Acts 3

Peter and John heal a man who had been lame from birth at the temple gate. The astonished crowd gathers, and Peter uses the moment to point them away from himself to Jesus, whom they rejected but God raised. He calls them to repent so that sins may be wiped away, and reminds them of the promises to Abraham and Moses.

Acts 3:1

The first believers still went to the temple at set times of prayer. The ninth hour is about three in the afternoon, the time of the evening sacrifice. Peter and John are simply on their way to pray when God interrupts their routine.

BSA: afternoon (“late in the day, around 3 p.m”): It was an ordinary hour of daily worship, so what follows grows out of a normal day.

See also: Acts 2:46.

Acts 3:2

The man had never walked in his life. Friends carried him daily to the gate to beg from worshipers, who were expected to show kindness to the poor. The gate’s name, Beautiful, sits in sharp contrast to his helplessness.

BSA: lame (“crippled, without the power to walk”): His problem was total, not partial: he lacked any power of his own to stand.

Acts 3:3

He did what he did every day: he asked for money. He saw two more passersby and hoped for a coin. His request was small because his hope was small. He did not know what he was about to be offered.

BSA: money (“charity, alms, financial help”): He asked for alms, the usual help given to the poor, and nothing more.

Acts 3:4-5

Peter and John fix their eyes on him and tell him to look at them. The man pays close attention, expecting a gift. God often meets us when our expectations are low and gives far more than we asked for.

BSA: expecting (“looking forward to, anticipating”): His hope was real but aimed at money, not healing.

Greek: ἀτενίσας (atenisas, G816) — “looking intently, gazing fixedly.” Luke uses a word for a steady, fixed stare. Peter is not glancing at the beggar as others did, but truly seeing him as a person.

Acts 3:6

Peter has no money, but he has something better: the power of Jesus. He commands the man to walk in Jesus’ name. Jesus of Nazareth, whom some had despised, is the one who heals. The church’s real wealth is Christ himself.

BSA: name (“character, reputation”): To act in Jesus’ name is to act on his authority and by who he is.

See also: Acts 4:10; Philippians 2:9-10.

Acts 3:7

Peter does not only speak; he takes the man’s hand and lifts him. The healing is immediate, and strength floods the feet and ankles that had never worked. Jesus’ power comes with a tender, personal touch.

BSA: at once (“immediately, without delay”): The healing was instant, not gradual, and plainly beyond natural explanation.

Acts 3:8

The man jumps up, walks, and enters the temple with them, leaping and praising God. A man who had been left outside the gate now goes in to worship. Healing leads naturally to thanksgiving.

BSA: leaping (“springing, jumping”): His joy cannot stay quiet; he is using legs he never had before.

Greek: ἁλλόμενος (hallomenos, G242) — “leaping, jumping up.” The word pictures a joyful spring into the air. It echoes Isaiah’s promise that the lame would leap like a deer.

See also: Isaiah 35:6.

Acts 3:9-10

Everyone had seen him sitting at the gate for years, so they knew this was no trick. Their wonder was the right first reaction, and it prepared them to hear Peter explain what it meant.

BSA: recognized (“knew deeply, understood”): They knew him well; the change in him was undeniable.

Acts 3:11

The healed man holds on to Peter and John, and the crowd rushes together to Solomon’s Colonnade, a covered walkway along the east side of the temple courts. A large, curious audience has gathered for Peter to speak.

BSA: clung (“held tightly, grasping”): His grip shows gratitude and attachment to those through whom he was healed.

See also: John 10:23.

Acts 3:12

Peter quickly turns attention away from himself. Neither human strength nor personal holiness made the man walk. Any good done through believers is never their own achievement, and a faithful servant deflects the praise to Christ.

BSA: godliness (“piety, reverence for God”): Peter denies that his own religious devotion earned this miracle.

See also: Acts 14:14-15.

Acts 3:13

Peter names the God their ancestors worshiped as the one who has honored Jesus. Yet they had given Jesus up and denied him before Pilate, even though Pilate wanted to let him go. The same God they claim is the one who vindicated him.

BSA: servant (“child, minister”): The word recalls Isaiah’s suffering Servant, who obeys God and bears others’ sins. glorified (“given praise and honor to”): God publicly honored Jesus by raising him up after men had shamed him.

See also: Isaiah 52:13; Luke 23:13-22.

Acts 3:14

Peter does not soften the charge. They turned down the Holy and Righteous One and chose a murderer, Barabbas, instead. Giving a killer his freedom and rejecting the sinless one shows how upside down human judgment can be.

BSA: Righteous (“just, fair, innocent”): Jesus was completely innocent of any charge, yet was condemned.

