Acts 3: 1- 8
1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
2 And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.
7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
The events in Acts 3 are an illustration of the last phrase in Acts 2:47, showing us how the Lord added to His church daily. While the Holy Spirit is not named in this chapter, He was certainly at work in and through the Apostles, performing His ministry of glorifying Jesus Christ.
Acts 3: 1- 8 is a powerful story of how a man lame from his birth began walking, leaping and praising God. A man bound by the curse of sin received healing and freedom in the presence of God- commissioned men.
Title: CHOSEN FOR GOD’S MISSION
- Men, Matter and Time
- The Mission of God’s Men
- The Failure of Our Mission
- The Power that Accomplishes the Mission
God chooses to work through men, regardless of what he has or does not have.
I. MEN, MATTER AND TIME.
The Men – Peter and John
Peter and John are often found together in Scripture. They were partners in the fishing business (Luke 5:10); they prepared the last Passover for Jesus (Luke 22:8); they ran to the tomb on the first Easter Sunday morning (John 20:3-4); and they ministered to the Samaritans who believed on Jesus Christ (Acts 8:14). Now that they were filled with the Holy Spirit, they work faithfully together to build the church.
They went to the temple at the NINTH HOUR and met this lame man begging at the gate called BEAUTIFUL. The lame man expected alms (gift) from them but they neither had SILVER nor GOLD to give. Peter lifted the man by the right hand and the man began walking, leaping and praising God.
The Matter – Silver and Gold
In the Bible, gold and silver are sacred stores of value that represent wealth and are mentioned frequently.
Gold is mentioned 417 times and Silver 320 times. Gold and silver were the first and oldest form of money. They were used to construct the Tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple. The Tabernacle is estimated to have contained 2,204.85 pounds of gold, 7,584.38 pounds of silver, and 5,338 pounds of copper.
Silver in Strong’s definition means cash; specifically, a silverling.
In Thayer’s definition = money.(riches, financial capability)
Gold in Strong’s definition means a golden article that is gold plating ornament or coin.
In Thayer’s definition it =golden ornaments, precious things made of gold. (Name, Position, Influence, Honor)
Peter didn’t have any of these, but he did have authority from Jesus to heal the sick.
It is much worse if the church or a believer never has the spiritual power to say, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk”.
And Peter took him by the right hand and lifted him up: It was one thing to say, “rise up and walk,” but it was a much greater thing to so boldly take the man’s hand and lift him to his feet.
The Time – Ninth Hour
The number nine is found 49 times in Scripture. Its biblical symbolism:
- Finality and Divine Completeness
The number nine often marks the end of a divine cycle or period. In the context of the Old Testament, every ninth year represented the end of one cycle and the beginning of a new one (Leviticus 25:1-7).
Nine also represents divine completeness. In the divine order of creation, God chose to create a nine-month gestation period for human beings, indicating a time of completeness before birth.
- Judgment
The number ‘nine’ also weaves a pattern of divine judgment throughout biblical history.
Eg. The prophet Hosea, inspired by God, declared that Ephraim’s destruction would come to the city in the ‘ninth’ year (Hosea 6:2).
The ninth hour was marked for Christ’s death, symbolizing the largest divine judgment humanity has ever witnessed (Matthew 27:45-50).
- Fruitfulness
On a fruitful note, there are nine fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23 — love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, symbolizing the attributes that the Holy Spirit engenders in believers.
II. THE MISSION OF GOD’S MEN
Peter and John had both been commissioned as apostles of Jesus, His special ambassadors. And here we see the first specific post-Pentecostal miracle which opened the door for Peter’s proclamation and the church’s persecution (Acts 4).
“Who” is the mission?
The Marred at the Beautiful gate.
- The Marred – The Lame Man
The Greek word for lame is cholos, and means, “Limping or to be cripple; to be deprived of a foot, or maimed.”
The man was “a man without strength in his feet.” He felt he had no other options and it was certainly better for him to be supported than to starve to death.
The man had good reason to believe that begging at the Beautiful gate could support him. There was a strong tradition of alms-giving in Judaism, and doing it is an act of righteousness.
He must have been happy and encouraged when Peter and John looked at him intently.
He gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. He was correct in expecting to receive something from them, but he received much more than the monetary donation he would have been satisfied with!
Many of us have yet to come to the place where we really expect something from God. Better yet, we should expect the right things from God. But we are often too ready to settle for much less than God wants to give to us, and our low expectations often rob us.
Lameness is the fact of being unable to walk correctly because of physical injury to or weakness in the legs or feet. It is a painful condition that affects the locomotion system and has a detrimental effect on health, welfare, and productivity.
The helpless condition of this lame since birth is in marked contrast to the beauty of the temple.
J Vernon McGee points out – “What a contrast he was to the gate which is called Beautiful. Here was a beautiful gate, and here was a man who was marred. Man can make beautiful things, but man cannot improve himself. Of course, man can do some trimming on the outside. He can cut his hair, have his fingernails manicured, take a bath now and then, and use some deodorant, but man can never change that old nature which he has. “
This is the contrast we have here—a man lame from his mother’s womb and a beautiful gate of the temple.
- The Beautiful Gate
There are many suggestions as to where this gate is located in the temple, such as Nicanor’s gate and Shushan gate. The ceiling inside the passageway has beautifully carved domes. Most of the worshipers went up to the Temple Courts through this gate, which was certainly beautiful and very effective for begging purposes.
