Written by Paul Lane
The Word
3 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the [I.e. 3 p.m.]ninth hour, the hour of prayer. 2 And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg [Or a gift of charity]alms of those who were entering the temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. 4 But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, “Look at us!” 5 And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!” 7 And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. 8 [Lit Leaping up]With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God; 10 and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
Acts 3:1-10 (NASB)
Reflection
There is something about this miracle that points to the nature of man. This is a man who never walked, yet once his body was healed, he could not only walk, but leap and praise God.
When the astronauts come back from space, usually there is some time to adjust to being in earth gravity again. You see, while in space, the body not only loses its strength, but astronauts can begin to lose their sense of balance. This is one of the main reasons for having a treadmill on the International Space Station. Running on the treadmill helps maintain the sense of balance for the inner ear.
Also, think about children when they learn to walk. Usually there is a lot of falling down and getting back up until the sense of balance is established. But once they have it, then they are off to the races and good luck keeping up with them. For this man, he is able to skip all of that falling down after this miracle. So, perhaps the sense of balance is natural to the state of man.
Or maybe you can think of someone recovering from a leg injury and they have not been able to walk for months. In this case, their muscles would have lost some strength and they will have to re-learn their sense of balance too. Even in this case, I would not expect a person to start jumping and dancing right away. But when Peter tells this man to walk in the name of Jesus, he does not have to go through rehab. He is healed to a state where he is fully capable of walking, leaping, and praising God. Not only are his muscles healed, but he also has a completely functional sense of balance.
Application
It is out of love and boldness that Peter turns to this man and heals him. “But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, “Look at us!”” (v4.) As a demonstration of obedience, Peter tells the man to look at him and the man does. In this encounter, all pride and understanding of the previous world is being stripped away. The new thing is coming, and it is the loving gaze of Christ that initiates it.
I think it is fair to say that if we search our hearts and our circumstances, we are all looking for some kind of miracle or healing. And I think we’ve lived through enough miracle hype situations to know that such miracles won’t come through the latest new wave of teaching or the latest trend on Instagram. I would just say, look to the gaze of Christ. Turn your heart to Him, and trust in His touch. For the healing He brings will not just address the thing on the surface, but will restore you to where God intends you to be.
Prayer
“Oh gaze of love, so melt my pride,
That I may in your house but kneel
And in my brokenness to cry
Spring worship unto Thee”
Jars of Clay – Lyricist: Dan Haseltine, Matt Odmark, Steve Mason, Charlie Lowell
City Life Starter 
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