INTRODUCTION: This quarter we have looked almost exclusively at
healings performed by Jesus. The fact that Jesus, who was fully
God and fully man, performed healings may not give us any
confidence that we can "harness" the power to heal. Remember last
week we discussed whether the "age of miracles" had passed? This
week we turn our attention to a healing performed by a sinful man
who betrayed his Lord. We will explore what role the human "healer"
plays in healings.
I. THE MAN AT BEAUTIFUL
A. Turn with me this morning to Acts 3. Read
verses 1-2. Tell
me what the text reveals to you about this
man? (That he was
crippled from birth and he earned his living
by begging.)
1. What can you
tell me about the man by reading "between
the lines?"
a. What does the fact that he is carried to and from
the temple gate every day tell us? (That he had
friends or family that helped him.)
b. Why would you guess they called the temple gate
"Beautiful?" (The questions get more difficult
later.)
c. My guess is that people might like to enter the
temple through the beautiful way, because they
enjoyed the aesthetics of the place. So what does
this crippled beggar do for the ambience of this
entrance? How does he fit into this picture of
perfection? (He does not fit in. Presumably a
majestic and beautiful gate to the temple prepares
and lifts your mind to worship an awesome God.
Then you spy the beggar and your spirit feels
fingernails screeching along a blackboard.)
(1) So why is the beggar there? Why do the
"authorities" allow it? (The beggar would not
sit there every day if he were not making any
money. What this shows is that the people who
entered the temple had a heart for those who
were less fortunate. Not all were going just
for the beauty, they were going to worship
God.)
(2) No one said the beggar was there by the
temple (the visible dwelling of God) because
he hoped to be healed by his proximity to God.
Is it reasonable to believe that was his
motive?
B. Let's read on. Acts 3:3-5. Is this beggar
hoping for a
miracle because of his proximity to God or
is he looking for
help from man? (This makes it clear to me
that he was there
for monetary relief.)
1. Are we like
this crippled beggar? We come close to
God, but look
to man for help? We come close to God, but
look for temporary
relief (in the form of money) for what
ails us?
2. Notice all
the discussion about who is looking at
what. Verse
4 tells us that Peter and John looked
"straight at"
the beggar. Then Peter told the beggar to
look at them.
a. If you have experience with beggars, do you look
right at them? Does the beggar look right at you?
(Hitchhikers say that if the driver looks right at
them they are much more likely to be given a ride.)
b. Was Peter suggesting that the beggar should look
to John and him for healing when he said "Look at
us?"
c. Did this beggar expect to get something because
of all of this eye-contact? (Yes. See v.5.)
d. Why did Peter tell the beggar to look at them?
(Peter wanted to have this man's undivided
attention.)
II. WHOSE FAITH?
A. Read Acts 3:6-8. Whose faith healed the beggar?
B. Did this crippled beggar have faith that
he would be
healed? (The text makes clear he expected
money, not healing.
However, when he was told to walk, he obeyed.
He made the
effort to rise.)
1. Peter said
in v.4 "what I have I give you." What did
Peter have?
a. Did Peter have power to heal? (In Harrison's
book, Interpreting Acts, he says (p.79) "In himself
Peter had not more power to bestow healing than he
had money in his wallet.")
(1) Is Harrison right?
(2) What about Matthew 10:8? Remember that we
looked at Matthew 10:8 last week? This text
says, "Freely you have received, freely give."
(a) What did the disciples receive in
Matthew 10:8?
(b) Is this what Peter was giving in Acts
3? (Compare Matthew 10:1 with Acts 3:6.
What Peter had was authority, in the name
of Jesus, to heal.)
b. Read Acts 3:16. Does Peter tell us that he
(Peter) had authority to heal? (He had authority to
use Jesus' name. But Peter links two concepts
together in verse 16. He says "Jesus' name" and
"the faith that comes through [Jesus]" "has given
complete healing.")
(1) Do we have the authority to use Jesus'
name? (Consider 1 Corinthians 12:4-11;
Ephesians 4:7-13; Romans 12:4-8. These texts
talk about "gifts" that all of us can have
from the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:9
specifically mentions healing as a gift.)
(2) Does that authority rest only on those who
are "worthy?"
(3) Does that authority rest only on those who
"have faith?"
III. "JARS OF CLAY"
A. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians 4:5-10. What
is meant by
(v.7) "jars of clay?" (Us!)
1. I understand
on the surface why we can be called
"clay." (Gen.
2:7) Why are we "jars?" (Jars hold
something.)
2. What is it
that we "hold?" (Look at v. 7. It says we
hold a "treasure.")
a. So what is that "treasure?" (v.6. The knowledge
of God reflected in Jesus. v.7 power from God.)
b. Are the gifts of the Holy Spirit part of the
"treasure?"
B. Does the fact that the "jar" holds a treasure
mean that the
jar itself is a treasure?
C. Turn with me to Luke 22:29-34, 54-62. Peter
says in v.33
that he is willing to die or be imprisoned
for Jesus. Is this
true? Did he know his own heart? (Read Luke
22:49-50. John
18:10 casts additional light on this and reveals
that this
servant who drew his sword was Peter. This
shows that Peter
was willing to stand, fight and die for his
Lord.)
1. So how did
Peter get from being willing to die to the
repeated denial
in Luke 22:56-60? (He believed in his
sword and the
fact that together they could win this
fight. When
Jesus allowed Himself to be taken captive it
turned Peter's
ideas completely upside-down. It was not
supposed to
happen this way.)
2. Do you see
any parallel between the crippled beggar at
the gate Beautiful
and Peter during the Luke 22
experience?
(Yes. The crippled beggar was close to God,
but was depending
upon man (and his sharp realtors idea
(location, location,
location) on how to get money from
man).
Peter was close to God, but was depending on his
sword and his
idea of how things should turn out.)
3. If Peter is
much like the man he healed in Acts 3, why
does he get
to heal? Why does he have such moral
superiority
that he can call on God to heal the crippled
beggar? (The
point is that he does not have "moral
superiority."
What he has is a knowledge that he is just
a "jar of clay."
Unlike the beggar, unlike his ideas in
Luke 22, Peter
now realizes this truth (Acts 3:12), and
this realization
is the "authority" that allows the power
of God to work
through faith.)
D. Friend, do you sometimes get confused and
believe that you
are part of the "treasure" instead of just
the "jar" holding
the treasure? Are you a devoted Christian
as long as things go
the way you planned? Do you believe
you get part of the
"credit" for your work in advancing the gospel?
God works
most powerfully through jars, who clearly
understand their
role and are content to trust God whatever
transpires.
IV. NEXT WEEK: "JESUS THE CHAMPION OF CHOICE AND LIBERATION."
Study!