Healing in the Acts
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What is this? What’s happening here? A lame man is jumping up and down, leaping and
walking. “His feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and
entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.” Oh, hallelujah!
We are in the days of this. It’s upon us. We’re going to preach it, we’re going to proclaim it,
we’re going to teach it, we’re going to shout it, we’re going to pray it, we’re going to proclaim it,
and we’re not going to stop until we see more and more of it, more and more.
Verse 9 continues, “And all the people saw him walking and praising God.” Verse 10 says that
they were filled with wonder and amazement. “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. And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why
marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we
had made this man to walk?” Now, that blows the other theory out of the water. Some people
will concede and say, “Well, it didn’t all cease when Jesus ascended. He gave the Apostles
power, and they could do these things. But when the last Apostle died, all of that ceased.”
What about people who have been healed recently? How did they get healed then? What about
record after record of people being healed century after century? Miracles are happening. It
obviously has not ceased.
Peter asked the people, “Why are you looking at us like we did this with some holiness and
power that we have as being Apostles?”
Why are books still being written and either implying or outright saying that these men had
special powers, and they could heal because they were the special Apostles? In that case, they
did do it by their special power and holiness—which Peter just plainly said in Scripture that he
did not.
Some say, “Yes, but that was Peter. That was John.” He just finished saying, “Why are you
looking at us?” because everyone was looking at them in amazement, saying, “What did you do
to him? These guys are special.” Immediately he says, “Why are you looking at us like that, as
though it was by our power or our holiness?” What is he saying? “It wasn’t by our power. It
wasn’t by our holiness. It wasn’t because I’m one of the 12.” He tells you
how
it happened, and
the course of his sermon was
why
it happened
.
He preaches it immediately.
“Why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man
to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified
his Son Jesus.” Is He still interested in glorifying Jesus today? “Whom ye delivered up, and
denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the
Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; And killed the Prince of
life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. And his name,” the Name
of Jesus, “through faith in his name, hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea the
faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” What
raised this man? The Name of Jesus. Do we still have the Name of Jesus? Can we still have faith
in the Name of Jesus? It wasn’t by their special powers or holiness as disciples and apostles.
