No Silver or Gold

INTRODUCTION

In 2008, at the Beijing Olympics, the world saw one of the most complete and dominant relay performances in the history of track and field.

In the 4X100 meters relay, the Jamaican team ran over the competition.

It was not close.

By the time Asafa Powell, the third runner for Jamaica, finished his leg, the race was pretty much over.

And yet the interest was palpable because the anchor leg was to be run by the fastest man in the world—Usain Bolt.

Bolt took off and finished the work. He extended the lead to the point of embarrassment.

He broke the world record with a time of 37.10 seconds.

While it is not a perfect analogy, the track and field relay that the Jamaicans dominated is a picture of what we see in Acts 3:1-10.

The Lord Jesus came as the King of the Kingdom, preaching that the Kingdom was at hand.

And then, after dying on the Cross and overcoming in the resurrection and ascending to heaven, the baton was handed off.

The Spirit was given.

The church is sent out, led by the apostles who are ministering in the same manner of Christ.

And in Acts 3, we are seeing a picture of what we should be as Christian people in the local church.

We see how the baton has been handed to us and we are running the final leg of this race of redemption.

Acts 3:1–10 ESV

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

HEALING AT THE BEAUTIFUL GATE

PETER AND JOHN (v. 1)

We begin chapter 3 with Peter and John going up to the temple at the ninth hour to pray.

I love the pairing of these two.

Peter is the disciple who denied Christ.

John is the disciple who stayed to the end.

Peter is well known for his boldness

John is well known for his kindness

There is a little bit of a savory and sweet thing that is happening with these two

And that is so often the way it is in ministry. God brings together a pair of foils that have different spiritual gifting and personalities.

And together, they do impactful ministry.

They go up to the temple to pray at the ninth hour.

This would have been the evening prayers that occured at 3pm.

They had to start this early because during certain times of the year, it would get dark as early as 4:30pm in Israel.

The ninth hour gave people time to go to temple and get home safely.

They are going to temple because they are Jewish.

They are Jewish men who have been saved by a Jewish Messiah and they are going to the Jewish temple to pray, as would be the custom.

The Christian community’s separation from the Jewish community did not happen overnight.

It took decades.

The severing was permanent in 70 AD when the temple was destroyed.

But even throughout Acts, we see Paul come into a town and go straight to the synagogue and solidify relationships there to begin his ministry work.

THE MAN AT THE GATE (v. 2)

In verse 2, we meet a man who is lame from birth. He is carried and laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate.

This is probably the Eastern gate of the temple that divided the court of the Gentiles from the court of women

It was well-trafficked and that is probably why this man was strategically seated there.

He is hoping to gather alms from the people who are passing by.

RC Sproul pointed out that this is a man who had some friends or family that loved him very much.

They carried him to this place daily and laid him at a place where he could benefit from worshippers who were feeling particularly generous on their way into pray to God.

In doing this, they were keeping him alive.

People who had a disability were often shunned from society. They were looked at as if they were stricken by God.

Even if they were born with a disease, people would assume their parents had done something which cursed them.

Being looked at as morally inferior, they were barred from society.

It was a guaranteed life of poverty.

This man’s loved ones were giving him the best shot.

It is also important to note that this man was known.

He was at the Gate called Beautiful daily.

After the healing that is about to occur, when the man goes in the temple, he is immediately recognized as the beggar from outside.

This is not hard to imagine.

Even in our own context, driving around in York County and Newport News you often see people on the street asking for money and you recognize them.

NO SILVER OR GOLD (v. 3-6)

At this point, Peter and John do something that most humans do not do.

The man asks Peter and John for alms.

Peter directs the gaze of the man at him. And then John joins in and they say, “Look at us.”

This is not what people usually do in the fact of a beggar.

Human nature is to look away.

Especially if you don’t have anything to give someone.

This man, who sat at this gate daily, had seen thousands of pairs of eyes look at him and then look away because they could not bear the indignity.

The man look at them in verse 5 and he is eager to receive something from them.

