The Lame Man from Acts 3
Miracles without faith, Conclusion
Introduction
One of the more unique ways
that we can show decency to the human race is by performing a random act of
kindness. Hand out a gift card from a fast-food restaurant to someone looking
for money for food, compliment a complete stranger on the shirt that they are
wearing, or simply lend a listening ear to someone who needs to vent.
In the New Testament, a
beggar got more than he bargained for when Peter and John approached him on the
way in to the temple. This, of course, was more than a random act of kindness,
but it showed the true spirit of being a disciple of Christ.
Lame for 40 Years
We meet this man in Acts 3
and he’s described as follows, in verse 2, And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was
carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called
Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple. But
it’s not until Acts 4:22, that we learn that this lame man was over 40 years of
age. This may not seem like an important fact, but in this case, there is a
reason. We’ll address that in a moment.
More than Silver and Gold
Asking for alms was the only
way this man could support himself and, perhaps, his family as well. We, of
course, don’t know if he had a wife, children, or parents still living. What we
do know is that someone carried him up to the temple, daily, and laid him at
the gate called, Beautiful (Acts 3:2).
When Peter and John went up
to the temple at the hour of prayer (verse 1), this was the exchange between
them, who, seeing
Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. And fixing his eyes
on him, with John, Peter said, "Look at us." So he gave them his
attention, expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said,
"Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name
of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." And he took him by the
right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received
strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with
them--walking, leaping, and praising God (Acts 3:3-8).
Who Had the Faith?
From this reading, we know that Peter and John had faith
as they were apostles of Christ. It also shows this in vs. 16b, “Yes, the faith which comes
through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” They
knew that they could heal this man through the power of the Holy Spirit. The
man, more than likely, did not have faith as he’d been laid at the gate for
over 40 years. Yet, the miracle still worked!
Once again, this proves that
the one receiving the miracle does not have to have faith. He doesn’t really have
to believe in the miracles prior to that moment either. I’m sure he definitely
had faith after being healed and he was probably the first in line to be
baptized after Peter gave a sermon (vs. 12-26).
If Miracles were primary…
The reason, is that the
miracles were used a tool to get the attention of everyone so that they might
preach the gospel to everyone (Mk. 16:20). Jesus didn’t heal everyone and neither
did the apostles.
Why Didn’t Jesus Heal This Man?
In regard to the age of this
man, since he was over 40 years old, he would have lived during the time of
Jesus. I’m sure he’d seen Him when He came up to the temple. So, why didn’t
Jesus heal this man? Did Jesus avoid him so that Peter and John would have
someone to heal? That’s pretty absurd! That would seem like a cruel thing to
do; make someone wait to be healed later on in life.
The reason, as we stated in
a previous article, is that Jesus was not commanded to heal this man or, for
that matter, commanded to heal everyone he encountered.
Consider the woman with the
issue of blood flow (Mk. 5:25-29). She had faith to be healed by simply
touching the clothing of Jesus. I’m sure others, who were present, had the same
faith and yet nothing was said of them being healed. Again, it was for the
benefit of this woman. Also, it furthered the scene with Jairus’ daughter (vs.
22-24, 35-43) and her resurrection.
Conclusion
The things that Jesus did
for people were specific, and with great purpose, but also, to teach a lesson.
The focus was never on the miracles but the message that came after it (Mk.
16:20).
As the apostle Paul stated, For I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes,
for the Jew first and also for the Greek (Romans 1:16).
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