Acts 3 opens with the account of a man who needed physical healing amidst a community who needed spiritual healing. Peter and John arrive to the following scene:
Now Peter and John were going up to the temple for the time of prayer at three in the afternoon. A man who was lame from birth was being carried there. He was placed each day at the temple gate called Beautiful, so that he could beg from those entering the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter the temple, he asked for money. Peter, along with John, looked straight at him and said, “Look at us.” So he turned to them, expecting to get something from them. But Peter said, “I don’t have silver or gold, but what I do have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” Then, taking him by the right hand he raised him up, and at once his feet and ankles became strong. So he jumped up and started to walk, and he entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. All the people saw him walking and praising God, and they recognized that he was the one who used to sit and beg at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. So they were filled with awe and astonishment at what had happened to him (vv. 1-10).
When I read this story, I can’t help but marvel at how an extraordinary event arose out of a routine activity. Peter and John were on their way to do what faithful Jews in Jerusalem did every day—pray afternoon prayers in the temple. Yet through this daily act of faithfulness, God opened up an amazing opportunity to change someone’s life.
Notice what the beggar asked Peter and John for: a few coins tossed into his satchel. I can imagine that was the highest hope of this paralyzed beggar relegated to the outside of the temple. He couldn't have dreamed of anything more, so why ask for it? Walking? Impossible. Entering the temple alongside other God-fearers? Don’t be ridiculous. No, he could only beg for whatever might eek him through another day. Interestingly, Peter and John did not have any money to give. When it comes to what others need from you, do you ever feel empty-handed? Maybe it’s a problem you don’t have the wisdom to solve. A friend who needs psychological help beyond your expertise. A loved-one in financial debt too deep for you to bail out. What do you do? What would it look like for you to offer Jesus to someone in your life when you don’t have what their physical or emotional needs demand?
Acts 3:6 is one of my favorite verses in this book of the Bible. It’s a reminder that what each of us needs more than anything in this world is Jesus and all that He offers. We may not be able to give others what they are asking for, but we can always give them the love and hope of Jesus. This may mean praying in His name for someone’s healing, restoration, or sustenance. It may mean giving the gift of your presence, making a meal, or watching a child. We should always give what we can, all the while knowing He is the only One who can accomplish the miracle.
Notice that the story of the beggar begins outside the temple but ends with him inside the temple. This man’s physical healing resulted in his restoration into the community of God’s people. He went from being a beggar to a walker and leaper and then to a worshiper. Peter turns these events into an invitation to the crowds for refreshment and renewal in Christ (vv.11-20).
While he was holding on to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astonished, ran toward them in what is called Solomon’s Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he addressed the people: “Fellow Israelites, why are you amazed at this? Why do you stare at us, as though we had made him walk by our own power or godliness? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and denied before Pilate, though he had decided to release him. You denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer released to you. You killed the source of life, whom God raised from the dead; we are witnesses of this. By faith in his name, his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. So the faith that comes through Jesus has given him this perfect health in front of all of you.
And now, brothers and sisters, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your leaders also did. In this way God fulfilled what he had predicted through all the prophets—that his Messiah would suffer. Therefore repent and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out, that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send Jesus, who has been appointed for you as the Messiah.”
One man needed physical healing, but a whole crowd needed soul healing. This is where Peter explained that the phenomenon the crowds had witnessed is all about Jesus. He tells the story—the good news of the gospel.
Repentance comes with three significant blessings: our sins are wiped out, we receive the refreshment of the Spirit of the living God, and we anticipate the Lord’s return when all of creation will be restored. I love the word refreshing. Who doesn’t need some relief? Some breathing space? Acts 3:19-20 shows that refreshment follows repentance. Does this help you think positively about the invitation to repent?
Notice how quickly Peter and John are able to take a man’s physical healing and tie it to the message of salvation for the onlookers. The gospel message is offensive in that it calls out our evil ways. But it is good news in that Jesus has come to turn us away from sin’s destructive path in order to bless us (3:26). Do you hear that word, bless? I hope you do.
As we consider the ways in which we tell about the love of Jesus, we can’t leave out the joy, the excitement, the refreshment that comes when the Holy Spirit washes over us. The promise of renewal wasn't solely for a beggar outside the temple gates; it was for the crowds inside the temple who had yet to receive the Holy Spirit inside their hearts. Perhaps you will encounter someone today who needs the refreshment of the Spirit. Like Peter and John, you may not have (fill in the blank), but you can give what you have in Jesus’s name.
Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from “Acts: The Story of the Church, the Power of the Gospel, and the Mission that Continues Today” released by Lifeway Women.