AN EVANGELISM EPISODE
Acts 3
Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
It was a normal day and Peter and John went to the temple. There is no indication that they had any other motive except to perform their afternoon prayers. They did not initiate the conversation with the lame man; he asked them for money as he had done with many passers-by for many years. This time, however, a miracle happened and he was miraculously healed.
This is, as far as I can deduce, the initiative of the Holy Spirit. It drew in a crowd and Peter then addressed the crowd to explain what had happened and share with them the Gospel and (over the next few weeks?) the church grew to 5000 strong.
Was the man used to draw a crowd? Was the miracle performed to underline the power of the Gospel? Was the overwhelming response (2000 souls added to the 3000 who responded at Pentecost) an indication of what the church can expect when the Gospel is shared? Is the example of Peter and John something we “ordinary” Christians can draw inspiration from? Should we go about offering “what we have” to overcome the physical woes and needs of the people around us for the sake of the Gospel?
There is no indication that the man embraced Jesus as Saviour and Lord although since he “went with them into the temple courts” and held on to them there is every possibility that he responded positively when he heard the Gospel message. However the narrative did not focus on this; he was not healed so he would listen to and respond to the Gospel; he was healed as a gift from God through Peter. “By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.”
Peter makes it very clear that he and John are “normal folk”, fellow Israelites, neither powerful nor especially godly. It is Jesus who is extraordinary and God who acts on his behalf. The miracle might have drawn the crowd’s attention but Peter made it clear that it is Jesus that they really needed to get to grips with.
When we understand the position and perspective of Peter, we should then lose all these notions and expectations of achievement. We are but ordinary vessels, called to righteousness and love and obedience, that we maintain for God to use. It is God who acts and Christ who is glorified. Are we so presumptuous to think that it is our initiative that moves the hand of God and contributes to his success?
“Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus.”