Suffering: A Stage from which to see the Glory of Christ in the Gospel, Acts 3

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The suffering and healing of the lame man serves as a platform from which to see the Glory of Jesus Christ on the cross

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Introduction

I call this, ‘A stage’ because there are other ways to see the glory of God beside through the lens of suffering, eg. Paul put it this way in where the Apostle is pointing out that this same glory, which he calls “the unsearchable riches of Christ,” is made known to the “principalities and powers in the heavenly places” by means of the church. The church shows the manifold wisdom of God to the world around us.In other words, the Church is one stage from which the unbelieving world is to see the Glory of Christ.
So it is with Suffering. It is most clearly a stage from which to see the glory of Christ in the gospel, even though one’s suffering might be very elusive in coming up with answers as to the why and how of that same revelation. I am reading a book, along with several of my Pastor friends called “21 Servants of Sovereign Joy” by John Piper. It is a compilation of seven books which cover various influential servants of God over the centuries. I am presently reading book 5 entitled “Filling up the afflictions of Christ.” Out of many thoughts I could cite in this book I sum it up with this one statement as a basis for this message, “God intends for the afflictions of Christ to be presented to the world through the afflictions of his people.”(p.509) Now I realize that book is speaking of the afflictions of persecution and that is what Paul is speaking of when he speaks of that in , but I am stealing that thought for this message. I do that because while we may suffer persecution for living for Jesus Christ, we most certainly suffer in multitudes of other ways besides persecution. I believe that God intends to use any kind of suffering for this intent. In this case it is the suffering of an unbeliever that He uses to place on exhibit for all to see and read about His Glorious sovereignty over the afflictions of a man in order to Lift up the glory of His Beloved Son in the gospel.
This could be three separate sermons, and I may have to make it that, we will see where we are at with the time, But I have three points that I want to make from this text:
I. The Illustration of suffering, v1-10
2. The aim of suffering declared, v.11-16
3. God planned it all along, v.17-26

I. The Illustration of suffering-1-10

To set the stage we have Peter and John going up to the temple at 3pm which was the time of the evening sacrifice. It was one of three times in the day set apart for Prayer, by Scripture,
Psalm 55:17 ESV
Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.
You will remember that Daniel prayed three times daily. The other two times were at 9am, the morning sacrifice and then noon/6th hour which coincided with the thanksgiving meal. We know from that the believers daily gathered at the temple to pray. More than likely they were there not just to pray, but to witness. The The beautiful gate was on the east side of the temple and is visible from the Kidron valley and mt. of Olives. Josephus said these gates were covered with silver and gold their height was 45’ and their width 23’. THese were massive.
SHOW PICTURE:
The temple Gate (was so massive that it took 20 men to open and close them) and the porches were magnificent, pillars dozens of them, 100 feet hight, 50 feet high. THe Court of the Gentiles 750feet square, (562,500 sqft) allowing for 4sqft per person, you could fit over 35,000 people into this court at once. So to have 5,000 who come to know Christ at Peter's preaching here is not inconceivable.
If this was the court of the women (200 feet square, 40,000 sqft, then close to 4500 could fit in a 3sqft area per person).
So you can see why this would be a prime area for the Apostles to go and pray and declare Jesus Christ.
You can also see why this lame man would go to this place at this time. This was the time when it was the most crowded during the day.

