20231009 Acts 3: “Healing of the Beggar” Part 1
The book of Acts shows the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel in Christ. It presents the work that Christ continued to do after his earthly ministry. He works through the ministry of the apostles and the new covenant church. The apostles bear witness to the resurrected king by the power of the Holy Spirit, and God expands his kingdom to the ends of the Earth. In his ministry, Jesus was attested by God with mighty works, wonders, and signs (Acts 2:22). In Acts, these signs and wonders accompany the apostle’s teachings (Acts 2:42-43). God was approving of their message. Acts 3 continues the apostles' witness in Jerusalem.[i]The healing of the beggar like the Pentecost event is an opportunity to bear witness to the resurrection of Christ.
This is my message in one sentence. Peter speaks of the resurrection to testify to the power of God, the guilt of sinners, and the blessing available to all.
This miraculous healing points to Jesus in a few ways. First, the words “get up and walk” are identical to Jesus’ words to the paralytic in Luke 5:23. Jesus used the physical healing of the paralytic to show he had the authority to forgive sins. Peter will use this healing in the same way.
Second, the picture of a lame person leaping and praising God is unique in the Bible. The word used for leaping only appears in one prophetic text, Isaiah 35:6, which is about the messianic age. It speaks of the restoration of Israel in such idyllic terms that it probably refers to the New Heavens and New Earth. This parallel shows that in Christ, Christians already enjoy new creation. This miracle anticipates the healing of all diseases in the age to come in accordance with OT prophecies.
Third, Peter uses the miracle to call people to faith in Christ. Peter only briefly mentions the healing in Acts 3:12 and Acts 3:16. In Acts 3:16, Peter refers to the miracle to exalt Christ when he says that it is through the faith in Jesus that the lame beggar was made well.
A first application concerns miracles. We do not just believe in Christ's resurrection but many others. The apostles witnessed Christ’s death and resurrection and proclaimed him. Acts 2:43 teaches that the teaching of the apostles was accompanied by miracles. Like Jesus, the apostles performed signs and wonders by the power of the Holy Spirit. The signs confirmed their message concerning the crucified Messiah. The same way God attested Christ with miracles, Heb 2:3-4 says that God did the same with the apostles. Heb 2:3-4 reads about the message of salvation, “It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”
All Christians believe in miracles. We believe God intervenes in extraordinary ways. We pray for his will to be done. We can make all our requests known to him. While we remain focused on doing his will, we know he is at work doing great things. We know nothing can be achieved by our own strength. We need God to intervene. We believe God can still heal today.
As it was in the ministry of Jesus and the apostles, healing points to Christ. God uses miracles to draw people to himself. God heals the lame beggar. It stirs up the people. Peter preaches the crucified Christ and Acts 4:4 records 2000 people coming to faith following Peter’s sermon. When we share our faith, we should not be overly rationalistic and logical. To believe in Jesus is to believe in miracles and things that are beyond our understanding!
A second application is that we must be amazed. Sometimes we think that people in the first century were gullible. We think that they believed in miracles because science was not as advanced back then. Acts 3:9-10 says the people were amazed and utterly astounded. They were amazed because they did not see this every day.
We cannot be complacent. We need to be just as amazed about miracles. Particularly, in thinking about the miracle of new life in Christ. Miracles of all forms are great, but remember this lame beggar may have been made well, but he may have become sick again, and like the rest of us was to die eventually. We want to pray for the sick and those with long term disabilities, but we also need to remember that those healings are always temporary fixes. They are never as important as new life in Christ. We need to be excited and amazed about conversion, and the life-transforming power of the gospel. Around this room, there is a lot to be amazed at!
A first application is that because we are all sinners, we are in a way, guilty of Jesus’ death. It does not really matter that the Jews sent him off to the Romans to have Jesus killed. The problem was our sin. Isaiah 53 says it was God’s will to crush Jesus. As the song, “How deep the Father’s love for us.” We sing, “Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice, Call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held Him there, Until it was accomplished…”
A second application is a bit theological. The doctrine of Christ is complicated. One question that divides people is whether it is okay to say that God died on the cross. Many say no.[ii] Because Peter says they killed “the author of life” (Acts 3:15), I think it is okay to speak of God dying on the cross. The Westminster Confession of Faith puts it this way, “by reason of the unity of the person [of Christ], that which is proper to one nature is sometimes, in Scripture, attributed to the person denominated by the other nature.” So even though the deity is incapable of dying, it is okay to say that on the cross God died for us, while also affirming that God cannot die.