The word Beautiful here (horaios from hora = hour) is an adjective which literally means timely, seasonable or ripe. When used of persons or things it meant beautiful or lovely. When used of an appropriate time it meant an “opportune point of time” or coming at just the right time.
The idea in this passage is how timely is the arrival of those who proclaim the Good News. How fascinating that this man lame from birth was sitting at a gate named “Beautiful” and he receives and believes the Good News which set him free from his physical malady, but more importantly set him free from his bondage to sin which had crippled any attempts at a “spiritual walk.” A miracle happened at the right time.
To be God’s Mission men, like Peter and John, there is a need of:
- Real People in a Real World.
Peter and John is an interesting combination! It used to be Peter and Andrew, James and John. Now it is Peter and John. Calvary had brought these men into closer fellowship with each other. Only God would have put these two together for their personalities were almost polar opposites.
Peter was outgoing, gregarious, loquacious, impetuous, opinionated. Someone said the only time he opened his mouth was to change feet.
John was serene, contemplative, reflective, tender, self-effacing, the one Jesus loved and who leaned on Jesus’ breast at the Last Supper.
By nature and temperament they were different. They would get on each other’s nerves, but now they walked together. We read, “Now Peter and John went up together into the temple.” Before, they had been mutual disciples of Jesus, now they were members of a common body; before, they knew friendship, now they enjoyed fellowship.
– People who would not pretend.
– People who admit weaknesses.
– People who unite in differences.
- Real Passion
“And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John….And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up:” Acts 3: 4, 7.
They fastened their eyes on him. Fasten means behold earnestly. They looked at him with sincere and intense conviction.
The word “took” “piazo” means to lay hold of, to capture, to apprehend. It was an intentional and forceful kind of holding.
Lifting by the RIGHT HAND is an act that portrays HONOR and AUTHORITY. Peter lifting the lame man up by the right hand signifies lifting the man up from shame and powerlessness to honor and authority.
We are reminded that in the spiritual life, there is a curious mingling of the divine and the human. We must do what we can do; then God will do what we cannot do. And there is never a wrong time for miracles to take place and for souls to be saved.
- Real Possession.
“..but such as I have give I thee…” Acts 3: 6
J Vernon McGee – Today the organized church has wealth. I suppose that if one could put together all the holdings of all the churches, all groups, denominations, and non-denominations across the country, we would find the church wealthier than any other organization. I think it is wealthier than the Standard Oil Company. Yet the church today lacks power.
We have the power of the Spirit and the Word but there is a lack of power of willingness.
III. THE FAILURE OF OUR MISSION.
The failure: Silver and gold I now have but what I already HAD I don’t give.
We now have the silver and gold; we now have money, we have honor, we have names but we have become unwilling to give the REAL POSSESSION we have.
Our UNWILLINGNESS is due to a spirit of FEAR. It is fear that drives our unwillingness.
- Anticipation of failure: Also known as Atychiphobia, an intense fear of failure that causes us to avoid activities that could lead to an unsuccessful outcome.
- Underestimation of oneself. Low self-image.
- Resistance to change. Inability to adjust.
- Lack of training and Resources. Feeling of inadequacy.
- Overreliance on comfort.
Fear is the root cause of unwillingness therefore we need to cast it out. The Bible tells us that God did not give us the spirit of fear but a spirit of power, of love and of a sound mind. And again the Bible tells us there is power that casts out fear. 1 John 4:18a “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear…”
IV. THEPOWER THAT ACCOMPLISHES THEMISSION.
God is a Missionary. The creation was His first mission and the redemption of Man from the fall is His highest mission.
Matthew 21 says: “Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time… Last of all, he sent his son.”
Romans 5: 8 – But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Power was demonstrated when the Father sacrificed His Own Son, Jesus, who also willingly gave His life for us.
The power that drove Jesus to Calvary was Love – Perfect Love.
Song: CALVARY’S LOVE
Calvary’s love can heal the spirit
Life has crushed and cast aside
And redeem till heavens promise
Fill with joy once empty eyes,
So desire to tell His story
Of a love that love enough to die,
Burns away all other passion
And filled by Calvary’s love becomes a fire.
Perfect Love at Calvary is the power that accomplished the mission.
Jesus our Perfect Lover, the Ultimate Missionary, came with no silver (riches) nor gold(honor). He was born poor and was crucified naked. But because of His love for us He went into the gates of hell so that those who had been marred and bound by sin will be forgiven, set free and made beautiful.
He came to the place of sorrow and pain and made it beautiful. Calvary, the place of shame has become the ‘Beautiful Place’ for those who come and believe. And when He rose from the dead He gave every believer the power that drives away fear and gives us the fire to accomplish – Love.
Jesus accomplished the mission by willingly facing crucifixion on Calvary to conquer man’s greatest fear which is death. Since He conquered death – our greatest fear, we should not fear doing something that brings life.
CONCLUSION:
The mission was already accomplished by Jesus but we have to preserve this mission.We should apply the power that works. You and I are like Peter and John sent to the Beautiful gate and lift the lame man from shame and powerlessness to honor and authority.
There are always marred people around us. Romans 10: 14- 15 says “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news””
