Acts (4): First Miracle of the Early Church
by Rev. Jeremiah Cheung
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Acts 3:1-11 records the first miracle in the Early Church. Acts 3:12-26 documents how through this miracle the apostles proclaimed the gospel to the Jews and five thousand people came to the Lord. Let us consider this miracle today.
Peter and John healed a man who had been lame from birth at the gate called Beautiful. This man was already above 40 years old; he had never walked since birth, but not only was he able to stand up, he was able to walk and to jump. Because of this miracle, the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.
This is a miracle that brought 5000 men to faith in the Lord, what kind of a miracle is this? There are three kinds of people in this miracle:
1. the apostles who performed the miracle,
2. the lame man who received the miracle, and
3. the people who saw the miracle.
These three kinds of people had something in common – they looked/saw. Verse 3, “When he (the man who was lame from birth) “saw” Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money.” Verse 4, “Peter “looked” straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” Verse 5, “So the man “gave them his attention,” expecting to get something from them.” Verse 9, “When all the people “saw” him walking and praising God…”
There are three different kinds of “seeing” here – the apostles’ seeing, the lame man’s seeing and the people’s seeing:
I. The Apostles’ `Seeing’.
At the time of prayer (three o’clock in the afternoon), Peter and John were going up to the temple to pray. Devout Jews pray at set hours three times a day. These two apostles were totally different in age and personality. Peter was the oldest while John was the youngest. Peter was impatient while John was the most patient one. However, they were prayer partners. They went to prayer together. When they were about to enter, they saw a man who was lame asking them for money at the temple gate called Beautiful. Verse 4 “Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!”” First, the apostles saw the lame man; second, the apostles wanted the lame man to look at them.
1. The Apostles Saw the Lame Man – The apostle looked straight at him. That he looked straight at the man is an important point. When you look straight at a man, it shows your sincerity. We have all experienced this.
When in a conversation, and the other person’s eyes darts around endlessly, it indicates two things:
a. He is not speaking the truth. His eyes betray him.
b. He is not sincerely listening to the one speaking.
However, men are deceitful; we gradually train our eyes and even if it is not real, our eyes learn to be steady, lest they betray us. Most scary is when a man is a public relations expert. Such people can be scary, they can play the role because they do not show their real thoughts and feelings. But may the Lord help us, may we be sincere, such that we not only look straight at people but also may our hearts truly care for others. Peter and John looked straight at the man; this showed they truly cared about his need.
2. The Apostles Wanted the Lame Man to Look at Them – After Peter and John looked straight at him, Peter said, “Look at us!” Their eyes met – I look at you and you look at me. They focused their attention on each other. In Peter and John’s eyes, they sincerely wanted to offer Christ Jesus to the man. In the lame man’s eyes, he earnestly wanted them to give him some alms of silver and gold. At this point, Peter said, ““Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
At this point, Peter and John were already pastors of a three thousand-member church. The church had everything, the believers gave their silver and gold to the apostles, yet they said: “Silver or gold I do not have.” The precious meaning of this statement is that the apostles had not been greedy, they faithfully served the Lord.
Jesus said: “You cannot serve God and mammon.” Forever, there must be only one Lord for us. In the past ten years, many famous tele-evangelists have fallen in the aspect of finances, because a second lord had taken over their hearts. Outwardly, they were serving the Lord, but in their hearts, they were serving mammon. Thus, they fell. Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but I have something more precious than that, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, stand up and walk!”
A person’s name not only represents who he is, it speaks of his authority, reputation and position. Some schools require their students to do practicum in the church and so some students come to CBCP. After their practicum is over, they would bring a letter which they want me to sign. The letter says so and so had completed his practicum, and earned the grade of xx. Actually, I don’t know the student, the school’s person-in-charge don’t know me either, but what does my name represent? It not only represents myself, more so, it represents this church’s authority and status. Peter said: `In the name of Jesus, stand up and walk!’ – meaning, by the name of Jesus, its authority and power, stand up and walk. As a result, the man who was born lame, who had never taken one step since birth, stood up, walked and jumped in praise of God.
O Church! What can we give people? When you give them your silver or gold, you are only helping them for a time. After the silver and gold are gone, he returns to asking alms, he remains lame, he continues to need others to take care of him. But if we give him Jesus Christ, then he will be able to stand up, he will become self-reliant. I often remind co-workers in church that the church is not a charitable institution even though we do charity work. I don’t exactly agree with “Da Ai” (Great Love). Yes, “Da Ai” has greatly lessened the suffering of many in this world, but in contrast to them, what we give is true love, we not only lessen the suffering in this world, we seek to eliminate the eternal suffering of the world, so that men will not perish but have eternal life. Silver and gold are not the best we can give them. When you give them silver and gold, it may not necessarily be good, if it becomes a habit for them to ask for money, and they refuse to do anything on their own, then you have only hurt them. Laziness is the great enemy of the soul, yet many people consider laziness as the great luxury of the soul. We must be careful in giving alms, we must be careful and remember which is more important – money or the Lord.
II. The Lame Man’s `Seeing’
In this scripture passage, we discover that this man born lame also looked twice. First, in verse 3, he saw Peter and John about to enter. The second time, in v.5, `So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.’ Both times, he was hoping to get something from them. But the first look was a careless look. He saw Peter and John as part of crowd and he asked them for alms, he had no idea whether he will get something or not. However, the second look was different; he had great hope with this second look. Because Peter told him: `Look at us’, he looked intently and waited for what they will give him. In his heart, he was expecting money.
The only thing this man born lame thought of was alms from others, he never thought he could get well enough to stand and walk and go to work, he never imagined a life outside of being a beggar. 1 Cor 2:9 “ “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
The blessings God has prepared for us are truly beyond what our eyes has ever seen, our ears has ever heard, and our minds has ever conceived. How amazing is God’s grace! But I would like to remind you, God alone does marvellous works. Psalm 72:18 “Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvellous deeds.” This means God never consults with anyone about what he does, he will not ask us for our opinion.
The man born lame was already 40 years old. Forty years ago, when he was born, the Lord didn’t ask his opinion saying, “Are you willing to be born lame? I will show my glory forty years later in your healing.” John 9 records a man who was born blind. God didn’t consult with him either saying, “Are you willing to be born blind, I will show my glory someday in you.” The Lord doesn’t have to consult with anyone when he does things, because we cannot understand with our finite minds, neither can we accept them. Are you willing to be lame for 40 years? Are you willing to be blind for 40 years? Let’s not go to that extreme. Twenty-three years ago, if the Lord had told me what I will encounter in the Philippines, what difficulties I will go through, that I will remain 20-30 years in the Philippines, I tell you, I may not have come and serve here, because I wouldn’t have that kind of courage to come!
This lame man was expecting for money, but the Lord gave him healing. The Lord wanted him to stand up and walk, to be able to walk and jump. This was far beyond what he was asking for. Thus, the first thing he did when he was healed was to go to temple and praise God. We learn two lessons from this man: first, don’t put your hope in men, hope in God. Look up to the one who alone does marvellous deeds. Second, learn to praise God. When he received grace, he immediately entered the temple to give thanks; then, he praised God before the people, giving glory to God!
When the Lord destroyed the world through the flood, only Noah and his family survived. When Noah came out of the ark, the first thing he did was offer a sacrifice (thanksgiving, offerings), as a result, the Lord blessed him even further. We all long to experience grace upon grace, glory upon glory and strength upon strength. The secret is simple – give thanks in all circumstances and give glory to God, then you will experience more and more grace.
III. The People’s `Seeing’ Verse 9
When all the people saw him walking and praising God; v. 10 they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. V.12 When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
At that time, the people, not only the lame man, also stared at Peter and John:
1. The People Saw the Lame Man – The man used to sit there begging, so everyone knew him. Now, he is standing and walking and jumping. This is life testimony. No one can argue that it is not true. Because of his testimony, five thousand men put their trust in the Lord. Acts 4:21 says that the rulers could not decide how to punish the apostles, because the lame man was standing before them. The man was a living testimony. During the apostles’ time, there were many who were born lame aside from this man, but only he received healing. In our time, not everyone who has cancer receives healing, but as long as He is willing, the Lord continues to impart his healing grace.
Elder Wu Yong was a well-respected elder in Taiwan. In 1951, he got cancer. The doctors operated on him, but immediately closed up the incision. The doctor said it was hopeless because the cancer had spread all over his body. He was advised to go home and wait for his time. But Elder Wu Yong lived for 54 years more. In 2005, he departed from this world. This was a miracle that no one could deny. Brothers and sisters, when you experience God’s grace, then you are God’s living testimony; the Lord healed you because he wants to use you, he wants you to be his witness. We must not keep the Lord’s grace to ourselves, let others see the Lord’s grace in our lives! Let others know the Lord who gives grace.
2. They Saw Peter and John who Performed the Miracle – The people felt that this was strange – a man born lame was healed with one word. So they stared at Peter and John, they felt it strange because they were simple fishermen from Galilee, they were not religious people, nor prophets. They were wondering where these men got the power to make this lame man stand up? Peter told them, “Do not be surprised.” Yes, indeed, if miracle happens in the church, we must not be surprised. It would more surprising when no miracles happen in God’s house, for that would mean God’s power is not in the church. May the Lord have mercy on us, may God’s power and authority fill his house.
Peter told them, “Do not stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk.” Peter and John publicly declared that this was God’s work, not their own. This was a great temptation. When we do something in the name of the Lord, and good results come, may the Lord help us, we must tell ourselves and others: `It is not I, but the Lord. Do not look to us, but to the Lord.’ We must sincerely give the glory to God, because it is God’s work, not ours. We are but instruments of God. For example, when an essay you have written garners first prize at a writing contest and the pen you used arrogantly says: `It is I who wrote this winning essay.’ What will you say? `Pen! Do not forget it was my hand holding you that wrote, it was my brain and mind that directed my hand to write. If you continue to be arrogant, I will leave you in the drawer, and no longer use you.’ Aren’t we like this? We are tools in God’s hands. If God won’t use us, of what use are we? Praise the Lord, Acts 4:21 tells us `all the people were praising God for what had happened.’
The apostles’ `look’ lets us understand that what man needs most is neither silver nor gold, but the Lord. The lame man’s `look’ allows us to see that what God has prepared for us is beyond what we can think and imagine. God’s grace is so great. The people’s `look’ lets us know we must give the glory to God because all glory belongs to Him.