New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Acts 3
1
One day Peter and John were going up to the temple. It was three o'clock in the afternoon. It was the time for prayer.
Reference
Parallel theme
Acts 10:3
Exodus 29:39
Prayer
Psalm 55:17
Luke 1:10
Daniel 6:10
References Peter
Acts 4:13
Acts 8:14
Temple
Acts 5:25
Luke 24:53
Acts 2:46
2
A man unable to walk was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful. He had been that way since he was born. Every day someone put him near the gate. There he would beg from people going into the temple courtyards.
Reference
📍 Beautiful Gate
3
He saw that Peter and John were about to enter. So he asked them for money.
5
So the man watched them closely. He expected to get something from them.
6
Peter said, "I don't have any silver or gold. But I'll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk."
Reference
Parallel theme
Acts 3:16
Mark 16:17
James 2:5
Acts 4:7
References Jesus
Acts 10:38
2 Corinthians 8:9
Acts 16:18
Acts 2:22
Resurrection
Acts 4:10
Acts 9:34
7
Then Peter took him by the right hand and helped him up. At once the man's feet and ankles became strong.
Reference
8
He jumped to his feet and began to walk. He went with Peter and John into the temple courtyards. He walked and jumped and praised God.
Reference
10
They recognized him as the same man who used to sit and beg at the temple gate called Beautiful. They were filled with wonder. They were amazed at what had happened to him.
Reference
📍 Beautiful Gate
11
The beggar was holding on to Peter and John. All the people were amazed. They came running to them at Solomon's Porch.
Reference
📍 Solomon s
Parallel theme
Acts 5:12
12
When Peter saw this, he said, "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us? We haven't made this man walk by our own power or godliness.
Reference
Parallel theme
2 Corinthians 3:5
Genesis 41:16
Acts 13:26
John 7:18
Genesis 40:8
References Israel
Acts 2:22
Romans 9:4
Romans 11:1
13
The God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has done this. He has brought glory to Jesus, who serves him. But you handed Jesus over to be killed. Pilate had decided to let him go. But you spoke against Jesus when he was in Pilate's court.
Reference
Glory
Hebrews 2:9
Parallel theme
John 19:12
John 19:15
John 18:40
References God
Acts 7:32
Matthew 22:32
Exodus 3:6
14
You spoke against the Holy and Blameless One. You asked for a murderer to be set free instead.
Reference
Holy
Mark 1:24
Acts 4:27
Revelation 3:7
Acts 2:27
Righteousness
Acts 7:52
1 Peter 3:18
James 5:6
Acts 22:14
Zechariah 9:9
1 John 2:1
15
You killed the one who gives life. But God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.
Reference
Parallel theme
Revelation 21:6
Hebrews 2:10
John 1:4
John 5:26
Revelation 22:17
Hebrews 5:9
1 Corinthians 15:45
References God
1 John 5:20
Resurrection
Acts 2:24
Acts 2:32
16
This man whom you see and know was made strong because of faith in Jesus' name. Faith in Jesus has healed him completely. You can see it with your own eyes.
Reference
Faith
Acts 14:9
Matthew 9:22
1 Corinthians 13:2
John 14:12
Parallel theme
Acts 3:6
Acts 4:10
Acts 16:18
Acts 3:8
Acts 4:7
Deuteronomy 32:4
18
But God had given a promise through all the prophets. And this is how he has made his promise come true. He said that his Christ would suffer.
Reference
Parallel theme
Zechariah 12:10
Isaiah 50:6
Prophecy
Revelation 19:10
Acts 28:23
Luke 24:44
References God
Acts 2:23
19
So turn away from your sins. Turn to God. Then your sins will be wiped away. The time will come when the Lord will make everything new.
Reference
Parallel theme
Matthew 18:3
Matthew 13:15
Acts 28:27
References Lord
2 Thessalonians 1:7
Lamentations 3:40
Acts 11:21
Sin
Acts 2:38
Isaiah 44:22
Isaiah 43:25
Psalm 51:9
20
He will send the Christ. Jesus has been appointed as the Christ for you.
21
He must remain in heaven until the time when God makes everything new. He promised this long ago through his holy prophets.
Reference
Holy
Revelation 22:6
Luke 1:70
2 Peter 1:21
Parallel theme
Isaiah 1:26
Acts 1:11
References God
Romans 8:21
22
Moses said, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me. He will be one of your own people. You must listen to everything he tells you.
