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Acts 3:11-26

Chapter 3

11
While he clung to Peter and John, everyone struck with amazement came running to them in Solomon’s Porch, as it was called.
12

Peter’s Speech at the Portico

When Peter saw the crowd, he addressed them:

“Fellow Israelites, why are you amazed at this? Why do you stare at us, as if it was by some power or holiness of our own that we made this man walk?

13

The God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob—the God of our ancestors—has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over to death and denied before Pilate, even though Pilate had decided to release him.

14

You rejected the Holy and Just One and demanded that a murderer be released to you.

15

You killed the Author of life, but God raised him from the dead, and we are witnesses to this.

16

It is his Name and faith in his Name that has healed this man you see and recognize. The faith that comes through Jesus has given him wholeness in front of all of you.

17

However, I understand that you acted out of ignorance, just like your leaders did.

18

God has fulfilled, in this way, what he had foretold through all the prophets—that his Messiah would suffer.

19

Repent then, and turn to God so that your sins may be erased;

20

and the time of refreshment may come through God’s mercy, when he sends the Messiah appointed for you, Jesus.

21

For he must stay in heaven until the time of the universal restoration, which God mentioned long ago through his holy prophets.

22

For Moses said:

The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet, like me,

from among your own people;

you shall listen to him in all that he says to you.

23

Whoever does not listen to that prophet

will be cut off from among his people.

24

In fact, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel onward, have foretold the events of these days.

25

You are the children of the prophets and heirs of the Covenant that God made with your ancestors when he said to Abraham: All the families of the earth will be blessed through your descendants.

26

It is to you, first, that God sends his Servant; he raised him to life to bless you, by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”

Commentaries

3:1 - 3:11

Healing of a Paralytic.

Peter and John go to the temple to pray, but the dejected paralytic at the entrance changes their plans. The paralytic asks Peter for alms. Peter has no gold or silver, but he possesses a gift of immeasurable value: the power to invoke the name of Jesus of Nazareth. A comforting touch accompanies the invocation. The effect is immediate. The healing of the paralytic symbolizes Jesus’ life-giving power. Another effect is the amazement of the people, which is a sense of wonder or bewilderment that prompts them to seek understanding. This attitude leads Peter to bear witness and proclaim, once again, the death and resurrection of Jesus.

3:12 - 3:26

Peter’s Speech at the Portico.

Before everyone’s eyes was the crippled beggar, now healed and full of joy. A new power, which is not rooted in money, has been revealed to everyone. Peter explains that this power is not his, but that of the “name” of Jesus. In biblical culture, speaking and acting in someone’s “name” meant doing so with that person’s authority and power. Luke presents us with a narrative of what the witness of the Church throughout history should include: liberation; proclamation of the power of the risen and living Jesus among his people; denunciation; invitation to conversion and a radical change of life; and the creation of a new community.

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