Jesus Did it All, Why Look at Us?

Acts 3:1-26 

A Lame Man Healed

1 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, 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 from those who entered the temple; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, "Look at us." 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give 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 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God. 10 Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Preaching in Solomon's Portico

11 Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon's, greatly amazed. 12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: "Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. 16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

17 "Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. 22 For Moses truly said to the fathers, The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.' 24 Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. 25 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' 26 To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities."

When a lame man was laid by the entrance to the beautiful temple and asked for alms from Peter nd John, this was their reply.  They did not offer the crippled man money to survive because he was unable to work, but instead told Him to stand up and walk in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, by His power and authority and not their own supposed power to heal.  When Peter said “look at us,” he mentioned this to get their attention that the man would look to Jesus Christ who gives life and health of the body and soul as they acted on His behalf.  They did not draw attention to themselves as many do now, but pointed to the Great Physician as we all always ought to do.  The result of the man’s faith in God’s work was that he entered the temple with the apostles “walking, leaping, and praising God” in thankfulness for the work of Jesus through them leading and pointing him to the Lord.  The result for the witnesses to this double miracle was seen in how they were filled with wonder and amazement at God’s work of mercy and grace.  When the crowd then ran to Peter and John, they quickly pointed them to Jesus Christ and not their own power or godliness as the means to heal the man and make him whole; they did not claim a special anointing or blessing above other believers, but simply pointed past themselves up to the Lord in heaven above.  They then held them accountable for handing over the Lord to the Romans to kill for them as they rejected the Christ and nailed Him to the tree of curses (Matthew 26:2, Galatians 3:13, Colossians 2:14) for us when only He had true sinless godliness and all power from His divine nature to be able to do such wonderful works.  Through Jesus and faith in His name the man had been restored to the wholeness of God’s original intention at creation.  Peter did then speak further about how they had Jesus crucified out of ignorance of the scriptures as they blindly followed their religious leaders and that they should remember the prophet’s call to repentance and conversion of a changed life and a new heart of flesh to replace their hardened hearts as of stone (Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26) by allowing Him to change them into renewed creations (Galatians 2:20) in response by receiving Jesus as the Christ by trusting faith of obedience to the gospel which they now were hearing.  Only then would their sins be forever forgiven as if the ink writing the words of their deeds condemning them was blotted away, leaving a cleansed soul in God’s sight.  God had spoken these things many times before that they would hear this final Prophet and infinitely more to come (Hebrews 1:1-3) and turn from their sin to Him as they had been called to do for so long as His sheep without a shepherd (Zechariah 10:2, Matthew 9:36).  If they refused to hear this Great Shepherd as all the prophets had been telling them, they would be destroyed in their souls and suffer forever for rejecting Him, but if they believed and received (John 1:12) Him, they would find peace with God and be led (Psalm 23:2-3) to refreshing waters of restoration in His righteousness.  Jesus was thus sent to turn them from their sin to Him by receiving Him and His word as they witnessed His actions on their behalf.  This was their call of the gospel to beli in Jesus Christ as it always has been to all who hear, including all of us this day as we read these same words.  When we tell you these things, do not look at us but Him.  Jesus did it all, why look at us?