ACTS CHAPTER 3 THE APOSTILES BEGIN THEIR MINISTRY

INTRODUCTION TO ACTS 3

In chapter Two we saw the apostles empowered by the Holy Spirit.  We learned the belief of the Christian Missionary Alliance (CMA) concerning tongues.  We say the power of the Holy Spirit demonstrated through the apostles and we discovered the results of Pentecost. 

HEALING THE BLIND MAN

1 - Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at          the ninth hour, the hour of prayer.

     The apostles did many miracles.  We will soon learn of a 

     lame man lame from birth, now 40 years old, being healed V2

2 - And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple.

The sick and the lame would gather out side the Temple gate and beg for alms, believing people would be more generous (when they were about to worship God).
This was a beautiful gate with bronze clad folding doors which glistened in the sun.

3 - When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms.

    This John spoken of here is probably John son of Zebedee (Luke 5:10).  Similar to our present day panhandlers these unfortunate persons would congregate at congested areas where foot traffic was high; thereby increasing the likelihood of receiving a good sum of money 

4 - But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, “Look at us!”

      Empowered by the Holy Spirit, Peter stopped and told the lame man to look at them

5 - And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

     Peter being moved by the Holy Spirit spoke to the man healing him in the name of Christ.  Peter was the instrument by which Jesus healed this man.

6 - But Peter said, “I do not  possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene ----walk!”

     Notice how Peter did not just say Jesus, he did not just say the Christ, but rather also stated the full name and identified Him as the Nazarene.  This healing also involved the faith of the lame man to stand and walk.  A man who had never walked now walked and jumped.

7 - And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.

     Notice that Peter helped the man to his feet just as the Lord did to his mother-in-law (Mark 1:31).  Luke the physician used precise anatomical terms to describe this miracle.  This man unable to walk since birth due to deformity would not have had any muscle development in his legs; making this miracle even more miraculous

8 - With a leap he  stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

     The exuberance of the man was evident in that he was leaping and praising God.  Luke described the perfection of the immediateness of this mans cure as  Acts 3:7

9 - And all the people saw him walking and praising God; 10 - and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him

    The temple setting gave this miracle maximum exposure
    The people knew him to be deformed, unable to walk
    They were all amazed and could not understand how this man could walk much less leap

PETER'S SECOND SERMON

11 - While he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement.

     The healing of the lame man drew many people to the portico of Solomon to see for themselves (the Portico of Solomon was a covered shelter on the east side of the temple).  Peter seized this opportunity to speak to the masses which had gathered.

12 - But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?

     Peter was assuring the audience that he and his companion did not perform this miracle with any secret powers.  On there own they could do nothing, because they had been empowered by the Holy Spirit they could be used by Jesus to heal and perform other Miracles. The power comes from God not man; a willing man can be an instrument of God's will

13 - “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our Fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the  one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him.

      Peter refers to Jesus as a servant of the heavenly Father (X Mat 20:28; Mark 10:45 ). Contrary to what many believe Jesus did not come to earth the first time to rule but rather to demonstrate perfect servitude and to sacrafice Himself to atone for our sins. God the Father glorified God the Son delivering Him up from the grave and is now sitting at the Fathers right hand

14 - “But you disowned the Holy and  righteous One and asked for a murderer  to be granted to you, 15 - but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.

     Peter brings condemnation on the crowed while glorifying Jesus.  These piercing comments of Peter telling them of their rejection of Jesus the prince of life. Peter blamed the people, not the Romans, for the brutality and death Jesus suffered.

•16 - “And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the  faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.

     Who’s faith are being talked about here?  Actually both Peter and the lame man’s.  Without faith Peter would not have been useful as Gods instrument.  Without the faith of the lame man to trust in Peter this man of God, his belief in God, and God's willingness to use Peter.
     Jesus was glorified in this miracle and His power was shown to all the people in that place

17 - “And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also.

