The Word This Week
Acts 3:1…
Jesus has a way of drawing crowds around those who are faithful to serve Him.
As Peter and John approached the Beautiful Gate of the Temple at the hour of prayer, they came across a man familiar to all who passed through that gate. He was a man born lame from his mother’s womb that had remained in that condition 40 years.
In those days, the best way to gather alms for your personal need was to situate yourself by one of the gates of the Temple, and appeal to the charitable hearts of those passing through those gates seeking the favor of God upon their lives.
What better way to earn God’s favor than to be charitable to someone in need as you make your approach?
Peter and John’s problem was they didn’t have any money. The lame man’s appeal to them was about to fall on deaf ears. But Peter recognized this as a divine appointment, and instead he instructed the man to fix his eyes upon them.
What happened next was the first divine miracle of physical healing of the Church Age, following the pouring out of the Holy Spirit baptism on the Day of Pentecost.
Overcoming 40 years of muscular atrophy and whatever disjointedness of the bones which caused the man to be lame, Peter, filled by the faith the Holy Spirit provided to risk everything, grabbed the man by the right hand and commanded him to rise and walk, and immediately, he did.
Of course, this also immediately drew a crowd as the man began leaping and walking and praising God. For all those familiar with this man from his routine of positioning himself by this gate to gather funds – this was the most amazing thing they had ever seen! A true miracle, inexplicable by any reasonable explanation. The people all ran to Peter and John to see what kind of men had done this for the lame man.
Peter, recognizing Who had performed this mighty work, and knowing better than anyone it had not been himself, immediately deflected all the attention to the Lord Jesus Christ. He also recognized the opportunity this amazing miracle provided and launched immediately into his second Gospel message since being baptized by Jesus with the Holy Spirit.
The true need of the lame man was not to walk, but to be saved from eternal death. The same was true for all those gathered, no matter what they perceived their ‘need’ to be on that day.
Pastor Bill
Jesus has a way of drawing crowds around those who are faithful to serve Him.
As Peter and John approached the Beautiful Gate of the Temple at the hour of prayer, they came across a man familiar to all who passed through that gate. He was a man born lame from his mother’s womb that had remained in that condition 40 years.
In those days, the best way to gather alms for your personal need was to situate yourself by one of the gates of the Temple, and appeal to the charitable hearts of those passing through those gates seeking the favor of God upon their lives.
What better way to earn God’s favor than to be charitable to someone in need as you make your approach?
Peter and John’s problem was they didn’t have any money. The lame man’s appeal to them was about to fall on deaf ears. But Peter recognized this as a divine appointment, and instead he instructed the man to fix his eyes upon them.
What happened next was the first divine miracle of physical healing of the Church Age, following the pouring out of the Holy Spirit baptism on the Day of Pentecost.
Overcoming 40 years of muscular atrophy and whatever disjointedness of the bones which caused the man to be lame, Peter, filled by the faith the Holy Spirit provided to risk everything, grabbed the man by the right hand and commanded him to rise and walk, and immediately, he did.
Of course, this also immediately drew a crowd as the man began leaping and walking and praising God. For all those familiar with this man from his routine of positioning himself by this gate to gather funds – this was the most amazing thing they had ever seen! A true miracle, inexplicable by any reasonable explanation. The people all ran to Peter and John to see what kind of men had done this for the lame man.
Peter, recognizing Who had performed this mighty work, and knowing better than anyone it had not been himself, immediately deflected all the attention to the Lord Jesus Christ. He also recognized the opportunity this amazing miracle provided and launched immediately into his second Gospel message since being baptized by Jesus with the Holy Spirit.
The true need of the lame man was not to walk, but to be saved from eternal death. The same was true for all those gathered, no matter what they perceived their ‘need’ to be on that day.
Pastor Bill