules of
honor and shame, and treating the beggar with respect, with honor, as an equal.
And Peter expects the man to do the same – to know that one is not above the
other, so he tells the man to likewise look at them.
The man was probably pretty excited at this point, because
if people who don’t respect him give a medium amount, he could only imagine how
much money he might get from people who treated him in this amazing away.
But the man’s expectations were deflated, even if only for
the tiniest moment, when he heard Peter say, “Silver and gold I do not have.” And
by the way, this is a great half verse to show people who preach the false
prosperity gospel. If God never gave Peter and John a Mercedes, why do you
think He will give one to you?
Note that Peter and John, like in the passage with Jesus,
do not ask the man if he wants to be healed. They do not ask him anything. What
was it like to be Peter and John in this situation? We do not know, but I
imagine that they had an impression from the Holy Spirit, a certainty that God
wanted to use them as conduits to heal this man at this moment. And so Peter
finishes his sentence: “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I
give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
And Peter grabbed him by the right hand – Greek word here
is to seize – it is used when describing an arrest, apprehending someone. Peter
pulled him up. And the man experienced instant healing.
Let’s talk more about this healing. This man had been lame
from birth. So his muscles were extremely atrophied. His bones were extremely
weak – so weak likely that he could not support his standing weight. His brain
had never made the neural connections so that he could properly control his
legs. He had certainly never learned how to walk, a process that takes little
children months to learn. All these things happened instantaneously.
Peter and John barely stopped for this man – they may not
have stopped at all. They grabbed him up and went in together into the Temple
courts. The man is walking, and jumping, and praising God. He was still a
beggar, still in beggar’s clothes. He was recognized – people couldn’t
understand what they were seeing. When you see something seemingly impossible,
your brain at first refuses to even process the image. This was happening to
many on the way into the Temple courts, coming for what they thought was a
routine 3 pm Temple event.
The man was holding on to Peter and John. In the great
crowd, he didn’t want to lose them. They had utterly changed his life – there
was no way he was going to let go of them. This is also a Greek word used to
describe an arrest – indeed, it is used in Matthew 26 to describe Jesus’
arrest. And the people began to process what they were seeing, they came toward
the three of them – indeed, they ran toward them. This Greek word
specifically refers to a group of people running together. This word is
used in Mark 6, when the crowds so pressed on Jesus, wanting healings and
prayer, that He and the disciples escaped by boat. But despite this, a crowd
saw them in the lake and ran together toward them, arriving where they arrived.
It was shortly after this that Jesus fed the 5000. What will happen next in our
passage? You will have to wait until next week.
I do have a few more things to talk about. First, ever so
briefly, let’s talk archaeology. You knew it was coming. As you know,
everything was wiped off the Temple Mount at the destruction of the Temple in
70 AD. But we have the accounts of Josephus and others to understand many
aspects of what it was like after Herod had built up the foundations as he had.
Josephus does not call any of the gates specifically the
“Beautiful” gate, but he does write “nine were completely overlaid with gold
and silver, and were also their doorposts, but one, that outside the sanctuary,
was of Corinthian bronze, and far exceeded in value those plated with silver
and set in gold” (War 5.201). The bronze was said elsewhere to have shone like
gold. This gate is elsewhere called the Nicanor gate, named after an
Alexandrian Jew who either constructed the gate or paid for it to be built. An
ossuary, a room where bones were kept, was found on the Mount of Olives bearing
a Greek inscription that says “The bones of Nicanor the Alexandrian, who made
the doors.” Josephus also tells us that this gate was taller than the other
gates and that its weight was so great that it took 20 men to move it.
As for where everyone came running, Solomon’s Colonnade, a covered
walkway structure on the east side of the Temple Mount. This is the same
location that Jesus spoke to the Jews on the Festival of Dedication, which is
actually Hannukah.
Then came the Festival of Dedication at
Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in
Solomon’s Colonnade. The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How
long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” –
John 10:22-24
Jesus explained that He had told them, but they did not
believe. He said much more, and the Jews picked up stones to stone Him, because
they understood Him to be saying that He, “a mere man, claim to be God.” After
hearing His response, they then tried to seize Him, but He escaped from them. And
so, at this same location, people are now running toward Peter, John, and the
healed man. The account of Jesus at the same location reminds us that the
situation at hand is very volatile. Again, you will need to wait until next
week to find out how it turns out.
