WWUTT 2561 The Healing at the Beautiful Gate (Acts 3:1-10)

The Healing at the Beautiful Gate and the Setting for Peter’s Sermon

Peter and John come into the temple and there's a man there by the beautiful gate who has been lame from birth in the name of Jesus. They tell him to get up and walk and he is miraculously healed before their eyes when we understand the text.

Many of the Bible stories and verses we think we know we don't. When we understand the text is committed to teaching sound doctrine and rebuking those who contradict it. Visit our website at www .tt .com.

Here once again is pastor Gabe. Thank you Becky in our study of the book of Acts. We come to chapter 3 and this is where Peter and John heal a lame man Outside the beautiful gate and Peter preaches the gospel.

Let me read through the whole chapter. So we just have 26 verses in front of us here hear the word of the Lord. Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour the hour of prayer and A man who had been lame from his mother's womb was being carried whom they used to set down daily at the gate of the temple Which is called beautiful in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple.

When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. But when Peter along with John fixed his gaze on him He said look at us and he began to give them his attention expecting to receive something from them.

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 and Seizing him by the right hand. He raised him up and immediately his feet and his ankles were Strengthened and Leaping up he stood upright and began to walk and he entered the temple with them walking and leaping and praising God and All the people saw him walking and praising God and they were Recognizing him that he was the one who used to sit at the beautiful gate of the temple to beg alms and they were filled with wonder and amazement and what had happened to him and While he was clinging to Peter and John all the people ran together to them at the portico called Solomon's full of wonder.

Peter’s Sermon: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob Has Glorified Jesus

But when Peter saw this he replied to the people men of Israel Why do you marvel at this or why do you gaze at us if by our own power or piety? We had made him walk the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob.

The God of our fathers has glorified his servant Jesus whom you delivered and Denied in the presence of Pilate when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you but put to death the author of life whom God raised from the dead a fact to which we are witnesses.

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 is through him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all and now brothers I know that you acted in ignorance just as your rulers did also.

But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets that his Christ would suffer He has thus fulfilled. 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 and that he may send Jesus the Christ Appointed for you 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.

Moses, the Prophets, and the Covenant Promise to Abraham

Moses said the Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers to him. You shall listen to everything he says to you and it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people and Likewise all the prophets who have spoken from Samuel and his successors onward also Proclaimed these days it is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your father's saying to Abraham and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed for you first.

God raised up his servant and sent him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways great sermon and We get even more detail Into this gospel that was being proclaimed by the Apostles in the very beginning.

Acts chapter 2 isn't the only place we hear a proclamation of the gospel. These speeches will come up occasionally throughout the book of Acts now as we look at this this week. This will be the chapter that we look at this week.

We're gonna look today at the healing of the beggar in verses 1 through 10. And then over the next couple of days look at the sermon itself that Peter is preaching in Solomon's portico. So let's mainly focus on these first 10 verses.

The Ninth Hour, the Beautiful Gate, and a Man Lame from Birth

Peter and John were going up to the temple at the 9th hour the hour of prayer now I talked about the different hours the way that they were Labeled by the Jews at this time when we were talking about the crucifixion of Jesus because remember it says there that he was Crucified at the at the third hour, which would have been nine o 'clock in the morning and then it was about the sixth hour that darkness came upon the land which would have been noon and by the Ninth hour.

He cried out with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit, which would have been three o 'clock. So this is the ninth hour meaning what three o 'clock? That's where we're at Peter and John. We're going up to the temple at the ninth hour, which is the hour of prayer now.

This is also considered the evening sacrifice. We may not call three o 'clock evening. I don't know. That's kind of that period of the day where it's in between. Is that afternoon or is that evening? I remember every time I was Let out of school at three o 'clock or whenever we would get out.

The teacher would always say have a good evening. So I associated three o 'clock with being evening, but this is the evening sacrifice. So then in verse 2 and a man who had been lame from his mother's womb was being carried whom they used to set down Daily at the gate of the temple, which is called beautiful.

