Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Friday, May 24, 2013 Read – Acts 3:1-10 The story of the healing of the lame man and the aftermath of it is told in the next two chapters of Acts. We should read it as one continuous story – I invite you to do that now if you would like (Acts 3:1-4:31). We are going to look at it in four parts over the next four days. This story is the first ministry venture of the followers of Jesus after the Holy Spirit has empowered them for mission. In that way it is something like the first ministry venture of Jesus after his baptism and testing in the wilderness. We should recall that in Luke’s gospel that story was of Jesus going to his hometown of Nazareth and declaring, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19). Jesus was quoting from the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1-2). We have observed that Isaiah was likely Luke’s favorite gospel. In this story Peter and John are on the way to Temple for prayer – another of Luke’s examples of the faithfulness of the followers of Jesus as true Jews. They meet a man who is lame. How are they to respond to the man? The man expects perhaps they will give him money to support his living. He receives much more. In the name of Jesus, Peter and John bring healing to the man. It is significant that Luke tells us that following his healing the man went with Peter and John, leaping and praising God. We need to direct our attention to Isaiah 35. The vision of Isaiah in Isaiah 35 is of a time when “the eyes of the blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf unstopped, and the lame will leap like a deer” (Isaiah 35:5). It was to these very signs that Jesus pointed when the disciples of John the Baptist came questioning him (Luke 7:22). The leaping of the man fulfills the words of Isaiah. Luke’s point is that, just as Jesus came fulfilling the words of the prophets, especially the prophet Isaiah, just so the followers of Jesus carry on the mission of Jesus. In fact, Luke makes it abundantly clear that it is not Peter and John who have done this act, it is Jesus acting through them – it by the name of Jesus that the lame man rises up to leap. What will be the reaction of the people to this healing? We will begin looking at that reaction tomorrow.