1. 1. ACTS 3 COMME TARY EDITED BY GLE PEASE Peter Heals a Lame Beggar 1 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayerat three in the afternoon. Peter and John was going up to the temple at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. This was the usual time of prayer for the Jews, and I'm sure that these apostles remembered that Christ died on the cross at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Peter and John had been two of the3 in the inner circle of the Apostles. They had a special and more intimate relationship with Jesus. When Jesus had ascended to heaven they went on as close friends and partners in ministry. If you throw a pile of needles onto a magnet and then later remove the magnet, those needles will continue to cling to each other, and that is what happened to the Apostles. They were drawn to Jesus and were filled with his Spirit, and now that he is gone they continue to be drawn to each other. They were partners in fishing before Jesus came into their lives, and now they are partners in fishing for men. Jesus told them to be witness first in Jerusalem, and so all of these early chapters of Acts up to chapter 8 were all taking place in Jerusalem. The church was basically born here and it was here filled with the Holy Spirit and became what is called the mother church, for all others began in her. These two may have been the two sent to prepare the Last Supper in Luke 22:8. They are together here and in 8:14 and are sent to Samaria together. They are the two brightest lights among the Apostles. o other two are pictured as such good friends. As far as I know they were the best friends in the . T. apart from the Friend of Friends. Matthew Henry points out that both had brothers but they were knit together in Christ closer than with their family. He feels that after Peter's denial it was John who comforted and help him to be restored. Morgan says Peter was the doer and John the dreamer, but they complimented each other.
2. 2. They were going to the temple. They were regular in their worship and not just on special days. It was a habit of life that did not change when they became Christians. When it becomes a habit you do it even when you don't feel like it. Even after great events like Pentecost there is need for the daily routine of the devotional life. Louis Banks, "I am always arlarmed about a man who is full of enthusiasm for special missions and times of unusual excitement, but can never be depended on for the regular prayer meeting. Loyalty to routine duties are part of Christian maturity. They were Christians but no less Jews and faithful to the God of Israel who sent His Son to be their redeemer. Morgan, "Pentecost as a flaming fire was never intended to be the continuous and normal condition of the Christian church. The conditions after Pentecost are symbolized in these chapters of the Acts of the Apostles. The normal for the church of God is in the common places and among the cripples." Here is an example of all trouble you can get into by going to church. It led to the first persecution of the Apostles by the authorities. Being used of the Holy Spirit is not always a good way to stay out of trouble. BAR ES, "Peter and John went up ... - In Luk_24:53, it is said that the apostles were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. From Act_2:46, it is clear that all the disciples were accustomed daily to resort to the temple for devotion. Whether they joined in the sacrifices of the temple-service is not said; but the thing is not improbable. This was the place and the manner in which they and their fathers had worshipped. They came slowly to the conclusion that they were to leave the temple, and they would naturally resort there with their countrymen to worship the God of their fathers. In the previous chapter Act_2:43 we are told in general that many wonders and signs were done by the hands of the apostles. From the many miracles which were performed, Luke selects one of which he gives a more full account, and especially as it gives him occasion to record another of the addresses of Peter to the Jews. An impostor would have been satisfied with the general statement that many miracles were performed. The sacred writers descend to particulars, and tell us where, and in relation to whom, they were performed. This is a proof that they were honest people, and did not intend to deceive. Into the temple - Not into the edifice properly called the temple, but into the court of the temple, where prayer was accustomed to be made. See the notes on Mat_21:12. At the hour of prayer ... - The Jewish day was divided into twelve equal parts; of course, the ninth hour would be about three oclock p. m. This was the hour of evening prayer. Morning prayer was offered at nine oclock. Compare Psa_55:17; Dan_6:10. CLARKE, "Peter and John went up together - The words , which we translate together, and which are the first words in this chapter in the Greek text, we have already seen, Act_2:47, are added by several MSS. and versions to the last verse of the preceding chapter. But they do not make so good a sense there as they do here; and should be translated, not together, which really makes no sense here, but at that time;
3. 3. intimating that this transaction occurred nearly about the same time that those took place which are mentioned at the close of the former chapter. At the hour of prayer - This, as is immediately added, was the ninth hour, which answers, in a general way, to our three oclock in the afternoon. The third hour, which was the other grand time of public prayer among the Jews, answered, in a general way, to our nine in the morning. See the note on Act_2:15. It appears that there were three hours of the day destined by the Jews to public prayer; perhaps they are referred to by David, Psa_55:17 : Evening and Morning, and at Noon, will I pray and cry aloud. There are three distinct times marked in the book of the Acts. The Third hour, Act_2:15, answering, as we have already seen, to nearly our nine oclock in the morning; the Sixth hour, Act_10:9, answering to about twelve with us; and the Ninth hour, mentioned in this verse, and answering to our three in the afternoon. The rabbins believed that Abraham instituted the time of morning prayer; Isaac, that at noon; and Jacob, that of the evening: for which they quote several scriptures, which have little reference to the subject in behalf of which they are produced. Others of the rabbins, particularly Tanchum, made a more natural division. Men should pray, 1. When the sun rises; 2. when the sun has gained the meridian; 3. when the sun has set, or passed just under the horizon. At each of these three times they required men to offer prayer to God; and I should be glad to know that every Christian in the universe observed the same rule: it is the most natural division of the day; and he who conscientiously observes these three stated times of prayer will infallibly grow in grace, and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord. GILL, "Now Peter and John went up together into the temple,.... These two disciples were intimate companions, and great lovers of each other; they were often together: they are thought, by some, to have been together in the high priest's palace at the trial of Christ; and they ran together to his sepulchre, Joh_18:15 and they now went together to the temple, not to attend the daily sacrifice, which was now abolished by the sacrifice of Christ, but to attend to the duty of prayer, which was still in force, and that they might have an opportunity of preaching Christ, where there was a number of people together: at the hour of prayer; being the ninth hour, or three o'clock in the afternoon. This was one of their hours of prayer; it was customary with the Jews to pray three times a day, Dan_6:10 which, according to the Psalmist in Psa_55:17 were evening, morning, and at noon; to which seems to answer the three times that are taken notice of by Luke in this history: that in the morning was at the third hour, as in Act_2:15 or nine o'clock in the morning; that at noon was at the sixth hour, as in Act_10:9 or twelve o'clock at noon; and that in the evening at the ninth hour, as here, or three o'clock in the afternoon. Not that these were times of divine appointment. The Jews (o) themselves say, "there is no number of prayers from the law, and there is no repetition of this or that prayer from the law, and there is no , "fixed time" for prayer from the law.''
