Friday, September 16, 2022

Missing the Point [part one] ...

Why do you suppose the story of Peter and John healing the lame man at the gates of the Temple exists?  Sure, it is a part of church history.  The resulting reactions reminded the Sanhedrin of Jesus and what they did to Him, and you could argue the miracle caused them to back into persecution mode.  So perhaps you could argue that miracle done in the name of Jesus was a catalyst for the early Christian Church.  But this story would be read by many well after persecution had taken on different forms and come from different sources.  It is read now in our own day when the freedom to read and believe seems well established.  So why do we care about it?  Is it just church history to us?  I think we tend to venerate the disciples as carrying the pillars of our faith on their shoulders, somehow making them beyond normal, making them Biblical heroes in a way we could never imagine ourselves becoming.  And if that is where our thinking has evolved, I dare say we have completely missed the point.

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 …

 

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