There is healing in the name of Jesus. Did you hear about the guy who went to a healing service at church? He said it was so bad that even a guy in a wheelchair got up and walked out. Healing. When we think of the word healing, it can bring a lot of baggage, if we’re honest. I mean, the world’s filled with problems, right? And there’s suffering everywhere. And We might find ourselves questioning, well, why doesn’t Jesus just heal everybody? And for that matter, why didn’t Jesus heal everyone while he was here? Do you ever think about this? In our sermon series, we said we’re going to talk about the power of the Holy Spirit. But as I said in the greeting, this is not a topic that we Lutherans. Talk a lot about. I mean, what is the Holy Spirit even have to do with healing? And what is healing even look like? So this morning, I’m going to ask that we just sort of prayerfully together try to unpack what healing can look like.
You know the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Was not the end, it was actually the beginning. And we are resurrection people. And as Pastor Todd told you in his sermon last week, he said that when Jesus ascended, he gave the power of the Holy Spirit to his disciples permanently. And they were to go into Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth to spread his gospel message. And guess what? That means us too. What was he thinking? Let’s go ahead and let’s open our Bibles to Acts chapter 3 and we’re going to read verses 1 through 10. Now, Peter and John were going up to the temple. at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple, which is called the beautiful. And this was in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. When he saw Peter and John go into the temple, he began to ask them to receive alms. But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and he said, look at us. And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, I don’t possess silver and gold, but what I do have, I will give to you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. And seizing him by the right hand. He raised him up and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened with a leap. He stood upright and he began to walk and he entered the temple with them walking and leaping and praising God.
All the people saw him walking and praising God and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the beautiful gate of the temple to beg alms. And they were all filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. This is the Word of the Lord. Will you please join me in prayer? Good and gracious God, help us to be used by you as your disciples and to go out into the world as you have commanded. We are your sheep. Help us to hear your voice and to obey your will. There is healing in your name and you do your work through us. Grace to you and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. In 2012, I was youth director and I was part of a team that took 48 youth and adults to New Orleans as part of the National Youth Gathering. And on our last evening in New Orleans, some of us were in an area called Jackson Square. One of my kiddos noticed a homeless woman that was sitting not too far off from us. Let me describe this woman’s brokenness. She was dirty. She was smelly. She had no shoes. It was about 90 degrees with 90 percent humidity, you know, a typical New Orleans day. Sweat poured off of her because every bit of clothing that she owned she was wearing. Everything else was in a plastic bag. All her worldly possessions. She was mumbling to herself. Her hair was messy and matted. Her hands were gnarled and her nails were broken and chipped. One by one, my kiddos approached her and started talking to her. Within mere minutes, this one was surrounded by a bunch of teenage girls. One brushed her hair. One gave her the shoes off their feet.
One gave her their backpack. One their cross necklace. And one their Bible. They spoke to her and they listened to her story. Then we all held hands and we prayed over her. And you guys, I have to tell you, it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed. They gave her no money. What they gave her was worth so much more. They brought Christ’s love. They brought the name of Jesus and this woman. By the name of Jesus was brought out of her brokenness and she heard the life saving promise of Christ’s love and forgiveness. She was healed that day, spiritually. The woman’s name was Sandy, and as we all hugged Sandy goodbye, she called me over and she said, until this day. No one has ever seen me before. Thousands of people have walked by me here in Jackson square, but until this day, no one has seen me as the beloved daughter of God. Sandy was changed forever. Now I know had she physically been able, she would have been leaping for joy. But I could see the joy all over her beautiful face.
She received an unexpected healing, and it wasn’t from us. It was healing from the Holy Spirit, and He just decided to deliver it with a bunch of teenage girls. Now, our gospel story today of a lame man. I just think this is such a wonderful story of healing in the name of Jesus, isn’t it? And the healing came in a way that was really unexpected. Just like Sandy’s healing in Jackson Square was unexpected. Now the story takes place in the book of Acts and it’s at the temple in Jerusalem at the entrance called the beautiful gate and I think we have an image of the beautiful gate Or we can just imagine, oh, there it is. So, these gates are called the Beautiful Gates. And they’re sealed now. They were actually sealed in 1541 by Solomon the Magnificent. He was the leader of the Ottoman Empire. But, just imagine these gates being open. These gates face the Mount of Olives. And this is where they would have entered. Now, Now, Luke is a really detailed author, which is why I love him. And so he’s very descriptive about what he says happens here. And he says that hundreds, if not thousands of people would have been entering through this gate on their way to pray every day.
