'Such as I Have Give I Thee'

Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God: And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering. - Acts 3:1-11

    The healing of this lame man at the Beautiful Gate of the temple is a very instructive event. It is recorded here for our learning and our admonition.

    Certainly, the events of this day show us the blessedness of public worship. At the appointed hour of prayer Peter and John came to the appointed place of public worship to worship God. Though the lame man came only for carnal reasons, still he came to the place where his needs were most likely to be met—the house of God. There God made himself known, both to his servants and to 'a certain man lame from his mother's womb'. Let every needy soul cherish the house of God, attend the assembly of worship and give thanks to God for the privilege of doing so (Ps. 122:1;Heb. 10:25). It is in the assembly of God's saints that needy sinners have hope of meeting the mighty Saviour (Matt. 18:20).

    This passage also shows us an example of Christian charity and kindness. Though Peter and John had no money in their pockets, they did not ignore this man's miserable plight and condition. And we ought always to do what we can to relieve the sufferings of others (Matt. 6:3; 10:42; Luke 10:25-37).

    Primarily, the purpose of this miracle is to demonstrate the power of the risen, exalted Christ to save sinners. This is the interpretation Peter himself gave of the miracle (Acts 4: 10-12). The healing of this crippled beggar is a beautiful picture of God's effectual, saving grace in Christ. In these eleven verses the Spirit of God teaches us five important lessons.

    1. All men are spiritually impotent by nature (3:2)

    This man's impotence was not the result of an accident or a disease. It was a defect of birth. He was born in this helpless condition. This is our condition by nature, not physically, but spiritually. Our hearts are plagued with the incurable disease of sin. Spiritually, our legs are broken, our hands are withered, our eyes are blind, our ears are deaf. All men by nature are 'dead in trespasses and sins' (Eph. 2:1-4). So thorough is the natural man's spiritual impotence that he is alto gether without ability to help himself. All the children of Adam are born totally depraved (Jer. 17:9; Matt. 15:19). Because his heart is evil, no man can or will come to Christ and be saved (John 5:40; 6:44). He has neither the desire nor the ability to do so (Jer. 13:23). God must do a work of grace in the heart before any sinner will ever come to Christ in faith. And if God does a work of grace in his heart, the sinner will come to Christ (John 6:45; Ps. 65:4; 110:3).

    Because he was a cripple, he was unable to work for a living. He spent his days begging. That is our condition too! Before God we are poor, helpless beggars. We have no ability to earn anything from God, except death. We have no claim upon his mercy. All we can do is fall before him and beg for grace (Luke 18:13). As Matthew Henry said, 'Those that need, and cannot work, must not be ashamed to beg!'

    This beggar was a chosen object of divine mercy. He was both poor and helpless, but there were many others in that condition around the temple. Luke speaks of this man as 'a certain man'. God had chosen him and was determined to be gracious to him (2 Thess. 2:13-14). Providence had made him poor and helpless and put him in the place where grace would be found.

    2. Religion without Christ is a mockery to the souls of men

    There stood the temple in all its breathtaking splendour. Josephus tells us that it was made of solid white, polished marble. This Beautiful Gate was made of fine Corinthian gold. With the midday sun shining upon it, its brilliance was almost blinding. The Jews were very proud of their temple, but it was an empty, desolate place. God had left it! The glory of God had departed. There was nothing and no one connected with that temple that could be of any real benefit to that poor, helpless beggar. Its splendour, riches and beauty only mocked him! What a sad picture of modern religion! There is in religion much to impress the flesh: wealth, influence, talent, entertainment, and rituals and ceremonies to soothe the conscience—a form of godliness, but no power, no gospel, no grace, no Christ, no life! It is a mockery to God and to the souls of men!

    3. When God intends to save a sinner he always uses certain means (3:1-5)

    Were he pleased to do so, the sovereign, almighty God could perform his works of mercy without the use of means. But that is not his pleasure. God condescends to honour us by allowing us to be instruments in his hands by which he performs his works of mercy towards his chosen. He who raised the dead Lazarus could easily have removed the stone from the tomb; but he allowed and commanded men to do what they could do, saying, 'Take ye away the stone' (John 11:39). In the same way, this poor, lame beggar was healed by the power of God alone. Peter makes that abundantly clear (3:12-16). But three things had to be done by men before he could be healed.

    Firstly, Peter and John came to the temple to preach the gospel of Christ (Rom. 1:16-17; 10:17; 1 Cor. 1:21; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23).

    Secondly, this man's friends brought him to the temple, the place where he was most hopeful of finding mercy (cf. Luke 5:18-20).

    Thirdly, this man did what God's servants told him to do (3:4-6). We know that God's purpose will never fail. This man had to be healed on this occasion. God had purposed it. Yet, if Peter and John had not obeyed their Lord and gone to preach the gospel, if this man's friends had not brought him to the temple, or if the man himself had refused to obey the voice of God's servants, he would never have been healed.

    4. The Lord Jesus Christ is an almighty, all-sufficient Saviour (3:6-8)

    This is a picture of true conversion. Charles Simeon commented on this passage: 'You have seen how this man's body has been healed, even by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; and it is in this way that your soul must be saved, for there is no other power that can effect such a change within you, a change from weakness to strength, from death to life.' Christ is able to save! By the mere exercise of his sovereign will sin is subdued, guilt is removed, the dead live, bloodthirsty lions are made to be lambs and wretched sinners are made new creatures in him. Christ on the tree has put away sin (Heb. 9:26). Christ on the throne is able to save (Heb. 7:25).

    5. The gospel of Christ is always effectual (3:8-11)

    It always accomplishes its intended purpose (Isa. 55:10-11). It offers salvation and eternal life to all who come to Christ (Isa. 45:22). It is the means by which God the Holy Spirit brings chosen sinners to Christ (Ps. 65:4). And it gives praise, honour and glory to God for his saving goodness (1 Cor. 1:26-31).