John Stott tells of an English Salvation Army drummer who was beating his drum so hard that the band leader had to tell him to pipe down a bit and not make so much noise. In his cockney accent the drummer replied, “God bless you, sir, since oi’ve been converted, oi’m so ’appy, oi could bust the bloomin’ drum!” (Christianity Today [6/12/81], p/ 19.)

Out text records the healing of a beggar man by the apostle Peter, who followed Peter and John into the temple, jumping for joy!

Acts 3:1-10 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.  (2)  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.  (3)  Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms.  (4)  And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.”  (5)  And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.  (6)  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!”  (7)  And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.  (8)  And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.  (9)  And all the people saw him walking and praising God,  (10)  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.

Outline

• 1. A LAME MAN (v.1-3)
• 2. A MIRACLE (v.4-8)
• 3. A PRAISING MAN (v.8-10)

Miracles were common in the ministry of our Lord, but now that he had ascended to heaven, Jesus delegated power to the apostles, to do the same miracles!

Jesus’ miracles and the apostles miracles were all from God, they were supernatural, they were sudden, they were sufficient, and they had one purpose: to draw a crowd to believe a message.  

This beggar man was around 40 years old, and had never walked a day in his whole life. I think Robert, our resident physio therapist can tell you that someone who hasn’t walked for 40 hours is going to need some type of therapy to regain his strength. But the text tells us that immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. This is a creative miracle.  There’s no rehab here.  All Jesus’ miracles are this way.  There are instant acts of creation, new tissue, new fiber, new cartilage, new bone, new muscle, new data for the brain so that you know how to walk… only through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This story in Acts attests to the divine Messiahship of Jesus. It shows that Jesus was continuing to work through His apostles and that His name was still powerful to perform the same gracious miracles of healing that took place when He was on this earth. Luke shares it as a specific example of what he reported in 2:43, that many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. He picked this miracle because it led to Peter’s second sermon (3:12-26) and to the first persecution against the early church (4:1-22). But it was not just a miracle of physical healing; it is also a picture of the spiritual healing that God brings to a spiritually lame world.

It teaches us that God’s miraculous gift of salvation should cause us to praise Him with exuberant joy so that others will marvel at His mighty power.

Discussion Questions

1. How can a chronically depressed Christian recover the joy of God’s salvation?
2. If salvation depends totally on God, should we exhort people to do all that they can to pursue it? Why? What can they do?
3. How can a person who grew up in a Christian home and was saved as a child feel the kind of joy of the person who is saved out of a horrible past? (Hint: Are we all forgiven much?)
4. Why is it crucial to understand the difference between the biblical doctrine of salvation and the Roman Catholic view?