Skip to main content

Acts 3-4


Wow!  Consider the impact of one miracle.  Having read through the Gospels we are used to miracles.  We’ve seen all kinds of great ones.  We’ve even seen resurrections from the dead, the greatest of which was Jesus’ own.  What is so special about one lame man being healed here in Acts 3?

One circumstance that made it so special was the effect this miracle had on the lame man.  He was lame from birth.  Acts 4:22 tells us he was more than 40 years old.  Every day he was carried to the Beautiful Gate of the Temple.  He must have been severely lame to have to be carried.   

In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth he was told to rise up and walk.  He did better than that.  Peter took him by the right hand and raised him up.  Immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.  Then he leaped up, stood, and began to walk.  He went into the temple leaping and praising God.  Did you catch the fact that he not only was instantly healed, but that he was also instantly rehabilitated?  He had been lame for more than 40 years.  He had never walked before.  What happened to physical therapy? What happened to baby steps?  He immediately went from being more than 40 years prostrate to jumping all around the place. What doctor, medicine, or treatment could do that?  Only faith in Jesus name could have given this man “perfect health” (3:16).   

There was also something special going on.  It was the crowds’ reaction to this miracle.  Acts 3:9 tells us all the people saw him walking and praising God.  The next verse informs us that they recognized him and were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.  V. 11 says they were utterly astounded.  They were ready to hear what Peter had to say to them.  He gave all glory to Jesus and boldly challenged those present with the murder of the Author of Life.  In 4:4 we learn that many of these who heard the word believed – about 5000 men. 

There is something else special that is going on here – the reaction of Jesus’ enemies – described as the rulers of the people, elders, scribes, and the high priestly family.  Chapter 4 includes details of their investigation of the healing.  They were greatly annoyed at the teaching; arrested Peter and John; interrogated the formerly lame man;  astonished at what being with Jesus turned people into; baffled at how to oppose the teaching they heard; powerless to deny what had happened; and impotent to punish because the people were all praising God for what had happened.

The ripples of this one miracle were immense.  That’s how God works.  Let’s also ask for boldness, like Peter and John did – boldness to speak God’s Word.  The ripples will continue.
~Paul Thompson

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Acts 27-28

There are some very interesting developments in Acts 27.  One of the most amazing is to see the quick rise of Paul’s status on the ship – the meteoric rise from low man on the totem pole to chief of the whole tribe.   In v. 1 we find that of the 276 people on board the ship heading for Rome, Paul was numbered among the prisoners.  He was near the bottom of the barrel.  When we approach the end of the chapter we find that Paul has now virtually taken over the leadership of the boat.  He has practically been given command.  The others are looking to him for inspiration and leadership.   From prisoner to commander in a short voyage.  How did it come about?  It came because Paul demonstrated leadership in the storm.  Everyone else was looking at the storm.  He was looking at God.   The child of God, no matter where we find him, can be master of the situation.  Circumstances should never affect our confidence an...
Post a Comment
Read more

Romans 9-10

At our previous church, we often read verses from the book of Romans when speaking with non-believers about salvation through Jesus. Recently, reading verse 23 of Romans 3 and verse 23 of Romans 6 brought back memories of “the Romans Road” as that evangelistic method was called. Verse 9 of Romans 10 ( If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ”) was another verse on the Romans Road. I can’t say that I fully realized the meaning and importance of claiming that “ Jesus is Lord .”   Oh, I understood that I was testifying that Jesus is fully God; that he died on the cross and was resurrected; that his shed blood covered my sins and the sins of all who accept his gift of salvation. However, it took many years and many life lessons before I understood that Jesus is (my) Lord… Lord over my life . I’ve had to change some things in my life that didn’t reflect that truth and am still working on ...
Post a Comment
Read more

2 Thessalonians 1-3

There are a lot of significant thoughts about the return of the Lord Jesus in 2 Thessalonians, but there is something else of great importance that we can be doing right now. We can be praying for missionaries.    We talk a lot about the need for praying for missionaries.  We also need to talk a lot about how we should be praying for them.  Here is an acronym, taken from Scripture, that may be of some help. The acronym spells PEWBOARD.  It reminds us that although it may seem insignificant to us that all we are doing is sitting on a pew, we can be a vital part of missionary work.  We can pray.   There are a lot of missionary agencies, boards, and sending societies, on which we will never serve, but just because we are on the “pewboard” doesn’t mean we are ineffective in supporting those on the front lines.   All throughout the epistles we read of personal prayer requests from that great missionary – the Apostle Paul.  His specif...
Post a Comment
Read more