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Lesson 3 — Acts 3: The Name Heals: From the Gate Beautiful to Solomon’s Colonnade
BIG IDEA
The first miracle of the church age does not happen in the spectacular. It happens on the way to prayer. A man born lame, carried daily to a temple gate, meets two ordinary apostles who carry an extraordinary Name. The Name of Jesus carries the person, the presence, and the authority of God. Healing follows; preaching follows; thousands more believe. The Name of Jesus is not a slogan. It is the door through which heaven enters earth.
PART 1 — SCRIPTURE READING: ACTS 3:1–26
Open your Bible and read Acts 3 slowly, all the way through. The chapter has two halves: a sign (verses 1–10) and a sermon (verses 11–26). The two belong together. The sign opens the door, the sermon walks through it. We must never pull them apart.
In Lesson Two, we said that Pentecost was wind, fire, tongues, and three thousand saved. Now Luke shows us what Spirit-filled apostles look like in everyday life. They are walking up the temple steps for the afternoon prayer service. They have no platform, no microphone, no plan to do a miracle. They are simply faithful in small things. And the Name of Jesus does the rest.
KEY VERSE — ACTS 3:6
“Then Peter said, ‘Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.’”
PART 2 — WALKING THROUGH ACTS 3
A. The Hour of Prayer — Holy Habits in a Holy Church
Acts 3 begins with a small line that we should not pass too quickly: “One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon.”
The first sentence of Acts 3 is not about miracles. It is about discipline. Peter and John still keep the Jewish hours of prayer—morning, mid-day, and the ninth hour (about 3 p.m.). The Spirit had filled them; the Word had restored them; but they did not throw away holy habits. They walked into the miracle by walking into the temple at the appointed time.
This is a quiet but powerful lesson. We sometimes imagine that being Spirit-filled means we no longer need fixed times of prayer. The opposite is true. The Spirit does not replace discipline; He fills it with life. Set times of prayer are not legalism—they are the trellis on which the Spirit grows the vine of intimacy with God.
Set times of prayer are not legalism. They are the trellis on which the Spirit grows the vine of intimacy with God.
B. The Man at the Gate Beautiful — Born Lame, Carried Daily
At the gate called Beautiful sat a man who had been lame from birth. He was carried there every day to beg from those entering the temple.
Stop and feel the weight of those words. He had never walked. Every step of his life had been on someone else’s back. The crowds who hurried past him to pray were looking up at God; he was looking down at the dust. He had become invisible by the steady rhythm of being seen and unhelped.
Many people in our congregations are like this man. They are at the gate of the church, sometimes for years. Carried by family. Carried by routine. Carried by quiet hope that today might be different. They have not yet stood up. We must have eyes to see them.
C. “Look at Us” — The Inversion of Expectation
The man asks for money. Peter says, “Look at us.” This is striking. In Lesson Four we will read that Peter and John say, when the rulers credit them, “Do not look at us.” The two phrases are not contradictory; they are sequential.
First, look at us. The Spirit-filled church does not hide. It looks the broken man in the eye. It does not avoid him by tossing a coin and moving on. It stops, makes contact, draws near.
Then later, when the crowd marvels: do not look at us. Once contact is made, glory is redirected. The disciple is willing to be seen, but unwilling to be worshipped.
D. “In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Walk”
“Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you.” Peter does not pretend to have what he does not have. He does not promise prosperity. He does not arrange a fundraiser. He gives what he has—and what he has is the Name. “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
This is the first time the Name is invoked publicly for healing in the Book of Acts. The Greek phrase is en tō onomati Iēsou Christou tou Nazoraiou—“in the Name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene.” Peter is speaking on behalf of Christ, with the authority of Christ, in the place of Christ. The Name is not a magic word. It is the authorization to act in the place of the King.
In Hebrew thinking, the name (shem) carries the person. To act in someone’s name is to be sent by them, to represent them, to speak with their authority. When ambassadors carry the king’s seal, they carry the king’s power. Peter is an ambassador. The seal is the Name.
E. The Healed Man — Walking, Leaping, and Praising God
Peter takes him by the right hand and helps him up. Instantly his feet and ankles become strong. He jumps to his feet, begins to walk, then enters the temple courts walking and leaping and praising God.
Notice the order: walking, leaping, praising. He gets up. He moves. And then his mouth opens. New life moves the body and then opens the mouth. When God touches you, do not stay silent. Praise belongs to those who have been carried. The legs that once needed help now dance for joy.
Healing also has a destination in this story. The man does not run away from the temple—he runs into it. The first place his new feet take him is the house of God. When God restores you, He brings you in, not out.
