10 The First Apostolic Miracle – The Healing of the Lame Beggar

Alright, if you would please take your Bible turn to Acts chapter 3. We will be in Acts chapter 3 in verses 1 to 10. Now we have finished up chapter 2 and we saw that basically chapter 2 is all about three things. The first and foremost from verses 1 to 13 we saw the outpouring of the promised person of the Holy Spirit there on the day of Pentecost and from those verses we had two messages titled the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I know I said several times you could change that title to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

And then from verses 14 to 41 quite a big block of scripture we saw how the Apostle Peter stepped forward and spoke up and he preached the very first sermon recorded in the New Testament. And from those verses I taught two messages titled Peter's sermon at Pentecost. And then third from verses 42 to 47 we saw how Luke described this first church which had really just been born. And from those verses we had two messages titled the first church described the early days. The first church described the early days. Now if you have not gotten that teaching I do challenge you to catch up.

Every now and then someone in the life of the church will tell me, "Pastor I've been behind but I've caught up." This is how the Lord has worked. So I challenge you to do that. Now as we move into chapter 3 it can seem that there is a disconnect from chapter 2 in this description of the early days of the church there in Jerusalem. Here in chapter 3 we have the first apostolic healing miracle performed. But we need to see that here in verses 1 to 10 we have a picture. We have a very short detailed description of one event that Luke spoke of and described with the church there in chapter 2 verse 43. Let me explain.

In chapter 2 verse 43 Luke said that as the first church gathered and did what they did many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. This was simply a broad description of the great apostolic wonders and signs and miracles that were done through the apostles. Well here in chapter 3 verses 1 to 10 Luke gives us a short, a very detailed description of one of those miracles. This is commonly referred to as the story of the lame beggar being healed. You might see some kind of a heading in your own Bible. Now remember this if you have a heading there that's not part of inspired scripture.

That's why some Bibles will have a different type of heading. Some may not have a heading at all. Now before we dive into the verses in this first apostolic miracle that Luke gives us I want to ask a few probing questions, kind of some thought provoking questions. This may help some of you. What are we to make of such a miracle? What are we to make of such a miracle? We are Baptists and Baptists do not normally believe in healing. Isn't that right? So should we shy away from these verses in this teaching? Should we totally avoid this teaching? I know people who do that.

Is this grounds for healing ministries and healing ministers like we see today? Do these verses and teaching from these verses validate those old faith healers like Oral Roberts? Do any of you know who Oral Roberts was? He was a famous faith healer. Ultimately he died of cancer. I'm not making fun of that. It's kind of ironic. Does this validate the faith healers of today like Benny Hinn? So how should we approach and understand these obvious miracles of healing? And how should this apply to us today? Those are good questions that we should ask. And we'll come back to those questions at the conclusion of the message.

But church let's make sure that we see something here. These verses and these events are a part of God's Word. Are they not? They are a part of God's Word. So these things certainly do relate to us in our day. 2 Timothy 3, 16 says, "All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." So that means that the story of the Lane Beggar being healed found in verses 1 to 10, these things are breathed out by God. These verses and this healing here is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and training in righteousness. Do you see?

So that means that we should not be afraid to study these verses. And if we shy away from these verses, if we ignore these verses, really we're in sin. We really can be in sin. Now before us, we have a picture. I've said that earlier. We have a short, very detailed description of one of the first miracles performed by the apostles, really the first one recorded. And this is commonly referred to as the story of the Lane or the Crippled Beggar being healed. Let's read the verses, verses 1 to 10. Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the night hour.

And a man lame from birth or crippled from birth was being carried, whom they lay daily at the gate of the temple that is called the beautiful gate, to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze in him, as did John, and said, "Look at us." And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but what I do have, I give to you." In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.

And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up, he stood and began to walk and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. Now the text doesn't say it, but it has to mean that he was running around. I mean, if he was walking and leaping, I mean, he had to be running around. Verse 9, "And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the beautiful gate of the temple, asking for alms.

