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. 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? (Acts 3:11-12)

A man had been spectacularly healed at the most public place in Jerusalem, and a crowd quickly gathered. The lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John – but it was not because he could not stand. After all, he was healed! Perhaps he held on to them out of gratitude, or out of fear and surprise. When the people ran together to them and they were all greatly amazed, the formerly lame man probably didn’t know what would happen next.

But Peter knew. When Peter saw it, he responded to the people. Peter wisely took advantage of the gathering crowd. Yet he knew that the miracle in itself brought no one to Jesus, it merely aroused interest. Though they were greatly amazed, they had not yet trusted in Jesus Christ.

This might have been a good time for healing service. Since a lame man was just healed, Peter could have said, “Who else wants a healing from Jesus?” But Peter didn’t lead a healing service.

This might have been a good time for a testimony service, for the healed man certainly had a great experience. Testimonies are wonderful, but even an amazing testimony is not itself the gospel, the good news of God’s salvation in Jesus Christ. The good news is God’s message about who Jesus is and what He did to rescue us, especially what He did at the cross and the empty tomb. A testimony is the story of the work of the gospel, not the gospel itself. Peter didn’t lead a testimony service.

Peter knew that the crowd needed to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, and a call to repent and believe. Since the healed man didn’t know enough yet to share the gospel, Peter did the talking.

Peter denied that the healing was due to either his power or godliness. Many evangelists or preachers today who would never claim to heal in their own power still give the impression that healing happens because they are so spiritual, so close to God, or so godly. Peter knew that it was all of Jesus and nothing was of him.

Peter knew that saving faith does not come by seeing or hearing about miracles, rather faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). Your testimony is great – praise God for it. God’s works of power are wonderful, and we celebrate them. But let the word of God and the good news of Jesus Christ be the core of our message to a lost and needy world.

Click here to read David’s commentary on Acts 3

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.” (Acts 3:6)

“Can you spare some change?”

“Sorry, I don’t have any.”

When asking for coins, beggars are used to hearing “Sorry, I don’t have any.”

Peter looked down at an expectant beggar, who hoped that the lameness in his legs would move temple-goers to sympathy and generosity. Hopeful to receive a few coins, the lame man heard bad news: “I don’t have any money.”

Peter said it like this: Silver and gold I do not have. Peter didn’t have any money, but he did have authority from Jesus to heal the sick (what I do have I give to you). Peter knew what it was like to have God use him to heal others, because Jesus had trained him in this (as in Luke 9:1-6).

For some people, to say “silver and gold I do not have” is about the worst thing they could say. They feel the church is in ruins if it must say “silver and gold I do not have.” But it is much worse if the church never has the spiritual power to say, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk”

There is a story – perhaps true – about a humble monk walking with a Roman Catholic cardinal at a time in the Middle Ages when the Roman Catholic church was at its peak of power, prestige, and wealth. The cardinal pointed to the opulent surroundings and with satisfaction said to the monk, “We no longer have to say, silver and gold I do not have.” The monk replied, “But neither can you say, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

When Peter and John gave him no money, we might have heard the lame man complain: “You don’t care about me. You won’t support me. Look at the mess I’m in.” But Peter and John wanted something greater than supporting the man in his condition. They wanted to transform his life by the power of the risen Jesus Christ.

Peter had something to give. He said, What I do have I give you. Peter gave something of the power of Jesus to the lame man, but he could not give it unless he had it in his own life. Many people want to be able to say, “rise up and walk” without having received the power of Jesus to transform their own life.

Significantly, Peter did this in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Since Nazareth was a village of no importance, some people thought it was an insult to emphasize that Jesus came from there. It didn’t fit with an image of success.

Peter didn’t care, because he had something greater than a successful image. Something greater than money. Peter had the power of Jesus in and through his life.

Do you?

Click here to read David’s commentary on Acts 3

Click Here for a Free Christmas E-Book by Inga-Lill Guzik – Light, Peace, and Hope for Your Christmas

…how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. (Acts 10:38)

The Christmas story is really written all over the Bible. We’re familiar with the passages of Scripture that we normally associate with Christmas such as Luke 2 and Matthew 1, Isaiah 9 and 7. If we open our eyes a bit, we can see Christmas almost everywhere.

I think we can see Christmas in Acts 10:38. In Acts 10 Peter traveled to Caesarea to answer the inquiry of a Roman military man named Cornelius. Centurion Cornelius was a Gentile, but he honored the God of Israel, and he was counted among a group of Gentiles known as “God Fearers.” God spoke to Cornelius and told him to get Peter so the apostle could tell him the good news, and Peter came.

As Peter explained the life and work of Jesus to Cornelius and his associates, he used the simple phrase recorded by Luke: …how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him (Acts 10:38).

What Peter said was true: God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit, beginning (humanly speaking) when by a miracle Jesus was conceived in the virgin womb of Mary. Matthew 1:18 says she was found with child by the Holy Spirit. Humanly speaking, the work of the Holy Spirit began when Jesus was conceived in Mary as she was in the village of Nazareth.

Peter also said that Jesus was anointed with power. This power was evident at the first Christmas. We think that there is nothing less powerful than a newborn baby, and in this sense, Jesus chose to come in a way that shares our weakness. Yet even as a baby Jesus Christ had power enough to attract angelic announcements and the joyful proclamation of shepherds.

