Episode 217: The Beautiful Gate Miracle | +Quigg Lawrence

Introduction

Not too bad for eight days after heart surgery. Yeah. Thank you, Jesus. I call it surgery as a procedure, but it was serious. And I left UVA Hospital thinking I'm so incredibly grateful for all the people that serve in the medical community. Obviously, the doctors, NPs, PAs, RNs, even the techs — amazing experience. So, if you guys do that, I know people rarely say thank you, but I want to say thank you. Thank you for what you do when nobody's watching.

Last week, we had Mike Massey, and he was awesome. Annette and I actually watched it online. We worshiped with you guys from Charlottesville. Massey had a great story. It's almost an unbelievable story of how he went to Passion. He was in the fifth row with an orange shirt. And this lady, who's a famous worship leader, in the midst of 10,000 or 15,000, however many it was, started reading this passage. All of a sudden, she said, I believe God is speaking to this man in the fifth or sixth row, in the orange shirt. That's an unbelievable story, and there's no way possible I could ever compete with Massey's story. He even had a clip of it. But I got to say, Massey, if you're listening, I may not have a video, but my story is cooler.

Personal Story and Transition to Scripture

Fleet was 11 years old, around 1999. My two favorite baseball teams, the Atlanta Braves — the best team ever — were playing the New York Yankees in the World Series. The World Series. And so I thought it would be cool to go to the World Series. I took Fleet to New York. The only ticket we could get was in the bleachers. That's a cheap section. And let me just say, the bleacher section is a little different than some of the others. They don't exactly speak the Queen's English, if you know what I mean.

I wanted to do something for my son that he would never forget. So I took an Elvis costume with me. Not that cheap when you get on Amazon. A lady in our church, a professional costume designer, took rhinestones and leopard skin. It was a black Elvis suit with a lot of bling. I had grown out my sideburns and cut them, going for the fat Elvis with the big sideburns. I had the glasses. Right as the seventh-inning stretch was beginning, I snuck away to the bathroom. And while everybody was stretching at Yankee Stadium, Elvis appears in the bleacher section. All the people in the stadium were like, Elvis, Elvis! For forty-two seconds, I was the star of the stadium.

Dang if those Yankees didn't turn on me after forty-three seconds. They started cheering for other things you might not want to hear in church. That was an amazing moment. I told the church, y'all watch, you're going to see me on TV. My son will never forget that story — the man dressed as Elvis for his 11-year-old son. That was cool.

Going into Acts 3

Now, we're diving into Acts chapter three. I think this is a really awesome story. But when we go into stories, it'd be really weird to just dive in there without context, so we like to do bookends. What happens just before Acts chapter three? And you very intelligently would say, Acts chapter two. What happens on the front end? And what on the back end? What happens before Acts three?

If somebody says Acts chapter two, what pops into your mind? The Holy Spirit falls on the church to give them power. To give them power. Jesus said in John 14:12, it’s good, for those who believe — it’s good that I’m going to the Father because I’m going to send the Holy Spirit upon you. And he said, you’re going to do even greater things than I’ve done.

Friends, that’s hard to believe, but Jesus said it. You’re going to do even greater things because I’m going to the Father. And I will ask for it in my name.

So, that’s what’s happening. The Holy Spirit comes. Three thousand come to Jesus. It was a charismatic, moving, powerful time in the Lord — the kind of event, the kind of time we want to be part of.

On the backside, what happens after Acts three? Acts four. A lot of things. The central characters in Acts chapter three, Peter and John, are arrested for doing what the Lord called them to do. They’re arrested for stepping into this Spirit-led ministry. That’s the bookend setup.

The Text: Peter and John at the Temple

Now, let’s go to the actual text itself. Brian, would you do me a favor and get me some water so I can preach longer? That’d be great.

Says, now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer. So apparently, the Jews had three times — it wasn’t mandatory, but pious Jews, good Jews — would go to the temple. In spite of their workday, they’d go at nine in the morning, then at 3 PM, then at sunset, whenever that may be.

Now, that’s cool in itself. Thanks, brother. The thing I noticed for the first time in forty years of Bible reading: what had just happened in Acts 2? Remind me, what? The Holy Spirit jumped, shouting, tongues, prophecies, salvation. Right? Who doesn’t want to be part of that kind of worship?

