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What Peter and John did, did not occur because of how
special they were. They were the
farthest thing from special, they were in fact as common as common could
be. Fisherman were not the class to
lecture in the sanctuary or temple circuits.
Fisherman were not invited to debate in the halls of power, or to offer
insight on any scripture anywhere. This
was not a personal slight against Peter or John, or any other disciple of
Christ, it was just the way society in their day measured itself. To teach, you needed education, quite a bit
of education, to even think about it. To
teach, you needed to be disciples of a venerated Rabbi who could pass along his
own knowledge to you. The process took
years, many years. So when you examined
“who” did teach scripture it was always the old, always the male, always those
tempered by time. That was NOT Peter and
John. They were young men. They never did get any kind of notable traditional
education at all, not before Jesus, and not after Him. They did NOT fit the mold of any kind of
teacher, let alone preacher, let alone evangelist or eloquent public speaker. But Luke records in his book of Acts, a
series of public sermons by Peter with stunning results.
Does any of that sound like you? Does the common part of Peter ring a bell in
your soul? What about the youthful
inexperienced part of who he was, does that sound like you? How about a total lack of public speaking up
till the days he started doing it out of nowhere, with no plan, no planned
event, in front of thousands with no planned speech at all. Luke starts the story in chapter three of his
book of Acts in the first verse it says … “Now Peter and John went up together
into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.” This was just two friends going to the temple
to pray with everyone else around 3:00pm in the afternoon, as was the custom
for those who were in Jerusalem at the time.
They would not be alone. But they
would certainly be praying differently than anyone else in ear shot of the two
of them. For everything these two men
would ask would be asked in the name of Jesus.
This was just two young men who just wanted to go to Temple to
pray. Nothing special. Nothing much uncommon, and zero plans at all.
Luke continues in verse 2 saying … “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; [verse
3] Who
seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.” As Peter and John approached the Temple to
pray, they encounter a beggar asking for any kind of money or alms they may
have been carrying. How many times have
you been approached by someone begging for money, carrying a cardboard sign, or
just looking like a homeless person with no better alternatives. Notice the irony of Luke pointing out the
name of the gate was beautiful, when the life of this crippled beggar was
anything but beautiful. He had to be
carried to this spot every day. And once
there he could not move to any other. He
sat in abject humility forced to ask any passer-by for anything they could spare,
in order to even try to maintain his own needs.
But his needs went far beyond his stomach.
And here is some of the point we tend to miss. The beggar had no hope beyond the money he
asked for. The beggar had lost any hope
that healing was even possible. His
bones were misshapen, his muscles in complete atrophy around his ankles and
lower legs. That was the medical fact of
his life. It had been like this since
birth. And he was known to all who
passed by there, as they saw him growing up sitting in the same gate unable to
ever move. Perhaps he had been carried
to this site by different people over time, thinking they could at least
provide him this service. So the beggar
asks for the only thing he has hope to ask for, not always expecting to get
money either, but still hoping for it.
Is that us? Are we so spiritually
crippled by our own self-limitations, or worse the limitations of the box we
place God in, that we have lost all hope for the needs we truly have, and
instead only ask for money. In truth, it
does sound like so much of the church as it exists today.
I wonder if we encountered such a crippled beggar as this
today, would any of us ever think to help carry him to the temple in order to
beg? Would we just give him a dollar or
two, and think our responsibility has been met and nothing more of us should
ever be required. Or would we like the Pharisee
in the parable of the good Samaritan cross the road, or roll up the window, in
order to avoid any contact with the less fortunate fearing they may hurt us to
get what they need. After all, most
beggars in our day must just be lazy or crazy right, perhaps we can just say a
quick prayer for them and be on our way.
But this is not the approach Peter or John took that afternoon while on
the way to prayer. Perhaps because we
never seem to be on the way to prayer, much too busy for that, we don’t have
the time for beggars either.
Luke continues in verse 4 saying … “And Peter, fastening his eyes upon
him with John, said, Look on us. [verse 5] And he gave heed unto them,
expecting to receive something of them. [verse 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.” Notice
there is no hesitancy in Luke’s account of this encounter. Peter sees beyond the need of alms to the
needs of this beggar’s soul. To restore
his hope, he needs his body healed. He
needs to see a miracle done for him without any faith it could be done, or ever
would be done. Peter does not withhold
money in exchange for something greater, as neither Peter or John were carrying
any money at the time. Had they been
carrying money, they would have gladly shared it as well, for that is how the
whole Christian community was living freely with each other at the time. When we don’t have spare change how many
times do we simply say “sorry, we don’t have anything today”. And we then feel absolved from any
responsibility because since we do not carry cash there is really nothing more
we can do. And I would ask, is that how
Jesus handled these encounters? Peter
and John had been with Jesus so many times in encounters like these and they
KNEW what Jesus would have done. So they
did it too.
