The "REAL" Beautiful Gate
Notes
Transcript
The “REAL” Beautiful Gate
The “REAL” Beautiful Gate
1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
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We have all come here to gather in worship from different backgrounds, in fact this past week in our community groups there was a lot of discussions about what preferences we have had when coming to church because of the different backgrounds we each have.
As I was approaching the text this week it had me thinking about my background and how this part of acts was always used to highlight Faith and expecting a miracle.
Let me ask you a question, in the text we just heard, was it because of the beggars faith that God healed him? Be careful how you answer… it is a trick question… Because it is the wrong question. It presupposes certain information. Namely that this is in the Bible to show us how to pray for sick people and how they can be healed.
That is why this story gets preached in churches all across America in a way that focuses on how you should have an EXPECTANCY of RECEIVING from the Lord and that is Real Faith. Can I just put your mind at ease and let you know that we totally reject that view.
Yet I said it is a trick question because it is true that the Beggar had Faith and that God healed him...
in fact as Peter uses this healing as an opportunity to preach the Gospel to the Jews in the temple courts, he says as much… Look at what Peter told them as he explains the miracle in a few short verses...
16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.
So it would be really easy to say… “you see, having Faith is how you get healed”… And so the teaching would be on how this beggar had Faith that was so great and we can see that because he was expecting to receive something from peter and John when they told him to look at them.
I would submit to you that this is not about the Level of his Faith but the Object of his Faith
It is not about the Level of your Faith but the Object of your Faith
It is not about the Level of your Faith but the Object of your Faith
I am sure you have heard me say this before and you probably will again and again. If my overcorrecting of this kind of thinking is bothersome to you, please understand that there may always be new people in this room that need to hear how the Gospel is central and their theology may need a little deconstruction in order to reorient themselves to Gospel fluency in understanding scripture.
It is my goal to show you that this part of the story is a glorious picture of what it means to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ literally transform your life. Let’s look at it a few verses at a time… Please also keep in mind the church has just been established with over 3,000 new believers who are meeting regularly together to give themselves over to the Teaching of the Word by the Apostles and praying together, opening their homes and eating together and practicing times of communion together as often as they met for worship.
1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
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A little back ground here.
First notice that even these men, Peter and John, were now Christian believers, they still were going to the temple to pray. There are 3 times a day when jews would come to to temple to pray… Morning, noon and evening prayer which was around 3 in the afternoon. That is the time when they were going into the temple to pray.
And while it may not seem too significant, please notice who is going. Peter and John. If you know anything about the NT and if you have paid attention to the Gospels, these guys couldn’t be more different. They have very different personalities and their later writings are distinctly different.
Peter has a reputation for being impetuous and rah, he often lashed out and speaks up out of turn. He wears his emotions on his sleeve and his mouth gets him in trouble often. He tends to be a legalist even after all that he has experienced and encountered and even needs correction form Paul for getting the Gospel wrong at one point. Guys like me can really identify with Peter… How about you?
Then there is John… He is known as the Apostle of Love. His writings are so basic and simple in teaching to love God and each other. John in known for kindness and peter is known for his boldness...
So what? Well the point of me mentioning this is that the Lord gives various spiritual gifts to the church through leadership personalities. Some we may like more than others yet what is most beautiful is too see how they work together because of Gospel Unity. The coming together of all these gifts in different personalities will serve the Bride of Christ, his body, his Church best, in order to faithfully meet the challenges of ministry.
Bottom line I am thankful for those of you that are not like me and I hope you will be able to say that same...
Notice that they are headed to the Temple to pray. It was the ninth hour which means it was about 3 in the afternoon.
Even though they were now part of a newly formed Christian church, these guys were still going to the temple to pray. They were merely doing what was expected of faithful Jews, observing times of prayer together in the temple. Isn’t it interesting that even though they now were different from the rest of their brothers, because they were believers in Jesus the Christ and Messiah, they still choose to be faithful in observing jewish law keeping?
The point is that they didn’t hide themselves from those that were different, but rather saw it as an opportunity to encounter people and share the message they have been entrusted with. I think we have the idea that even the early Christians were secluded from the Jews, but notice that isn’t the case until after persecution breaks out.
2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple.
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There are a couple things we need to understand here in order to see the depth of the beauty of this story.
First the Lame beggar… When don’t often talk about someone being lame in our culture, but what this means is that he is unable to walk. We do not know why… there is no medical prognosis of his condition, just that he is lame. and one other thing… He has been Lame from birth. now that is important, because that tells us that he did not have accident later in life, but rather he was born this way. So he has never walked… ever. His leg muscles or completely undeveloped. It is almost too hard for us to truly understand what that would look like because we now place people in wheel chairs and we do not leave someone who cant walk lying in the street to beg for money all day.
But the fact that he was born this way tells us two other important things… First he has no way of having income other than to beg for money or ask for Alms. In that culture, if you had a child who was disabled it would be extremely difficult to provide for them. This man most likely was single because no one would even share a space with him other than his family.
