Acts 3:1-26 The afternoon sun slants onto the milling crowd. Devout Jews and disciples of Christ are filing into the temple compound. Soon it will be “the hour of prayer.” Among the throng, Peter and John edge toward the temple gate called Beautiful, which has an impressive set of doors overlaid in glowing Corinthian bronze. Above the clamor of conversation and the sound of shuffling feet, a middle-aged beggar, crippled from birth, calls for alms. As Peter and John draw close, the beggar recites his well-worn plea for money. The apostles stop, catching the hopeful man’s attention. “Silver and gold I do not possess,” Peter states, “but what I do have is what I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk!” Picture the astonishment of the crowd as Peter takes the crippled man by the hand and—for the first time in his life—the man stands upright! Can you just see the man gazing down at his healed limbs and taking his first tentative steps? No wonder he begins leaping about and loudly praising God! The ecstatic crowd runs to Peter and John at Solomon’s colonnade. Here, at the very place where Jesus once stood and taught, Peter informs them of the real significance of what just happened (John 10:23) Peter and John stand before the crowd, knowing that some there may have recently clamored for Jesus to be impaled. Think of the courage Peter displayed as he boldly declared that the crippled man was healed in Jesus’ name. “Men of Israel, why are you wondering over this, or why are you gazing at us as though by personal power or godly devotion we have made him walk? The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our forefathers, has glorified his Servant, Jesus, whom you, for your part, delivered up and disowned before Pilate’s face, when he had decided to release him. . . . But God raised him up from the dead, of which fact we are witnesses. Consequently his name, by our faith in his name, has made this man strong whom you behold and know, and the faith that is through him has given the man this complete soundness in the sight of all of you. Yes, you disowned that holy and righteous one, and you asked for a man, a murderer, to be freely granted to you, whereas you killed the Chief Agent of life. But God raised him up from the dead, of which fact we are witnesses. Consequently his name, by our faith in his name, has made this man strong whom you behold and know, and the faith that is through him has given the man this complete soundness in the sight of all of you. And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers also did. But in this way God has fulfilled the things he announced beforehand through the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer.” The apostles were modest men. They did not take credit for the miraculous deed they had performed. Peter and the other apostles knew that any good they accomplished in their ministry was due to God’s power, not their own. As a result, they modestly directed all praise for their achievements to Jehovah and Jesus. Peter did not water down the truth. He forthrightly condemned the crowd’s complicity in the death of Christ. But Peter harbored no animosity toward these people, for they had “acted in ignorance.” He appealed to them as his brothers and focused on the positive aspects of the Kingdom message. If they repented and put faith in Christ, “seasons of refreshing” would come to them from Jehovah. What a remarkable day! One person was healed physically and could now walk. Thousands more were given the opportunity to be healed spiritually so that they could walk worthily of God. (Colossians 1:9, 10) This offer to the crowd and the formerly crippled man is a gift worth more than silver or gold. This gift involves much more than restored health. It is the opportunity to repent, to have their sins blotted out, and to become followers of Jehovah’s appointed “Chief Agent of life,” Jesus Christ. In addition, the events of that day set the stage for a confrontation between loyal followers of Christ and people in power who would try to prevent them from fulfilling Jesus’ command to preach the Kingdom message.—Acts 1:8.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Jun 2013 08:40:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015