4. 4. But according to the traditions of the elders, "the morning prayer was to the end of the fourth hour, which is the third part of the day--the prayer of the "Minchah", (or evening prayer,) they fixed the time of it to answer to the evening daily sacrifice; and because the daily sacrifice was offered up every day from the ninth hour and a half, they ordered the time of it to be from the ninth hour and a half, and it is called the lesser "Minchah"; and because in the evening of the passover, which falls upon the evening of the sabbath, they slay the daily sacrifice at the sixth hour and a half, they say, that he that prays after the sixth hour and a half is excused; and after this time is come, the time to which he is obliged is come, and this is called the great "Minchah"---lo, you learn, that the time of the great "Minchah" is from the sixth hour and a half, to the ninth hour and a half; and the time of the lesser "Minchah" is from the ninth hour and a half, until there remains of the day an hour and a quarter; and it is lawful to pray it until the sun sets.'' So that it was at the time of the lesser "Minchah" that Peter and John went up to the temple; which seems to be not on the same day of Pentecost, but on some day, or days after; it may be the sabbath following, when there was a great number of people got together. HE RY, "We were told in general (Act_2:43) that many signs and wonders were done by the apostles, which are not written in this book; but here we have one given us for an instance. As they wrought miracles, not upon every body as every body had occasion for them, but as the Holy Spirit gave direction, so as to answer the end of their commission; so all the miracles they did work are not written in this book, but such only are recorded as the Holy Ghost thought fit, to answer the end of this sacred history. I. The persons by whose ministry this miracle was wrought were Peter and John, two principal men among the apostles; they were so in Christ's time, one speaker of the house for the most part, the other favourite of the Master; and they continue so. When, upon the conversion of thousands, the church was divided into several societies, perhaps Peter and John presided in that which Luke associated with, and therefore he is more particular in recording what they said and did, as afterwards what Paul said and did when he attended him, both the one and the other being designed for specimens of what the other apostles did. Peter and John had each of them a brother among the twelve, with whom they were coupled when they were sent out; yet now they seem to be knit together more closely than either of them to his brother, for the bond of friendship is sometimes stronger than that of relation: there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Peter and John seem to have had a peculiar intimacy after Christ's resurrection more than before, Joh_20:2. The reason of which (if I may have liberty to conjecture) might be this, that John, a disciple made up of love, was more compassionate to Peter upon his fall and repentance, and more tender of him in his bitter weeping for his sin, than any other of the apostles were, and more solicitous to restore him in the spirit of meekness, which made him very dear to Peter ever after; and it was good evidence of Peter's acceptance with God, upon his repentance, that Christ's favourite was made his bosom friend. David prayed, after his fall, Let those that fear thee turn unto me, Psa_119:79. II. The time and place are here set down. 1. It was in the temple, whither Peter and John went up together, because it was the place of concourse; there were the shoals of fish among which the net of the gospel was to be cast, especially during the days of pentecost, within the compass of which we may suppose this to have happened. Note, It is good to
5. 5. go up to the temple, to attend on public ordinances; and it is comfortable to go up together to the temple: I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go. The best society is society in worshipping God. 2. It was at the hour of prayer, one of the hours of public worship commonly appointed and observed among the Jews. Time and place are two necessary circumstances of every action, which must be determined by consent, as is most convenient for edification. With reference to public worship, there must be a house of prayer and an hour of prayer: the ninth hour, that is, three o'clock in the afternoon, was one of the hours of prayer among the Jews; nine in the morning and twelve at noon were the other two. See Psa_55:17; Dan_6:10. It is of use for private Christians so far to have their hours of prayer as may serve, though not to bind, yet to remind conscience: every thing is beautiful in its season. CALVI , "1.We saw before that many signs were showed by the hands of the apostles; now Luke reciteth one of many for examples sake, after his common custom; namely, that a lame man, which was lame of his feet from his mothers womb, was perfectly restored to his limbs. And he doth diligently gather all the circumstances which serve to set forth the miracle. If it had been that his legs had been out of joint, or if it had been some disease coming by some casualty, it might have been the more easily cured. But the default of nature (164) could not have been so easily redressed. When as he saith that he was carried, we gather thereby that it was no light halting, but that this man did lie as if his legs had been dead. Forasmuch as he was wont daily to ask alms, hereby all the people might the better know him. In that being healed, he walked in the temple at the time of prayer, this served to spread abroad the fame of the miracle. Furthermore, this doth not a little set forth the same, that being lifted up and set upon his feet, he leapeth up therewithal, and walketh joyfully. BARCLAY 1-10, "The Jewish day began at 6 o'clock in the morning and ended at 6 o'clock in the evening. For the devout Jew there were three special hours of prayer -- 9 a.m., 12 midday and 3 p.m. They agreed that prayer was efficacious wherever it was offered; but they felt that it was doubly precious when offered in the Temple courts. It is very interesting that the apostles kept up the customs in which they had been trained. It was the hour of prayer and Peter and John were going into the Temple to observe it. A new faith had come to them but they did not use that as an excuse for a licence which broke all law. They were aware that the new faith and the old discipline could walk hand in hand. In the East it was the custom for beggars to sit at the entrance to a temple or a shrine. Such a place was considered the best of all stances because when people are on their way to worship God they are disposed to be generous to their fellow men. W. H. Davies, the tramp poet, tells how one of his vagrant friends told him that, whenever he came into a new town, he looked for a church spire with a cross on the top and began to beg in that area. Love of man and love of God must ever go hand in hand. This incident brings us face to face with the question of miracles in the apostolic times. There are certain definite things to be said.
6. 6. (i) Such miracles did happen. In Acts 4:16 we read how the Sanhedrin knew that they must accept the miracle. The enemies of Christianity would have been the first to deny miracles if they could; but they never even try. (ii) Why did they stop? Certain suggestions have been made. (a) There was a time when miracles were necessary. In that age they were needed as a guarantee of the truth and the power of the Christian message in its initial attack on the world. (b) At that time two special circumstances met. First, there were living apostolic men who had had an unrepeatable personal intimacy with Jesus Christ. Second, there was an atmosphere of expectancy when faith was in its floodtide. These two things combined to produce effects which were unique. (iii) The real question is not, "Why have miracles stopped?" but, "Have they stopped?" It is the simple fact that any doctor or surgeon can now do things which in apostolic times would have been regarded as miracles. God has revealed new truth and new knowledge to men, and through that revelation they are still performing miracles. As a great doctor said, "I bandage the wounds; but God heals them." For the Christian there are still miracles on every hand if he has eyes to see. Went up together Because these words, , doth no more signify place than time, this latter sense seemeth better to agree with the text of Peter, yet, because it is of no great importance, I leave it indifferent. That it is called the ninth hour of prayer, when as the day began to draw towards night. (165) For seeing the day from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof had twelve hours, as I have said elsewhere, all that time was divided into four parts. So that by the ninth is meant the last portion of the day; as the first hour did continue unto the third, the third unto the sixth, the sixth unto the ninth. Hence may we gather, by a probable conjecture, that that hour was appointed for the evening sacrifice. Furthermore, if any man ask, whether the apostles went up into the temple that they might pray according to the rite of the law, I do not think that that is a thing so likely to be true, as that they might have better opportunity to spread abroad the gospel. And if any man will abuse this place, as if it were lawful for us to use and take up superstitious worshippings, whilst that we are conversant amongst the ignorant and weak, his reason shall be frivolous. The Lord appointed that the Jews should offer sacrifice morning and evening, (Exodus 29:41.) By this exercise were they taught to begin and end the day with calling upon the name of God, and with worshipping him, (166) ( umbers 28:2.) Therefore Peter and John might freely come into the temple, which was consecrated to God; neither did they pollute themselves, seeing they called upon the God of Israel, that they might thereby declare their godliness. First, in that the Lord would have the older people to observe the appointed hours, (167) we gather thereby that the Church cannot be without certain discipline. And even at this day, were it profitable for us to have such meetings daily, unless our too [too] much sluggishness did let us. And whereas the apostles go up at that hour, hereby we gather that we must foreslow [neglect] no opportunity that is offered us for the furtherance of the gospel. COFFMA , "This chapter develops the story of the healing of a congenital cripple
7. 7. by the apostles Peter and John. ow Peter and John were going up into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. (Acts 3:1) Peter and John ... How great must have been the friendship, of these two men. They had been partners in the fishing business on Galilee when Jesus called them to be "fishers of men," and both of them had earned the distinction of membership in the inner circle of the Twelve who witnessed such events as the Transfiguration, the raising of Jairus' daughter, and the agony in Gethsemane. Here, it would seem that they were following the pattern of going "two by two," as when the Lord had first sent them on their apostolic mission. Into the temple ... Christians, for some considerable time after Pentecost, continued to frequent the temple, especially at the hours of prayer, not merely for the purpose of praying, but also, it may be supposed, for the opportunities afforded by such occasions for preaching Christ to the people. In time, God would remove the temple; and the separation from Judaism would become complete. Ten reasons why, it may be concluded, that God destroyed the temple are discussed in my Commentary on Mark, Mark 13:2. Regarding the chronology of just when the event described in this chapter occurred, some have been quite anxious to suppose that a long period had elapsed since Pentecost, Ramsay declaring that "It is not made clear at this point whether weeks or months or years had passed,"[1] evidently preferring the longest interval possible. He made a preposterous deduction from this, affirming that whereas, in Peter's speech on Pentecost, "the way of salvation was described as consisting of three steps, repentance, baptism, and remission of sins ... now the nature of this process is better understood ... the idea of faith is fundamental in this address. Through faith comes healing"[2] Ramsay's exegesis, above, is ,the classical example of the lengths to which men will go in their efforts to get baptism out of the plan of redemption, Ramsay's argument includes these affirmations: (1) that Peter did not properly understand the plan of redemption on Pentecost, (2) that he mistakenly included baptism as a precondition of salvation, (3) that a very long period elapsed between chapters two and three, giving Peter time to learn the truth he did not know earlier, (4) that when Peter announced the terms of salvation in chapter three he stressed "faith" (Ramsay apparently did not notice that Peter made no mention at all of faith in the announcement offering salvation in Acts 3:19). It would be impossible to imagine a more fallacious exegesis based upon this chapter, the most astounding thing in the exegesis being the denial absolutely of Peter's inspiration on Pentecost immediately after his baptism in the Holy Spirit! The hour of prayer ... "The hours of prayer were the third (Acts 2:15) when the morning sacrifice was offered, the sixth (noon), and the ninth, the time of the evening sacrifice."[3] The Jewish method of counting time was followed in the