And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him." Now I have said this, but here we have the first apostolic miracle recorded in the book of Acts. And this leads me to the title of the message. It's a little simple. It's very simple. The first apostolic miracle, the healing of the lame beggar. Now this is how we will divide and approach these verses. I want us to see three things. First the scene or the context or the background of the miracle. You can use whatever word you choose, whatever word resonates with you. We have the scene, we have the context, the background of the miracle, verses 1 to 3.

Then second we have the actual miracle. This in the heart of the verses, verses 4 to 8. And then third, the result of the miracle in verses 9 to 10. Really this is the beginning of the results because the results carry on in the chapter 4. So let's get into the message. Number one, the background of this miracle, verses 1 to 3. Now here we have the scene of the miracle. We have the context in which this miracle was performed. We have the background for the miracle. And to get as full of a picture here, I want us to focus on three things out of the verses. First Peter and John.

Luke names Peter and John and there's something that we do need to see here. You may not realize it. The gospels and the book of Acts show us that Peter and John were very, very close. Before they became followers of Jesus, some of you know this, they were actually partners in business. They were fishermen. Also along with John's brother James, we can see that Peter and John were closer to Jesus than the other twelve. Many times in the gospels we can see that Peter, James and John were this inner circle who were closer to Jesus than the rest. And as a matter of fact, a lot of times he gave them certain responsibilities because of that.

So the point here is this. At times we will see Peter, James and John listed together and here we see Peter and John together going to the temple in the hour of prayer. Now you may not realize it, but this is a big lesson here and a very important lesson. Here's the lesson. We all need an inner circle. We all need an inner circle. You need to be a part of a Peter, James and John fellowship for personal accountability and to aid in your personal spiritual growth. Some of you know these verses, and these verses speak right to this. Ecclesiastes chapter 4 verses 9 to 12 teaches us and shows us the need for such a relationship.

I want to read those verses because this is important. Ecclesiastes 4, 9 to 12, and I'm reading out of my legacy standard Bible. "Two are better than one because they have good wages for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not a second to lift, there's not a second one to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together, they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can stand against him." Here's the main thrust of the verses now.

"A cord of three strands is not quickly or easily torn apart." So the lesson here is this. We all need an inner circle. We all need Peter, James, and John relationships and fellowship for personal, spiritual accountability and growth and all that spiritual growth entails. Now this leads me to a warning. Do not fall into the pit, into the snare. I believe into the sin of the lone ranger approach to the Christian wall. Don't do that. Do not fall into the pit or into the snare. I believe the sin of this lone ranger approach to Christianity.

Being a Christian who does not cultivate and find and yearn for Peter, James, and John relationships within an acceptably healthy local church. Listen, that's unhealthy. That's unspiritual. And to me, I believe it's a sin. You can find those relationships where? Obviously across the church body, but especially in your small group. But second, I want us to look at the hour of prayer. Here verse one tells us that Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer and notice this was 3 p.m. If you have a Bible, some Bibles footnote that. It might say that this was 3 p.m. Now what does this mean here?

Back in chapter 2 verse 42, we learned that the apostles and those early believers were devoted to several things. As a matter of fact, we spent all of the first part of that message on verse 42. But one of the things they were devoted to was prayer. And I mentioned specific times of prayer. And those specific times of prayer is what Luke is referring to here in verse 1 in chapter 3. But we need to see and understand something here. And this pertains to the development of the first church. And this will help us as we continue through the book of Acts. Let me explain.

This first church here in Jerusalem was comprised of Jews and converts to Judaism who had been born again. They'd come to faith in Christ. And these Jewish believers were still attached to the temple and worship at the temple and religious life there at the temple. Really they did not separate from Judaism and Jewish life overnight. Warren Wiersby points out this gradual development. I really took what he said and put it in my own words.

But we have to see that Acts chapters 1 to 10 give us a gradual transition from Israel and the Jews to the Gentiles and from Jewish Christianity, which is seen early on in the book of Acts, to the one body that's made up of both Jew and Gentiles. See all these things took time. It actually took several years before many of these first Jewish believers came to really understand that the Gentiles had a true and legitimate place in the church and in the work of God. And understand these things did involve some conflict and some difficulty. We're going to see that. Now what is my point here?