A. A persons hopeless condition

Here is this lame man/cirppled, who had been in this condition since birth and he was now over 40 years old (4:22). He had never known a day in his entire life when he was not crippled. He had never known a day when he did not experience a sense of unworthiness. He has always been an outcast. In another culture he would have been smashed on the rocks, or smothered. He has always had to rely on someone else to carry him about. He would have had to deal with the question about his sin. It was a common belief that one who experienced such suffering must have committed some sin, or that his parents did. The disciples asked Jesus about this once regarding a man born blind. He told them it was so that God would be glorified ().
He had to be brought to this place by others. And he came every day to beg for money, ie. alms. He was at this place at the best time when the most people would be around, those who were there to worship God.
“The rabbis taught that there were three pillars for the Jewish faith—the Torah, worship, and the showing of kindness, or charity. Almsgiving was one of the main ways to show kindness and was thus considered a major expression of one’s devotion to God. With their minds set on worship, those who entered the temple for the evening sacrifice and prayer would be particularly disposed to practice their piety by generously giving alms to a lame beggar.’ (Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 126). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 126). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
When we think about the question that started this series of sermons “Is it always right to alleviate the suffering of others” a thought that comes to mind about this man is this: surely he had known of Jesus, probably even tried to see Jesus and be healed by Him. after all, he had been lame since birth and he was over forty years old. And he was taken daily to this place in the temple to beg alms. Did Jesus never pass by that way? That is almost inconceivable that he would not have come across Jesus and yet, he still was not healed until a month or so after the crucifixion. I could be wrong about that. Maybe his daily attendance at the temple was only recent. Even still, he was around Jerusalem, how come he had not been healed by Jesus if He was all about alleviating suffering.
Could it be that God intends to use suffering in the life of a person for purposes other than for making life easier for that person? Could it be that timing is more important than immediate alleviation of suffering?
I could be wrong about that. Maybe his daily attendance at the temple was only recent. Even still, he was around Jerusalem, how come he had not been healed by Jesus if He was all about alleviating suffering.
The question that we have to ask of this passage is why is this event recorded? We know that Luke recorded several of Jesus healings in Luke. And he records some others by Paul and other apostles, but why is this event here? What is it about this man that completes the picture Luke is trying to put on display for us to see?
What does this lame man teach us about God and about us?
This man is clearly in a hopeless condition. He has no hope of ever walking. No hope of ever doing anything other than begging. Certainly, no family, no career, no life of any good quality by our standards at least.
The lameness of the man made it so that he had never been able to enter into the inner court of the temple for daily worship . He couldn’t even worship the Lord the way everyone else was. He was left out, almost totally alone physically, spiritually, emotionally. He was totally dependent on others. He had no hope physically of anything ever changing. He had no hope emotionally, he would always fall short, never amount to anything. He had no hope spiritually, he could never enjoy fellowship with God in his condition. So he put his hope in one thing: money. That was his only hope, to be able to beg enough money to pay for what he needed today and maybe if he was lucky to have some left over for tomorrow.
I listened to Nick Vojacic give a talk on Philippians one day. He was born with no arms and no legs and like this man totally dependent upon others in many ways. He has a web site called “No arms, No legs, No Worries”. I heard him say to the audience, “there are people here who are more handicapped than I am and they have both arms and legs.”
I think that is true of us too. Listen to me, this the plight of all of us before Jesus reached down and plucked us up and told us to walk. This is the picture of all of us. We are beggars, helpess to remedy our situation. We are compelled to rely on others to get us where we are going. It is only as we are brought face to face with the one who desires to transform our lives and have faith in Him are we able to rise up and walk, leaping around, praising God.
“This cripple is a vivid illustration of the lost sinner in that: (1) he was born lame, and all are born sinners; (2) he could not walk, and no sinner can walk so as to please God; (3) he was outside the temple, and sinners are outside God’s temple, the church; (4) he was begging, for sinners are beggars, searching for satisfaction.” (Wiersbe, W. W. (1997, c1992). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament (Page 283). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.)
Like this man you may be hopeless, putting your hope in something that can only satisfy for the moment, but not really. If you are in that position, I ask you to consider, could you be in that situation because God wants you to see how hopeless and helpless you are so that you will quit begging alms and look to Him for mercy?
But praise God that is not all. You find yourself in that position it is not over yet. There is hope for you and me.
Wiersbe, W. W. (1997, c1992). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament (Page 283). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.

