"Simon Says" Part 3
ZADOK PUBLICATIONS - Dr. C. R. OLIVER
April, 2023
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ZADOK PUBLICATIONS MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
April, 2023
"Simon Says" Part 3
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"Simon Says" Part 3
Introduction:
Religious discussion may haggle on for hours, days, or even millennia, but it stops dead in its tracks with one irrefutable event - a healing miracle. Yes, there is just something irrefutable about having a fellow running wildly among the Templeites.
-- especially one who has been universally known to be crippled and unable to be lifted to the troubling waters.
Enter Simon.
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Acts 3:1-10:
3 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, "Look at us." 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them - walking, leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God. 10 Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
NKJV
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Notice, Peter and John went to seek the Lord in prayer and were well on their trek when they heard someone calling out to them. Turning, they discovered the lame man was the source of the plea. First, notice the solidarity of the companions. This is the church in action, not a one-person act. "Look at us." (This is not an event like so many, who tossed alms and never looked at the recipient.) These were holy eyes that looked into his inner man and revealed the love of God. Out of Simon's mouth came words most treasured, "In the Name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk."
This is the fulfillment of Isaiah 40:29, "He gives power to the weak and to those who have no might He increases strength."
John and Peter knew this lame man's healing was going to draw out the Scribes and Pharisees and Temple prelates; what they could hardly imagine was the size of the crowd this event drew.
Verse 7 shows the helping hand and the confidence of the lame man in receiving that assistance. There is no substitute for the personal touch. By faith, the lame man took his hand and did what he could not do before. He did not release his grip.
Acts 3:11:
11 Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon's, greatly amazed.
NKJV
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The lame man would not let go of Peter and John, which identified the two as the source of healing. The lame man jumped and leapt, while holding Peter's hand - imagine that scene.
Notice the sequence of response the former lame man took - he leaped before he stood. Can you imagine what he was shouting? Can you imagine the thanksgiving and the praise to the Lord. We can envision the gyrations of jumping, first this way and then another - the freedom from the bondage of infirmity and the stigma of begging. What must have traversed his mind at the reality of release? God really does answer prayer! Yes, the crust of social stigma fell away with every jump.
He stood. Standing upright, he remembered the mandate to show himself to the priest, so he walked into the temple with Peter and John.
Peter, however, recognized the potential for the gospel to be preached in line with this flurry.
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"... And all the people saw him walking and praising God ..."
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Peter took center stage and quickly set matters straight as to the true healer.
Acts 3:12:
12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: "Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?"
NKJV
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Then Simon grasped the moment and the Spirit gave him utterance -- for flowing through him was one of the greatest sermons ever preached (all without notes).
Acts 3:13-16:
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and killed the Prince of Life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. 16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
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Peter began connecting the dots between the healing and the crucifixion. He did not miss a beat in his proclamation of Jesus. Simon hurled facts of their guilt and disavowment toward his fellow Israelites. He used strong words like "delivered and denied" which have alternative meanings in Greek, to drive home the point - "Don't deny Him again."
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NT:4483; to contradict, disavow, reject, abnegate:
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Quickly, Simon joined the two events and in doing so questioned what their response would be to this second chance? In other words, "You missed it with Jesus before, so in light of this healing, don't miss Him again. Don't rebel when I tell you this: 'You killed the Prince of Life' and He was resurrected and it was
..."Through faith in His name that has made this man strong…, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all."
Acts 3:17-18:
"...Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled."
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Nonetheless, He remains the Prince of Life, whether you acknowledge Him or not.
(Prince of Life is just one of many descriptions of Jesus. It is interesting to ask why did Peter choose this one? Multiple sermons could be fostered by this title.)
Acts 3:18-26:
But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. 22 For Moses truly said to the fathers, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.' 24 Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. 25 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' 26 To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities."
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Peter's message was loaded with Biblical references; the first of which was verse 18. In a flash, these well -taught brethren remembered Scripture they had memorized. When Peter said,
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"But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled."
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I am sure Isaiah 53 came to mind.
(I am including the lengthy Isaiah passage because it has most of the sufferings of Jesus incorporated into a condensed form. Like a flashing light, this passage must have stirred the immediate forefront of their minds. Jesus fulfilled all of it.)
