Peter and John Heal the Crippled Beggar
Acts 3:1-11
The hour of prayer was 3 p.m., the ninth hour. The beggar was lame from his mother's womb. He had never crawled or walked. It was a custom for family members to take crippled relatives to temple gates where lots of people passed by going into the temple. Up to now, they passed by the beggar without making eye contact even if they did give him money.
The lame man begged for "alms." That word means money or food given to poor people. He was sitting under the gate Beautiful. That was a contrast from the beautiful scenery where he was sitting and his own condition.
Peter and John told the man to look at them. Then they said they didn't have money. They gave him what they did have: the authority of Jesus. By faith, Peter reached out his right hand (side of power) and helped the man up from his seated position as a point of contact. By faith, the man's ankles immediately became strong, and he began to jump to his feet and walk and praise the Lord. He didn't go through the steps that babies go through. He skipped the stages of crawling, pulling up and falling down. He went straight to walking, jumping and leaping. Then he attached himself to Peter and John and went into the temple gates which he had never done before.
The cripple man was 40 years old, according to Acts 4:33. Jesus must have passed by the beggar many times, but He didn't heal him. That was because the timing wasn't right for the man to be healed. Besides, Jesus wanted to leave work for the apostles to do. This was Peter and John's first healing in the book of Acts.
Remember, you are charting firsts, lasts, and onlys.
Questions
1. Why wasn’t the crippled man healed before now?
2. Why did the crippled man expect money from Peter and John?
3. What was the significance of Peter and John getting the crippled man to look at them?
Peter Speaks to the Onlookers
Acts 3:12-26
The onlookers were astonished when they saw the beggar standing and holding onto Peter and John. Notice that Peter explained to the astonished people that it was the power of God that had performed the miracle. According to Verse 13, Peter goes back to the Old Testament because the Jews knew the Old Testament.
Questions
1. Why do you think Peter usually started his speeches with the Old Testament references when explaining things to the Jews?
2. List the Old Testament references found in this section.
3. What advice did Peter and John give the onlookers?
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