The Beautiful Gate & the Occasion for a Miracle (Acts 3:1-16)

Introduction

English Standard Version Chapter 3

3 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 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. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 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!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 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.

Peter Speaks in Solomon’s Portico

11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s. 12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

We’re now moving into Acts chapter 3 where we see a similar pattern from chapter 2. A pattern that begins with a miracle, and ends with a sermon from the Apostle Peter. Chapter 2 began with the disciples speaking supernaturally in foreign languages, by the power of the Holy Spirit, which was then followed immediately by Peter’s sermon explaining the significance of that miracle. Similarly, chapter 3 begins with another miracle, a man who is born lame and who is supernaturally made to walk, which is also immediately followed by another sermon from Peter, explaining the source and significance of the miracle.

Now, this is important to recognize, because it teaches us that these miracles served specific purposes, this is why we find Peter explaining their meanings in his sermons that follow. So, as we consider this text this morning I want you to keep this in the back of your mind. Jesus’ miracles were always deliberate, not arbitrary, and likewise nor were the miracles performed by his disciples, they too were deliberate and not arbitrary, all of these miracles served certain purposes. The disciples didn’t receive the power to perform miracles to satisfy their own desires or will. Nor was it their aim to merely heal every person they could get their hands on, as if their mission was to heal as many people as they could in their lifetime, no, they had a specific mission given to them by Christ, and these miracles were intended to serve that purpose, as we’ll see here this morning.

The historical context

Now, before we consider what purpose this particular miracle served, I want to start by considering the circumstances of this event here in chapter 3. So, let’s start be reading there, again, beginning in verse 1,

English Standard Version Chapter 3

3 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 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. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 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!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 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.

Now, I want you to be able to visualize this in your mind. Throughout the year, the normal rhythm of activity, each day, at the Temple, included two principle sacrifices, one in the morning and another during the evening. This was prescribed in Numbers 28:3-4,

English Standard Version Chapter 28

3 And you shall say to them, This is the food offering that you shall offer to the LORD: two male lambs a year old without blemish,

The first sacrifice took place at about the 3rd hour of the day by Jewish reckoning, or about 9 a.m., whereas the second sacrifice took place at about the 9th hour, or about 3 p.m. At each of those times the priests offered regular burnt offerings on behalf of themselves and the people, signifying their ongoing dependence upon God for his mercy, and their ongoing need to have their sins atoned for. These burnt offerings were accompanied by the burning of incense, the Levites singing Psalms, and the people gathered inside the various Temple court yards; this was the regular rhythm of worship at the Temple in Jerusalem.

Now, obviously, not everyone lived in Jerusalem, and so most Jews only attended these daily services while they were in town visiting. While attendance wasn’t mandatory it was expected, therefore pilgrims who visited Jerusalem would usually planned to be present at both the morning and evening services whenever possible. Which is what the disciples were likely doing while they were in Jerusalem following the Jesus’ ascension. Twice a day they probably entered the Temple complex to worship.

And when they did, they likely entered through the Double Gate on the south side of the Temple complex. It was called the Double Gate because it was composed of two gates directly adjacent to one another forming as it were a singular gate; people entering the Temple would enter through the gate on the right while people exiting the Temple would exit through the gate on the left. This kept the foot traffic flowing efficiently in and out of the Temple. This is probably the Beautiful Gate that Luke is referring to here in Acts.

Furthermore, leading up to the gate was a wide Herodian staircase, measuring something like 210 feet wide, or two-thirds the length of a football field in width. And it would have been up those steps that this man, who had been born lame, would have been carried up; in order to sit at the Beautiful Gate and ask those entering the Temple for alms.

The plight of the man born lame

Now, I want you to think about this for a minute, this was not a man who had lost his ability to walk at some point in his life, either due to an accident or old age. Instead, he had never known a day when he could walk, therefore his entire life he had been completely dependent upon others to carry him up those steps to sit at the entrance to the Temple, so that he could ask for alms, so that he could ask for charity.

You can imagine just how debilitating his condition would have been to his ability to work and provide for himself. He did not live at time when there was such a thing as remote work or a time when a desk job was a widespread option. So, as a result, he was forced to rely upon donations to feed and care for himself. He was forced to rely upon the generosity of the people.

This was why the Bible is so replete with scriptures that charge the people to take care of the poor. For example, Proverbs 19:17 says,

English Standard Version Chapter 19

17  Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD,

and he will repay him for his deed.

or Deuteronomy 15:7-11

English Standard Version Chapter 15

7 “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, 8 but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. 9 Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the LORD against you, and you be guilty of sin. 10 You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. 11 For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’

Can you imagine how many years that man may have have spent on those steps at the gate, asking for alms to support himself? Years, maybe decades, we don’t know, but this man was undoubtedly an abiding presence at the Temple gates. I’m sure people had seen him there before, for years, and that he had become somewhat of a fixture at the Temple. In fact, in verses 9-10 we’re told that “all the people … recognized him.” Yet how many people likely averted their gaze in order to avoid making eye contact, pretending like he wasn’t there, as though he were invisible to them?