Isaiah 53:1-12:
Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent ,So He opened not His mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people, He was stricken. 9 And they made His grave with the wicked - But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. 11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.
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Next, came the appeal: "Repent and be converted." Five thousand men of Israel did just that, they repented and were converted. This is still required of both Jew and Gentile. There are no exceptions.
Peter said their conversion bore consequences - it would open the door to "times of refreshing." (Talk about revival! The times of Refreshing was from the Lord. The dead religion of the Scribes and Pharisees and rulers was changed to a new covenant. A blast of understanding fell across this multitude.
But that was not all, for out in the future would come "times of restoration." When the kingdom would see the restoration of all things to their perfect state in him.
Every person on the Temple grounds heard Peter's admonitions to Repent and be converted. Since early times, the prophets spoke of Jesus and now the mystery
Is solved. Be converted in order for the "times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord" and that He might send Jesus Christ so "the times of restoration may come."
Times of refreshing: NT:403 anapsuxis (an-aps'-ook-sis); from NT:404; properly, a recovery of breath, i.e. (figuratively) revival:
KJV - revival.
Times of restoration:
NT:605 apokatastasis (ap-ok-at-as'-tas-is); from NT:600; reconstitution:
KJV - restitution.
Notice please, that "times" is plural. Realize that through the ages, there have been many times of refreshing. (Lord, how we stand in need of such now! Asbury might be the beginning of such a "refreshing.")
Notice also, that the central figure of Peter's appeal is Jesus being at the forefront of restoration. God sent. Heaven bound and full of Matthew 19's restitution.
Matthew 19:27-30:
Then Peter answered and said to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore, what shall we have?"
28 So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.
NKJV
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Regeneration: NT:3824:
paliggenesia (pal-ing-ghen-es-ee'-ah); from NT:3825 and NT:1078; (spiritual) rebirth (the state or the act), i.e. (figuratively) spiritual renovation; specifically, Messianic restoration:
KJV - regeneration.
In other words, Simon is saying that what they are experiencing is not just the
healing of a lame man, but something earthshattering and God saturated. Peter evoked all the prophets of the Old Testament from Samuel forward as they prophesied of this day. As far back as Moses, one sees Jesus as the super Prophet and supreme subject of worship.
Acts 3:21-26:
...God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. 22 For Moses truly said to the fathers, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.' 24 Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days.
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These thousands occupied a unique place in history as they are sons of the prophets and are living out what their forefathers saw.
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(Cont'd) 25 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' 26 To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities."
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God sent Jesus to fulfill the Abrahamic covenant and to bless them and wrench iniquity from them.
Regard the penalty for not accepting this offer.
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... V. 23'And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.'
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Five Thousand converts took Simon seriously. The others took the penalty.
To paraphrase the comment of the Prime Minister of Present day Israel, in his autobiography, Bibi:
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In our history, there was a radicalized rabbi, who messed up and got himself crucified.
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Until Next Month,
Dr. Cosby R. Oliver, PhD.
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MISSIONS REPORT:
From: Ghiorghi Cazacu - Gospel Ministries International, Inc.
Contact Information:
Dorothy Maue
US Administrator
Gospel Ministries International, Inc.
PO Box 661
Belleville, IL 62222
Telephone: (618) 239-0215
https://www.gmii.org/gmi-ministries
Email: gmiius@sbcglobal.net
Blessing from Romania.
Dear brother Oliver and sister Bethy.
Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ from us.
Here is the church building that you helped us to build.
We thank you so much for your wonderful friendship and parnership for the Kingdom of God.
We are ministering to the people of Ukraine for the last 8 months.
God bless you all.
We love you and appreciate your friendship.
Ghiorghi and Cristina Cazacu
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JIM'S JEWELS
From: Jim McCants
Jim's Jewels is a walk throughout Scripture with an eye toward the Promises of God. Jim McCants, at my request, took on the task of seeking out both obvious and hidden promises.
Below are his promises to Ruth.
Promises and Covenants In Ruth
Ruth's Promise to Naomi
Ruth 1:16-17 16 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God :
17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
Ruth 2:12 12 The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.
Ruth 2:20 20 And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.
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