The Bible — World English Bible
Acts 3
In brief
Acts 3 tells of the apostles' first public healing after Pentecost. Peter and John go up to the temple for prayer and meet a man who was lame from birth and is begging. Peter has no silver or gold, but he orders the man to get up in the name of Jesus. The crowd rushes over, amazed. Peter uses the moment to proclaim Jesus, rejected through ignorance but sent by God, and calls everyone to repent. The chapter shows that the power comes from the name of Jesus, not from people.
The chapter in 4 parts
1Peter and John were going up into the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
2A certain man who was lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask gifts for the needy of those who entered into the temple.
3Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive gifts for the needy.
4Peter, fastening his eyes on him, with John, said, “Look at us.”
5He listened to them, expecting to receive something from them.
6But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have, that I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!”
7He took him by the right hand and raised him up. Immediately his feet and his ankle bones received strength.
8Leaping up, he stood and began to walk. He entered with them into the temple, walking, leaping, and praising God.
9All the people saw him walking and praising God.
10They recognized him, that it was he who used to sit begging for gifts for the needy at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. They were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
11As the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.
12When Peter saw it, he responded to the people, “You men of Israel, why do you marvel at this man? Why do you fasten your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him walk?
13The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up, and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had determined to release him.
14But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,
15and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, to which we are witnesses.
16By faith in his name, his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which is through him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
17“Now, brothers, I know that you did this in ignorance, as did also your rulers.
18But the things which God announced by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he thus fulfilled.
19“Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, so that there may come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord,
20and that he may send Christ Jesus, who was ordained for you before,
21whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God spoke long ago by the mouth of his holy prophets.
22For Moses indeed said to the fathers, ‘The Lord God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers, like me. You shall listen to him in all things whatever he says to you.
23It will be that every soul that will not listen to that prophet will be utterly destroyed from among the people.’
24Yes, and all the prophets from Samuel and those who followed after, as many as have spoken, they also told of these days.
25You are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘All the families of the earth will be blessed through your offspring.’
26God, having raised up his servant Jesus, sent him to you first to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your wickedness.”
Key verses
But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have, that I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!”
Peter admits he has nothing of what the man asks for, yet he gives far more: the power of the name of Jesus Christ. The church does not have to offer its wealth, it offers Jesus.
When Peter saw it, he responded to the people, “You men of Israel, why do you marvel at this man? Why do you fasten your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him walk?
Peter refuses to receive the glory. He turns the crowd's gaze toward Jesus, which remains a model of service: the work is God's, not the apostles'.
By faith in his name, his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which is through him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
The healing is credited to the faith that comes through Jesus, by his name. The text links the power of the name of Jesus with the trust placed in him.
“Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, so that there may come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord,
Peter calls people to repent and turn again so that their sins may be blotted out. Repentance is presented as a change of direction that opens onto a time of refreshing from the Lord.
You are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘All the families of the earth will be blessed through your offspring.’ God, having raised up his servant Jesus, sent him to you first to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your wickedness.”
Peter recalls the promise made to Abraham: all the families of the earth will be blessed. This blessing comes through Jesus, sent to turn each person away from their wickedness.
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What the sermons say
Frequently asked questions about Acts 3
What does Acts 3:6 mean, “what I have, that I give you”?
Peter has no silver or gold to give the beggar, but he has received something greater: the authority of the name of Jesus Christ. He does not give his own resources, he offers what Jesus does through him. The verse reminds us that the mission of the church rests on the presence of Jesus and not on its means.
Who is the lame man at the Beautiful Gate?
He is a man who was lame from birth and was carried every day to the entrance of the temple to ask for gifts for the needy. Many people knew him. When he walks and praises God, the crowd understands that something extraordinary has happened, which gives Peter the opportunity to proclaim Jesus.
What does “times of refreshing” mean in Acts 3:19?
Peter promises that those who repent will know times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, after their sins are blotted out. The text speaks of a spiritual relief that comes from God. Believers link it to forgiveness, to the work of the Spirit and to the hope of Christ's return, depending on their tradition.
Articles quoting Acts 3
World English Bible translation — public domain.