A third application concerns witnessing. Like Peter, we need to be personal. We can appeal to people's own experiences. This way they cannot deny it. We can appeal to common sense, morality, love, religious experience, our sense of justice, logic, or meaning to point to the Christian worldview.
Acts 3:19-26 is about the present time and the age to come which are made possible by the suffering and resurrection of Christ. It is the time when those who repent and turn from their sinful ways, can know the forgiveness of sins (Acts 3:19). This season fulfills OT prophecy. Peter quotes Deuteronomy 18 and Genesis 22.
Moses announced that a prophet would come to speak on God’s behalf (Deut 18:18-19). Turning from sin means listening to this prophet who is Jesus. This promise also came with a warning. Those who do not listen to him will be judged and destroyed from the people” (Acts 3:23). This means that people’s eternal destiny depends on how they relate to Jesus. I know that that can sound restrictive. But it is good news for all. We can be saved apart from our works by faith in Christ. Jesus’ death on the cross and payment for sin is the greatest news. If we die in our sins, we will have to face God's wrath. In Christ, we can all have salvation.
Then, Peter refers to Gen 22:18 in which God told Abraham, “In your seed, all the families of the earth will be blessed.” The balance of this passage is the side of blessing that those who repent enjoy. This is the greatest news. Peter is inviting his hearers, even those who killed Jesus to benefit now from what his death has accomplished. It is a blessing for all people. It is for whoever bows the knee to Christ from all the families of the earth. This blessing is eternal life which includes a relationship with God, the forgiveness of sins, and a conscience free from guilt.
In Acts 3, once the lame beggar is healed, he walks into the temple. Until then, the lame beggar was brought to the gate of the temple. He was at the threshold to the place of worship, but he could not enter. He was lame, blemished, and denied access to the inner courts (cf. Lev 21:17–20; 2 Sam 5:8). His miracle meant a lot more than physical healing. He had found spiritual acceptance as well. For the first time, he was deemed worthy to enter the house of worship.
This theme will repeat itself in Acts. Those who deemed unworthy of worship in the old covenant with Israel found full acceptance in the name of Jesus, whether a lame beggar, an Ethiopian eunuch, a woman, or Gentiles. No wonder the man was filled with such joy. He began walking, jumping, and praising God. For the first time, he could really praise God in the place of praise, in God’s house.[iv] Let no one and nothing disqualify you, and never lose Hope for anyone. No one is off limits for God’s love.
The physical healing of the lame beggar is amazing but it points to so much more! This miracle allowed the apostles to announce the coming of the kingdom of God and show the paradigm shift that Jesus brought through his death, burial and resurrection. This is only the beginning. The rest of Acts will continue to show the implications of God’s fulfillment to his promises to Abraham, and Israel in the person of Christ for the enjoyment of all people.
Acts 3 has implications for us. If we are Christians, we have experienced the power of God that raised Christ from the dead. By our sin, we are guilty of Christ’s death, but by repenting and believing, we can also benefit from Christ’s death and have our sins blotted out. No disability, background or sin disqualifies you if you repent and believe in Jesus.
A life of repentance is one of ongoing repentance. Christians continue to sin, but we also continually repent and submit to King Jesus as we enjoy the blessings that he has for us. The blessings will not always be as radical as seeing a man lame from birth leaping for joy and praising God. However, there is joy in living right with God, in the community of his people, and going about his work of learning to live out of our union with Christ. It is also a joy to be in God’s kingdom. We are Christ’s witnesses. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we announce the resurrected king and God expands his kingdom. More experience the transforming power of the gospel. They enjoy the blessings that are for all families of the world in Christ.
