Romans 8:28
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
If you were here a couple of weeks ago you heard me preaching somewhat hard concerning the poor job done by Christians as a whole in completing the Great Commission given to us by Jesus. As Christians we all fall short of the glory of God. Our righteousness, according to scripture is as dirty rags. Though we may try, we will fail.
We will upset people and treat them wrongly, we will withhold the truth that Jesus has revealed to us. In short, we will in fail Him and sin. But God is an awesome God who can use all things to work for good, because God is good. Say that to someone near you, “God is good!” Folks that is an exclamation at the end not a period. Try again, “God is good!”
Today I want to look at a small portion of scripture that tells us that we are not alone in this failure. A message that will show us that from the beginning Christians have missed the mark and failed God. Some Christians who were nearest to Jesus Himself, upon occasion failed.
We find this account in Acts 3:1-10. Turn there with me if you will.
Acts 3:1-10
3 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being 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 of them that entered into the temple;
3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: 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 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
10 And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.
In our account we are told in verse 2 that this man was carried daily and laid at the gate of the Temple to beg for alms. This was a common practice for the sick and poor to come to the gates of the Temple to beg in this manner. There is a certain amount of giving that is expected from every Jew, but better than that, many of these Pharisees and Seduces would jump at the opportunity to look especially holy by giving alms in front of their friends.
This man represents all of mankind prior to salvation. His need was great. Everyone in this world, who does not know Jesus, has a need that is greater than anything in this world. There are some who require an organ transplant, or who are dying from cancer, or who have just received a terrible wound through a tragic unforeseen accident. But even if these needs are met, one day these people will die. Then eternity will begin for them. Either in Heaven or Hell.
This man is outside of the temple; separated from God. He could not approach God or seek His face because he never had an audience with him. As he lay outside the temple, he did not even realize that he needed Jesus. He knew that his need was great. He just did not realize exactly how great it was, or what would ultimately provide the help that he needed.
Being outside the temple, this man is exactly where we will find people who need God, outside the temple; outside the walls of this church. This is not to say that none who are occasionally here, or are even present now are not in need of the saving grace of God. Or even that all those outside these walls are without Jesus. Only that being outside the temple, is a good place to start looking for those in need of the healing touch of Jesus.
This man was like all people without God, he was poor. He had to go daily to beg for alms in order to just survive. We are all poor just as this man was poor. None of us could have paid the price that was required for our salvation. There is simply no amount of worldly wealth that could purchase salvation for us.
This man was also lame from birth. Our text says it like this in verse 2, “lame from his mother's womb” . So while still in the womb this man was lame. Folks whenever any child is formed in the womb, it also is lame. At birth there are no children who can walk. They lack the strength and coordination. In time through worldly efforts a baby can be taught to stand and eventually walk, but scripture here is not just speaking of an earthly condition.
It is referring us to the fact that every child is born lame; by sin. All here were born lame by sin, all of us. Because of this lameness, we would never be able to walk through the gates of Heaven. Most here though, I believe have been cured of this spiritual lameness by the blood of Jesus. This is the only way that we may ever hope to be cured. Amen? All who receive Jesus as Lord and Savior are healed spiritually, if not physically. By His stripes we are healed, not might be or may be, but we are, present and ongoing.
The song we heard earlier, “Get up in Jesus’ Name.” said this mans need was bad. But folks this is a huge understatement. Every man, woman, and child in this world will pass from this earthly vessel into eternity. This eternity will be spent in joy, leaping and praising God.
Or in agony, without a moments rest from the anguish and suffering that could have easily been avoided by heeding the word of Jesus when He said to each of us, just as Peter and John spoke to this man, Look on Me.
This brings us to the next point I have to share concerning this account. Peter and John said in verse 4, “Look on us.” The word used in the Greek is “blepo”. At first I thought it was “bleepo” and I was worried that you all might think I had said something bad and was being censored by God, but no it is blepo.
This word means to view using ones eyes, but it also means to mentally perceive and understand. They were saying, we may have not even recognized that you existed previously, but look and listen to the truth that we are about to share with you.
They were saying, look at us and see the difference in the way we behave and act towards people. By looking at us you can see the love of God. You can see Jesus in us, by not only our word alone but by our every action. You see we may have missed you before, but by God’s grace we have been forgiven for that and we are seeing you now and sharing His love with you.
The man still did not understand and verse 5 has the man looking to them in expectation of getting some money or worldly thing from Peter and John. Often people that we speak to and share with just do not understand the need for receiving our Lord’s message. Perhaps because just as with Peter and John, we have missed the need to share it with those who may be the most needy.
Peter said in verse 6, “Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee:” They had no money because they had given it to the church. This part is easy to see with the natural eye, but they were asking the man, just as you are being asked today to see the spiritual truth of it all.