Without committee to assess, without any faith on the part
of the recipient, without going to huddle and determine what approach they
should take, or how to pray a prayer that would not embarrass them if it
failed, they boldly asked the man to rise up and walk in the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth. While the beggar had
no idea what was going on, Peter and John expected this miracle to take place,
in fact, they had no doubt it would.
Medical facts on the ground were nothing to the disciples of
Christ. Medical facts, even up to death,
never stopped Jesus, why should it stop them.
Keep in mind, these were two young men, the most common type of men the
earth could produce back then, not formally educated, not Rabbi’s, not teachers
or preachers. And they probably would
not have considered themselves evangelists or even faith healers. But none of that stopped them, or even gave
them a moment’s pause. They just asked
for a miracle and knew it was coming.
Luke continues in verse 7 saying … “And he took him by the right hand,
and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ancle bones received strength. [verse
8] And he
leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking,
and leaping, and praising God.” Crooked
malformed bones straightened out without a twitch of pain. Muscles long in decline were made full, and
carried the strength of a young man in his prime. The former crippled beggar leaped into the
air. He not only stood, but walked and
continued leaping like a gazelle, all the while praising God. Notice the miracle was attributed back to the
power and love of a redeeming God. Neither
Peter or John immediately went around saying, “you know, we did that” or “if it
were not for us, this guy would still be laying here at the beautiful gate just
begging up a storm”. Nor did Peter or
John, turn to the healed beggar, and ask for a donation for their own
ministry. No fame. No fortune.
Not even to seek for credit as to who did it. Because they both knew, “they” were as common
as common gets. There was nothing in
them, that made the man walk, there was only power in the name of Jesus Christ.
And instead of stopping to judge whether the beggar was
worthy of such a miracle (who of us is?) they just acted in love to him. And the results were stunning. You could not keep this man from shouting his
praise to God, and literally leaping into the air. Eyes around the temple that had gone there to
pray were drawn to this man disturbing the quiet and somber place, with such
heartfelt sincere praises to God it was infectious. The entire crowd recognized him, they saw the
miracle, and none could explain it. But
they each knew God did this. And praise
began to sweep over the entire crowd.
The hearts of Israelites were suddenly irreversibly lifted in joy and
excitement over what has happened. Luke
goes on in verse 9 saying … “And all the people saw him walking and praising God: [verse
10] And
they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the
temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had
happened unto him.” Wonder and
amazement swept the crowd. The praise
lifted to God on this afternoon was catching fire and none could contain it.
This commotion would be noticed quickly by the church
authorities. And predictably they would
not share the spirit of joy and praise for they were filled with another
spirit. The contrast would be stunning. But in the recounting of this story in Acts,
I still wonder if we have missed the point entirely. You are no different than Peter or John. And before you start protesting in your own
mind and heart, immediately recounting all your sins and failures, Peter and
John had just as many of those in their own lives. And unless you happen to be a member of
church leadership, educated from birth into the scriptures and how to debate
them, you probably resemble Peter and John more than you think. All you ever needed was time with Jesus. You spend it in prayer. Jesus walks with you every day. And the same Spirit that was poured out on
Peter or John, can as easily be poured out on you if you but ask for it.
None of this is to make you some kind of great faith healer,
or evangelist. You probably think that
could never be you, you never made any plans along those lines. Neither did they. This story is not just a part of church
history, it is a road map to your future.
Your ministry could by the grace of God become one where you have the
confidence and security in the love of Christ to ask for miracles done in His
name. Miracles for the benefit of
someone else in need. Miracles that
restore hope to the soul, and turn misery into praises that leap and bound
across church floors. Imagine the person
stricken with cancer, aids, covid, or any other disease that medical science
and medical facts just cannot undo.
Imagine the joy and praise that could enter that person’s heart when
healing comes from your simple prayer on their behalf said in the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth.
The point of this, the point of this miracle, is that you
and Peter and John, are really no different at all. There was nothing special about them that
allowed this to occur. If you believe,
ask for His Spirit, and keep your eyes open for others in need, you too could
be calling down miracles from heaven that would disrupt not only the medical
community, but restore hope to souls who have long since given up, and have
never really known the love of Jesus until it comes cratering into their lives through
your prayers for them.
And healing is only the first part of this story, there is
more yet to come …
