Peter Heals a Lame Beggar
3: 1-10
31-33 AD
The events of Acts 3-8 transpire with mounting concern on the part of the Jews, and especially the Jewish authorities in Yerushalayim. The rising tension resulted in vigilante action taken against Stephen, and then an authorized effort under Rabbi Sha’ul to disrupt and destroy that new Messianic movement, involving persecution and even death of the believers. The persecution led various believers such as Philip to go to Samaria and bear witness of Yeshua.
Peter heals a lame beggar DIG: As the lame man, what would you write as a diary entry for a typical day? When Peter grabs your hand, what thoughts flood your mind? What do you write in your diary after the events here? What was the purpose of miracles at that time (see 2:19 and 22). What happened to this gift after all the apostles had passed away?
REFLECT: Since ADONAI still heals today, why doesn’t He heal everyone in need? Can we demand that God heal us or a loved one that we know? If that were true, who would be God? Are we not healed because of our lack of faith or God’s sovereign will? Many times people who have a loved one died blame God? Why would a loving God take my child? My wife? My husband? My best friend? Who is responsible for all the misery and heart ache in the world (John 10:10)? How can you comfort yourself or others?
The main theme in Acts Chapters 3-5 is the way in which the witness of the first believers brought themselves into conflict with the Jewish leaders, who continually attempted to put a stop to their preaching. Two such incidents are recorded in 3:1 to 4:31 and 5:17-42, which are separated by an account of the Messianic community and how it dealt with its first internal problem in 4:32-5:16. On each occasion the power of the apostles to perform miracles led an attempt by the Sanhedrin to stop them.62
As was their custom, Peter and John went up together to the Temple one afternoon at three o’clock, the hour of the afternoon (Hebrew: minchah) prayers. The believers were still attached to the Temple and to the traditional hour of prayer (Psalm 55:17; Dani’el 6:10; Acts 10:30), which followed the afternoon sacrifice. This did not compromise their new faith in Yeshua in any way. The word went up (Greek: anebainon) indicates continuous action; they were continually going up to the Temple to pray. Luke mentions both Peter and John, but while John played a major role in the gospels, he plays no major role in the book of Acts. If John is mentioned at all, it is always in conjunction with someone else. The key figures in Acts are Peter and Paul and others are brought into the story only as they relate to these two men. Earlier Luke told us that many signs and wonders were happening through the apostles (2:43), and here we are going to see what one of those signs and wonders were. In addition, we learned that day-by-day they continued with one mind, spending time at the Temple (2:46a). Peter and John went to the Temple at the ninth hour (three o’clock in the afternoon and the time of the evening sacrifice), the hour of prayer (3:1).63
At that time they had a unique meeting with a lame man who they had seen many times before. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the Beautiful Gate to ask alms from those who entered the Temple (3:2). The rabbis teach that there three pillars of Judaism, the Torah, worship and the showing of kindness, or charity. Almsgiving was one of the main ways to show kindness and is thus considered a major expression of one’s devotion to God. With their minds set on worship, those who entered the Temple for the afternoon prayers would be particularly disposed to practice their piety by generously giving alms to the lame beggar.64 The Beautiful Gate was located inside the wall of partition that separated the Court of the Gentiles from the Court of the Women. For the lame man it was a very strategic gate because it was the entrance to the court of the Women. This inner area of the Temple compound was open to both men and women. It was the common place for worship for everyone, functioning to a certain extent, as a Temple synagogue in the open air. It was a large area that covered 70.87 by 70.87 meters, 5,023 square meters, or 16,475 square feet.65
And along the same wall as the Nicanor Gate there were positioned 13 chests (shopharoth) for offerings called the Treasury. These chests were called shophars in the Talmud because they were narrow at the mouth and wide at the bottom, and therefore each looked like a trumpet. Each was specifically marked. Eight of them were the receipt of what was legally due by worshipers, the other five, however, were strictly for voluntary gifts. He was there for the hour of prayer so that there would be a lot of traffic through the gate. Therefore, all those tithing had to walk right past this lame beggar with money in their hands.
When he saw Peter and John about to go into the Temple he made the request that he had made countless times before and stretched out his hand asking them for alms. And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something more than normal from them. But since the believers had pooled their resources (2:44-45), the two apostles had no money to give, but money was not what lame beggar needed most. He needed salvation for his soul and healing for his body. Money could provide neither.
So, Peter said: Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk (Greek: peripatei, meaning begin to walk and keep on walking). The beggar, however, didn’t move. He had never walked in his whole life. He didn’t know how to walk. So Peter decided to take matters into his own hands and he took him by the stretched out right hand and lifted him up.
And immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength (3:4-7). The genuine gift of healing, in contrast to the alleged “healings” of today, resulted in immediate cures. Our Lord’s healings were instantaneous (Matthew 8:13; Mark 5:29; Luke 5:13, 17:14; John 5:9), there was no gradual process involved. Scripture knows nothing of “progressive healings.” The beggar did not need to be “taught” how to walk. He received his coordination and balance instantly. God still heals today in response to the prayers of His children, when consistent with His will (to see a short testimony about healing from Joni Eareckson-Tada click here). Not every believer at that time had the power to do miracles. Contrary to the teaching of many today, the Messianic community was not a miracle-working community. Rather, it was a Messianic community with miracle-working apostles.66
So, he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the Court of the Women with them (3:8). This was an outstanding fulfillment of the Messianic prophecy: Then the lame will leap like a deer (Isaiah 35:6). Before, as the lame beggar, he sat at the Beautiful Gate. Day after day he sat there at the threshold to the place of worship unable to go in. He was lame, blemished, and denied access to the inner courts (Lev 21:17-20; 2 Sam 5:8). Now, he had not only received physical healing, but spiritual acceptance as well. For the first time he was deemed worthy to enter the House of Worship. This theme will be repeated in the book of Acts. Those who were rejected as unworthy for worship under the Dispensation of Torah, would find full acceptance in the name of the risen Lord, whether a lame beggar, an Ethiopian eunuch, a woman, or a Gentile.67
He was walking, leaping, and praising God. Like a child with a new toy, he could not resist using his new-found ability. His joy knew no bounds. He had never done this before. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. Then they knew that it was he, the lame man, who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement as they began to fully realize what had happened to him (3:9-10). The sight of the once lame man walking and praising God was proof to all the people that he had been truly healed. He was such a well-known figure after his years of begging that there could be no doubt about his identity and therefore about the reality of his healing.68 As a result, the word spread rapidly in the Temple Compound and a crowd gathered.
Had Peter not performed the miracle of healing the lame man, he would have had little or no audience. At Shavu’ot the Church was born. A new era had come (see the commentary on Hebrews, to see link click Bp – The Dispensation of Grace), and YHVH gave miraculous abilities to His apostles to help them proclaim their message. According to the Scriptures, those who possessed the miraculous gifts could use them at will. Contemporary “healers,” for example, do not heal at will. They are forced to dodge the difficulty by saying, “It’s not my doing, it’s the Lord’s.” Thus God – or the person seeking healing – is blamed for their repeated failures. If they could really heal, why aren’t they clearing out hospital wings?
There is an obvious attempt by Luke to parallel the miracles of Peter and Paul in the book of Acts. For example, both heal people, both raise the dead, both exhibit supernatural knowledge, both being miraculously released from prison, both perform punitive miracles, and the like. This does not happen by accident, for Luke wishes to present Peter and Paul as being on a rather equal plane in terms of their authority and power, and thus in terms of witness and success of their respective ministries.69
A Closer Look at Miracles in Acts: In fact, we can see that the same six characteristics of the miracles and healing done by Messiah also characterize the apostles’ healing. They healed with a word or a touch (9:32-35, 28:8), they healed instantly (3:2-8), they healed totally (9:34), they were able to heal anyone (5:12-16, 28:9), they healed organic disease from birth (3:2-8, 28:8) and they raised the dead. In 9:36-42 we learn that Peter brought Dorcus (Tabitha) back to life. Note especially verse 42: This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. Again we see a miracle giving credence and impact to the gospel message. In 20:9-12 a young man named Eutychus died in a fall; however, Paul brought him back to life. Do you know of any person who claims to have the gift of healing raise anyone from the dead lately? I didn’t think so. Despite all the claims being made today, no one is exhibiting those six traits in any healing ministry.
Most biblical miracles performed by men happened in three relatively brief periods of Bible history: in the days of Moses and Joshua, during the ministries of Elijah and Elisha, and in the time of Messiah and the apostles (a fourth period of miracles yet to come is described in the book of Revelation). None of these periods lasted much more than a hundred years. Each of them saw a proliferation of miracles unheard of in other eras. Even during those three time periods, however, miracles were not exactly happening every day. The miracles that happened involved men who were extraordinary messengers from God.
Aside from those three periods of time God, Himself, continued to perform sign miracles in isolated events, because that is His nature. In the days of Isaiah, for example, ADONAI supernaturally defeated the Sennacherib’s army (see the commentary on Isaiah Gw – Then the Angel of the LORD Put To Death a Hundred and Eighty Five Thousand Men in the Assyrian Camp), then He healed Hezekiah and turned the sun’s shadows back (see the commentary on Isaiah Gy – Hezekiah Became Ill and Was at the Point of Death). In the days of Dani’el, God preserved Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael in the fiery furnace (Dani’el 3:20-26). But once again, God, and not men, performed those miracles.