B. A believers lifeline of hope,

We read that Peter & John were going into the temple, it was their custom to daily go there at this time. It seems inconceivable to me that they had never noticed this man begging on other days, especially when v.9 tells us that everyone recognized this man as the one who begged alms at this spot. And yet at those times they either walked by without doing anything or they dropped him a coin or two. But this time they noticed him, “Alms, Alms, Alms for the poor.” he repeatedly said. In fact, it probably made people feel a little uncomfortable.Someone like this could probably read faces and knew when to increase the pressure of his begging so as to get someone to give him something. So he locked eyes with Peter as they were walking by. The text means that Peter looked directly at him and when he did he said, “Look at us!”
Have you ever had one of those situations where you were walking by someone and your eye caught their eye and maybe they said something like, ‘what you looking at?’ Well this is one of those kind of stares, but not in a negative way. When Peter responds with βλεψον εισ ημασ/ look at us, he is telling him to take heed to us, ie. pay attention to us.
A believers lifeline of hope
Have you ever had one of those situations where you were walking by someone and your eye caught their eye and maybe they said something like, ‘what you looking at?’ Well this is one of those kind of stares, but not in a negative way. When Peter responds with βλεψον εισ ημασ/ look at us, he is telling him to take heed to us, ie. pay attention to us.
v.5
so then he looked at them waiting to receive something from them. he fixed his attention on them, he shut out all else and directed his thoughts specifically to Peter and John, thinking that they were going to give him some money/alms. Being healed was the furthest thing from his mind. that wasn’t even on his radar. He fully expected to get a pay day here. to get some coins from them.
Now, while I said it might not be appropriate to alleviate the suffering of someone else, depending on the situation, it might just be the right thing to do. But we do have a little bit of a regulation here.
One, God might want to use you to be the one to through out the lifeline. You might be the one God wants to use to give a glimmer of hope to someone else so that they would turn to Jesus Christ. Give the situation in our text, I will go out on a limb and state that the gospel always needs to be the focal point of helping another through suffering. If all you do is help to alleviate suffering you have not really helped that person with the real issue. So the gospel has to be the focal point. In other words, somewhere in there you need to point them to Jesus Christ as the fountain of living water.
Second, you can only do what you can do, nothing more. You are not called to go into debt to help someone else with their financial plight. You are not called to make your family suffer so that someone else doesn’t. Unless your family is in on it too. If you are married and you are both believers, you both have the Holy Spirit, He will work in both of you to help someone else. If you have the ability to meet someone’s need and you are led to do so by all means do so.
A third point, and this is just a caution, If possible do your homework, sometimes helping someone can actually hurt not help them. There is actually a book by that title, “When helping hurts.” Make sure you are actually helping not enabling them.
keeping with our text, “Peter said, silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee:” There it is for you to see. You just might need to be someone else’s hope for a while. And in this moment, I am sure that the lame man perked up but maybe with some curiosity as to what Peter was talking about. Notice that Peter redirects his hope off of money onto something, someone far more valuable.
A believers lifeline of hope