After all, they have asked for his attention.

He is expecting Peter to reach for his money pouch and give him a nice gift.

But Peter ushers in a twist to the plot by saying that he doesn’t have any money to offer the man.

“I have no silver and gold...”

The truth is that Peter does have silver and gold. The whole church is holding all things in common.

There is probably some practical thing he could have done for this man.

But Peter is after something much better than practical.

People have been practically helping him survive for years. Peter has higher aims that silver and gold cannot address:

He is after a supernatural act of God that would verify the power and authority in the name of Jesus Christ.

“…but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”

And what he has is wonderful! Far better than what silver or gold would have provided for the man.

Instead of coins in his cup, his body is healed in the name of Christ.

This is the first of 14 miracles that we see performed in the book of Acts.

It is the first of fourteen miracles being performed by the Apostles in the same manner that we saw Christ performing miracles in the book of Luke.

If you remember, Peter said that Jesus’ identity was attested to by signs and wonders:

Acts 2:22 ESV

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—

And Luke told us about the signs and wonders being performed by the apostles:

Acts 2:43 ESV

And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.

Luke’s language is not accidental at all.

He means to show us that there is a continuity between Jesus and the apostles.

And understanding this continuity comes down to the Holy Spirit.

If you walk through Luke’s Gospel, you see the Son of God living His life in a state of constant dependence upon the Holy Spirit.

He is conceived by the Spirit

Luke 1:35 ESV

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

He is anointed by the Spirit

Luke 3:21–22 ESV

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

He is led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where He overcomes Satan in temptation

Luke 4:1 ESV

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness

His preaching is empowered by the Spirit’s anointing

Luke 4:18 ESV

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

He rejoices in the Spirit

Luke 10:21 ESV

In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

And every miracle that He performed in Luke and in His life were performed in the power of the Spirit.

Luke states it clearly in Acts 10:

Acts 10:37–38 ESV

you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

And then, as He speaks to His disciples about His departure from the world, He tells them that it is this same Spirit who will be given to them.

John 14:15–16 ESV

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,

In fact, He goes on to tell them that this is to their benefit:

John 16:7 ESV

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

And in Acts 2, we saw this promise come to pass.

The apostles followed the instructions that were given to them and they went to Jerusalem and waited on the Spirit to come.

And when He did—when God poured out His Spirit on His church—it was evident in sight, sound and speech.

Divided tongues as of fire

The sound of rushing wind

And the Christians speaking of the mighty works of God in foreign tongues that they did not know

And that Spirit empowers the church to be witnesses, preaching the same Kingdom message as Christ.

And more than that, the Spirit empowers the apostles to heal in a similar manner to Christ, just to show that His body is truly carrying on His work in the earth

A point that is always important to establish in Christian witness—but especially in the earliest days of the church

The Spirit-empowered continuity is obvious in the words that Peter uses here in Acts 3:6...

In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!

In these twelve words, Peter shows that this healing is not being done in his power or in John’s power

It is being done in the power of Jesus Christ

And that power is attached to His name—His identity

So again—this is not about Peter. This is not about John.

This is about the power of Jesus, the Messiah at work in the world.

THE MIRACLE (v. 7-8)

We will come back around to continuity, but let’s spend some time with this miracle.

I think we have to be careful not read these things like they aren’t actually miraculous.

Our familiarity with the Bible might cause us to read over God’s performed miracles like they are forgettable things.

Like they are tricks turned by fictional characters in fictional tales.

We can’t do that.

We have to stop and marvel at what God does in the realm of nature that He rules and reigns over.

How amazing is what we are seeing in this passage?

This man was lame since birth.

He had never felt the pleasure of running with the wind against your face.

He had never experienced the convenience of getting up and walking yourself to the bathroom

He had never known what it was like to take a stroll with a friend and laugh about things that used to worry you

He had been a beggar for all his days

In an instant, by the power of God, his useless limbs became useful. His weakness became strength. His lameness became agility.