F. Solomon’s Colonnade — Where the Crowd Gathered
All the people came running together to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. This was a long, covered walkway on the eastern side of the temple, well known as a place where teachers gathered crowds. Jesus Himself had taught there in the Gospel of John. Now Peter, by the Spirit of Jesus, takes up the same teaching ground.
This is also a sign of how the Spirit-filled church grows. A miracle in the morning becomes a sermon in the afternoon. People do not gather around the apostles for entertainment—they gather because something has happened, and they want to know what it means. Signs without explanation produce wonder; explanation without signs produces lectures. The healthy church holds both.
G. “Why Do You Stare at Us?” — Peter Redirects All Glory to Christ
Peter’s first words to the crowd are essential: “Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?”
This is the second movement of the day. First, look at us. Now, do not look at us—look at Him. The disciple is a window, not a wall. The window does not glow with its own light; it simply lets the sun through. When people praise the window, the glass-maker is not glorified.
Many ministers today struggle here. The first temptation is to be invisible (refusing to engage the broken). The second temptation, when ministry begins to bear fruit, is to be visible for the wrong reasons. Peter avoids both. He stands close, but he never stands on God’s pedestal.
H. The Servant, the Author of Life, the Holy and Righteous One
In the next sentences, Peter piles up titles for Jesus. He is the Servant of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is the Holy and Righteous One. He is the Author of Life. Each title is a sermon by itself.
The Servant—Isaiah 42, 49, 53. The Suffering Servant who bore our sins. The Holy and Righteous One—the title of Messiah in the Psalms. The Author of Life—the One who created the breath that filled the lungs that ran into the temple. The Author of life cannot be permanently held by death. “You killed the Author of life, but God raised Him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.”
Peter does not soften the charge. He says, in effect: “You handed Him over. You disowned Him. You asked for a murderer to be released and killed the Holy One.” But he immediately offers grace: “I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders.” Conviction and grace go together. The Spirit cuts the heart in order to heal it.
I. The Prophet Like Moses and the Seed of Abraham
Peter then quotes Deuteronomy 18 and Genesis 12. Moses said, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people.” Peter says: that prophet is Jesus. Abraham was promised, “Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.” Peter says: that offspring is Jesus.
This is breathtaking biblical theology. Peter is not just quoting; he is showing how the whole Old Testament has been pointing forward. Moses and Abraham were both speaking about the same Christ. The Old Testament is one long testimony, and Jesus is the substance.
Notice how the seed-of-Abraham promise is now widening: all peoples on earth will be blessed. The healing of one man at one gate becomes a sign of a wider blessing reaching to every nation. This is the missionary heart of the Old Testament finally breaking out into Acts.
J. Times of Refreshing — A Promise Worth Hearing
Before Peter ends, he offers a promise that the church has lived on for two thousand years: “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”
Times of refreshing. The Greek word is anapsyxeōs—a breathing space, a season of rest, a moment when heaven seems near. God promises this kind of season to those who repent. This is not just heaven later. This is God reaching into our weary lives and giving us breath, rest, and renewal now.
If you are weary today, hear this: there are times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. They come through repentance. They come through turning. They come through the Name of Jesus. They are not earned—they are received.
PART 3 — KNOW THE WORD: TEACHING FOCUS
Now we step back from the narrative and look at what Acts 3 teaches us about Scripture itself.
1. The Name Carries the Person
In Hebrew Scripture, the name (shem) was never just a label. It was the person—his character, authority, and presence. To know God’s Name was to know God Himself (Exodus 33:19; Psalm 9:10). When Acts 3:16 says “by faith in the name of Jesus this man… has been made strong,” Peter is saying: faith in the person of Jesus has done this. The Name and the person are inseparable.
So when we pray “in the Name of Jesus,” we are not adding a magic phrase at the end. We are appealing to His person, His finished work, His authority over everything in heaven and on earth.
2. The Old Testament Is One Continuous Testimony to Christ
Peter quotes Moses and Abraham. He could have quoted David. Stephen, in Acts 7, will quote Joseph. Paul will quote Isaiah. The pattern is consistent: the apostolic preachers do not invent new theology—they show how the old promises were always pointing to Jesus.
Train yourself to read the Old Testament with this question: How is this story leading to Christ? The promised seed of the woman in Genesis 3, the Passover lamb in Exodus 12, the bronze serpent in Numbers 21, the great prophet in Deuteronomy 18, the Son in Psalm 2, the Servant in Isaiah 53—all of them point to one Person. Acts 3 teaches us how to read.
3. Healing Without Preaching Is Incomplete
Peter does not stop at the miracle. He preaches. The miracle drew the crowd; the Word drew their hearts. If Peter had only healed the man and walked away, the man would have been healed for time. By preaching Christ to the crowd, many were healed for eternity.
This is a corrective for our own ministry. Acts of mercy without explanation can leave people impressed by us instead of saved by Christ. Always pair the deed with the Word. The body needs healing; the soul needs the gospel.
