City Life Starter

Written by Megan Meier

The Word

“1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms.4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, ‘Look at us.’ 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, ‘I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!’ 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.” Acts 3:1-10 ESV

Reflection

Peter and John were going for the last hour of temple prayer for the day. At that same time a man, born with feet and ankles were so severely disfigured he could not walk, was being carried (verse 7 mentions his feet and ankles strengthening, so it’s safe to say the problem was there). In a culture where walking was the normal form of transportation and physical labor was the main means of earning a paycheck, the poor man was seen as a burden and a curse from his birth (not even Peter was immune to this fallacy, see John 9:1-7).

All his life, the lame man needed someone to carry him, or he crawled to his destination. “They” in verse 2 are not specified, it could have been his family, his friends, or those who worked at the temple. It’s not known the exact location of the Beautiful Gate. If it was from the west side, directly facing the city and more public, he would have more chances of collecting alms as he couldn’t do physical work. But if the Beautiful Gate was from the east side, the Nicanor gate, it would not have been anywhere near as public and he would have had a slimmer chance of collecting alms (Marshall, 1980). If this is true, his carriers were tired of helping him and just placed him where it was convenient for them. Whatever the location, he was too defeated to look up when asking for alms.

Peter told him to look at them. Despite all the lies he was told since his birth, that he was a burden and a curse, he did. Despite not getting what he asked for, he took Peter’s hand and stood up. Luke does not mention pain, but the man must have felt it in spades. With modern medicine, the man would have required surgery and at least a year of intense physical therapy – imagine all of that pain from having ankle and foot bones forcibly realigned wrapped up into one moment. God may want to give us something better than what we’re asking, BUT it might hurt a LOT at first. It was only when the man stood up that he was fully healed.

Application

God wants to give us something a lot better than what we’re asking, but it might hurt a lot in the beginning. First we have to look up and be willing to be vulnerable before God, because being real and honest about what’s going on in our lives and our hearts can hurt in and of itself. Then we have to stand up and heal the root of a problem, which will hurt. But afterward, we’ll be like the the formerly lame man, walking, leaping, and praising God.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, please grant me the courage to look up and the strength to stand up in Your Name, amen.

Reference

Marshall, I. H. (1980). Tyndale New Testament Commentaries–Acts. Williams B. Eerdmans

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