Acts 3, What Did the Disciples Teach? At the First, in the Temple.

In Acts 3, a lame man walks. He is healed, no more lame. Here we have another sign, of no less importance than the sign of the promised Holy Spirit on Pentecost in Chapter 2. As in the 2nd Chapter with its question, what does this mean, we are confronted with another similar question implied in the 3rd Chapter, what is this? Peter answers their question with a question: why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?

This healing at the Temple was unexpected, atypical except when Jesus was around, and extraordinary. They must have wondered, “What does this miracle mean?” or, “how can this be—we killed that Pretender?” Whether they were actually thinking back to the recent events at Pilate’s judgment seat or the crucifixion on Golgotha outside the city gates, we can’t be sure. But Peter responds as if they were:

The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 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.

Look at the string of no-less-than-six accusations against them for their rejection of Jesus, even unto death: (i) you delivered him over; (ii) you denied him; (iii) you overruled Pilate; (iv) you denied the Holy and Righteous One—namely God; (v) you chose a known murderer instead of him; and (vi) you killed the Author of Life. In other words, the miracle in the Temple establishes they have done the very thing Peter has condemned them for. The miracle is a witness to the truth of the identity of Jesus as Christ and Jesus as God and a witness to the outworking of the God of their forefathers having glorified Jesus with resurrection life.

On its face, the miracle intertwined with Peter’s words represents a stunning rebuke. But there is more here, probably. What Peter says in interpreting the miracle bears an uncanny resemblance to the Amidah—a prayer made while standing three times a day, including the 9th hour (3:00 p.m.). In Hebrew, Amidah literally means standing.

Answer me this. The lame man is doing what in the Temple? He is standing. Remarkable. But let’s look at the prayer that the Jews had prayed since their return from the Babylonian captivity (they still pray this prayer; they have now been praying this prayer for 2400 years. Note also: it is a prayer Jesus would have prayed together with the disciples three times a day (9:00, 12:00, and 3:00)).

I will highlight the portions for you that would have resonated with the Jews as Peter spoke, as he appears to be referencing the prayer they would have then been praying or were about to pray when the miracle of standing occurred:

Blessed are you, Oh Lord our God and God of our fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, the great, mighty and revered God, the Most High God who bestows loving kindnesses, the creator of all things, who remembers the good deeds of the patriarchs and in love came as a redeemer to their children's children for your name's sake. Oh king, helper, savior and shield. Blessed are you, Oh Lord, the shield of Abraham.

You, Oh Lord, are mighty forever, you revive the dead, you have the power to save. You cause the wind to blow and the rain to fall. You sustain the living with loving-kindness, you revive the dead with great mercy, and you support the falling, heal the sick, set free the bound and keep faith with those who sleep in the dust. Who is like you, Oh doer of mighty acts? Who resembles you, a king who puts to death and restores to life, and causes salvation to flourish? And you are certain to revive the dead. Blessed are you, Oh Lord, who revives the dead.

. . . .

Heal us, Oh Lord, and we will be healed; save us and we will be saved, for you are our praise. Oh grant a perfect healing to all our ailments, for you, almighty King, are a faithful and merciful healer. Blessed are you, Oh Lord, the healer of the sick of his people Israel.

. . . .

Speedily bring the offspring of your servant David to us, and let him be exalted by your saving power, for we wait all day long for your salvation. Blessed are you, Oh Lord, who brings salvation to flourish.

Incredible isn’t it? I think so.

If the 9th hour is the third time this prayer would have been prayed that day, as some believe (and the similarity between Peter’s word choices and the words of the Amidah strongly suggest this is the case), the miracle of standing is truly stunning. (note: the lame man would never in his life been able to pray the prayer of Israel) It is no wonder 5,000 were added to the church that day.

You see, their prayer—which had commenced with Ezra and Nehemiah—had just been answered before their very eyes in the most striking manner.

What does Peter ascribe their active failure to see Jesus as Author of Life, and Messiah? Ignorance: “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers.” Ignorance of the Scriptures: “But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.” This too echoes in the Amidah, which prays:

You favor men with knowledge, and teach mortals understanding. Oh favor us with the knowledge, the understanding and the insight that comes from you. Blessed are you, Oh Lord, the gracious giver of knowledge.