His ankles, which could not bear the weight of bis body, were made strong.

This little detail from Luke may show us the physician at work.

Luke is a historian. A Christian. A witness.

But he is also a doctor.

It is possible that he spotted the ankles as the point of the man’s problems and he took note as he watched them goes from ruined to rectified.

Verse 8 tells us that he “leaped” up.

There is a cool thing happening here that is unlikely to be a coincidence.

When it says he was “leaping up,” the Greek word is exollomai.

This is the same Greek word used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament of Isaiah 35 that Luke would have had access to.

And I don’t think it is just happenstance that he uses it here because this is the only time this Greek word is used in the New Testament.

Isaiah 35 is a Messianic passage that was associated with end times and here is what it says:

Isaiah 35:5–6 ESV

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;

The lame man leap like a deer...

The same Greek word is used by Luke in Acts 3:8…Why?

Because he is showing that when Christ came to earth, the King came.

When Christ ascended, the Head of the King left the earth, but His Spirit continues to carry on the Kingdom work in the church.

By Luke using this word from a Messianic passage, he is saying, “This healing in Acts 3 is a sign that the last days are here.”

It is right in line with what Peter taught in Acts 2. Peter said that the Spirit coming was a sign that the last days had begun.

We will know those last days are ending when the sun goes dark and the moon is turned to blood.

In Acts 3, Luke is saying, “We know the last days have come. The age of witness is here. Christ’s Spirit is operating through His people with the power that He did on earth.”

You might think, “All that from one Greek word describing how this man came up off the ground?”

Yes—that is how rich the Bible is

ENTERING THE TEMPLE (v. 9-10)

And then, in verses 9-10, we see the man enter into the temple, walking and praising God. The people recognize him and they are filled with wonder and amazement.

To grasp just how incredible this moment would be for this man, we have to look at Leviticus 21:18

Leviticus 21:18 ESV

For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, a man blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long,

The Law had kept this man out of the temple his entire life

He saw people come and go, but he was never able to go in himself.

Until now.

And his response is the correct one.

He is like the leper who is healed by Christ and comes back to thank Him.

Since it is the ninth hour, he immediately takes the opportunity of his healing to run headlong into the temple and offer God praise.

Before he goes to see family

Before he goes to do some physical activity he has always dreamed of

Before he does anything else—he goes to God

This is always the aim of any ministry that we do.

It is a good thing for the church to engage in mercy ministries toward those who are left begging for alms, but we are always after souls giving God the praise

The fact that this man goes with Peter and John to the temple to worship the Lord shows us that it seems like maybe more than his ankles have been restored

And the people, who recognize him from laying at the Beautiful Gate everyday, can’t believe what they are seeing.

They have wonder and amazement over the fact that this renowned beggar is now walking and leaping in a place that he was never before allowed to be

KINGDOM REPRESENTATIVES

Next week, we will see Peter take the platform that the miracle provides and launch into a heralding of God’s Word—the second sermon or speech we see in Acts.

But for today, I want to wrap up by focusing on how we are seeing a part of the relay race of the Great Commission here in Acts 3 and it beckons us to set our feet in the blocks and prepare to run

It beckons us to recognize our place in the team and to commit everything to obedience.

We have talked about the continuity between Christ and the apostles, but we should understand it did not stop with them.

For while you and I may not be apostles, we are Spirit-filled believers who are being built up and equipped to do the work of ministry in the name of Jesus Christ on the earth.

We see God’s design in this in Ephesians 2

Ephesians 2:19–21 ESV

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

And then we understand how the church will be built going forward when Paul says later on in Ephesians:

Ephesians 4:10–12 ESV

He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

Christ is the laid Cornerstone.

The apostles laid the foundation by carrying on His work, performing signs and wonders in the likeness of Christ—which affirmed they were truly advancing His Kingdom mission.

And now, with the New Testament completed, and the generation of the prophets and apostles passed away, the work of equipping the saints is left to the shepherds—the pastors.

