Jeffrey T. Howard
Pittsgrove Presbyterian Church
Sermon - Acts 3:1-10 “A Little Touch of God’s Grace”
August 9, 2020
During Jesus’s life and ministry, there was a man who may have seen him over and over again as Jesus grew up and went in and out of the Jerusalem temple. Each time the man saw Jesus he must have wondered if Jesus could help him. This man had been lame from birth and needed a little touch of God’s grace. We will take a look at this man’s life, but first, let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, we all need a little touch of your grace. I ask that you respond to our needs here in this congregation today. Amen.
Acts 3:1-10 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o'clock in the afternoon. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried in. People would lay him daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so that he could ask for alms from those entering the temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them for alms. 4 Peter looked intently 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 or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand 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 Jumping up, he stood and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 All the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and they recognized him as the one who used to sit and ask for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
8 Years Old
In the last year of Herod the Great, a young couple came to Jerusalem to have their baby dedicated to God. They named their baby Jesus. Possibly, they entered the temple through the beautiful gate and saw another young couple asking for alms with a little boy, about 8, sitting outside the gate. They may have noticed that this boy could not enter the temple grounds because of his bad feet.
The rules were very clear on this. The temple was the place where God met humanity. Since God was holy the men and women who approached God must also be holy. A strict set of rules was developed that determined who was holy enough to enter the temple grounds. And the closer you approached God the holier you had to be.
The boy’s bad feet was a clear indication that he was not holy enough. So the little boy sat outside of the big bronze gate of the temple that everyone called “beautiful” hoping to receive what he really needed, a little touch of God’s grace. He wanted to hear the words of God saying, “I love you and forgive you.” He wanted to be healed.
20 Years Old
Twelve years later a young couple from Nazareth returned to the temple with their almost teenage boy, named Jesus. Possibly they noticed a woman asking for alms with a grown son sitting beside the gate called “beautiful”. This woman’s son could not walk and had to be carried to the gate by family and friends every day. As she sat there she hoped somehow, someway, her son would get what he truly needed, a little touch of God’s grace.
She had carried her son in her womb for nine months. And she discovered, in horror, that he was born with a birth defect, bad feet. So she carried him to the temple every day to sit next to the large bronze gate that everyone called “beautiful”. As he grew she was unable to carry him alone. So his uncles and brothers and friends helped out. They brought him here every day hoping that the young man with the bad feet would find what he really needed, that a little of God’s grace would be brought out the gate and rub off. Maybe he would experience healing. It was the only hope he had.
40 years old
An additional 20 years have passed and the man with bad feet, now 40 years old, was still sitting next to the big bronze gate of the temple, the one everyone called “beautiful”. He hoped that somehow someone would give what he truly needed. He didn’t need money. Rather, what he needed was a little touch of God’s grace. He needed healing.
One day he heard a remarkable story. A rabbi from Nazareth named Jesus had arrived in Jerusalem. He was known as a great teacher and healer. The rumor going around town was that a man with bad feet, who had been sitting next to the pool of Bethzatha for years, had been healed by Jesus. What great news! This is what the man with bad feet had been waiting for, a little bit of God’s grace. Maybe Jesus would see him too and he would be healed.
But no sooner had this good news reached his ears he heard that the rabbi from Nazareth named Jesus had been arrested and executed on a cross. And with Jesus’ death, all of the hopes of the man with bad feet were buried in a tomb.
A little touch of God’s Grace
Jesus’ apostles, Peter and John, went to the temple every day for evening prayers. The temple offered continuous sacrifices twice each day. The first was at daybreak. Then, nine hours later at around 3pm, they would have the evening sacrifices. John and Peter usually came to these sacrifices for prayer. Day after day they would enter through a large bronze gate that everyone called “beautiful” never noticing the forty-year-old man with bad feet sitting next to the gate.
This man was lovingly brought there each day to sit next to the gate hoping that someone somehow would give him what he really needed, a little touch of God’s grace. But day after day everyone just ignored this man with bad feet. So he just sat there and waited.
Then one day Peter and John came to the temple and were about to pass through the Beautiful gate. Peter’s eyes had been opened by the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. He saw the world in a new way. Now he noticed people in need, like the man with bad feet sitting next to the gate. So Peter went over to the man with the bad feet.
