How we are healed
Readings: 11:11 (Its starts with an improved version of the story)
Sermon: 16:50
Readings: Acts 3:1-10, Acts 3:11-26, Psalm 1
It makes sense that Jesus would be a healer and miracle worker right? He is God the creator of everything, he has power over everything. But what about us. We know there is a lot of healing needed in this world. We know often need healing, if not physical, then emotional, spiritual, relational. The thing is that God wants us to be healed in all ways. He wants to restore us to fullness of health and life. That is part of what it means to live in God’s Kingdom. That garden of bounty, growth and rest needs to be restored and so do we.
Over the summer we have been reading over the gospel of Mark. What we saw there was that God cares deeply for our physical, social and emotional needs, but that our ultimate need is for a greater spiritual life with God. Now today, we have skipped ahead a whole lot. We have passed by the last supper, the cross, the resurrection, the 40 days with the disciples, Jesus’ ascension into heaven and when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit into the disciples at Pentecost. The disciples, with all those newly baptised then became a new kind of community, devoted to God through prayer, fellowship, worship, sacrament, learning, generosity and so much more.
So Jesus is in heaven, the disciples have the Holy Spirit and they live in a new kind of community. What now? At Pentecost the disciples were driven out, today, they are just living their lives. They go to the temple at the hour of prayer, a consistent time where jews were called to prayer, not unlike the Muslim times of prayer. It was in this everyday life of trying to follow God better that they meet a man in need. They could have rushed in and missed him. They could have thought we don’t have any money to give. They could have created any number of reasons not to stop, but they recognized that this was an opportunity to serve and share Christ and build his Kingdom.
Now, if we were in this situation, which I imagine many of us have walked by someone in need, what would we think? We would be scared to proclaim God’s healing, right? We might even be scared to step into this man’s life, not knowing. We might even be scared to speak God’s name over him. I have been.
What was different for the disciples? They had walked with Jesus and seen it work. They had done it themselves at least a few times. They had been given God’s Spirit. But all of these things don’t really make them different from us. We may need more healthy and courageous examples, but do we even step out enough to see it happen. Part of my role and my seminary training has meant that I have walked through numerous sicknesses of one kind or another with people. As you would expect, I haven’t always seen people healed. I think this is for numerous reasons, like I have seen how a godly death and godly suffering can affect people and family for the better. I have seen some really strange and beautiful blessings come through death. Yet, I also need to admit that I haven’t always been courageous in praying healing and God’s name over people.
All of that being said, I have also seen a lot of miracles. Some happened right away, some happened over time, some happened through natural means and some happened in unexpected ways, but there have been many miracles. I remember one man my age who was going through his third triple by-pass surgery. The doctors were convinced his heart wouldn’t hold out, but they had no other choice. I prayed with this man for a long time before, praying for strength and healing. In that time, he also decided he wanted to change his life and follow Christ more. The surgery ended up going strangly well, I remember the doctors and his surprise at the strength of his heart, even though they had already been in there twice, recently. Of course the doctors had a hand in this, but so did the prayer and his conversion.
I have witnessed miracles as I imagine many of us have. We have the Holy Spirit. We know the stories of Jesus. So, why aren’t we more like these disciples bravely speaking the name of Jesus and praying over people? It might not always work, as the disciples had struggles at the foot of transfiguration, it might not work right away, God might have more important plans, but even if it works 1 out of 10 times imagine the difference it could make in people’s lives. Imagine the difference it could make for God’s kingdom.
Back to the story in acts though. Here is this man who hasn’t been able to walk since birth. That means this wasn’t some temporary thing. It wasn’t just something that would heal on its own. It seems as if there were many people in his life who wanted to help them, but what could they do. It didn’t seem as if doctors were enough. All his friends could do was bring him to the temple to beg for money. At least this way he could make a little to live off of. What his friends could do was important, but not enough.
From his response to Peter and John, as he expected them to give him money, it seems as if he had resolved himself to believing this limited help is all anyone could offer him. He was outside the temple gate called beautiful and yet he didn’t quite believe, he wasn’t watching for the healing that God could bring. That is a really incredible thing, it wasn’t his faith that made the difference, it was Peter, John and Jesus’. They even say that later on, “It was faith through Jesus that healed this man”. Most of the time, our faith, the person we are praying for’s faith isn’t strong enough, but we have been given faith through Jesus Christ and the faith that took him to the cross and raised him from the dead was more than enough. We need to have the courage to step out, speak Jesus name and pray and trust that his faith is enough.
Even after hearing all of this the reality is that most of you probably trust in money, doctors and the people around you more than God. I am not saying we shouldn’t trust in these things. I believe a lot of harm has happened for those that have rejected them in some misguided idea of faith. What I am trying to say is that we should at least turn to God as much, if not more, than we turn to these things. Is our first response to pray, or run to the doctor, or pay for comfort or medication, or ask for help from people? Notice the disciples still helped this man stand. The physical support was part of the spiritual support, but God and faith were the essential core of it all.