We see the development of the church in the book of Acts and throughout the rest of the New Testament. It took time to develop. Here we see that Peter and John were still attached to the Jewish times of prayer. And later on we will see a detachment from these things. And we see this detachment fully as we progress through the book of Acts really especially into the rest of the New Testament. But right here in these verses, right here in this time, we see how they were attached to those traditional times of Jewish prayer and this was 3 p.m., one of those hours of designated prayer.

Now one interesting detail here in the language, this phrase translated "were going up." Language scholars tell us this is an imperfect tense verb which tells us they were going up to the time of prayer and it tells us that they went up frequently. They went up frequently. It was their habit. Now this leads me to some questions. Let's be honest with ourselves. Do we go to our time and our place of prayer frequently? Do we go to our time and our place of prayer frequently? Or do we go to our time and our place of prayer only when we want something or only when we are in a time of crisis? They went up frequently. It was their habit.

So we see that Peter and John were going to the temple for the hour of prayer which was a habit and they did this regularly. Third, we have the man who was lain from birth. Now here we get to the main earthly character of these events. Verse 2 says, "A man lain from birth was being carried, whom they lay daily at the gate of the temple that is called the beautiful gate, to ask alms of those entering the temple." Now notice one important detail. He was hopeless, completely hopeless in his condition. The text says that he was lain from birth. Notice some translations say lain from his mother's womb.

So this tells us that no doctor in that day and no cure that was available to him was able to cure him of this lame condition. So we see that he was really totally helpless and hopeless in his condition. Now notice another detail. He was dependent on other people. The text says that he was carried by others who laid him at the gate of the temple. This means that his condition was so bad that he could not walk at all. Thought about it today. Maybe he couldn't even crawl. So he was literally and physically being carried by other people. So this tells us that he was totally dependent on other people. And notice one last important detail here.

He was hopeless and dependent continually. The text says that he was carried and laid at the gate at the temple daily. And this word translated was carried along. This is an imperfect tense verb as well which tells us that this was a daily and continual routine. This tells us that this went on day after day, day after day, day after day. That is why the English translations say this took place daily. This wasn't a one time event. So this tells us he was hopeless and dependent on others continuously all the time, all of his life. So here we have the main earthly character of the event.

Here we have a man who was lame or crippled since birth from his mother's womb. He was completely hopeless in his condition and dependent on others continuously really all of the days of his life. Now another layer here is how these things were viewed and approached culturally. In their day and in their society there was no social security. We're accustomed to social security. There was no disability insurance. We know people who have used disability insurance. Some needed it and some didn't. There was no social safety net other than begging and being reduced to a life of a beggar. It was the only choice he had.

And on top of that, the common Jewish belief was that if someone was in this kind of a condition they believed they were guilty of some kind of a sin, even their parents were guilty of some kind of a sin. Scholars point out that there were three places where beggars would set up. At the houses of the rich, we see that in Luke 14, 1-2, along roads or major highways, we see that in Mark 10, 46, and at the temple. And the temple was the best place for begging because giving to the poor was a way for Jews to demonstrate their godliness or their supposed godliness.

So here in these verses, verses 1-3, we have the scene, we have the context, the background for this first apostolic miracle that's recorded. These close brothers of Christ, Peter and John, they were going to the temple for the 3 p.m. time of prayer, which was their custom, their habit. There at the temple was this totally helpless cripple, this totally helpless beggar that was carried by others to the gate of the temple to beg daily, day after day, day after day, day after day. Now before we move into the actual miracle, we must see and understand that all these things were according to God's purpose and purposes. Let me repeat that.

We must see and understand that all of these things here were according to God's purpose and purposes. Nothing here was an accident, nothing here was by chance. Even the man being born lame was according to God's purpose and purposes in the world. Look church, we serve a good and a purposeful sovereign God. All things work for his good. Even those things that we do not understand, even sin and sinfulness is a part of God's good and purposeful will in the world. We are seeing and learning these things in our small group study in Genesis chapter 34 to 50 in the life of Joseph.

