Read Acts 3

Pointing To God

In Acts 3, we are told of the healing of a man who had been lame since he was born. He was laid at the temple gate every day to ask for money. Peter took notice of the man and 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” (Acts 3:6). Peter took the man by the hand and lifted him up, and he could walk! A miracle had occurred!

As Peter, John, and the man entered the temple, an amazed crowd gathered around them. Peter took advantage of this opportunity to deflect their attention away from himself and direct them instead toward Jesus. “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?” (Acts 3:12).

Peter described Jesus in several different ways in this passage. First, he calls Jesus God’s “Servant” (Acts 3:13), a word that the prophet Isaiah had used of the coming Messiah (Isaiah 42, 52, 53). Peter calls Him “the Holy One” (Acts 3:14), a term used by David (Psalm 16:10), and “Just” (Acts 3:14) an attribute even recognized by Pilate (Matthew 27:24). Finally, Peter refers to Jesus as “the Prince of life” (Acts 3:15). Isaiah included “Prince of Peace” among the names by which Jesus would be known (Isaiah 9:6), and the Lord Himself said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

Peter used the good that was done for the lame man to present the good that could be done for all men. “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” (Acts 3:26). Have you used the good situations of your life and the lives of your neighbors to point them to God and the good that is available in Jesus?