Read Acts 3:1-10

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the LORD’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.”  (Isaiah 61:1-2, NLT)

When we think of God’s people, we tend to think one of two things. We might think of the Israelites who were God’s “chosen people”, or we might think of specific characters in the Bible. Either way, we tend to idealize the people we are thinking about. For instance, we may think that God’s people are super faithful, holy, perform miracles and live wholly devout and righteous lives. Unfortunately, this idealism enables us to distance ourselves from being God’s people, because we feel that we fall short of those ideals. As such, I have decided to write a devotion series on specific characters in the Bible in order to show you how much these Biblical people are truly like us, and how much we are truly called to be God’s people.

Part 231: Leaping Beggar. So what? That is the skeptic might be asking in light of the Pentecost experience. So what that people could understand the disciples in their own languages? First off, many of those people were Jews, even if they didn’t live in Israel, so who is to say that they did not have some understanding of Hebrew? Or, perhaps there are other possible explanations that could explain that without thinking that Jesus Christ actually rose from the dead. Surely, ecstatic and emotional experiences lead to all sorts of things, so 3,000 converting is not an unlikely phenomenon. But does that mean that the disciples’ account of Jesus resurrection was literally, physically true?

Of course, the skeptic will never be fully satisfied because they see everything through their skepticism. What’s more, they are looking for physical, tangible, empirical truth that can be measured by the physical sciences. In today’s time, people have forgotten the other sciences and solely put their faith in the physical/natural sciences; however, that does not lead them to the truth in regard to things outside of the physical realm.

For instance, look at dreams. They can be measured scientifically to an extent. Brainwaves, electrical signals, pulse, REMs, sleep cycles, etc. are all observational ways in which scientists can study what physically happens when we believe one is dreaming; however, why one dreams and/or how the brain produces the specific dreams can only be speculated on. They are not physically measurable. Yet, none of us are skeptical that we dream.

That brings us to Peter and John who crossed paths with a beggar who could not walk. He had to be carried every single day to the place known as “The Beautiful Gate” in order to beg for money. No doubt, many people passed him by without giving, an act that really is a not so “beautiful” reality in human behavior. So, there this man sat every day, looking to raise anything he could to survive.

When Peter and John encountered him, the man eagerly asked them for money. Peter and John didn’t have money to give him; however, they said that what they did have to give came from Jesus Christ their Lord. I cannot imagine what this man thought of that; however, the two disciples left him little time to think. “In the name of Jesus Christ,” Peter exclaimed, “get up and walk!”

While the hubbub of Pentecost could be easily dismissed as ecstatic enthusiasm, there was no room for skepticism in the heart and mind of the disabled man. Instead, he got up and walked. In fact, he did not just walk but leapt and danced with joy all the way with the disciples into the Temple. The people who knew this beggar, and had passed him every day on the way through the Beautiful Gate, were astounded by what they saw! This man’s newfound ability was witness enough to them about the power of Jesus Christ!

Let this text challenge you. First, let us understand that signs and miracles happen so that people might see the glory of Jesus Christ our Lord and be transformed by witnessing such things. Second, let us put our skeptical minds behind us. If none of the miracles in the Bible speak to you, ask your self this: how did this little sect of Judaism become the main religion of the Roman Empire? Conspiracy theories aside (and there are many of them), history shows this to be one of the most remarkable achievements in all of history. Not only remarkable, but next to impossible. With that said, the historical record is clear…it HAPPENED.

Let us recognize that there is more to reality than what can be seen or physically/scientifically measured. Skepticism can be healthy; however, when we are blinded and paralyzed by it, and when we are able to be skeptical of this (e.g. religion), but put faith in that (e.g. physical sciences as the sole measure of reality), we find ourselves mired by an unhealthy skepticism. Let us avoid such a swamp and really soul search for the truth of God.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
What good is being skeptical when one is not skeptical of his or her own beliefs?

PRAYER
Lord, help me work through my skepticism and lead me to the path of faith. Amen.