Acts chapter 3

vs 1

Luke is obviously writing for an audience beyond Jews, because he tells us that 3pm is the hour of prayer.

vs 2

So the beggar wasn't on his own - people were carrying him. What a sucky life, that you can't even beg without help.

vs 3

Working hard, as always.

vs 4-5

I'm not sure what's going on here. Is there some cultural thing about looking at beggars (or not looking at them)? Or is it just like our culture - where, if you see someone in the street and you don't want to acknowledge them, you just look somewhere else? what about the beggar - does he not look at people for a reason? Or is it just because he thought Peter and John were going to pass him by like everyone else?

vs 6

Why didn't Peter have any silver or gold? I mean, the believers had everything in common - does that mean that they had to get pocket money from a central treasurer? Or that they were all equally pretty poor? They were selling land!

Anyway, instead, he offers the guy something that no amount of money at the time could buy - the ability to walk.

vs 7

Of course, offering it without doing it would be horrible. But Peter actually does heal the lame man, in the name of Jesus Christ.

vs 8

That sounds like a pretty happy man. What happened to the people carrying him?

vs 9-10

It is pretty hard to keep these things quiet. And, even in Jerusalem, it is a much smaller and closer knit community than what we are used to. People recognise people, and they know when things happen.

vs 11

I assume he wasn't holding for the sake of balance, but more out of clingy happiness because these guys healed him. People, of course, flock over to gawk. It's like a reverse accident - people now actually want to look.

vs 12

Peter of course sees the opportunity for a sermon. He wants people to know that it isn't because he is Peter, or because John is John, that this guy got healed. I guess that's why they were gawking too - to find out how this thing happened.

vs 13

Starting your sermon by blaming your audience for killing the messiah might not seem like your typical opening, but Peter does it anyway. It is still fresh in the minds of people, so I guess it is a relevant item of discussion. And what kind of man would Peter be if he didn't stand up for Jesus? Especially after Jesus just healed someone?