As Peter said, in the life and ministry of Jesus, He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil. Jesus did this in His radical association with sick and oppressed humanity. Jesus Himself never sinned in any way, but He came as a man among hurting humanity – and that was clear by the way He came in all the circumstances surrounding His birth at Bethlehem.

Peter also said something wonderful about Jesus: that God was with Him. In connection with Christmas, we can’t hear that phrase without thinking of the promise in Isaiah 7:15 – that the Messiah would be born of a virgin and they would call his name Immanuel – “God With Us.” Speaking of Jesus, wonderfully God was with Him and the coming of Jesus proves that God is with us.

Take joy in it today – the One for whom God was with Him is also God with us!

Click here to Make a Year-End Donation to Enduring Word

Click Here for a Free Christmas E-Book by Inga-Lill Guzik – Light, Peace, and Hope for Your Christmas

Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. (Acts 2:44-45)

There was something special about the early church. They certainly were not perfect, but there was a spiritual life, courage, and true sense of community among them that gives a powerful pattern for believers since their time.

These two verses are a great description of this. We read, all who believed were together. There was an impressive unity and community among believers. We read in Acts 2:41 that among the Jewish people gathered at that Pentecost, some 3,000 responded to Peter’s preaching. Many of those 3,000 new believers came from far away to Jerusalem for Pentecost as pilgrims.

These visitors repented, believed, and were baptized. Afterwards, they didn’t just go their own way – they wanted to grow in their faith and following of Jesus, so all who believed stayed together.

The Jewish people of that day had a tremendous custom of hospitality during any major feast such as Pentecost. Visitors were received into private homes, and no one could charge for giving a bed or a room to a visitor, or for supplying their basic needs. The first Christians took this tremendous feast-time hospitality and made it an everyday thing.

They didn’t just share their lives; they also shared their material possessions. We read that they had all things in common. With so many visitors among the first 3,000 believers, many of them didn’t have jobs. But Christians shared and provided for each other. The early family of Christians had to share if they were to survive.

There have been more than a few people who claim that this was an early expression of communism, or “Christian Communism.” I think that this a misleading and dangerous claim. This was different from communism in at least two important ways. First, it was voluntary. No one forced believers to share their material possessions. No one made them sell their possessions and their goods and to divide them among all. This was voluntary and led by the Holy Spirit.

Forced collectivism – in the form of communism or many forms of socialism – has been a great evil in the world. The goal of a better world through forced collectivism was the claimed justification of the murder of up to 100 million people in the 20^th century.

The other difference is that this was temporary. We don’t have any evidence that this continued very long. Instead, it was the spontaneous response to an immediate need.

Yet, there is something wonderful in that they sold their possessions and their goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.

The power of God was evident among them because Jesus became much more important to them than their possessions. It was true community.

We all want this kind of community – it sounds wonderful! So today, pray that God would begin with you and give you a sharing heart.

Click here to Make a Year-End Donation to Enduring Word

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. (Acts 2:42)

It was one of the most amazing days in Church History, or in all history – the day of Pentecost, the birth-day of the Church. That day 3,000 souls were added to the original 120 believers after Jesus ascended to heaven.

On Pentecost the sound of the rushing wind, the tongues of fire, Peter’s preaching, and the conversion of 3,000 were all remarkable events. But the things described in Acts 2:42 were the abiding legacy of God’s work. We read that they continued steadfastly in things that become the foundation for every healthy church.

First, they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine. This means they relied on the apostles to communicate to them who Jesus was and what He had done. They had just trusted in Jesus; now they wanted to know more – so they continued steadfastly in the truth. There was to be no departure from the apostles’ doctrine, because it was the truth of God.

Thankfully, God allows us to sit under the apostles’ doctrine today – the New Testament record. Every Bible teacher should seek to be unoriginal in the sense that we don’t have our own doctrine, but the apostles’ doctrine.

Then, they continued steadfastly in fellowship. The ancient Greek word koinonia (translated here as fellowship) has the idea of association, communion, fellowship, and participation; it means to share in something.

The Christian life is meant to be full of fellowship, of sharing one with another.

– We share the same Lord Jesus.
– We share the same truth that guides our life.
– We share the same love for God
– We share the same desire to worship Jesus.
– We share the same struggles.
– We share the same victories.
– We share the same duty of living for Jesus.
– We share the same joy of communicating the gospel.

They also continued steadfastly in the breaking of bread. Even though they lived so close to the time when Jesus was crucified, they still never wanted to forget what He did on the cross. How much more important is it for us to never forget?

Finally, they continued steadfastly in prayers. Whenever God’s work is done, God’s people gather for prayer and worship. The original here has the sense of “the prayers” – speaking of arranged services for God’s people to worship, pray, and hear God’s word together.

These four things – the apostles’ doctrine, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and in prayers were a foundation for the health of the early Church. Everything else we read about the power and glory of those early Christians flows from this solid ground.

May you be blessed enough to belong to a congregation with this foundation, and may you do what you can to strengthen that foundation, building only on it. Today, in whatever way God gives you opportunity, find a way to pursue these things.

Click here for David’s commentary on Acts 2