Signs and Wonders (Acts 3:1-16)

 Sermon for Milledgeville & Centenary UMC...

Signs and Wonders (Acts 3:1-16)

 

A guy in a wheelchair entered a restaurant and asked for a cup of coffee. The guy saw Jesus sitting nearby, so he told the waitress, "Give Jesus a cup of coffee on me.”

The next patron to come in had a hunched back. He shuffled over to a booth, painfully sat down, and asked the waitress for a cup of hot tea. He saw Jesus sitting there and he too decided to treat Jesus.

A guy on crutches entered the restaurant. He hobbled over to the bar, sat down and hollered, "Hey there, honey! Get me a cold beer! He looked around and asked, "Is that God's Son over there?" The waitress confirmed, so the man directed her to give Jesus a cold glass of beer. "On my bill," he said.

As Jesus got up to leave, he passed by the man in a wheelchair, and the man with the hunched back and touched them saying "For your kindness, you are healed." They both praised God and danced out onto the street.  

 

Jesus walked towards the man on crutches, The man quickly jumped up, and yelled, "Don't touch me! I'm collecting disability!!!

 

Peter and John are going to the temple at the time of evening prayer, the ninth hour, which is around 3pm. [Slide] The Jews keep a discipline of prayer three times a day as a community. Those in Jerusalem gathered at the temple courts for that very purpose. The rabbis taught that the morning prayer was started by Abraham, the midday by Isaac and the evening prayer by Jacob. At the time of the evening prayer, at 3pm, began the last sacrifices of the day.

 

Jesus’ crucifixion follows the morning, noon and evening prayer schedule. He was nailed to the cross at the 3^rd hour or 9am. The sky grew dark at noon when midday prayer was offered. He breathed his last around 3pm, the time of the last temple sacrifice of the day.

 

Jesus’ death on the cross is the ultimate sacrifice for sin. The author of Hebrews tells us, [Slide]

 

Christ offered for all time one sacrifice for sins… by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy… sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary. (Hebrews 10:12-13, 18)

 

The crucifixion of Jesus is the last sacrifice. His death atones for all sin once and for all. We are washed clean by faith in this saving act of God. The death of Jesus means life for us all. We are freed of guilt and of sin’s power to corrupt as we live by the greater power of God’s grace.

 

The lame beggar was seated at the gate called Beautiful. [Slide] Scholars do not agree where this gate is located because there is no extrabiblical evidence that anyone ever knew about a gate entering the temple courts called Beautiful. Only Luke says there was a Beautiful Gate. I think the gate was on the south entrance to the temple where pilgrims made a ½ mile climb from the Pool of Siloam and entered beyond the royal portico. That’s where most of the traffic could be encountered. [Slide] The Greek meaning is telling. The word translated as beautiful is horaios, which means ripe, mature, the right time, the bloom and vigor of life.

 

[Slide] But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son… (Galatians 4:4)

 

The time was ripe. The kingdom of God that Jesus preached has come in full bloom and some of the first fruits of that kingdom are now being witnessed in the healing of this man at the Beautiful Gate.

 

 

[Slide] Peter sees the lame beggar sitting at the entrance to the temple courts with his hand out seeking alms. Peter tells him, “Look at us.” He’s saying to the man, “See us and understand we are poor like you.” But more importantly, Peter wants the man to look deeper. For in Peter’s gaze is the divine light of Jesus. Peter says, “I don’t have money to give you, but what I do have I give you…”

 

[Slide] Peter offered the man his right hand. The right hand has meaning in Jewish culture. The right hand was an offer of friendship. In this case Peter is offering friendship with God to this lame man. The right hand symbolizes honor. Jesus is seated in glory at the right hand of God Almighty, the favored one! God showed divine favor to us all by giving His Son Jesus. Now this lame beggar is honored by a healing miracle. The right hand signifies strength. Most people are right-handed. They use the right hand for work, writing, and swinging a sword in battle. The lame man received strength when Jesus healed Him through Peter’s right hand.

