Peter’s Healing Power in Jesus’ Name — Acts 3 Daily Word

When Peter and John were going up to the temple, they encountered a man who was unable to walk and could not move from place to place without being carried by others. In particular, the Law prohibited people with physical disabilities from participating in religious ceremonies. In ancient society, when a member of a community was seen as making no contribution to the community, this was considered unjust, and such individuals were often expelled without mercy or stripped of their right to survive. This was not regarded as any wrongdoing at all.

In this situation, the Holy Spirit moved Peter and John with compassion and healed the man who could not walk, thereby making clear that this man belonged to the community. In other words, it was revealed that this man was also, without question, a citizen of the kingdom governed by God.

[11] While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s. (Acts 3:11, ESV) the man who had been healed clung to Peter and John, and all the people ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s Portico. This Solomon’s Portico was the portico located on the east side of the temple, among the various porticoes. The eastern side of the temple was where the court of the Gentiles was located, and where scribes taught the people or merchants sold goods and exchanged money. In particular, the people now gathered at Solomon’s Portico were not the same people who had gathered at the event of Pentecost and experienced the work of the Holy Spirit. They were Jews who had been residing continuously in Jerusalem. And yet, they too experienced a miracle.

Peter, concerned that people might misunderstand the miracle of healing, says this: [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? (Acts 3:12, ESV) Just as God had caused Peter and John to fix their gaze on the man who could not walk, so now the crowd fixed their gaze on the two apostles.

At this moment, Peter emphasizes that this man’s healing was not due to any “power” or “ability” that they themselves possessed, but that the One who works miracles is Someone else entirely. People of that time tended to regard anyone who performed such supernatural acts as a god-like figure. As we will see later in Acts 14:8-18, when Paul healed a man who could not walk in Lystra, the crowd took Paul and Barnabas to be Hermes and Zeus respectively — gods from Roman and Greek mythology.

Peter reveals the source from which this miracle originates.

He testifies that it comes through Jesus, who was glorified through His resurrection and ascension. Peter begins by introducing God, unveiling the image of the covenant-faithful God who appears throughout the Old Testament. In verse 13, he declares that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — the God of our fathers — has glorified His servant Jesus. In fact, the expression “servant of God” in the Old Testament was a title used exclusively for Moses. Yet in (Isaiah 52:13), the Messiah is prophesied in these words: “Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.” Through this, Peter argues that Isaiah’s prophecy speaks of Jesus.

Yet humanity sought to kill Jesus. Although Pilate had decided to release Him, that decision was rejected, and they ultimately killed the Author of life whom God had sent for our sake (v. 15). But God raised Him from the dead, and it is Peter and John themselves who are witnesses of that resurrection. Therefore, the reason the man who had been begging at the Beautiful Gate of the temple was able to stand is found in verse 16: he believed in His name. It was faith that came through Jesus which revealed before all the people that He is the Lord of life.

In our life of faith, it is both vitally important and deeply beneficial for us to cultivate a habit of acknowledging God and offering thanksgiving and glory by confessing the Lord as Lord. For when God receives glory, He works through our faith toward the Lord to make us vessels fit for use in His kingdom. Therefore, we pray in the name of the Lord that today we too may live a blessed life — one in which everything is made complete by the grace of God, because of the faith that comes through Jesus.