The Glorious Name

“A Refreshing Experience” – Part 2

(Acts 3:11-16, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, March 13, 2011)

11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's.

12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?

13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus,

Whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life,

Whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

While he clung to Peter and John... (11)

There is a present power in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the power of heaven that makes the lame walk and the blind see. We do not always see that power, but we believe the promises of God, and trust that there is more to the kingdom than what we presently see. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, witnesses that we cannot see.

The Head of the church, Jesus, the firstborn among many brothers, is not alone in heaven. He is in a society of human beings and angels, and He is the King of that society. I would like to visit there today in person, but I know this: I can see that place right now by faith in the Name of Jesus. As the psalmist had written so many centuries before the death of the Messiah, Jesus would live after he had died as the Lamb of God. He speaks. He tells of the great Name of the Lord to those He calls His brothers. He praises God in the midst of a congregation that we cannot fully see with our eyes. In that portion of the church that is above, there is no one who suffers bodily affliction. In that place the man who was once lame, even from birth, leaps for joy.

Here in the church below, those who live long enough eventually lose their ability to leap. When they come home to Jesus, they are able to leap for joy. We, like those above, can experience the power of Jesus Christ in worship. We who fear the Lord, can praise Him. The offspring of Jacob, can glorify God. Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, we know that our God has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted. The Father has not hidden His face forever from the Son. He heard when Jesus cried to Him. In Him, your prayers are heard. When you pray through Him, your prayers in the Holy Spirit, perfected through the Son, and offered up to the Father in heaven, are heard. This is happening in our worship together and in the heartfelt cry of the faithful wherever they may be. God still hears prayer for the weak. Even when a man has no strength left below, he goes above, where Christ lives, where everyone leaps for joy!

But when we see that actually happening on earth, it is utterly astounding, Peter had spoken in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who reigns at the right hand of the Father on high, and before the eyes of witnesses, a man's feet and ankles were strengthened, and heaven spilled over on to the earth. Keep your eyes open for signs of the power of heaven taking place in the church throughout the world. It is no time to keep your distance from the Lord's lowly church. Stay close to the people that the Lord refers to as His brothers, speak forth the Name of Jesus, and pay attention to the wonderful healing that is taking place in the family of God.

And when Peter saw it... (12)

The preaching of the Lord's church should draw attention not only to the signs of heavenly grace that the Lord brings. We should also speak as Peter spoke that day, making it clear that anything good that God brings does not come by our own power or piety. There were many men of Israel there in the temple who were able to see the man they knew to be that beggar who was normally placed at the gate called Beautiful. In heaven, you will be called beautiful, and you will know that the true Source of that beauty will not be from your own power or righteousness. Nor will you give glory to doctors, special diets or exercise routines. You will not be speaking about the beauty treatments of Babylon that day. You will be beautiful to the King who has washed you by His blood. You will acknowledge His power, His gentleness, and His perfect holiness.

The God of Abraham... (13a)

The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus. The glory of God poured forth from Jesus in His Word and in His deeds of power. Even when Jesus died on a wretched cross, there was something of glory that could be seen in the way that Jesus died. Surely this Man was, and is forever, the Son of God. There was glory in His resurrection appearances and in His ascension to another realm upon the cloud of God's presence. We can only imagine His glory now that He reigns at the center of heaven.

He is a descendant of Adam, and a Son of Israel. But He is also the eternal Son of God, and the eternal Father has glorified the eternal Son who is also the Son of Man and the Savior of sinners. Peter does not own the glory for this miracle. He casts that crown at the feet of Jesus in heaven, where everyone can leap for joy in the presence of God in the company of myriads and myriads of angels and of so many human beings already rescued from this place of loss.

Whom you delivered over and denied... (13b-15a)

Do you desire to be associated with this Jesus and His glorious kingdom? Acknowledge your sin and see Him as the solution to all of your needs. Peter was not content to leave the crowd in utter amazement concerning one heavenly sign. He directed them not only to the glory of Jesus on high, but also to their own guilt. “You delivered Him over to the authorities.” But Judas did that. Yes, but do not evade your own responsibility, and see something of Judas in you. “You denied Him in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. You denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you.” But the crowds in Jerusalem, stirred up by the religious leaders, did all of that. Yes, but you must see your own guilt, and how that same evil spirit of denying Jesus Christ has shut your mouth at a time when you needed to speak, and opened your mouth against Him when you needed to walk away from a worldly mob that you had no business being a part of. “You killed the Author of life.” But the Roman soldiers did that. Yes, but He died for your sins. This is God's mercy if you will own your guilt before God, guilt that Jesus has fully taken away by His blood. Those who will acknowledge their sins are fully forgiven. This is why Peter spoke to the crowd about their sin regarding Jesus that day.

Whom God raised from the dead... (15b-16)

But then He drew their attention to the fact of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. This was not a mere story for Peter and the apostles. This was not wishful thinking for hundreds of people who were in Jerusalem that year. They were witnesses to the greatest spilling over from heaven of the glory of God. Resurrection is life after death. True life after death is what heaven is all about. That life comes from God, who is the Author of life. Jesus undeniably rose from the dead.

Real church people, we poor beggars, believe in His Name. That Name can rescue the oppressed, and lift up the downcast. That Name can strengthen weak limbs, and make the woeful heart to sing. That Name is the source of eternally perfect health of body and soul. Sickness is a sad fact of life in a world where sin and death have invaded. But Christ has come, and He owns us as His family. We will walk in the Name of the Man of heaven, and we will speak His Name in love.

1. Why where the people utterly astounded?

2. How does Peter give glory to God in this amazing miracle?

3. Why does Peter draw their attention to their sins regarding Christ?

4. How does Peter connect Jesus' resurrection, the gift of faith, and the miracle?

OT Passage: Psalm 22:22-24