His brothers sinned greatly against him, but when all things came full circle, what did he say? You didn't sell me in Egypt, God did. You see, God uses everything. Number two, number two, I want us to see the actual miracle. Number two, the actual miracle. This is in the heart of the verses, verses four to eight. Let's read those verses. "And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John." In other words, both of them looked at him and said, "Look at us." And he, this is the beggar, fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.

But Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but what I do have, I give to you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up or get up and walk." And he took him by the right hand and raised him up. And immediately his feet and his ankles were made strong and leaping up. Earlier, I said he had to be running. I'm not trying to insert that in there. And leaping up, he stood and began to walk. And he entered the temple with him, walking and leaping and praising God. Now, I want us to examine the miracle and I want us to look at four things about the miracle. First, this was totally unexpected.

Now, if we look at the verses, we can see that after the lame beggar asked Peter and John for alms, alms means a pity. This word alms, it refers to pity, to mercy, showing pity by giving a donation. And after he asked for alms, asked for money, asked for mercy, asked for pity, Peter looked at him and he called the beggar to look at them. And language scholars tell us this was very, very intense language. Peter directing his gaze at him was intense. And Peter calling the beggar to look at them was intense as well. So this was no casual look here. This was purposeful. This was direct. This was very intense. And what does he say?

We do not have money to give you, but in the name of Jesus, get up and walk. Well, what happened? The man who had been lame or crippled from birth, even while he was in his mother's womb, he was healed. Peter took him by the hand and he was raised up. But the point that we need to see here is this. This was not planned. This was not planned by the beggar. This was not planned by Peter and John. So this was totally unplanned and unexpected, at least from their perspective. Now there is a lesson here for us as well. These things were all unplanned by man, but these things were totally, completely planned by God.

God chose to heal this particular beggar and God chose to use Peter and John to do his work. And church look, this is a lesson in the sovereign work of God in the affairs of men and man. God did what he did here for two reasons. First and foremost, this was all about bringing glory to himself and glory to his name. That was the number one goal here for God. And then second, this was to save lost sinners. We could debate if this lame beggar came to true faith. We really don't know. I'll have to speculate that he did, but we don't know. The text doesn't say. But then second, notice this was all done in the name of Jesus.

Here in verse six, we see the specifics of what Peter said to the beggar. Look at verse six. Peter said, "I have no silver and gold." Let me pause there. One commentator said he didn't have silver and gold because they had all given their money together earlier. I don't know. I have no silver and gold, but what I do have, I give to you. Notice in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up in wall. Now we may not see this in our day, but in their day, using the name of someone was very, very important. This had great, great spiritual meaning. It does have great spiritual meaning.

In their day and in their culture, when one's name was used, it represented quite a lot. The name represented who the person was and what the person was. The name of the person represented their character and even any power or authority that they may have had. Let me give you an example. In their day, the name of the king. The name of the king meant something. The name of the king represented who they were and what they were, and their name represented their power and their authority, and it also even represented their character, good and bad.

Well, in using the name of Jesus and healing this beggar in the name of Jesus, Peter was doing all these things by virtue of, under, and connected to the character and the power and the authority of Jesus. John MacArthur explains this by saying, and I'm quoting, "To do something in the name of Jesus Christ is to act consistent with his will and to do what he would do if he were here, to act in his authority and with his delegated power." And that is exactly, precisely what Peter did here. He healed this beggar and this was consistent with the will of our Lord.

Peter did what Christ would have done if he had been there physically, and Peter acted with the authority of Christ Jesus, and he possessed Christ's authority as an apostle and administered Christ's authority in all of these things. Now, there is a very big lesson here. We need to be very, very careful what we pray and say and do in the name of Jesus. Let me repeat that. Let that sink in. We need to be very, very careful what we pray and what we say and what we do in the name of Jesus. How many prayers have been prayed? How many things been said?

How many plans made and executed all in the name of Jesus, but Jesus had nothing to do with those things? And sadly, that goes on in many churches. I have an opinion here. I don't think God's pleased with that. Matter of fact, I think he's rather mad with that. Third, the healing was immediate. Here we see that the beggar was healed immediately. Look at verse seven. And he, that's Peter, took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately, immediately his feet and his ankles were made strong. Fourth, the healing was complete. Here we see that the beggar was healed completely.