They had prayed for knowledge and understanding for hundreds of years, for generations even. And had none. They were ignorant of God and His Messiah, void of insight. Like the crowd on the Day of Pentecost, the crowd in the Temple are also confronted with their unbelief and also faced with an existential dilemma. If at this point they choose to reject Jesus, again, their prayers and hopes are all in vain, false, and hypocritical. They were that way before the crucifixion to be sure; but now, after the resurrection, and with this miracle of standing in particular, at this critical hour of prayer, they cannot deny Him without doing extreme harm to their soul.

We should be quick to note that Peter does not hold them there, thrust through with the insight they had long prayed for. They were willing to crucify Christ Jesus on the cross for hours, but Peter suffers them to be pierced only for a moment. He says: “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out” and “God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.” Here, with these words, Peter sounds another echo from the Amidah:

Bring us back, Our father, to your Instruction; draw us near, Our King, to your service; and cause us to return to you in perfect repentance. Blessed are you, Oh Lord, who delights in repentance.

Our Father, for we have sinned; pardon us, Our King, for we have transgressed; for you pardon and forgive. Blessed are you, Oh Lord, who is merciful and always ready to forgive . . . .

(By the way, if you have noticed, some of these phrases from the Amidah find their place in what we know as the Lord’s Prayer, that’s no accident. I will leave it to you to compare them and to adjudge why there are differences between them.)

And then Peter gives them hope, real hope—not just for the lame-now-standing man, but for them as well:

Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago . . . You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you . . . .

Since it appears Peter is teaching them to pray aright, to worship aright, and to understand what has happened on Golgotha, his words suggest the Amidah, which also had prayers of hope for a future restoration, times of refreshing:

Look upon our affliction and plead our cause, and redeem us speedily for your name's sake, for you are a mighty redeemer. Blessed are you, Oh Lord, the redeemer of Israel.

. . . .

Sound the great shofar for our freedom, raise the ensign to gather our exiles, and gather us from the four corners of the earth. Blessed are you, Oh Lord, who gathers the dispersed of his people Israel.

. . . .

Return in mercy to Jerusalem your city, and dwell in it as you have promised. Rebuild it soon in our day as an eternal structure, and quickly set up in it the throne of David.Blessed are you, Oh Lord, who rebuilds Jerusalem.

. . . .

Be pleased, Oh Lord our God, with your people Israel and with their prayers. Restore the service to the inner sanctuary of your Temple, and receive in love and with favor both the fire-offerings of Israel and their prayers. May the worship of your people Israel always be acceptable to you. And let our eyes behold your return in mercy to Zion. Blessed are you, Oh Lord, who restores his divine presence to Zion.

. . . .

For them, Peter presented the Risen Lord as the answer they had always been praying for. And not a few of them believed.

For us, this episode, this teaching of Peter, provides us with a bit of a caution and an invitation for self-examination. Remember, they had the word, which was good and holy; they had a right expectation, in the Son of David; and they prayed constantly in an acknowledgement of their need for Him. They had a hope in Him, and the Amidah says exactly that near the end of the prayer: “We have always put our hope in you.” Except they didn’t.

Their words and their deeds were not mixed with faith. Despite the beauty of the appeals made to God in the Amidah, their hearts were blind to Him—so much so that they (i) delivered Jesus over; (ii) denied him; (iii) overruled Pilate’s desire to set Jesus free; (iv) denied the Holy and Righteous One—namely God; (v) chose Barabbas, a known murderer instead of Jesus when given the opportunity; and (vi) killed the Author of Life.

Their unbelief in response to Jesus makes me tremble. Am I so sure I would have followed Jesus, seen Him, and perceived who he was? Am I as ignorant now as the Jews were then? Have I missed what God has done in Christ Jesus? That these praying Jews mistook him so terribly concerns me and my present hope. Am I on the same page as He is with what He is doing in Christ Jesus?

This passage in Acts 3 begs these questions of us, no less than they did when Peter first spoke them. We would do well to answer them rightly together with the 5000 that turned to God that day. If not, I fear we will find ourselves in the same vanity, falsity, and hypocrisy as those who did not turn to God, and yet continued to stand before God in prayer.

Herein lies a fateful and faithful warning from our brother, Luke. I am grateful for it, as I hope you are.