And they build up the body of Christ for the work of ministry.

And now we are the hands and feet of Christ in the world.

See, when Jesus came, He made His identity and purpose clear-- as well as what the response should be.

Mark 1:15 ESV

and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

He was saying, “The King is here. I come and bring good Kingdom news. Repent from living for the Kingdom of man and believe the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.”

And this was His message everywhere He went.

This was the pearl He offered up in all of the parables and the sermons and the discourses.

And as He did it, God attested to the truth of His Son with miracles.

Those miracles were like little chutes of Kingdom glory showing themselves.

They were telling us what the full bloom coming of Kingdom of God will be like.

There won’t be rebellious demons there, so He slammed them down on earth and cast them out.

There won’t be disease there, so He healed it and showed His power over it.

There won’t be death there, so He raised the dead.

And then the apostles come along and they preach the same Kingdom message.

And we see their message being attested to by miracles as they witness.

More Kingdom chutes starting to bloom and blossom, exhibiting the glorious resurrection life to come on the New Earth.

There will be no lame ankles to write about in glory.

There will only be leaping.

And then, we have the church. Christ as the Cornerstone. Apostles laying a foundation.

And now pastors equipping saints and sending them out and they do the same joyful job of being Kingdom representatives for Christ in the fallen Kingdom of Man.

We preach the same message— “Repent! The King has come. The Kingdom is at hand.”

And as we do it, the Spirit of God is in us.

SELAH

There are a lot of blessings and privileges you may have in your life.

I have the blessing and privilege of being an American.

I have the blessing and privilege of being a Howard.

I have the blessing and privilege of being a husband to my wife and a dad to my kids.

And I am sure that many of you could list similar blessings and privileges granted to you by God in your own life.

But here is the reality this morning—there is nothing that God has blessed you with that is greater than the privilege of being His representative in this world.

After all, this is what you were made to do.

This is what God designed our father Adam to do.

He was to be God’s image-bearing representative in the world:

Genesis 1:26 ESV

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

But Adam failed in this:

Romans 5:12 ESV

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—

Ever since the fall, you see broken and depraved people trying to recover this design in a variety of ways, but outside of Christ, they will all fail.

For when we repent of our sin and put our faith in Christ, we are united to Him.

Christ succeeded in what the 1st Adam failed to do—He represented God in the world as a perfect image-bearing Son.

And now, if we are in Christ, we are forgiven of sin and we are restored to this glorious purpose.

We get to be Kingdom representatives. Image-bearing representatives who are being conformed into the full stature of Christ.

The fact that God plucked you up out of your sin and sent you out into this world to be His hands and feet like Peter and John—this is the greatest thing that has ever happened to you.

Being a Christian—a representative of Christ the King and His Kingdom—this is the greatest blessing you have everyday.

And this should compel us to be a witnessing and working church.

A WITNESSING AND WORKING CHURCH

If we are a witnessing church and working church, we will be mirroring what we see in Peter and John in this text.

Witnessing: No silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth...

Working: Rise up and walk.

He took him by the right hand and raised him up

In this we see the Word and the Word in action.

We see the name of the King and another preview of the Kingdom.

Another chute blossoming and displaying the impending reality of the New Jerusalem—The Kingdom of the Son

A church should preach a faithful Gospel, but I believe the Gospel is a jewel worth demonstration.

We should show it to the world in how we live.

After all, if it is an inside out, transformative message—it will not stop at our heads.

It will stir up the soul to obedience.

When the Word of the Kingdom is changing the church, the community around them will feel it.

The community around them won’t question whether or not they really believe Jesus is King.

It will be evident in the church’s love.

In how the church is generous with what God has given them.

In how the church reflects the nature of the coming Kingdom and the heart of the King

And it is so important that we recognize that this is an “all hands on deck” situation.

The witnessing and working church will not simply pay ministry professionals to do the work of the church.

The body will recognize that they are the the membership of the congregation as much as the pastors.

They will not be satisfied to be equipped just to sit on the sidelines. They will want in the game.