So, the man was healed, and God immediately uses him even more. He jumps around and starts proclaim and worshipping God. Here are people in the temple courts, probably going to pray and buy their sacrificial birds and cows, but this man is making a ruckus. They turn and see this man jumping around and they recognize him as the same person that they have seen for years by the beautiful gate. Of course they would be filled with wonder and amazement, wouldn’t we? Well, I don’t know if we would. For one, I don’t know anyone that will go around praising God when they are healed. In our culture we would been looked at strangely. In Jesus’ honour/shame culture, it would have been even worse. It would have been shameful. It is so important in this moment and in so many moments to do this for God and yet we don’t. The other part is that we aren’t always filled with awe and wonder, because we are too quick to explain something away. I have experienced friends who thought an unknown strength was adrenaline, I have experienced my heart saying oh maybe that would have naturally happened. We can quickly explain away the strange, mysterious. We can quickly take God out of it. We can make the miraculous seem common place or unspecial.
So this becomes an opportunity for the healed man to share his healing and new faith. It then becomes an opportunity for the disciples to share God as well. The people come to Peter and John think they had something to do with this. Of course they did, but they quickly point to Jesus. It was not by our holiness, or power that this man was healed, it was through the name of Jesus Christ. It was through knowing him and his presence.
They then go into Jesus’ story. There is a lot of important things here, but for today, I just want to close by pointing out two. Peter says, you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. This is just the reality of Jesus’ trial that everyone would have known. They tried and convicted a just and right man to death and freed a known murderer and rebel. This dicotomy and self-destructive behaviour should be obvious, but Peter makes it even more drastic, because we would rather release a murder and kill the author of life. This should tell us a great deal about why we experience such sickness, weakness and death. Why? Because we literally invite it in and push out the one who is sustaining us. We might be ignorant of this, but that doesn’t make it okay. We all know something is wrong. So we should be seeking out what is right and not be ignorant.
Lastly, Peter reminds us it is not beyond our capacity to know what we need. He says, the Messiah appointed for you, that is, Jesus, who must remain in heaven until the time of universal restoration that God announced long ago through his holy prophets. Our need and our restoration has already been announced, shown and offered. God wants complete and utter restoration, universal restoration. These healings, this life, this faith, is just the foretaste as it creates little moments, pockets and people of God’s kingdom.
You see healing and restoration are a part of God’s promise and kingdom. So as workers for his kingdom we are meant to bring this about. With courage, prayer and speaking his name, we can be healers of this world. Sometimes we can do God’s work in physical natural ways, sometimes it needs to be miraculous, sometimes we can bring healing through talking and listening. What we need to realize is that we have a far greater gift than silver or gold. We have the author of life and in him we might all have a full and healed life.
Bible Study Questions:
Acts 3:1-10
What is the context for this story? Where is Jesus? What happened to the disciples after?
When were the disciples going to the temple? Why is this important?
What does it mean that he was lame from birth? Why is this important?
What could this man’s friends do? Why was this good and important? Why wasn’t that enough?
Why the Beautiful Gate? We don’t know which gate this was, but why is the name significant?
This man asks for silver and gold but received something far greater. What are some of the things we ask for, but aren’t what God wants to give us most? Why was God’s gift greater?
What does it mean that they do this in the name of Jesus of Nazareth?
Where did this strength come from? What does it tell us about God?
What did the man do as a result? Why was this important and significant?
What did the people watching think of this?
What are some of the reasons you think Jesus healed this person in particular?
Acts 3:11-26
Why would this man cling to Peter and John?
Why Solomon’s Portico? It was the outer edges of the temple court (where everyone could go, even gentiles)
Why would the people run to Peter and John?
What was their response?
Why is the context of Jesus' life, suffering, and resurrection so important? (including its accusatory nature)
Is there anything that surprises you about their way of describing Jesus’ life?
What does it mean that we chose to free a murderer over the author of life? What does that tell us about humanity and our choices?
What does it mean to be a witness? Why is it important in this context and our own to be a witness to Jesus?
What does it mean that the name made this man strong? Why is the name so important?
What does it mean to have faith through Jesus Christ? How is this faith not our own? How do we see it in this man’s healing? Why is this important?
This healing is public, why is that important? Why is it scary for us today to be like Peter and John?
What does it mean to be ignorant of something? Does this make it okay?
Why does this make a witness even more important?
How should we respond when we find out about an accidental fault? Why?
How does God use their ignorant evil? Why is it still not okay?
What is universal restoration? What does this mean for the world and for our hope?
Why is Jesus staying in heaven till then? What is our role in the meantime as seen through Peter and John?
What are some of the ways God’s prophets foretold of Jesus and these days?
What is at least one of the purposes of Jesus’ coming? This passage gives us one.
Psalm 1
Why would people be happy for not following the advice of the wicked, or take the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of scoffers? What is the consequence of these things?
Notice the three things, following advice, taking the path, or sitting. How do these encapsulate many of the negative ways we can bring sin into our lives?
Why is the law a delight? Or how can it be?
Why would it be important to meditate on them day and night?
In the desert, what would it mean for a tree to be planted by a stream?
What does it mean for us to be planted in God?
What is the difference for those that don’t root themselves in God?
What does it mean to not be able to stand? Why would they be unable to stand in judgment or with the righteous?
If God watches over the way of the righteous, what does that mean for their life? (Think of a parent watching over their child)