So this is an hour of the day when a lot of people are being gathered in the temple and probably more so Than the other hours of the day even the other hours of prayer. So the ninth hour being that final hour of the day as the evening sacrifice is being made.

Everybody makes their final petition for prayer before going home and then supping with the family. So a lot of people are coming into the temple at this point where this man is being carried to the beautiful gate and set Down and he's set there at this hour.

So that as people can walk by he can beg alms and that's the rest of verse 2 in order to beg alms of those Who were entering the temple so busiest hour of the day? One of those heavily trafficked areas and and this was kind of the courtesy of his family to take him there and Set him down there.

So that he could ask for alms may have even been friends. It could have just been people that you know, they see him begging in another part of Jerusalem. Well, you know what would be charitable for us to do for this man.

Let's take him up to the beautiful gate because there he can ask of all kinds of people that are passing by and That's where he sets all the time at that hour so people are used to seeing him there. Luke is is Presenting it to us in this way lots and lots of witnesses to this man.

They all know this man. Everybody's seen this man. They pass by him on the way into the temple for the hour of prayer. This is a man who has been lame from his mother's womb. Now it's interesting to consider That this man would have been there he would have been at the beautiful gate.

Even when Jesus would come into the temple to teach. Jesus was obviously in the temple in that last week before he died but John records that there were other times that he went into the temple even was in Solomon's portico and During feast days and things like that.

So it wasn't his only trip to Jerusalem. Even though Luke especially in his gospel kind of centers everything around Jesus doing his ministry in Galilee and then turning from there to go to Jerusalem that's kind of the turning point in Luke's gospel.

So he puts a lot of emphasis on Jesus being in Jerusalem in that final week of his earthly ministry. But there were other occasions that Jesus came into Jerusalem yet. This man had never been healed by Jesus.

I think this this speaks to the fact of like Jesus could only do so much in The three years of his earthly ministry he did not heal all of Judea or all of Israel there were still many many people who were sick and infirmed and Needing of a blessing from God and so Jesus has not healed this man.

Exactly for this purpose. So that Peter and John would do it and the people would marvel and they would hear the gospel Proclaimed even convicting the hearts of the people there. You had put the author of life to death but he has risen from the dead and Forgiveness is given to those who believe in him.

That's that's where Peter is gonna go with this sermon. So in verse 3 When this man this lame man saw Peter and John About to go into the temple. He began Asking to receive alms. Now there's nothing here that tells us he would have recognized Peter and John like he knew who they were but just somewhere in this scrum of people the lame man makes eye contact with them and verse 4 but when Peter along with John fixed his gaze on him, he said look at us and He began to give them his attention.

Expecting to receive something from them. Just had a just had an occasion recently where I was leaving the grocery store. I had a couple of my kids with me and I'm leaving the store and there is somebody at the End of the drive right where people are coming in and going out so it's sort of this kind of set up to like the gate where people are coming in and going out and that's where the Lame man would set to ask for alms.

So I'm leaving the grocery store parking lot and there is a man and another man. They're kind of facing different directions, but they have signs in their hand and they're the signs say something like anything helps or Hungry, that's when we have the homeless that will ask for food around in our community.

That's usually what's on their signs so we're leaving the parking lot and somebody's standing there with a sign that says anything helps and I am kind of trying to watch traffic at the same time. It's difficult to want to pay attention to somebody who's in need and also move your car without getting into an accident.

So real quickly. I look at my daughter who's in the passenger seat. I say roll down your window because we're coming up on that couple of guys and The window rolls down and I I yell out. I'm like look over here.

So I'm calling out to them and he looks over and my daughter is holding out cash. And he runs over real quick grabs the cash and we say God bless you, you know. Not enough time to share the gospel, but it was it was that sort of a thing there.

Same thing that happens today. We see this taking place 2 ,000 years ago at the beautiful gate at the temple. Peter and John say look at us. Hey, I've got something for you. Look give your attention to me, you know.