[i] Luke presents the account of the healing of the beggar in Acts 3-4 in a parallel manner to the account of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in Acts 2. First, a miracle takes place (Acts 3:1-8)//Acts 2:2-4). Second, the crowd responds (Acts 3:9-11)// Acts 2:5-13), third Peter gives a speech (Acts 3:12-26)// Acts 2:14-36), fourth, the people respond to the speech. In this case the arrest (#1) the apostles (Acts 4:1-22)// Acts 2:37-41). Fifth, there is a summary of the church’s activities (Acts 4:23-35)//Acts 2:42-47) which include the apostles’ teaching – Acts 2:42//4:33; prayer – Acts 2:42//4:24, 31; Signs and wonders – Acts 2:43//4:30-31; having all things in common, so that no one would be in need: Acts 2:44-45//Acts 4:32, 34-35. Acts 3-4 make up a unit, but this message will focus on Acts 3. . .
[ii] Bruce Ware and R.C. Sproul
[iii] Schnabel, Acts. Acts 3:18. The reference to “all” the prophets is probably hyperbolic, since in Acts 3:24, Peter is already limiting his statement to beginning with Samuel, which excludes Moses who was a prophet. . .
[iv] John B. Polhill, Acts, NAC 26 (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1992), 128.
This is my message in one sentence. Peter speaks of the resurrection to testify to the power of God, the guilt of sinners, and the blessing available to all.
1 Acts 3:1-16 The Resurrection as a proof of God’s Power
In Acts 3:1-16, Peter and John encounter a man lame from birth who asks for money (Acts 3:1-3). Instead of money, Peter says, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk” (c.f. Luke 5:23). The healed man entered the temple and he was walking, leaping, and praising God. This miracle stirs up the crowd. They are astonished (Acts 3:9-11). So, Peter starts preaching (Acts 3:12-16). The theme of Peter’s message is Jesus. He connects the healing of the lame man to the resurrection of Jesus. In Acts 3:12-15, Peter talks about Jesus and how his hearers had him killed. Peter announces the greatest miracle, God raised Christ from the dead. Acts 3:16 connects the healing of the lame man to Jesus. It was through faith in Jesus who was raised from the dead, that the man was made well.This miraculous healing points to Jesus in a few ways. First, the words “get up and walk” are identical to Jesus’ words to the paralytic in Luke 5:23. Jesus used the physical healing of the paralytic to show he had the authority to forgive sins. Peter will use this healing in the same way.
Second, the picture of a lame person leaping and praising God is unique in the Bible. The word used for leaping only appears in one prophetic text, Isaiah 35:6, which is about the messianic age. It speaks of the restoration of Israel in such idyllic terms that it probably refers to the New Heavens and New Earth. This parallel shows that in Christ, Christians already enjoy new creation. This miracle anticipates the healing of all diseases in the age to come in accordance with OT prophecies.
Third, Peter uses the miracle to call people to faith in Christ. Peter only briefly mentions the healing in Acts 3:12 and Acts 3:16. In Acts 3:16, Peter refers to the miracle to exalt Christ when he says that it is through the faith in Jesus that the lame beggar was made well.
A first application concerns miracles. We do not just believe in Christ's resurrection but many others. The apostles witnessed Christ’s death and resurrection and proclaimed him. Acts 2:43 teaches that the teaching of the apostles was accompanied by miracles. Like Jesus, the apostles performed signs and wonders by the power of the Holy Spirit. The signs confirmed their message concerning the crucified Messiah. The same way God attested Christ with miracles, Heb 2:3-4 says that God did the same with the apostles. Heb 2:3-4 reads about the message of salvation, “It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”
All Christians believe in miracles. We believe God intervenes in extraordinary ways. We pray for his will to be done. We can make all our requests known to him. While we remain focused on doing his will, we know he is at work doing great things. We know nothing can be achieved by our own strength. We need God to intervene. We believe God can still heal today.
As it was in the ministry of Jesus and the apostles, healing points to Christ. God uses miracles to draw people to himself. God heals the lame beggar. It stirs up the people. Peter preaches the crucified Christ and Acts 4:4 records 2000 people coming to faith following Peter’s sermon. When we share our faith, we should not be overly rationalistic and logical. To believe in Jesus is to believe in miracles and things that are beyond our understanding!
