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Acts 3:1-11 SOMETHING BETTER THAN SILVER AND GOLD

Introduction:

On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit of God came upon the church which

Jesus left behind to empower the church to carry out the world wide commission

which Jesus had give to her. One great evidence of the presence and power of

the Holy Spirit was that about 3000 souls were saved and added to the church

when Simon Peter preached on Pentecost. Another great evidence of the presence

and power of the Holy Spirit was the great revival which broke out in the

church. The people were witnessing to the people in and around Jerusalem and

people were being saved daily and added to the church. Still another evidence

of the presence and great power of the Holy Spirit on the church was the miracle

which is recorded in our text today.

I. The arrival of Peter and John at the temple

V. 1, “Now Peter and John went up together into the temple...” We should

note that even though these two men did not go separately to the temple, but

they went together. There are several things that can account for them going

together. For one thing, they were friends and it is quite natural for friends

to go places together. We know that their friendship dated at least as far back

as back as the days when both of them were fishermen in the Sea of Galilee.

They both lived at Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee and both fished the same

waters. They both tended their nets on the same seashores. They both carried

their fish to the same markets. Their friendship had been strengthened when

both of them were called by Jesus to be His followers and to become members of

His church. So friendship alone could account for them going to the temple

together to worship God.

Another thing that could account for them going to the temple together was

that during the three years that they had followed Jesus, Jesus had required

them to travel in pairs. When the twelve apostles were sent out on tours

through Galilee and Judea to preach the gospel they were sent out in twos. When

the 70 were sent out to preach, they were also sent out in two. So by this time

it had pretty much become a habit with the Christians. They went by twos.

Yet there was another very powerful reason why they would go in twos at

this particular time. The Jewish leaders had succeeded in bringing about the

crucifixion and death of Jesus and those same powerful Jewish leaders were now

their enemies. There was at least some measure of safety in numbers and so the

Christians would be very hesitant to venture out in public alone. For safety

purposes they would travel in twos.

We note further that they went to the temple of God which was located

there at Jerusalem. They had been brought up from their youth to attend the

worship services at the temple of God. It had been a practice all of their

lives that when they were in Jerusalem they would attend the worship services

there.

(V. 1), “...at the hour of prayer, [being] the ninth [hour].” It was a

practice of the Jews to gather for prayers, hymns and worship three times each

day at the temple. They met at morning, noon and evening. Of course, not all

Jews could be present for all three of those services. But all of the Jews who

were in the immediate area of Jerusalem would attend at least one of those

services. The followers of Jesus were no exception. This had been their

practice while Jesus was with them and it was still their practice now that He

was gone. This particular time of prayer was said in our text to be at the 9th

hour. That it, they met at the temple at about 3:00 o’clock in the afternoon.

The daily evening worship service began this early in the evening. This hour

would now hold a special significance for those disciples. It was about this

time of the evening when Jesus had died on the cross. They would feel a special

need of prayer and worship at this time of day.

II. The presence of a lame man at the temple

V. 2, “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.” Apparently this man was already at the

temple when Peter and John arrived. This man was a beggar. He was lame and

could not work to provide for himself and so he depended on begging for a

living. Each morning some kind hearted friends would bring him to the gate of

the temple where he would beg until the friends would return and carry him to

his place of residence.

This had been going on for many years. This man had been born lame. He

had never been able to walk in his entire life. He had never had the experience

of taking those first steps as a little baby with mother and dad cheering him

on. He had never known what it is to run and play with other children. He had

never known what it is to walk from one place to another or to work and earn

wages. According to chapter 4:22 he had been lame for over 40 years. For many

of those 40 years he had been coming to the temple and begging the people out of

a few coins.

III. The lame man’s request and Simon Peter’s answer

V. 3. “Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an

alms.”

I am not certain just what this man said to Peter and John, but whatever he said

it was a plea for some money. He was totally dependent on the mercy of the

people and he dare not let any of them go by without asking for their help. It

was a humiliating thing to do, but he had learned to be bold and to ask anyway.

So as Peter and John approached he called out to them loud enough to make

certain that they heard him and he asked for their help.

V. 4, “And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on

us.”

This was Simon Peter’s way of saying, “Look to us. We will help you.” I wish

we could hear the voice of Peter as he said this because I believe that their

must have been a compassion in his voice that the lame man could sense. How it

must have cause his heart to jump with joy thinking that he was about to get one

or more coins from these two men. This expectation must have been heightened

when he looked upon their faces. Peter had said, “Look on us” and he did and

what he saw in their faces was that same compassion that he had heard in Peter’s

voice. V. 5, “And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of

them.”

So here is this lame man sitting on cloud nine all filled with hope and

joy at the expectation of getting some coins only to hear words that would dump

him off that cloud to fall hard at rock bottom. Peter said, in effect, “I’m

sorry, fellow, but we don’t have any money. We’re flat broke. We cannot give

you one penny. We cannot help you. That is, we cannot help you with money.”

And then Peter added some words which said, in effect, “But that does not mean

that we cannot help you. We can and we will help you.”