They want to be fishers of men.

The eye wants to see. The ear wants to hear. The foot wants to walk. The hand wants to reach.

Everyone satisfied to work under the command of Christ, who is the Head, obeying His words and trusting in His Spirit.

In the mid-1800’s in London, Metropolitan Tabernacle—the church Charles Spurgeon pastored—was known as a working church:

Spurgeon the Pastor: Recovering a Biblical & Theological Vision for Ministry Obstacles to a Working Church

Some seem to think that this work devolves upon ministers only, or upon them and their brethren in office, their deacons and elders, but that it is to extend no further. We hear much, about “lay agency” nowadays, but we know nothing of any distinction between “clergy” and “laity” in this matter. All God’s people are God’s kleros, God’s clergy. Or if there be any laity, any common people, all God’s people are the laity, “a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Nothing has been more disastrous to the cause of Christianity than the leaving of the service of Christ to comparatively few of his professed followers. We shall never see the world turned upside down as it was in apostolic times until we get back to the apostolic practice, and all the saints are filled with the Holy Ghost, and speak for Christ as the Spirit gives them utterance.

But the work can’t just be busyness.

It must be the sort of work we see from Peter and John in Acts 3...

In the name of Jesus, for the glory of Jesus.

Not in word only, but in deed. In action.

And I agree with Charles Spurgeon that when the church is working in this way, the community will be more prone to hear her gospel:

Spurgeon the Pastor: Recovering a Biblical & Theological Vision for Ministry The Effects of a Working Church

But if you have a church, no matter by what name it is called, that is devout, that is holy, that is living unto God, that does good in its neighborhood, that by the lives of its members spreads holiness and righteousness; in a word, if you have a church that is really making the world whole in the name of Jesus, you shall in the long run find that even the most carnal and thoughtless will say, “The church which is doing this good is worthy of respect, therefore let us hear what it has to say.” Living usefulness will not screen us from persecution, but it will save us from contempt. A holy church goes with authority to the world in the name of Jesus Christ its Lord, and this force the Holy Spirit uses to bring human hearts into subjection to the truth.

So then, let us witness and work.

On one hand, let us always be ready to give a defense for the hope that has been lodged in our hearts by grace.

1 Peter 3:15 ESV

but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,

And on the other hand, let us obey the Lord’s law of neighborly love. Let us commit ourselves to denying ourselves by loving others as we would love our own selves.

For our Lord has told us that in doing this, after our worship of Him, we fulfill the whole Law:

Matthew 22:36–40 ESV

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

The neighborly love will open the way for our hope-filled defense to reach the hearts of the lost people in our backyard.

And the witnessing and working church will show the resurrection power of Christ in the world.

Our eggs filled with candy and the Good News we give with them

Our Vacation Bible School and the Gospel we herald there

Our Food Pantry and the practical needs that are met there

Our Connect Ministry welcoming people to the gathering of Christ’s body and passing the peace—showing the hospitality of Christ

All of these things are more buds and sprouts and chutes coming to bear, giving a preview of what is to come.

For as our new life overflows, it will produce a love that calls on people to meet our gaze as we minister to them in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

CONCLUSION

And this is our part in the race.

The baton is being handed off to us.

From Christ---to the apostles—to the equipped local church.

And the good news is that unlike Jamaica, our fastest runner is not saved for last.

Instead, Christ has run.

Hebrews 12:2 ESV

looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

We must look to Him as we witness and work.

Just as Peter and John did.

We must rely on His Spirit as we witness and work

Just as Peter and John did.

And now, we run, knowing that the victory has already been secured.

The gate of hell will not prevail against the church

The Lord Jesus will defeat Satan

Every throne of every nation will be brought under His subjection

And His people will dwell with Him on the New Earth.

But until then, these are the last days.

The leaping of the lame lets us know that the Messiah’s 2nd Advent will come soon.

Let us witness and work until we cross the finish line and eat at the Lamb’s table of mercy.