Sometimes when I do that when I'm giving money to somebody who is in need I do that to be a testimony to my children. I do want to help them. But I'm more likely to help if I have my kids with me. Then if I was just by myself.

Because I also want that to be a testimony to my children that they also Would know it's good to help people who are in need so so using it as a teaching moment as well as being able to benefit somebody who in that hour is looking for a bite to eat and.

So he began to give them his attention. This man gives his attention to Peter and John. Expecting to receive something from them verse 6, but Peter said I don't possess silver and gold. But what I do have I give to you in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene walk now we saw this also in chapter 2 where Jesus is identified as the Nazarene as I've mentioned before Jesus was a common name there were other men who were also called Jesus or Yeshua or or you know, the.

What would it would have been the Joshua Joshua? So the way that we pronounce the name Joshua there were many other men named Joshua, but this was specifically the Prophet Jesus from Nazareth and Peter also identifies him as Jesus Christ.

So he is Jesus the Messiah or the anointed one the Nazarene Christ isn't his last name. It's a title that is his By right that has been given to him by the father. He is the anointed one the Messiah so Jesus the Messiah of Nazareth that you know of whom we speak in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene walk and verse 7 and seizing him by the right hand He raised him up and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.

Now Jesus would heal and not have to call on his own name to heal because he is God. He was God incarnate in flesh. So he had the authority on his own to command somebody to healing. Remember the account we've read in Matthew Mark and Luke where Jesus healed the the quadriplegic the man who was who was paralyzed and lying on a mat and Jesus says to him walk and he gets up and takes his mat and go home and goes home.

And remember that the Pharisees and the others that were there They were all grumbling about Jesus because he had said to the man before he healed him he said to the man your sins are forgiven and they're all grumbling and they're like who can forgive sins, but God and What is Jesus reply to them?

Which is easier? To say your sins are forgiven or to take up your mat and go home. Take up your mat and walk. And what's easier is to say your sins are forgiven because you you can't see evidence of that.

You you have Nothing visual by which to prove that this man's sins are forgiven. He declares his sins forgiven and and there you go before heaven and God and angels and everyone else. The man's sins are wiped are wiped clean.

You wouldn't be able to do anything to prove that. So Jesus is saying there what's harder to do is To tell a man to get up and walk and go home. Because now you got to prove it. Now you've got to demonstrate that you actually can tell this man to get up and take up his mat a man who has no Physical ability to do so whatsoever.

But Jesus says so that you would know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. And he looks at the man and says rise. Take up your mat and walk and so the man does it so you see through this miracle.

That Jesus is able to do because he has the authority to do so this man is healed. And his sins are also forgiven and so here Peter and John when they heal they invoke the name of Jesus because it's under his authority.

That not only this man could be healed but even have his sins forgiven by faith in Christ and that's going to be the message therefore that will be proclaimed to the people as They are in the temple for the hour of prayer.

So then Peter seizing him by the right hand verse 7 he raised him up and Immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. So the indication here is that this man being lame from birth. Remember we have at verse 2 a man who had been lame from his mother's womb.

This is a man who has no Functioning legs. It does not look like he has legs, but they just don't work. It looks like he has legs that don't work. It's not just that oh guys got good legs, I don't know why he won't just get up and walk on them.

No, you would look at this man and you would be able to tell I understand why he can't walk they are shriveled and Unusable he's never used these muscles before they're atrophied. They're completely atrophied.

He's got no meat to his legs by which he could have ever even willed himself to get up and walk this is a man who's never known the ability to be able to walk and Yet here Peter and John tell him to rise up and walk and Immediately immediately this doesn't take days weeks.

It is immediately this man's Feet and ankles are strengthened as soon as Peter says it he can stand up and he can walk though He's never even known how to do that. Right, and how long does it take to teach your toddler to walk?

To turn your crawler into a toddler how how much of that work do you got to do taking a step or two at a Time, you know, there's they're strengthening their legs even in that process so that they're strong enough to hold themselves up that takes some time and Yet here this man no experience walking.

