Acts 3:1–10 · WEB
Peter Heals the Lame Beggar: Acts 3:1–10
An Acts 3 devotional about Peter helping a man at the Beautiful Gate, restored participation and disability-aware Christian welcome.
10 minutesRead
Acts 3:1–10
Open Acts 3:1–10 in the World English Bible. Read the whole passage slowly, noticing where the man is placed each day, how Peter addresses him, the help Peter gives and where the man goes afterward.
Reading prompt · World English Bible
Arrive
The man at the Beautiful Gate is an adult with a history, relationships and daily routines. He is not an anonymous prop for someone else’s sermon.
Read Acts 3:1–10. Notice the exchange of attention before the movement of feet.
Reflect
Peter and John stop. In a busy religious space, their first act is not a speech but attention. Peter looks at the man and asks him to look back.
Peter then takes him by the right hand and raises him. The man responds with his whole body and voice, entering the temple with them and praising God. The movement is from exclusion at a threshold toward shared participation.
Healing stories require careful teaching. Acts does not authorise Christians to blame people whose bodies do not change, promise outcomes God has not promised or treat disability as proof of deficient faith.
Churches can pray honestly and also act immediately: make spaces accessible, listen to disabled people, challenge pity and ensure that dignity never depends on receiving a miracle.
Pause and notice
A few questions to sit with
- What happens before Peter tells the man to rise?
- How does the man’s place in the community change?
- What physical, social or attitudinal barrier could your community remove?
Pray
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, teach us to see people rather than pass by them. Bring healing as you will and make our communities accessible places of dignity, worship and shared life. Amen.
Carry it with you
Extend the gate into an accessible path. Then take one practical step to remove a barrier in a group or place you influence.
Draw
Acts 3:1–10 Peter Heals the Lame Beggar Devotional Drawing Page Printable
Continue reflecting with the printable connected to this passage.
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