In Several of Paul’s Letters, He Makes Statements Like:

“Imitate Me as I Imitate Christ”

“Become Imitators of Us and of the Lord”

“Follow My Example”

Paul Saw Himself as a Imitator of Jesus

And as He Sought to Imitate Jesus…

He Encouraged Others to Imitate Him

But Paul was Not the Only Person Imitating Jesus

In this Series, We are Going to See Many People in the Book of Acts Who Were Imitators of Jesus

As We Study Each Person/Persons…

We are Going to Focus On the Specific Ways They Were Imitators of Jesus

And Then We are Going to Focus On How We Can Imitate Them

This Series is All About Learning to Imitate Those Who Imitate Jesus

Our 2nd Person/Persons are 2 Very Well-Known Apostles of Jesus

Peter & John

Last Week We Looked at the Jerusalem Church at the End of Acts 2

And We Saw How They Continually Dedicated Themselves…

To the Apostles’ Teaching and Fellowship

Now We are Going to Focus On What Happened Immediately After that

In Acts 3, We are Going to See a Perfect Example…

Of How We are to Proclaim and Demonstrate the Kingdom

Acts 3:1–3 (NASB95)

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms.

It was 3:00 p.m. in Jerusalem, Which was the Hour of Prayer

We Can Assume that They Were Going to Pray, Themselves

Or They Might Have Been Trying to Take Advantage of the Crowd and Evangelize to Them

While They Were Making Their Way in the Temple Complex…

They Were Confronted By a Lame Beggar at the Beautiful Gate

(Illustration of the Temple Complex)

This Man was Born Lame

He Had Never Walked Before in His Life

This Means, for His Whole Life, He has Had to Rely on the Generosity of Others

Once He Saw Peter and John Coming Near…

He Began Begging Them for Money

Acts 3:4–5 (NASB95)

But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, “Look at us!” And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

I Believe These Verses Give Us a Look into the Heart of this Lame Man

Peter Said, “Look at Us!”

Isn’t that a Strange Thing to Say?

Verse 3 Told Us that the Lame Man “Saw” Them Coming

Was He Not Already Looking at Them?

If You Had to Beg Money From Strangers Everyday, How Would You Feel?

You’d Probably Feel Ashamed, Wouldn’t You?

What is the Posture of a Person Who is Ashamed?

Head Down, Avoiding Eye Contact

I Believe this Man was Probably Ashamed of the Life He was Forced to Live

But Peter Said, “Look at Us!”

The Man Looked Up and Gave Them His Total Attention

He was Waiting for Them to Toss Some Money at Him

But He Would Have Never Dreamed of What He Would Receive that Day

Acts 3:6–8 (NASB95)

But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!” And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

Peter Had Something Much Better Than Money to Give This Man

By the Authority Given to Him By His Master, Jesus…

Peter Tells the Man to Walk

This Man Receives Something From Peter and John that He’d Never Had:

The Ability to Walk, Have Freedom, and Be Self-Sufficient

Luke Uses the Word “Leap” Twice in These Verses

I Have No Doubt this was to Point Us to an Old Messianic Prophecy

Isaiah Prophesied of the Messianic Era and Here’s How He Described it:

Isaiah 35:5–6 (NASB95)

Then the eyes of the blind will be opened And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness And streams in the Arabah.

Through the Power of the Messiah, This Lame Man is Leaping Like a Deer

So He Entered the Temple with Them, Walking, Leaping, and Praising God the Whole Way

Acts 3:9–12 (NASB95)

And all the people saw him walking and praising God; and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

While he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement. But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?

Peter and John Now Have a Crowd of Amazed People Surrounding Them

Peter Recognizes that God Has Created an Opportunity for the Gospel

So He is Going to Make the Most of it

He Begins By Making Sure the People Don’t Attribute this Wonderful Miracle to Himself of John

They Have Neither Power Nor Godliness, in and of Themselves, that Could Make this Many Walk

Acts 3:13–16 (NASB95)

“The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him.

“But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.

“And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.

Peter Immediately Turns the Attention Away From Himself and Toward Jesus

The Servant of God Whom He “Glorified” in His Ascension to Heaven

The Servant of God Whom They Disowned and Delivered to Death

The Holy and Righteous One Whom They Chose to Take the Place of a Murderer

The Originator of Life Whom They Put to Death

The Same Jesus Whom God Raised From the Dead

It was Faith in the Power and Authority of Jesus Gave This Man His Perfect Health

Peter and John Didn’t Do this Through Their Own Power or Righteousness

They Were Able to Do it Simply By Having Faith in the Power and Authority of Jesus

“We Didn’t Do it! Jesus Did!”

Acts 3:17–21 (NASB95)

“And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.

“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.

Because They Murdered the Prophesied Messiah…

Peter Calls Upon Them to “Repent and Return”

To Turn From Their Sin and Return to God

This Would Accomplish Several Things for Them:

It Would Result in Their Sins Being Wiped Away

They Would Find Rest for Their Souls in the Presence of the Lord

King Jesus Will Return for Them When He Comes From Heaven to Restore All Things

To End His Sermon, Peter Gives More Proof From the Scriptures of Jesus’ Messiahship

Acts 3:22–26 (NASB95)

“Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to Him you shall give heed to everything He says to you. ‘And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’

“And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days. It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”

Jesus is the Prophet Like Moses Whom They Should Listen to or Be Destroyed

Jesus Brought About the Messianic Age that All of the Prophets Spoke About

Jesus is the Seed of Abraham Who Came to Bless All the Families of the Earth

Application

This Entire Sermon was Peter Pointing the People Toward Jesus and Away From Himself

And the Opportunity to Do this Arose Because of His Act of Compassion to the Lame Man

This Entire Chapter is a Perfect Example of Something I’ve Been Saying a Lot on Sunday Mornings

The Mission of Jesus and His Church is:

To Proclaim and Demonstrate the Gospel

To Do Good to Others and Then Tell Them the Good News

Peter and John Saw Someone in Need and They Helped Him

They Weren’t Able to Help Him in the Way He Expected

We Aren’t Able to Help Others in Every Way

But Whatever Way We Can Help, We Should Help

That’s Demonstrating the Gospel

Reversing the Affects of Sin, Corruption, Death, and Evil in Their Lives

When They Helped Him…

They Made Sure He and Everyone Else Knew…

That it was Jesus and Not Themselves Who Deserved the Glory

It Wasn’t Their Power or Goodness that Brought About Their Compassionate Act

It was All About Jesus

Whenever We Do Good to Others…

We Must Make Sure that We Aren’t Receiving the Credit or Glory for Our Good Deeds

It Isn’t Our Inherit Goodness that Leads Us to Show Compassion…

It’s All About Jesus

He is the One Who Taught Us and Empowers Us to Do Good

And When He Returns, He is Going to Much More Good Than We are Capable of

Everyone We Come into Contact with Needs to Know that and Receive the Hope that We Have

God Gives Us Opportunities Everyday to Do Good to Others and Then Tell Them About Jesus

Let’s Pray for Boldness to Recognize and Capitalize On Those Opportunities