8. 8. temple, of course, the ninth hour being 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon. [1] Sir William M. Ramsay, Pictures of the Apostolic Church (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1959), p. 19. [2] Ibid., p. 20. [3] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible ( ew York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 822. COKE, "Acts 3:1. ow Peter and John went up together, &c. About that time, according to Grotius and several others; as it does not seem to suit so well with the original, to take it to imply no more than that Peter and John went up together to the temple. It maysuffice, once for all, to observe, that the Jews divided the time from the rising to the setting of the sun, into twelve hours, which were consequently, at different times of the year, of unequal length, as the days were longer or shorter. The third hour therefore was nine in the morning, and the ninth three in the afternoon; but not exactly: for the third was the middle space between sun-rising and noon; which if the sun rose at five, (the earliest hour of its rising in that climate,) was half an hour after eight; if at seven, (the latest hour of its rising there,) was half an hour after nine, and so on. The chief hours of prayer were the third and ninth; at which seasons the morning andevening sacrifices were offered, and incense, as an emblem representing prayer, burned on the golden altar. Though by the death of Christ all sacrifices, and other things required in the ceremonial law, were utterly abolished, and a new covenant was introduced, yet, that the weak might not be offended and estranged from his divine religion, our Lord suffered his disciples to frequent the assemblies of the Jews, and in some points to comply with the observance of the law, till a more pure and spiritual form of worship could conveniently be established. This is the reason why we find the apostles so frequently in the temple, at the stated hours of prayer. CO STABLE, "The John in view was undoubtedly the writer of the fourth Gospel, the brother of James. The temple was Herod's temple, and the Jewish hour of prayer in view was 3:00 p.m., the other key prayer time for the Jews being 9:00 a.m. (cf. Acts 10:9; Acts 10:30; Daniel 6:10; Daniel 9:21; Judith 9:1). [ ote: Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 14:4:3.] The early Jewish Christians continued to follow their former habits of worship in Jerusalem. The lame man had been in his condition for over 40 years (Acts 4:22). Furthermore he had to be carried by others. His was a "hopeless case." The term "Beautiful Gate" is descriptive rather than specific. We do not know exactly which of the three main entrances into the temple from the east Luke referred to. [ ote: See Barrett, pp. 179-80, for a brief discussion of the problem, or Martin Hengel, "The Geography of Palestine in Acts," in The Book of Acts in Its First Century Setting; Vol. 4: The Book of Acts in Its Palestinain Setting, pp. 37-41, for a long discussion of the alternatives.] He could have meant the Shushan (or Golden) Gate that admitted people into the Court of the Gentiles from the outside
9. 9. world. [ ote: Jack Finegan, The Archaelolgy of the ew Testament, pp. 129-30.] He could have meant the Corinthian (or Eastern) Gate that led from the Court of the Gentiles into the Women's Court. [ ote: Longenecker, p. 294; Kent, p. 37; Wiersbe, 1:412.] Another possibility is that it was the icanor Gate that led from the Women's Court into the Court of Israel. [ ote: Witherington, p. 174. See Dictionary of the Bible, s.v. "Temple," by W. T. Davies, 4:713-14.] Josephus' descriptions of the temple do not solve the problem since he described both of these latter gates as very impressive. [ ote: Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 15:11:5-7; idem, The Wars of the Jews, 5:5:3.] The last two of the above options appear more probable than the first. ELLICOTT, "(1) ow Peter and John went up.Better, were going up. The union of the two brings the narratives of the Gospels into an interesting connection with the Acts. They were probably about the same age (the idea that Peter was some years older than John rests mainly on the pictures which artists have drawn from their imagination, and has no evidence in Scripture), and had been friends from their youth upward. They had been partners as fishermen on the Sea of Galilee (Luke 5:10). They had been sharers in looking for the consolation of Israel, and had together received the baptism of John (John 1:41). John and Andrew had striven which should be the first to tell Peter that they had found the Christ (John 1:41). The two had been sent together to prepare for the Passover (Luke 22:8). John takes Peter into the palace of the high priest (John 18:16), and though he must have witnessed his denials is not estranged from him. It is to John that Peter turns for comfort after his fall, and with him he comes to the sepulchre on the morning of the Resurrection (John 20:6). The eager affection which, now more strongly than ever, bound the two together is seen in Peters question, Lord, and what shall this man do? (John 21:21); and now they are again sharers in action and in heart, in teaching and in worship. Passing rivalries there may have been, disputes which was the greatest, prayers for places on the right hand and the left (Matthew 20:20; Mark 10:35); but the idea maintained by Renan (Vie de Jsus, Introduction), that St. John wrote his Gospel to exalt himself at the expense of Peter, must take its place among the delirantium somnia, the morbid imaginations, of inventive interpretation. They appear in company again in the mission to Samaria (Acts 8:14), and in recognising the work that had been done by Paul and Barnabas among the Gentiles (Galatians 2:9). When it was that they parted never to meet again, we have no record. o account is given as to the interval that had passed since the Day of Pentecost. Presumably the brief notice at the end of Acts 2 was meant to summarise a gradual progress, marked by no striking incidents, which may have gone on for several months. The absence of chronological data in the Acts, as a book written by one who in the Gospel appears to lay stress on such matters (Luke 3:1; Luke 6:2), is somewhat remarkable. The most natural explanation is that he found the informants who supplied him with his facts somewhat uncertain on these points, and that, as a truthful historian, he would not invent dates. At the hour of prayer, being the ninth hoursc., 3 P.M., the hour of the evening sacrifice (Jos. Ant. xiv. 4, 3). The traditions of later Judaism had fixed the third, the sixth, and the ninth hours of each day as times for private prayer. Daniels
10. 10. practice of praying three times a day seems to imply a rule of the same kind, and Psalms 55:17 (evening and morning and at noon will I pray) carries the practice up to the time of David. Seven times a day was, perhaps, the rule of those who aimed at a life of higher devotion (Psalms 119:164). Both practices passed into the usage of the Christian Church certainly as early as the second century, and probably therefore in the first. The three hours were observed by many at Alexandria in the time of Clement (Strom, vii. p. 722). The seven became the canonical hours of Western Christendom, the term first appearing in the Rule of St. Benedict (ob. A.D. 542) and being used by Bede (A.D. 701). PULPIT, "Were going up for went up together, A.V. and T.R. Peter and John. The close friendship of these two apostles is remarkable. The origin of it appears to have been their partnership in the fishing-boats in which they pursued their trade as fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. For St. Luke tells us that the sons of Zebedee were "partners with Simon," and helped him to take the miraculous draught of fishes (Luke 5:10). We find the two sons of Zebedee associated with Peter in the inner circle of the Lord's apostles, at the Transfiguration, at the raising of Jairus's daughter, and at the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. But the yet closer friendship of Peter and John first appears in their going together to the palace of Caiaphas on the night of the betrayal (John 18:15), and then in the memorable visit to the holy sepulcher on the morning of the Resurrection (John 20:2-4), and yet again in John 21:7, John 21:20, John 21:21. It is in strict and natural sequence to these indications in the Gospel that, on opening the first chapters of the Acts, we find Peter and John constantly acting together in the very van of the Christian army (see Acts 3:1, Acts 3:3,Acts 3:11; Acts 4:13,Acts 4:19; Acts 8:14, Acts 8:25). The hour of prayer; called in Luke 1:10, "the hour of incense," that is, the hour of the evening sacrifice, when the people stood outside in prayer, while the priest within offered the sacrifice and burnt the incense (see Acts 2:46, note). Hence the comparison in Psalms 141:2, "Let my prayer be set before thee as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice." PULPIT 1-11, "The unexpected gift. In one of those rapturous passages in which St. Paul tries to make human language express adequate thoughts of God, he speaks of God as "able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20). In saying so he does but mark, in one aspect, the distance between the finite and the infinite, and show how far the bounty of the infinite Giver outruns the desires of those who receive his gifts. The whole revelation of God's dealings with mankind is a continual illustration of this truth. How could it ever have entered into the mind of Abram to ask to be made the father of many nations, to be the father of the faithful in all ages and in all countries, to be the head of God's elect people, and to have his life and his words and his deeds handed down to the posterities through endless time? How could it ever have entered into the mind of Israel in Egypt to ask to be led dry-shod through the Red Sea, to be fed in the wilderness with bread from heaven, to receive the Law from Sinai, and to be put into possession of the land of Canaan? Or how could it ever have entered into the thoughts of a rebellious and fallen world to ask
11. 11. that the only begotten Son of God, their Maker and Lord, should be incarnate and expiate their guilt by dying for their sins upon the cross? The section before us supplies another instance of this exceeding grace of God. A poor cripple, lame from his mother's womb, had for upwards of forty years lived in hopeless and helpless infirmity. In the merry days of youth, while his companions and equals in years were sporting and gamboling in all the freeness of joyous spirits and supple, elastic limbs, he was bound down to his pallet, like a bird confined in a cage, or a dog chained in his kennel. In early manhood, while others went forth to their work and to their labor, earning their daily bread by honorable industry, he was reduced to be a mendicant, living in constrained inactivity upon the precarious bounty of others. And so it was at the present time. Every day he was carried by some kind hands and laid at the Beautiful gate of the temple, in the hope that those who passed to and fro to the house of God would look with pity upon his misery and minister to his wants. They must have been sad and dreary hours passed in expectancy and frequent disappointment; watching the countenances of the passers-by; overlooked by some, turned away from with proud contempt by others; sharply refused by this well- dressed but hardhearted Sadducee, and occasionally receiving a mite or a farthing from that ostentatious Pharisee; doubtful whether he would carry home enough to supply his daily meal and his necessary raiment. On this occasion he saw two men about to go into the temple. Perhaps their aspect awakened the hope that there were kind, loving hearts beneath their humble garb. Or, maybe, he merely uttered the usual monotonous prayer like that of the Italian beggars, "Date qualque coea per l'amor di Dio." Anyhow, we may be sure that his utmost hopes did not go beyond receiving some small coin at their bands. But when, in answer to the words from Peter's lips, "Look on us," he had looked up and probably stretched out his hands to receive the expected alms, instead thereof he heard the words, "In the ame of Jesus Christ of azareth rise up and walk." And in an instant he was whole. o longer a cripple, no longer chained down to his bed, no longer a prisoner, he sprang to his feet, he walked, he leapt, he danced for very joy, and, singing praise as he went, he entered the holy courts. Here there was an instance of God doing unto men exceeding abundantly above all that they ask or think. Here we have a type of the exceeding riches of God's grace, resulting in unlooked-for mercies to the children of men. Let us take note of it, and frame our estimate of God's character accordingly. othing more elevates the tone of a man's religion than a worthy conception of God's goodness. It stimulates his love, it kindles his adoration, it raises his hopes, it intensifies all his spiritual emotions. Low conceptions of God's nature beget a low standard of love and service. There is nothing like a true view of the infinity of the love of God, and of the unsearchable riches of his grace in Jesus Christ, to lash all the sluggish emotions of the heart into a holy and healthy enthusiasm. "Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it," is another mode of expressing the same blessed truth; and "Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift," is the language of those whose experience coincides with the revelation which God has given of himself in his holy Word. PULPIT 1-10, "Helplessness and healing.