A look into the TaNaKh reveals that aside from those already mentioned – Moses, Joshua, Elijah and Elisha – the only person who routinely performed supernatural feats was Samson. As miracle workers go, Samson was an exception in almost every category. He taught no great truth; in fact, he was neither a preacher nor a teacher. He was unfaithful and immoral. His only role seems to have been the preservation of Isra’el, and his power was given to him specifically for that task. No one else in recorded history displayed physical power like his.
Of course YHVH can interject Himself into the stream of history supernaturally any time He wants. But the LORD chose to limit Himself primarily to these three periods of biblical miracles, with very rare supernatural displays in between. The rest of the time God directs the course of human events to fulfill the purposes that He has in mind.
At least three characteristics of miracles in Scripture help us understand why ADONAI has worked the way He has. First, miracles introduced new eras of revelation. All three periods of miracles were in times when God had His revelation written in substantial quantities. Those doing the miracles were essentially the same ones heralding a new era of revelation. Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible. Elijah and Elisha introduced the prophetic age. And the apostles wrote nearly all of the B’rit Chadashah.
Second, miracles authenticated the messengers of revelation. All the miracles served an important purpose. They were not simply divine exhibitionism; they substantiated and authenticated the prophets’ claim that they spoke for Ha’Shem. For example, Moses’ miracles confirmed first to Pharaoh, and then to the Israelites, the he spoke for God. Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, and Messiah and the apostles all had the ability to do frequent signs and wonders. These were designed to convince people that YHVH was with these men and that He was speaking through them.
Third, miracles called attention to new revelation. ADONAI used miracles to get the attention of the people to whom the message was directed so that they would know for sure it was the divine LORD speaking. Then He was able to tell them what to do. Therefore, miracles have an instructive purpose that goes beyond the immediate effect of the miracle itself. For example, the miracles Moses did in Egypt were meant to enlighten both the Israelites and the Egyptians. The miracles of Elijah and Elisha were also effective in convincing both believers and unbelievers that what those men spoke was the word (Greek: rhema, meaning the spoken word) of God (First Kings 18:16-39). In the New Covenant, miracles and signs were again used to confirm believers and convince unbelievers. That is the theme of the gospel of John, which was written so that you may believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31). The miracles and signs of Jesus were recorded so that unbelieving people might believe. The same was true of the apostles (see At – Ananias and Sapphira Lie to the Ruach). When the TaNaKh and the B’rit Chadashah were completed, God’s revelation was finished (see the commentary on Hebrews Ai – The Superiority of Messiah to the Prophets). Through many signs, wonders, and miracles, God authenticated His book.
The gift of healing was one of the miraculous sign gifts given to help the messianic Community confirm the authority of the gospel message in the early years of the Church. Once the Word of God was complete with the book of Revelation in about 95 or 96 AD, the signs ceased. They were no longer needed. The apostles used healing only as a powerful sign to convince people of the validity of the gospel message.
In Philippians 2:25-27 Paul mentioned his good friend Ephpropditus, who had been very sick. Paul had previously displayed the gift of healing. Why didn’t Paul simply heal his friend? Because Paul refused to pervert the gift by using it for his own ends. That would have been beyond the purpose of the gift of healing. The gift was not given to keep believers healthy. It was a sign to unbelievers to convince them that the gospel was divine truth. We find a similar case in Second Timothy 4:20, where Paul mentioned that he had left Trophimus sick at Miletus. Why should Paul leave one of his good friends sick? Why didn’t he heal him? Once again, because that was not the purpose of the gift of healing (also see 1 Timothy 5:23 and 2 Cor 12:7b).
Healing was a miraculous sign gift to be used for special purposes. It was not intended as a permanent way to keep believers in perfect health. Yet today most charismatics teach that God wants every believer to be healthy. If that is true, why does Ha’Shem allow believers to get sick in the first place?
In a world were believers are subject to the consequences of sin, why should we assume that suffering is excluded? If every believer were well and healthy, if perfect health were a guaranteed benefit of salvation, millions of people would be stampeding to the saved – but for the wrong reason. God wants people to come to Him in repentance for sin, and for His glory, not because they see Him as a panacea for their physical ills.70
Yes, God still heals today. But He heals according to His own sovereign will and in His own timing. Sometimes we can’t figure out why He allows believers to get sick or even die at what seems to us to be an untimely death. That’s where faith comes in. We have to trust that ADONAI loves us and for now we see only a reflection as in a mirror. But eventually we will see God face to face and then everything will be made clear to us. Now we know in part; then we shall know fully (First Corinthians 13:12).
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