1 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2 Now a man who was lame 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. 4 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.
This story is the first story in Acts that helps us experience miraculous events and also the response of persecution to them. In this story, Peter and John are going to the temple at the time of prayer. Note that Peter and John are continuing their Jewish heritage duties. Going to the temple at the proper prayer times was important. In the Jewish tradition, there were three prayer times at day at the temple, morning, noon and night.
It is important also to note that the beggar in this story was carried to the temple gate each day to beg. This gives us a few bits of information that may not seem apparent. First, people had to physically carry him to the gate. That meant there were people who were devoted to his care, or at least so he could care for himself through begging. Second, he was put at the temple gates each day. He was passed each day by the religious who came to pray. Even Jesus would have passed him on his way into the temple! We will learn that he was forty years old, so he was a fixture at the gate for a long time. He was well-known in the community.
Peter gives him attention, as does John. The beggar expects money which is normal for that situation.
6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” 7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 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. 9 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.
Peter, as well as the other apostles, were given the power to heal way back when Jesus commissioned them to go out and preach the gospel (Luke 9:1-6). This healing power, now coupled with an understanding of the scripture (Luke 24:45) and the filling of the Spirit (Acts 2:1-4), has now made Peter a mighty warrior for God. He commands the man, in the name of Christ, to walk. He is miraculously cured, and is able to walk and jump and praise God. But the question remains, why didn’t Christ heal him?
11 While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. 12 When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. 14 You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 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 completely healed him, as you can all see.
Peter aptly gives the credit for the healing to God. But remember who he is talking to; he’s talking to Jewish people in Jerusalem. So he must help them to understand who Christ is in relation to the God of Israel. So in verse 13, he shows them that it is the same God who has brought forth Jesus and this miraculous healing power. But he must also remind them of their choices in bringing Christ to death. The power of the risen Christ channels through them. It is through this power, and the beggar’s faith in Christ, that the healing occurred.
17 “Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18 But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. 19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. 21 Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. 22 For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. 23 Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.’ 24 “Indeed, beginning with Samuel, all the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days. 25 And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’26 When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”
Peter appeals to their shared heritage. These actions, he assures them did not deter God’s ultimate plan. He quotes Deuteronomy 18:18-19, in which Moses himself proclaims a prophet greater than he that will come.
Earlier we asked why the beggar was healed at that time, and not a previous time by Christ. And here is the answer. The moment was to help Israel turn from its wickedness. What we see from this story is that the apostles have an advantage when bringing people to Christ. They have the ability to channel Christ’s power and use it as a teaching moment. But there isn’t only one of them this time but 12, each branching out on their own to show the world who Jesus is. The true power of Jesus comes through them but it is Jesus’ power not their own.