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!

Doctors got it wrong...

...aren't God; shouldn't try to play God.

Amish girl who fled United States to escape forced chemotherapy is now cancer-free -- "Some might call it a “miracle,” but alternative and holistic medicine healers aren’t really surprised to learn that a 12-year old Amish girl is now cancer-free — after her doctors testified in court just six months ago that she would be dead by now if her family were permitted to refuse her chemotherapy."

Bartimaeus, or Mercy, O thou Son of David

By John Newton, in Olney Hymns (London: W. Oliver, 1779), Hymn 95.

8s.7s. Bartimaeus. Mark 10:47-48
1 "Mercy, O thou Son of David!"
Thus blind Bartimeus prayed;
Others by thy word are saved,
Now to me afford thine aid:
Many for his crying chide him,
But he called the louder still;
Till the gracious Saviour bid him,
"Come, and ask me what you will."

2 Money was not what he wanted,
Though by begging used to live;
But he asked, and Jesus granted,
Alms, which only he could give:
"Lord remove this grievous blindness,
Let my eyes behold the day."
Straight he saw, and won by kindness,
Followed Jesus in the way.

3 O! methinks I hear him praising,
Publishing to all around;
"Friends is not my case amazing?
What a Savior I have found:
O! that all the blind but knew him,
And would be advised by me!
Surely would they hasten to him,
He would cause them all to see."

The Hartford Selection of Hymns (1799) presents the hymn in four line stanzas with this added as the seventh stanza:
7 "Now I freely leave my garment,
Follow Jesus in the way,
He will guide me by his counsel,
Bring me to eternal day."

Hymns and Spiritual Songs (1800) also adds the seventh stanza, with this as the eighth stanza:
8 There I shall behold my Saviour,
Spotless, innocent and pure;
There with him to reign forever
If I to the end endure.

The Camp-Meeting Chorister (1830) offers a slight variation in its Hymn 61:
4 "Now I freely leave my garments,
Follow Jesus in the way;
He will guide me by his counsel;
Lead me to eternal day:
There I shall behold my Saviour,
Spotless, innocent, and pure;
And with him shall reign forever,
If I to the end endure."

These two additional stanzas are not in John Newton's Olney Hymns, but can be found circa 1800. The last line -- If I to the end endure -- appears to present theology contrary to Newton's, which Benjamin Lloyd changes in his Hymn 147 (Primitive Hymns):
4 "Now I gladly leave my garments
Follow Jesus in the way;
He'll direct me by his counsel,
Bring me to eternal day:
There I shall behold my Saviour,
Spotless, innocent, and pure;
There with him to reign forever
For his promises are sure."

The long and short of a twelve year span

Twelve years can be a long, long time – or a brief period – according to its events and our perspective. Mark 5:21-43 tells the story of two women who shared the same twelve years of time (verses 25 and 42). The first had an ongoing health struggle that had endured twelve years. In that time she sought healing and pinned her hopes on many physicians – physicians whose “cures” were painful in themselves and that drained her of her last penny and her last ounce of earthly hope. For all this she was not any better, but instead grew worse. For her twelve years was a long, long time in which she had suffered greatly. The second was a young girl whose entire life span was only equal to the twelve years of suffering the first had encountered, and now she was dying.

Life is busy and distracting. As these two women suffered, life bustled around them. Jesus had taught great multitudes, removed himself from them, calmed a storm at sea, cast demons from a maniac, and then returned across the sea to be thronged by a great multitude of people. Among this throng came Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, with an urgent request. His twelve year old daughter was at the point of death, and Jesus seemed his only hope. Jesus accepted his request and headed to help the girl, with a jostling multitude tagging along. Among this crowd was the distressed woman who had been sick as long as Jairus’s daughter had been alive. Out of money and out of options, she thought if she could just even touch the hem of the garment of this marvelous worker of miracles she could be healed. And she was!

Then the procession to Jairus’s house stopped. Perhaps Jairus’s heart stopped also. Jesus – knowing who touched him – asked who touched him. The distraught disciples were disturbed by the question. Everybody is touching you and you ask who is touching you?? But Jesus laid his eyes on the one who touched him and she came forward, fell down before him and told her whole story. Jesus her faith, blessed her departure and assured her the permanence of her healing. While he was speaking this a dreaded report was delivered from the household of Jairus: “Thy daughter is dead.” All was stopped, all was still, all was sad for this man whose hopes had run so high. Now, now, nothing. Trouble the Master no further. Hope has fled.

