“HANGING ON” – Acts 3:(1-10)11-21
APRIL 13 & 14, 2024 ASCENSION LUTHERAN, LITTLETON, CO
REV. KELLY CRABBE
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, amen.
Our appointed text in Acts for this day begins right in the middle of an encounter between a lame man and two of Jesus’ apostles, Peter and John. So I feel compelled to put our text into context by looking at what just happened in verses 1-10. We see Peter and John are on their way to the Temple for the final appointed prayer time of the day. If you were a Jew living near the Temple in Jerusalem, you would go to the Temple to pray three times each day — at 9 am, at Noon, and at 3 pm, following the example of King David and the prophet Daniel who did exactly that themselves (Psalm 55:17 & Daniel 6:10). Along with so many others going to the Temple at that time was a man who was going there for a different reason. He was being carried there by others not for prayer, but to beg for people’s money as they were about to enter the Temple. This man had been lame since birth and this was how he survived. Every day was the same. He was carried to the Temple, he’d beg during the hour of prayer, then he was carried back home until the next hour of prayer. That was his life for his 40 plus years on this earth. But for the first time this day would be different. As Peter and John came to what was called the Beautiful Gate that led into the Temple courts, they stopped and looked directly at the man and said, “Look at us.” It’s easy to imagine this man just sat there with his hand out, not really paying attention to anyone in particular, just hoping a coin would be dropped into his bowl or pressed into his palm. But that was about to change in a very big way. He looked up at Peter and John expecting to get some of their money, but instead he was told, “I have no silver or gold, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, stand up and walk!”
God made the man’s ankles and feet become strong, instantly, and for the first time in his life he stood up and he began to walk around. For more than 40 years (Acts 4:22) he had only been able to move from place to place when others agreed to carry him. But now, freedom, like he had never known. And what did he do with that freedom? Maybe he had always wanted to go see the countryside, or go visit a friend, or maybe ask a woman he had admired out for a date, or go to a restaurant and have a meal. So what did he choose to do with his freedom? He followed Peter and John into the Temple, walking and leaping and praising God! Many people saw him and knew this was the guy they had seen for decades laying at the entrance of the Temple begging. But now he was walking? Now he was jumping? How could this be? And that brings us to our text for today. In verse 11 it says, “The man was hanging on to Peter and John.” The Greek word is KRATEO and it means he was literally, physically hanging on to them. He didn’t want to let them go, so he didn’t! Maybe it was because Peter had taken his hand and helped lift him up so he figured Peter had the power and he needed to cling to him and that power. Or maybe he was so overwhelmed with thankfulness he just didn’t want to let him go. Or maybe he thought this healing would wear off and he would fall. The people were so amazed at what they saw they were all staring at Peter and John and wondering. So Peter used this special moment to help lift up not just this man, but all the people who were there. In verses 12-21 Peter directed their attention away from himself and John to God and to God’s plan of Salvation. He asked, “Why are you so amazed? Why do you stare at us as if we had made this man walk by our own power or piety?” How many miraculous healings have you witnessed in your life? I’ve witnessed a few, but I’ve never seen someone who couldn’t walk at all for over 40 years and then the next minute they could walk and jump into the air. Do you think that would get your attention? Peter wanted them to know it was not his power or holiness that healed this man. But, he said, let me tell you whose power and holiness it is that gave this formerly lame man this miracle.
Who was Peter speaking to? He was talking to the people of Israel, which makes sense since they were in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem at an appointed time of prayer. So he begins by referring to the God they had all come to pray to, the One who did this healing, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God of their forefathers. Peter was telling them it’s the same God we have always known and worshipped, He did it, He performed the miracle. It’s the God you handed over to the Romans, to Pontius Pilate. It’s the God you rejected even when Pilate wanted to release Him, but you demanded that He be executed. You asked that a man you knew was a murderer be released instead. You insisted that the One who made all of life have His life ended. But He didn’t stay dead. The Author of life was raised to life again and we know this is true because we saw Him with our own eyes, alive, after you had Him crucified. We saw the holes still in His hands and feet. And yeah, we were amazed to see Him. It changed us. He changed us. You’ve seen this miracle of this man who has been lame since birth, who has been begging all these years here at the Temple. You’ve seen him restored to health, receiving the ability to walk for the first time in his life. We want you to receive something too. We want you to have the same transformation that was given to us, so please know that it was by the name of the One you wanted to get rid of, in the name of Jesus, by the power of Jesus this man is now walking around. We understand that you acted in ignorance when you had Him killed. You thought you were doing the right thing because you didn’t know who He really is. But now it’s your time to know. Jesus gave us faith to know Him and to believe in Him, and this miracle was done not just so you could see a spectacle, but so you could have your whole life changed too. This is your time. In a time long ago, prophets of our Lord were moved by God to write down things that would later be. They wrote things down that we can still read today, like in Isaiah 53 where it says, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Are you hearing this, Peter asked the onlookers? This is describing what happened to Jesus. This is a description of His crucifixion. He was pierced for our transgressions. Crucifixion wasn’t even invented when this was written more than 700 years ago by Isaiah. But God knows everything. There’s more. Still reading in Isaiah 53, “And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.” Sound familiar, Peter asked? Jesus was executed with men who were wicked, and He was buried in a rich man’s tomb. I could go on with so many other prophecies, but it’s time for you to repent and to receive what God wants you to have — forgiveness and eternal salvation.
Peter had their attention, so he kept talking. This man’s feet and legs were restored by Jesus. And He wants to restore you too, all of you. He wants to give you a new beginning. Do you want it? Do you want Him?
We should ask ourselves the same question. Do we need healing from Jesus? Do we need forgiveness for our souls and minds? Yes, we do! Please bow your head with me right now. Lord Jesus, thank You for Your perfect healing according to Your grace. You were born into this world so that for my sins You could die. Thank You for being in my life and in my heart. I know You have healed me, and it makes me want to leap like a deer in my spirit, and I just want to hang on to You forever. Thank You, Lord, for hanging on to me, and for Your amazing love that made You choose to hang on a cross to pay for my sins. I love You! In Your name I pray, amen.
And may the peace which passes all understanding keep your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior, amen.
