Acts 3:1-5 (NIV)
One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer–at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
Peter and John, as well as many of the other people of the Church, went up to the temple to worship and pray several times each day (Acts 2:46). Although they were worshiping alongside other Jewish people, the worship of the Christians was different in substance and focus. While other Jews praised God for the historic deliverance He had brought them in the biblical past, and prayed to God to fulfill the promises He had made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Christians were full of praise for the great contemporary deliverance that He had worked through Jesus, and for the promises that He had now kept to the letter.
The temple courts were located at the top of the mountain on which Jerusalem was built, and were surrounded by a great wall, accessed through several gates. The main gate through which people entered the temple was on the east end toward the Mount of Olives and was called the Beautiful Gate. It was covered with gold and adorned with many precious stones donated by people. It was an impressive way to come into God’s presence.
The gate was immensely popular, so the walkway to it was the favorite place for beggars to sit with their alms bowls. Since it was considered a mitzvah, a good deed done in obedience to God’s commands, to give alms to the poor, it was expected that many of those entering the temple would take the opportunity to drop a coin or two into one or two of the bowls thrust up at them as they neared the gate.
This particular man had been brought to this place by his family every day for many years. He was over forty years old (Acts 4:22) and couldn’t walk. He was well known by those who went frequently to the temple (Acts 3:10). In fact, Jesus Himself had walked past the man several times as He walked through this main gate into the temple over the previous years. Some might wonder why, if Jesus saw Him, He hadn’t already healed him. The simplest answer is twofold: the man didn’t ask to be healed, and it wasn’t yet time. God had reserved this man’s healing to bring glory to Himself at the same time as He used it to give prominence to the apostles and to lend credibility to their testimony.
All was normal during this trip to the temple until Peter and John heard the man’s cry for alms and saw his bowl being held out in their direction. At the same moment, the Holy Spirit spoke to their hearts, indicating that this man was to receive from them, not money, but healing. So, they stopped in their tracks and looked straight at the man. The man’s gaze had already move down the line of approaching people, so Peter called his attention back with a loud, “Look at us.” And as the man’s gaze moved back to them, so did his bowl.
Father, this reemphasizes to me that, as people of the kingdom, none of us are lone rangers simply determining for ourselves what we should do next. Jesus made Himself completely dependent on Your direction (John 5:19) as a model for us, and He taught that same complete dependency to His followers. But that also meant that they had to keep their eyes and ears constantly open to Your leading so that they could respond instantly when You spoke. Help me, Lord, to have that same dependency, that same expectant reliance on your guidance, so that I can do all that You tell me to do immediately. Amen.
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