Rise up and walk!

But then "seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple,” and asking them to receive alms, we’re told there in verse 4 that “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 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.”

Now, I want you to ask yourself, “Why did Peter heal this man?” “What was the purpose of this miracle?” Well, first, I think it would be difficult to deny or ignore that their motivation was, at least in part, compassion. Peter and John didn’t avert their gaze when they saw him at the gate, instead Luke clearly tells us that they deliberately “directed [their] gaze at him”. So, I think it goes without saying that this miracle displays God’s compassion through Jesus’ disciples.

Miracles bear witness

But what further purpose might this miracle have served? Well, we’ve already learned from chapter two that miracles are intended to testify or to bear witness. Peter had previously told the crowds that Jesus had been “attested to [them] by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in [their] midst.” In other words, the miracles bore witness to who Jesus was, his authority, and the truthfulness of his claims.

Similarly, this miracle testified to the disciple’s authority and the truthfulness of their claims. However, notice in who’s name they performed this miracle, not in their own name, but Peter says there in verse 6, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” So, while this miracle testified to Peter’s Apostolic authority, he also acknowledged that his authority was a derived authority, that it was an authority that didn’t originate with him, but originated with Jesus.

And as we’ll see later, this is important, because this also indicates that Jesus still lives, that, just as he had told the Pharisees before they had him crucified, he would be “seated at the right hand of Power in heaven (Matt. 26:64).” The leaders in Jerusalem thought they had stopped Jesus by having him put to death, but their actions had unwittingly caused twelve others to spring up!

Miracles and authority, that we might believe

Now, the reason it’s important to recognize that these miracles served to bear witness to the authority of Jesus and his disciples, is because we need to understand that it’s Jesus’ authority that ultimately gives weight to what the disciples have said. In other words, because the disciples bear the authority of Jesus, you can trust what they teach. Therefore, miracles are given to us that we might believe. For example, John 20:30-31 says,

English Standard Version Chapter 20

30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written

This is why, for instance, one of the primary criterion for determining whether a book is canonical or not is whether it has Apostolic origin. You see, the early church recognized that a book’s authority was tied to whether or not it was written by an Apostle, or by someone closely associated with an Apostle, because if it wasn’t then it lacked the authority that was uniquely delegated by Jesus to his Apostles.

In short, miracles are intended to provide us with confidence that we posses the truth, in order that we might believe the truth. Which is also why we shouldn’t expect to see miracle workers, like the Apostles, today. That isn’t to say God doesn’t perform miracles today, but only that the kind of authority necessary to perform miracles like Peter did here in Acts has ceased. You see, the foundation has already been laid down by the Apostle and Prophets, the Scripture we have is sufficient, therefore we need not add to it or lay that foundation again. Therefore, when you run into so-called faith healers today run the other direction.

Not your piety or power

Furthermore, I want you to notice what else Peter says there about this man’s healing, picking up again there in verse 9, and reading through verse 16,

English Standard Version Chapter 3

9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And

I want you to notice the people’s reaction, Luke says that “they were all filled with wonder and amazement” at what had just happened. Now, normally, I think this would be a perfectly reasonable response to what had just happened, and I suspect my own response would largely parallel theirs. However, notice what Peter goes on to say there in verse 12, “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?” In other words, their response is deficient.

While they’re filled with wonder and amazement, the lame man’s response was fundamentally different than theirs. How so? Well, Luke repeatedly tells us there that the man who was healed was running around “praising God,” but this apparently wasn’t the case with the crowed who were standing around in amazement. Instead, rather than immediately praising God and giving him glory, their wonder and amazement was directed at what they perceived to be Peter and John’s own personal power or piety, as though it were their power and their piety that had made this man well. They marveled at the disciples rather than God.

In other words, their assumption was that the cause of this miracle was fundamentally tied to the disciple’s own power or piety. And unfortunately, this isn’t surprising, because rabbinic tradition is full of individuals who were supposedly marked by such great piety that God was all but obligated to answer their prayers, thereby making miracles inevitable for those who could just work up enough piety or good works. Which is why Peter and John had to tell the people that it wasn’t by their own power or piety that this man could walk, but by the power and authority of Jesus’s name.

Now, one of the reasons the people reasoned in this way was as a result of the religious leaders who were motivated primarily by the praise of men. So, whether knowingly or not, the religious leaders in Jerusalem had created an environment that sought to direct all of the people’s praise and glory to themselves. Therefore, when the disciples healed a man who was lame, they immediately directed their wonder and amazement toward them rather than God, and so Peter had to tell them that this man had been made strong not by their power or piety, but by faith in Jesus’ name.