As for archaeology, the Temple Mount Sifting Project is an
archaeological undertaking in which areas on the hillsides of the Temple Mount
that were destroyed by the Palestinians are being sifted for items of
archaeological value. In 2017, a capital, the stone on the top of a vertical
column on which horizontal structures were laid, was found. It is clearly
pre-Herodian, likely dating to the time of the Hasmonean dynasty. Based on its
structure and the location it was found, the capital almost certainly came from
the eastern colonnade, the portion that both Josephus and the New Testament
call “Solomon’s Porch” or colonnade. As to the time of its origin, it is
believed that the original colonnade, at least the outer wall for it, was
indeed made at the time of Solomon, and that Herod, knowing this, did not tear
it down and replace it. However, partly due to wear, and also due to how
everything was constantly being updated, it appears that at least parts of the
colonnade were rebuilt or modified at the time of the Hasmoneans, which was
prior to Herod. There were colonnades going around most of the Temple Mount, much
of which was made by Herod as he expanded the Temple Mount area westward,
northward, and southward. But the eastern side was older, and Josephus says
that he did not touch it. He also says that the colonnade on this side was
shorter in height than the other sides. It is no surprise that what Herod made,
he made bigger than what was already there.
I want to finish today by coming back to what it was like
to be a new believer at this time. The miraculous acts of the apostles were
certainly drawing crowds to the new believers, and these events gave the
apostles opportunities to preach the gospel. But it was the Holy Spirit that
made people respond to the message that was preached. It was the Holy Spirit
that converted 3000 people on that first day. And it was the Holy Spirit that
was adding, day by day, people who were being saved.
Even if miracles are less rare today than they were at the
birth of the church, the work of the Holy Spirit in drawing people to repent
and put their faith and trust in God continues strongly to this day.
In the past week, the Holy Spirit did something special at
Asbury College, a Christian school in Kentucky. This school has a mandatory
chapel class, like many Christian schools. And the speaker about a week ago
gave a message on Romans 12:9-21, a passage with 30 commands in 13 verses. These
are difficult commands, including “Honor one another above yourselves.” “Never
be lacking in zeal but keep your spiritual fervor.” “Be patient in affliction.”
“Bless those who persecute you.” The message he gave was not especially well
orated – he even said that he ran out of time and greatly rushed the main point
he wanted to give. What he did say was that you cannot do these things in your
own strength – that we must personally experience the love of God before we can
love others in the way Romans 12 describes. After the message there were a few
worship songs, and then it was over. Some of the students stuck around
including some of the musicians, and then one confessed something deeply
personal and repented. And then others did the same. And then they started
worshipping again.
They never stopped. This has been going for a week
straight. Different people take turns leading worship, playing instruments,
sharing Scripture, and encouraging others to repent. Some news media picked up
on this, and now people are streaming in from all over to experience what is
going on.
It is easy to be cynical of things like this, but I have
watched some online recordings of what is happening, and it seems legitimately
like the work of God. I have seen elements of what is happening in our
Faithwalkers conferences – people confessing their sin, coming to faith in
Christ, rededicating their lives to God. But there have been times when the
Holy Spirit seems to expand the kingdom of God rapidly as many people repent
and put their faith in Christ in a short period of time. This is exactly what
happened in Acts, and it has happened many other times throughout history. You
can read up on the first and second Great Awakenings to learn more.
Interestingly, this has happened multiple times at Asbury College, oddly always
in February or March. In 1905, a prayer meeting in the men’s dormitory spread
out to the rest of campus and on into the nearby town. Revivals, as these
things tend to be called, occurred again in Asbury in 1908, 1921, 1950, 1958, 1970,
1992, 2006, and now 2023. The 1950 event received significant news reporting,
and it is estimated that 50,000 people either dedicated or rededicated their
lives to Christ as a result. The 1970 event led to 2,000 evangelistic teams going
out from the school and town to other churches and over 130 college campuses.
Many of the people who were impacted by these revivals went on to a life of
service dedicated to the Lord. This includes a good number of missionaries. The
1970 event was interconnected with a much larger movement called the Jesus
People movement. Fruit of this time included the Calvary Chapel denomination
and, arguably, the church movement that led to the establishment of this church
as well.
Only God knows what will come of this 2023 event, but I
hope and pray that it would lead to a great awakening like those of the past. We
live in dark times, and people are wandering farther and farther away from God.
May God’s Holy Spirit ignite those in Asbury into a lifetime of service, and may
the Holy Spirit likewise guide us and empower us here in Clemson. And may the
Lord add to their number, and to our number, those who are being saved.
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