The gospel gives hope to those who may be hopeless. This man was focused upon his life day by day, yet did not realize his need to worry about his eternal soul. There is a story about a Jewish Rabbi, named Hugo Grynn, who as a small boy was sent to Auschwitz with his family.
In the midst of the concentration camp, with death and horror all around them, many Jews held onto whatever shreds of their religious observances they could, without drawing the attention and reaction of the guards. One cold winter's evening, Hugo's father gathered the family in the barracks. It was the first night of Hanukkah, the Jewish Feast of Lights.
The young child watched in horror as his father took the family's last pad of butter and made a makeshift candle, using a string from his ragged clothes. He then took a match and lit the candle. "Father, no!" Hugo cried. "That butter is our last bit of food! How will we survive?"
"We can live for many days without food," his father said. "We can not live a single minute without faith and hope. This is the fire of hope. Never let it go out. Not here! Not anywhere!"
Peter showed the man that he had a need greater than his need for food, shelter, or anything of this world. He showed him that his lameness was temporary, but that his sinfulness was permanent. There was a way to correct this sin problem, but ultimately, there is only the one way, or specifically one name. Jesus.
So then Peter goes on in verse 6 to say “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” I Mark 2 there is an account where Jesus healed a man who was lowered down through the roof. Jesus commands the man, in verse 5, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” Jesus said this to elicit a response from the scribes sitting nearby. The account goes on to say that the scribes questioned this and thought Jesus was being blasphemous. Jesus explains to the scribes that it is as easy to say “your sins are forgiven” as it is to say “get up and walk”. By this Jesus means to say that the man is both healed of his physical problems and has been forgiven of his sins.
In this manner Peter is saying be healed and forgiven of your sins, for it is by the name of Jesus we are forgiven. The Bible states in Acts 4:12
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. This again was Peter speaking and of course this name was Jesus.
Verse 7 states that Peter “took him by the right hand, and lifted him up:”. Peter did not just share information about Jesus with the man. He took the mans hand and helped him up. He identified what the need was for this man and helped to answer it. At the same time he shared Jesus he showed the man that they were equals. Both relying upon the hand of God. Both sinners, saved by grace.
Peter understood that though the physical change within this man was immediate and miraculous, he still probably had some issues. He was still poor, he probably could have used a shower and change of clothes. He might have spoken in foul language all the time, drank wine to excess, smoked, gambled, or even stolen regularly. But Peter took his hand, and lifted him up.
In taking the man by the hand, Peter was prepared to further assist the man in his walk. Had the man stumbled at that point, Peter could have provided support. Not that Peter believed that God was not capable of instantaneous and miraculous healing, but that the man may not have instantly become a “perfect” Christian. In fact I am certain that Peter knew that this man would need some work.
This man was a new creation in Christ, and just as a new born baby needs to learn how to walk in this world, so does a new Christian. Church, just as the baby will stumble and fall many times, even after learning fully how to stand and walk, so will the Christian.
Then in verse 8, the account then tells us that the man leapt up, was walking, leaping and praising God. Just as in Peter and John you could look and see the effect and change that Jesus had brought into their lives, you could see the change in this man. These changes were not just lip service. The man showed Peter and John the change.
Next in verse 9 and 10 it states, “9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God: 10 And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.” It was not just Peter and John who could see a change, but all the people saw it. This change must have been dramatic, more than just a lame man walking. Because all were filled with wonder and amazement.
The two words in Greek for wonder and amazement, according to Strong’s concordance can be translated as to render immovable and the state of one who, either owing to the importance or the novelty of an event, is thrown into a state of blended fear and wonderment. The Greek word for amazement is e'k-stä-sçs, from which we derive the word ecstatic.
Again according to Strong’s, this word has a deeper implication though, beyond just amazement. It means throwing the mind out of it’s normal state, wholly fixed upon things divine, perceiving with the bodily eyes and ears the realities shown by God. All of these people who saw him knew that he had been touched by God.
What we see here then is a group of people who are frozen in place, staring widely, and looking at the man, who is jumping and praising God. Frozen in place like this (Show them), because they have seen the glory of God in action.
In closing, we can be certain of a few great and wonderful truths that are provided by this portion of scripture. First, as Christians, even well developed Christians, we will upon occasion fail and fall short of the glory of God.
Second, all of mankind is born into sin and require the healing and deliverance that only Jesus can provide.
Third, as Christians we must make every effort to be the light of God and show Jesus in our words, deeds, and lives.
Fourth, It is not enough just to share Jesus with others. We must extend our hand as equals to those in need demonstrating that we all fall short of the glory of God and need Jesus for our salvation.
Lastly when someone has in fact been covered by the blood, even those who would otherwise not necessarily believe, will see and recognize the light of the glory of God.