C. A sufferers end

This is really the core of this scene in our text. It is the healing of this man, but not just the healing but the renewing, the recreating of this man.
“in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk”
The power in His name. There is authority in this name. We will see this later on in the message Peter preaches. The Name of Jesus is powerful. It is clear that this man’s true hope is only realized in the person of Jesus Christ.
v.7 there is an 'and he took him' that is a conjunction connecting the command with the action of 'took him' which is a ptc showing that the command and the action of taking him by the right hand coincided at the same time. In other words, as he was taking him by the right hand he commanded him to walk. and 'immediately/παραχρημα' there was no lag time, but this was instantaneous his feet and ankles were strengthened. ie. healed. εστερεωθησαν-made firm, stable, stiff or hard. Interestingly, this is not a medical term for healing, but rather a creation term in the OT translating the Hebrew word raqa which means to stamp firm as used of the firmament of the heavens in for example. So Luke proclaims this was a new creation in making his feet and ankles firm. This wasn't just a healing, but a new creation. Now that is crucial to our understanding of this text because later on when Peter preaches to the mob surrounding them in verses 12ff he uses the very same word to describe the man's recreation in v.16 'made this man strong' is the word.
Peter makes it clear that the new creation of this man was not the work of a medical miracle, but of the Creator- notice the references to Jesus v.13 "The God of Abraham . . . He glorified His Son Jesus"; "Holy and Just" v.14, "The Prince of life" which is αρχηγον-the originator, the founder, author of life. same word is used of Him he is the "beginning of God's Creation" this is a reference to Jesus being the Creator. Paul takes this thought and slams it into "therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creation. The old man has passed away and all things have become new." This man has experienced that. And he experienced it only through the name/work of Jesus Christ.
The other word used in v.16 for 'perfect soundness' or 'perfect health' comes from a word that refers to being intact, a priest had to be sound, that is not have any bodily defects in order to be a priest. So there is the sense in which not only has this man been made a new creation but a new creation without any defect. He is perfect in Christ and by means of faith in Christ.
putting those two words together: He was recreated/strengthened and perfect soundness we see that the man, by means of faith in Jesus Christ is both made new and now is able to have access to God as a priest. He can now come before God because he is made new and sound in Christ. ,.
v.8 the man stood leaping up and walked. in other words he didn’t slowly stand up, he leaped up and immediately began walking. He had not done that for 40 years. He had never walked in his entire life. Notice the magnitude of that event. think of the emotion of that. He had always depended on someone else. Now he was independent. Can you imagine the joy, the smile that would come over his face at this. No wonder he leaped up. He went into the temple with Peter and John, remember it was hour of prayer. He probably went in to pray too.In all of his life he had never been accepted into the temple courts. He was unworthy, but now in Jesus Christ he could. It says that he was walking, leaping and praising God. Picture the magnificent scene before you. Here is a man that was freed from his lifelong bondage.
v.8 the man stood leaping up and walked. in other words he did slowly stand up, he leaped up and immediately began walking. He had done that for 40 years. He had never walked in his entire life. Notice the magnitude of that event. think of the emotion of that. He had always depended on someone else. Now he was independent. Can you imagine the joy, the smile that would come over his face at this. Now wonder he leaped up. He went into the temple with Peter and John, remember it was hour of prayer. He probably went in to pray too. But this says that he was walking, leaping and praising God. Picture the magnificent scene before you. Here is a man that was freed from his lifelong bondage.
This is fulfillment of where it is prophesied that time when the lame shall leap like a deer.
This is where Isaiah declares the time of restoration, which is spoken of by Peter in his message v.20
Isaiah points out in v.2 that the people shall "see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of God" and then in verse 3,4 "strengthen the weak hands, . . . say to those with anxious heart, Be Strong, Fear not! BEHOLD, YOUR GOD will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you." then in v.6"the lame shall leap like a deer."
This is what Peter is proclaiming: "Behold Your God. He has come to save. In the person of Jesus Christ.
I don’t know about you but when this happened to me, I was not leaping and jumping around on the outside, but I was on the inside. I was overjoyed and my wife saw that. Everyone who knew me after that saw that something happened to Jeff. Well this no name begging lame man had something happened to him and everyone noticed.
Obviously those around them would be taking notice as to the commotion occuring. Then they realized it was the man whom they had seen everyday begging on the steps of the temple. And they were filled with wonder, amazement and awe at what had happened.
Surely the question is being asked, 'How did this happen?' How could this man go from being lame in his feet and ankles unable to walk be able to do so. Now think about this. When you don't use a muscle or a limb, what happens to it? It atrophies. It becomes weak. There is no muscle tone, no strength at all in that limb. He went from no strength at all, to immediately being strong enough to walk, but not only walk, but actually being able to leap in the air, even run. That is unheard of even in our day of miracle medicine and contraptions and physical therapy. So then they would have been greatly curious as to how this happened. They are all stunned.

