Acts  Sermon Series

Wheelersburg Baptist Church 2/25/01 Brad Brandt

Acts 3:1-10 "A Standing Ovation for Jesus"**

It’s amazing to watch how God changes people. He can turn skeptics into believers. He can restore lives that have been destroyed by sin. He can transform rebels into devout followers of His Son.

It’s not only that He can do this. He does it day after day. That’s why we’re here, isn’t it?

The Bible is full of accounts that testify to the power of the Sovereign Lord to turn ordinary people into trophies of His grace. Matthew was a self-seeking tax collector before the Lord called him. Mary Magdalene was a demoniac until the Savior set her free. Saul of Tarsus was hunting and prosecuting Christians before Christ opened his eyes to his error.

No one qualifies for the kingdom of God. Yet in His grace God chooses the unlikely and undeserving, then restores them through the power of His Son—all to the glory of His Name.

That’s exactly what He did in a dramatic episode recorded in Acts 3. In Acts 3:1-10 we meet a cripple who gave a standing ovation for Jesus. The account involves two scenes, and is a powerful illustration of the power of Christ to change lives.

We’ll meet the man in a moment, but first let’s set the stage for scene one. It occurred around the year A.D. 30. Just a couple of months prior Jesus was crucified for crimes He did not commit, and then three days later conquered death. He ministered to His followers for the next forty days before ascending to His throne in heaven at His Father’s right hand.

Ten days later, in fulfillment of Jesus’ promise, the Holy Spirit descended from heaven and indwelt the followers of Jesus. The church was established.

In Acts 2 Peter preached the church’s first sermon. It resulted in 3,000 converts being added to the fellowship. According to verse 42, the new believers devoted themselves to the teaching of God’s Word, to the fellowship, to worshipping Christ, and to prayer.

The church continued to grow as the Lord added to their number those who were being saved (47). Time passed. How much we’re not told, but one day Peter and John met a man in need.

Here’s how it happened. Verse 1, "One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer -- at three in the afternoon." Scene #1 involves three activities involving Peter and John.

A. Peter and John were going to the temple (1). You’ll often see Peter and John together in Scripture. They were fishing partners (Luke 5:10). They prepared the last Passover together (Luke 22:8). They ran together to the tomb on Resurrection morning (John 20:3-4). On this occasion, they went to the temple together.

Why did they go? They went at the time of prayer. There were three stated prayer times for Jews, the other two being in the morning (the third hour) and at noon (the sixth hour). Peter and John went to the ninth hour prayer time at 3:00 in the afternoon. As you may recall that’s when Jesus died. The ninth hour was the time of the evening sacrifice. It’s also when the daily crowds would be at their peak.

I’m intrigued that the Jewish church members continued to go the Jewish temple. No doubt they went in order to pray, but also to evangelize. This was their daily practice according to Acts 2:46.

Exclusivity can be an ugly thing. But the early church didn’t huddle up in a corner and hoard their God-given blessings. They moved out into the world, as the Savior commanded, and took the hope of Christ to needy people around them.

As they prepared to enter the temple that day…

B. Peter and John met a beggar (2-3). "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."

This was a divine appointment, not only for Peter and John, but for this beggar as well. We learn three things about this mysterious individual from the text.

1. He’s unnamed. The author of Acts, Dr. Luke, merely calls him "a man." In the KJV he’s referred to as "a certain man." No name is given here, no anywhere else in the account. The man in need goes down in the record as an unnamed man for reason we’ll discuss further a little later.

2. He’s unable to walk. This man was "crippled." He was "lame from birth (KJV)," a congenital cripple. He’d never taken a step before, not even one!

Can God use a birth defect for His glory? Remember the man born blind in John 9? When asked by the disciples, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?", Jesus gave this reply in John 9:3, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."

God is a specialist at turning adversity into opportunity to bring glory to Himself and good to people. That’s what He’s about to do with the unnamed beggar in Acts 3, too.

3. He’s dependent upon others for help. On this particular day, like every other day, the beggar was being carried to his begging post at the temple. He had no other means of income. He was a beggar.

But to make matters worse, because his limbs were lifeless, he had to be carried everywhere he went. According to Acts 4:22, the man was over forty years old which meant he’d probably been carried to the Temple on a daily basis for years.

