David Bahn – Reflections

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Acts 3:1-10

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. ² And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. ³ Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. ⁴ And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” ⁵ And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. ⁶ But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” ⁷ And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. ⁸ And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. ⁹ And all the people saw him walking and praising God, ¹⁰ and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

“Anyone want to see the Lord grow a leg?” I was sitting in a chair, in front of the classroom, my feet out in front of me, held by the professor in my Doctor of Ministry class. We were in southern California, at Fuller Theological Seminary. I couldn’t exempt myself from the invitation. My leg was about to be lengthened. “In the name of Jesus, I command this leg to grow,” he said. I felt a strange sensation in my right thigh and saw that leg move, growing about  ½ inch. I don’t really understand what happened. It really didn’t have the impact I had hoped for. I still had to have my hip replaced a few years later. But something did happen.

That’s not what happened when Peter and John encountered the crippled man at the temple that day 2000 years ago. The man was begging for money. His plight was so severe that he needed all the money he could get from begging. But Peter and John have something far better than the money that would get him through the day. He will receive the gift of healing. He will be given strong legs to walk – strong enough that he is walking and leaping as he praises God.

Peter and John bring the message of the kingdom and the evidence of the Kingdom to these people. For this miracle is not only for the lame man, it is for all to see what it looks like when Jesus reigns and rules in the world. It is a foretaste of the perfect and complete healing to come. It is evidence of the salvation that Jesus has won for us. For in the end we will be perfectly restored. There will be no more sin. No more sickness or disease of any kind will intrude. Jesus will be perfectly worshiped, honored, and praised. 

We get glimpses of this even today. A dear friend was facing a grave prognosis in her battle against cancer. Her church and friends were praying for her. When she went back to the doctor, the tumors had vanished. She credited God for that healing. But it may not always go this way. Another good friend is battling cancer. People across the country are praying for him. It appears that he may experience healing in the life of the world to come.

God will heal all who believe in him. He may do it miraculously – like he did with this lame man. He may do it medically: it is no less God’s doing whether it’s through means or immediately. Or he may heal us mercifully, taking us from this veil of tears to the glory of heaven. But in this case the healing was miraculous and the result is the same in any case of God’s intervening. People rejoice. God is praised. God’s gracious work in our lives is always a cause for praise and joy!