Conclusion

For the first time he could now be worthy to enter the house of worship. Full acceptance is found only in the name and person of Jesus Christ. , This man could now praise God in the place where God is to be praised. This mans suffering with lameness from birth illustrates the true condition of all of us. We are all unworthy to come before God. In fact we cannot come to Him on our own. This event shows us that the only way we can come to worship God truly, the only way through the door is to come by faith in Jesus Christ: a recognition of our hopeless condition which highlights our complete inability to come to God and a complete and total reliance on the finished work of Jesus Christ to deal with our sin and effectively renew our hearts.
We best see the glory of God when we find our hope in Jesus Christ who solves the real problem of our suffering which is separation from God.
In the midst of our suffering let us look for His glory and thus, not waste our suffering.
, 2This man could now praise God in the place where God is to be praised. This mans suffering with lameness from birth illustrates the true condition of all of us. We are all unworthy to come before God. In fact we cannot come to Him on our own. This event shows us that the only way we can come to worship God truly, the only way through the door is to come by faith in Jesus Christ: a recognition of our hopeless condition which highlights our complete inability to come to God and a complete and total reliance on the finished work of Jesus Christ to deal with our sin and effectively renew our hearts.
A sufferers end
The people are amazed
And now they form a mob, the man has to hold onto peter and john.
When Peter sees the mob running toward them in complete amazement, he addresses them.
Men of Israel why are you amazed? why wouldn't they be amazed at what had just happened? Unless, this sort of thing had been common not to many weeks in the past while Jesus was doing all those miracles. But some of these same people surely had been in the crowd shouting crucify Him. Now the same things Jesus had done are being done again only by Peter and John who were known associates of Jesus. They were amazed because they thought there was some unique power in Peter but he squashes that with v.12 and 13.
Notice how he redirects their thinking from them , to Jesus by proclaiming that it was not them that did this, but faith in the name of Jesus whom they killed and then calls them to repent and turn back in order their sins be forgiven.
This even becomes a greater opportunity to preach the gospel, 5,000 become believers then the next day they are brought before the sanhedrin and when asked about this he is given another opportunity to preach the gospel to the leaders.
So this man not only received physical but spiritual newness. For the first time he could now be worthy to enter the house of worship. Full acceptance is found in the name of Jesus. ,
This man could now praise God in the place where God is to be praised.
This mans suffering with lameness from birth illustrates the true condition of all of us. We are all unworthy to come before God. In fact we cannot come to Him on our own. This event shows us that the only way we can come to worship God truly, the only way through the door is to come by faith in Jesus Christ: a recognition of our hopeless condition which highlights our complete inability to come to God and a complete and total reliance on the finished work of Jesus Christ to deal with our sin and effectively renew our hearts.

II. The aim of the suffering declared- v.11-16

to see the glory of the suffering servant, Jesus v.12,13
Who was Denied, v.13
Who was rejected, v.14
Who was killed, v.15a
To see the glory of the resurrected servant, Jesus, v.15b
through faith in His name the suffer is made new, v.16
Through faith in His name the sufferer is made whole

III. God planned it all along, v.17-26

The real sufferer/one who has rejected Christ, v.17
God planned the suffering of Christ all along,v.18
The offer of Forgiveness to those who repent, v.19
-through Jesus the Christ of God, v.20
-spoken of by the prophets of old, v.21
-Declared a prophet by Moses, v.22
--Hear Him and repent/believe,
--refuse His message and be cut off from the true people of God, 23
-all the prophets foretold this, v.24
Blessing comes upon all who believe in Him, 25
God sent Him first to you to bless you by turning you from your evil ways.

Conclusion

We best see the glory of God when we find our hope in Jesus Christ who solves the real problem of our suffering which is separation from God.
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