Sermon Tone Analysis

We have been looking at the inception of the church.

And as we have looked at the inception of the church we have examined the essential elements that make a healthy church and we have even looked at how God has broken down barriers within the church.

Now that the church in the book of Acts has been established we are going to see this morning through the work of two of the apostles of the crowning characteristics of God that has never changed but is being fully realized through the church.

This is the characteristic of God has always been a mark of salvation, it is God’s mercy.

God did not just let mankind wallow in their sin and sinful condition.

His mercy is at work in man’s salvation and bringing Himself glory.

It is because of God’s mercy mixed with His grace that man has been spiritually healed.

As we look at one of the first recorded miracles the apostles performed we will see something important about God’s mercy.

God’s Mercy brings Spiritual Healing which is Expressed in Physical Praise

We will see this in Acts 3:1-10, Acts 3:1-10;

In verse 1 Luke provides the setting.

The events of the day of Pentecost are over God is continuing to work in a mighty way in and through the apostles and now Luke gives us the names of two apostles, Peter and John.

There is something to be said about the fact that these two men were together.

First they were in pairs as Jesus had told them to be when He first sent them out.

Peter is the highlight of the first ten or so chapters.

Stephen and Philip are also added to the mix but the focus of the first ten or so chapters is on Peter, his actions and his sermons.

Stephen and Philip have very special and unique roles in God's plan for the spread of the gospel but Peter is who Luke highlights.

We saw this in the last chapter and we will see this again in this chapter as well as the next chapter.

The next element that is unique here in this verse is the mention of who is with Peter.

Peter and John were going to the temple.

These two are seen together on more then one occasion.

It is very possible these two were very close friends.

When Jesus asked two of the disciples to go and prepare the Passover meal, Luke tells us it is Peter and John that Jesus asked.

When the women come back and tell the disciples Jesus has risen from the grave who are the two that go, Peter and John.

t is also believed that at Jesus trial one of the disciples is related in some way to the high priest and gains access to the house where the trial took place and then this disciple let Peter into the courtyard.

The mystery disciple is John.And here the very first account after the day of Pentecost the first two we find are Peter and John.

The two were close friends and worked together to spread the gospel and worked together to help one another grow in their own walk with the Lord.

The reason why they were going to the temple is proof of both of these facts.

They were going to the temple to pray.

It is the “ninth hour, the hour of prayer.”

The ninth hour is 3:00 p.m. and this is the time of the evening sacrifices.

This is a public act of worship on their part.

Meaning what has just occured with the Pentecost event didn't cause them to only spend time with one another but because it was a fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures they held to the same regulation they had, because it was ingrained in them, but also because they went with a fuller understanding of what it meant to go and pray in public.

They would do this together and they wouldn't just do this on the ninth hour but they would do this continually.

These men are going to the temple for the purpose of worship and they have gone to the temple to worship before but now as they go to the temple after the coming of the Holy Spirit they are going with a different feeling and an overwhelming understanding of what it means to feel and experience the mercy of God because they have felt it in a most powerful way.

Now they are going to be the vessels of God’s mercy onto a man who has in this community been written off.

As we look at God’s mercy and how it is demonstrated to this man we will see a five qualities of mercy, The first is; Mercy is Impartial

Mercy is Beautiful

Look with me at verse 2; “And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple.”

Now we get to see exactly why they were on their way to the temple on this very day and at this very time.

A man, who was born paralyzed without the ability to walk was placed at the gate.

Scholar’s are not sure which gate this is.

There is no record of a gate called Beautiful.

There are a couple of gates in the temple.

There is the main gate people would take to go in.

Then there was another gate called the Nicanor gate which lead from the court of the women to the court of the Israelites.

This was more then likely the gate that separated the court of the gentiles from the court of the women.

The court of the gentiles is were Jesus went in and cleared out all the tables and the sellers of sacrifices.

So it would be possible this is were the beggar is.

This is more then likely an entrance to the temple since he is begging alms from those who are entering the temple.

This is a common occurrence in ancient Israel.

People were not taken care of by the government and if they couldn't work and the family didn't take care of them this is how they would make a living and this is exactly what this guy was doing.

He was so bad off that others had to bring him to the temple.

He had no wheelchair, crutches couldn't help him.

So he would be brought to the temple and fall on the mercy of men going into worship God in the temple.

It seems as though they are taking advantage of the stipulation in Deuteronomy where God tells the nation to take care of the poor.

We also need to keep in mind a man like this was looked down on as being a sinner or the son of a sinner because for the man to be in the condition he is in and since it was from the time he was born then God was punishing him or his parents for some heinous sin.

This is a factor also because some people would take pity on him but not the religious elite they would thumb their nose at him and his condition.

The Israelites didn't take care of their own.

They didn't show any kind of mercy toward anyone unless the other person was within their own social and economic class.

The summary at the end of Chapter 2 leads perfectly into how the church should respond to people like this.

This was prescribed to the nation in Deuteronomy

Solomon, who is the wealthiest man alive, says this in Proverbs 14:19-20;

And Isaiah encourages the nation to care for the poor in Isaiah 58:10-11;

Mercy is a beautiful characteristic because mercy doesn’t look down on someone but helps bring the other up.

This man should have been helped but instead they wealthy of the day would maybe throw him a denuris and go on their way.

Not even looking at him.

These people are cruel and heartless.

Mercy is Beautiful and Mercy also Removes shame and Guilt.

Mercy Removes Shame and Guilt

In verses 3-5 we find out what happens when mercy finds this poor man.

Verse 3 reads “When he was Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. 4 But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, “Look at us!” 5 And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.”

Now the men meet one another for the first time.

The beggar notices Peter and John coming toward him and asks for alms.

He is seeking charity looking for a hand out.

Peter and John both stop and stair at him intently and what they say to the beggar is very telling.

"Look at us!" The beggar notices them but when he asks for the alms he asks with his head down, he is not looking in their eyes.

Anyone who asks for charity usually asks with shame.

There is nothing this man can do and he has no other means of support.

It is very possible his family has put him out or can’t support him now that he is old.

It is possible he is living from house to house and it is obvious this man can't take care of himself.

This is not the most respected means of making a living and what kind of a living is this.

He isn't faking it this is not just a ploy to make money it is shameful to the point he can't even look up to ask for the money.

It isn't until Peter and John call for his attention that he looks up at them.

He figures if these guys are calling for his attention they are going to give him money.

In a society where social and economic class reign, if someone were to give money they would want the one who recieved to know the face of the one who gave it to him.

So he looks up at them.

Mercy takes away shame and guilt.

When Mercy is demonstrated the mercy shown provides a sense of relief in this man’s heart.

He is told to look at them and what happens is by looking up he is about to see the glory of God which is poor out in the mercy He is showing through His servants.

Mercy is of Greatest Value

But he doesn't get what he expected.

He got something better.

Peter tells him, "I do not possess sliver and gold, but what I do have I give to you."

He has no money he has nothing monetary to give to the man but he will give him something that the man isn't even asking for and probably has prayed for and seeks in his heart but he can't ask people for it.

That is what Peter offers him, he offers the man the ability to walk.

It is not in Peter's power but in the power and the name that is above every name, Jesus Christ.

There is power in the name of Jesus but it is not just some formula tacked on the end of a prayer and voila it comes to be.

That is not what this means.

Yes the name of Jesus has power but the power is from God through the work of the Holy Spirit that is God's will for the person and persons.