Silver and gold have I none

Acts Chapter 3: A Notable Miracle

Verse 1: “Peter and John,” an oft-found combination, going back even to their days in the fishing business together (Luke 5:10; 8:51; 9:28; 22:8; Acts 4:13ff; 8:14ff). The early church used the temple area as a place of meeting and prayer (cf. 2:46; 5:20).  “the ninth hour” – 3 p.m., the hour of the evening sacrifice  (Jos. Ant. xiv. 4, § 3) (cf. Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44; Acts 10:3, 30; see also Daniel 6:10; Psalm 55:17).

Verse 2: Who: “a certain man lame...whom;” When: “they laid daily;” Where: “at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful;” Why: “to ask alms.” Luke points to the length of the lame man’s suffering (as he tends to do elsewhere, Cf. Luke 2:36; 8:43; 13:11) – from birth. He had been in his condition over forty years (cf. Acts 4:22). A main thoroughfare for devout worshippers might be an advantageous place to beg for alms (cf. John 8:59-9:1). The man had always been unable to walk on his own and had to be carried. His lifelong condition and his daily presence at the gate combined to make this man’s healing a notable and indisputable miracle – see verse 10, “they knew that it was he.” 

“at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful” (cf. v. 10). It is reasonable to assume that this entrance acquired an informal name because of its beauty and workmanship. It likely was on the eastern side of the outer court of the temple, near Solomon’s Porch (v. 11; Cf. Matthew 21:12; Revelation 11:2).

“a certain man” The word “certain” (τις/τινα/τινας, a certain one or thing) occurs about 55 times in the book of Acts. Certain means fixed, settled, dependable, unfailing (from Latin certus ‘settled, sure’).  “The dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure” (Daniel 2:45). As an adjective certain may be attributive (modifying a noun and part of a noun phrase) usually meaning someone or something specific but not explicitly named or stated, particular. It may be used as a noun, as in Acts 17:5, “as certain also of your own poets have said.” [For a study of the word “certain” in Acts, see “The Word ‘Certain’ in the Book of Acts,” C. C. Morris, The Remnant, Sept-Oct 2004 (pp. 15-18), Nov-Dec 2004 (pp. 14-18) and Jan-Feb 2005 (pp. 6-14).]

Verses 3-5: “seeing Peter and John” The lame man sees the two apostles and asks alms. “Look on us” They direct his attention to them with expectation. What he expects he will not receive. What he receives he does not expect. It will be “exceeding abundantly above all” that he could “ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).

Verse 6: “Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee” (cf. Matthew 8:20). The lame man’s friends could carry him and place him at an opportune location. Any kind worshippers could give him alms. “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” Only the name (power, authority) of Jesus Christ of Nazareth could make him “rise up and walk.”

Verses 7-8: At the moment that Peter takes him by the hand and begins to lift him up, the lame man’s feet and ankle bones become strong (cf. Acts 2:43). He not only gets up – he leaps up! He can stand; he can walk. Excitedly he goes with them into the temple, “walking, and leaping, and praising God.”

Verses 9-10: “people saw him…they knew that it was he” The lame man is a person well known to those who regularly travel this pathway. His newfound strength and vocal praise of God gains the attention of their eyes and ears. There is no doubt who he is. He is the lame man who begged for alms daily at the Beautiful gate. The people are amazed. The sight is unbelievably believable. They wonder what happened to him. They do not doubt what has happened; they do not know how it happened.

The healing of the lame man provides a precise picture of the sinner separated from God. He was lame (Luke 5:31; I Peter 2:24), from birth (Psalm 51:5; Romans 3:23), helpless (Isaiah 63:5; Ephesians 2:12), and a beggar outside the gate (Hebrews 13:12). His friends and acquaintances – like religion – could not cure his condition. They could only carry him around and give him alms. His only help and hope resided in the power of the name above all names, the name of Jesus!