A second application is that we must be amazed. Sometimes we think that people in the first century were gullible. We think that they believed in miracles because science was not as advanced back then. Acts 3:9-10 says the people were amazed and utterly astounded. They were amazed because they did not see this every day.
We cannot be complacent. We need to be just as amazed about miracles. Particularly, in thinking about the miracle of new life in Christ. Miracles of all forms are great, but remember this lame beggar may have been made well, but he may have become sick again, and like the rest of us was to die eventually. We want to pray for the sick and those with long term disabilities, but we also need to remember that those healings are always temporary fixes. They are never as important as new life in Christ. We need to be excited and amazed about conversion, and the life-transforming power of the gospel. Around this room, there is a lot to be amazed at!
2 Acts 3:12-17 The resurrection as the proof of the guilt of sinners
Second, Peter uses the resurrection to testify to the guilt of sinners. Peter engages his hearers. He speaks to them directly in the second person. He creates a bridge between the resurrection of Christ and them. He calls God, “the God of your fathers.” He accuses them saying, “you delivered and disowned before Pilate…” he continues, “You asked a murderous man to be given to you and you killed the author of life.” In Acts 3:15, Peter returns to the miracle by appealing to their own experience when he says, about the lame beggar, “You saw” and “You have known.” Then in Acts 3:17, back to Jesus, he says, “Now, brothers, I know that according to ignorance you acted just as your rulers.” For there to be a resurrection of Christ, someone had to kill him. In this way, the resurrection is connected to their guilt.A first application is that because we are all sinners, we are in a way, guilty of Jesus’ death. It does not really matter that the Jews sent him off to the Romans to have Jesus killed. The problem was our sin. Isaiah 53 says it was God’s will to crush Jesus. As the song, “How deep the Father’s love for us.” We sing, “Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice, Call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held Him there, Until it was accomplished…”
A second application is a bit theological. The doctrine of Christ is complicated. One question that divides people is whether it is okay to say that God died on the cross. Many say no.[ii] Because Peter says they killed “the author of life” (Acts 3:15), I think it is okay to speak of God dying on the cross. The Westminster Confession of Faith puts it this way, “by reason of the unity of the person [of Christ], that which is proper to one nature is sometimes, in Scripture, attributed to the person denominated by the other nature.” So even though the deity is incapable of dying, it is okay to say that on the cross God died for us, while also affirming that God cannot die.
A third application concerns witnessing. Like Peter, we need to be personal. We can appeal to people's own experiences. This way they cannot deny it. We can appeal to common sense, morality, love, religious experience, our sense of justice, logic, or meaning to point to the Christian worldview.
3 Acts 3:18-26 The resurrection as the Proof of Blessings for all in accordance wih OT promises.
In Acts 3:17, Peter shifts from accusation to blessing. He says they killed Jesus in their ignorance, but there is good news. Though they murdered the author of life, God raised the one they murdered from the grave (Acts 3:18)! They killed Jesus, but it was part of God’s plan. It was announced through all[iii] the prophets that Christ would suffer. Acts 3:13 already connected Jesus and the servant of the Lord which is likely the servant of Isaiah 42-53. Isaiah 52:13-53:12 is the most obvious prophetic text about the suffering Messiah. Zech 12:10; 13:7 and Jer 11:19; Dan 9:26 are also interpreted as prophecies of the suffering and death of the Messiah.Acts 3:19-26 is about the present time and the age to come which are made possible by the suffering and resurrection of Christ. It is the time when those who repent and turn from their sinful ways, can know the forgiveness of sins (Acts 3:19). This season fulfills OT prophecy. Peter quotes Deuteronomy 18 and Genesis 22.
Moses announced that a prophet would come to speak on God’s behalf (Deut 18:18-19). Turning from sin means listening to this prophet who is Jesus. This promise also came with a warning. Those who do not listen to him will be judged and destroyed from the people” (Acts 3:23). This means that people’s eternal destiny depends on how they relate to Jesus. I know that that can sound restrictive. But it is good news for all. We can be saved apart from our works by faith in Christ. Jesus’ death on the cross and payment for sin is the greatest news. If we die in our sins, we will have to face God's wrath. In Christ, we can all have salvation.