12. 12. In this interesting incident we have an illustration of the urgent spiritual necessities of our race, and of the sufficiency of the gospel to meet them. We have I. A GREAT A D SAD CO TRAST. They brought daily to the Beautiful gate of the temple a lame beggar, who asked alms of all that entered (Acts 3:2, Acts 3:3). What a striking contrast is here!the large, strong, handsome gate, wrought by the most skilful workmen, intended to add beauty and attractiveness to the magnificent temple, an object of keen, universal admiration; and, laid down at the foot of it, a poor, ill-clad, deformed, helpless beggar, fain to find a miserable existence by asking the pity of all that passed through. Such contrasts has sin introduced into this world. If we look on this whole fabric of nature as a temple in which God manifests his presence, and on our earth, with all its loveliness and grandeur, as one of its beautiful gates, then we see, in strongest and saddest contrast with it, stricken, helpless, deformed human natureman brought down to the very ground, unable to sustain himself, the pitiful object of compassion: we behold the fair workmanship of God with all its exquisite beauty, and we see sinning, erring, suffering, fallen man by its side. II. A PICTURE OF SI I ITS STRE GTH. What more forcible illustration of this can he found than in a man lame from his birth (Acts 3:2)? One born to the heritage of mankind, viz. that of voluntary, happy activity; of walking, running, moving, whithersoever he would, with free power of motion, in all acts of duty, pleasure, affection;this man doomed to utter helplessness, his deformity or disease becoming more rigid and incurable as the months and years pass by! What a picture, this, of our human spirit, created to enjoy the heritage of a holy intelligence, viz. that of free and happy activity in all the ways of righteousness, piety, usefulness; of moving joyously along all the paths in which God invites his children to walk; yet, from the very beginning, being utterly unable to walk in the way of his commandments, to run in the paths of wisdom and of peace, incapable of doing that for which it was called into being, and becoming more rigidly and hopelessly fixed in its spiritual incapacity year by year. III. THE I TERVE TIO OF THE GOSPEL OF GOD. 1. It demands attention. "Peter with John, said, Look on us" (verse 4). The gospel of Christ has a right to make this same appeal to all men. o seeking, struggling soul has a right to be regardless of its offers. The beneficent and mighty works of Jesus Christ; the profound spiritual truths he uttered; the beautiful and exalted life he lived; the strange and wondrous death he died; the message of love he left behind him; the adaptation, proved by eighteen centuries of human history, of his system to the deepest wants of human nature;all these conspire to give to the gospel of God the right to demand attentionto say, "Look on me;" see whether there is not in me the help and healing which you need. 2. It disclaims certain offices. "Silver and gold have I none," etc. (verse 6). The gospel does not offer to do everything for man which it may be desirable should, in
13. 13. some way, be done. It does not propose 3. It offers one essential service. "In the ame of Jesus Christ rise up and walk" (verse 6). It says to the stricken, wounded soul, "Wilt thou be made whole?" To the soul burdened with a sense of sin, it offers pardoning love and spiritual peace; to the heart oppressed with care and fear, it offers a Divine refuge in which to hide; to the soul struggling with temptation, an almighty Friend; to the weary traveler, a home of rest and joy. Whatever is the one imperative thing, that the gospel of Christ presents; but its offer is inward, spiritual, heavenly. IV. THE BLESSED ISSUE. (Verses 7-10.) This was: 1. Healing to him that had been helpless. 2. Gratitude showing itself in praise. 3. Interested attention on the part of those outside: "They were filled with wonder and amazement;" they were in a state most favorable for the reception of the truth. When we make an appeal to Christ, we are not to be satisfied until we have found spiritual recovery; until our souls are filled with the spirit of thanksgiving; until our restoration has told upon our neighbors as well as on ourselves.C. MACLARE 1-16, "THEN SHALL THE LAME MAN LEAP AS AN HART Many wonders and signs were done by the Apostles (Act_2:43), but this one is recorded in detail, both because it was conspicuous as wrought in the Temple, and because it led to weighty consequences. The narrative is so vivid and full of minute particulars that it suggests an eye-witness. Was Peter Lukes informant? The style of the story is so like that of Marks Gospel that we might reasonably presume so. The scene and the persons are first set before us. It was natural that a close alliance should be cemented between Peter and John, both because they were the principal members of the quartet which stood first among the Apostles, and because they were so unlike each other, and therefore completed each other. Peters practical force and eye for externals, and Johns more contemplative nature and eye for the unseen, needed one another. So we find them together in the judgment hall, at the sepulchre, and here. They went up to the Temple, or, to translate more exactly and more picturesquely, were going up, when the incident to be recorded stayed them. They had passed through the court, and came to a gate leading into the inner court, which was called Beautiful. from its artistic excellence, when they were arrested by the sight of a lame beggar, who had been carried there every day for many years to appeal, by the display of his helplessness, to the entering worshippers. Precisely similar sights may be seen to-day at the doors of many a famous European church and many a mosque. He mechanically wailed out his formula, apparently scarcely looking at the two strangers, nor expecting a response. Long habit and many rebuffs had not made him hopeful, but it was his business to ask, and so he asked. Some quick touch of pity shot through the two friends hearts, which did not need to be spoken in order that each might feel it to be shared by the other. So they paused, and, as was in keeping with their characters, Peter took speech in hand, while John stood by
14. 14. assenting. Purposed devotion is well delayed when postponed in order to lighten misery. There must have been something magnetic in Peters voice and steady gaze as he said, Look on us! It was a strange preface, if only some small coin was to follow. It kindled some flicker of hope of he knew not what in the beggar. He expected to receive something from them, and, no doubt, was asking himself what. Expectation and receptivity were being stirred in him, though he could not divine what was coming. We have no right to assume that his state of mind was operative in fitting him to be cured, nor to call his attitude faith, but still he was lifted from his usual dreary hopelessness, and some strange anticipation was creeping into his heart. Then comes the grand word of power. Again Peter is spokesman, but John takes part, though silently. With a fixed gaze, which told of concentrated purpose, and went to the lame mans heart, Peter triumphantly avows what most men are ashamed of, and try to hide: Silver and gold have I none. He had left all and followed Christ; he had not made demands on the common stock. Empty pockets may go along with true wealth. There is a fine flash of exultant confidence in Peters next words, which is rather spoiled by the Authorised Version. He did not say such as I have, as it it was inferior to money, which he had not, but he said what I have (Rev. Ver.),-a very different tone. The expression eloquently magnifies the power which he possessed as far more precious than wealth, and it speaks of his assurance that he did possess it-an assurance which rested, not only on his faith in his Lords promise and gift, but on his experience in working former miracles. How deep his words go into the obligations of possession! What I have I give should be the law for all Christians in regard to all that they have, and especially in regard to spiritual riches. God gives us these, not only in order that we may enjoy them ourselves, but in order that we may impart, and so in our measure enter into the joy of our Lord and know the greater blessedness of giving than of receiving. How often it has been true that a poor church has been a miracle-working church, and that, when it could not say Silver and gold have I none it has also lost the power of saying, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk! The actual miracle is most graphically narrated. With magnificent boldness Peter rolls out his Masters name, there, in the court of the Temple, careless who may hear. He takes the very name that had been used in scorn, and waves it like a banner of victory. His confidence in his possession of power was not confidence in himself, but in his Lord. When we can peal forth the Name with as much assurance of its miracle-working power as Peter did, we too shall be able to make the lame walk. A faltering voice is unworthy to speak such words, and will speak them in vain. The process of cure is minutely described. Peter put out his hand to help the lame man up, and, while he was doing so, power came into the shrunken muscles and weak ankles, so that the cripple felt that he could raise himself, and, though all passed in a moment, the last part of his rising was his own doing, and what began with his being lifted up ended in his leaping up. Then came an instant of standing still, to steady himself and make sure of his new strength, and then he began to walk. The interrupted purpose of devotion could now be pursued, but with a gladsome addition to the company. How natural is that walking and leaping and praising God! The new power seemed so delightful, so wonderful, that sober walking did not serve. It was a strange way of going into the Temple, but people who are borne along by the sudden joy of new gifts beyond hope need not be expected to go quietly, and sticklers for propriety who blamed the mans extravagance, and would have had him pace along with
