The power of Jesus’ name is the power of Jesus himself. In Acts 3:1-26, Peter heals a man who had been lame since birth by saying, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” When an amazed crowd gathers, Peter insists that he didn’t do it by his own power or godliness. Jesus did. The name of Jesus isn’t a magic formula we use to get what we want. It points to the risen Lord, who offers something better than health and wealth: forgiveness and refreshment.
Setting the Scene in Acts 3:1-26
At the end of Acts 2, Luke described a healthy, growing church filled with awe as the apostles performed many wonders and signs (Acts 2:42-47). Now he zooms in on one of those signs. It becomes the first major turning point in Acts, leading to a second sermon from Peter and the church’s first clash with the religious authorities.
This chapter is also popular with teachers in what is often called the Word of Faith movement. Some of them teach that believers can speak health and wealth into existence by declaring it with enough faith. Acts 3 is often used to support that idea, so it’s worth reading carefully. For a topical look at that teaching, see Can Christians Really Name It and Claim It?
A Beggar at the Beautiful Gate
Luke sets the scene at the temple in Jerusalem.
Acts 3:1-5 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
The “time of prayer” at three in the afternoon was the hour of the evening sacrifice, one of the busiest times at the temple. Even after Pentecost, the apostles kept worshiping at the temple. They didn’t see following Jesus as abandoning their Jewish faith. They saw it as its fulfillment.
No one knows for sure which entrance was called the Beautiful Gate. Many scholars think it was the Nicanor Gate, which Josephus describes as made of gleaming Corinthian bronze and more valuable than gates covered in silver and gold. If so, there’s a striking contrast: a crippled beggar sitting every day at one of the most magnificent gates in Jerusalem. Luke later tells us the man was over forty years old (Acts 4:22). He had been lame his whole life, and everyone who went to the temple knew him. He looked at Peter and John expecting money.
What I Do Have
Peter had something better than money.
Acts 3:6-8 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.
There’s an old story, probably legendary, that the theologian Thomas Aquinas once visited a pope who was counting a large pile of money. The pope supposedly said, “The church can no longer say, ‘Silver or gold I do not have.’” Aquinas replied, “True, and neither can it say, ‘In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.’” Whether or not it happened, the point lands. The church’s real treasure isn’t money.
The man didn’t just stand. He walked, jumped, and praised God, entering the temple courts where his disability had kept him on the outside. Luke, whom Paul called “the doctor” (Colossians 4:14), mentions that his feet and ankles became strong. And the scene echoes Isaiah’s promise that when God comes to save his people, the lame will “leap like a deer” (Isaiah 35:6). This healing was a sign that the age of the Messiah had arrived.
Why Do You Stare at Us?
A crowd rushed to Solomon’s Colonnade, a covered porch along the eastern side of the temple courts. Peter saw his opportunity, but not to draw attention to himself.
Acts 3:12-16 When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.”
Peter immediately refused the credit. The man wasn’t healed by Peter’s power or godliness. He was healed by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who had glorified his servant Jesus. Peter reminded the crowd that they had rejected “the Holy and Righteous One” and chosen a murderer, Barabbas, instead. They killed “the author of life.” The irony is staggering. You can’t kill the source of life and expect him to stay dead. God raised him.
Then Peter said it twice: it is faith in Jesus’ name that healed this man. In the ancient world, a person’s name stood for their character and authority. Acting “in the name of Jesus” meant acting as his representative, by his power and according to his will. The power wasn’t in Peter’s words or even in the size of anyone’s faith. It was in the one his faith was pointed toward. It’s not about the size of your faith, but the object of your faith.
This is where the “name it and claim it” idea goes wrong. It treats faith as a force we use to get results, and it treats God’s name like a password. But only God can speak things into existence. Jesus does promise to answer prayer, but he connects that promise to remaining in him (John 15:7), and John says God hears us when we ask “according to his will” (1 John 5:14). Peter was aligned with what Jesus was doing. That’s very different from ordering God around.
The Bible also shows that it isn’t always God’s will to heal. Paul left his coworker Trophimus sick (2 Timothy 4:20) and told Timothy to take a little wine for his frequent illnesses (1 Timothy 5:23). Paul himself begged God three times to remove the “thorn in my flesh.”
2 Corinthians 12:8-9 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
Even the Messiah had to suffer, as Peter points out in this very sermon (Acts 3:18). God still heals today, and we should pray boldly. But we can’t demand miracles, and God never promises his followers a life without pain.
Repent and Be Refreshed
Peter didn’t leave the crowd with a miracle. He left them with an invitation.
Acts 3:19-21 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.
Here is what God does promise. First, our sins can be wiped out. The Greek word pictures erasing writing from a page. Second, “times of refreshing” come from the Lord. That’s the life of the Spirit, the “rivers of living water” Jesus promised to everyone who believes (John 7:38-39). And third, Jesus will return to restore everything God promised through the prophets.
Peter then told the crowd that Jesus is the prophet like Moses whom God promised to raise up (Deuteronomy 18:15). He reminded them of God’s promise to Abraham that all peoples on earth would be blessed through his offspring (Acts 3:25). And he ended by explaining what the real blessing is: God sent Jesus “to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways” (Acts 3:26). The greatest blessing isn’t a healed body or a bigger bank account. It’s a changed heart.
What This Means for Us
Many people are desperate for hope, and some ministries take advantage of that by promising health and wealth in exchange for faith, or for money. Peter did the opposite. He had no silver or gold to give, he asked for nothing, and he pointed every eye to Jesus. That’s a good test for any ministry: does it make much of Jesus or much of itself?
We can pray boldly in Jesus’ name, and sometimes God does amazing things. But we pray as people who want his will, not ours. And even when the healing we ask for doesn’t come, the deeper promises stand: forgiveness, refreshment, and a future when Jesus will restore everything.
The Takeaway
What is the power of Jesus’ name? It’s the power of the risen Jesus himself, not a formula we use to get what we want. Peter healed a lame man in Jesus’ name and then gave Jesus all the credit. We can’t name and claim health and wealth, but God promises something better to all who turn to him: forgiveness and times of refreshing.
