Acts 3:1-5 "Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. 2. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; 3. Who (this lame man) seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. 4. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. 5. And he gave heed to them, expecting to receive something of them."
We always have to think, and we don’t say this with any idea of being funny, but think most of us, if we’ve been in a big city and seen a beggar sitting there on the sidewalk, usually has a tin cup or say one of those people holding a sign at an intersection. What does he expect? From us to drop in a few coins, or dollars and if he can do that all day long, he can gather enough to stay alive. Here something is said that many just read over and it is this “Expecting to receive something of them”. So we think this is what this fellow did. He looked up at Peter and held out his container for a coin or two, and that’s all he expected, but you see, he’s going to have more than that this time. Peter, James, and John or now in a modus operandi like Christ was, and they’re going to perform a miracle. Here's another thing to consider, it says that this was this mans place of being laid. Now that being true Jesus must have passed him during His ministry as we're sure that He had passed this way during His visits to the Temple. Now the scriptures don't tell us how many times Jesus had passed by this very spot and man during His earthly life, but we know that He had to have passed this very spot many times. Now verse 6.
Acts 3:6-8 "Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I give to you: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. 7. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God." When we come all the way down to verse 11, and here’s the effect.
Acts 3:11 "And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering."
What is this healing doing to them? It’s making them think! for it says that they wondered what this all meant. What are these men doing and how are they doing it? So it made them attentive to what the Twelve were proclaiming. Now we know that a lot of people think that’s the only way we can reach people today, but we don’t think so. We don’t think the Holy Spirit needs that today for various reasons, but primarily because we now have the completed Word of God in print form. And we don’t have a manifestation of the miraculous power of God, because the Bible itself is all the manifestation we need of Who God is and His Great Authority and Power. He requires us to live by trusting Him and His Word, now revealed to us by the works of His Spirit within just as those listed in Hebrews chapter 11's fall of fame.
But, nevertheless, remember what Paul is stressing to the Hebrews. This was all done to get this whole system of the old, now rolled up as an old scroll out dated and retired and put away and why because had turned into filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6 and John 11 the meaning and purpose for Lazarus death and the removal of the grave clothes) and of what we now call Christianity off the ground. And it took the miracles, signs and wonders. As we've seen, these caused the people to wonder or think about who Jesus was and is. Now we're not saying that God is through with such things but now He requires us to believe His Word, which we now have in our hands. Now we’ve got one more reference in the Book of Acts. So come to Acts chapter 19.
Acts 19:11-12 "And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: (Paul is already out there now on his missionary journeys) 12. So that from his body were brought to the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them." So all of this again was for the precise purpose of proving to even Paul’s listeners that he was not just another human being, He was the Apostle to the Gentiles, one called out by God, the Lord Jesus Christ, for the work of bearing Him witness. The same as a Christ Like One is to be doing in our day and time in the authority of the New Covenant of His Grace in operation as a function of His Body, the bearing witness of Him. We used the word authority instead of power because when people see "power" used they think of the dynamo or dynamic power a supernatural force being used. When in fact God's Word when spoken by an individual through the Spirit exerts supernatural powers which does and can move mountains and breaks up the stony soil in human hearts. Usually when this is seen the individuals effected sense guilt or conviction of sin.
Remember in this Epistle of Hebrews we’re trying to see Hebrew people, some of which were believers, and some were what we call on the fence or fence huggers, and the pull of Judaism was still having it’s effect on these people. So Paul is trying to make the point, that this "Jesus of Nazareth", whom the nation for the most part rejected, was Who He said He was. He was indeed the Christ, He was indeed God the Son, and He was indeed the Creator, and is the coming King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. So this is what we’re really looking at here in chapter 2. And since He is the heart of the plan of redemption and salvation, here is the question we've been asking, "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" Which began with Christ’s earthly ministry, and was confirmed with the signs and wonders and miracles as we saw. But now verse 5, and we’re looking ahead instead of looking back at what He had accomplished, we’re going to look ahead to what He will accomplish. Our main focus will shift to that of His Blood for it is in the power of an Eternal Life which the Blood has that was also alluded to when the water was turned to wine and His body as the loaves of bread in both teachings on multiplying of Himself through His receptive ones. In the power of the resurrection which is the same power present in an Endless or Everlasting Life, which God's promised New Covenant contains as experienced by those who have passed through it. Also the eating and drinking of His flesh and Blood as part of the New Covenant.
Hebrews 2:5 "For to the angels has He not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak." Now, the casual reader would say, "The world to come? That must be heaven, and eternity." No, because the Greek word here spoken of as the world, is the inhabited earth, so just look at it that way and read it in that context.
Hebrews 2:5 "For to the angels has He not put in subjection the world to come, (the inhabited earth that is coming. So what’s he talking about? The Kingdom! The thousand-year reign with Christ over which He is indeed going to rule as King of Kings and Lord of Lords) whereof we speak." Now let’s read it again.
Hebrews 2:5 "For to the angels has He not put in subjection the world to come, (the inhabited earth, the Kingdom that is coming and that is already in the hearts of those receptive ones) whereof we speak."
"The Kingdom, is the Kingdom, is the Kingdom! There is only one Kingdom, and it’s the Kingdom that Christ will establish on earth, ruling from Jerusalem when He returns at His second coming, and set everything straight. At that time Satan will be taken off the scene and placed out of the way, and it will be heaven on earth as in David and Solomon's day, but it will be on the earth. That’s why the Greek word for world here means the inhabited earth. Not up in Heaven which houses God's Throne, from which God and Christ as our High Priest-King rules in the hearts and lives of those who are His people, (those who have accepted God's terms and conditions and thereby becoming the chosen ones, a called out peoples unto God though God is no respecter of persons so all could become among the numbered ones by faith) but here on the inhabited earth. So we’re going to be looking at various Scriptural connotations concerning this coming earthly Kingdom, and we’ll see the Old Testament is full of it.
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