And in Judaism, there’s three specific times a day to pray. There’s nine in the morning, there’s noon, and there’s 3 p. m., which is the ninth hour. And so, at the ninth hour, this is where this takes place, three in the afternoon, so this crippled man was known to worshippers visiting the temple. He’s gonna hang out here every single day. Luke tells us that he’s been crippled since birth, and so his friends bring him here, and this is where he begs for alms. Now, I know in Western culture, we have kind of a, a weird sort of feeling about begging. But in Judaism, it’s considered a form of righteousness to give to the poor. So it’s actually very smart that this lame man is planted at the beautiful gate because the expectation would be that if you are coming to pray during those appointed hours, you worship God, you’re seeking righteousness, you’re going to give me alms. So, Luke tells us that the man looks directly at Peter and John as they walk by him because he expects them to give him something. Now do you think he knew that they were followers of Jesus? Probably not. He doesn’t get out much, but he does think that because they’re there, they’re going to give him alms. So, that’s the healing that he’s expecting, isn’t it? He was expecting that his healing would come in the form of money. And it tells us that Peter and John actually looked directly at him. They say, look at us. And then, they tell him, but we don’t have any money. Can you imagine the look on that man’s face when he heard this? Was it a look of disappointment? Was it anger or disgust? In one statement, Peter has just dashed this man’s dreams of getting food and shelter and clothing. This was the expected healing the man thought he wanted.
What Peter offered this man instead in the name of Jesus was way more valuable than silver or gold. It was life changing. Peter said, in the name of Jesus Christ, walk. Now Peter and John were really clear about whose power would cause this man to walk. It was power in the name of Jesus that healed this man. It wasn’t a magic formula that Peter proclaimed. It was the simple recognition that if any healing was to take place that day, it was because of who Jesus is, not because of who Peter is. Salvation comes in the name of Jesus. Now get, oh I almost fell backwards. I might have needed some healing there. So are you guys ready? Okay, that was a good one. So what I was going to tell you is that Luke gives us this detail, Lenny’s like, I gotcha, I gotcha. He’s so ready, he went like this. So Luke tells us that John reaches down, Peter reaches down and grabs the right hand of the lame man. Now, no offense to all of our South paws here, but the right hand represents the power and strength of God.
So in that little detail, he says he grabs the right hand and then all of a sudden strength went to his ankles and to his feet, and so we know again, that was through the power of God. Now, this was certainly not the healing this man had expected. Or that he even knew to ask for. So what was the response of this man who had not been able to walk his entire life? Was it, well, why didn’t you heal me the way I was looking for? Why didn’t you give me money? He responded with unbelievable gratitude. He literally jumped to his feet. Can you imagine? This man who has never so much as crawled a day in his life responds ecstatically. Luke Acts chapter 3 verses 8 through 10 says, he jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping and praising God. And when all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him. That’s the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful. And they were all filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
I got to say, it’s, it’s, I question who was more shocked, the guy who was healed or everybody who saw it happen, like, hey, isn’t this the guy that we have sent here? Now, Luke actually tells us this man is 40 years old, which is really old for back then. And so, you know, who knows for how many years they’ve seen him sitting there. Okay, are we shocked? We should not be shocked. This is what we are called to do. Mark chapter 16 verse 18 quotes Jesus and he says, in my name, they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. Well, the story doesn’t end here. Luke tells us just a couple of lines later that while the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished. And they came running to them to a place called Solomon’s Colonnade. Now, we know the temple got destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, but I do have an image, if we have it. If not, you can just imagine. Oh, there we go. Okay, so this is an image of what the top of the temple used to look like. Solomon’s Colonnade runs around the outside of the temple, and it’s a covered porch. So they went in, bottom right hand side, through the eastern gate. And this is where Jesus used to often teach. It’s a perfect place. If you can think of this big covered porch and people are coming and going all the time. And so Peter sees everybody kind of congregating around this man and typical Peter fashion doesn’t men’s words.
