Acts 3:1-10 (NIV)

Today’s passage is about a man, lame from birth. He was disabled to the point  that he could not move around on his own. Imagine that. If your legs are lame from birth, your muscles never develop. It doesn’t mean a lack of pain, just a lack of control, a lack of agency to get from here to there. And he had been in this state his entire life. In that time and place, there was no other occupation for him but to beg from others. He still had to eat but had no way to earn his food, so every day he was carried to the temple gate… to sit just outside the religious headquarters of Jerusalem begging for scraps, for money, for whatever… And yet the temple gate was called “Beautiful.” How ironic.

As you listen to the passage read aloud, remember what has come before. Just a few weeks prior Jesus himself was teaching in the temple courts, ruffling the feathers of the Jewish leaders to the point of getting crucified for telling the truth. Jesus died… but then he rose from the dead, replacing the insular, exclusive institution of the temple and opening the gate for those outside to come in. He sent the Holy Spirit to empower his followers to walk in his power and their numbers are growing. Remember these things as you imagine the scene.

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1. What caught your attention in the passage?

2. The people who saw the man running around and jumping on strong legs recognized him as the one who was lame, and they were filled with wonder and amazement. If you saw something like that happen today, what would be your response?

3. The church in our context tends to err on the side of skepticism when it comes to the work of the Holy Spirit in things like healing. But Peter and John seemed to have no doubt that they were God’s agents, working in the name of Jesus through the Spirit’s power. Where is your heart, when it comes to believing that God works through his people today? Confess that to the LORD now.

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Bible Project: Acts 1-12 Overview >>

InterVarsity Press Selections: Acts >>

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