3:1The Jews observed three times of prayer—morning (9:00 am), afternoon (3:00 pm), and evening (sunset). At these times devout Jews and Gentiles who believed in God often would go to the Temple to pray. Peter and John were going to the Temple for the afternoon prayer service.
Life Application Study BibleActsChapter 3
Acts 3
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 1820, 1821
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3Acts 3
Peter Heals a Crippled Beggar
13 Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. 2As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money. 4Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” 5The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. ®But Peter said, 6I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But'll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene,* get up and walk!" 7Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. 8He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them. 9All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. 1?When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded! 1 They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John.
Peter Preaches in the Temple
1212Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. “People of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness? For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of all our ancestors—who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this. This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and rejected before Pilate, despite Pilate’s decision to release him. 14You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the release of a murderer. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact! 16“ Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes. 1”“Friends,* I realize that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was done in ignorance. 18But God was fulfilling what all the prophets had foretold about the Messiah—that he must suffer these things. 'SNow repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. 20Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the LORD, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. 21For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets. 22Moses said, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people. Listen carefully to everything he tells you.’* 23Then Moses said, ‘Anyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from God’s people.’* 24“Starting with Samuel, every prophet spoke about what is happening today. 25You are the children of those prophets, and you are included in the covenant God promised to your ancestors. For God said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendants all the families on earth will be blessed.’* 26When God raised up his servant, Jesus, he sent him first to you people of Israel, to bless you by turning each of you back from your sinful ways.”
Textual footnotes
- 3:6 Or Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
- 3:17 Greek Brothers. 3:22 Deut 18:15. 3:23 Deut 18:19; Lev 23:29. 3:25 Gen 12:3; 22:18.
Life Application Notes 11 notes
3:2The Beautiful Gate was an entrance to the Temple, not to the city. It was one of the favored entrances, and many people passed through it on their way to worship. Giving money to beggars was considered praiseworthy in the Jewish religion. So the beggar wisely placed himself where he would be seen by the most people who were on their way to worship at the Temple.
3:5,6The lame man asked for money. but Peter gave him something much better—the use of his legs. We often ask God to solve a small problem, but he wants to give us a whole new life and help for a/f our problems. He may say, “I've got something even better for you.” You may ask God for what you want, but don’t be surprised when he gives you what you really need.
3:6“In the name of Jesus Christ” means “by the authority of Jesus Christ.” The apostles were doing this healing through the Holy Spirit's power, not their own.
3:7-10In his excitement, the formerly lame man began to jump and walk around. He also praised God! Then others were awed by Gad’s power. Don’t forget to thank people who help you, but also remember to praise God for his care and protection.
3:11Solomon's Colonnade was part of the Temple complex built by King Herod the Great in an attempt to strengthen his relationship with the Jews. A colonnade is an entrance or porch supported by columns. Jesus taught and performed miracles in the Temple many times. When the apostles went to the Temple, they were undoubtedly in close proximity to the same religious leaders who had conspired to put Jesus to death.
3:11ffPeter had an audience, and he capitalized on the opportunity to share Jesus Christ. He clearly presented his message by telling (1) who Jesus was, (2) how the Jews had rejected him. (3) why their rejection was fatal, and (4) what they needed to do to change the situation. Peter toid the crowd that they still had a choice; God still offered them the opportunity to believe and receive Jesus as their Messiah and as their LORD. Displays of God's mercy and grace, such as the healing of this lame man, often create teachable moments. Pray to have courage like Peter to see these opportunities and to use them to speak up for Christ.
3:13-15Pilate had decided to release Jesus, but the people had clamored to have Barabbas, a murderer, released instead (see Luke 23:13-25). When Peter said, “You killed,” he meant it literally. Jesus’ trial and death had occurred right there in Jeru-
3:21,22Most Jews thought that Joshua was this Prophet predicted by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15). Peter was saying that the Prophet was Jesus Christ. Peter wanted to show that their long-awaited Messiah had come! He and all the apostles were calling the Jewish nation to realize what they had done to their Messiah, to repent, and to believe. From this point on in Acts, we see many Jews rejecting the Good News. So the message went also to the Gentiles, many of whom were open to receive Jesus.
3:24The prophet Samuel had lived during the transition between he judges and the kings of Israel, and he had been seen as the first in a succession of prophets, Samuel anointed David king, founding David’s royal line, from which the Messiah eventually came. All the prophets pointed to a future Messiah. For more on Samuel, see his Profile in 1 Samuel 7, p. 419.
3:25God had promised Abraham that he would bless the world through Abraham's descendants, the Jewish race (Genesis 12:3), rom which the Messiah would come. God intended the Jewish nation to be a separate and holy nation that would teach the world about God, introduce the Messiah, and then carry on his work in he world. After the days of Solomon, the nation gave up its mission to tell the world about God. Here, too, in apostolic times as well as in the time Jesus spent on earth, the Jews rejected their Messiah.
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salem only weeks earlier. It wasn’t an event of the distant past— most of these people had heard about it, and some may very well have taken part in condemning Jesus. 3:15 The religious teaders thought they had put an end to Jesus when they crucified him. But their confidence was shaken when Peter told them that Jesus was alive again and that this time they could not harm him. Peter's message emphasized that (1) the people and their religious leaders had killed Jesus (3:17), (2) God had brought him back to life, and (3) the apostles had been witnesses of this fact. After pointing out the sin and injustice of these leaders, Peter showed the significance of the Resurrection, God’s triumph and power over death. 3:16 Jesus, not the apostles, received the glory for the healing of the lame man. In those days a man’s name represented his character; it stood for his authority and power. By using Jesus’ name, Peter showed who gave him the authority and power to heal. The apostles did not emphasize what they could do but what God could do through them. Jesus’ name is not to be used as magic—it must be used in faith. When we pray in Jesus’ name, we must remember that it is Christ himself, not merely the sound of his name, who gives our prayers their power. 3:18 Some of these prophecies are in Psalm 22, Isaiah 50:6, and Isaiah 53. Peter was explaining the kind of Messiah God had sent to earth. The Jews had expected a great ruler, not a suffering servant. 3:19 John the Baptist had prepared the way for Jesus by preaching that people should turn from their sins. The apostles’ message of salvation also included the call to repent—acknowledging personal sin and turning from it. Many people want the benefits of being identified with Christ without admitting their own disobedience and repenting. The key to forgiveness is confessing your sin and turning from it (see 2:38). 3:19, 20 When we repent, God promises not only to cleanse us of our sins but to bring spiritua! refreshment. Turning away from sin may at first seem painful because it is hard to break old habits and give up certain sins. But God will give you a better way. As Hosea promised, “Oh, that we might know the LORD! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring” (Hosea 6:3). Do you feel a need to be refreshed? 3:21 The time when God will bring the “final restoration of all things” refers to the Second Coming, the Last Judgment, and the removal of sin from the world.