The man didn’t know who Peter was. He had been there for so long. Few people ever came over to talk. Those who did usually gave him a few coins as charity. But rarely did anyone talk with him. Rarely did anyone want to know him or to help find what he really needed, a little bit of God’s grace.
But Peter with the help of the Holy Spirit saw the man as few others did. He stared right at him for a few moments and was filled with compassion for the man, realizing his deep need. And Peter knew why this man came to the temple every day. He wanted a little touch of God’s grace.
So Peter reached down and grabbed his hands. Peter had been a fisherman all of his life. He used his powerful arms and hands to reach over the side of the boat and pull in a net filled with fish. Jesus had told him that one day he would be the fisher of people. And this day, Peter reached down with those powerful arms and hands and pulled up the man with bad feet.
Peter realized that with the coming of the Holy Spirit everything has changed. God was no longer just in the temple. No longer did someone have to enter the temple to find God. In the Holy Spirit, God had left the temple to come directly to his people. God no longer will wait for us to make ourselves holy before we can enter into his presence. Rather he comes to us as we are in our brokenness and sin. The Holy Spirit prepares us with Christ’s holiness. So clothed in Christ we are ready to meet God.
As soon as Peter grabbed the man, his bad feet began to heal. Just as Ezekiel had prophesied centuries before, God created flesh and muscle and ligaments on the dry bones. For the first time in his life, the man was able to stand. And he did what he always wanted to do. He walked through the big bronze gate everyone called “beautiful”. The man’s joy was intense and he leaped into the air with joy. The man who used to have bad feet jumped and danced and praised God for everything God had done.
The people in the temple were amazed, astonished, bewildered by all they had seen. Here was the man who had sat outside the gate with bad feet for as long as anyone could remember. And now he was healed, jumping for joy and praising God for this great gift. Five thousand people saw with their own eyes this miracle of God.
Miracles
But we as modern people have a hard time believing this story. We have told over and over again that miracles do not happen. Since the beginning of the Enlightenment, we have believed that science can give us answers to all questions. If we just give the scientists enough time and enough resources they can find natural causes for everything that happens. Belief in science is an element of faith for modern people.
The church has been divided as to how to handle this scientific world view. Many Christians believe that miracles do not happen now. Some accept that miracles did happen in Jesus’ time but stopped once the New Testament was written. Others look at the miracles in the Bible as just helpful myths. But I believe that we have been too quick to throw out the idea of miracles. Just because science has been very successful in finding natural explanations for things does not mean that miracles do not happen. In fact, there are many things that science just cannot answer. Let me give you an example.
Contemporary Miracle
Several years ago a dear friend of mine was not feeling well. She went to the doctor to see what was wrong. He found that she suffered from extremely high blood pressure. It was so high she was in danger of a stroke. So she was put on blood pressure medicine. But it didn’t work. The doctor changed the prescription. But this one did not work any better. So my friend went to the hospital for a complete set of tests to see what was wrong. While in the hospital the doctors discovered a lump on her breast. It was an early form of Breast Cancer. As soon as the diagnosis of breast cancer was made, her blood pressure went to normal.
The doctors were amazed and astonished. They had no explanation for what had happened. To their scientific minds, it did not make sense. But they celebrated the great joy of their patient who was relieved to finally know what was wrong. My friend strongly believes that her high blood pressure was a sign from God that helped the doctors to find cancer while it was still treatable. My friend is happy and healthy today. Her cancer is in complete remission. And she is extremely thankful for all that God had done for her. Miracles do happen today. We just have to look for them with the eyes of Pentecost.
Of course, not everyone will experience a miracle. Many people suffer from chronic diseases and disabilities. Sadly, many prayers for healing have been left unanswered. Not everyone will be cured. But we are comforted by the fact that God knows what we really need and genuinely desires our well being. We will be provided with a little bit of God’s grace.
A Little bit of God’s Grace
So why do we come Sunday after Sunday to church? Why do we sit here on Sunday morning when we could be at Starbucks reading the paper, or on the golf course or at the beach? My guess is that there is something that we really, really need. That is why we come to church. No longer do we have to sit outside the gate. Rather God has invited us here to his own church, which some call “beautiful”, to receive what we really need, a little touch of God’s grace. Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for sending your spirit to clothe us in the righteousness of Christ so that we may approach you in holiness today. We bring with us our brokenness and need. Bless us with a little bit of your grace. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
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