His begging post was well chosen. He stationed himself near the Beautiful Gate, which Josephus tells us was fifty cubits high (about 75 feet) and forty cubits wide (about 60 feet). It was such a work of art that it "far exceeded in value those plated with silver set in gold." The gate was so large it took twenty men to close it.

It was an ideal spot for begging. People going to the temple, hopefully, would be God-fearers. If anybody would be sensitive to the needs of the helpless, they would. For the Jew almsgiving was an activity believed to gain favor with God (see Matt 6:1-4).

So from this position, the beggar hoped to catch his fellow Jews on their way to worship, in a frame of mind in which they would be inclined to part with their money for a good cause.

Verse 3 indicates that when the man saw Peter and John, he asked them for money. Imagine the moment. As the two apostles approach, the man calls out to them in his "beggar’s wail" a plea he no doubt had chanted thousands of times. "Alms! Alms for the poor! Just a coin or two, please, for a helpless child of Abraham."

It worked. Peter and John stopped right next to him and according to verses 4-5…

C. Peter and John responded to the need (4-5). "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."

In this fascinating encounter, Peter and John responded to a man in great need. Here’s how…

1. They looked at the man. Don’t miss the sovereignty of God in this scene. No doubt there were hundreds, if not thousands of people in the temple area. Quite likely, there were many beggars in the vicinity, too. Furthermore, there were nine gates that led from the court of the Gentiles into the temple itself. Yet Peter and John entered this gate and met this beggar.

Coincidence? Hardly. There’s no such thing as "coincidence" in a universe where God is sovereign. This meeting happened according to divine plan.

And ponder this. Just a few months before this, Jesus no doubt had passed by this very gate. It’s likely that Jesus Himself had seen this beggar and had heard him ask for alms. But Jesus didn’t heal him, not then at least, not in the flesh. In the sovereign plan of God something else was in store for this beggar.

Today was the day, and Peter and John would be the hands with which the Master would touch this beggar’s life.

How did they do it? First of all, they looked at the man. Peter "fastened his eyes upon him," as the KJV puts it, as did John. Quite honestly, our natural inclination when we see a person is need is to try not to notice him. We don’t want to get involved.

So often, we pass by people without seeing them. I mean really seeing them. Be truthful. Have you seen your neighbors recently? How about the people with whom you work or go to school? Did you see them this week?

May God help us to see people with His eyes, as did Peter and John. They looked at the man. What’s more…

2. They told the man to look at them. In fact, they commanded him to in verse 4, "Look at us!" Peter said. Why did he command the man to look?

I’m not sure, but when I put myself in this beggar’s place I begin to understand why. This man was in a hopeless daze of meaningless existence. He was numb. He was begging to get money to buy food for today. Just like he did the previous day, and just like he would the following day. And the following day. And the following day.

Here was a man who had no hope that life would ever be different. He was living in a cycle of meaningless.

But that cycle is about to be broken. He’s going to get more than money on this day, and more than new legs for that matter. For the first time in his life he’s going to really live! Peter’s going to show him how.

Beloved, some of us have known Christ for so long we’ve forgotten how meaningless life is for those around us outside of Christ. As the hymnwriter put it, "We have strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow." But all around us are people who don’t.

Why are we so tentative? We need to look at people and see them in their brokenness, and then boldly call out to them, "Look! I want to give you something that will change your life!"

What kind of impact did Peter’s words have on the man? Initially, not much. The man did give Peter his attention (5), but with ulterior motives. He "expected to get something from them." To be specific, he expected money. But Peter had something far greater in mind.

That’s what we often face, too. When we first build a redemptive relationship with someone, their expectations are so low.

So ends scene #1. We see a man in need—an unnamed man on a mat begging for money. That’s about to change very quickly.

In scene #2, we discover what three parties did. First…

A. We’re told what Peter did (6-7). Peter’s response to the beggar was threefold.

1. He didn’t give him what he wanted. Verse 6, "Then Peter said, ‘Silver or gold I do not have.’" That’s what the man wanted, remember, silver or gold. But Peter didn’t honor his request. He said he didn’t have any money.

Let that sink in. Peter was not a wealthy man, nor were the other apostles. Christ did not begin His church by recruiting the most wealthy and influential people He could find. Rather, he chose "unschooled and ordinary men," as the critics later described Jesus’ apostles (4:13).

