Acts 3
New Testament for Everyone
More than he bargained for
3 One day, Peter and John were going up to the Temple at three o’clock in the afternoon, the time for prayer. 2 There was a man being carried in who had been lame since birth. People used to bring him every day to the Temple gate called “Beautiful,” so that he could ask for alms from folk on their way in to the Temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John going in to the Temple, he asked them to give him some money. 4 Peter, with John, looked hard at him.
“Look at us,” he said.
5 The man stared at them, expecting to get something from them.
6 “I haven’t got any silver or gold,” Peter said, “but I’ll give you what I have got. In the name of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, get up and walk!”
7 He grabbed the man by his right hand and lifted him up. At once his feet and ankles became strong, 8 and he leaped to his feet and began to walk. He went in with them into the Temple, walking and jumping up and down and praising God. 9 All the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and they recognized him as the man who had been sitting begging for alms by the Beautiful Gate of the Temple. They were filled with amazement and astonishment at what had happened to him.
An explanation is called for
11 All the people ran together in astonishment towards Peter and John, and the man who was clinging onto them. They were in the part of the Temple known as Solomon’s Porch. 12 Peter saw them all and began to speak.
“Fellow Israelites,” he said, “why are you amazed at this? Why are you staring at us as though it was our own power or piety that made this man walk? 13 ‘The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob—the God of our ancestors’—he has glorified his child Jesus, the one you handed over and denied in the presence of Pilate, although he had decided to let him go. 14 But you denied the Holy One, the Just One, and requested instead to have a murderer given to you; 15 and so you killed the Prince of Life. But God raised him from the dead, and we are witnesses to the fact. 16 And it is his name, working through faith in his name, that has given strength to this man, whom you see and know. It is faith which comes through him that has given him this new complete wholeness in front of all of you.”
Restoration and refreshment
17 “Now, my dear family,” Peter continued, “I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did. 18 But this is how God has fulfilled what he promised through the mouth of all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. 19 So now repent, and turn back, so that your sins may be blotted out, 20 so that times of refreshment may come from the presence of the Lord, and so that he will send you Jesus, the one he chose and appointed to be his Messiah. 21 He must be received in heaven, you see, until the time which God spoke about through the mouth of his holy prophets from ancient days, the time when God will restore all things. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me, one from among your own brothers; whatever he says to you, you must pay attention to him. 23 And everyone who does not listen to that prophet will be cut off from the people.’ 24 All the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors, told us about these days too. 25 You are the children of the prophets, the children of the covenant which God established with your ancestors when he said to Abraham, ‘In your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ 26 When God raised up his servant he sent him to you first, to bless you by turning each of you away from your wicked deeds.”
Acts 3
Amplified Bible
Healing the Lame Beggar
3 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.), 2 and a man who had been unable to walk from birth was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at that gate of the temple which is called [a]Beautiful, so that he could beg alms from those entering the temple. 3 So when he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking [them] for coins. 4 But Peter, along with John, stared at him intently and said, “Look at us!” 5 And the man began to pay attention to them, eagerly expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have; but what I do have I give to you: In the name (authority, power) of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—[begin now to] walk and go on walking!” 7 Then he seized the man’s right hand with a firm grip and raised him up. And at once his feet and ankles became strong and steady, 8 and with a leap he stood up and began to walk; and he went into the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 All the people saw him walking and praising God; 10 and they recognized him as the very man who usually sat begging for coins at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder and amazement and were mystified at what had happened to him.
Peter’s Second Sermon
11 Now while he was still holding on to Peter and John, all the people, utterly amazed, ran together and crowded around them at the covered porch called Solomon’s portico. 12 And Peter, seeing this, said to the people, “You men of Israel, why are you amazed at this? Why are you staring at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His Servant and Son Jesus [doing Him this honor], the One whom you handed over and disowned and rejected before Pilate, when he had decided to release Him.(A) 14 But you disowned and denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for [the pardon of] a murderer to be granted to you. 15 But you killed the Prince (Author, Originator, Source) of life, whom God raised [bodily] from the dead. To this [fact] we are witnesses [for we have seen the risen Christ]. 16 And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health and complete wholeness in your presence.
17 “Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance [not fully aware of what you were doing], just as your rulers did also. 18 And so God has fulfilled what He foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ (Messiah, Anointed) would suffer. 19 So repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins] and return [to God—seek His purpose for your life], so that your sins may be wiped away [blotted out, completely erased], so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord [restoring you like a cool wind on a hot day]; 20 and that He may send [to you] Jesus, the Christ, who has been appointed for you, 21 whom heaven must keep until the time for the [complete] restoration of all things about which God promised through the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a Prophet [b]like me from your countrymen; you shall listen to Him and obey everything He tells you. 23 And it will be that every person that does not listen to and heed that Prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people.’(B) 24 Indeed, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also announced these days. 25 You are the sons (descendants) of the prophets and [heirs] of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed (descendant) all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’(C) 26 It was for you first of all that God raised up His Servant and Son [Jesus], and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”(D)
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