Verse eight says, "And leaping up, he stood up and began to walk and entered the temple with him, walking and leaping." I think he had to be running and praising God. So here in verses four to eight, we have the actual miracle. We have the main event of these verses, which involved the main earthly character of the verses, the lame beggar. We have the immediate and complete healing of a man who had been crippled since the womb in the eyes of men and man.

This was totally unexpected, but in the eyes of God, this was planned before time in human history all for his glory and his purposes on earth, and also all for his glory and honor all throughout eternity. Now there's one fact that I want us to see here before we move on. If God chooses to heal, and if God chooses not to heal, he does so all for his glory and good and holy purposes on earth and in all eternity. That's a mouthful, but I want to say it again and then apply it. If God chooses to heal, and if God chooses not to heal, he does so all for his glory and good and holy purposes on earth and in all of eternity.

Let me give you an example, the beggar that was healed. God chose to heal this man through Peter and John. Well God did that, why? For his good and holy purposes, ultimately for his glory on earth and in all of eternity, right? But I ran across the opinion of some, and it stuck in my mind. What about the other beggars that were there that day? We have no idea how many, but the temple was the best place to beg in that day. But think about the many beggars that were there on that day. Even beggars that probably saw their friend be healed. They were not healed. Well if they were not healed, God chose not to heal them, and God did those things.

Why? For his glory, for his honor, for his good and holy purposes on earth and in all of eternity. What this shows us and highlights for us is this. God is about God's business, always for his glory, always for his good and holy and right purposes on earth and throughout all eternity, even when we cannot understand those things. We accept them by faith. Then number three, notice the results of this miracle. Really the beginning of the results. We see this in verses nine to ten. And all the people saw him walking and praising God and recognized him as the one who sat at the beautiful gate of the temple asking for alms.

And they, that's the crowd of the people who saw them. They were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. Now here we see some of the results of this miraculous healing. I'll say this, some of the results because we're going to see a lot more results starting in verse 11. Really it goes all the way into chapter four. But here I want us to see three things which begin to show us the results. First we see that the people saw these things. Really there is no denying that the people saw these things fully without question.

Now they may not have attributed these things in this healing to Jesus, but they could not deny what they saw. Verse nine says that all the people saw him walking. Verse ten says they recognized him as the one who had been crippled and begging there at the temple gate. So all the people saw what had happened here. Simply this miracle and this healing and this beggar who was leaping and walking around and praising God. All of this was not done in a corner. This was not kept a secret. Second we see the heal beggar was praising God. Verse nine says that he was walking.

Verse eight says that his crippled feet and ankles were made strong and that he was walking and leaping. And verse eight and verse nine says that he was praising God while he was doing all this. So we see that the once lame beggar was leaping and walking and praising God. Now there's a lesson here and this may surprise you. There is an appropriate time to jump and shout and run around all while praising God. You might say, "Oh pastor, you have just made us nervous. Am I joking or am I serious?" I'm not joking. If the Lord were to heal someone of a physical need, how would we react? I've addressed this as we have prayed for Allie Jane.

I'm thankful that our church understands these things and especially Evan and Devon, we understand that God ordains all things and God is a good God. We pray for her healing. If God were to miraculously heal her immediately, I believe there would be some shouting and some jumping and some running around here, just like we see here. But we understand that God is a good God and he makes no accidents, no mistakes. But I also thought about it like this.

We've been praying for certain ones to come to faith in Christ and when certain ones that we've been praying for and laboring for finally come to faith in Christ, there may be some moms or some dads, there may be some spouses shout and praise God and jump up because they just can't stay seated, all because they are praising God. Now right here you're going to go home and have a discussion and say, "Wow, I didn't know our pastor was a Pentecostal." No, I'm not a Pentecostal. Third, we see that the people were filled with wonder. Here in verse 10, we see that the people who saw and experienced these things, they experienced it.

They were filled with awe and wonder. The last part of verse 10 says, "And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him." That's the beggar. And what needs to be seen here is this. The purpose for signs, wonders, and miracles, even healings and this healing, the purpose for these things was fulfilled. The purpose of these things came to be according to God's will and plan. Let me explain. We saw in our study of the miracles that took place on the day of Pentecost that the purpose of signs, wonders, and miracles was to draw and to attract the people to truth.