15. 15. sober gait and downcast eyes, like a Pharisee, did not know what made him thus obstreperous, even in his devout thankfulness. Leaping and praising God do make a singular combination, but before we blame, let us be sure that we understand. One of the old manuscripts inserts a clause which brings out more clearly that there was a pause, during which the three remained in the Temple in prayer. It reads, And when Peter and John came out, he came out with them, holding them, and they [the people] being astonished, stood in the porch, etc. So we have to think of the buzzing crowd, waiting in the court for their emergence from the sanctuary. Solomons porch was, like the Beautiful gate, on the east side of the Temple enclosure, and may probably have been a usual place of rendezvous for the brethren, as it had been a resort of their Lord. It was a great moment, and Peter, the unlearned Galilean, the former cowardly renegade, rose at once to the occasion. Truly it was given him in that hour what to speak. His sermon is distinguished by its undaunted charging home the guilt of Christs death on the nation, its pitying recognition of the ignorance which had done the deed, and its urgent entreaty. We here deal with its beginning only. Why marvel ye at this?-it would have been a marvel if they had not marvelled. The thing was no marvel to the Apostle, because he believed that Jesus was the Christ and reigned in Heaven. Miracles fall into their place and become supremely natural when we have accepted that great truth. The fervent disavowal of their own power or holiness as concerned in the healing is more than a modest disclaimer. It leads on to the declaration of who is the true Worker of all that is wrought for men by the hands of Christians. That disavowal has to be constantly repeated by us, not so much to turn away mens admiration or astonishment from us, as to guard our own foolish hearts from taking credit for what it may please Jesus to do by us as His tools. The declaration of Christ as the supreme Worker is postponed till after the solemn indictment of the nation. But the true way to regard the miracle is set forth at once, as being Gods glorifying of Jesus. Peter employs a designation of our Lord which is peculiar to these early chapters of Acts. He calls Him Gods Servant, which is a quotation of the Messianic title in the latter part of Isaiah, the Servant of the Lord. The fiery speaker swiftly passes to contrast Gods glorifying with Israels rejection. The two points on which he seizes are noteworthy. Ye delivered Him up; that is, to the Roman power. That was the deepest depth of Israels degradation. To hand over their Messiah to the heathen,-what could be completer faithlessness to all Israels calling and dignity? But that was not all: ye denied Him. Did Peter remember some one else than the Jews who had done the same, and did a sudden throb of conscious fellowship even in that sin make his voice tremble for a moment? Israels denial was aggravated because it was in the presence of Pilate, and had overborne his determination to release his prisoner. The Gentile judge would rise in the judgment to condemn them, for he had at least seen that Jesus was innocent, and they had hounded him on to an illegal killing, which was murder as laid to his account, but national apostasy as laid to theirs. These were daring words to speak in the Temple to that crowd. But the humble fisherman had been filled with the Spirit, who is the Strengthener, and the fear of man was dead in him. If we had never heard of Pentecost, we should need to invent something of the sort to make intelligible the transformation of these timid folk, the first disciples, into heroes. A dead Christ, lying in an unknown grave, could never have inspired His crushed followers with such courage, insight, and elastic confidence and gladness in the face of a frowning world.
16. 16. BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR 1-11, "Now Peter and John. Peter and John The union of the two brings the narratives of the Gospels into an interesting connection with the Acts. They were probably about the same age (the idea that Peter was some years older than John rests mainly on the pictures which artists have drawn from their imagination, and has no evidence in Scripture), and had been friends from their youth upward. They had been partners as fishermen on the Sea of Galilee (Luk_5:10). They had been sharers in looking for the consolation of Israel, and had together received the baptism of John (Joh_1:41). John and Andrew had striven which should be the first to tell Peter that they had found the Christ (Joh_1:41). The two had been sent together to prepare for the Passover (Luk_22:8). John takes Peter into the palace of the high priest (Joh_18:16), and though he must have witnessed his denials, is not estranged from him. It is to John that Peter turns for comfort after his fall, and with him he comes to the sepulchre on the morning of the resurrection (Joh_20:6). The eager affection which, now more strongly than ever, bound the two together is seen in Peters question, Lord, and what shall this man do? (Joh_21:21); and now they are again sharers in action and in heart, in teaching and in worship. Passing rivalries there may have been, disputes which was the greatest, prayers for places on the right hand and the left (Mat_20:20; Mar_10:35); but the idea maintained by Renan, that St. John wrote his Gospel to exalt himself at the expense of Peter, must take its place among the delirantium somnia; the morbid imaginations, of inventive interpretation. They appear in company again in the mission to Samaria (Rom_8:14), and in recognising the work that had been done by Paul and Barnabas among the Gentiles (Gal_2:9). When it was that they parted never to meet again, we have no record. (Dean Plumptre.) Peter and John In natural disposition, Peter and John did not very exactly correspond with each other; but diamond polishes diamond, and these two precious stones may have advantageously polished each other. (Rieger.) Went up together into the temple. Public worship The Christian has to regard this I. Negatively. 1. Not as a legal yoke. 2. Not as a meritorious work. II. Positively. 1. AS a good and useful discipline. 2. As a thankworthy opportunity for increase in goodness. (Lechler.)
17. 17. Love for worship I have in my congregation, said a minister of the gospel, a worthy aged woman, who has for many years been so deaf as not to distinguish the loudest sound; and yet she is always one of the first in the meeting. On asking the reason of her constant attendance, as it was impossible for her to hear my voice, she answered, Though I cannot hear you, I come to Gods house because I love it, and would be found in His ways; and He gives me many a sweet thought upon the text when it is pointed out to me: another reason is, because I am in the best company, in the most immediate presence of God, and among His saints, the honourable of the earth. I am not satisfied with serving God in private: it is my duty and privilege to honour Him regularly and constantly in public. We should have set places for the worship of God The song-birds in our fields have a chosen branch on which they continually perch for their morning and evening songs. In time of encampment Washington reserved to himself a thicket where he could pray undisturbed. Bishop Leighton frequented a grove in a public park which was at last left to him as his own property. In the story of The Path to the Bush is an account of the beaten track through the forest to the praying huts of the native converts, and the faithful girl hinting to her sister that the grass grew on her path. The house of God A new student had come to the university and called to see Professor Tholuck. The latter asked him where he went to church. Oh, said he, I do not attend preaching. Instead of confining myself to the four walls of a building I go out into the green fields, and under the lofty arches of the forest trees I listen to the singing of the birds and the countless melodies of Gods creatures, where everything that hath breath praises the Lord. Then the professor asked him, But what do you do when it rains? Conformity to Gods plan is best. Why do Christians go to church Is it chiefly in order that they may give or receive, through the services and their own part in them? These questions would be answered very differently by different persons. Some go, out of a glad and grateful heart, to show and to express their gratitude to God, and to bear a part in His public worship. Others go in order to gain some personal advantage through what they see and hear and feel while there. The one sort are pretty sure to accomplish what they go for. They swell the service of prayer and praise, and by their countenance and evident appreciativeness they cheer the heart of the preacher, and give added force to his preaching. The other sort often find their church-going a failure. The singing is not what they hoped for; the prayers fail to meet their wants; the Bible selections are poorly timed to their requirements; and as to the sermon, it does not feed their souls. It is a great pity that there are comparatively so few of the first class of Christian worshippers, and that there are so many of the second class. And it is a noteworthy fact that those who go to church to do what they can to make the church service a success, grow steadily in character and in intellectual power; while those who go there with a chief desire to be the personal gainers by their going, shrink and dwindle in their personality. The poorest specimens of church-goers are those who are constantly complaining that the preaching does not feed them. Hearers of that sort are like Pharaohs lean kine; the more they swallow the leaner they look. In this sphere, as well as in every other, the words of our Lord Jesus are true, that it is more blessed to give than to receive. (H. C. Trumbll, D. D.)
