3:1
Some of the miracles that we read about in Acts read very much like the ones in the gospels, demonstrating that Jesus was with them through the Holy Spirit. Initially the disciples continued to act as good Jews, hence their “going up to the temple at the time of prayer”. Later this stopped, for several reasons. One was the persecution of the church, though Paul often went to synagogues to preach. Another was a realisation that the sacrifices were no longer relevant, as explained in Hebrews, and then the destruction of the temple in AD70 had a profound effect.
3:2-10 - The lame beggar
We now come to perhaps the best known healing in Acts, that of the lame beggar. There are three principal actors in the event. One is the lame beggar himself. The second is Peter and John, and the third are the people. Behind everything is the Holy Spirit. Let’s look at each of these in turn.
The lame beggar was carried up to the temple and laid at the gate everyday in order to beg. This was how he “made his living”. On seeing Peter and John he viewed them just as another pair of worshippers, and hoped that they would give him some money. He had no other expectations, assuming his life would just carry on as it always had done. The man had been lame from birth and so knew nothing else. He had just adapted to cope with the situation he found himself in. When Peter and John turned out to be anything but your average worshipper he responded to their leading and his lameness was immediately healed. He then made the most of his healing, walking and jumping about, delighting in his new found freedom. He was also praising God.
No comments:
Post a Comment