As a kid who grew up in a highly liturgical church, I just loved it when I was introduced to the Spirit’s ministry. But unless you’re like so many people that go, oh, we just want to be like the early church — well, first of all, most of the early church were killed. But here’s what I want to say: while they did have spirit-filled dancing, tongues, prophecy, healings, all these things, they also had liturgical worship. It’s right in the book. There was both, and I think both are needed and healthy.

So, we see Peter and John, who had been part of Pentecost, that was their habit: regularly, three times a day, going to the temple to pray. See the balance there? Yeah.

So, Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. Is it funny? Because if you preach this in college, everybody goes, the ninth hour? What’s that? Like 9 PM? What’s the ninth hour? Let’s just say, the first hour is 6 AM. Help me out: six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, one, two — oh, okay. So, it’s 3 PM. In the middle of their day, they’re going for their second prayer time, aligned with what Jews did. Perhaps they were joining some of the believers from Acts 2:42, worshiping in the temple courts. But as they go up to the temple to pray, it says in verse two, a man lame from birth was being carried.

They laid him daily at the gate of the temple called Beautiful Gate. A man lame from birth. Most of you know I’ve recently gotten a new hip; this other one is awaiting replacement. I’ve broken my leg. Every time you have something like that, you realize being handicapped is something most of us never think about. But when you have an injury or a condition like that, you realize: wow, that ramp is pretty steep, and there are a lot of steps. It’s hard. As one of my dear friends said, born lame from birth, he said, I don't know what it is to walk. Like if you’re a marine who steps on an IED and loses your legs, you kind of know what you no longer have.

But those born lame from birth don’t even know what it’s like to walk or run. And so this man, who is lame from birth, is being carried by friends and laid daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate. I find that very interesting. The beautiful gate, according to Josephus, was just massive — 60 feet tall, really wide — and overlaid with sheets of silver, gold, and Corinthian bronze. When the sun came up in the east, it would hit those massive doors, and they would glow like heavenly fire.

There’s also an interesting point: it says the man lame from birth was being carried. In those days, if someone had an infirmity, people often assumed, who sinned, this man or his parents? They went right to that. And so, there was a sense that this man, unable to walk, couldn’t be married, couldn’t go into the temple to worship, couldn’t provide for himself. And they laid him there. It’s ironic: they laid him at the beautiful gate, but he wasn’t feeling very beautiful. Somebody carried him, dropped him, and he had to beg. He wasn’t feeling good about himself. And how ironic that this story takes place at the Beautiful Gate. But — the Lord’s psalm is beautiful—that’s the point—the Lord’s psalm is beautiful.

So, continuing as he was laid at the gate, he asked for alms to all those entering the temple. That was a pretty good strategy. I don’t know how many of you have been to India. I worked there for a summer. Every time we went to our South Indian church, there was a long driveway where people with leprosy, missing limbs, blind, lame, or with other disabilities, waited to beg. It’s very effective, because when you’re going to church, you feel a sense of obligation to give.

I know what it’s like to drive into a church and see people in desperate straights, and you think, I don’t have any money. It must be hard for those people. They were effective — they went to the temple because they knew in the Jewish world it was considered a blessing of God to give alms to the poor. So, it’s a strategic spot.

The Encounter: Peter and the Lame Man

Now, let’s look at verse three. Seeing Peter and John going about to go into the temple, he asks to receive alms.

Peter directed his gaze at him. Are you like me? When you see someone on the street with a sign about being hungry or in need, what do you do? I hardly look. I don’t like to look at them. I pull up in front of the mall and see a person, and I’ll stop at a stop sign, then busy myself with my phone or looking away because if I look, I get convicted. I realize they’re a real person, and I might have to give. So I avoid eye contact and just look busy.

But Peter, John, and the layman — they all looked. Peter directed his gaze at him. And he said, “Look, look at us.” That’s the whole point. God didn’t just want to flip him coins; he cares about this person as a person. He says, no, no, no, I want you to look at me. I want to know you. I want to know you.

Yesterday, Winnie — is that Winnie? Hi, Winnie! She’s a precious little one. Winnie was cutting a tooth or had something going on. She was crying — not often — and it just broke my grandfather’s heart. I was trying to comfort her, and she wouldn’t be comforted. I knew this passage, and so I said, “Winnie, look at me. Look at me, Winnie.” She looked. You know what’s amazing about having thick glasses with trifocals? The bottoms are super thick, so when a child looks at my eyes, they’re huge. It’s like magic. The kids are like, wow. I looked at Winnie and said, “Look at me, Winnie.” And she did, and her whole spirit calmed down because we had a personal connection. It was relational.