Which brings out the second important fact that his being lame from birth shows. In this culture it was all too common to view those who had disabilities or sickness from birth as being judged by God or being cursed. These people would be treated as unclean and any pity you would have them would only go so far since it was most likely them or their parents sin that brought this upon them.
1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
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This is the attitude of that day… “Alright… who sinned… How did this “REALLY” happen to you?”
Being sick from birth in that culture also meant you were unclean. You could not enter the temple to worship, and so he was laid outside the temple at this Gate. His family knew people would be going into the temple to worship and that they loved to be seen by others as generous and religious people… It was a smart move to place him where they could take advantage of people wanting to be seen as super holy religious people. that is why Jesus taught them about it...
1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.
So clearly there is an issue in this culture how they will take acre of people who are unclean and sick, and for those who were afflicted, they would go and beg because it was all they could do.
but lastly here there is an interesting point of where exactly this lame beggar has been placed to beg for alms.
The Gate called beautiful. Non one knows for sure the exact location of this gate because the temple was destroyed in 70 A.D., yet there are some clues.
the temple had multiple courts where different people would enter. There was a court for gentiles to worship and they could not go to the other courts. They were seen as unclean outsiders. There was also a court for women to enter on the way to the court of Israel where jewish men would go.
It is thought that the Gate called beautiful is the gate between the gentile courts and the women’s court. It would make sense that an unclean person would be allowed to be only as close as gentiles were allowed to get, and that he would desire to be in front of the gate where women were going to enter in hopes of taking advantage of their compassion.
The beautiful gate was also thought to be the same gate as what was called the gate of Nicanor.
Nicanor was an Alexandrian Jew who donated beautiful Bronze covered doors to the temple. They named the gate these doors were hung at, The Beautiful Gate.
The Nicanor or Beautiful gate was located east of the Court of Women. It provided access to the Court of Women from the Court of the Gentiles. Because its doors were made of Corinthian Bronze, a precious and rare metal in that region, it Far exceeded in value those plated with silver and gold.
When you understand that, it makes peters remark about not having any silver or gold quite appropriate, and something we would totally miss.
This beggar was in desperate need and chose to be placed in front of the most beautiful gate in an effort to have his needs would be met, because of this significant entrance to the place of Worship by Gods people.
The beautiful Gate was a symbolic place where the religious would gain entry and access to God in worship, but this man was left out and could not enter in.
3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms.
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Please keep in mind that this lame beggar was here everyday, if not this gate somewhere around the temple. It is not a far stretch to think that he was around the temple a few months beforehand when Christ made his way to the temple just before his crucifixion.
Laying in the streets around the temple and at its gates he would see and hear everything that is being said. it is also quite possible that this man recognized Peter and John ad Jesus’ followers, certainly as men who were very religious in some way.
Seeing them He asked for Alms. I am not suggesting that this beggar knew their names, just that he probably saw them as an easy mark. He wants to make eye contact, he calls out to them for help to survive one more day.
Many of us know how awkward it can be when we see a homeless person begging for money on the side of the road… Let’s be honest, if we are not gong to give them something, we DO NOT MAKE EYE CONTACT.
Look at what peter and John do...
4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.”
In their setting they could’ve walked right by the man calling out to them, or just tossed some coins at him, but they do what no one wants to do...
They Make eye contact, and then they say, “Look at us”
This is getting uncomfortable, no doubt other people around hear this and watch, because no one does this.
5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.
And here it comes… They are going to give me money… probably something big too, because they want me to see them giving it. Right??!! Wrong!!!
the anticipation is building, the scene comes to a climax for the lame beggar, finally someone who will acknowledge me...
Yet what the lame man was going to receive would not be what he was expecting. his expectations were all wrong. He wanted his circumstances changed and expected others to help him with that.
Al Mohler said it this way...
We often ask the Lord to change our circumstances, rather than asking him to change us
We often ask the Lord to change our circumstances, rather than asking him to change us
This beggar was resolved to have the same encounter he has daily and just move on… just another day and another person I can get help from.
He has no hope of being changed, he can only hope for his circumstances to change and his financial condition to improve. He has no idea that it is even a possibility for him to be changed...
I just need more money, I just need better health, I just need more friends, I just need to live somewhere else… I wish I had a better spot around temple, I wish more people would care about me, I wish all these religious people would get their act together...
And standing in the shadow of the beautiful gate at the temple, Peter and John show this Lame Beggar THE REAL BEAUTIFUL GATE!!!
The real beautiful gate, Jesus Christ, empowered by his Spirit, they will now share the Grace of God with a man in need!
He had no level of faith working in him… his expectation were all off, and he had no idea that God was going to change him in that moment.
Do we like this beggar hope for minor modifications to help our life, or do we remember that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe?!
look at the object of his faith...
