Things Are Not Always As They Seem
Acts 3
Introduction
[Show Acts 3 from Visual Bible or have it read by someone else.]
[Enter from the back dressed in character]
One thing that story teaches us is that things are not always as they seem. I learned that in a pretty dramatic way. If you had met me just a few weeks ago, I would not be walking into this room. That’s right, I am the man in the story you just heard.
Every day for over thirty years I have been carried by some friends to my spots outside the temple. In the morning they take me to the main gate for the morning prayers. And then in the afternoon they take me to the beautiful gate for afternoon prayers. My people pray three times a day and the afternoon prayers are the busiest at the beautiful gate. They call it that because many years ago a man by the name of Nicanor made a generous donation to the temple to fix it up. It is decorated with gold and jewels. It is beautiful indeed. And more people come to pray in the afternoon because they can take a break from their work in the heat of the day and come to the temple.
Since my only means of support was the generosity of others, I would sit on my mat outside the gates of the temple and beg for alms. Almsgiving is an important part of my people’s faith. They are commanded to pray, sacrifice and give alms to the poor. So of course the temple is good place to sit and remind them of their duty to those of us less fortunate.
I had been unable to walk since I was born. And when I became old enough, my poor parents would take me to the temple so I could do my part to help support the family. Of course they have been dead for a number of years. Living to the age of 40 is rare in my part of the world, but for some reason God spared my life.
So every day since I was a young man, I have had the exact same kind of day. I sit at the gates by the temple all morning and then all afternoon and as people walk by I call out to them.
“Alms! Alms! Alms for the poor! Alms!” Usually they just walk by, but every so often someone will throw a small coin at me. It is seldom more than a lepton or two. A lepton in my culture is the smallest denomation available. It is almost worthless. But if enough people give you a lepton, then you have anough to buy a small loaf of bread or a dried fish. I know a man in the market who saves his leftovers for me and some of my friends. So if I stayed all morning I might make enough to have a small piece of dried fish or a scrap of bread. I would just drink the water from the river. I survived.
One time a wealthy man was coming to the temple, and he had a huge entourage of people. I cried out to him and without even looking at me, he flipped a whole danarius at my feet. I saw it sitting their in the dirt beside the path. I could not believe my eyes. It was shiny gold as if it had just come out of Herod’s mint here in Jerusalem.
Just as I reached down to pick it up a pharisee kicked it out of my reach. He picked it up and said, “That is too much for alms!” And he dropped three lepton in front of me. I was so angry, but what could I do.
God somehow decided it was best for me to be born that way and live most of my life as a beggar. Someone needs to be poor. How else will the people be able to give their alms. Even I will give a coin to one of my fellow beggars every now and then to please the Lord.
I have often prayed as the people walked by. “Lord, please just send me someone who is very generous. If I could only have enough money for a nice meal. If only I could pay a tithe and please you. And Lord if you only I could taste a drop of wine on the Passover or the Day of Atonement. Please, Lord. Just once send me someone who will at least look at me and talk to me like a person.”
Even my family treats me like a pet. There was one time that a man came to Jerusalem. He claimed to be a Messiah and would go around healing people of fevers and headaches. You know, nothing that anyone could ever tell that there was actually something wrong with them. He would gather up the dirt and throw it in the air and yell out in Hebrew and Aramaic. And then he would touch them on the head or the shoulders and push them over. They would jump up and shout that they were healed.
But he would never come to me and even talk to me. I shouted out and begged for help. But he never even talked to me. They claim he was a Messiah, but he was killed in a revolt outside of Jerusalem. Some of his followers attacked a Roman garrison and were slaughtered.
I also heard about another man they called Jesus of Nazareth. But I never actually saw him and I never had heard what happened to him. They say the Roman’s executed him, but some claimed he came back to life. But I also heard he had healed many. Really healed them. So I prayed for God to send him to me.
But it never happened. And I was tired of all the people who claimed to know this miracle worker or that miracle worker. I was tired of getting my hopes up. So I quit believing it was even possible. And then one day ...
It had been a rough morning and I had not collected much money. I asked my friends to drag me over to the beautiful gate on the other side of the temple. They set me down and the crowd began to pick up just before the 9th hour prayers in the middle of the afternoon. It was a hot day and a busy day. I had heard about this group of people who were all coming together to the temple and some of them began to arrive. I was calling out, “Alms! Alms! Alms for the poor!” It was like a drum beat ... over and over. I used to get tired of it, but then it became as normal as breathing.
As I was sitting their, never really even looking up, I saw two sets of dirty, sandaled feet walking just a few feet in front of me I lifted my metal cup to them and said, “Alms! Alms for the poor!” And the stopped. That was strange and seldom meant anything good. Sometimes people would stop and give me a hard time. Others would complain about me being there. But most just walked by and ignored me or threw a lepton at me.
But these two men stopped cold. They stepped over closer to me and did nothing. I was afraid to even look up. It seemed like an eternity so I just said, “Alms for the poor!”
But then one of them said in a strong, confident voice, “Look at us!” So very slowly I looked up at them. They were very stern and weather worn looking men. They were obviously not wealthy men. You could see that from their clothes. And the one who talked sounded like he was not from Jerusalem. They were Galileans I would later find out.