He says men of Israel. Why does this surprise you? It’s like come on people. Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness, we made this man walk? It’s by faith in the name of Jesus that this man you see here and know was made strong is Jesus’s name and the faith that comes through him that has given this man complete healing as you see. So this is really important to remember. Healing doesn’t happen because of how good we are at the law. Healing actually has nothing to do with us. It has everything to do with Jesus and who he is. All right, we’re back to that question, healing. What comes to mind when you think of healing? Do you think of televangelists, Pentecostal services, maybe the laying on of hands? I mean, what does healing even mean? We know people came to Jesus and they were seeking physical healing, but this actually wasn’t the type of healing they were looking for. They just didn’t know it. Jesus shows up to give you something that you’re searching for, maybe, or maybe you’re not searching for, but it’s what you really, really need. Healing isn’t always delivered in the way that’s expected, but it’s always the healing that’s needed in the name of Jesus. A good definition of healing.
It’s to restore back to the original condition. To restore someone back to their original condition means to offer Christ’s forgiveness, which literally sets them free. And the church is commanded to do what Peter and John did. Matthew 10, eight says, go out into the world, tell them. the kingdom of God, heal the sick, cast out demons, spiritual, emotional, and physical healing are among God’s most potent weapons given to us in the name of Jesus. Not all healings, though, are met with hallelujahs. In fact, Peter and John are thrown into jail for this healing. Yep. Why? Well, the leaders were followers of the law, and they looked for their healing by being really good at the law. They thought they could earn their salvation by being good, not just at the top 10. That’s good enough for us. No, 613 laws. But before you’re like, oh, those darn leaders. We have to admit that we’re sometimes like this too. We’re skeptical of healing in the name of Jesus. Jewish leaders were not thrilled. They did not see this miracle as a reason to celebrate. Since they didn’t understand it, they felt threatened by it.
Peter and John are dragged before the leaders dragged before Caiaphas and he says to them, by what power or authority did you do this healing? Gotta love Peter. Peter responds, it was by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth that this man was healed. And then Peter boldly claims, Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men from which we must be saved. So, you guys have all been healed. Do you keep the story of what God has done in your life under wraps? Or do you shout it from the rooftop? The Bible tells us that this particular healing scene, it did not go unnoticed. In fact, that day, believers grew to about 5, 000 men, and that does not include the women and children. Peter and John commanded healing by faith in the name of Jesus to a lame man. So, on that day, the voice of God sounded like Peter. Until the voice of God through the life giving power of Jesus brought new life, that lame man was helpless and hopeless. To Sandy in Jackson Square on that day, the healing voice of God sounded like a bunch of teenage girls. So, are you skeptical, or are you convicted? Do you believe in the healing power in the name of Jesus? Are you more like the Sadducees who think that healing needs to come through doing something really good in the law? Or are you more like this crippled man who shouted for joy over his unexpected healing?
There is healing in the name of Jesus. Sometimes physical, sometimes emotional, always spiritual. Healing comes in different shapes and different forms. Sometimes God gives you healing you didn’t even know you were looking for. Without the healing word of Jesus, you guys, we’re all lame. We’re all broken. And we’re all homeless because without his healing, we have no eternal home. Without healing, we’re actually all condemned to death for our sins. But you have received this healing. Yes, you have received this healing. And we’re called to spread this news of our healing and healing in the name of Jesus to the ends of the earth. So, I ask you again, what does the voice of God’s healing sounds like to you? In my experience, God’s voice of healing sounds like a bunch of teenage girls loving on a homeless woman. What does this voice sound like to you? Let’s pray.
Dear God, you have chosen us to bring healing to a broken world. Through the power of your name, there is life giving salvation. You work through us to bring this news to the world. We seek your healing and mind, body and spirit. We know that the healing that you bring may not always be the healing people are looking for, but it’s absolutely the healing that we need. We thank you for your son who died for our sins so that we may one day spend eternity with you. Help us to not be skeptical, but to hold on to this promise that comes only through the power of your name. Amen.
