Acts 3:11-15
 
Acts 3:11 (KJB)
And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.
 
Greatly wondering - Greatly amazed
 
In Herod’s temple, everything was made bigger because each king wanted to be remembered by the great building projects they accomplished, just like the pyramids in Egypt. Herod could not build a bigger temple because the dimensions were given in Scripture, however, he had built the courts to twice the size of Solomon’s and Zerubbabel’s temples. So as this man kept walking around and praising God, the people actually ran in amazement to see the miracle which had taken place. Solomon’s Porch was in front of the Beautiful Gate and this is where the crowd had now gathered. Now you notice that the healed man was holding on to Peter and John, not for support, but for the purpose of showing communion with them as fellow believers. This was no ordinary day at temple.
 
Acts 3:12 (KJB)
And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
 
Peter now seeing that the crowd has assembled took the opportunity to address all the perplexities which the people in the crowd had. Whenever a great miracle takes place, there will always be rumors and speculations flying around and Peter knowing the demeanor of this crowd now begins to preach the Gospel and to state exactly where the miracle of healing originated from. Peter is now making sure that the people in the temple know that they did not perform this miracle by their own power. Peter wants them to know that it is only the Lord Jesus Christ who has the ability to heal in that fashion. No doubt that as they gazed in wonderment on the man who was healed, they were already looking at Peter and John as the source of healing. Peter wanted to quickly disabuse them of that thought.
 
Acts 3:13 (KJB)
The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.
 
Son - Child or servant
 
Peter is specifically referring to the God of Israel as he includes the name of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the other fathers which probably refer to the sons of Jacob who were the patriarchs of the individual tribes. Peter is stating that God had now glorified His Son Jesus as God had fully accepted His sacrifice upon Calvary. Peter uses a different word for “Son” here and it refers to a child or one who is a servant which means Peter probably is tying this in to Isaiah 52:13 concerning the suffering servant. (Isa 52:13 KJV) Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
 
Then Peter continues, knowing that in the crowd which is attending the temple right now are those who had yelled with the crowd to crucify Jesus. Peter pulls no punches as he preaches loudly that it was the people of Israel that delivered Jesus to Pilate and when Pilate wanted to let Him go, the crowd yelled out all the more to crucify Him. Peter is now preaching to their consciences so those in attendance can never say that they were not told of their sin of denying the Son of God. Peter reminds them of this sin in hopes they will repent and become followers of Christ by receiving forgiveness for their sins.
 
Acts 3:14 (KJB)
But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
 
Denied - Renounce or refused
 
He continues his sermon from verse 13 that Pilate wanted to let Jesus go because he found no guilt in Him. Since the crowd was all pumped up against Jesus, when Pilate came and offered them one prisoner to be released, instead of them choosing Jesus to be released, as Pilate hoped they would, instead they chose Barabbas, who was a murderer. Peter wants to make sure that they remember every bit of the illegal trial and that they were responsible for being in league with the leaders and those of Rome as they conspired against Jesus. Their choice of rejecting the Holy One and Just Jesus in favor of a murderer shows exactly how far they fell from the truth of the Hebrew Scriptures.
 
Acts 3:15 (KJB)
And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
 
The crowd was so against Jesus that they determined to kill Jesus whom the Scriptures call the Prince of life. They did not have the last word on this because they may have killed Him but on the third day, God raised Him from the dead. Death could not hold the Prince of Life and He walked out of that tomb with the price paid for the sins of all the Elect of God. Peter then states that they are witnesses to the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead. They had forty days after the resurrection to see Him and speak with Him plus there were over five hundred who saw Him thus making them witnesses to the resurrection. The nation of Israel made one big mistake. They thought that the death of Jesus was the end when in reality it was just the beginning. Now true believers would start preaching the Gospel all over the Roman Empire and even though there were persecutions, the preaching could not be stopped.

Back