The healing of the paralytic at the Gate Beautiful

Peter and John are solicited by a paralytic beggar on the way to prayer at the temple

1) One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer--at three in the afternoon. 2) Now a man crippled 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. 3) When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money.

We are told many signs and wonders were done through the apostles in 2:43; this chapter gives a specific example.

Apparently, Peter and John saw no problem in continuing their Jewish custom of prayer at certain hours of the day. Morgan points out that Peter and John were not going to the temple at the hour of sacrifice, but at the hour of prayer which followed the afternoon sacrifice. Calvin saw a missionary intent in what Peter and John did: "Furthermore, if any man ask, whether the apostles went up into the temple that they might pray according to the rite of the law, I do not think that that is a thing so likely to be true, as they might have better opportunity to spread abroad the gospel."

Josephus describes a gate made of fine Corinthian brass at the temple, seventy-five feet high with huge double doors, so beautiful that it "greatly excelled those that were only covered over with silver and gold."

The lame man simply wanted to be supported in the condition that he was in; God wanted to completely change his condition. When Peter and John gave him no money, we might hear him complain: "You don't care about me. You won't support me. Look at the mess I'm in." But Peter and John have no interest in supporting him in his mess; they want to transform his life by the power of the risen Jesus Christ. "It is not the Church's business in this world to simply make the present condition more bearable; the task of the Church is to release here on earth the redemptive work of God in Christ."

The healing of the lame man

 4) Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" 5) So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
6) Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." 7) Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. 8) He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9) When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10) 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.

The lame man was correct in expecting to receive something from them; but he received much more than the monetary donation he would have been satisfied with! Many of us haven't even come to this place: where we really expect something from God. This is faith, plain and simple, even if the man was expecting the wrong thing. Better yet, we should expect the right things from God; we are so often ready to settle for much less than God wants to give us; our low expectations often rob us.

Peter didn't have any money, but he did have authority from Jesus to heal the sick, having known what it was like to be used of God in this way (Luke 9:1-6). There is a story about a humble monk walking with a Roman Catholic cardinal at a time in the Middle Ages when the Roman Catholic church was at its zenith of power, prestige and wealth; the cardinal pointed to the opulent surroundings and said to the monk, "We no long have to say, silver and gold I do not have." The monk replied, "But neither can you say, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk."

When Peter so boldly took the man's hand and lifted him to his feet, he was receiving the gift of faith described in 1 Corinthians 12:9 - a supernatural ability to trust God in a particular situation.  This wasn't something Peter did on a whim or as a promotional event; he did it under the specific prompting of the Holy Spirit; God gave Peter the supernatural ability to trust Him for something completely out of the ordinary.

The formerly lame man responded logically: with immediate praise and worship to God.

If this man was more than forty years old (4:22), and had been crippled since birth, and a familiar sight at this temple gate (3:10), then Jesus must have passed him by many times without healing him. Why? Because God's timing is just as important as His will, and it was for the greater glory of God that Jesus heal this man from heaven through His apostles.

Peter's sermon to the gathered crowd

Introduction: why do you think we have done something great?

11) While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon's Colonnade. 12) When Peter saw this, he said to them: "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?

Peter wisely takes advantage of the crowd; he knew that the phenomenon of the miraculous in itself brought no one to Jesus, it merely aroused interest. Peter knew that saving faith did not come by seeing or hearing about miracles; rather, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).

Peter denies that the healing is due to either his power or godliness; many today who would never claim the heal in their own power yet give the impression that healings happen because they are so spiritual, so close to God, so godly.

Peter's point is simply this: Jesus healed all sorts of people when He walked this earth, so why should it seem strange that He continues to heal from heaven?

Peter preaches Jesus

13) The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. 14) You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15) You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 16) By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.
17) "Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18) But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer.

Peter makes it clear which God he is speaking of; this is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In our modern world, there are so many different (and strange) conceptions of God, it is helpful for us to be clear about which God we serve and speak about.

The greatness of Peter's sermon here is that it is all about Jesus; the focus on the sermon is not on Peter or anything he has done, but all about Jesus.

Peter boldly lays the guilt of Jesus' death squarely where it belongs; but we are just as guilty of His death as any of Peter's first listeners.

Of course, the Prince of life could not remain in the grave, and the apostles are united witnesses of this fact.

Peter says that it is in the name (that is, the authority and power) of Jesus that this man has been made whole, and he will not even take credit for the faith that was exercised in the healing. "In Semitic thought, a name does not just identify or distinguish 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."

Peter recognizes they called for the execution of Jesus in ignorance (albeit a willful ignorance) of God's eternal plan. God is able to turn the most horrific evil into a means of demonstrating His glory and grace.

Peter calls them to repentance

19) Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20) and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you--even Jesus. 21) He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.

As he did in his first sermon (Acts 2:38), Peter calls upon the crowd to repent, that is, to turn around in their thinking and actions. Repentance does not describe being sorry, but describes the act of turning around. And as he used it in chapter two, here also Peter makes repent a word of hope - you have done wrong, but you can turn around to get it right with God!

And be converted: conversion is a work God does in us; being a Christian is not "turning over a new leaf," it is being a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Blotted out has the idea of wiping ink off of a document. Ink in the ancient world had no acid content, and didn't "bite" into the paper. It could almost always be wiped off with a damp cloth. Peter is saying that God will wipe away our record of sin just like that!

What are the times of refreshing Peter spoke of? He is referring to the time when Jesus returns and rules the earth in righteousness. Peter is essentially offering Israel the opportunity to hasten the return of Jesus by embracing Him on a national level, something that must happen before Jesus will return (Matthew 23:37-39; Romans 11:25-27). One may raise the hypothetical question, "If the Jews of that day would have received the gospel on a national level, then would Jesus have returned way back then?" Hypothetically, this may have been the case, but there is no point in speculating about something that didn't happen!

Peter warns of the danger of rejecting Jesus

22) For Moses said, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. 23) Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people.'
24) "Indeed, all the prophets from Samuel on, as many as have spoken, have foretold these days. 25) And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, 'Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.' 26) When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways."

The Jews of Peter's day were aware of this prophecy of Moses (recorded in Deuteronomy 18:15, 18-19) but some thought that the Prophet would be someone different than the Messiah; Peter makes it clear that they are one and the same.

The destruction promised in the prophecy would become the legacy of this generation of Jews who largely (thought not entirely) rejected Jesus twice over.

Hidden in the idea of the promise to Abraham (all the families of the earth shall be blessed) and in the words to you first is the undeveloped theme of the extension of the gospel to the entire world - even Gentiles.

God's desire to bless us and do well for us also includes His desire to turn us all away from our sins. Just as the lame man was hindered by expecting something from God, but expecting the wrong thing, so it was with the Jewish people at this time. They were expecting the Messiah, but not the right kind of Messiah. Are you expecting the right things from God today?