THE CRUSADE AT SOLOMON’S COLONNADE
Acts 3:11-15
A gospel crusade is a concentrated effort to evangelize a city or region. Prior to the preaching the groundwork is laid, a large venue is rented, whole communities are invited, musicians and counselors are lined up, and churches are asked to pray. When the big day arrives, a high-profile evangelist preaches a public message or a series of messages on salvation and gives an invitation to respond. (https://www.gotquestions.org/gospel-crusade.html)
The most well-known crusades in our lifetime were those that we hosted by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Millions of people attended Billy Graham Crusades and countless souls came to faith in Christ as a result.
Our selected text chronicles what could be described as a “crusade”. As a result of the miraculous healing of a lame beggar at the Beautiful Gate a large crowd ran to Solomon’s Colonnade filled with “wonder and amazement”. When they arrived, Peter confronted them with the Gospel and in the end approximately 2,000 men came to faith in Christ.
Acts 4:4 many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
- I would like to examine this passage of scripture and preach on “The Crusade At Solomon’s Colonnade”. Let’s begin by considering:
THE OCCASION OF THIS CRUSADE
In the previous verses, Peter & John encountered a man at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple complex who had been born lame. He was hoping to receive some charity from them but they had no “silver or gold”. However, they had something far better; they had access to the very Creator and Sustainer of the universe. Peter looked at this man and 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." Verse 8 says that “he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them--walking, leaping, and praising God.” This man immediately became a witness of the amazing power of Jesus Christ. All who saw him knew that a miracle had occurred. (v9 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.)
- This leads us to:
THE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THIS CRUSADE
v9 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.11 Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon's, greatly amazed.
Everyone knew who this man was; He was a perennial fixture at the Beautiful Gate. Every day as the worshippers entered the Temple they saw his face and they heard his voice as he begged for alms. After he received his healing, the change in this man’s life was undeniable. God was going to use this man to teach an important lesson to the people who had been responsible for the death of Christ just a few weeks earlier.
- In the following passage, Peter confronts the crowd of amazed witnesses. He declares that it was Jesus of Nazareth who was responsible for the transformation that had taken place right before their eyes. Notice:
THE MESSAGE DELIVERED AT THIS CRUSADE
Anytime a true Gospel preacher has an audience, he will preach if given half a chance. After the miraculous healing of the lame man, Peter certainly had an audience, and he shared the Gospel with them. (v11 “Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon's, greatly amazed.”)
The man who had been healed held on to Peter and John and the witnesses of this miracle came running to Solomon’s portico filled with wonder and amazement. Peter took this opportunity to tell the crowd who Jesus is and what He has done. He also boldly pointed out the fact that they (the Jews) had the opportunity to receive Him, but they rejected Him; even to the point of crucifying Him. However, he went on to explain that they were not without hope, if they would repent and believe in Jesus as Messiah and surrender to Him as Lord they could be saved. What Jesus had done for the lame man physically, He would do for them spiritually if they would believe in Him.
The same is true for many people today, like the Jews they have had ample opportunity to receive Christ as Savior. They have heard the message and they have seen the evidence, yet they have made the decision to reject Him. Because of God’s mercy and grace, the opportunity for salvation remains. If they will seize the opportunity that is before them, they can be saved and receive a transformation that is even more amazing that what was experienced by the lame man.
Understandably, the people were amazed by the miracle that had taken place. They marveled as they looked upon the Apostles of the Lord and the new man that was standing before them. Peter quickly pointed out the fact that this miracle was not performed by his own power; he wanted them to know the source of the power was none other than Jesus Christ.
- Peter ascribed all of the glory to Jesus:
v12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: "Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.
Peter describes God in a way that was familiar to his Jewish audience. He referred to God as “the God of our fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob.” God is identified this way in numerous scriptures throughout the old and new testaments. (Exodus 3:6 & 15; 1 Kings 18:36; 1 Chronicles 29: 18; 2 Chronicles 30:6; Matthew 22:32). By speaking to them about the God of their fathers, Peter makes it clear that he is referring to the same God and Messiah that had been spoken of by the prophets of old. He was not coming to them with a new message; he was speaking to them about the fulfillment of the covenant promises of their God. The promises were fulfilled by God’s “servant Jesus” whom He had “glorified”.
