Acts 3:1-26

Good News for Everyone

Acts

Marion Adams

Chapter 3

Peter cures a man who cannot walk, 3:1-10

v1 One day, Peter and John were going to the *Temple to pray. This was at three o’clock in the afternoon. v2 People were carrying a man. He had never been able to walk. Every day, they put him down by the gate of the *Temple. This gate was called the Beautiful Gate. He asked people for money as they went in. v3 He saw Peter and John when they were going in. Then he asked them to give money to him. v4 Peter looked straight at him. John looked at him also. Then Peter said, ‘Look at us!’ v5 So, the man looked at them. He expected to get something from them. v6 But Peter said, ‘I do not have any money. But I give to you what I have. I am speaking to you in the name of Jesus *Christ from *Nazareth. And I say to you, walk!’ v7 Then he held the man’s right hand and he pulled him up. Immediately the man’s feet and ankles became strong. v8 He jumped up and he stood on his feet. He began to walk. Then he went into the *Temple with them. He was walking and he was jumping. And he was *praising God. v9 The people there saw him when he was walking. And they saw him when he was *praising God.

v10 They recognised him as the man who sat at the Beautiful Gate. They were all surprised. And they were very excited because of what had happened to him.

Verse 1 The *apostles did many *miracles (2:43). Here, Luke describes one *miracle that they did. Many people saw this *miracle.

The *apostles had a new *faith. But they remained loyal *Jews. So, they went to pray together in the *Temple with other *Jews. There were three special times when they prayed together. They prayed in the morning and they prayed at noon. And they also prayed in the afternoon.

Verse 2 Poor and sick people often waited at the entrance to a holy place. They asked for money there. This was a custom. Perhaps people might be more generous when they were going to *worship God.

The Beautiful Gate was one gate of the *Temple. The *Temple probably had 9 gates in total. Josephus, who was a writer in the first century, describes a beautiful bronze gate in the *Temple. (Bronze is a metal that shines.) Perhaps this was the Beautiful Gate.

Verse 3 Peter was with John. This was probably the John who was Zebedee’s son (Luke 5:10).

Verses 4-6 Peter stared at the man. Peter told him to look at them. The man thought that they would give money to him. But Peter gave to him something much better. Peter cured him ‘in the name of Jesus *Christ’. This meant that he cured the man by *Christ’s power and authority.

Verse 7-8 Peter did not just watch the man. He helped the man to stand up. Peter had seen Jesus when Jesus held the hand of Jairus’s daughter (Luke 8:54). Like Jesus, Peter wanted to show that he cared. Peter wanted to encourage the man to walk by *faith.

‘Immediately the man’s feet and ankles became strong.’ The man had never been able to walk. His legs were probably very weak. But they became strong immediately. Luke was a doctor. He carefully described everything that happened. The man walked and he jumped. This was a real *miracle.

Verses 9-10 Again, Luke wrote that the man was walking. He wanted to emphasise that the man’s feet and legs were working for the first time ever. People recognised him as the man who had never been able to walk. They could not understand how he was able to walk at that time. They thought that this was impossible. But nothing is impossible for God.

Peter speaks to the *Jews in the *Temple, 3:11-26

v11 While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people ran to them. (A beggar is a poor person that asks people for money.) The people ran to the place called Solomon’s *Porch. This *miracle had astonished them. v12 When Peter saw them, he said this to them: ‘Men from *Israel, this should not surprise you. Do not stare at us. You should not think that we have made this man walk by our own power or goodness! v13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, our fathers’ God, has *glorified Jesus, who is his servant. But you took him to those who have authority. You *rejected him in front of Pilate. This was when Pilate had decided to let him go. v14 Yes, he was *holy and good. But you *rejected him. There was a man who had murdered someone. You asked Pilate to let that man go free. v15 And you killed the person who gives life. But God made him alive again. We are witnesses that this is true. v16 You see this man here and you know him. He became strong by *faith in Jesus’ authority. This *faith in Jesus has made the man completely well. You can all see that.’

Verse 11 Solomon’s *Porch was like a long path with a wooden roof. It was on the east side of the *Temple. Jesus had walked there and he had taught there (John 10:23).

Verse 12 The people were staring at Peter and John. They thought that Peter and John had cured the man. But Peter gave all the *glory to God. God may use us to help someone. But we must remember to give all the *glory to God.