Why did the Lord choose to use common people? For starters, He doesn’t need anything. He already has infinite resources at His disposal. What’s more, He doesn’t want people who will take credit for His work.

"Well, you know I’m the one who donated the property for the church building," one of the charter members boasted in a church business meeting.

"That’s fine," another responded. "But this church wouldn’t be what it is today were it not for what I’ve done for it!"

There’s no place for such attitudes in the church of the Living God. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise…so that no one may boast before Him (1 Cor 1:26-29)."

No, Peter didn’t give the beggar money. Actually, he could have had he so chosen. Verse 45 of the previous chapter indicates the church had and used a benevolent fund. But Peter had something better in mind. Rather than giving the beggar what he wanted…

2. He gave him what he needed. "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you." There’s a vital attitude for followers of Christ. It’s selfless generosity. What I have I’m willing to give. Money, time, possessions, abilities. What do you have that God could use to help others and thus bring glory to Himself?

Peter had something better than money. As an apostle he had the God-given ability to perform miracles.

Can God perform miracles today? Certainly. But does the Bible teach that there are miracle-workers today? I don’t believe so.

Acts is a transition book. It comes between the Gospels and the Epistles. In the beginning of Acts we see miraculous events like the one before us, which God accomplished through the apostles and their associates.

But as we journey through Acts we see less and less of the miraculous. Acts is a transition from an age when miracles were common to a time more closely resembling our own.

Now notice Peter’s third response....

3. He took action in the name of Jesus Christ. "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."

Remember, the man had merely asked for something to sustain him in his present condition. That’s all money would do for him. But Peter didn’t give him what he wanted. He gave him what he needed.

This is a key matter. William LaSor is right when he says, "It is not the Church’s business in this world simply to make the present condition more bearable; the task of the Church is to release here on earth the redemptive work of God in Christ."

God often uses felt needs to help people come to grips with their most urgent need. With this man, it was the need of money. For others, it may be a broken marriage, a health crisis, a financial strain, or simply personal emptiness.

That’s one of the reasons that as a church we are committed to the importance of offering biblical counseling for our community. When I receive a phone call, the person on the other end usually doesn’t say, "I need the Lord. Can you help me?" Typically, what I hear is something like this, "I’m struggling with alcohol. How can I experience victory?" Or, "I’m so depressed that I can’t function. Is there hope?" And as we minister God’s Word to these "felt needs" inevitably we have the privilege to address the person’s most basic need, and that is for a Savior.

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."

Notice it’s a command, not a suggestion. And it’s based on Peter’s initiative, not the man’s. Peter didn’t say, "If you have faith, I’ll heal you." Rather, Peter told him to walk, and he did.

Verse 7 tells what happened, "Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong." I like Kent Hughes’ description of Peter’s actions, "But Peter, doing a typically Peter thing, grabbed him by the right hand and began to hoist him up. ‘Hey, old buddy, you’re healed!’"

And he was! "Perhaps only medical men can fully appreciate the meaning of these words," as G. Campbell Morgan explains. "They are the peculiar, technical words of a medical man. The word translated feet is only used by Luke, and occurs nowhere else. It indicates his discrimination between the different parts of the human heel. The phrase ankle-bones is again a medical phrase to be found nowhere else. The word ‘leaping up’ describes the coming suddenly into socket of something that was out of place, the articulation of a joint. This then is a very careful medical description of what happened in connection with this man."

He was healed when Peter took action in the name of Jesus Christ.

There’s great emphasis in the first chapters of Acts on the "name" of Jesus (3:16; 4:7, 10, 12, 17-18, 30). In the Bible, a name is more than an identification tag. A person’s name carries with it authority.

For instance, several years ago my family visited some friends whose relatives lived in an exclusive residential complex in Florida. It was one of those places that you didn’t tour on a Sunday afternoon drive—unless you wanted to leave by police escort! When we arrived, we pulled up to the security station at the entrance. I wondered if the man in the uniform would let these out-of-state tourists in. He looked us over, and I said, "We’re guests of…" And I mentioned the name of my friend’s relative.

The guard nodded. "Go right ahead, then." The name represented the person and his authority.

Realize this. The name of Jesus has all authority behind it. That’s what the Lord said in Matthew 28:18. His name is "above every name" (Phil 2:9-11).

