Acts 3: Edit history

Acts 3 is an early chapter of the Book of Acts that gives a detailed account of one of the signs the apostles performed after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Acts 2 closes by summarizing that many wonders and signs were done by the apostles (Acts 2:43). This chapter records one of those events and the second sermon of Peter that followed it. These events lead to the arrest and interrogation recounted in Acts 4.

Outline

• Verses 1–5 At the hour of prayer, the ninth hour (about 3:00 p.m.), Peter and John go up to the Temple in Jerusalem. At the temple gate called Beautiful, a man lame from birth is begging.
• Verses 6–10 Peter tells him to walk in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, takes him by the right hand, and lifts him up. The man walks and leaps and praises God, and the people are amazed.
• Verses 11–16 Peter addresses the people gathered in Solomon's Porch. The healing came about not by the apostles' own power or holiness but by the name of Jesus and the faith that comes through him. The people denied and killed Jesus, but God raised him from the dead.
• Verses 17–21 Peter says that the people and their rulers acted in ignorance and urges them to repent and turn back.
• Verses 22–26 Peter appeals to the prophet "like unto me" of whom Moses spoke and to the covenant given to Abraham. He concludes that God sent his servant first to Israel to bless them.

Key Verses

• Acts 3:6 "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee" (KJV) — The most widely quoted verse in the chapter. It shows that what the apostles had to give was the name of Jesus.
• Acts 3:19 "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out" (KJV) — The conclusion of the sermon, which speaks of repentance and the forgiveness of sins together.

People and Places

• Peter and John — Peter delivers the sermon, and John is with him.
• The lame man — He is not named in the text. Acts 4 states that he was more than forty years old (Acts 4:22).
• Pontius Pilate — Mentioned as the Roman governor who had determined to release Jesus.
• The murderer — Not named in the text, but the Gospels identify him as Barabbas.
• The Beautiful Gate — One of the temple gates. Opinions differ as to which gate it was.
• Solomon's Porch — A colonnaded portico within the temple precincts. It also appears in John 10:23 and Acts 5:12.

Interpretive Questions

• "Faith" in verse 16 — The lame man shows no faith before he is healed. Accordingly, some interpreters take this faith to be that of the apostles, while others take it to be the man's own.
• The meaning of the healing — Pentecostal churches read this event as a basis for divine healing today. Cessationists see it as a sign that confirmed the gospel in the apostolic age. For details, see Cessationism and Continuationism.
• "Through ignorance" in verse 17 — Acts 3:17 is read together with Luke 23:34 and Acts 7:60. Some point out that the charges in verses 13–15 are addressed to the audience present at the time and should not be used as grounds for condemning the Jewish people as a whole.
• "The times of restitution of all things" in verse 21 — Generally read as the restoration that will take place at the Second Coming. In antiquity, Origen and others cited this expression in support of the view that all beings will ultimately be saved, but the mainstream church did not accept this view.
• "His servant Jesus" (verses 13 and 26) — Often read in connection with the Suffering Servant of Isaiah. Verse 22 quotes Deuteronomy 18.

In Korean Churches

• In Korean Protestant churches, verse 6 is frequently used in sermons and Sunday school lessons on the authority of the name of Jesus.
• A Korean translation of the English-language children's song "Silver and Gold Have I None" is reportedly sung in Korean Sunday schools.