Verses 13-15 Peter used the words ‘The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’. These are the same words that God used in Exodus 3:6; Exodus 3:15. This was when God introduced himself to Moses. The *miracle here in Acts had happened because God had *glorified Jesus. Jesus was in a special place in heaven. He had given power to his *disciples to act in his name. When Jesus was on earth, he had done *miracles. Now the *disciples had his authority to do *miracles like those.

Peter wanted to convince the *Jews that Jesus was their *Messiah. So, he used language from the book called Isaiah in the *Old Testament. It was from a part where the writer describes the *Lord. He describes him as a Servant who suffers (Isaiah 52:13-53). Like Isaiah, Peter said first that God had *glorified his Servant (Jesus). Then Peter talked about how the Servant had suffered. He blamed the people for this. They were responsible. Pilate (a *Roman ruler) had wanted to free Jesus. But the people had asked for Barabbas instead. They had wanted Jesus to die. Jesus was their *Saviour. He was completely good. But they had not wanted him to live. They had chosen a criminal instead.

The *Jews had not expected the *Messiah to die like a criminal. But Peter was saying that Jesus was innocent. God had known already how Jesus would die. The *prophet Isaiah had described it all when he wrote about the Servant. This was the Servant who suffered. (See Isaiah Chapter s 42, 49, 50, 52 and 53.) The Servant who suffered was Jesus, the *Messiah. God had proved this. He had made Jesus alive again after he had died. Peter and the *apostles knew that this was true. They knew because they had seen it.

Verse 16 Everyone could see that the man’s legs were now strong. The man had not been able to walk. But Peter had told the man to walk by Jesus’ authority. And the man had done this. *Christ’s power had made the man strong because of the man’s *faith. Jesus was the Servant that God had *glorified. This was evidence that they could all see.

v17 ‘Now, brothers, you and your leaders did not realise what you were doing. I know this. v18 But many years ago, God had said that his *Christ would suffer. He had said it by the words that his *prophets spoke. These words were true and these things have happened. v19 Now you must *repent. Ask God for help, so that he will forgive your *sins. If you do it, this will happen: The *Lord will give to you times when you have *spiritual strength. v20 And he will send Jesus. Jesus is the *Messiah whom he has already chosen for you. v21 Jesus must remain in heaven until a certain time. Then God will put all things back as they should be. He promised this by his *holy *prophets many years ago. v22 Moses said, “The *Lord your God will send a *prophet to you. He will be a *prophet like me. He will be someone from among your own people. You must listen to him. Do everything that he tells you. v23 Every person who does not listen to that *prophet must leave God’s people for always.” v24 All the *prophets since Samuel have talked about what has happened now. v25 You are the sons of the *prophets. And you share in the *covenant that God made with your fathers. As he said to Abraham, “I shall *bless all the people on earth. I shall *bless them by means of your children.” v26 God chose his Servant and he sent him to you first. He sent him to *bless you. He will *bless you like this: You will not behave wickedly because he will stop you.’

Verses 17-18 The people in *Jerusalem had killed their *Messiah. But they had not known that he was their *Messiah. Even their rulers had not realised this. They had not expected that their *Messiah would suffer. Jesus’ death on a *cross was one part in God’s purpose. Peter needed to convince them about this. Isaiah spoke about God’s Servant who suffered. The *Old Testament also contains the stories about men like Joseph (Jacob’s son) and Elijah. These are examples of God’s servants who suffered. So, it should not surprise the people that the *Messiah should suffer too.

Verses 19-21 They knew that they had done a terrible thing. They did not have an excuse. God wanted to forgive them. But first, they had to *repent.

To *repent means to be sorry. It means that we apologise to God. We apologise for the bad things that we have done. And we decide not to do any more bad things. We do what God wants. We change how we think and we change how we live.

Peter said that if the *Jews *repented, three good things would happen.

1. God would forgive their *sins (verse 19). The *Greek word here for ‘forgive’ means that God will ‘wipe off’ their *sins. William Barclay explains this. (He was a writer in the 20th century.) He says that people a very long time ago wrote on papyrus (a special paper). Their ink was not the same as modern ink. With a wet cloth, they could wipe off what they had written. It is like this when God forgives our *sins. He ‘wipes them off’. They have gone completely.

2. The *Lord will give to you times when you have *spiritual strength (verse 19). God would not just take away their *sins. He would give rest to their *spirits. And he would give relief to them.