The purpose of these things was to draw people to the truth that Jesus was the promised Messiah of God and the truth that salvation can be found in him and him alone. And as we get into verse 11 and following, we will see how this particular healing of this particular man who had been born a cripple was used to bring those who saw all of these things face to face with the truth, the truth of God's word and salvation that is found only in Jesus. So here in verses 9 and 10 we see the results or the beginning of the results of this healing. All the people that were there saw these things.

The man who was once crippled was walking and leaping with joy and praising God. And all these people were amazed and astonished with what they had witnessed. But a question, what do we need to learn right here? Look, church, we may not have cripples being healed here, but we have lost sinners who are coming to faith in Christ in and around our church. And we are having wonderful things happening in the lives of the saints of God as they walk with God and they grow in their walk with God and grow in their sanctification. And just like in their day, we have one of two responses from those who are watching. Let me explain.

Some recognize the great things that God is doing in our lives and they are amazed, they are astonished and they even admit that these things are from God. But they do not come to saving faith and truly worship Him. You see what I mean? Some recognize the great things that God is doing in your life, family members, co-workers, neighbors, friends, they are amazed, they are astonished, they would even admit that the change that is going on in your life is from God, but they do not come to saving faith and truly worship Him. Didn't that happen at the day of Pentecost? This is going to happen in these events.

But some recognize the great things that God is doing in your lives and they are amazed, they are astonished and they will admit that what is going on in your life is of God. And some will come to saving faith because. And some who are already believers, they worship more because they see God working. You see? Now in conclusion, what we have here is simple. The first apostolic miracle, the healing of the lame beggar, that is the title of the message. But I want to circle back to some of the things that I threw out there in the beginning of the message and I thought about it this afternoon.

We are going to continue to address these kinds of questions every time a miracle comes up in the book of Acts. But how are we to understand and view signs, miracles, wonders, even healings? First we have to understand a few things about the church and churches found in the book of Acts really all throughout the New Testament. And this is something we are going to revisit over and over so just hold on to it. But let me mention a couple of things. We have to understand that almost everything we see in healings like this in and through the New Testament, it was almost always a non-believer being healed.

I never knew that until my study of these things. We have to understand that almost every time we see a healing like this in Acts and through the New Testament, it was almost always an unbeliever being healed. Now what's the point? That highlights the point of the signs, miracles, wonders, and even healings in the first place. Signs, miracles, and wonders were given and were performed first and foremost to draw lost sinners to a place where they could hear the truth of God's Word, that Jesus was the promised Messiah and that salvation was found only in Jesus. One thing along that line is this.

When it comes to the signs, miracles, and wonders seen in and through the book of Acts, these things were not performed or done by all in the church. These things took place primarily through the apostles and every now and then through their associates, not all in the church. Also as we see the growth and the development of the church and the completion and the spread of the canon of scripture, we see fewer and fewer signs, wonders, and miracles. Now why is that the case? That is because the focus was shifted more and more to the sufficiency and the authority of the scripture.

And along that line as we continue through the book of Acts, and as I reference more and more of those other books after, we're going to see that more and more. But the million dollar question, do we believe in signs, wonders, and miracles? Do we? We do not believe in apostolic miracles. That's because the office of the apostle died. We do not believe in apostolic succession. If you ride by church and they have a sign that says, "Apostle so and so," well, they got it wrong. We have the office of the apostles in the scriptures. So we do not believe in apostolic miracles, no. But sure, God can choose to heal. He may do so.

And I'm sure that he has since New Testament times. He may do it in the life of our church. I've heard testimonies before. I've never seen it. But the focus must be, notice, on the revelation of God and his son as seen in the scripture. So many get sidetracked here. They want to see a sign, a wonder, or a miracle, and they fail to see the glory and the beauty of God revealing himself in his son through the scripture. And again, I will circle back around these things more and more in our study through Acts. Now the title, the message, and then we'll pray in close. Again, the first apostolic miracle, the healing of the lame beggar.