Acts 3 "Unlocking Miracles"

When Angel was about 13 years old we were watching a mini-series on Netflix about the Book of Acts called AD The Bible Continues. It was right about the time we started NewChurch. After a few episodes Angel was very excited, “So, this is real?” I said, “Yes,” this is what the Bible says happened after Jesus rose from the dead and sent the disciples out into the world to build the church. His mind was racing, “Well, let’s go. Let’s go heal people and tell them about Jesus! We can go to the hospital, to the schools, to the store.” 

I love that moment.

But we didn’t go. I thought about it. I thought about just getting up and going to Texas Children’s hospital and having us pray for whoever we ran into. But we didn’t. Maybe we should have.

I think I was probably afraid we’d pray for someone, they wouldn’t be instantly healed, and it would ruin my son’s newly excited faith. I didn’t want to put God on the spot like that, not in front of Angel—I didn’t think he’d understand the tension between God still heals but miracles aren’t promised to happen every time.

He doesn’t remember this at all but Kim and I certainly do. It was probably the moment God started working in his heart to go into pastoral ministry.

We’re in the Book of Acts, going through it line by line. In chapter two, the church was born with Pentecost and three thousand baptisms. They met every day devoted to the apostles teaching, the fellowship, the prayers, and the breaking of bread. It says many signs and wonders were happening. Today we’ll take a closer look at one of those miracles and teachings. 

Acts chapter 3, starting at…

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 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. Acts 3:1-2

Jesus had included Peter and John in several special events the rest of the disciples weren’t part of. The Transfiguration, the healing of Jairus’ daughter, prayer in Gethsemane, the preparation of the Passover meal that became the Last Supper. Sometimes James was included, too, sometimes not. It’s good to see these two are still partners in ministry.

The temple was still the main meeting place for the church in Jerusalem—they had been at it for at least a few days at this point. They considered 6AM to be the start of daytime, so this is 3PM in the afternoon. This was the time of the evening sacrifice and worship service. 

So, it’s the busiest time of day at the temple and a crippled man is being carried on a stretcher, by his friends or brothers, to beg at one of the main entrances—the Beautiful Gate as it was called. An elaborate gate made from Corinthian bronze (not to be confused with the fine Corinthian leather in Ricardo Montalban’s Chrysler Cordoba commercials). This was a prime location for the man to be seen by generous alms givers. His people went to a lot of trouble to bring him here every day, because they had to carry him up a series of stairs to get him there. Probably less competition from other beggars—maybe they got a cut of the offerings.

Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. Acts 3:3-5

Such a sad scene. Poor guy is just sitting there looking down as people walk by, “Alms for the poor cripple.” Gloomy and sad as Eyeore. Doesn’t even look up, he just sees their feet—a constant reminder that his don’t work. Peter notices him for some reason, I’m sure they had walked by a bunch of beggars already. He looks at the guy and says, “Hey buddy, look at us.” The man looks up expecting to get something.

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!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. Acts 3:6-7

My friend Thadd and I were in Mexico and walked across this little bridge that had beggars lined up on either side. I thought of this story and felt like we were a pathetic version of Peter and John. I walked up to a man who appeared to be crippled sitting on a pillow holding out a paper cup. He didn’t understand me but I said, “Well, I’m not going to tell you to rise up and walk but here’s a few dollars.”

Which also reminds me of a story about a leader in the Medieval church who was counting a large sum of money one day when a minister friend came into his office. The church leader said, “You see, we can no longer say, ‘Silver and gold have I none.” And his friend said, “True, but neither can we say, “Rise and walk.”

Pretty heavy, right?

And it’s not that we can’t say it. We all believe God still does miracles. I think we’re just afraid to put God on the spot. What if He doesn’t come through? It might hurt their faith! Or ours! Or it might make me look like a dork! 

Honestly, I don't think this is completely wrong. We're not supposed to go around promising that God will heal people on the spot. That’s not the Great Commision. That’s not what He told us to do. He told us to offer forgiveness and salvation, make disciples. God doesn’t promise to always miraculously heal people in this life. If that was the deal, then we’d have a whole bunch of 2,000 year-old Christians walking around. But we don’t. Christians still get sick and die. Our hope is in the resurrection of the dead when Jesus returns—not perpetual miraculous healing until He comes back. 

But God does still heal. Miracles do still happen. Pray for your miracle, don’t be shy. But when you pray for other people, don’t make theological promises to them that God never made to us. 

Keep this in mind, Peter and John would have walked by other crippled beggars that day, might be why they were out of coins—so why heal this guy? Well, let’s keep going… 

And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 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. Acts 3:8-10

This dude had been crippled since he was a baby, he had never walked. We know from later in the story in chapter four he was forty years old, beyond any hope of getting better. But Peter helps him up and he immediately starts walking. No physical therapy. That’s the second miracle! He starts leaping and skipping like a crazy person! Jumping around like a maniac and praising God. Everyone recognizes him as the sad beggar who has been at that gate year after year. “How the heck is crippled Eyeore bouncing around like Tigger?” All the people in the temple courtyard are amazed!