3. He would send Jesus. Jesus was the *Messiah that God had already chosen for them (verse 20). Jesus will forgive them and he will give them strength. But he ‘must remain in heaven until a certain time. Then God will put all things back as they should be’ (verse 21). *Christ would return. Then God would do wonderful things (Romans 8:19-21; Isaiah 11:6-9).

Verses 22-23 Moses was the first *prophet for the *Israelites. He was a very great *prophet. The words here are from Deuteronomy 18:15. People believed that these verses were a *prophecy about one particular *prophet. This *prophet would be like Moses. He would be like a bridge between God and the people. He would tell the people what God was saying. And he would tell God what the people wanted to say.

Verse 24 Samuel was the *prophet who *anointed David as king. To *anoint means to mark a person with oil. And this shows that God has chosen that person. God made promises to David about a new *kingdom. These promises became true when Jesus came. Many things that the other *prophets had said about God’s *kingdom happened, too.

Verses 25-26 Peter called the *Jews the ‘sons of the *prophets’. He meant that God’s promises belonged to them too. Abraham’s ‘children’ meant the *Jews. Jesus, the Servant who came to *save all the people on earth, was a *Jew. He had gone to the *Jews first but they had *rejected him. God was giving a second chance to them. They had to accept Jesus as their *Saviour. Otherwise they would not share in the *blessing that God had promised.

temple ~ a building where people worship God (or a false god).
Temple ~ the Temple was the special building in Jerusalem where the Jews worshipped God.
worship ~ to give honour to God with praise and thanks.
Jerusalem ~ the capital city in Israel.
Jew ~ a person that is a member of Abraham’s, Isaac’s and Jacob’s big family; a person that believes the Jews’ religion, which is called Judaism.
praise ~ to tell God how great he is. We can do this when we are praying to him. Or we can do it when we are singing to him.
Israel ~ the country that is the Jews’ home.
Judaism ~ the Jews’ religion.
Nazareth ~ the town where Jesus lived when he was young.
praise ~ to tell God how great he is. We can do this when we are praying to him. Or we can do it when we are singing to him.
apostle ~ a man that God chose to lead other Christians; a man that God chose to teach about Jesus; one of the 12 men that Jesus chose to be his helpers.
Christian ~ a person who obeys Jesus *Christ; a person who believes in him.
miracle ~ a wonderful thing that God does by his power; a wonderful thing that happens.
faith ~ when someone believes in someone or something; when someone is really sure about God and Jesus his Son; ‘the faith’ means the things that Christians say are true about Jesus.
Christian ~ a person who obeys Jesus *Christ; a person who believes in him.
Jew ~ a person that is a member of Abraham’s, Isaac’s and Jacob’s big family; a person that believes the Jews’ religion, which is called Judaism.
Judaism ~ the Jews’ religion.
worship ~ to give honour to God with praise and thanks.
praise ~ to tell God how great he is. We can do this when we are praying to him. Or we can do it when we are singing to him.
porch ~ an entrance to a building. This entrance has a roof.
Israel ~ the country that is the Jews’ home.
Jew ~ a person that is a member of Abraham’s, Isaac’s and Jacob’s big family; a person that believes the Jews’ religion, which is called Judaism.
Judaism ~ the Jews’ religion.
reject ~ not to accept.
holy ~ very, very good; separate from sin. Only God is really holy.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do. We do them against God or against other people.
glory ~ great love and praise and honour; the beautiful light round God; God’s power and his great importance.
disciple ~ someone who follows another person and he or she learns from that person; someone whom Jesus taught. It also means someone who believes in Jesus. This person also does the things that Jesus teaches.
Messiah ~ in the Old Testament, the anointed king; in the New Testament, Jesus. It means the same as *Christ.

Old Testament ~ the Bible’s first part, which the writers wrote before Jesus lived on earth; the holy things that the writers wrote before *Christ’s birth.
anoint ~ to mark a person with oil. This shows that God has chosen him or her.

New Testament ~ the Bible’s last part, which the writers wrote after Jesus lived on earth. It is about the things that Jesus did. And it is about the things that he taught. It is also about the church. It is about what Christians believe. And it is about what they do.
holy ~ very, very good; separate from sin. Only God is really holy.
church ~ a group of Christians that meet together. (A church is not just the building that they meet in.) It can also mean all the Christians in the world.
Christian ~ a person who obeys Jesus *Christ; a person who believes in him.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do. We do them against God or against other people.

