Monday, October 6th

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Monday, October 6

Acts 3:1-10 

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, "Look at us." And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!" And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

It’s probably a little embarrassing to admit, but I like those floppy “air dancer” things that business owners set up in front of their stores. I know they’re just plastic bags filled with air designed to catch my attention but they seem oddly joyful and almost inevitably make me smile.

It is generally assumed that if a company wants to launch a new product or brand they need to do something to capture the collective attention of a busy and preoccupied public.

We who have lived most of our lives in the age of television and the internet have become almost numb to the never-ending stream of images and messages that compete for our attention. We can even drive by 20 foot tall “air dancers” without even casting a glance!

The Book of Acts tells the story of the birth of the church. It tells the story of how a small group of men and women who were witnesses to the resurrected Jesus became a movement that, after 2000 years, is still going strong.

It also tells the story of what God did to capture the attention of the world he wanted to reach with the Gospel.

First, in chapter 2, he sent the Holy Spirit in the form of a violent wind and enabled the Apostles to speak in languages they had never learned so that those hearing could understand the gospel in their own tongues.

Luke tells us that the scene was so dramatic that some of those watching thought they were all drunk at 9 in the morning!

Then Peter stood up and delivered the first Christian sermon, proclaiming the risen Jesus to be Lord and Christ. When he called his listeners to “repent and be baptized” in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, some three thousand people responded in faith.

But God wasn’t done yet.

Here in chapter 3 God does something else designed to create a platform for the gospel. Peter and John are on their way to the Temple and come across a lame man who is begging for money.

But Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!" And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

It’s a miracle! The lame man is healed! We are tempted to stop there and start asking ourselves all kinds of questions. “How did that happen? Does God still heal people like that today? Why did God not heal my Aunt Sally when I prayed?

But to understand the story fully we have to keep reading.
 
And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Yes, the lame man was healed. But if we understand the story properly we see he was not healed just so he wouldn’t have to beg anymore. That was almost an afterthought. He was healed so that other people would see the power of Jesus and then hear the truth of the gospel.

In this way he was kind of like an ancient “air dancer” balloon. He was a leaping and dancing and joyful testimony to the power of Jesus...and we can’t help but notice!


Pastor Brian Coffey