18. 18. At the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. Hours of prayer The ninth hour was 3 p.m., the hour of the evening sacrifice (Jos. Ant. 14.4, 3). The traditions of later Judaism had fixed the third, the sixth, and the ninth hours of each day as times for private prayer. Daniels practice of praying three times a day seems to imply a rule of the same kind, and Psa_55:17 (Evening and morning and at noon will I pray) carries the practice up to the time of David. Seven times a day was, perhaps, the rule of those who aimed at a life of higher devotion (Psa_119:164). Both practices passed into the usage of the Christian Church certainly as early as the second century, and probably therefore in the first. The three hours were observed by many at Alexandria in the time of Clement (Strom. 7. p. 722) . The seven became the canonical hours of Western Christendom, the term first appearing in the rule of St. Benedict (ob. A.D. 542) and being used by Bede (A.D. 701). (Dean Plumptre.) The proper hour of worship Rowland Hill well knew how to seize the best opportunity for reproving culpable habits in his hearers. One of them, who, to his great annoyance, avoided coming to chapel in time for the prayers, and arrived only just soon enough to hear the sermon, complained to him of partiality in a magistrate. He gave him one of his most searching looks, and said with an emphasis and manner peculiar to himself, Then why do you not come to public worship in proper time to pray that God would grant all magistrates grace to execute justice and maintain truth? The hour of prayer 1. The companions. This first verse reveals, as by a flash-light, the spirit of these companions. Peter and John together. What antipodes 1 Peter, impulsive, bold, energetic, daring; John, meditative, timid, loving, trustful. What ground in nature for fellowship between them? Yet, like Luther and Melanchthon in the crisis of a later age, they were joined in the strength and beauty of a friendship in Christ that gave to each supplemental grace and energy. 2. Going up into the temple, though the vail had been rent and the lesson of the spirituality and universality of worship had been taught them! Peter and John had reverence for sacred placesthat reverence which is a mark of depth and spirituality in the religious life. These early disciples did not spurn religious custom, though it was a custom of a decadent Jewish Church. To their devout souls history and sacred associations meant something. Character that is strong has roots. These grow deep and take hold of institutions representing thought and life and history. Luther was loth to leave the old Catholic Church, Romanised and corrupt as it was. Wesley always clung to the Church of England. Superstition you may call this clinging to the venerable and historic. Well, if the choice is between irreverence and superstition, give me superstition. Irreverence weakens conscience and blunts the spiritual edge of character. Superstition, as the devout Neander has well said, often paves the way to faith. Gods plan was not to obliterate Judaism at a stroke, but to transform it. 3. At the hour of prayer went these devout men. But what need had they for prayer, just fresh from the open revelation and spiritual excitement of Pentecost? By this act
19. 19. they teach that prayer is apostolic; that special seasons of illumination and sanctification are a special call to prayer. Though men may not need more fire, yet need they more grace. Religion means daily duty, not occasional ecstasy. Suspect any inspiration that makes you contemptuous of ordinary religious duties. After your Pentecost be found going up into the temple at the hour of prayer. (W. P. Thirkkield.) And a certain man lame from his mothers womb was carried. Spiritual lameness I turn to the story because it brings before us very vividly the whole problem that lies before you and me; the whole problem that lies before the Church; the whole problem that lies before our Master. When you see that lame man carried daily and laid in all his helplessness at the gate of the temple, you get a very vivid picture of the whole problem. Do not let us gather round this impotent man in a questioning, philosophical way, and ask, How did he become so? Let us not start vain, seemingly wise, but at bottom foolish questions. The real problem is not, How did we come here? Why are we (the grace of God apart) such wretched creatures? Why is there in London and everywhere else such moral and spiritual impotence? Why is there in the East End, and not less in the West Endonly it is better dressed and covered upthat which is so powerfully represented by this helpless man, that squirming misery, that loathsomeness, that wretchedness, that godlessness which no power of art or aesthetics can in the least alleviate? With all our culture, with all our philosophy, with all our fine speeches, and all our fine talking, to this hour there is the situation of things: human nature weary, abject, dejected, sick of itself, utterly loathsome, useless, and helpless; and the problem is not as I have said, How did he come there? but How is that man to be got up? not How did you fall into the sea? but How are we going to get you out? Let us turn to this story, then, to see how the great problem that baffles mans wisdom and love even at its best, how the great problem is solved by Jesus Christ and by His humble servants in His name, working in immediate contact with an absent and uncrowned Lord. Man or woman here who objects to this description of human nature, disprove what I am saying; rise in the might of your own goodness, rise in the might of your own morality, rise in the strength and dignity of human nature, which you think I am talking against, and display it in this fashion: Walk in your own strength into Gods presence. Come, you cannot. The more you try it the more you prove you are an impotent man. This man saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, and he asked help. And Peter, fastening his eyes on him, with John, said, Look on us. I would we preachers could learn more thoroughly to do after them, for we do not find that the impotent first of all looked at them, but it certainly is strikingly curious that Peter and John fastened their eyes upon him. He saw them. They might have gone past. He looked at them for ordinary help just as he looked at any others, but the point is that Peter and John did not go past that man. They challenged him. Let us challenge the worlds need. We are blamedit is the deepest part of the charge against us in newspaper and magazine articles, and there is too much truth in it, and the sting of it lies in its truththat we are walking past the problem. Peter and John might have been so busily engaged in talkingtalking, it may be, about Jesus Christ and the resurrectionthat they would have swept past this man. He was not a very attractive sight to look upon, and it would have been very convenient, would it not, for them to have gathered up their garments and swept into the temple past him to engage in the worship of God, and to engage in high and holy converse on the mighty things which were, of course, within their ken? Is there not a good deal of church-going
20. 20. which is just that to-day? Let me ask you point blank, face to face, what is your church- going very often but just that walking past, and turning your blind eye to the squirming wretchedness all around you? When did you put out your hand to alleviate it? When did you utter Christs almighty name over it? Aye, this is far too true, that the worship of God with many of us is a denial of God; it is a useless, blind, formalistic, stupid, heartless thing. It has no power towards God or towards man. It is in ourselves and belonging to ourselvesa mere thing of dress, and of Sunday parading to the temple and home again. And the misery of the East End, and of the fat, well-fed, but still wretched West End, is utterly untouched by our Christianity. Not so with Peter and John. Do we believe after all at bottom the conclusion of the whole matter is this: sin is here not to defeat us, but to be defeated by us, to be changed into life and holiness by the power of Him who sits enthroned above the stars of God, even Jesus Christ. It is time that we did, whether we do or notmore than time. Peter and John fastened their eyes upon him and looked at him. They did not go past him. What a lesson for preachers! There are teachers abroad, let me tell you, who do not want to see you; you are a hard nut for them to crack. Why, when you were better off they could speak to you, and you go to them, but since these hard days have come upon you you have dropped going there. When comfort was needed they were too cold. Now, you are right for the gospel. Christ Jesus is here for the sake of this impotent man, and He has lifted up you and me, if we are lifted up, that we may go and fetch the others who have not been brought yet. This is really the whole scope and purpose of the mighty work which God has done upon you, and I rather fear that you are forgetting it. Think of Peter and John stepping forward there. Try to catch the light in their faces as their eyes burned like twin lamps, when, not only they, but Christ, the loving Saviour, in them and through them, bent down and stretched out a hand and looked into the very despairing soul of that helpless creature. And then let me understand, and let you, O Christian worker, understand how much is needed to be, indeed, in this wretched world a servant of Jesus Christ. Oh, if we are able to bring ourselves and our Christ into naked, palpitating contact, let us do so. Let us stand over the perishing as though we meant to take a two-handed grasp of them, and by our own power to lift them right off the sodden bed on which sin has stretched them. Ah, we need an eye in our head, and a tongue in our mouths, and a hand at the end of our arm which has in it some tingle of everlasting love, and we need a heart working behind all three which has been kindled from the heart of Jesus Christ, who for us men and for our salvation took flesh and died upon the Cross. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. That is something. The man gave heed. I do not like a man to hide behind his fingers and peep at me. I have not much hope of that. When the audience looks broadly and frankly up into the preachers face things are looking hopeful. He gave heed to them. What followed? Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none. What an inconsequential, disappointing word! What an anti-climax to all that had gone before! Silver and gold have I none. Can you imagine the poor mans eyes? All the delight going out of them, and his long face getting still longer and blacker, and perhaps his tongue uttering indignant words, as he might have said, Sirs, if you have neither silver nor gold do not add insult to my wretchedness. You might have passed on, and left me unnoticed and unchallenged. Ay, there are men who just say that to us. I read a book not long ago with a very fine title by a very learned man. I do not question his learning. He just broadly said thisthat we preachers can do nothing for this helplessness that is represented here, that we are only talking. They level against us the objection that was levelled against Jesus Christ, when another helpless man was laid at His feet, and instead of curing his physical wretchedness He went first to what was first in importancehis spiritual wretchedness, and said, Thy sins be forgiven thee. It is virtually the same thing still. It is a great blessing for that poor man himself that he was