Reference
Parallel theme
Hebrews 5:9
John 5:24
John 12:46
References God
Galatians 4:4
Revelation 1:1
Romans 9:5
References Moses
John 1:17
Resurrection
Acts 7:37
23
Those who do not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.'--(Deuteronomy 18:15,18,19)
Reference
24
"Samuel and all the prophets after him spoke about this. They said these days would come.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 99:6
1 Samuel 3:1
1 Samuel 2:18
Prophecy
Acts 3:21
Luke 24:27
1 Samuel 3:20
Acts 13:20
Romans 3:21
25
What the prophets said was meant for you. The covenant God made with your people long ago is yours also. He said to Abraham, 'All nations on earth will be blessed through your children.'--(Genesis 22:18; 26:4)
Reference
Blessing
Genesis 22:18
Galatians 3:8
Genesis 12:3
Covenant
Acts 2:39
1 Chronicles 16:17
Romans 4:13
Galatians 3:16
Nehemiah 9:8
Parallel theme
Revelation 7:9
Psalm 22:27
26
God raised up Jesus, who serves him. God sent him first to you. He did it to bless you. He wanted to turn each of you from your evil ways."
Reference
Blessing
Acts 3:25
Psalm 72:17
Parallel theme
Jude 1:24
Acts 1:8
References God
Romans 1:16
Acts 26:20
References Jesus
Matthew 1:21
Resurrection
Acts 3:22
Acts 2:24
Acts 3:15
Summary of Acts 3
Acts 3 describes the healing of a man who had been unable to walk from birth, Peter's explanation of the miracle, and his call for the people of Jerusalem to repent and turn to Jesus.
The chapter begins with Peter and John going to the Jerusalem temple at the ninth hour, approximately three in the afternoon, a recognized time of prayer.
At the entrance to the temple, they encounter a man who has been unable to walk since birth.
His friends or relatives carry him to the temple every day and place him near the Beautiful Gate so that he can ask worshipers for money.
When he sees Peter and John, he asks them for financial help.
Peter tells him that he does not have silver or gold, but he does have something far more valuable.
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Peter commands him to get up and walk.
Peter takes the man's hand, and immediately his feet and ankles become strong.
The man stands, walks, jumps, and enters the temple with the apostles while praising God.
The transformation is so obvious that people recognize him as the same man who had previously sat at the temple gate begging.
The crowd is filled with amazement, and many people gather around Peter, John, and the healed man at Solomon's Colonnade.
Peter immediately uses the opportunity to explain that the apostles themselves did not perform the miracle through their own power or holiness.
Instead, the healing occurred through faith in the name of Jesus.
Peter then turns the crowd's attention toward Jesus, describing Him as God's servant, the Holy and Righteous One, and the Author of life.
He reminds the people that Jesus had been rejected and killed, even though Pilate had been inclined to release Him.
Yet God raised Jesus from the dead, and Peter and the other apostles are witnesses of His resurrection.
The healing of the disabled man therefore becomes more than a miracle of physical restoration.
It becomes evidence that the risen Jesus is still active and powerful, even though He has ascended into heaven.
Peter then confronts the crowd concerning their rejection of Jesus, but he also acknowledges that many acted in ignorance and that God's prophets had already spoken about the Messiah's suffering.
Rather than simply condemning the people, Peter offers them a way forward.
He calls them to repent and turn back to God, promising that their sins can be wiped away and that times of refreshing will come from the presence of the Lord.
Peter connects Jesus with the promises given through Moses, Samuel, the prophets, and the covenant with Abraham.
He presents Jesus not as a new religious idea disconnected from Israel's history but as the fulfillment of the story that God had been developing through the Scriptures.
The chapter ends by explaining that Jesus was sent first to the people of Israel to bless them by turning them away from their wickedness.
The central message of Acts 3 is that the power behind the apostles' ministry comes from the risen Jesus, and the appropriate response to Jesus is faith, repentance, and a turning away from sin.
The healing of the man at the temple provides a visible picture of what Peter is preaching.
The man begins the chapter unable to walk, dependent on others, and asking for temporary financial assistance, but he encounters Jesus' power through Peter and leaves the temple walking, leaping, and praising God.
His physical restoration becomes a picture of the greater restoration that Peter offers to the people through repentance and faith.
Acts 3 also emphasizes that the apostles do not use miracles to draw attention to themselves.