Peter said, "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." To give a command in the "name" of Jesus here means by the "authority" of Jesus.

In the book of Acts, we see continuity. The ministry of Jesus continues in the church as the followers of Jesus take action in His name. The power that Jesus exercised when he healed cripples during His three year ministry was still operative in the apostles. Peter was able to do what he did, not in his own strength, but because he acted in the name of Jesus.

Realize this, dear friend. You can give away only what is truly yours. That’s critical. If you don’t possess eternal life, you can’t share it with others.

James Boice relates the following story from the Renaissance period. "St. Thomas Aquinas was in Rome. He was walking along the street with a cardinal. The cardinal noticed a beggar. Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out a silver coin and gave it to him. Then he turned to Aquinas, the great doctor of the church, and said, ‘Well, Thomas, fortunately we can no longer say, as Peter did, ‘Silver and gold have I none.’

"St. Thomas replied, ‘Yes, that is true. But neither can we say, ‘In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.’"

Oh, the power of the name of Jesus! We’ve seen what Peter did. Next…

B. We’re told what the man did (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." Notice the three participles.

1. He began walking. Did you catch that? Even after a few months in bed a person needs to learn to walk again. Not this man! In an instant, once brittle bones became flexible, twisted limbs were made whole, and shriveled cartilage was rejuvenated. And a man who had never walked before began walking right away. This, too, was a miracle. Next…

2. He began jumping. Why did he jump? He couldn’t contain himself. Walking wasn’t enough, so he jumped and jumped and jumped. As Dr. Luke indicates, he was "jumping," no doubt of our excitement.

3. He began praising God. Don’t miss this. The first action of this man, once healed, was to go with the apostles to the temple and praise God.

That’s what the psalmist exhorts anyone who’s experienced the redemptive power of God to do in Psalm 107:2-9: "Let the redeemed of the Lord say this—those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south. Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things."

Erma Bombeck tells how she was sitting in church one Sunday when a small child turned around and began to smile at the people behind her. She was smiling, doing nothing else, not making a sound. When her mother noticed, she said in a stage whisper, ‘Stop that grinning—you’re in church,’ gave her child a swat, and said, ‘That’s better!’ Erma concluded that some people come to church looking like their deceased rich aunt left everything to her pet hampster!

Beloved, when God acts, God deserves praise for His actions. When we see Him transform a life, we ought to give Him the glory.

This morning we’re going to witness the testimony through baptism of five people who have experienced the life-changing work of God. I hope you will praise God for what He has done.

C. We’re told what the people did (9-10). The miracle had a twofold effect on the people in the temple.

1. The miracle got their attention. "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."

This happens every time the Lord transforms a life. Others see it and marvel. When God does a work, it gets people’s attention as it did in Acts 3.

2. The miracle prepared them to hear about Jesus. And that is exactly who Peter will tell them about in his sermon that follows, as we’ll see next time.

Peter told the crowd in verse 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."

Warren Wiersbe observes, "It is easy to see in this man an illustration of what salvation is like. He was born lame, and all of us are born unable to walk so as to please God. Our father Adam had a fall and passed his lameness on to all of his descendants (Rom 5:12-21). The man was also poor, and we as sinners are bankrupt before God, unable to pay the tremendous debt that we owe Him (Luke 7:36-50). He was ‘outside the temple,’ and all sinners are separated from God, no matter how near to the door they might be. The man was healed wholly by the grace of God, and the healing was immediate (Eph 2:8-9)."

Know this, dear friend. The story we’ve just considered isn’t really about the beggar. Nor about Peter. This is about Christ. The beggar’s body eventually wore out and he died—just like ours will. But what Christ did for him remains as a living testimony. Two thousand years later God is using an unnamed beggar to exalt the greatest name of all, Jesus Christ!

There are three things God commands you to do with The Name.

1. God wants you to call on the Name (Acts 2:21). "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Have you called on the name of Jesus for salvation?

2. God wants you to be baptized in the Name (Acts 2:38). "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins." If you have believed in Christ, you must be baptized in His name—not for salvation, but as a public testimony of your allegiance to Christ.

3. God wants you to make the Name known to others (Acts 4:12). "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Will you resolve today to make the Name known to others?

Acts  Sermon Series