Acts 3:11-18

Preaching In Solomon's Porch

With the now healed lame man holding onto each of them, it was natural that a crowd would gather around Peter and John. Peter, empowered by the Holy Spirit to speak, seized the opportunity to preach about the great healer, Jesus. The crowd looked at them as if they had somehow worked this miracle, but Peter instantly turned their attention to "the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers," and the glorified Jesus, His Son. They had delivered, denied and killed the "Prince of life." God, in his turn, had raised him from the dead, a fact which Peter and John had personally witnessed (Acts 3:11-15).

The lame man had been healed in the authority of Jesus. Because of the apostles' complete faith in their Lord's ability to make men whole, a great miracle had been performed. The recognition of that miracle by those Jews now gathered around Peter and John would have forced them to recognize Jesus as King. Further, many would have readily seen that meant they had crucified God's Anointed. Peter says they did what they did because they did not fully understand. He also noted everything followed the precise plan God had laid out so long before the events took place (Acts 3:16-18).