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The Beautiful Gate, Part 1

In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth

Acts 3v1-8

30th October 2015

One of the best-loved healing stories in the Bible comes in Acts chapter 3:

Acts 3v1-6
One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer - at three in the afternoon.
Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money.
Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."

Peter and John were going to the Temple to pray. It's good to pray alone, but it's also good to pray together. And every day, the church met to in the Temple Courts to pray together (Acts 2v46). Now, the church is God's Temple (1 Corinthians 3v16) but at that time the Old Testament Temple was still standing (it was destroyed in 70 AD) and it was a good place to meet.

The Temple was also a good place to beg. A lot of people went there, and taking time to remember God might put them in a frame of mind where they were more likely to give to beggars.

Each temple court led to the next. When someone entered the Jerusalem Temple, they first entered the Court of Gentiles. If they were Jewish, they could pass though the Court of Gentiles into the Court of Women. If they were Jewish men, they could pass through the Court of Women into the Court of Israel, and if they were priests they could pass though the Court of Israel into the Court of Priests. Priests who were on duty would then enter the Holy Place. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would pass through the Holy Place into the Most Holy Place.

Experts tell us that the temple gate called Beautiful was probably the door that led from the court of Gentiles into the Court of Women, the first court that was reserved for Jews. It was covered in brass, and contained sculptures of the Persian city of Susa, where many Israelites had been exiled hundreds of years before.

The name, "Court of Women" is slightly confusing. It's called that because women were not permitted to enter further in, but the Court of Women was full of men and women. It was much larger that the Court of Israel and was where most Jews spent most of their time in the Temple. Inside the Court of Women there were eleven treasure chests for voluntary gifts of money, and two more for the half-skekel "temple tax" that all Jews were required to pay.

Why did the lame man sit there to beg? Perhaps because Jews were more likely to give than Gentiles, or perhaps because those who gave an offering to the Lord might be ready to give an offering to a beggar, or perhaps because there were fourteen steps leading up the gate, which might have been a more comfortable place to sit. But I think it might be because he was praying for the day when he could walk up the steps out of the Court of Gentiles and enter the area reserved for Jews. He was a child of Abraham, and he wanted to take his place in the Courts of Israel. It was his birthright. He wanted to get closer to the presence of God. His friends brought him there to beg every day.

This day, he arrived at the same time as Peter and John. According to the story, he was still being carried when he called out the apostles. He was keen! Or perhaps he recognised them, and knew they were good men. Perhaps they'd given him something before, or been kind to him.

Peter got his attention and then said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk."

We can learn a lot of lessons from that one sentence:

Peter had enough sensitivity to the Holy Spirit to sense His prompting, and the faith to obey it.

Acts 3v7-8
Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.

I don't know if the man's friends had put him down, or if he was lying on a stretcher, but Peter reached out to him, and helped him up. I like this picture of a godly man not just pronouncing healing, but helping practically, not just using words, but reaching out physically. Both are important, and we must never get so "spiritual" that we never get our hands dirty. We must never stand off from people and just speak the truth, we must get involved in their lives, and show them the love they need.

The man was healed in that moment, and was filled with joy. He'd been lame from birth and now he could walk! He could jump! And he was going to make the most of it. He was going to make up for lost time!

He went through the beautiful gate, and into the temple - into the Court of Women and the the Court of Israel. He was who he wanted to be, and he was where he belonged, because Jesus Christ of Nazareth had healed him.