The Bard of Ayrshire Robert Burns warned us “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain, for promis’d joy!” Plan and scheme as we might, sickness and death are perennial and unavoidable. Despite the first woman’s plans and all the doctors’ assistance, she could not get any better. Sickness is an ubiquitous imprint of a fallen world. There is no life without it. Some may be sick more and some sick less, but all will be sick, and some, like Elisha, will “fall sick of the sickness whereof they die” – for death is unavoidable and there in no discharge from that war. Jairus had grand designs of meeting with the Master of disease and death before his daughter could die, but his plans went awry as well. It is easy to expect that he was envious of the cure of the one Jesus called “Daughter,” which delayed the Lord’s arrival at his own home to heal his own daughter.

Delay and frustration are inevitable and patience is a virtue. We will not eliminate the former, so must “let patience have her perfect work.” In our society we become more and more accustomed to instant gratification – getting what we want when we want it. The first daughter wanted healing twelve years before she got it. The fearful father wanted Jesus to get to his home quickly to heal his daughter. Mary and Martha wanted Jesus to come to Lazarus as quickly as possible, but when he arrived four days late he was right on time! None got what they wanted, but in the end they received “exceeding abundantly above all that they could ask or think.” Though Jairus hoped for healing for his beloved twelve year old, he received resurrection instead. Jesus walked into the room of despair and rebuked it, spoke the word and the little one revived. Glory!

“Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy (James 5:11).” Though our schemes and plans, hopes and dreams “gang aft agley,” it is not true that there is nought but grief and pain for promised joy! Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning! Where Christ is there is hope. The doctors could not help, and even hurt, the first “daughter” – and apparently had done little to help the second. But the Great Physician now is near, “lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone.”

When we think of twelve years of continual worsening sickness, we perceive such a long, long time of one dreary day dragging on after another, without help and without hope. When we think of a child dying at age twelve, we perceive such an unusually brief life, one taken in a moment, as we say, “before her time.” And yet it was the same time, the same twelve years. Into each of those twelve years walked the Master of the Storm, the Wearer of the efficacious garment, the Voice that says, “Arise.” Life is busy, distracting, and full of pain and woe. Sickness and death are perennial and unavoidable, delay and frustration are inevitable. Patience – waiting on the Lord – is a virtue. Know this. Where Christ is there is hope. Wait on the Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope; touch the hem of his garment – Christ in you, the hope of glory – and hear him say to that which rages within us, “Peace, be still and to our death “Live, Arise.”

The Great Physician now is near,

The sympathizing Jesus;

He speaks the drooping heart to cheer,

Oh, hear the voice of Jesus!

Sweetest note in seraph song;

Sweetest name on mortal tongue;

Sweetest carol ever sung:

Jesus, blessed Jesus!

Praying for the Sick

"Did you ever complain because your pastor did not visit you when you were sick? Well, did you ask him to come? We have never known a preacher worthy of the name who did not visit those in sickness when they requested his presence. But we have never found authorization for the modern idea that the pastor is supposed to find out who is sick in order to visit them. It is not his job to read the hospital admissions in the paper, or hear them over the radio in order to know who is sick, yet we have known preachers who were blamed for not visiting sick members because “it was in the paper—he should have known about it.” The responsibility (if it can be called such) rests on the individual who is sick, or a member of his family, should he be too sick to seek assistance. What saith the Scriptures? “Is there any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him” (Jas. 5:14)." -- Banner Herald (as reprinted in The Baptist Waymark, Vol. III No. 2, March-April 1995, p. 3)

5 thoughts on healing

Psalm 103:3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

God is sovereign. He heals. He doesn't heal. When He heals, He heals anyway He chooses. God cannot be fit into someone's theological healing box.

God heals by "means,"* using doctors and medicine. 
At times doctors and/or medicine do not heal. Anytime doctors and/or medicine heals someone, it is God healing. Notice the following texts.
Matthew 9:12 But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
Jeremiah 8:22 Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
Isaiah 38:21 For Isaiah had said, Let them take a lump of figs, and lay it for a plaister upon the boil, and he shall recover.
1 Timothy 5:23 Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.
Luke himself was a physician, and it doesn't seem that he gave up his practice just because he became a believer.
The Bible speaks both positively and negatively toward doctors and medicine. We are not condemned for using doctors, but we should not put our trust in doctors. Our trust should be in God. We should not use doctors and medicine as an alternative to God. King Asa of Judah sought only the physicians and not God. He was condemned for that (Cf. 2 Chronicles 16:12).

God heals by "means" that are not "medical". (e.g. mud & spit, anointing, prayer)
   God heals in answer to prayer. Genesis 20:17 So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children. James 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
   God uses water to heal. 2 Kings 5:14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
   God uses anointing to heal. James 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
   God uses mud of clay and spit to heal. John 9:6-7 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
On numerous occasions, for reasons unknown to us and for His sovereign purpose, God has chosen to heal using means that are not medical in nature. Any means he chooses is at His disposal.