'Old Testament ~ the Bible’s first part, which the writers wrote before Jesus lived on earth; the holy things that the writers wrote before *Christ’s birth.
holy ~ very, very good; separate from sin. Only God is really holy.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do. We do them against God or against other people.
Lord ~ the name for God or Jesus in the Bible; the name means that he is above all other things; a name that we use for Jesus when we obey him; someone with authority.
Roman ~ a person from Rome; a word that describes someone from Rome; or it describes something from Rome. The Roman soldiers fought against people in many countries. And they defeated them. They made the people obey the rules that officials in Rome made. They made the people pay taxes to Rome.
Rome ~ the most famous city in the world when Jesus lived on earth.
saviour ~ Jesus, the person who saves us; the person who will bring us back to God from the bad things that we have done; someone who saves us from the bad things that other people have done to us.
save ~ to rescue from sin’s result.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do. We do them against God or against other people.
prophet ~ someone who tells God’s messages; a person that God sends to speak for him.
repent ~ to stop doing sin and then to obey God; to change from past evil behaviour; to let one’s mind change, so that one stops doing wrong things.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do. We do them against God or against other people.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do. We do them against God or against other people.
spiritual ~ when something belongs to the spirit; when something belongs to the spirit rather than to physical things; a word that people use to refer to holy things.
spirit ~ a person’s spirit is the part in them that will always be alive. It will be alive even after his or her body is dead. There are good spirits. Those include God’s Spirit and his angels. There are also evil spirits. These include Satan and his angels.
holy ~ very, very good; separate from sin. Only God is really holy.
angel ~ a servant of God. He brings messages from God to people that live on earth.
Satan ~ the name for the worst spirit among the evil spirits, who are against God. He has another name, which is the Devil. He is God’s enemy.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do. We do them against God or against other people.
covenant ~ a promise that people (or God) must obey; an agreement between God and a person or people.
bless ~ to do much good to a person
Jerusalem ~ the capital city in Israel.
Israel ~ the country that is the Jews’ home.
Jew ~ a person that is a member of Abraham’s, Isaac’s and Jacob’s big family; a person that believes the Jews’ religion, which is called Judaism.
Judaism ~ the Jews’ religion.
cross ~ two pieces of wood that someone has fixed together. They fix one piece across the other piece. The Romans fixed people to a cross to kill them. Jesus died on a cross.
Roman ~ a person from Rome; a word that describes someone from Rome; or it describes something from Rome. The Roman soldiers fought against people in many countries. And they defeated them. They made the people obey the rules that officials in Rome made. They made the people pay taxes to Rome.
Rome ~ the most famous city in the world when Jesus lived on earth.
Greek ~ the language that the people from Greece spoke; the language in which authors wrote the New Testament; a person from Greece.

New Testament ~ the Bible’s last part, which the writers wrote after Jesus lived on earth. It is about the things that Jesus did. And it is about the things that he taught. It is also about the church. It is about what Christians believe. And it is about what they do.
church ~ a group of Christians that meet together. (A church is not just the building that they meet in.) It can also mean all the Christians in the world.
Christian ~ a person who obeys Jesus *Christ; a person who believes in him.
spirit ~ a person’s spirit is the part in them that will always be alive. It will be alive even after his or her body is dead. There are good spirits. Those include God’s Spirit and his angels. There are also evil spirits. These include Satan and his angels.
angel ~ a servant of God. He brings messages from God to people that live on earth.
Satan ~ the name for the worst spirit among the evil spirits, who are against God. He has another name, which is the Devil. He is God’s enemy.
Israelites ~ another name for the Jews. They are the people from Israel.
Jew ~ a person that is a member of Abraham’s, Isaac’s and Jacob’s big family; a person that believes the Jews’ religion, which is called Judaism.
Israel ~ the country that is the Jews’ home.
Judaism ~ the Jews’ religion.
prophecy ~ special messages and stories that God gives to a person; messages about things that will happen in the future; the words that a prophet speaks or writes.
prophet ~ someone who tells God’s messages; a person that God sends to speak for him.
anoint ~ to mark a person with oil. This shows that God has chosen him or her.
kingdom ~ where a king rules; a country where a king rules. God’s kingdom is where God rules.
save ~ to rescue from sin’s result.
sin ~ to sin is to do wrong, bad or evil things; not to obey God. Sins are the wrong things that we do. We do them against God or against other people.
blessing ~ a good thing that God does for us.