Note what Peter actually said: V. 6, “Then Peter said, Silver and gold

have I none; but such as I have give I thee...”

IV. A gift worth more than silver and gold

(V. 6), “...In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth...” Simon Peter knew

that this man was about to receive a gift that would be worth more to him that

silver and gold. It would be worth more to him than all the money in the world.

But Peter wanted to make it clear right off that the power for his healing was

not in either of them. The power to make his whole was not in Simon Peter nor

was it in John. Peter was trying to make it clear before the miracle took place

that the power to perform the miracle would come from God Himself through Jesus

of Nazareth who had been crucified. What Peter could have said, but didn’t, was

that Jesus Himself had been in worse condition that being lame and yet He arose

and He walked. Jesus had been dead and in the tomb and yet He arose and He

walked. Now in the same power that had brought Jesus from the grave would

enable this lame man to arise and walk.

So Peter said to that man, (V. 6), “...rise up and walk.” I want you to

take a look at this for a moment from the human earthly point of view. Here was

this man who had never walked in his life and he is being told to get up and

walk. For more than forty years he had been a cripple and this man has the

audacity to tell him to get up and walk. I can only guess what he might have

thought. He must have thought, “What kind of cruel mockery is this? There is

no way humanly possible for me to get up and walk! And there wasn’t. There was

no way humanly possible for him to walk. But the Apostle Peter was not

depending on human power. He was depending on God power. He was depending on

the power of Jesus of Nazareth. He was depending on the Jesus Christ the Son of

God.

You remember that Simon Peter had said, “Look on us.” As this man looked

on Peter and John and he saw in their faces an expression of genuine compassion

and as he saw in the voice of Simon Peter and expression of confidence in Jesus

of Nazareth, the doubt that must have been there at first must have begun to

fade away. He saw hope and joy in their eyes. And after what must have been a

very long period of silence, I can see him reach out his hand to Simon Peter.

Only he was no longer reaching for a coin. He was reaching out with a hope that

he had never had in his life. He had wished a thousand or more times that he

could walk, but there had never been any real expectation that he would ever do

so. But now he reached out with a hope that he had never before experienced.

V. The miracle and the joy

V. 7-8, “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.” Simon Peter was strong man. He was accustomed to handling

fishing nets that were weighted with lead and soaked with water. He was

accustomed to pulling on the oars of a boat. I am confident that Peter could

have reached out with one hand and pulled that man to his feet. But he did not

have to do so. When Simon Peter started lifting that man instantly strength

came to those feet and ankles and legs that had never walked before and he stood

up by the strength that the Lord had put into his own muscles. He stood up and

he took a few steps. And he pranced around. He leaped in the air. And with

every step he was praising God. I do not know for certain how loud he was

praising God, but in my own mind I am confident that it was very loud. I think

he shouted his praises to God.

Listen. All the people who were on their way into the temple and perhaps

a few coming out of the temple just gathered around him and watched.

V. 9-11, “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.”

VI. Something even better than this

Let me tell you something even more wonderful than the healing of that

lame man. Let me tell you about lost sinners. I am talking about people who

were born with a nature of sin within them. I am talking about little children

who, as the Scripture says, went forth as soon as they could utter a sound

speaking lies. I am talking about people whose mouths have been full of cursing

and taking the name of God in vain. Whose feet were swift to go to sinful

places and whose hands have been eager to do sinful things. I am talking about

people whose hearts were deceitful, often deceiving their own selves.

I am talking about people who have been sinners all of their lives, some

of them for more than 40 years, some of them much older than that. I am talking

about people who could never in any way humanly possible make it to heaven.

But I say to you with the utmost certainty that Jesus of Nazareth can

cleanse you of all your sin. He can save your soul. He can make you

spiritually whole. He can not only make you walk, but He can put your feet on

the narrow road that leads to heaven.

I am talking to you about something that is worth more than silver and

gold. I am talking to you about something that is worth more than all the

wealth of the world. I am talking to you about your eternal destiny. I am

talking to you about staying out of the fires of the Lake of Fire and Brimstone.

I am talking to you about going to heaven and spending all your eternity in

heaven.

Let me tell you what I am going to ask you to do. I am not going to ask

you to reach out just your hand to Jesus, but I am going to ask you to reach out

your heart to Jesus. I am going to ask you to not only believe that it is

possible for you to go to heaven, but I am going to ask you to put your trust in

Jesus to take you there.

Conclusion:

I am going to ask something else of you. If you will reach out your heart

to Jesus in faith and trust in Him to save your soul, then I am also going to

ask you to rise up and put legs to your faith and come forward in the invitation

hymn and profess Jesus before men. Just as that man expressed his joy before

all that great crowd of people, even so I am going to ask you to come forward

before this small congregation of people which we have today and praise the Lord

for saving your soul. I am going to ask that you surrender your life to Him.

If there are people who have already been saved and you wish to come

forward to place your membership here in this church, then rise up and walk.

Come forward and let your desires be known.