He flouncy bounced back over to Peter and John, probably wanted to hear more about where his healing came from, too.

While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s. And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: Acts 3:11-12

This was the reason for the healing. To gather a crowd so Peter could lay the Gospel on them. So Peter could point all of them to Jesus. This is what all miracles are for. All signs and wonders. So the name of Jesus can be heard over the noise and chaos of this dark pitiful world. 

This particular scene took 40 years to set up. That guy had been preparing for this moment since he was born. His reaction to being healed was to run praising God toward the house of worship. All those people had seen him for years as the sad beggar and now look at him! It gathered a crowd.

This is why Peter and John came to the temple that day—to find an opportunity to preach the Gospel to the people who showed up to worship. All those Jews who came to sacrifice animals and didn’t know anything about Jesus the Messiah who died for them already and rose from the dead. So, Peter notices that he has an audience—not only that but one that is particularly interested in what happened to this crippled man who was overjoyed and healed.

Forty year setup. No time like the present! Peter starts talking… 

“Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? Acts 3:12

He wants to make it clear that they didn’t heal the man. They don’t have any superpowers. Also, it’s not because of how good they are. They’re not super Christians. They want everyone to know all the miracles are being done by Jesus, not them.

This is Peter we’re talking about here. The fisherman who told Jesus he was an unworthy sinner when they first met. The guy who told Jesus He was willing to die for Him, and then folded like a coward when a slave girl said she recognized him after the arrest. Denied Jesus three times. This is not a guy who had any trophies for how holy or faithful or pious he had been. I’m not slamming Peter but this should encourage you that God will use you to do amazing things in spite of your weakness—in spite of your failures and past mistakes. You just have to be willing to step up when the time comes.

So, if it wasn’t Peter and John who healed the guy, who did? He’s going to tell them but he’s going to make sure they feel it when he does.

The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 
Acts 3:12-15

Peter’s like, “The God of Abraham—the guy God called to be the father of all His people? Made a covenant with him to save the world? That one of his descendants would be the Messiah, the Savior. And the promised One was Jesus. Jesus is the Messiah. I know you’ve heard of Him. He’s that guy you rejected and handed over for Pilate to murder. Sound familiar? 

I think they were feeling it.

And Pilate didn’t want to kill him. He tried to let him go but you were like, “Nooo! Give us Barabbas!”

We call this crushing with the Law to get someone ready to hear the Gospel.

Peter’s like, “So, you denied the promised Savior of the world, the Holy and Righteous One—you killed the Author of life.” That’s some heavy, dark language. “You killed the Messiah—deal with that!”

You could probably hear the drops of sweat running off their faces and splashing on the stone pavement. He had their attention.

“But God raised Him from the dead.” Jesus is alive again. The Author of life did not stay dead. We’re talking resurrection people. This would have gotten the attention of the Sadducees in the crowd—the temple priests and their followers who didn’t believe in any of the supernatural nonsense like angels or demons or miracles and especially resurrection. And Peter was preaching on their turf, they ran the temple.

He keeps going, “Jesus was raised from the dead…”

And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. Acts 3:16

It’s in the name of the resurrected Jesus, the Messiah—faith in Him is what healed this man. You see him with your own eyes, you’ve passed him at the gate for years, you know he’s been crippled since he was a child. Faith in Jesus is what made him whole.

In other words, the man they killed came back from the dead, He’s doing stuff. That probably made them nervous. Jesus is apparently Almighty God and He’s probably coming to get them. Why else would Peter blame them for killing Him? This sounds bad.

“And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out… Acts 3:17-19

Hold on a minute—you’re saying we’re guilty but our sins can be erased? Forgiven? Blotted out? That doesn’t sound so bad.

Notice that ignorance is no excuse. They acted in innocence and so did their rulers but it was still sin and they still have to have their sins blotted out.

Remember when Jesus was hanging on the cross and said, “Forgive them Father, they don’t know what they’re doing.” This is the same thing. They sinned, even if they didn’t understand, but those sins can be erased.

The idea is there’s a book with all your sins written down in it. Every one of them. Everything you thought, said, or did wrong. Whether you knew it was wrong or not. At the end of your life, that book gets opened up and all your sins are read out loud for everyone to hear. Then you’ll be judged according to what’s written in that ledger. Every sin is a debt. Every sin is a trespass against God’s holiness. Every sin is a death sentence.

But Peter has good news. No matter what you’ve done, you can repent, turn toward Jesus, and everything in that book can be blotted out. Fully redacted. Erased. The whole thing covered in the blood of Jesus and all the entries washed away. 

Pure grace. Repent and believe the Gospel—forgiven. Repent and be baptized—washed clean. Turn away from your sin and turn toward Jesus. His body broken for you, His blood poured out for the forgiveness of sin. 