     Was Peter telling them their actions towards Jesus were excusable?  Understandable yes, but ignorance did not make their guilt (their sin) any less.  He was telling them their action would have been different if they knew who Jesus was. The Jews, expecting a deliver, did not see Jesus was their spiritual deliverer; they saw only One who suffered; realizing to late that Jesus was the One Isaiah spoke of.  Peter also included the religious rulers who also acted without knowing who Jesus was.

18 - “ But the things  which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all  the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.

     Now God, through His prophets, foretold of the suffering Messiah. Even the twelve did not see the connection until Jesus was resurrected.  Drawing the connection between the foretold suffering Messiah and Jesus was made possible by the Holy Spirit.

19 - “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; 20 - and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you  21 - whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.

     Realizing their guilt; Peter calls for their repentance,
     Telling God they were sorry, and the were turning away from their sinful ways. They had to do this before their sins were forgiven by the grace of God and the atoning sacrifice of our Lord.  “Times of refreshing” refers to a foretold period of repose, joy, and prosperity.  The Lord will give you times of spiritual strength.  Peter also speaks of the second coming of Jesus; a millennium where all will be made right and the great deceiver will be chained in the abyss for a time, and all who have accepted Jesus as Lord will live in perfect harmony 

22 - “Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to Him you shall give heed to everything He says to you.

     Peter quotes Moses from Deuteronomy 18:15.
     By using the phrase “like me from your brethren”
     people believed this prophesy to be about a particular prophet.  Like Moses, this prophet would serve as a bridge between man and God.  He would tell them what God was saying to them

23 - ‘And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.”

     Beginning with the end of verse 22 with the phrase “him shall ye hear in all things”, and continuing on in verse 23. This part of the prediction is emphatically added, in order to shout out to the audience to the obedience of faith, on pain of being finally “cut off” from the congregation of the righteous [2]

24 - “And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days.

     These days are referring to the Messiah; a time of reformation (X Hebrews 9:10). Samuel was the prophet who anointed David as king. Anointing is the marking with oil usually accentuated with a proclamation

25 - “It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of  the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’

     Peter called the Jews the ‘sons of the prophets [2]. These prophesy’s came true with Jesus, coming from the lineage of king David did indeed bless the earth

26 - “For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”

     Jesus was referred to here, as a servant.  He was serving the will of the Father in all He said and did.
     “He had gone to the Jews first but they had rejected him.  God was giving a second chance to them.  They had to accept Jesus as their sacrificial lamb; their Savior; Otherwise they would not share in the blessings that God had promised”[2].  God, having raised up from the dead, having provided, prepared, and given;  His Son Jesus--" His Servant Jesus"  sent him to bless you--literally, "sent Him blessing you," as if laden with blessing.  In turning away every one of you from his iniquities--that is, "Hitherto we have all been looking too much for a Messiah who should shed outward blessings upon the nation generally, and through it upon the world.[2] But we have learned other things, and now announce to you that the great blessing with which Messiah has come laden is the turning away of every one of you from his iniquities." 

     "With what divine skill does the apostle, founding on resistless facts, here drive home to the conscience of his auditors their guilt in crucifying the Lord of Glory; then soothe their awakened minds by assurances of forgiveness on turning to the Lord, and a glorious future as soon as this shall come to pass, to terminate with the Personal Return of Christ from the heavens whither He has ascended; ending all with warnings, from their own Scriptures, to submit to Him if they would not perish, and calls to receive from Him the blessings of salvation. With what divine skill does the apostle, founding on resistless facts, here drive home to the conscience of his auditors their guilt in crucifying the Lord of Glory; then soothe their awakened minds by assurances of forgiveness on turning to the Lord, and a glorious future as soon as this shall come to pass, to terminate with the Personal Return of Christ from the heavens whither He has ascended; ending all with warnings, from their own Scriptures, to submit to Him if they would not perish, and calls to receive from Him the blessings of salvation. [3]

CREDITS, LINKS, AND CITATION

•[1] – Cross wire  (all scripture verses are copied from this site)
•[2] -  By Marion Adams
•[3] – commentaries/jamieson-fausset-brown
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