Acts 3:1–26

Leaping no longer as one left outside, but alive and walking in the name of Jesus.

Based on insights from the Grace and Truth Study Bible
Photo Credit: Unsplash

The account in Acts 3 portrays a powerful demonstration of the risen Christ’s life working through His people. As Peter and John head to the temple for the hour of prayer, they encounter a man who has been lame from birth, unable to walk and dependent on others to carry him and place him at the gate to beg. His entire life had been confined to the margins—close to worship but never fully entering in. But everything changes when Peter, seeing the man’s need, offers not silver or gold, but the authority of Jesus Christ.

This miraculous healing immediately reveals Jesus as the true source of life and restoration. The man leaps up, walks, and praises God—signs that this was no illusion but a radical transformation. He enters the temple for what may have been the first time, welcomed by the power of God instead of excluded by his condition. The public nature of the healing draws a crowd, setting the stage for Peter’s bold declaration of the gospel. He indicts the people for disowning Jesus, the “Author of Life,” in favor of a murderer, but also offers them grace: they acted in ignorance, and God had foretold these things through the prophets.

Peter calls them to repent and turn back—to abandon the path of rejection and embrace the One whom Moses and all the prophets pointed to. Through repentance and faith, they will receive times of refreshing from the Lord and look forward to full restoration when Christ returns. The blessings promised to Abraham are now extended to all through Jesus, the suffering servant, who was raised up to bring salvation.

Journal Entry — In the Voice of the Holy Spirit:

You have seen what I can do through those who walk in union with Me. My life flows where human effort cannot reach. The man born lame had no power in himself to walk—but My life through Peter’s faith opened the way for healing. I called that man from the outskirts of worship to the heart of My presence. He leapt not only because his legs were made whole, but because his soul was made new.

This is your story too. You once stood at the gate, unable to enter fully into what you longed for. But through the name of Jesus, you have been raised, not only to stand but to walk with Me. I brought you from watching at a distance to participating in the fullness of My presence.

You now know that repentance is not a turning inward to sorrow, but a turning outward to Me—the one who refreshes and restores. You are not defined by the ignorance of your past, but by the call that drew you forward into light. Just as the lame man believed when he heard My name spoken, you, too, are moved by faith to receive what I have already made available. You are an heir of the covenant, a recipient of blessing, and one through whom My life now flows to others.

Do not let the world tell you who you are. I have called you blessed. The Author of Life dwells in you. Keep turning to Me. Keep walking in Me. Let others see the leaping joy of My restoration in you.

(Acts 3:1–26; Isaiah 53; Deuteronomy 18:15–19; John 6:14; John 7:40)

Real Life Analogy:

Have you ever had a morning where your phone was completely dead and you were rushing to leave the house? You plugged it in for just a few minutes, hoping for enough charge to function. But when you picked it up, the screen stayed black. No connection, no response. You needed a power source, not just proximity to one.

That’s what happened with the man at the gate—he was near the presence of God daily, but it wasn’t until the authority of Jesus entered his life that power surged through him. So many live their lives adjacent to spiritual things, thinking nearness is enough. But restoration comes only through the living connection—through Jesus, who doesn’t just recharge us, but raises us to new life. And once alive in Him, we don’t just limp through—we leap.

Prayer:

Father, thank You for drawing me from the outskirts of life into the fullness of Your presence. I rest in the truth that I have been made whole in Christ, and that Your Spirit now lives in me. I do not wait for a future restoration—I live as one already refreshed in Your presence. Where others see limits, I trust in Your boundless life. And like the man at the temple gate, I walk forward today with joy, knowing that Jesus is still raising lives and inviting the world to leap in His name. Amen.