I just stared into their eyes and my fear quickly faded. They looked kind and they saw me. I am not talking about just seeing me with their eyes. I mean they actually were interested in me. I began to have some real hope that these men were different. Maybe they would choose to be very generous with me. They didn’t seem to have very nice cloaks or sandals, but maybe they had some food or maybe someone had given them some money and they were planning to be very generous with some poor beggar. I began to pray. “God make this a special day for me!” And just in case they were up to no good, I said, “And please protect me.”
Then the red haired man reached his hand out to me and said something I will never forget. “I have neither silver or gold. But what I do have I give to you. In the of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”
Jesus Christ! I had heard that name. I knew that he was a miracle worker. But can I afford to open myself up to more disappointment? And what a ridiculous thing to say to a lame man. “Get up and walk? Don’t they know that is impossible for me? Surely they can tell I cannot walk.”
But he seemed so sure of himself. And he continued to reach out his hand. As I hesitated, he reached down and grabbed me by the hand. I was uncomfortable with people touching me. No one touched me except for the three men who would carry me to my spot. But something inside me said, “It’s alright. Take him by the hand.” So I did.
And immediately I could feel it. It was like an a bold of lightening shot through my arms down my spine and into my legs and feet. And I began to do just as he said; I started to get up. He helped me at first, but as I put my feet out and pushed up with my legs, I could feel the power in my muscles for the first time in my life. I could stand up! And then I started moving my feet and then it finally hit me.
I must have looked like a deer jumping and prancing around. And so they asked me to come with them.
“Into the temple?” I asked. That is exactly what they meant. Now you don’t know what a huge surprise that was for me. I prayed all the time. And I could hear the chanting of the psalms and I followed them along. I sang our with all my voice from my spot on the side of the path into the temple. But for my entire life, I had never been inside the walls of the outer courtyard. I was a lame man, unclean and not worthy to be in God’s temple. So I was an outsider, always relegated to the gateway. But now, thanks to these two men, I was able to walk, and dance around and enter the temple for the first time in my life.
I know everyone must have thought I was crazy. I saw the people I saw every day walk by me. I saw the kind and generous men who would give me a little something every week. I saw the people who would never even look at me but rushed by like they were on their way to a fire. I saw that mean old pharisee who took the denarius from me. I walked up to him and smiled and jumped around in circles. And the two men, they introduced themsleves to me as Peter and John, apostles of the Messiah, Jesus the Chrsit. They pulled me aside and said, “Come to afternoon prayers with us.” So I did.
As we came to those steep stairs, I stopped. I had never seen this sight before. I knew in my mind what was there, but I had never seen them with my eyes. I looked at John and he laughed. I looked a Peter and he had such a smile on his face. I looked at that first stair and then my eyes climbed each one. And then I picked up my foot and stood on the first one. I shouted out the first Psalm of Ascent. Then we took the next stair so I sang out the next one. Each stair we stopped and sang a song. We were not supposed to do this at this time of year. But I wanted to do it. Every high holy day they sing those fifteen psalms as they climb the stairs. I sang them with tears in my eyes.
Finally we made our way into the temple and everyone just staired. And then a huge crowd of people, most of whom I recognized. Some of them had been generous to me and others had not. But they knew me and gathered around us.
I told them what happened but then Peter quickly corrected me. I said, “This man healed me! But he was quick to respond. He said, “Why do you look surprised. This man was healed by Jesus whom you had crucified. I do not remember all his words, but I remember his message. He said that it was by the power of the living Lord, Jesus Christ that gave me my legs. He talked about how the people of Israel had followed the Pharisees in ignorance and called for Jesus to be executed. I heard about this when it happened, but I never imagined he was Messiah, until today.
Peter continued to tell about how Jesus would forgive us and cleanse us of our sins if only we will admit that we are sinners, believe that Jesus died and rose and commit ourselves to repent and live for him.
And you know what happened. Because of that amazing miracle and because of the stir that was caused when this helpless beggar was healed, 5,000 people were forgiven and saved.
Of course those mean pharisees didn’t like people believing in Jesus and they ended up arresting my new best friends ... no my new brothers. But I stood with them at their trial and because of all the people who were followers of Jesus, there more than 8,000 of us now, they let Peter and John go, but not until after he preached to them too.
All of us just praised God.
Since that day I have been learning from these men. I have devoted myself to their teaching. I join with the other believers and we go to the temple three times a day for prayer. We tell others what has happened to us and so many are believing. But if it were not for those two men on that day doing what no one else had ever done. You know what they did ...
See the real need.
Peter was asked for money, but he saw that the man’s real need was healing.
The man asked for money, but he was shown what could happen if trusted God for his real need of healing.
Respond In Faith/Take a Risk
Peter responded in faith by telling the man to get up and walk.
The man responded in faith by trying to walk after a lifetime of being lame. Hope is a dangerous thing when it is placed in something false. When it is dashed, it causes more pain. If he had failed to be healed, he would have been worse off than he would have if Peter had just flipped him a coin and went in to pray.
Celebrate the Miracle
They all went into the temple together, the man jumping and dancing like deer. The result was the amazement of the crowd and an open door for the gospel.
