Acts 3

Chapter three offers just one example of what the end of chapter two looked like in reality. These new Jewish Christians did not change from their normal Jewish patterns. On one particular day, Peter and John went to the Temple for prayer and passed a certain lame beggar. When asked for alms (which was a normal act of obedience for Temple-goers), the apostles gave the man something much greater: his legs (Acts 3:1-7). The response was what we would expect – amazement from the crowds who recognized him as the lame man.

Peter used the opportunity to present the message of Jesus again. The purpose of that miracle (and the others recorded) was to point to the truth that Jesus of Nazareth was their Messiah. Just as Jesus had made the lame walk during his ministry, he was still doing it through these men, who were obviously commissioned with his power and authority. Even though the nation was guilty of crucifying him, Peter conceded that they did it out of ignorance (Acts 3:17). Although this did not remove their guilt, God had used their sin to fulfill his plan, and now he offered them another chance to accept his message: Jesus is God’s Messiah; accept him in order to enter his kingdom.