Reflections on Acts 3

Acts 03 (Contemporary English Version)


1. The time of prayer was about three o'clock in the afternoon, and Peter and John were going into the temple.
   
2. A man who had been born lame was being carried to the temple door. Each day he was placed beside this door, known as the Beautiful Gate. He sat there and begged from the people who were going in.
   
3. The man saw Peter and John entering the temple, and he asked them for money.
   
4. But they looked straight at him and said, "Look up at us!"
   
5. The man stared at them and thought he was going to get something.
   
6. But Peter said, "I don't have any silver or gold! But I will give you what I do have. In the name of Jesus Christ from Nazareth, get up and start walking."
   
7. Peter then took him by the right hand and helped him up. At once the man's feet and ankles became strong,
   
8. and he jumped up and started walking. He went with Peter and John into the temple, walking and jumping and praising God.
   
9. Everyone saw him walking around and praising God.
   
10. They knew that he was the beggar who had been lying beside the Beautiful Gate, and they were completely surprised. They could not imagine what had happened to the man.
    
11. While the man kept holding on to Peter and John, the whole crowd ran to them in amazement at the place known as Solomon's Porch.
    
12. Peter saw that a crowd had gathered, and he said: Friends, why are you surprised at what has happened? Why are you staring at us? Do you think we have some power of our own? Do you think we were able to make this man walk because we are so religious?
    
13. The God that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and our other ancestors worshiped has brought honor to his Servant Jesus. He is the one you betrayed. You turned against him when he was being tried by Pilate, even though Pilate wanted to set him free.
    
14. You rejected Jesus, who was holy and good. You asked for a murderer to be set free,
    
15. and you killed the one who leads people to life. But God raised him from death, and all of us can tell you what he has done.
    
16. You see this man, and you know him. He put his faith in the name of Jesus and was made strong. Faith in Jesus made this man completely well while everyone was watching.
    
17. My friends, I am sure that you and your leaders didn't know what you were doing.
    
18. But God had his prophets tell that his Messiah would suffer, and now he has kept that promise.
    
19. So turn to God! Give up your sins, and you will be forgiven.
    
20. Then that time will come when the Lord will give you fresh strength. He will send you Jesus, his chosen Messiah.
    
21. But Jesus must stay in heaven until God makes all things new, just as his holy prophets promised long ago.
    
22. Moses said, "The Lord your God will choose one of your own people to be a prophet, just as he chose me. Listen to everything he tells you.
    
23. No one who disobeys that prophet will be one of God's people any longer."
    
24. Samuel and all the other prophets who came later also spoke about what is now happening.
    
25. You are really the ones God told his prophets to speak to. And you were given the promise that God made to your ancestors. He said to Abraham, "All nations on earth will be blessed because of someone from your family."
    
26. God sent his chosen Son to you first, because God wanted to bless you and make each one of you turn away from your sins.

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Tracing the events from the first chapter of Acts, we have Jesus' ascension at which He gave a commission to His followers of all time to be His witnesses throughout the world. For them, and us, to carry out this commission the Holy Spirit was to be given them and us to empower and enable them to carry out this task. Following Jesus' ascension the followers remained together in prayer and waited for the Holy Spirit to be given them. This took place in the events of Acts chapter 2, and in these events the church was birthed with the conversion of 3,000 people who believed through the witness of this initial group of followers. All of this was made possible through prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Chapter 3 opens with Peter and John going about their daily routine of prayer at the temple. They did not plan what happened that day just as they had not planned what happened on the day of Pentecost. God provided the events and they responded through the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit. It is of interest to note that inspite of the previous chain of events leading up to and following Jesus' crucifixion, these disciples were still practicing their Judaism, participating in the daily prayers at the temple. This they were doing even though they had been commissioned by Jesus to launch a new movement. But their commission began in Jerusalem, which presumably would be aimed at Jews, and if they were to be Jesus' witnesses to the Jews they must continue to congregate with them. To withdraw from Judaism would be to withdraw from the community, and this they could not do if they were to be Jesus' witnesses to these people. Besides, these people were their friends and family.

The events God provided them on this particular day brought to them a man who was lame. Although God provided healing for this man that day through Peter and John, of greater significance was the opportunity this man's healing offered these disciples to be Jesus' witnesses. As Jesus' acts of healing gave evidence of who He was, so also did such miraculous acts give evidence of these disciples as followers of Jesus and of the legitimacy of their witness. The people who were in the temple area on that day had seen this lame man for years in this place seeking help of those who passed by. To see this man now "walking, leaping, and praising God," impressed them to the point of "awe and astonishment." Quickly a crowd gathered around Peter and John and this healed lame man and Peter recognized his opportunity to be Jesus' witness and used it. He not only had a crowd, but a crowd that had been primed to hear what he had to say.