21. 21. not impressed by it when Peter and John said, Silver and gold have I none. I do not know that we are keeping as faithful to our own wares as Peter and John did. I am not sure that we are not getting to be too much impressed by the thought that what the East End needs is coals and blankets, and boots and shoes, and stockings for itself and its wife and its bairns. But suppose we fed the wretchedness of the East End, and suppose we clothed them; after all, what have we done? At the most and best we have only soothed their passage to the grave. Silver and gold can do much, and far more of the silver and gold that belongs to these who call themselves Christians ought to be spent in this blessed way. But there is an end to the power of silver and gold, and the Church was never better in possession of her true wealth than when she was represented by a couple of penniless fishermen, from the crevices of whose hands I am not quite sure that the fish-scales had yet been dried. You who have got silver and gold, who have come to Jesus Christ, come as humbly as you can. Forget your silver and gold. Silver and gold have I none. As I have said, on the surface how disappointing that was! Yet it was well said, and it was better done. Such as I have give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. Now here that poor fellow in a moment, but very truly and also very suddenly, was himself put to solve a very trying problem. Those of us who have been at college know the weary days we spent on what is called summum bonumWhat is the highest good? It is not a mere vague question of philosophic schools. It is a very practical question, and that poor man lying there that day had to solve for himself very speedily. Virtually this question was put to him: What is the highest good? Is it silver and gold? And quicker than my tongue can tell it he came to the swift conclusion: There is something here that can come to me which is better than anything that silver and gold can do. Have we got that length? Young fellow, you are toiling, you are trying to reach the summum bonum. Put it philosophically or non-philosophically, that is what we are all trying to do. Now, what is your highest good? Does it not lie in the direction of silver and gold, in the direction of all that is covered by these gilded, these very comprehensive terms, both in their notation and in their denotation? Through the grace and working of Gods Word and Gods Spiritaye, and through the hardships of lifeare not some of us beginning to get an insight of what flashed upon that poor man: Here is the greatest blessing that I could have, a blessing that I feel I am capable of receiving, a blessing that I feel I greatly need. I have been looking for it in a wrong direction, the world cannot give it. Those of you who have plenty have said to yourselves, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Thou hast got the summum bonum; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. And you cannot. Silver and gold are utterly failing. They are cheating; God grant that you may find out the cheat in time. Now listen. It is for men and women when they come to that pass that the preacher of the gospel is here. It is not because we are poor preachers; it is because you are poor stuff to preach to. When we get into contact with those who are ripe for spiritual blessing, when they are brought to that condition by the stress and disappointment of life, then the gospel preacher becomes wonderfully eloquent, simply because your ears are getting bored and your heart is getting adapted to the message that is spoken. Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee. Having thus spoken, he took him by the right hand. There must be immediate contact between Christ and you, and, more than that, between the preacher and you. That is one reason why I object to this historical pulpitjust simply because in here a great deal of that magnetism that was present with Peter and John is lost. How Peter stooped down and uttered that mighty name! Never go without uttering that mighty name of Jesus of Nazareth. Peter stooped down to grasp that man by the hand, and I see him yielding to the power of omnipotence. Up he came. Hallelujah! Christ is the power that Peter expected Him to be. Heaven has won, hell is baffled. The tide has begun to turn. From this One learn all. There is One who has power over every form of
22. 22. the enemys malignant triumph as it extends in all its vastness. Do you not see that it needs all that supernatural work to be wrought upon your impotent soul before you can enter into the temple to appear before God in any profitable way to yourself or in any way that will bring praise and glory to His name? Now what do you know about worship? This is the road to the church, this is the way to the temple. This gospel cannot be preached, and no signs following. Peter and John did not stand over that man for half a day, saying, until it became a dull, stale, flat, unprofitable, weary word. In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk! Rise up and walk! Rise up and walk while he lay and lay as helpless and as supine as ever. They risked everything, and they were justified in it. And the times are ripe for us to do the same thing still. Sinner, backslider, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up! (J. McNeil.) A picture of sin and salvation I. Find a picture of the sinner. The external world is a reflex of the spiritual. That lame man crouching at the gate and unable to enter it is a type of the sinners condition. 1. He was a cripple, not a sound, complete man. So is every sinner. In him there is a miserable distortion of character. 2. He was a beggar. Sin is want. 3. This man was shut out of the temple. From certain texts in the Old Testament and certain passages in old Jewish writings the inference has been drawn that deformed people were not allowed to enter the temple. Though it is not certain, such was probably the Jewish law. Such is every sinners condition. He is not merely outside the visible church, but he has no part in the spiritual fellowship of Gods people. II. Find also as a contrast to the above a picture of the disciples. There are two men standing before the lame man. They show us the privilege of Christs followers. 1. They have fellowship with each other. Notice how close was the intimacy between Peter and John, and how often they are named together. They were very different, yet they enjoyed the communion of saints with each other. 2. They have a love for Gods house. They are going up to the temple, not as formal worshippers, but full of the Holy Ghost, and enjoying an intimate communion with God. To them all the service has a new meaning, since they have known Christ. He is the Lamb laid on the altar; He is the Theme of the psalm; He is shown in the vestments of the high priest. They worship Christ while others gaze at the spectacle. 3. They have sympathy for the needy. The love of Christ awakes in the Christian heart a love for every man. Others passed by the cripple with a glance of contempt or with a shudder of disgust. These men looked at him with love, for in that distorted form was a soul for whom Christ died. 4. They have power to help. As Peter looks on the man he feels a consciousness of Divine power to heal him. It is not in himself, but through Christ, that he can lift him up to health and strength. We cannot bring healing to mens bodies, but we can bring salvation to mens souls. III. Find in this scene a picture of salvation. 1. In the salvation of every soul there is a human instrumentality. God does not save men alone and directly, nor through the agency of angels. There is always a Peter
23. 23. through whom the power of God comes to a needy soul. 2. There is in every lifetime one moment of special opportunity. No one knows how long the lame man had been lying at the gate; but one day he met his opportunity. So the Samaritan woman met hers at the well, so Matthew met his at his table, so the Ethiopian met his in the desert. Success is to grasp at the opportunity; failure is to let it pass. 3. In this miracle the power lay not in Peters hand, but in Jesuss namethat is, in Jesus Himself, invoked by name. Only a Divine power could heal the cripple, and only a Divine power can make the sinner whole. 4. There was effort required on the part of the man himself. If he had not responded to Peters strong clasp of the hand with an effort of his own he would have remained a cripple still. That effort was faith. IV. Find in this scene a picture of the saved man. See how aptly he represents the soul just after the new birth in the image of Christ Jesus. 1. We behold the transformation. A moment ago he was a crouching cripple; now he stands and leaps upon the marble floor. Look at a greater change in every converted sinner. 2. We notice his privilege. His first act is to enter through the Beautiful gate into the temple. 3. We notice his gratitude. Every saved soul should make confession of what God has done for him. 4. We notice his prominence. At once the remarkable event attracted attention. Every converted man becomes at once an object of interest and an evidence of Jesuss power. (C. H. Spurgeon.) The first apostolic miracle The date of this miracle is not quite certain. It appears to be reported as a specimen of those wonders and signs referred to in Act_2:43. Note I. That it was wrought on a living man. In all our Lords miracles there was an exhibition of benevolence. This was the case here, for the miracle was wrought 1. On an afflicted man. He had been lame from his birth. Every man is afflicted from his birth with an evil which nothing but the grace of God can remove. 2. On a poor man. How could one so circumstanced find employment? He was then hopelessly poor; but mans extremity was Gods opportunity. 3. On a man dependent on his friends. This followed from-his affliction and poverty. And it seems that those friends could only put him in the way of receiving help from strangers. Thus the necessities of nature led up to the manifestation of Gods mercy. To how many has affliction been a means of salvation! 4. On a man known to many from the fact that he had been carried there for years. This enhanced the significance of the miracle and promoted its evidential purpose. In like manner does the conversion of the notoriously sinful bear witness to Christianity.