6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”
Notice what Peter declares that he does have.
He has Christ! He has the Holy Spirit on the inside of him. He wasn’t looking to help his temporary condition, rather he was trying to help his eternal condition.
Peter calls him not just to perfect health but to New Life! That is why he declares In the NAME of JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH.
The Name is significant because it is the full revelation of who Jesus is!
Think about it… the name Jesus refers to his birth, ministry, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension. The name Christ means “anointed one” and point to the Messiah, who is the exalted Son of God. The place name of Nazareth is given to further identify who exactly we are talking about here...
19 Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”
This is what everyone saw at the crucifixion, and what the Jews objected to. This was scandalous and not something that should be said in conjunction with each other, yet it is a declaration from Peter as to who exactly they were displaying Faith in!
Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the Object of our Faith
Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the Object of our Faith
He was intentionally pointing out that the Same Jesus they have crucified is the Christ, the messiah and he is the one who heals.
Jesus is the true and better Beautiful Gate that unclean people are washed and purified by making them acceptable to not only Worship God, but to receive true healing from God!
Jesus Grants restoration, not Peter!
Yet Peter is a true believer and so he, being lead by the Holy Spirit perceives faith in this man and does what someone who doesn’t have true Faith should never do...
7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.
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The word Immediately is what is miraculous here. This is not a progressive healing, but an instantaneous healing.
He has never walked and has no muscle mass. He doesn’t know how to walk. This is not like when we say we once heard of someone being healed of muscle pain… Not to ever minimize anything healing the Lord does, but please understand that this kind of miracle is not normative or common even for them.
and before we get to wrapped up in this miracle I would remind what Jesus taught his disciples about such miracles… they were not for the people receiving them or for the people participating in them and they certainly are not for those who like to watch them… What are they for?
1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
Surely these very words are playing through Peter and Johns mind as this scene is unfolding before them.
This is for the Glory of God, that God’s works might be displayed
Miracles Display God’s works for God’s Glory
Miracles Display God’s works for God’s Glory
In this moment this man just recieved more than he could have ever hoped for and more than he even expected. He had received directly from God and was completely changed. No one But God can get Glory for that.
He was not able to be in the temple to worship because he was considered unclean, and now Through Jesus Christ of Nazareth he has been made new and can now be join to God and his people!
So what would he do?
8 And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
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He immediately Displays the works of God in his body for all to see… and notice their response...
Wonder and amazement… Why???
Someone they have seen everyday, someone they know he cant walk is now jumping and running around the temple… During the time of Prayer… What are they to do with this? if anyone else is in there causing a disturbance they would be furious, they would arrest them.
But this guy… the one they always see and try to avoid eye contact… he is healed and praising God?!
This I gotta see and hear!
Spoiler alert… Peter and John are about to get up and Preach the Gospel to all these people in the temple during the hour of prayer… Because the message of the Gospel is the true work of God that needs to be displayed to all!
Miracles validate the message
Miracles validate the message
and this story is just the beginning of seeing how normative it is to have a miracle validate the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
So what can we get from this story… how do we apply such a fantastic things that was done some 2,000 yrs ago? well since there are 3 types of people we see in the story, there are 3 things I want us to talk about this week in our community groups.
Peter and John...
Notice that these guys were going about their normal business. they were not heading out to see who they can heal, nor did they believe they had the power to heal. They had a message they needed to be a witness to everywhere they went, and so they were just out going about that business in their daily life. They were only expecting to see a healing that day, but as they went they were willing to share the Gospel.
Question 1: This week as you go about your life, how are you willing to share the Gospel?
Question 1: This week as you go about your life, how are you willing to share the Gospel?
The of course we have the lame beggar that receive true life change.
Like him we all have been touched by God in ways that has set our lives on and eternal course. We will never be the same. But he didn’t start there. He just wanted his circumstances to be changed rather being changed himself. But he didn’t know any better. We however should know that Gospel of Jesus Christ doesn’t just Win us but also Changes us. we often forget that and settle for simple behavior modifications rather true life change.
Question 2: How do we settle for asking God to change our circumstances rather than changing us?
Question 2: How do we settle for asking God to change our circumstances rather than changing us?
And Finally we have all the onlookers to this miracle. They are witnessing something they cannot explain and something that makes no sense. What is this guy praising God and jumping around? Could it be that God healed him? IS God able to do that? What does this mean? They were in Wonder and Amazement at what they were witnessing?
Question 3: When was the last time we were in Wonder and Amazement at a changed life?
Question 3: When was the last time we were in Wonder and Amazement at a changed life?
we should need only to look in the mirror and see what God has done in us and to our lives to be in wonder and amazement.
As we respond and go to the Lords Table let us pray and ask the Holy Spirit to empower us to share the Gospel as we go this, to show us how we settle for changed circumstances rather than life change, and to bring us back into wonder and amazement at how he changes lives including even our own.
let’s pray!