It says, the lame man fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.

He asked for alms.

Peter then said, “I have no silver and gold.” I don’t know about you guys, but my wife gets all the church’s money. We don’t even know how much it is. I don’t have a dollar to my name, sometimes an allowance from her. He continues, “But what I do have I give to you.”

And gold, silver, and gold — that’s a Christmas phrase — but what’s the context? The beautiful gate was covered with silver, gold, bronze. It was magnificent. It was expensive. It’s ironic that this man is begging and Peter says, “Well, I don’t have resources like the temple,” but what I have, I give to you.

What really struck me here is that the lame man was willing to settle for silver or gold — a coin — but what he really needed was to know the Lord, to be loved, to have relationship. And oh, by the way, being able to walk wouldn’t be bad either.

So, Peter says, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” I am personally convicted by this. I love doctors, maybe too much. We just said about my grandmother Quigg — that’s her name. She enjoyed going to doctors a little too much. You guys, I love doctors. I love hospitals, procedures. I have them all the time. I’m not anti-doctor or nurse.

But as I read this, I think: what happens so often to churches is that we always refer people to a specialist. Whether it’s anxiety, depression, a bruise, a marriage falling apart, addiction — God wants to use his people. The doctors and nurses are there for those cases, but it’s like we’ve handed it all over. We’ve given up. God wants his bride, the body, to pray for people.

Imagine just entering in. You don’t have to be super religious — just see someone and say, “Would you mind if I just pray for you?” Don’t say, “Would you mind if I just prayed for you?” Just pray. Lay hands on them. Ask God to meet them at their point of need.

So, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And I’m guessing Peter might have thought, I don’t want to say it and then he doesn’t get healed. But he had just seen the power of the Spirit on Pentecost. Filled with God's Spirit, he wasn’t relying on his own ability but trusting what God could do.

He says, in the holy name of the creator God, Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk.

And in verse seven, it didn’t take long for his prayer to be answered. He took him by the hand. I love this. He didn’t just say, “Hey, you dude — get up.” He actually reached down, took his hand, and helped him. It’s relational. The reason we often don’t deal with disfigurement or difficulty is that we turn away, turn our gaze, avoid the issue.

But these early Christians looked at them. They touched them. They spoke to them. They had relationship.

After he said, “Rise up and walk,” and took his hand, something incredible happened. Just like on Pentecost, verse eight says, “And leaping up, he stood.” And he began walking.

Think of little kids. We have some here — Winnie and others. When little kids start to walk, they take two steps and fall. It’s funny. But when God healed this man, he didn’t teeter and fall. He started walking, then leaped out of joy.

Out of his joy, he praised God. See, this man had been outside the temple, and there’s a sense in scripture that he was not among the Lord’s kids. He was outside the gate. But because of what Jesus did, he was now able to go into the temple with his whole heart. He came to give praise and thanks to the God who had healed him.

Let’s look at verse nine. It says, “And all the people saw him walking and praising God.” And they recognized this man as the one who sat day after day at the Beautiful Gate asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Application

Here’s what I think. I think the church has surrendered God’s call. When God says that you are his bride, he means it. When he says, “I have many parts in my body,” and each is given a gift or grace to build up the body of Christ, he means it. God could do this, heal, meet every need. But he entrusts most of it to his church — to us, the bride.

I wonder how many people are outside the gate. How many of your friends are outside? Maybe not physically lame but crippled with anxiety, fear, bitterness, anger, addiction, fill-in-the-blank.

You know what I usually do? When someone says, “Oh, I hurt my ankle,” or whatever, I joke, “Oh, I’ve got a guy.” I always refer people to specialists — a doctor at Cleveland Clinic, the best in the world. People fly from all over.

But what I often don’t do is engage. I don’t look. I don’t pray for them. I use that as an excuse to avoid, not to get involved.

Most sit outside the city gate, unable to enter in.

I wonder what it would look like if we could step over our fear. Realize, hey — this is actually fun. It’s a blessing. God can use imperfect people like us. We pray for people, and God does the healing.

Peter and John said, “Don’t look at us. We didn’t do anything. It’s Jesus. Jesus who did it.”

I wonder what it might look like if we truly started to act like the body of Christ. Use the gifts God has given us. Because if we do, lame people will walk, blind people will see, bitterness will be buried, and lives will be transformed.

Let's not send everyone to specialists while we sit back and refuse to pray for them in the holy name of Jesus.

Bless you, Almighty God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Amen.