Peter went on to boldly confront the fact that the Jewish people had “delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.” The Jewish religious leaders had handed Jesus over to the Roman Governor, Pontus Pilate. After examining Him, Pilate said to the Jews “I find no fault in Him at all” (John 18:38). He tried to convince the Jews to let him release Jesus but they chose a criminal named Barabbas instead. After having Jesus scourged “Pilate then went out again, and said to them, "Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him." Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, "Behold the Man!" Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, "You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him." (John 19:4-6). On at least six separate occasions, Pilate declared that he could find no fault in Jesus whatsoever, (Luke 23:4, 14,15, 22; John 18:38; 19:4,6) he wanted to release Christ and tried to convince the Jews to comply, but in the end they “delivered Him up and denied Him in the presence of Pilate”.
Peter went on to say in v14 “But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you”. For approximately three years the “Holy One and the Just” had been living and doing marvelous works among the Jews, but they “denied Him”; they rejected the idea that Jesus Christ was God’s long promised Messiah and “asked for a murderer to be granted” to them. There was a custom in which the Romans would release a prisoner to the Jews at the time of Passover, rather than allowing Pilate to release Jesus, the crowd chose an insurrectionist and a murderer instead. They cried “give us Barabbas”, and when Pilate asked them what he should do with Jesus they cried out “Away with him, away with him, crucify him.” (John 19:15). In doing so, they and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. v15
Peter laid the death of Jesus at the feet of the Jews; he boldly declared that they were responsible for death of the “Prince of life”. The Greek word for “prince” means “originator”. Jesus is the “Prince” of life, meaning that He is the very source and beginning of life. As the Creator, Jesus is the source of physical life; as our Savior, He is the source of spiritual and eternal life was well. The writer of Hebrews refers to Jesus as “the author (originator) and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2)
Mere weeks earlier the Savior died in that very city (Jerusalem) and in front of many of the same people. Those who were not present at the crucifixion had at the very least heard about the condemnation and death of Jesus Christ. Though they rejected Him to the point of killing Him, they could not thwart God’s divine plan.
Peter goes on to declare that “God raised Him from the dead”. Imagine the shock of the Jews when they heard Peter utter the words that Jesus was alive. Without a doubt many of them had heard about His death, many had also heard about the fact that three days later the tomb was empty, and they had likely even heard the reports of many of the witnesses that proclaimed to have seen the risen Christ. Now, a little over a month later, they are told that this same Jesus is alive and responsible for the very miracle that they had witnessed with their own eyes.
Concerning the Resurrection, Peter says “of which we are witnesses”. He had seen the empty tomb, he had communed with the risen Savior, he had witnessed the ascension and he had received clear instructions concerning his future. The last thing Jesus said to His Disciples before ascending to Heaven was “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8). By confronting this crowd with the facts concerning their denial and rejection of Christ, Peter was obeying the command to be a witness of Christ. It is also important to note that he started right where Jesus said he should, there in the very city where Jesus was condemned to die.
The people in Jerusalem had heard many explanations as to why Jesus’ tomb was empty. One report was a scheme devised by the Chief Priests; after being told by the Romans soldiers that the tomb was empty they “assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, "Tell them, 'His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.' (Matthew 28:12-13). Certainly this falsehood was spread throughout Jerusalem, along with many other lies that were intended to explain the empty tomb and deny the reality that Jesus was alive.
However, the Jews were never able to produce any indisputable evidence that Jesus was dead. In the healing of the lame man, God produced indisputable evidence that the “Prince of life” was alive and well and radically transforming others. (And this was only the beginning). These people were indicted for the death of Christ. Peter declared that the One they had crucified was the promised Messiah. Furthermore, he told them that Jesus had risen from the dead and He was the One responsible for healing the lame man.
v16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all”.
The wonderful news for those in attendance was that they had the opportunity to be forgiven of their sins and to receive salvation through the very one that they had rejected. Ultimately, two thousand of those men responded by repenting and believing in Jesus Christ.
The reality is that each and every one of us are just as guilty concerning the death of Christ as those Jews who cried “crucify Him”. But like those who were gathered at Solomon’s Colonnade, we have the opportunity to be forgiven of our transgressions and delivered from the awful penalty of our sins. How is this possible? Peter gives the answer in verse 19, he said “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord”. It is important for you to come to the realization that you are the reason that Jesus died. I encourage you to repent and believe in Him and be saved, just like the multitude that was present for “The Crusade At Solomon’s Colonnade”.
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