Acts 3

Acts 3 records the healing of a man who had been lame from birth. Peter and John met him at the temple gate called Beautiful, and through the name of Jesus Christ, the man was instantly healed. This miracle amazed the people and gave Peter an opportunity to preach. Peter explained that the healing did not come from human power or godliness, but through faith in the name of Jesus, whom God had raised from the dead and glorified. He called the people to repent and be converted, so their sins could be blotted out and they could receive times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.

Acts 3:1-2 (NKJV)
1 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
2 And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple.

Peter and John went to the temple at the hour of prayer, showing that the early believers still had a connection with the Jewish place of worship. At the gate called Beautiful, there was a man who had been lame from birth. He was carried there every day to ask for money from those entering the temple. His condition showed both his physical helplessness and his dependence on others. But God was about to give him far more than money.

Acts 3:3-5 (NKJV)
3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms.
4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.”
5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.

The lame man asked Peter and John for alms, expecting ordinary help. Peter told him, “Look at us,” drawing his full attention. The man expected to receive money, but Peter was preparing him for something much greater. This moment shows that God often gives more than what people expect or ask for.

Acts 3:6-8 (NKJV)
6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God.

Peter did not have silver or gold to give, but he had something greater: the power of Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, he commanded the man to rise and walk. As Peter lifted him up, the man was instantly healed, and his feet and ankles received strength. He stood, walked, leaped, and praised God. His entry into the temple shows not only physical healing, but also restoration and joy before God.

Acts 3:9-10 (NKJV)
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God.
10 Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

The people saw the man walking and praising God, and they recognized him as the same man who had been begging at the temple gate. Because they knew his condition, they were filled with wonder and amazement. His healing became a visible testimony of God’s power and prepared the people to hear the message about Jesus.

Acts 3:11-12 (NKJV)
11 Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed.
12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?”

As the healed man held on to Peter and John, the amazed crowd gathered around them at Solomon’s Porch. Peter immediately corrected their focus. He did not allow the people to think that the miracle came from his own power or holiness. Instead, he pointed them away from himself and toward Jesus, the true source of the healing. This shows Peter’s humility and his desire to give all glory to God.

Acts 3:13 (NKJV)
13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.

Peter identifies God as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the same one true God worshiped by Israel. He says that this God glorified His Servant, or Son, Jesus. Peter clearly distinguishes between God, the Father, who glorified, and Jesus, the Son, who was glorified. Jesus came from God, represented God, obeyed God, and fulfilled God’s saving purpose. This does not lower Christ as if He were merely a man, because He is the divine Son of God; but it shows the biblical order between the Father and the Son. The people had denied Jesus before Pilate, even when Pilate wanted to release Him, but God exalted Him as the promised Messiah and Saviour.

Acts 3:14-15 (NKJV)
14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,
15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.

Peter strongly contrasts who Jesus truly is with how the people treated Him. Jesus is the Holy One and the Just, perfectly pure, righteous, and innocent. Yet they denied Him and chose a murderer instead. Peter says they killed the Prince of life, meaning they rejected the very One through whom God gives life, salvation, and resurrection. But God raised Jesus from the dead, proving that He was not a failed Messiah, but the living Christ. Again, Peter distinguishes between Jesus, the Holy and Righteous One, and God, the Father, who raised and vindicated Him. The apostles were witnesses of this resurrection.

Acts 3:16-18 (NKJV)
16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
17 Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers.
18 But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.

Peter explains that the lame man was healed through faith in the name of Jesus. The miracle did not come from human strength, but from Jesus’ power and authority. Peter also shows mercy by saying that the people and their rulers acted in ignorance when they rejected Christ. Yet even their rejection fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophets, that the Christ would suffer. Peter does not excuse their sin, but he shows that God was still working out His saving plan and now calls them to repent.

Acts 3:19-21 (NKJV)
19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,
20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before,
21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.

Peter calls the people to repent and be converted. Repentance means turning from sin, and conversion means turning back to God. If they respond, their sins will be blotted out, meaning forgiven and removed. Peter also promises “times of refreshing” from the presence of the Lord, showing the spiritual renewal that comes from God. He then points forward to the return of Jesus and the restoration of all things. Heaven must receive Jesus until the time appointed by God, when all things will be restored as spoken by the prophets.

Acts 3:22-24 (NKJV)
22 For Moses truly said to the fathers, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you.
23 And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.”
24 Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days.

Peter shows that Jesus is the Prophet like Moses, promised in Deuteronomy 18:15-19. God raised Him up from among Israel, and all people are commanded to hear Him. To reject His word is serious, because those who refuse Him will face judgment. Peter also says that all the prophets, from Samuel onward, pointed forward to these days. This means Jesus’ life, suffering, resurrection, and authority were not a new idea, but the fulfillment of God’s long-promised plan.

Acts 3:25-26 (NKJV)
25 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, “And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
26 To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.

Peter reminds the people that they are descendants of the prophets and heirs of the covenant God made with Abraham. God had promised that through Abraham’s Seed all families of the earth would be blessed. This blessing is fulfilled in Jesus. God raised up His Servant, or Son, Jesus, and sent Him first to Israel to bless them by turning them away from their sins. The greatest blessing of the covenant is not merely national privilege or earthly prosperity, but deliverance from iniquity through Christ.