The Ministry of the Apostles (3:1-6:7).
The pouring out of the Holy Spirit having taken place, and the infant church having been shown to be established, Luke now goes on to deal with the way in which the infant church rapidly expanded, firstly through the ministry of the Apostles (Acts 3:1 to Acts 6:7), and then more widely through the ministry of some of their appointees (Acts 6:8 to Acts 9:31). God is revealed as at work in sovereign power, and His Apostles are having to keep up. But it is recognised that in the establishing of His people their authority is required at each stage as Jesus had assured them would be the case (Matthew 16:19; Matthew 18:18; Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:30). This was necessary in order to maintain the unity of the church and the preservation of true doctrine.
The Days Immediately Following Pentecost - The Kingly Rule of God Is Revealed
The dramatic events of the Day of Pentecost are now followed by the equally dramatic events which result from that day. The Kingly Rule of God is revealed as present and flourishing:
1) The presence of the Kingly Rule of God is revealed in the healing of the lame man which testifies to what God wants to do for His people in the new age - ‘the lame will leap like a deer' (Acts 3:1-10).
2) On the basis of this Peter declares that Jesus is the Servant of the Lord spoken of by Isaiah, and is the Holy One, the Righteous One (Messianic designations) and the ‘Prince' (Source and Leader in Triumph) of Life (Acts 3:11-26).
3) Peter and John are arrested and questioned before a Tribunal (Acts 4:1-7) - the nation is setting itself against the Lord's Anointed (Acts 4:26).
4) Peter declares that Jesus is the expected Messianic Salvation and Chief Cornerstone (Acts 4:8-12).
5) Peter and John are given the required official warning concerning their ‘illegal' activities. They are forbidden to preach in the Name of Jesus (Acts 4:13-22).
6) Gathering in prayer the place where they are is shaken and they declare Jesus to be the Lord's Anointed and are all filled with the Spirit to speak the word of God in boldness (Acts 4:23-31).
7) The Kingly Rule of God is revealed in the daily life of the people of God (Acts 4:32-35).
8) The Kingly Rule of God is revealed in the execution of those who appropriate for themslves what has been given in tribute to God (Acts 4:36 to Acts 5:11).
9) The Kingly Rule of God is revealed by signs and wonders (Acts 5:12-16).
10) The Kingly Rule of God is revealed by the release of the captives (Acts 5:17-23).
11) The Apostles are again brought before the Tribunal accused of teaching the ‘this Name' (Acts 5:24-28).
12) Peter declares that Jesus is both Archegos (the One Who by His resurrection is the Triumph Leader of life, the First-born from the dead, leading all who find life in His train) and Saviour (Acts 5:29-32).
13) As a result of the advice of Gamaliel the Apostles are released, having been beaten for His Name's Sake (Acts 5:33-40).
14) The preaching of Jesus as the Messiah continues (Acts 5:41-42).
Chapter 3 An Outstanding Miracle Results in A Great Evangelistic Opportunity.
We shall now consider these in more detail.
The account of the healing of the lame man was probably once circulated on its own, along with the preaching that went with it, as part of the witness to the early church of the effectiveness of Pentecost, and as a declaration of how the church (the people of God), made up of those who had been ‘lame', had been delivered by its Saviour. It would thus early take on a standard form, preserving its accuracy. Here it is incorporated by Luke for a threefold purpose. Firstly in order to illustrate the wonders and signs spoken of earlier (Acts 2:43), secondly in order to illustrate that those who will come to Christ are those who have recognised their spiritual lameness and need, and have looked to Him as the only One Who can heal them, and thirdly in order to evidence the fact that the new age had come by the fulfilment of Isaiah 35:6, ‘then shall the lame man leap like a deer'.
Let us consider these purposes in more detail:
1) In the previous chapter it has been stressed that the Apostles did ‘signs and wonders' (Acts 2:43). Now we are given a practical example in the healing of this notable cripple, one who had been so from birth and had regularly sat at the gate of the Temple. The healing of so well-known a cripple caused a great stir, and his ‘leaping' could only remind them of the prophecy of the lame man who would leap like a hart (deer) because the Kingly Rule of God had come (Isaiah 35:6).
2) Both the Old Testament and the teaching of Jesus stress that those who will be saved of old Israel are like the lame. In Isaiah 33:23 we read, in the context of the coming of the Lord as Judge, Lawgiver and King, ‘The lame took the prey' where the thought is that it is God's weak and helpless but restored people, who will finally, in God's day, triumph and enjoy the spoils of victory. In Isaiah 35:6 Israel are likened to a lame man who is restored and leaps like a deer, no longer lame because the Kingly Rule of God is here, a place where there can be no lameness. In Jeremiah 31:8 ‘the blind and the lame' will be among the people of God who return triumphantly from far off to enjoy God's coming Kingly Rule. In Matthew 11:5; Luke 7:22 the lame walking is to be a sign to John the Baptiser that the Kingly Rule of God is here. In Luke 14:13 the maimed and the lame were the ones who were to be called when someone gave a supper, and this was immediately followed by the parable of the man who made a great supper (representing ‘eating bread in the Kingly Rule of God'), only for his invitation to be rejected by all who were invited, so that the invitation instead went out to the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind (Luke 14:21). They were the ones who would come to his feast.
3) There is also a deliberate contrast here between the old and the new. Under the old dispensation the lame man has sat at the gate of the Temple, and all the Temple could offer him were the alms of those who went in and out. Year by year it was powerless to offer more. With all the glory of its silver and gold, and the Temple was splendid indeed, it could not offer restoration. That awaited the new age (Isaiah 35:6). But now in the coming of the representatives of the new age there is Power. He rises up, and he walks and leaps. The fact that he is now healed proclaims visually the fact that the new age has arrived and that the old Temple is superseded.
So in this new incident we have a further manifestation of the new power that has come to God's chosen representatives through the coming of the Holy Spirit. Here the Holy Spirit through the Apostles makes clear that in the Name of Jesus salvation is offered to ‘the lame', and that something better than the Temple is among them. The Kingly Rule of God is here.