Seeing God Work
Richard A. Bradley
Acts 3:1-10
Acts 3:1-10
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;
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.
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.
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.
In these ten verses we find one of the most unexpected scenes in the New Testament. A man whose life was completely hopeless is the main character. The Beautiful Gate of the Temple was the main entrance into the Temple courtyards for Jewish worshippers. It was also prime territory for beggars. The Jews considered it to be an act of great piety to give alms to the poor on their way to worship so this was the best place for a beggar to be successful.
Why was he begging? This man's life was hopeless because he was lame and had been lame since the day of his birth. He had never taken a step and never would. There was no welfare in his day. He lived in a world where there was very little compassion for those who could not help themselves. This day started like every other hopeless day but it turned out to be the best ...
Richard A. Bradley
Acts 3:1-10
Acts 3:1-10
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;
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.
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.
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.
In these ten verses we find one of the most unexpected scenes in the New Testament. A man whose life was completely hopeless is the main character. The Beautiful Gate of the Temple was the main entrance into the Temple courtyards for Jewish worshippers. It was also prime territory for beggars. The Jews considered it to be an act of great piety to give alms to the poor on their way to worship so this was the best place for a beggar to be successful.
Why was he begging? This man's life was hopeless because he was lame and had been lame since the day of his birth. He had never taken a step and never would. There was no welfare in his day. He lived in a world where there was very little compassion for those who could not help themselves. This day started like every other hopeless day but it turned out to be the best ...
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