5 May. Peter and John heal a crippled man at the Temple
“One day Peter and John went to the [Jewish] Temple at three o’clock, the time set each day for the afternoon prayer service.”
“There, at the Temple gate called Beautiful Gate, was a man who had been crippled all his life. Every day he was carried to this gate to beg for money from the people going into the Temple.”
“The man saw Peter and John going into the [inner court of the] Temple and asked them for money. Peter and John looked straight at him and said, ‘Look at us’. The man looked at them, thinking they were going to give him some money."
“But Peter said, ‘I don’t have any silver or gold [coins], but I do have something else I can give you. By the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth, stand up and walk!’”
“Then Peter took the man’s right hand and lifted him up. Immediately the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped up, stood on his feet and began to walk. He went into the [inner court of the] Temple with them, walking and jumping and praising God.”
“All the people recognised him as the crippled man who always sat by the Beautiful Gate begging for money. Now they saw this same man walking and praising God, and they were amazed.”
(Acts 3:1-10)
It always amuses us when we read this passage as it reminds us of when we used to hold a Sunday evening meeting for young people in our house. The room was crowded and we had 4 teenagers sitting on our 3-seater settee singing Christian songs. When we got to the chorus of an old song about Peter & John’s healing miracle in the Temple, all the kids leapt up out of the chair as they sang, “He went walking and LEAPING and praising God”; But as they all landed back on the settee at the same time there was a loud cracking noise as the wooden frame of the settee spit in two! Since then, it’s been glued together with superglue!
The joy of this crippled man as he walked & leaped and praised God for his healing must have been amazing to see. And this miracle reminds us that we have lots more than just money to share with other people! Peter and John told the man they had no silver or gold coins to give him, but they’d give him what they had – the power of God’s Holy Spirit. And as the man received the healing power of the Holy Spirit in his life, he was restored both physically and spiritually to full health.
Do we take every opportunity to pray and share Jesus with others? Do we ask friends (and strangers) if they’d like us to pray with them? (Most people usually say ‘Yes, please’.) We can offer them God’s love and peace as we pray for them, as well as asking God to heal specific problems.
And when we pray “in Jesus’s NAME”, don’t forget that we’re really saying that we’re asking for God’s blessing and healing “in Jesus’s POWER”. As Christians, we have a spiritual powerhouse on hand, and we’re authorised to use this power to energise those we meet.
You don’t need any cash in your pocket or purse to ask God to fill a friend (or a stranger) with Jesus’s power – the power of the Holy Spirit. So don’t be shy of praying for others as part of your everyday conversations. Most people appreciate it.
And what about the man or woman selling ‘The Big Issue’, or sitting on the pavement with their dog and a plastic collecting cup? It costs nothing to say “Hello, how’s it going today?” Like Peter and John, you don’t need to offer money to be able to cheer someone up with a smile and a bit of friendly conversation. Remember they are someone’s son or daughter, and they are probably lonely, hungry or cold. A friendly chat might just remind them that someone cares enough to spend two minutes with them, and it might even make their day.
The photo (by Berthold Werner) shows a reconstruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, with the Beautiful Gate in the lower centre of the photo, behind the towers on the outer wall of the Temple Courts.
You can read more about the Holy Spirit working in the lives of Jesus’s first followers @ https://www.thebiblejourney.org/…/peter-john-heal-a-crippl…/