 

Peter takes the lame man by his right hand and says, [Slide] “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” 

 

“In the name of Jesus” means the divine authority of Jesus. The man was instantly healed. His feet and ankles were made strong! [Slide] He leapt up and began jumping about praising God. Peter and John moved on into the temple. The man held onto them like a child hangs onto a parent. His joy, his exuberance, his praise for the Lord who healed him, was evident to all. The crowd recognized him as the lame man who begged every day at the gate. Because he was lame, he wasn’t allowed inside the temple courts. Now, there he was walking and leaping and praising the God of Israel. They were dumbstruck. Their minds were blown!

 

[Slide] The evening prayer is called mincah, which means offering, but it can also mean gift. What a gift this man received. He was made whole again through the power of God. Part of the mincah liturgy includes praying Psalm 145. [Slide] Here is a sampling.

Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;
    his greatness is unsearchable.

The Lord upholds all who are falling
    and raises up all who are bowed down.

You open your hand,
    satisfying the desire of every living thing.

The Lord is near to all who call on him,

He fulfills the desire of all who fear him (Psalm 145:3, 14, 16, 18, 19)

 

A crowd gathered around Peter and John and the healed man. They were making a scene. [Slide] They gathered at Solomon’s Portico, a popular place for teaching in the temple courts. It had high columns and a roof. It’s Solomon’s Portico because this is where the king made judgments for Israel. Jesus taught in this spot east of the temple. He pronounced judgment against the religious leaders who opposed Him.

 

[Slide] Peter judged the crowd. “The God of our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, glorified Jesus who you handed over to the authorities.” “You rejected Jesus. You chose a murderer when Pilate offered to release Jesus. You killed the author of life!”

 

[Slide] By faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you. (Acts 3:16)

 

Peter asserts authority. God raised Jesus from the dead! By the authority of the name of Jesus this man was made whole. “We are witnesses.” Then Peter’s tone shifts from judgment to invitation.

 

[Slide] “I know you acted in ignorance. God acted to fulfill the scriptures. Repent. Turn away from sin. Heed the Messiah who reigns on high and who will come again at the restoration of all things.” 

                                                                                    

 

 

[Slide] The scene caused the priests to arrest Peter and John. They were preaching Jesus and laying the blame on them. But they couldn’t do anything because of their fear of the crowd who witnessed the miracle and were praising God. They put them in jail overnight and in the morning charged them not to preach in the name of Jesus. Peter told them, “Decide for yourself which is right, whether we listen to you or God. We cannot stop proclaiming what we have seen and know to be the truth.”

 

The story continues in Acts 4-5. [Slide] The church joined in prayer.

 

“…grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” (Acts 4:29-30)

 

The whole place shook. Church history is filled with Christians who shook the slumbering world, who shake up the lethargic church. They keep preaching Jesus boldly. More and more people joined the church. The priests arrested them again and had them beaten. Bruised and sore from the beating, they praised God that they were considered worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus.

 

[Slide] Signs and wonders accompany the Spirit-empowered ministry of the Church. I met a man this week who shared how he’d been part of the Jesus movement back in the early 1970s. [Slide] If you’ve not seen the film Jesus Revolution, I highly recommend it. It tells the story of Greg Laurie and how he became a leader in the Jesus movement among young people in southern California. Over 8000 people came to Jesus and were baptized in the Pacific Ocean at Pirates Cove Beach. The Jesus Movement spread across America. People were coming to Christ in droves. It made national news.

 

Bill Brannon told me how he came to Christ in Florida. He witnessed healings, lives completely transformed, signs and wonders, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

[Slide] The Holy Spirit is here with us now. As we sing our closing hymn, I want to invite anyone in need of prayer to come to the altar. We will pray for you in powerful name of Jesus. May the Holy Spirit make this a sacred moment. May the Lord shake our lives and make us new as His witnesses.

 

By faith in his name!!!