How many sins? How many times will God forgive us? No limit.

We don’t get it. We have a hard time forgiving people. One terrible thing and we can’t let it go. If they do it again—oh man! Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. Or as George Bush said, “ Fool me once, shame on—shame on you. Fool me—you can't get fooled again.” And even the most patient people pretty much go by baseball rules: three strikes you’re out.

But this is Peter preaching here. Remember when he asked Jesus if forgiving someone seven times would be enough? Jesus said, “How about seventy times seven?” Peter’s like, “I’m a fisherman, I didn’t know there was going to be algebra involved.”

Peter is letting them know something that gives him great comfort. Something that helps him sleep at night. Because of Jesus, your sins are blotted out. All of them. No limit. None too big, none too small. And this offer is good until Jesus comes back… 

…That times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. Acts 3:20-21

All of the prophets have been talking about Jesus all along.

Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ Acts 3:22-23

I think some of the Sadducees have started to show up at Peter’s little revival meeting. They only believed in the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. Most of the prophets are later in the Old Testament, so Peter goes back to Deuteronomy and says even Moses was talking about Jesus. And Moses wasn’t kidding around, “When God sends that prophet like me, you better listen to Him, or you will be destroyed.” If you don’t believe in Jesus and listen to what He says, you will be condemned in your sin and destroyed. 

“You got that, Sadducees?

But I’m talking to the rest of you, too. This is the hour when you better start listening…”  

And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. Acts 3:24

Samuel is the prophet who anointed King David and said the Messiah would be one of David’s offspring. Peter’s just getting warmed up but this is going to be the last thing he says in this sermon… 

You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.” Acts 3:25-26

He’s talking to a bunch of Jews who came to the temple to worship in a very Jewish way. Peter tells them they killed the Messiah—they ignored all the promises God had made to them through Abraham and all the prophets. The Hebrew people were supposed to be the saviors of the world. It was through them that all the families of the earth were to be blessed. So, God sent that servant, the suffering servant of Isaiah, the Christ—God sent Jesus to the Jews first, to bless them and turn them from their wickedness. 

This is the good news for them on that very day. This was their opportunity. They can be as forgiven of their sin as that beggar was healed from his disability. Through this sermon, God is turning them from their wickedness. Turning them from their sin. 

Notice who’s doing it. God is doing it. God is repenting them. Turning them away from their sin and toward Himself.

So, which is it? Do we repent? Or does God repent us?

Yes. No one seeks God. God is the one who seeks us and finds us. He calls us. Even when you were dead in your sin, God makes you alive. 

Maybe you’re sitting here today half in and half out. You believe, some, that’s why you’re here, you came to church. But you also live a lot of your life like you don’t believe—like there is no God. God is repenting you today. He’s calling you. He’s leading you away from your wickedness and drawing you to His blessing. His kindness is leading you to repentance. So, stop fighting it. Stop ignoring it. Believe. Repent and believe.

Peter probably thought he was on quite a roll—like it was going to be a pretty good day at the temple. Healed a guy. Preached a banger sermon to a big crowd. Can’t wait to go home and tell his wife all about it… 

Acts Chapter 4… 

And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. Acts 4:1-3

Wah wah wah. Priests show up with the cops and cuff them in front of everyone—threw them in jail overnight. That had to be infuriating. Frustrating. All that for nothing! What a waste. Before this happened, Peter was probably thinking he had cracked the code—this is how it works. Just like Pentecost. First, God does some signs and wonders, then I preach a sermon where I blame them for killing God, then we baptize thousands of people! 

Not today. Had to be discouraging. Such a drag when things don’t work out.

Anyone know what happens next? 

“But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.” Acts 4:4

Surprise! They heard and believed anyway. This time it was about five thousand men—probably ten thousand if you count the women and children, too. 

That’s where we’ll pick the story up next time.

There have been times in my life when I stepped out in faith and God has used it to do some amazing things. There have been other times, like the story I told at the beginning about Angel, when I held back—and God used those moments to do incredible things anyway. We didn’t run out to the hospital that night but there have been so many times since then that Angel and I have prayed for people. He grew over the years in boldness to have deep conversations about faith and step up in the moment to pray for anyone. He definitely understands that God still heals—still works miracles. But he also understands God doesn’t promise to grant miracles everytime we ask—and it’s not about trying to faith harder. God is the One who does the work, it’s not dependent on our power or how faithful we are—it’s not about our piety. It’s about trusting Him.

And it’s not about the miracles, either. It’s about the message of the Gospel. It’s about the message of salvation. There’s going to come a day for all of us when the healing doesn’t happen—that’s the day when we need our faith the most. That’s when we need to remember what all this Jesus stuff is really all about. It’s about the promise we have that our sins will be blotted out. It’s about the assurance that God will call us to Himself, turn us away from sin, death, and hell—and turn us toward His mercy and love. His kindness will lead us to repentance. His grace will lead us to life. Live in that hope. Live in the promise of that grace. AMEN