Acts3

Peter and John, going to the temple, encounter a man lame from birth begging at the Beautiful Gate. Peter, having no silver or gold, commands the man to rise and walk in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and he is instantly healed, leaping and praising God. Peter then addresses the astonished crowd, attributing the miracle to the glorified Jesus, whom they had denied and crucified, and calls them to repentance and conversion.

The Healing of the Lame Man

1
One afternoon at three o’clock, the hour of minchah prayers, as Kefa and Yochanan were going up to the Temple, ​
2
a man crippled since birth was being carried in. Every day people used to put him at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, so that he could beg from those going into the Temple court.
3
When he saw Kefa and Yochanan about to enter, he asked them for some money.
4
But they stared straight at him; and Kefa said, “Look at us!”
5
The crippled man fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.
6
Kefa said, “I don’t have silver, and I don’t have gold, but what I do have I give to you: in the name of the Messiah, Yeshua of Natzeret, walk!” ​
7
And taking hold of him by his right hand, Kefa pulled him up. Instantly his feet and ankles became strong;
8
so that he sprang up, stood a moment, and began walking. Then he entered the Temple court with them, walking and leaping and praising God!
9
Everyone saw him walking and praising God.
10
They recognized him as the same man who had formerly sat begging at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, and they were utterly amazed and confounded at what had happened to him.
11
While he clung to Kefa and Yochanan, all the people came running in astonishment toward them in Shlomo’s Colonnade.

Peter Preaches in Solomon's Portico

12
Seeing this, Kefa addressed the people: “Men of Isra’el! Why are you amazed at this? Or why do you stare at us as if we had made this man walk through some power or godliness of our own? ​
13
The God of Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Yeshua — the same Yeshua you handed over and disowned before Pilate, even after he had decided to release him. ​
14
You denied the holy and innocent one, and instead asked for the reprieve of a murderer!
15
You killed the author of life! “But God has raised him from the dead! Of this we are witnesses. ​
16
And it is through putting trust in his name that his name has given strength to this man whom you see and know. Yes, it is the trust that comes through Yeshua which has given him this perfect healing in the presence of you all.

Call to Repentance and Restoration

17
“Now, brothers, I know that you did not understand the significance of what you were doing; neither did your leaders. ​
18
But this is how God fulfilled what he had announced in advance, when he spoke through all the prophets, namely, that his Messiah was to die.
19
“Therefore, repent and turn to God, so that your sins may be erased; ​
20
so that times of refreshing may come from the Lord’s presence; and he may send the Messiah appointed in advance for you, that is, Yeshua.
21
He has to remain in heaven until the time comes for restoring everything, as God said long ago, when he spoke through the holy prophets. ​

Jesus the Fulfillment of Prophecy

22
For Moshe himself said, ‘Adonai will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You are to listen to everything he tells you. ​
23
Everyone who fails to listen to that prophet will be removed from the people and destroyed.’
24
Indeed, all the prophets announced these days, starting with Sh’mu’el and continuing through all who followed.
25
“You are the sons of the prophets; and you are included in the covenant which God made with our fathers when he said to Avraham, ‘By your seed will all the families of the earth be blessed.’ ​
26
So it is to you first that God has sent his servant whom he has raised up, so that he might bless you by turning each one of you from your evil ways.” ​

Study Notes for Acts 3

Verse 1

The 'ninth hour' (3:00 PM) was the time of the evening sacrifice and one of the prescribed public prayer times, signifying that the apostles continued to participate in traditional Jewish Temple life.

Verse 6

Peter explicitly states the source of the miracle is not his own resources or power, but the authoritative 'Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.' This miracle publicly validates the apostles' message.

Verse 12

Peter immediately deflects the crowd's attention away from himself and John, ensuring that the focus remains solely on the power of the resurrected Jesus, not on the apostles' personal merit.

Verse 13

Peter uses the traditional covenant name for God, emphasizing continuity with Jewish history, while simultaneously accusing the crowd of rejecting the one whom the God of their fathers had ‘glorified’ through resurrection.

Verse 15

The title 'Prince of life' (or Author of Life) contrasts sharply with the crowd’s actions (killing the source of life) and asserts Jesus' divine pre-eminence and essential role in salvation.

Verse 17

Peter softens his accusation by acknowledging that their rejection of Jesus was done in 'ignorance.' This provides a pathway for the audience to repent, suggesting their sin was due to a lack of understanding.

Verse 19

Repentance (a change of mind) and conversion (turning around) lead to the 'times of refreshing,' referring to the spiritual blessings and renewal associated with the arrival of the messianic age.

Verse 21

The 'times of restitution of all things' refers to the eschatological restoration of creation and the full establishment of God’s kingdom on earth, which must precede Jesus’ final return from heaven.

Verse 22

Peter quotes Deuteronomy 18:15, 18, demonstrating that Jesus fulfills the foundational prophetic expectation within Judaism: the raising up of a new prophet like Moses, who must be obeyed.

Verse 25

Peter reminds the Jewish audience of their unique status as recipients of the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 12:3), which promised that through Abraham's 'seed' (Christ), all the world would be blessed.

Verse 26

God’s intention was to offer salvation 'Unto you first' (Israel), emphasizing that the messianic blessing involves moral transformation and deliverance from sin, not merely political liberation.

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