Not by the quantity of your faith

And sadly, this same type of reasoning is still employed by prosperity preachers and so-called faith healers today. Their reasoning goes something like this, it’s always God’s will for you to be healed, but you must have enough faith to be healed, therefore if you’re not healed then you must not have enough faith, or you must still have some kind of unrepentant sin in your life. In other words, they teach that miracles are contingent upon the the quantity of your faith or the intensity of your piety. And they typically appeal to texts from the Gospels where Jesus says to those who have been healed, “your faith has made you well.”

And, on the surface, this might seem like a reasonable conclusion to make, that if you just have enough faith Jesus will heal you. Now, you would be right to recognize that faith does play an integral role in the miracles performed by Jesus and his disciples. In fact, what does Peter say there in verse 16, “And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.”

Faith not a quantifiable power

The problems arise when we try to turn faith into some kind of quantifiable power, or try to use it as leverage against God. First, faith is not a quantifiable power, faith is not some kind of power that if we just possess enough of it that we’ll experience miracles. There’s a difference between faith in the power of faith and faith in the power of God. The first views faith as a quantifiable power. In fact, some prosperity gospel preachers go so far as to teach that God himself possess faith in order to create and sustain the universe, and that if believers can just tap into that faith that we can receive blessings such as healings, prosperity, and success.

Faith the conviction of things not seen

But putting aside the fact that the Bible clearly teaches that God is omnipotent, and doesn’t rely upon anything outside of himself, this is not a biblical definition of faith, instead Hebrews 11:1 teaches that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, [and] the conviction of things not seen.” In other words, faith is the assurance or confidence in the object you place your faith in.

For example, when you when you sit down in your chair at the dinner table, it isn’t the quantity of faith that determines whether the chair will hold you up, it’s the integrity of the chair. Faith has nothing do with the soundness of the chair, faith only has to do with whether or not you decide to sit in the chair. If you have faith in the chair’s integrity you’ll sit in it, if you don’t then you won’t.

The object of our faith

So, the question isn’t whether you have enough faith or not, the question is do you have faith in an object of integrity, do you trust the right things, do you place faith in a faithful object, because you can have a lot of faith in an unreliable object. You can build a rocket ship and put a lot of faith in its ability to get you safely to the moon, but the intensity of your faith has nothing to do with whether that space ship with get you safely to the moon or not.

So, when we speak about having faith in God, we’re talking about our conviction that God is a sound and reliable object of our faith, that we can trust him because he’s trustworthy, that he’s powerful enough to follow-through with his promises and that he does not lie. This is why Jesus would say things like, “if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matt. 17:20) You see, it isn’t the quantity or intensity of your faith, it’s who or what you put your faith in. Your faith can be as small as a mustard seed, it doesn’t matter, because everything hinges upon the power and integrity of the object of your faith.

Therefore, when we talk about putting our faith in Christ, we’re not talking about blind faith, or trusting in something or someone of which we have no grounds to rely upon, no, we’re talking about trusting a man who was attested by God with many signs and wonders, and who was raised by God from the dead. This Jesus is the object of our faith.

Faith the occasion for miracles

Now, this doesn’t mean God will give us anything we want if we just have faith, faith does not force God’s hand. We’re only promised to be given all that we ask if it is in accordance with God’s will. We do not have God on a leash, we do not tell God what to do like the prosperity preachers who believe we have the authority to command God to do this or that.

While it’s certainly true that miracles are performed by and for those who who exhibit faith, this does not mean that our faith compels God in any way. You see, faith is the occasion, not the cause of miracles performed by Jesus and his disciples. The cause of miracles is God’s sovereign will, while faith serves as the occasion for God to perform miracles, either for those who exhibit faith or through those who exhibit faith. This is the reason Jesus would say things like, “Your faith has made you well.” (Matthew 9:22) Jesus was not saying that their faith was the cause of their healing, but that it was the occasion for it. Faith is the occasion through which God chooses to display His power, but the cause for his miracles is always His sovereign will, not human belief.

Therefore, for instance, when we’re told in the Gospels that Jesus could do no mighty works in his hometown, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them, the point wasn’t that God’s sovereign will had been or could be thwarted, but that their lack of faith provided almost no occasion for Jesus to perform miracles.

Conclusion

Now, there’s more that I want us to consider about this passage that we don’t have time to cover in one sermon, so I plan on picking up where we’ve left of in our next time, but for now I want us to consider, first, the compassion of Christ put on display by the healing this man who had been lame from birth, second, that these miracles give us assurance of who Jesus was, his authority, and the truthfulness of his claims and the claims of his disciples, that we can know with certainty that he can and will save us from our sin, and thirdly, that Jesus is an all-powerful, trustworthy, and compassion object of our faith. That he is the rock that we must build our lives upon.

Prayer