24. 24. II. That it was an exhibition of active Christianity. It was fitting that being the first, it should have this quality. It shows 1. A desire to do good on the part of Christian men. If men have no such desires, and yet call themselves Christians, their words and characters do not agree. 2. The effort which arises out of the proper desire to do good. Peter did not consider the case, promise to do the best he could for him, he took him by the hand and lifted him up. True Christianity turns desire into deed, and makes a missionary, a preacher, or a generous contributor of the man who desires the conversion of the heathen at home or abroad. 3. The course of the working of the gospel in the individual who receives it. (1) Special attention was awakened. Look on us. The man had already looked in an ordinary way. So the hearers of the gospel have to give it more than their usual attention if they would be saved. (2) Hope was aroused. He expected to receive somethingwhat he did not know. So those in whom the gospel is mixed with faith when they hear it are made hopeful before they have very distinct views of the joys of personal salvation, and their faith is strengthened until they can apprehend the blessings offered them. (3) Healing was administered. It came in the name of Jesus Christ, and immediately: so does salvation. (4) The healed cripple became a witness. The changes in the mans conduct told observers that he had received a great blessing from God, and was constrained to declare it. So Christians are constrained to bear witness by lip and life. (W. Hudson.) The miracle at the Beautiful gate The spiritual lessons we ought to learn are I. It is well for Christians to become acquainted with what is going on at the gate, over the borders of our serene and comfortable lives; we must look after those who dwell on the outside. II. Opportunities of doing good lie in our way every day and hour, if we really desire to improve them. One slight turn of the eye across the temple-area, where we pass on our way to prayers, will introduce us to two entirely different and totally distinct worlds of feeling, thought, and history. III. Christians ought not to lose time in signing after new spheres of conspicuous sacrifice. Like Peter and John, we ourselves, children of the covenant, are apt to be jostled against those who are ignorant, poor, feeble, and in pain. But it does not follow that all of them are certainly vicious and unworthy of help; some of them may actually have faith to be healed. IV. Working hands and willing voices ought to go with weeping eyes when we know the wants of the Lords poor. Poverty at hand, weakness close beside us, are quite unromantic; it is distance which lends enchantment to the view in many cases as we converse about heathenism. But our home-heathen must not be absolutely neglected because they are so near. Many men, and some women, will shed tears over the painted
25. 25. picture of a Neapolitan boy begging, who would speak most savagely to the same lad if they met him alive in New York streets; they would quote with vigour the first part of Peters little speech, and leave off the rest of it; and they would not put out their hands at all. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.) The miracle at the Beautiful gateas a fact If there be history in any writing, these verses in their simplicity and minute details are a history. There is nothing here approaching the parabolic or the mythical. See here I. Poor men becoming the organs of omnipotence. How often has this been the case. Moses, Elijah, and the apostles are examples. II. A wretched cripple made the occasion of great good. Thoughtful men have often asked, Why, under the government of a benevolent God, such cases should occur? Why men be sent into the world without the use of their limbs, eyes, or reason? But note 1. That those who come into the world in this state, being unconscious of physical perfection, feel not their condition as others. Men who have never seen know nothing of the blessedness of vision. Hence persons of constitutional defect in form or organ often display a joy or peace at which others wonder. 2. That such cases serve by contrast to reveal the wonderful goodness of God. In nature those parts that have been shattered by earthquakes, or lie in black desolation, serve to set off the beauty and order which generally reign. And so a cripple here, or a blind man there, only set off the goodness of God as displayed in the millions that are perfect. These are a few dark strokes which the Great Artist employs to set off in the picture of the world the more striking aspects of beauty; a few of the rougher notes which the Great Musician uses to swell the chorus of universal order. 3. That they serve to inspire the physically perfect with gratitude to heaven. In the poor idiot, God says to us, Be thankful for reason, etc. 4. That they afford scope and stimulus for the exercise of benevolence. Were all men equal in every respect there would be no object to awaken charity. III. Christianity transcending human aspirations. This man wanted alms, silver and gold; but in the name of Christ he received physical power, a blessing he had never ventured to expect. Thus it is ever: Christianity gives man more than he can ask or think. Eye hath not seen, etc. (D. Thomas, D. D.) Miraculous faith A miracle is the dearest child of faith. I. Faith performs the miraclePeter and John. II. Faith experiences the miraclethe lame man, who, although not before the miracle, yet after it, appears as a believer. III. Faith comprehends the miraclethe believing hearers. (C. Gerok.)
26. 26. The impotent man I. The person healed. 1. He was impotent, carried by others; and where they left him they were sure to find him. He was not so by any accident, as Mephibosheth, but from the womb; and therefore his case was the more deplorable, and a cure the more improbable. This is a fit emblem of the unregenerate, who are not only spiritually blind, and deaf, and dumb, but tame too; so that they cannot tread the paths of wisdom, or stir one foot in the way to heaven. Good men may be ready to halt, and their feet well nigh slip; but these are always halting and slipping; for their legs, like those of the lame, are not equal. It is not legs and feet that they want, but the right use of them; and this has been their case from their birth. Blessed be God for the promises made to such! I will assemble her that halteth, and gather her that is driven out. The lame man shall leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing. 2. His poverty added to his distress. If help was to be obtained by medicine, he bad not wherewithal to procure it, for he had to beg his bread. And thus it is with sinners. The saints want many things in the present life; but wicked men want everything that is worth having; and the want of a sense of this is perhaps their greatest want. Give me leave to add, that those to whom God shows mercy are also oftentimes like the impotent man, poor in temporals. The poor, says Christ, have the gospel preached to them. Those who are destitute of outward ornaments and comforts are inwardly beautified with Divine grace, and filled with Divine consolations. 3. He had continued long under his disorder, which made his case the more deplorable. Let this afford encouragement to old and accustomed sinners, if they have a sense of the evil of their way, and are in good earnest seeking relief, let them not despair of obtaining it. He who cured old diseases can save old sinners. 4. He was nevertheless in the way of a cure; for he lay at the Beautiful gate of the temple, where the charitable might relieve him, the pious pray for him, and the intelligent afford him their best advice. Thus the impotent sinner should watch daily at wisdoms gates, remembering that God commands deliverance out of Zion, and is there known for a refuge to His people. II. The nature of the cure. 1. It was unexpected, and therefore the more welcome. And thus it is in the conversion of sinners. Mercy comes as it did to Zaccheus, to Saul, and to this man: unsought and unimplored! 2. It was instantaneous. Peter does not put him upon a long course of medicine; but takes him by the hand, and lifts him up, Thus, however gradual the work of grace may appear in some converts, yet the implantation of grace is instantaneous. God new creates the soul, as He created the world. He says, Let there be light; and there is light; Let there be life! and there is life. 3. As Omnipotence took it in hand, so it was an easy cure. No violent methods were used: his distorted limbs were not reduced to their proper place by any painful operation. And so the actings of Divine grace upon the soul are as mild and gentle as they are powerful and effectual 4. It was a real and permanent cure. Thus it is when God heals the broken heart, or cures the distempered soul. The one is a miracle of power, the other of grace: and as the former, so the latter is no deception.
27. 27. III. The effects of the cure. 1. He leaped up. Thus it is with the sinner recovered by Divine grace. The word of the Lord, the way of the Lord, the joy of the Lord, and especially the Christ of God, is his strength; and this strength he employs for the purposes for which it is bestowed. I will go in the strength of the Lord God. Earnestness and intentness of mind is also implied. He not only exerted himself, but did it to the utmost of his power. Thus when a sinner is capable of acting, especially in the warmth of his first love, he will act with all his might. 2. He stood. Formerly he could not stand without leaning and trembling. He stood ready for action, as one that would hereafter get his livelihood by working, and not by begging. He also stood to show himself to the people. 3. He walked. This was a new exercise to him. Thus, by the power of Divine grace, those that are spiritually lame are made to walk with God, and before Him; honestly and uprightly, in newness of life; in the light, in the truth, and at liberty. The Spirit is their guide, the Word their rule, the excellent of the earth their companions, glory their end, and Christ their way. 4. He entered with the apostles into the temple. At the gate of it he had got many an alms from man: now he would enter into it to get an alms from God. From this part of his conduct we may learn (1) What place the saints make their chosen residence, the house of God. My feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem! Especially when recovered from disorder, and released from confinement. The first place they will visit is the temple, there to pay those vows which they made in the time of their distress, and present their humble and thankful acknowledgments unto God. (2) What persons they choose for their companions. Those whom God has made useful to them, as hoping still to receive the benefit of their prayers and instructions. Thus the jailer brought Paul and Silas into his house, and Lydia constrained them to abide in her house. 5. Still he walked and leaped, like one in an ecstasy and transport, and praised God. Whence we may observe, that though he loved the instruments, yet he did not praise them. He gave the praise where it was due. Improvement: 1. Let awakened sinners take encouragement from this wonderful instance of Divine grace. 2. Let the saints imitate the example here set before them, in the warmest gratitude and most affectionate praises. (B. Beddome, M. A.) The lame man at