![]() ![]() Jesus himself had alluded to this passage when asked to identify himself to John the Baptist's disciples (see Luke 7:22). Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, Why the emphasis on leaping? There is only one place in the Hebrew Bible that mentions the lame leaping, the oracle about Israel's deliverance in Isa 35:5-6: The action of jumping is important to Luke, for he mentions it twice in this brief account. He says to the man born lame, “In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, walk.” Peter takes him by the hand, raises him up, and immediately the man stands up, walks, and begins leaping. Having no money, Peter gives him what he does have. ![]() ![]() ![]() Peter and John, continuing their Jewish practice of worshiping at the Temple, approach the Beautiful Gate and encounter a well-known beggar there. The occasion of Peter's speech is the healing that precedes it. Jesus, as risen Lord, is operating through the likes of Peter and John, implementing the covenant with Abraham promising that Israel would be a blessing to all nations. Since the excerpt used in the reading is rarely commented upon and even more rarely placed in context, it might be helpful to do so here. The reading from Acts that we hear this Sunday is drawn from the speech that follows and explains the healing of the man born lame. Similarly, when Luke wants to illustrate what is going forward in his history of the post-Easter Church, he chooses to focus first, and at great length, on the healing of the man born lame (Acts 3-4), for in his account the Church is called “the Way.” Relative to that way, we are all born lame until we are moved by faith from the paralysis of nonbelief to movement on the Way, following the risen Lord Jesus. When John the Evangelist wants to highlight one of Jesus' healings to illustrate the meaning of his ministry, he picks the healing of the man born blind ( John 9), for in his Gospel believing is the deepest kind of seeing in that sense, we are all born blind until we have the faith to see afresh by the light of the world that is Jesus. While he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement.Let's look at the big picture. And all the people saw him walking and praising God and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. With a leap he stood upright and began to walk and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. But Peter said, "I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene-walk!" And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, "Look at us!" read more.Īnd he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. And Jesus seeing their faith *said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming who can forgive sins but God alone?” Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, *said to them, “Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or to say, ‘Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”-He *said to the paralytic, “I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.” And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”Īnd a man who had been lame from his mother's womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. read more.īeing unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. And they *came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even near the door and He was speaking the word to them. When He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home. ![]()
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