The Gate Beautiful - Acts 3:1-11

© March 16th, 2025 by Rev. Rick Goettsche SERIES: Acts

There are certain places that will be forever connected with the events that happened there. If you say Hiroshima and Nagasaki, people immediately think of the atomic bomb. If you mention 1 World Trade Center Plaza, most will think of the 9/11 attacks. Nuremburg brings to mind the trials of Nazi war criminals. And if you say La Harpe, IL people immediately think of that wonderful yellow church that exists in the center of the town (or they say, where?)

For many Christians, if you mention the gate called Beautiful, their minds will immediately go to the story we’re going to look at today. The healing that happened there will be forever associated with that location.

Today we’re going to look at the first healing we see described in the book of Acts. We know there were other miracles that were performed by the early church prior to this, because we saw last week that the disciples performed many miraculous signs and wonders, but we aren’t given any further details about them. This is the first one Luke chooses to highlight. There are probably a few reasons for this.

One is that this miracle was something that surely attracted attention. Many people were familiar with the man who was healed, so it would have been a story that was easily verified. Second, it provided the occasion for another of Peter’s public sermons, which Luke probably wanted to highlight. Including the account of this miracle set the stage for Peter’s sermon. Third, the miracle (and the subsequent sermon) provided the first persecution of the early Christians, which made it a significant event in the history of the church.

Setting the Scene

Luke sets the scene for what is about to happen in the opening verses of chapter 3,

Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. 2 As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money. (Acts 3:1-3, NLT)

The story takes place at the time of the afternoon prayer, which was about 3:00 PM. There were three times during the day that the Jewish people would stop for prayer. The first was at 9:00 AM, the second at 3:00 PM, and the third was at sundown. Many people would go to the temple for prayer at this time. One commentator said that the 3:00 PM prayer usually was the busiest time at the temple.

It is worth noting that this was apparently still the regular practice of both Peter and John (and likely many other disciples.) We tend to think of Jews and Christians as distinct groups (and for the most part, they are today), but in these early days, the Christians simply viewed themselves as Jews who had recognized the coming of the Messiah. As such, they continued the same Jewish practices they had before, including coming to the temple to pray.

We are also introduced to a new person in this story, a man who was lame from birth. In other words, this man had never been able to walk. As a result, he would have been unable to work and unable to provide for himself financially. He would have had to rely on the kindness of others to take care of himself. Apparently, he had some people who helped him, because he was regularly carried to the temple gate, where he could beg for help.

This was a pretty good location for him to be. There would have been lots of foot traffic, and the foot traffic would hopefully be willing to be gracious to him, because they would either be on their way to worship or on their way from worship. He understandably would have hoped that the people would feel a desire to help this poor man as an extension of their worship.

He sat at the gate called Beautiful. If you remember the structure of the temple, it was basically a series of concentric rectangles. The outermost rectangle was the largest and was known as the court of the Gentiles. All people were allowed in this section of the temple, and there was always a great deal of activity there. The next area in was the court of women, which was restricted only to Jewish people. There is some debate as to whether the Beautiful Gate was located at the entrance to the court of women, or whether it was also called the Nicanor Gate, which was at the entrance to the next area, the court of the Israelites. Only Israelite men were allowed to enter here. Whatever the case, the gate was called Beautiful for a reason. It was ornately decorated and massive. It would have likely had the temple towering behind it, creating an impressive backdrop. Thus, many people would enter the temple through this gate. As such, this would have been a great place for the man to set up his post for begging.

Now, I suspect that in many ways, not much has changed in the past 2,000 years when it comes to beggars and how people deal with them. If you have ever been to a city where there are lots of people begging on the streets, you have probably learned not to engage with them. Just keep walking, don’t slow down, don’t make eye contact. I suspect this was probably the standard practice at this time as well. Most likely, the majority of those this man encountered simply ignored him and pretended as though they didn’t see him. But that’s not what happened when he spoke to Peter and John.

The Encounter

We see the encounter between these men in verses 4-8,

4 Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. 6 But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the `Nazarene, get up and walk!” 7 Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. 8 He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them. (Acts 3:4-8, NLT)

I suspect the man had a well-rehearsed plea that he issued to the passersby. He was probably accustomed to the majority of people passing by without a second glance. But every so often, someone would stop, acknowledge him, and give him some money. When Peter and John heard him, they stopped and Peter told the man, “Look at us!” There was an intensity in the way Peter spoke to the man.