God heals by no means at all. 
God speaks and it is done.
Matthew 8:8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
John 4:52-53 Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.  So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth...
John 11:43-44 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth...
While Scripture demonstrates that God has and does use "means" when healing mankind of the his diseases and afflictions, it also demonstrates that God heals by no means at all. He speaks and it is done. He can wills and it is done. Though He may choose to do so, an omnipotent God requires nothing beyond Himself to accomplish His will.

God does not heal. 
As God chooses divinely to heal. He also chooses not to heal.
2 Kings 13:14 Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died.
2 Timothy 4:20 ...Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.
Is healing in the atonement? Yes, if we understand that correctly. But it does not mean, as some suggest, that all one has to do is "claim" their healing, or have enough faith. The Branches of the Vine Ministries web site tells us "that physical healing is part of the atonement paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ, and that it is always God’s will to heal every person and in every case." Tom Brown states, "Healing is part of man's redemption in Christ; therefore it belongs to every believer." Tell that to the prophet Elisha, who was "sick with the sickness whereof he died." Tell that to Paul, who asked the Lord three times to remove his thorn in the flesh. A full reading of the whole Bible shows us beyond the shadow of doubt that it is not always God's will to heal every person in every case. In fact...

God makes some sick.
The power of disease and healing is completely in God's hands. Not only can He heal, but He also can make sick. He "kills and makes alive." All power is in His hands.
Micah 6:13 Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins.
John 11:3-4 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
Deuteronomy 28:27 The Lord will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.
Acts 12:23 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.

Conclusion. 
There is no "God in a box" -- no "one size fits all" theology of healing. God heals as He pleases. Disease and death are part of the human condition. This will continue to be until we receive the ultimate healing of the atonement -- our resurrection bodies that are immortal and incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15:52-54).

* Means is a human action (surgery, prayer) or natural element (medicine, diet, spit) than God operates through in the accomplishing of His will. This is opposed to the direct operation of God in which no means is used.

The Lord that healeth thee

It is good to find the happy medium of biblical teaching on physical healing. On one extreme are those who believe that the only reason Christian's aren't healed is because they don't have enough faith. On the other extreme -- which unfortunately includes many modern Baptists -- are those who reject the unseen hand of God and opt for only medical and scientific "realities".

Steve Ewton, pastor of Bethel Baptist Church, Appleby, Texas, makes some great points about healing in a handout he prepared called "Praying for God to Heal." I want to highlight some of his main points.

God can heal our diseases. God does heal our diseases. But it is not always God's will to heal. This can be in terms of His will, as in the cases of Elisha (II Kings 13:14) and Paul (II Cor. 2:1-10). In these cases it was not God's will to heal, period. It can also be in terms of God's time, as in the cases of the man born blind (John 9:1-7) and Lazarus (John 11:1-45). In these cases it was not God's will to heal at a particular time, but to do something at a different time. Pastor Ewton also notes that "Trusting God to heal us does not mean that we must abstain from using physicians or medicine."

God promises the church that the prayer of faith shall save the sick, James 5:13-16. Anointing with oil is still a legitimate practice today.

Finally,
Healing may come immediately through a miracle.
Healing may come gradually over time.
Healing may come eventually in heaven.

Exodus 15:26 "...for I am the Lord that healeth thee."

Divine healing

Just read a short treatise with the following declaration: "God now only heals through His providence, which does not remove the need for proper medical treatment."

While I agreed with the basic premise of the writer, basically that modern so-called faith healers are really fake healers, I'm not sure I can agree with the above statement. What do you think?

I am not certain what the writer believes about providence and what it is, since he closed with the paragraph which included "God now only heals through His providence".

Some definitions of providence are (1) God's will, as expressed through events on Earth, (2) a manifestation of God's foresightful care for his creatures, (3) the guardianship and control exercised by a deity, (4) the continual care that God exercises over the universe He created.

Now this declaration breaks down into two parts. First, "God now only heals through His providence." It would seem to me that ultimately all healing comes under the providence of God, but this phrase seems to (1) with the word now indicate a difference from earlier times and with the word only indicate former healings were through "more" than His providence; (2) exclude for today any of the different kinds of healing that were through "more" than His providence. Second, His providence "does not remove the need for proper medical treatment." If this means only that medical treatment is within the providence of God, I agree. If it means that all of God's providence in healing is through medical treatment, I disagree. I think God heals directly and through answered prayer in addition to, in conjunction with and/or apart from medical treatment, even in this day and age. No need for the fake healers to drive us from that ground, IMO.

What do you think?