Peter immediately redirects the crowd's amazement toward Jesus, explaining that the miracle happened through Jesus' name and authority.
This establishes an important pattern throughout Acts: the apostles perform signs and wonders, but the purpose of those signs is to point people toward the identity, resurrection, authority, and saving power of Jesus.
The chapter therefore connects miracle, resurrection, Scripture, repentance, forgiveness, and restoration into one unified message.
Peter's sermon also shows that the Gospel is deeply connected with the history of Israel, because the promises given to Abraham, Moses, Samuel, and the prophets are presented as reaching their fulfillment in Jesus.
Acts 3 consequently moves the story forward from the events of Pentecost in chapter 2: the Spirit has empowered the apostles, a miracle attracts a large crowd, Peter explains the miracle through the resurrection of Jesus, and the crowd is invited to respond through repentance and faith.
The chapter begins with Peter and John going to the Jerusalem temple at the ninth hour, approximately three in the afternoon, a recognized time of prayer.
At the entrance to the temple, they encounter a man who has been unable to walk since birth.
His friends or relatives carry him to the temple every day and place him near the Beautiful Gate so that he can ask worshipers for money.
When he sees Peter and John, he asks them for financial help.
Peter tells him that he does not have silver or gold, but he does have something far more valuable.
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Peter commands him to get up and walk.
Peter takes the man's hand, and immediately his feet and ankles become strong.
The man stands, walks, jumps, and enters the temple with the apostles while praising God.
The transformation is so obvious that people recognize him as the same man who had previously sat at the temple gate begging.
The crowd is filled with amazement, and many people gather around Peter, John, and the healed man at Solomon's Colonnade.
Peter immediately uses the opportunity to explain that the apostles themselves did not perform the miracle through their own power or holiness.
Instead, the healing occurred through faith in the name of Jesus.
Peter then turns the crowd's attention toward Jesus, describing Him as God's servant, the Holy and Righteous One, and the Author of life.
He reminds the people that Jesus had been rejected and killed, even though Pilate had been inclined to release Him.
Yet God raised Jesus from the dead, and Peter and the other apostles are witnesses of His resurrection.
The healing of the disabled man therefore becomes more than a miracle of physical restoration.
It becomes evidence that the risen Jesus is still active and powerful, even though He has ascended into heaven.
Peter then confronts the crowd concerning their rejection of Jesus, but he also acknowledges that many acted in ignorance and that God's prophets had already spoken about the Messiah's suffering.
Rather than simply condemning the people, Peter offers them a way forward.
He calls them to repent and turn back to God, promising that their sins can be wiped away and that times of refreshing will come from the presence of the Lord.
Peter connects Jesus with the promises given through Moses, Samuel, the prophets, and the covenant with Abraham.
He presents Jesus not as a new religious idea disconnected from Israel's history but as the fulfillment of the story that God had been developing through the Scriptures.
The chapter ends by explaining that Jesus was sent first to the people of Israel to bless them by turning them away from their wickedness.
The central message of Acts 3 is that the power behind the apostles' ministry comes from the risen Jesus, and the appropriate response to Jesus is faith, repentance, and a turning away from sin.
The healing of the man at the temple provides a visible picture of what Peter is preaching.
The man begins the chapter unable to walk, dependent on others, and asking for temporary financial assistance, but he encounters Jesus' power through Peter and leaves the temple walking, leaping, and praising God.
His physical restoration becomes a picture of the greater restoration that Peter offers to the people through repentance and faith.
Acts 3 also emphasizes that the apostles do not use miracles to draw attention to themselves.
Peter immediately redirects the crowd's amazement toward Jesus, explaining that the miracle happened through Jesus' name and authority.
This establishes an important pattern throughout Acts: the apostles perform signs and wonders, but the purpose of those signs is to point people toward the identity, resurrection, authority, and saving power of Jesus.
The chapter therefore connects miracle, resurrection, Scripture, repentance, forgiveness, and restoration into one unified message.
Peter's sermon also shows that the Gospel is deeply connected with the history of Israel, because the promises given to Abraham, Moses, Samuel, and the prophets are presented as reaching their fulfillment in Jesus.
Acts 3 consequently moves the story forward from the events of Pentecost in chapter 2: the Spirit has empowered the apostles, a miracle attracts a large crowd, Peter explains the miracle through the resurrection of Jesus, and the crowd is invited to respond through repentance and faith.