Look At Us!

Acts 3:1-9

3 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 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; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, "Look at us." 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 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." 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them — walking, leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God. 10 Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. NKJV

In review of chapters one and two we studied that Jesus ascended to His Father and sat on His throne to rule by the Holy Spirit who was given to all flesh at Pentecost. The veil within the temple was split down the middle at the death of Jesus Christ to represent that all flesh can now enter into the holiest place of God’s heart and mind through the life, death, and resurrection of God’s beloved Son. (And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. Matt 27:50-53 NKJV) Because God gives His Spirit to all flesh, through the Word of Jesus Christ, anyone can come to Him for life and peace, through the veil of His flesh (His sacrifice on their behalf) to obtain assurance of salvation.

2 Cor 3:15-18 But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. 16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. NKJV

No longer do we need priest or prophet, if one has the Spirit, to understand the Word of God (These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. 1 John 2:26-27 NKJV). This is why the Holy Spirit was given, to allow access for all people to enter the Holy of Holies, without the dependence of the temple, or the Levitical Priesthood. By Jesus Christ we all have access into the presence of God. (This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Heb 6:19-20 NKJV)

Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.

In remembrance of Jewish tradition Peter and John would go to the temple to pray. The ninth hour would have been the peak hour when the crowds gathered for the evening sacrifice. At this point, all worship was still centered on the temple sacrifices, so the first disciples continued in the customs of the law, until the Spirit gave witness that the sacrifices would cease, as Jesus and Hosea prophesied.

Matt 24:1-2 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down." NKJV

Hos 2:11 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her New Moons, her Sabbaths — all her appointed feasts. NKJV

The Scripture doesn’t tell us what Peter and John were praying about, only that they went to the temple to pray. Maybe they forgot what Jesus said about the temple and its destruction, maybe they did not yet fully understand Jesus’s sacrifice and that they no longer needed to make sacrifices at the temple. Maybe that is why they had no money to give to the lame man begging for alms at the temple gate, because of the expense of the sacrifice required by the custom of the law, which the Pharisees only cared about. ("But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Luke 11:42 NKJV "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. Matt 23:23-26 NKJV). The temple was a beautiful place to come and pray, but its beauty was always at the expense of the poor. When Jesus prophesied about the temple’s destruction it was because a widow gave all she had to live on to maintain its beauty.

Luke 21:1-6 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, "Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in the entire livelihood that she had." Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said, "These things which you see — the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down." NKJV

Jesus declared this destruction in righteous anger because of the religious leaders who passed by the lame and robbed the poor widow of their lively hoods to live in luxury.

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; . . .

On this day entering the temple they found a man begging for alms. The man was a cripple and had no use of his legs and therefore could not work. He probably came day after day to the temple gate, which was called Beautiful, to beg for alms to buy bread, and as a means for living. Again, Jesus had this man in mind when prophesying the destruction of the temple and His rebuke of the leaders who would pass over the care of such a man begging at the gate called Beautiful. The sight of this ignorance irritated Jesus, and even now, his followers Peter and John, who do not pass this man by were ready to give this man what he needs.

. . . who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, "Look at us."

This lame man is about to filled with the joy of The Lord who will give strength to his lame legs to leap over walls and shout the praises of God with joy! But notice what Peter tells him, “Look at us”. Peter is saying don’t look at what these hypocrites are doing. We are not too busy praying and making sacrifices to overlook your need. You need to be in a place to glorify your God. We are not too busy not to care about your need to come further into God’s presence. You only made it to the gate called Beautiful, but we will take you into the Holy of Holies. You don’t have enough money or the strength in your legs to bring a sacrifice of offering to the Lord, but we will glorify the Lord in you today. Peter says, “Look at us”. The Spirit is about to testify that God’s appointed ministers are no longer going to work through a Levitical and sacrificial system to forgive sins, but through the ministry of reconciliation in the spoken Word of God’s Son. The Holy Spirit is going to testify that you are to look to Christ for your life and needs (2Pet.1:3). Silver and gold we do not have, but what we do have is life in the Holy Spirit!

So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

This man was overlooked day after day and was discouraged, wondering when he was going to get his next meal, or wondering how he was going to pay for shelter, and maybe even wondering how he was going to pay pack his friends for daily carrying him to the gate to beg. Maybe he was discouraged because his friends only used him to provide for their own welfare. Only taking care of him, because he generated some kind income due to his disability. This is mere speculation, but I can see that it would be possible, because sin doesn’t change with time. We have a welfare system in our culture that generates income that claims to provide for the needs of the disabled, but it is only a means to line the pockets of government officials who just keep creating more bureaucracy to police it, and the personal needs of the individuals it was created for never get met. Therefore this man was expecting something new. What were these ordinary dudes going to do? Peter says, “Look at us”, so this man gave them his attention.

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."

Peter does the opposite of the welfare system. Peter tells the man that he doesn’t have any money to give him. What Peter did do though is address this man’s real need. He provided the man with the means to make a living. The point of this healing is more than just this man getting up and walking. While that is a major part of what took place; the point of the miracle is that the man is now able to enter beyond the gate called Beautiful, which is a symbol of Jesus Christ being the entrance into the presence and joy of God. (8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them — walking, leaping, and praising God.) Therefore this man is now able to offer up his body as a living sacrifice to God (I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Rom 12:1NKJV). The healing was to validate that the Apostles were the acceptable voices of God’s Word. This doesn’t mean that it is God’s will to heal everyone. We may never get our physical healing in this life but by the power of the gospel we are spiritually healed to labor for His glory no matter what our present circumstances may be. The Lord Jesus Christ was glorified in this man that day, because Peter healed him in the Name of Jesus. If we do not have our legs, than we have our mouth as a gift from God, to proclaim liberty to the captives and good news to the poor. This was a message of good news to the poor.

Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

The miracle was an opportunity to preach and teach the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ. As we will see, curiosity captured the crowd, to listen, and hear the gospel as a result of this miracle. Lord willing, we discuss this in our next study but for now, “Look at us”, as we point you to the power of God for salvation that comes to all who believe, as this lame man did for the joy that brings strength.