PART 4 — TRUST THE SPIRIT: TEACHING FOCUS
1. The Spirit Interrupts the Ordinary
Peter and John were not on a healing crusade. They were going to prayer. The Spirit chose the moment. Spirit-filled people remain available for divine interruptions in the middle of normal life. The kingdom of God advances through people who keep their eyes open between appointments.
2. The Spirit Gives Faith for the Impossible
Acts 3:16 says, “By faith in the name of Jesus, this man… has been made strong—and the faith that comes through Him has given this complete healing.” Notice the phrase: the faith that comes through Him. The faith was not Peter’s self-generated optimism. It was a gift, given by the Spirit, in the moment of need. When God leads you into impossibility, He gives the faith required for it as you go.
3. The Spirit Always Points to Jesus
The Spirit could have made Peter glow. He could have called fire down from heaven. He chose to heal a man and then preach Christ. The Spirit’s consistent pattern is to glorify Jesus (John 16:14). If a ministry, a movement, or a meeting begins to draw attention to itself instead of to Christ, it has lost the Spirit’s rhythm. The Spirit always points to Jesus.
Word and Spirit in Acts 3 — Side by Side
Know the Word | Trust the Spirit
Peter quotes Deuteronomy 18 and Genesis 12 to identify Jesus as the prophet like Moses and the seed of Abraham (Acts 3:22–25). | The Spirit empowers two ordinary apostles to heal in the Name on the way to prayer (Acts 3:1–7).
The healing is interpreted by Scripture: Servant, Holy and Righteous One, Author of Life (Acts 3:13–15). | Faith for the impossible is given through Christ by the Spirit—not generated by the apostles (Acts 3:16).
Peter calls for repentance from the Old Testament prophetic tradition (Acts 3:19, 23). | “Times of refreshing” come from the presence of the Lord by the Spirit (Acts 3:19–20).
The Old Testament covenant with Abraham is declared open to all nations (Acts 3:25). | The crowd is moved, the Word goes out, and many believe (continues into Acts 4:4).
PART 5 — FORMING CHRIST IN THE BELIEVER
Acts 3 forms Christ in us in three ways:
- Christ is formed in us when we live by holy habits. Like Peter and John walking up to the ninth hour of prayer, we live ordinary, faithful days—and the Spirit chooses His own moments to interrupt them with miracle.
- Christ is formed in us when we refuse to take credit for His work. “Why do you stare at us?” is the song of every Spirit-filled servant. We are willing to be seen but unwilling to be worshipped.
- Christ is formed in us when we offer something better than what people came asking for. The man asked for money; God gave him legs. We do not always give what is requested—we give what is needed. We give the Name.
PART 6 — DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Come prepared to answer. Come prepared to listen.
- What are the fixed times of prayer in your week? If there are none, when could you set one this week?
- Where in your life have you felt “carried daily” but not yet healed? Where do you need the Spirit to interrupt your ordinary?
- When has God answered you with something different—and better—than what you asked for?
- Where are you tempted to take credit for what God is doing through you? What does it look like to redirect that glory to Christ this week?
- Peter’s sermon was rooted in the Old Testament. Which Old Testament passage are you currently reading, and how is it pointing you to Jesus?
PART 7 — WEEKLY ASSIGNMENT
Before next class, take time with the following:
- Read Acts 4 in preparation for Lesson Four.
- Memorize Acts 3:6 (“Silver or gold…”) or Acts 3:19 (“Repent, then, and turn to God…”).
- Set two fixed times of prayer this week (morning and afternoon, or morning and evening). Try to keep them as Peter and John did.
- Practice one sentence of testimony about Christ—something He has done that only He could have done—and share it with one person this week.
- Find one person in your life who is at “the gate”—near the church but not yet healed—and pray for them daily.
CLOSING PRAYER
A PRAYER TO PRAY OUT LOUD THIS WEEK
Lord Jesus, Holy and Righteous One, Author of Life, Servant of the Father—I bless Your Name. I do not have silver or gold to bring You; I have only what You have given me. Make me an ambassador of Your Name in my home, my workplace, my street.
Teach me holy habits. Train me in the rhythm of prayer at fixed times. Interrupt my ordinary with Your extraordinary. Send me to the gates where broken people sit. Give me eyes to see them, courage to stop, and faith to speak the Name.
And when You move—when You heal, when You restore, when You answer—give me the grace to say with Peter, “Do not look at us. It is the Name of Jesus, and the faith that comes through Him.” Times of refreshing, come from Your presence. In the Name of Jesus, amen.
NEXT LESSON
Lesson Four — Acts 4
Boldness Under Threat: The Cornerstone, the Council, and the Praying Church