Acts 3:1-10--The Lame Beggar Healed

Acts 3:1-10
English Standard Version
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The Lame Beggar Healed
3 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

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Last time we talked about how the disciples had everything in common and took care of every need that each other had, and how that was according to the Law of Moses, and that we'll see their definition of "brother" and "sister" and "neighbor" expand (along the lines of the Parable of the Good Samaritan when the lawyer asks "And who is my neighbor?," for he knew this word had implications under the Law).  Now we'll see something else from the Law, and that is that the people of God are to have compassion on the widows, orphans, disabled and the indigent (though we will learn later it is only our responsibility to care for those who cannot work, not those who will not work because "those who will not work should not eat").

This man who is lame has been doing what the Law told him to do--rely on the generosity of others, so he has placed Himself near one of the gates to the Temple (for he was not allowed inside the Temple, since he was disabled), and he asked for alms as people were on their way to worship the LORD.  Certainly this should be the time when they would be feeling most generous and feel the most guilt if they did not help.  We see people who do this today by holding signs asking for money and other kinds of help and we see them every Sunday on the street corners that are one or two blocks from the churches where they know people are going to frequent.  We often try to judge for ourselves if that person is trying to scam us or if their need is legitimate, but the Bible doesn't ask us to judge people that way, it instead asks us to have compassion on them in the same way that we see Jesus have compassion on those that were in need.

Peter and John were there at the hour of prayer (which is probably also why this man positioned himself at that place at that time of day when everyone would be coming by), and when they saw the man asking for alms they looked directly at the man and said, "Look at us."  This must have been most unusual for the man because most people would have been embarrassed by him and would have been happy to just throw some money at the man without looking at the man.  Not only did they look at him, but they insisted that he lock his gaze on them.  Something big was about to happen, and they needed his full attention.  He probably thought they were going to give him some large sum of money and were trying to draw attention to themselves in the same way the Pharisees did, but the first words out of their mouths put that thought to rest.  "Silver and gold I do not have...."  The thought may have crossed this beggar's mind, "Well that what good are you to me?," but his gaze stayed fixed upon them.

​They continued, "But what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”  Then they took him by the right hand, what we call "the right hand of fellowship," for you never extended your left hand to someone in that culture (though I won't talk about why), and immediately his legs and ankles were strengthened and this lame man who had never walked before in his life and had to be carried everywhere he went not only was able to walk, but but he began leaping for joy and praising God.  This is a true story, but it is also a picture of what God does for us.

Do you remember the story of Mephibosheth in the Old Testament?  No?  He was the last living descendant of Jonathan, which made him that last living descendant of King Saul.  Typically when there was a new king, they would kill all the descendants of the previous king to cut off their lineage, and keep them from staging a rebellion, yet David had made a vow to Jonathan and Jonathan to David that their houses would be at peace with one another for they were like brothers--even closer than brothers.  So, when David heard about Mephibosheth, he rallied all his resources to go find him and bring him back to the palace with him.  He made Mephibosheth his responsibility and sat him as the king's table (a place reserved only for the king, his family, and the king's closest counselors), and there he was cared for all the days of his life, but David could do nothing to heal Mephibosheth.  Here we see that the Lord gives this lame man something that he never had, and the one who was unable to enter the temple because of disability will now enter the Temple with Peter and John praising God and offering prayers and sacrifices alongside them.

All of the people who saw this knew the man, for they had seen him there every day.  None of them had been able to help him beyond giving him their alms, so what made Peter and John different?  Where they prophets of God that the people should listen to. Yes!  And more!  They were not just prophets, but apostles.  They were sent not simply to speak on God's behalf, and not simply with power and authority that was accompanied by signs and wonders, but they were ambassadors of the King and His Kingdom in a way that no prophet before them was, for the prophets of the Old Testament spoke of what they did not know, but Peter and John spoke of God's Revelation that they had seen and heard with their own eyes and ears.  That is the Revelation of Jesus Christ (the person).  He is the greatest revelation of God to man.  He is the only way that those who are broken can be healed and that those who were outcasts and could not come into His presence could be restored and that those who were unclean could be made clean.

I wonder if maybe this man was singing Psalm 100 when he was healed:


Psalm 100
English Standard Version

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever
A Psalm for giving thanks.

100 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2     Serve the Lord with gladness!
    Come into his presence with singing!

3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
    It is he who made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
    and his courts with praise!
    Give thanks to him; bless his name!

​5 For the Lord is good;
    his steadfast love endures forever,
    and his faithfulness to all generations.

Do we have the same kind of attitude today over our healing?  Do we have the same kind of compassion towards those that can offer us nothing in return that Peter and John had?  We may not have the gift of healing that we can heal them in a way that brings glory to God, but to all of us who have freely received the gift of the Holy Spirit, we must continue to go and preach the gospel that will give sign to the blind (both spiritually and physically) and cause the lame to walk (again, both spiritually and physically) and set the captives/prisoners free (mostly spiritually here, but sometimes the physical captives are set free by the message of the gospel as well).  Together we can sing with the hymn writer, "He breaks the power of canceled sin, He sets the prisoner free.  His blood can make the foulest clean, His blood availed for me." (verse 2 of O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing).