Acts 4:23-37 "How We are to Respond"

                For over a month now we have looked at the drama that unfolded as a result of Peter and John performing the miracle of healing the lame beggar.  We’ve looked at the miracle itself and the reaction of the people who witnessed the man walking, as well as the reaction of the lame man himself.  We’ve looked at the reaction of the Sanhedrin, those in power in Jerusalem, to the miracle and the subsequent teachings and gospel proclamations made by John and Peter.  We’ve seen the attempts of the Sanhedrin to try and stifle the apostles in their mission to spread the gospel.  Over the past few Sundays, we’ve talked about how the persecution that John and Peter felt very much mirrors that which we find ourselves dealing with today.  We’ve talked about how we are to face persecution when we encounter it today.  We’ve said that we are to follow the words of Jesus that we looked at a few weeks ago when he told his disciples, “For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them.  And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations.”  We looked at how Peter and John not only defended themselves, but continued to proclaim the gospel no matter what.  And we have ended the past few Sundays by saying that we are to have the same type of fearlessness that John and Peter had when facing persecution.

                So, we’ve really primarily looked at how we are to deal with persecution from an individual standpoint.  However, remember that the book of Acts, especially the first (really) third of the book, is about the establishment of the first church.  So if we know from the past few texts how to deal with persecution on an individual level; the question becomes how are we to deal with it on a church-wide level?  And that is exactly the question that is answered for us in our text for today.  Our text tells us exactly what our response, as a church, should be to persecutions faced by those in the Christian faith.  John Calvin says of this text, “We are taught by this example what is our duty to do when our adversaries do imperiously threaten us; for we must not carelessly laugh in time of danger, but the fear of danger ought to drive us to crave help at the hands of God.”  And as I see it, our response is two-fold in our being driven to God for help.  We are to worship as one people, and work as one people; a people of God.

                We see that after Peter and John are released from their being held by the Sanhedrin, they go to their friends, the fellow members of this church.  I have to imagine that this scene very much mirrored that of the steps of a courthouse prior to the days in which there was such media coverage of a trial.  You know, when everyone gathered outside of the courthouse to wait for one person or a small group of people to run out and shout what verdict had been reached.  I have to imagine that the entire congregation of Christians (even though that name still hasn’t been used yet) had to be sitting in great anticipation, waiting to see what was going to happen to two of their leaders.  Well, nothing really happened.  Yes, they were threatened about the consequences that could await them, but as we will see moving forward, that didn’t really have any bearing on whether or not they were going to stop their proclamation of the gospel.  And the church responded in worship.  “And when they heard [the report of Peter and John], they lifted their voices together to God.”  Notice that there’s no time set for a service.  There’s no gathering together of everyone.  Their immediate response is to lift up their voices and cry out to God in prayer.  They pray, they recite Scripture (in this case Psalm 2), and they proclaim the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  They worshiped God for the glorious news that they had just received on behalf of Peter and John and the persecutions that they had faced.

                “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”  Now, have you ever had one of those types of moments?  Or let me put it this way:  I’m guessing that most of us have never had a moment where we have felt the building or the ground shaking, but you might have had one of those Holy Spirit filling moments.  I imagine this to be even greater than those experiences that we can all describe where we have felt a sense of closeness and the presence of God.  The presence of God was so great and so evident that the walls of the place where they were gathered began to shake.  I want you to notice that nowhere in our text does it say that anyone feared or was afraid, which we might would expect to be the reaction of someone when the building they’re in’s walls start shaking.  Instead, what we find is that the believers that are gathered around there feel a sense of confidence and boldness for proclaiming the gospel, and we know that it comes from this indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

                Now, the later part of our text describes a scene that is unfamiliar to us today.  It’s different because our sense of community is different.  When we think of community, we think of an area in which we live, but may have minimal contact with those around us.  In Jerusalem during this time, community meant a similar group of people, but they all knew each other.  It was common practice for people to open their doors after waking up in the morning and leaving them open until just before they went to sleep.  They lived by more of an “all for one and one for all” mentality, instead of the “I’m going to worry about me alone” mentality that we find today.  We’re told that as this community was drawing itself together and sharing everything that the apostles were continuing to proclaim Christ and his resurrection.  We’re told that the needs of all of those in this community were being met by the rest of the community.  We’re told that those who had plenty were selling their excess and giving it to the apostles so that it could be distributed to those in need.  And then we’re told about a specific man, Joseph, called Barnabas, who sold a field and gave the proceeds to the apostles to do as they saw fit.

                Now, before someone starts calling this redistribution of wealth or socialism (I say that tongue-in-cheek), let me remind you that this wasn’t something that was forced upon the wealthy and the landowner.  No, this was something that they did because of the simple fact that they were among God’s children.  They weren’t worried about the amount of land they were giving up or whether or not holding onto it for a little while longer could attain for them a greater profit.  They were responding to the good news of the gospel, the resurrection, and Peter and John’s release by doing the work of the church.  They were doing what they could to provide care for those in need.  In fact, that’s what the entirety of the church was doing.  We said already that they were worshipping.  Well, this is the church working.  As the apostles were proclaiming to all of them the grace that they had found in Jesus Christ, the church was responding as she ought to, caring for those in need.  They weren’t sitting around devising schemes for how to prevent persecutions.  They weren’t selling off pieces of land to building up a fund to be used for bail or bribe money later on when someone else landed in prison (and they most certainly did end up in prison).  No, all this church was concerned with was fulfilling the mission that Christ had given them of taking care of the poor, the widowed, and the orphaned.

                You know, it makes me question the way in which we respond to persecutions today.  I think if we were to write out a manual for handling persecution today, there would be some sort of 10-step process.  There would be some sort of program designed for leading us through the murky waters that can sometimes come in the face of hardships.  It would probably be very well articulated and very thought out.  However, it would be a lot more lengthy and much more complicated than it needed to be.  In actuality, any manual for Christians dealing with persecution could be complete with only a few words:  Christian, keep your head down and keep on worshipping and working with your eyes fixed solely upon the cross of Christ.  You see friends, it’s that simple.  No matter what we’re going through or no matter what the world is throwing at us, we are to continue on with the business of the church.  And that business isn’t in fund-raising (at least not solely), it isn’t in strategic planning, and it isn’t in devising a plan to get back at those who persecute us.  NO, the business of the church is the worship of and working for God.  Let me challenge you, the next time you’re faced with confrontation and persecution, instead of thinking of a way to combat this persecution, handle it by continuing to pray, look to God’s Word, listen and look for God to show you what to do, and continue the mission that God has set before you.  Remember the later part of the text that we mentioned earlier about what Jesus tells us about our persecutions.  “And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Mark 13:11-13 ESV)  It is our both or responsibility and honor to defend the gospel.  It’s our responsibility to continue to worship God.  Don’t allow the world to divert our attention to follow worldly debates; that’s a matter for the Holy Spirit.  However, let our continued focus be upon Christ, and the proclamation of the glorious news of his resurrection.  Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Acts 4:13-22 "Again! You Will Be Persecuted"

                Last Sunday, we saw Peter and John get, in essence, called into the principal’s office.  After healing a lame beggar, they began to teach and proclaim Christ resurrected.  We saw that this landed them in “hot water” with the leadership of Jerusalem.  We saw that the way in which those in power dealt with the apostles was to arrest them, intimidate them, and question them.  After asking them by what authority they taught such things, Peter confidently answered, “by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.”  Now, we didn’t have time to look at the response of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish leaders, but simply ended with seeing how Peter not only defended himself and John, but proclaimed the gospel while doing so.  We noted that we are to have the same sense of fearlessness for proclaiming the gospel when the world seeks to silence us as Christians today.  We are to follow Peter and John’s example and fulfill the words that Christ spoke to them about how to deal with persecution and those that persecute us.  However, much like we see in our text today (the fact that the leaders didn’t just hear Peter’s words and accept them), we have to be ready to endure the hardships that come with our fighting persecution with and for the gospel.  We have to understand that we will indeed face consequences.

                Our text begins by once again pointing out that Peter and John were uneducated, at least from the perspective of the Jewish leaders, i.e. they had not been through rabbinical training.  My dad has always taught me that you should never mistake education for intelligence.  Never mistake credentials for know-how.  Sometimes they go hand-in-hand, but not always.  Just because a person isn’t institutionally trained in something doesn’t mean that they don’t know how to, and vise-versa.  I worked for one summer on the grounds crew at Starkville Country Club while I was in college.  The head greens keeper didn’t have a lick of education, but he was very good at his job and very knowledgeable as to what all of the chemicals did and how to properly care for a golf course.  You see, Peter and John in fact had not been through any sort of formal rabbinical or religious training.  However, they had been through a period of training during those three years with Jesus that was so much greater than any seminary could ever be, it wasn’t as if they were ignorant.  As evidence of this fact, not only do we have the very articulate words spoken by them here in Acts, but we also have their writings as part of our New Testament (John’s gospel; 1, 2, & 3 John; 1 & 2 Peter).

                The apostles were also standing there alongside the man whom they healed.  Notice the intentional use of the word “standing” to describe the man who once was lame.  As the Sanhedrin were questioning these men, there was no denying the fact that a miracle had happened.  There was no denying that this man who previously could not use his legs was now standing before them without any assistance.  They were somewhat speechless as to what to say to these apostles.  So, much as the world does even today when left without explanation, the Sanhedrin simply told Peter and John to stop it.  They didn’t say that Peter and John were wrong or that their teaching was somehow false, but they simply told them to stop teaching and proclaiming the gospel so that it wouldn’t spread or else they would be thrown in jail.  I mentioned last Sunday that the world (and by this I mean those who oppose the Christian faith) will use any means necessary to try and mute the gospel.  They will threaten you concerning your health, your family, your livelihood, or anything else they can use in order to inhibit the spread of God’s Word.  The sad fact of it all is that in many cases this has worked.  We all have bills to pay, mouths to feed, and responsibilities that must be taken care of, so we, Christians, have allowed ourselves to be dictated to by the world around us.  In honesty, it’s a very logical thought.  We tell ourselves, “Well, if I don’t at least play by the rules, then I’m going to be left in a situation when I can’t have any impact of the world for God.  If I just adhere to what the world is asking of me, then I will be able to work my way to a position of authority and give myself a greater platform for evangelism and gospel proclamation.”  My friends, this is a dangerous and slippery slope to enter into.  This is the talk of espionage; this is the talk of sinful desires.  This is the talk of dirty, underhanded politics.  This is not the talk of the gospel.  This is not the way in which we are told to go about proclaiming God’s Word.  There is nowhere in Scripture where we are told that we are to infiltrate organizations and lay dormant until such time as we reach a point of power and then finally reveal our true beliefs.  We must be careful of thinking and conducting ourselves along such lines.

                I want you to listen again to Peter and John’s response to the Sanhedrin after being told what would happen if they didn’t “play ball” with the leaders in Jerusalem.  Also, keep in mind that it would have been very easy for these apostles to simply tell the Jewish leaders that they would keep quiet while having no intentions on doing so once they had been released.  Peter and John say to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”  In other words, if the Sanhedrin thought that what the apostles were teaching was worthy of their being imprisoned then so be it, but they could not deny the truth of what they had been teaching and what they had seen and heard.  And this brings us to the point of having to deal with the relationship of the Church and the State, a principal that we draw (at least in this country) from the First Amendment to the Constitution of United States, part of the Bill of Rights.  However, this wasn’t a completely original idea at the time of its origin, nor is it exclusive to the nation in which we find ourselves today.  In fact, the Apostle Paul wrote quite pointedly about this relationship his letter to the Roman Christians.  Paul wrote that God ordained civil authorities to be over people.  However, he also wrote that those authorities are under God.  In essence, that our allegiances are to be to those in positions of civil power and authority for the purposes of striving for the good of the public. 

                Civil authorities can be a great blessing to the people of God.  For instance, civil authorities make it possible for us to freely gather here and worship without the threat of someone coming in and hurling insults at each of us and making worship impossible.  If such a thing were to happen, then we could call upon the civil authorities (in this case the police) to remove that person(s) so that we could continue our worship.  So civil authorities in and of themselves are not necessarily a hindrance to Christians, but can be a great benefit.  However, the problem comes in when those authorities seemingly, whether intentionally or unintentionally place themselves on the same level as God.  The most obvious example of such in our word today comes in the form of the constant attempts at the redefinition of marriage.  You see, at least the way I see it, marriage is not a civil principle, but a biblical institution ordained by God.  The term marriage is reserved for the uniting together of a man and a woman before God.  This union is designed to bring about glory to God through strengthening of both individuals from a moral and spiritual perspective, and in some cases raising children in the Christian faith.  In recent years, the civil authorities, i.e. federal and state governments, have sought to redefine marriage to include relationships outside of that which is stated biblically.  The question then becomes how the Church is to respond to the State.  It’s this question that I want to spend the rest of our time talking about this morning.  If anyone wants to speak more specifically with me about the particular issue of homosexual marriages or any other specific infringements of the State upon the Church, please feel free to do so at a later time, but that’s not really the focus of our text today.

                So, how are we to respond, as Christians, as the Church, to civil authorities that act as if they are no longer under God’s authority, under the authority of Scripture?  Well, we’ve touched on a few of the options already.  We could do nothing, we could go into a full rebellion against the civil authorities as a whole, or we could do what Peter and John did.  They acknowledged that the civil authorities, the Sanhedrin, did have a right to imprison them, but they also said that they could not allow themselves to deny or silence the gospel simply because of the threat put upon them.  This is the way that we have to act.  I’ve said over the last few Sundays specifically that we have to be mindful and very much aware of the fact that we may face hardships and further persecutions due to our allegiances to God.  However, I can think of no greater reason for any sort of disobedience than that of following God’s will.  Now, I’m not calling for all of us to go out and get arrested for the sake of the gospel.  I’m not telling everyone to go and stand outside of abortion clinics, facilities practicing mercy-killings, pro-homosexual organizations, or any other buildings.  I know that some people do that and they do it because their consciences have led them to do so.  There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as they are simply doing so out of love for God and not hatred of those of work or visit such places.  What I’m saying, however, is that we must not simply lie down and allow the world to dictate the manner and degree to which we proclaim the gospel.  We must have the mindset that the apostles displayed here that says, “Do what you have to do, but I cannot help but serve my God.”  For each of us that will look different.  For each of us the visibility and extreme to which that reaches will vary.  However, we cannot allow the world to set the limit, but we must allow God to set it.  What ultimately lies at the heart of the matter is that we recognize that civil power does play a role in our society, a role that God established.  However, we must always remember and keep reminding others around us that we are first and foremost a people of God, and not a people of a particular country, state, or city.  With that being the case, our first and primary allegiance is to God and the faithful fulfilling of His will.  Let not your voice be silenced by the world around you, but let the world around you hear God speaking through your voice.  Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Acts 4:1-12 "You Will Be Persecuted"

                Being a Christian isn’t an easy thing; at least it’s not supposed to be.  Jesus, during his earthly ministry, said to his disciples during what is commonly referred to as his Olivet Discourse, “Be on your guard.  For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them.  And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations.  And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given to you in that hour for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 13:9-11)  You see, Jesus promised persecution.  He promised that there would be hardships along the way for Christians.  The book of Hebrews is filled with words of encouragement for Christian converts who were being tempted to denounce Christ as the Messiah because of the persecution that they were under from the members of their former faith, the Jews.  There’s not one of us in here who hasn’t spoken a phrase that went something along the lines of “if I wasn’t a Christian and called to such a standard, life would be easier.”  Maybe your statement hasn’t been to that extreme, but we’ve all said something along those lines.  We see all the time in our world today that Christianity is under attack, that Christians are under attack.  Now, I don’t want to turn this into some political sermon or rallying cry, but it’s no secret that much of our popular culture today has no regard for (and in some cases hatred of) the Christian faith.

                As we look at the first few verses of our text, we’re told that as Peter and John are speaking, they are not gaining fans amongst the leaders in Jerusalem.  We’re told that the “priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees…were greatly annoyed.”  In total, there are 11 different groups or individuals who are in opposition to the teachings of the apostles that are listed here.  Now, some discussion about what they were teaching needs to be had in order to gain a fuller picture of what was happening.  We’re told that the apostles “were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.”  Now, there are two reasons why this teaching upset the rulers in Jerusalem.  First, they were teaching without the proper education or credentials.  This was the initial complaint that they had with Jesus’ teaching as well.  The rulers had already had to deal with the issues caused by Jesus’ teaching the people, and now that he’s gone they’re thinking that they can move on, but here come these apostles; equally as unqualified, at least in their eyes.  The second reason why the apostles’ teachings upset the rulers in Jerusalem was that it was about Jesus, in particular his resurrection.  The funny part is that if they had only been teaching about bodily resurrection in-and-of-itself, there were certain groups that would have been okay with that.  However, the fact that they were proclaiming Jesus’ resurrection, which verified his claims of authority and being the Son of God, was the real issue as far as the religious leaders in Jerusalem were concerned.  Add all of this to the fact that they have just grabbed the attention of many folks with the healing of the lame beggar that we looked at a few weeks ago, and the apostles are starting to develop a pretty big following.

                So, how did the rulers respond to Peter and John’s teachings?  “And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day.”  In other words, they tried to intimidate them.  They tried to scare them.  They used their power, their influence, and every other tool at their disposal to try and silence these apostles.  They tried to cause the apostles to silence themselves, but, as we will see in a minute, it didn’t work.  However, I want to ask this question of Christians today, because many of the same tactics that were used by the religious leaders of Jerusalem are still used today.  They may look a little different, but they’re very similar.  Instead of being tried in the courtyards, Christians are tried in the court of public appeal.  Instead of being thrown into prison, we are being labeled as outcasts in many areas of life (both physical and social).  Instead of our freedom being threatened, our livelihood is put in jeopardy simply by our proclaiming Christ as our Lord and Savior.  James Montgomery Boice says of this sad fact that, “if Christianity is true, it is the greatest message in the world.  Yet we are afraid to proclaim it, and the major reason is the world’s intimidation.”  Now, I could go on for hours on this one topic, but that’s not what this text is about.  If anyone cares to discuss this point further, then please feel free to come and talk with me about it anytime you would like.  However, our focus shouldn’t be on what the world tries to do to Christians, but on how we, as Christians, are to combat what the world tries to do to us. 

                As we can plainly see in Luke’s account of events, people were hearing the teachings of Peter and John and they were responding by coming to faith.  This caused the rulers to gather together and seek an answer to the question of who had given Peter and John the authority with which they were teaching.  We’re then told that Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit as he prepared to answer them.  Now, that in itself is enough.  The Holy Spirit, God, came to proclaim by what authority these men were teaching, His authority.  This is very similar to Peter’s sermon at Pentecost where the Holy Spirit filled him as well.  However, I want to go a little farther and look at exactly what Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, had to say to these religious leaders.  “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well.”  Now Peter could have stopped there if his goal was only to defend himself and John.  By what authority are you saying these things?  By the authority of Jesus Christ.  Peter also points out that the only crime that they could possibly convict him of is healing this lame man.  After all, it wasn’t the Sabbath, so there was nothing illegal about giving this man the use of his legs.

                However, Peter doesn’t just stop after defending himself and John.  Remember back a few moments ago when I read to you a quote from Jesus to his disciples about what they would face.  Yes, it promised persecution, but he also said that at the time of our defending ourselves from this persecution, that we must proclaim the gospel.  Well, Peter is proclaiming the gospel.  He’s saying in essence, “While I’ve got you here, let me tell you about this Jesus whom we have been teaching about.”  He goes on to say, “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  Now, there’s a lot there to unpack, but in these few verses, there is a summation of how we are to respond by persecution from the outside world.  Peter reminds/teaches these folks gathered around that they were guilty of rejecting Jesus and having him crucified, that Jesus rose from the dead, that despite their desire to reject him, Jesus fulfilled the will of God in becoming the cornerstone, and that Jesus is the only way to salvation.  Obviously there isn’t enough time to really get into all these points, so let me make just some general observations and comparisons for the sake of time.

                Peter’s teaching that God sent the Messiah to save them.  However, when the Messiah came they rejected him.  They didn’t just reject him by ignoring him; they sentenced him to death upon the cross.  Then, after he rose from the dead, they refused to believe that it had actually happened and sought punishment for all who believed it.  Jesus had become the very foundation, the cornerstone, the only way by which they could come to God and be saved.  I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).  Jesus was and is the only way that we may receive salvation.  However, notice that Peter is preaching that despite all that the rulers, the people, and numerous groups have done to and against Jesus, the offer of salvation is still available.   He doesn’t tell them that because of what they had done that they had once-and-for-all lost the chance at salvation.  And that’s where we find the great blessing in all of this for us today.

                We’re sinners.  We’ve turned away from the will of God.  We’re just as guilty of driving those nails through the wrists and feet of Jesus as the Roman soldiers.  We’re just as guilty of his death as any of the rulers, Pontius Pilate, the Pharisees, Sadducees, or any other group of people.  Our sin is the reason why Jesus had to come and live the life he did and die the death he did in the first place.  However, because of that life and death, we are the recipients of the salvation and redemption that Jesus accomplished.  The Holy Spirit is applying those benefits to us at this very moment, and he will continue to do so until such time as we enter into the glory that is the eavenly kingdom of God.   “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.  For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.  More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” (Romans 5:8-11 ESV).  And this is the way that we’re to deal with persecution.  We’re to face it with the assurance of Christ.  We’re to face it with the mindset not of disgust and defeat, but as an opportunity to proclaim Christ and Christ crucified.  We’re to proclaim the resurrection; the good news of the gospel, and not the bad news of this world, hatred of the one who created it.  In other words, we are to cling to and cry aloud the way, the truth, and the life, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Acts 3:1-26 "Don't Look at Me!"

                The scene that we find before us in the text today is one that we can easily imagine and have probably even observed a time or two ourselves; a man begging the public for money.  Our text opens with Peter and John going to the temple for the hour of prayer.  Now, the followers of Christ have not yet formally broken off from their Jewish heritage as of yet seeing as how they are in a transition between the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy and what comes next.  They haven’t quite reached the point of division that we find between ourselves today as Christians (who believe that the Messiah has come) and Jews (who still await his arrival).  With that being the case, they still observed the customary religious practices of the Jews; one of which was daily hours devoted to praying in the temple.  This was a practice in which at three different periods during the day, the Jews would gather in the temple for a time of prayer together.  Now, inside of the temple, it was simply a solemn time of prayer, but outside of the inner part of the temple was a free for all.  This was the part of the temple where Jesus wrecked the temple, turning over merchants’ tables.  This was the area where goods were commonly sold since there was regularly a crowd.  This was the part of the temple that looked more like a marketplace than a house of worship.  It was also the area where many people came to beg.  And it’s that part of the temple, the courtyard, where our text for today begins.

                Whenever there is a popular event in a large city, there is always a crowd.  When the Super Bowl is played in New Orleans, you can pretty much guess where the crowds are going to be.  Well, so can the beggars and thieves and everyone else who looks for a crowd to do their “work”.  As a matter of fact, that’s one of the logistical plans that host cities for Super Bowls have to present is the presence of the homeless and how they will be “managed.”  In our text, someone has placed this lame man right outside of the inner part of the temple so that he could beg for money.  After all, how could these folks go into the temple for a time of prayer and closeness with God and come out and just turn a cold shoulder to this man in need.  About 10 years ago I had the privilege of attending the general assembly of my former Presbyterian denomination in Richmond, VA as a commissioner, a big deal seeing as how you had to be elected to be sent.  It was a great event and really well run.  However, by the end of the week, it was as if the entire homeless community of Richmond was living on the steps of the convention center that we were meeting at.  Thinking quite logically, they figured that their best bet for some assistance was this group of Christians, primarily composed of pastors, that were all meeting together.  The front steps were littered with folks in need, begging for money from anyone and everyone who walked out of the convention center.

                The lame beggar in our text saw John and Peter walking up to the Beautiful Gate as it’s called.  He saw these two apostles walking up for this daily time of prayer.  He asked them for some money.  There’s no telling how many folks he had asked, or how many gave him some or walked by him.  There’s no telling how many people altered their path to the temple simply because of his presence.  However, what we find here is something I’m pretty sure he didn’t expect at all.  Peter and John do not avoid him or ignore him.  They walk right up to this man, and Peter tells him to look at them.  Then he tells him, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you.”  Now at this point, I have to think that the man was kind of put off by this response.  I know that in today’s world, when we offer to buy a beggar a meal instead of giving him money, they often aren’t as excited as if I had just given him the money, and sometimes they can become quite angry.  However, Peter isn’t just offering some comparable substitute for money here.  He goes on to say, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”  This man (with the help of Peter) rose up and stood.  He began to walk for the first time in his life.  Remember, we were told in verse 2 that this man had been lame since his birth.  It’s not like he had some type of injury that got better, this was something that he had suffered with for his entire life.

                Peter and John walked with this man into the temple.  Mind you, this was probably the first time that he had ever been in this inner part of the temple.  His physical deformity would have prohibited him from coming any farther than the place where these two apostles found him begging.  He was walking.  He was leaping.  He was literally leaping for joy and praising God who had healed him.  Notice that we’re told that he was praising God, not Peter.  That’s a point that we will see in just a few minutes that is of great emphasis.  But the people who are in the inner part of the temple saw him and recognized him.  After all, many of them had just seen him and been asked for change by him on their way into the temple.  There’s no telling how many of them had passed him by for years and are now seeing him standing, walking, jumping, and praising God.  Many folks gather around these three men (Peter, John, and the former lame beggar).  They can’t believe what they are seeing and they’re in awe.

                This is where the point about the praise being towards God and not Peter and John finds its fulfillment.  Peter, who we saw deliver the first post-Christ sermon a few weeks ago, now delivers what many call the second sermon of the early church.  He says to the people gathering around them, “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?”  He goes on to tell them that they had nothing to do with it, but that it was all a work of God; the same God of the Old Testament patriarchs of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  He then goes on to tell them that it’s the same God who glorified Jesus.  Then, Peter reminds them that they denied Jesus.  They denied God’s Son already, and now they are starting to deny God again by thinking that Peter or John has healed this man.  Peter reminds them as to what took place with Jesus.  He reminds them of what Jesus spoke and how he fulfilled the Law.  Peter points the people, many (or at least some) of whom have moved on from the whole Jesus thing by now, back to the cross. 

                Now, I could stand up here and just recite for you over and over again Peter’s words to the people in the temple at this point, and it would be a very accurate and gospel and Christ-centered message.  I would be perfectly justified in doing so, because the truth of what Peter said was dead on as to how they should respond and how we should respond today.  However, I want to just re-emphasize the notion that Peter is driving at with the people gathered there in the temple who are trying to praise he and John for this lame man’s newfound ability to walk.  It’s not about what John did.  It’s not about what Peter did.  It’s not about what the lame man did.  It’s about what God did.  It’s always about what God does, not what we do.

                Our lives, our salvation, all that we have; none of it is our own, but it’s all a gift from God.  As Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus, “For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8 ESV).  We live in a world we’re we are all praised for our effort, our determination, and our success.  Now I’m not wanting to take away from anyone’s accomplishments.  In fact, we’re getting ready to right celebrate the accomplishments of several folks during our time of fellowship together after this service of worship.  However, I do think that we must remember that when we approach any accomplishment that we are to thank God for His provision in our achievements.  No matter if it’s something as routine as graduating high school, finding the person whom God has created to complete you, or healing a lame beggar, it is the work of God and not of man.  There were any number of things that could have gone wrong or just not worked out along the way, but God’s providence was true and good and we have all been able to accomplish our goals and reach the various milestones along the way.

                Yes, the effort of man is to be admired, but the credit goes to God and God alone.  We are given so much by Him that we begin to ignore it and perceive it as something that we’ve given to ourselves.  Remember, this man was lame, broken, and begging for scraps.  Yet, God didn’t just give him a few coins; He didn’t just meet his wants and bestow upon him the minimum that he was asking for.  No, God gave this man something so far beyond what he was asking for or even thought possible.  What are the things in your life that you want to see God do?  Now I’m not trying to turn God in a genie here, so please don’t misunderstand me and think that all we have to do is ask and it will come true.  I’m simply saying that God cares for us, each of us.  And in that love and care, He wants the best for us.  When we recognize our blessings, no matter how small, we must acknowledge that they are gifts from God.  Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.