But it says in verse 8 and leaping up. He stood upright and began to walk and He entered the temple with them walking and leaping and Praising God because it was by the miraculous amazing power of God that this was done.

The Authenticating Miracle and the Call to Walk in the Light

So this is a clear miracle now as we go through some of these things as we go through acts I'm gonna bring this out because Charismatic ism is so Rampant, it's so rampant in the United States of America and around the world people who are claiming to have this power and ability that we even read about here in the book of Acts and they'll do these these generic sort of Miracles and I put that in quotation marks because they're not really miracles.

It'll be stuff that that Visually, you can't really verify. Well, this person had high blood pressure and I healed him and now he doesn't okay. That's not a miraculous healing. Can these people who claim to be miracle healers actually do what Peter and John did right here?

If they claim to have that ability and you've never seen them do that. They're a false prophet folks have absolutely nothing to do with these people. They are charlatans. They are manipulators. They're con men snake oil salesmen.

They do this to separate you from your money. They don't really have this ability to do this incredible thing. Todd white. Todd white who does this gag where he claims to be able to lengthening. He claims he's lengthening a person's leg to match it with the other one to fix their back problems and all of that.

All he's doing is rolling their ankle just doing it very slowly or as I've joked about he's literally pulling their leg. He's not lengthening one leg out to be the length of the other one. He's not manifesting muscles or cells that had not previously been there.

It's a gag. It's a trick. So that he can post it on social media and gain clout and attention for himself and he's he's built a huge Ministry and has made millions and millions of dollars off of this gag.

It is the number one demonstration that this man is a liar. He's never done anything like this never has healed. Anybody who's got lame legs like this has never had the experience of walking in his life and And here suddenly Peter and John are just able to say get up and walk and he does immediately leaping up During the hour of prayer.

He goes into the temple with all the people that are right there. Many of them had just passed by him his legs were still shriveled up and unusable when I just passed by him and here he is leaping in the temple and Praising God and all the people saw him walking and praising God and they were Recognizing him and you would have to think that takes a minute to register though, right?

Because you've never seen this guy walking before. I recognize that face. But no, but how could this be? He's always sitting on a mat over there. Never seen this man walking. Have you seen his feet before?

How is he walking and they know he was the one who used to sit at the beautiful gate of the temple to beg alms and they were filled with wonder and amazement and What had happened to him so all the people clearly able to observe that this was a miraculous healing and This sets the stage For Peter to be able to share the gospel with them and point them to Jesus Christ because it was by Christ.

By his authority and power that this man has been healed. Authenticating the message that Peter and John are about to preach that it comes not from man, but from God. This is the very Word of God. Now that is verified to us as well.

Ladies and gentlemen, and we don't need to see some miraculous healing in order to know that the gospel that we have heard is Truly from God because all of these things have already happened and have been verified.

The miracle for us now is the transformed heart. We who were once Dead in our sins and our transgressions going after the passions of our flesh. We've turned from that to Christ and now walk in his righteousness.

That's because of the regenerated heart we've been given by the Holy Spirit and So walk walk my brothers and sisters walk no longer lame by your sins. But you are leaping and praising God having been lifted up unto righteousness being promised eternal life.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord walk with him in his ways and in his steps. That we as followers of Jesus Christ may grow in holiness being sanctified until that day when we will join with him together in glory first John 1 7 if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all our sin.

And Later on first John 2 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked Ephesians 4 1 as well. I therefore a prisoner for the Lord urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called with all humility and gentleness with patience bearing with one another in love eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.

And Heavenly Father we thank you for what we have read and indeed lead us in those paths of righteousness for your name's sake. May your word be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path that we may walk in the light of Christ.

Continuing to do those things that you have called us to turning away from sin. Walking in the righteousness that we have been clothed in it's in Jesus name that we pray. Amen.

Thank you for listening to when we understand the text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. If you'd like to support this ministry visit our website www .tt .com and click on the give tab in the top right corner of the page.

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