See also: Luke 23:18-19.

Acts 3:15

They killed the one who is the source of all life, but God raised him. Peter and the others saw him alive, and they stand as witnesses. The resurrection is the heart of the message.

BSA: Author (“founder, originator”): Jesus is the source and leader of life itself, so death could not keep him.

Greek: ἀρχηγὸν (archēgon, G747) — “originator, pioneer, leader.” The word can mean the one who begins something and also the one who leads the way, like a trailblazer. Jesus both gives life and goes ahead of us into it.

See also: Hebrews 12:2.

Acts 3:16

The man was healed through Jesus’ name and through faith that comes from Jesus. Even the faith involved is a gift. The result stands before their eyes: a man made completely whole.

BSA: complete (“perfect, whole”): The healing was whole and sound, with nothing left lacking. name (“character, authority”): The healing came from who Jesus truly is.

Greek: ὁλοκληρίαν (holoklērian, G3647) — “complete soundness.” The word describes a body with every part whole. Nothing about the man’s recovery was partial.

Acts 3:17

Peter now speaks gently, calling them brothers. He says they and their rulers acted in ignorance, which leaves room for mercy. It does not excuse the deed, but it opens the door for repentance.

BSA: ignorance (“lack of knowledge, unawareness”): They did not grasp who Jesus really was, which leaves room for forgiveness.

See also: Luke 23:34; 1 Timothy 1:13.

Acts 3:18

What looked like a terrible injustice was also God’s plan. The prophets had said the Messiah would suffer, and it happened. God was not defeated by the cross; he used it to accomplish salvation.

BSA: suffer (“experience pain, endure hardship, be afflicted”): The Messiah’s pain was foretold as part of his mission.

See also: Isaiah 53:5; Luke 24:25-27.

Acts 3:19

Peter’s call is to repent and turn back to God. Repentance means a change of mind that leads to a change of direction. The promise is great: sins wiped away, like writing washed off a page.

BSA: wiped away (“blotted out, completely erased”): Forgiveness removes the record of sin entirely.

Greek: ἐξαλειφθῆναι (exaleiphthēnai, G1813) — “to be wiped out, blotted out.” The word was used for rubbing ink off a scroll or erasing writing. God does not just overlook sin; he removes it.

See also: Isaiah 43:25; Acts 2:38.

Acts 3:20

Turning to God brings seasons of refreshing from his presence, like cool rest after a hard journey. It also looks ahead to the day God sends Jesus the Christ again. Those who turn to him now can welcome that day.

BSA: refreshing (“periods of spiritual renewal”): Repentance brings renewal and relief from the Lord’s own presence. presence (“face, manifest presence”): The refreshing comes from being before God’s face.

Acts 3:21

Jesus remains in heaven for now. The time is coming when God will restore all things, as the prophets long said. Until then, his people live between his departure and his return, with hope for a renewed creation.

BSA: restoration (“renewal and reconstitution”): God will set right all that sin has broken.

Greek: ἀποκαταστάσεως (apokatastaseōs, G605) — “restoration, setting right again.” The word means bringing something back to its proper condition. It points to God making the whole creation what he meant it to be.

See also: Romans 8:21; Revelation 21:5.

Acts 3:22-23

Peter quotes Moses, who promised a prophet like himself whom Israel must hear. Peter says that prophet is Jesus. To refuse him is to cut oneself off from God’s people, so the stakes of listening are very high.

BSA: listen (“obey, heed”): Hearing here means listening and obeying, not just taking in words.

See also: Deuteronomy 18:15-19.

Acts 3:24

From Samuel onward, the prophets all pointed to these days, the time of the Messiah and what he brings. Jesus is not a surprise addition to Israel’s story but the goal toward which it was moving.

BSA: proclaimed (“declared, announced publicly”): The prophets openly announced the coming of this time.

See also: 1 Peter 1:10-11.

Acts 3:25

Peter reminds his listeners that they are heirs of the prophets and of God’s covenant with Abraham. The promise was that all the families of the earth would be blessed through his offspring. So Israel’s calling always included the world.

BSA: offspring (“seed, descendants, family line”): The promise runs through Abraham’s line to Christ, and through him to every nation.

See also: Genesis 12:3; Galatians 3:8-9.

Acts 3:26

God raised up his Servant and sent him first to Israel. The blessing he brings is not just comfort but being turned from wickedness. The way God blesses is by changing us from the inside, and that offer was open to each one of them.

BSA: bless (“to praise, speak well of, and bring joy to”): God’s blessing is real good done to people, not just kind words. first (“before others, in time and importance”): Israel received the message first, though the blessing was meant to reach all nations.

See also: Romans 1:16.