The man looked up, and surely began to get a bit excited, imagining that Peter and John were about to give him some money! So he looked up eagerly, only to be disappointed by Peter’s next statement, when he said I don’t have any silver or gold…

The man’s spirit surely deflated. Here was someone who was just going to waste his time, give him a lecture, or something worse. You can imagine the emotional roller coaster that happened in this brief moment of time. But then Peter continued…but I’ll give you what I have. And then he commanded the man in the name of Jesus of Nazareth to get up and walk!

Admittedly, this was not the exchange this man was anticipating. I wonder if when Peter said this to him, he might have initially been annoyed, thinking, well if I could get up and walk, I would, you fool! Obviously I can’t walk or else I wouldn’t be here begging! Or maybe the man recognized the name of Jesus of Nazareth and became excited, believing that he may have just been healed of his lifelong affliction.

Whatever the case, Peter helped the man to his feet, and Luke tells us that the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. Luke was a doctor by training, so he would have taken a particular interest in this event. Greek scholars tell us that this is reflected in his description. He uses technical terms to describe joints going back into sockets in his feet and ankles. But remember that just because your joints work, it wouldn’t be a guarantee that you’d be able to walk. A person who was lame from birth would have lacked the muscle tone to support themselves. That’s part of the miracle. It wasn’t just that the man’s feet and ankles went back to where they needed to be, but he was instantly healed and strengthened. The man who had never been able to stand on his own two feet suddenly did exactly that!

And Luke tells us that not only did he stand up, but he walked, ran, and began jumping around praising God! I picture the man dancing around, amazed at his good fortune, looking at the world from a perspective he’d never had before, and celebrating the freedom he had just received at the hands of Peter. As he composed himself just a little, he proceeded into the temple with them, something he had never been able to do before.

The Aftermath

As you can imagine, the man’s presence in the temple caused quite a stir. We see that recorded in verses 9-11.

9 All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. 10 When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded! 11 They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John. (Acts 3:9-11, NLT)

The people heard the commotion of the man celebrating his healing, then took note of who was making all the noise, recognizing him as the man past whom they had walked many times before. They realized that this man was suddenly able to walk, so they came to investigate what happened.

A large crowd ended up gathering in Solomon’s Colonnade, which was another place in the temple. Peter, sensing the opportunity before him, seized upon the opportunity to begin sharing the message of the gospel with the gathered crowd. We’ll look more at the content of his message next week.

Lessons

This is another one of those stories in the book of Acts where we say, this is a fascinating story, but what should we learn from it? Though this isn’t a long passage, I think there are several lessons we can glean from it.

First, we should seize opportunities for ministry when they happen. It would have been easy for Peter and John to feel that they were too busy with the business of ministry to make time for this beggar everyone else seemed to overlook. This was the mistake Jesus pointed out in his parable of the Good Samaritan. The first two people, who walked by without helping, were a priest and a Levite, both professional religious men, who had undoubtedly convinced themselves that the duties they had before them were far too important for them to waste their time with this man lying by the side of the road. We would like to imagine that we would never be such people, but we do the same thing often.

It is easy for us to become so busy that we see people in need as interruptions, rather than opportunities. This can even happen in our homes. Sometimes I get focused on a task, and when my wife or kids come to talk to me, I get frustrated at the interruption, rather than giving them my full attention. We must remember the message we are communicating in those moments: you aren’t as important as what I’m doing right now. That is a message that sticks with people.

But the reverse is also true. When we stop, look people in the eye, and listen without checking our watch or phone, we communicate that the person in front of us is important and valued. Sometimes the greatest opportunities for ministry come at the times when we are most busy. Those times offer a chance to show people they matter more than the other things on our calendars. When people know you love and care for them, doors for ministry open up that might otherwise be closed. Don’t allow your busy schedule (even if it’s busy with good things) to keep you from seizing opportunities for ministry.

Second, often God has something better for us than what we want. Notice that the man was hoping Peter and John would give him some gold or silver coins. That was what the man was hoping to get by being at the temple that day. When Peter said he had no silver or gold, the man was initially disappointed. He didn’t know that God was actually going to do something far better!

