The Healing Of The Lame Beggar (Part 1) Series

THE HEALING OF A LAME BEGGAR

Part 1 – What Jesus Did For The Lame Man

Acts 3:1-10

Our selected text tells of a man who was hoping to receive a small contribution of charity from Peter & John. They were not able to give him what he wanted, but they were able to provide him with something far greater than he could have ever imagined. This man was a lame beggar; he was impoverished and suffered from a debilitating physical infirmity. All he wanted was some money to buy some food, but the Apostles introduced him to Someone who would work a miracle in his life. There outside the beautiful gate of the Temple, Jesus healed this lame man and gave him the ability to walk. Not only did be begin walking, he went on to leap and to praise God for this miracle.

There are likely some people here today who are more like this lame man than they realize. However, their condition is not a physical one, it is spiritual. The great news is that Jesus can do the same thing for you that He did for this lame man; He can touch you and make you whole. I would like to walk through these verses and examine “The Healing Of The Lame Beggar.”

As we examine the change that Jesus wrought in this man’s life, those of us who are saved will be reminded of all that He has done for us. Moreover, it is my prayer that those who have yet to be born again will see that He can do the same for them.

- Let’s begin in verse 1 and see:

A HEARTBREAKING SITUATION

Luke tells us of a man who had faced many difficulties throughout his life. He had a physical condition that had rendered him helpless in many ways. Because of his disability there were many things that he was unable to do, and as a result he spent his days begging for help from others. Though his situation seemed hopeless, God was about to do a great work in his life. This lame man had a divine appointment with grace! Two of God’s servants were about to come into his life and introduce him to One who would completely transform him.

Verse 1 says that “Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. (v1)

Peter and John went to the Temple at the “hour of prayer”. The Jews prayed three times a day: 9 a.m. (third hour),12 noon (sixth hour) and p.m. (ninth hour). At these times devout Jews and Gentiles who believed in God would go to the temple for a time of prayer. Two of these prayer services accompanied the daily sacrifices performed in the morning and in the afternoon.

There was something of a transition period in the days of the early church. The Jews who made up the first generation of Christians continued to attend the temple services for some time after the formation of the Church; in fact, this went on until the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D 70.

Throughout Acts you will see the Apostles and other believers present (and often sharing the Gospel) in the local synagogues. Knowing the importance of prayer and worship, Peter and John headed to the Temple for the afternoon hour of prayer, when they arrived, they encountered this man who was in desperate need of a miracle.

v2 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;

There was a large, ornamental gate on the eastern side of the Temple complex that separated the Court of the Women from the Court of the Gentiles. This gate was called “Beautiful”. When the Apostles arrived they saw this crippled man being carried to a specific place near the gate so that he could ask for “alms”. “Alms” is a word used to describe a charitable donation. This man was born lame; Luke describes him as “a certain man lame from his mother's womb”.

It was likely obvious to his parents early on that their precious baby boy had been born with a congenital defect. Clearly something was wrong with his legs. As his first birthday drew near, at a time when he should have been learning to walk, he couldn’t. There was no strength in his feet and ankle bones. When he was a young child and all of the other children were out playing and running around, all he could do is sit and watch. As an older boy, when all of the other boys began to work in the fields, he was unable to contribute. As a young man he had no way to provide for a prospective bride because his legs prevented him from working. His physical infirmity relegated him to a life of poverty and he spent his days as a beggar.