Then, Peter refers to Gen 22:18 in which God told Abraham, “In your seed, all the families of the earth will be blessed.” The balance of this passage is the side of blessing that those who repent enjoy. This is the greatest news. Peter is inviting his hearers, even those who killed Jesus to benefit now from what his death has accomplished. It is a blessing for all people. It is for whoever bows the knee to Christ from all the families of the earth. This blessing is eternal life which includes a relationship with God, the forgiveness of sins, and a conscience free from guilt.
In Acts 3, once the lame beggar is healed, he walks into the temple. Until then, the lame beggar was brought to the gate of the temple. He was at the threshold to the place of worship, but he could not enter. He was lame, blemished, and denied access to the inner courts (cf. Lev 21:17–20; 2 Sam 5:8). His miracle meant a lot more than physical healing. He had found spiritual acceptance as well. For the first time, he was deemed worthy to enter the house of worship.
This theme will repeat itself in Acts. Those who deemed unworthy of worship in the old covenant with Israel found full acceptance in the name of Jesus, whether a lame beggar, an Ethiopian eunuch, a woman, or Gentiles. No wonder the man was filled with such joy. He began walking, jumping, and praising God. For the first time, he could really praise God in the place of praise, in God’s house.[iv] Let no one and nothing disqualify you, and never lose Hope for anyone. No one is off limits for God’s love.
The physical healing of the lame beggar is amazing but it points to so much more! This miracle allowed the apostles to announce the coming of the kingdom of God and show the paradigm shift that Jesus brought through his death, burial and resurrection. This is only the beginning. The rest of Acts will continue to show the implications of God’s fulfillment to his promises to Abraham, and Israel in the person of Christ for the enjoyment of all people.
4 Conclusion
Acts 3 continues the book of Acts’ trajectory. The Apostles bear witness to the resurrected King. They do this by the power of the Holy Spirit. God uses it to expand his kingdom. Those with blemish are brought in.Acts 3 has implications for us. If we are Christians, we have experienced the power of God that raised Christ from the dead. By our sin, we are guilty of Christ’s death, but by repenting and believing, we can also benefit from Christ’s death and have our sins blotted out. No disability, background or sin disqualifies you if you repent and believe in Jesus.
A life of repentance is one of ongoing repentance. Christians continue to sin, but we also continually repent and submit to King Jesus as we enjoy the blessings that he has for us. The blessings will not always be as radical as seeing a man lame from birth leaping for joy and praising God. However, there is joy in living right with God, in the community of his people, and going about his work of learning to live out of our union with Christ. It is also a joy to be in God’s kingdom. We are Christ’s witnesses. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we announce the resurrected king and God expands his kingdom. More experience the transforming power of the gospel. They enjoy the blessings that are for all families of the world in Christ.
[i] Luke presents the account of the healing of the beggar in Acts 3-4 in a parallel manner to the account of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in Acts 2. First, a miracle takes place (Acts 3:1-8)//Acts 2:2-4). Second, the crowd responds (Acts 3:9-11)// Acts 2:5-13), third Peter gives a speech (Acts 3:12-26)// Acts 2:14-36), fourth, the people respond to the speech. In this case the arrest (#1) the apostles (Acts 4:1-22)// Acts 2:37-41). Fifth, there is a summary of the church’s activities (Acts 4:23-35)//Acts 2:42-47) which include the apostles’ teaching – Acts 2:42//4:33; prayer – Acts 2:42//4:24, 31; Signs and wonders – Acts 2:43//4:30-31; having all things in common, so that no one would be in need: Acts 2:44-45//Acts 4:32, 34-35. Acts 3-4 make up a unit, but this message will focus on Acts 3. . .
[ii] Bruce Ware and R.C. Sproul
[iii] Schnabel, Acts. Acts 3:18. The reference to “all” the prophets is probably hyperbolic, since in Acts 3:24, Peter is already limiting his statement to beginning with Samuel, which excludes Moses who was a prophet. . .
[iv] John B. Polhill, Acts, NAC 26 (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1992), 128.
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