How often do we have the same experience? How often do we have a certain outcome in mind, something we were praying for, only to be disappointed because God didn’t give us what we were hoping for?

You pray for God to let you get a particular job, or enable you to make a particular purchase, but it doesn’t happen. We pray for healing, but don’t see it. Or we ask for God to deliver us from the midst of a trial, but the trial rages on around us. In those times, we must remember that sometimes God doesn’t give us what we ask for because He has something better planned for us.

This story reminds us that God knows better than we do. He sees the big picture and knows what we need. I suspect if you were to ask this man afterwards if he would have trade his healing for the silver and gold he had hoped to receive, he would laugh in your face. What God gave him was far better! In the times when God doesn’t give us what we want, remember that’s usually because He has something else, something better in store for us. If we can just trust Him and hold on, we’ll see His love and care shine through, just as this man did.

Third, we all need God’s healing. Most of us have the ability to walk, but we are all spiritually crippled until God works within us. This man was unable to provide for himself and needed others to take care of Him and provide for Him. When God set him free from this, a new life began for him.

The same is true for each of us spiritually. Apart from Christ, we stand paralyzed by our sin. We are slaves to it and we have no hope. But when Christ enters our lives, He brings a healing deeper than we could have imagined. Like this man, we are utterly dependent upon the grace of God. We must never forget that we can do nothing apart from Him, and we should live with the gratitude that knowledge brings.

Fourth, this healing should bring joy! I love imagining this man who had previously been unable to stand now leaping, dancing, and literally jumping for joy at what God had done in his life.

We should have a similarly joyful response as we recognize what Christ has done in us. When we come to understand what we have been forgiven and the difference Jesus makes in our lives, it ought to have a profound effect on us, such that others can see a joy in us that the rest of the world lacks.

Sometimes, I fear that we in the church suffer from being too serious. It is true that we should understand we are in the presence of God and there should be a solemnity that comes with that. But we should also recognize that God has given us new life, and that reality should lead to an unquenchable joy. One of the things I appreciate about the worship in the Bible is that it isn’t stodgy or merely ritualistic. There is deep emotion and joy that we see throughout. We should not be afraid to allow ourselves to experience emotion in worship. When we recognize what God has done, an emotional response is wholly appropriate!

Fifth, God is the One who deserves credit for everything. Notice that Peter was very careful of where he pointed the spotlight in all of this. He did not see this as an opportunity to draw attention to himself, to build his own following, or to promote himself as a faith-healer. In all that happened, Peter kept the focus on Jesus.

Many so-called faith healers today seem to be primarily concerned with making a name for themselves. Peter’s goal was not to enrich himself or make his name known. His goal was to make Christ’s name known. That was the whole point of the miracle, to point people to Jesus. When we serve the Lord, that should be our goal as well. Rather than trying to draw attention to ourselves, build a following, or anything else, we should remember that everything we do is through the power of Christ and for the glory of Christ. Peter did this well, we should too.

Finally, we should share what we have with others. Peter had no silver or gold to share. He did, however, have the power of the Holy Spirit inside of him and had something even better he could give to this man.

I would venture to say that none of us can tell a crippled person to get up and walk and have any confidence that it would actually happen. But we do each have our own unique gifts we can share. Maybe you have material resources, you do have silver and gold—then use it to serve others. Maybe God has given you a set of skills or a particular ability that enables you to meet other needs in people’s lives. Whatever the case is for you, God has given you something you can share with others. He intends for us to do it!

The greatest gift we can share is the gift of the gospel. What people need more than anything else is Jesus. So the greatest gift we can give is the gift of Him. This is something every Christian can (and should do). It doesn’t require special skills, just a willing heart. When God gives you opportunities, use them to point others to Him.

The Beautiful Gate is forever connected to the day this man was healed. What had previously been a place to beg and be reminded of his ailment was now a place that reminded him of God’s power. I hope you can point to some similar places in your life. Even more than that, I hope you get to help others to have a similar experience by introducing them to Jesus—the One who makes all things new.

© March 16th, 2025 by Rev. Rick Goettsche SERIES: Acts