INSTRUCTIONS: Pray. Read the text. Then use the questions below as guides to write out what you have learned from the text. You can go as deep or as basic as you choose. You may choose to only answer based on the text you are studying, or you may decide to use other passages from the Bible, commentaries, or additional outside sources of information. You can answer in any order. You may choose to spend one day in only answering from the text and another day filling in information from other sources. You may add additional details that are not asked for in the narrative study format, such as historical context, archeological information, or questions you have for further study. Always complete your own study before reading my example so that you do not limit your own thinking.
While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s. And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”
Characters Who is this story about? List all of the people in the story and what you know about them. In addition, there maybe animal, plant, and supernatural characters in the story. Of course, every story will include God as a main character. Sometimes, His presence is obvious, but sometimes, you must look deeper to find Him in the story.
Setting: Where and When? Check out maps to understand the relationship of ancient places to modern countries. How is this place connected to other places that you have read about? Is this place different from the locations just before this story started? Where will the characters go after this story is finished? Does this place have any spiritual significance? Part of the answer to this question might be a specific date and time of day, but a more important answer looks at what events happened before, what events happened after, and most importantly, what other events are occurring simultaneously. It is important to compare the events of the Bible with other historical events that were happening at the same time, but it is even more important to compare various Bible stories and events with each other. For example, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel all provide differing perspectives on what was happening during one specific time period, so the other two books can provide a lot of insight to explain the situations occurring in a story from one of the other books.
Plot (Problem and Solution) What is the problem happening in the story? Why is the problem happening? Could the problem have been avoided? What are the consequences that result from the problem? Was the problem resolved? If so, how was the problem resolved? What was God’s preferred solution? What solutions did humans try that were not in alignment with God’s way of handling situations?
Text-to-Text Does anything remind you of other verses that you have read in the Bible? Do you want to search deeper for more texts that speak about this subject? If so, what is the consensus of the texts that you found, i.e., what lessons were communicated by the majority of the texts and were they different from the story that you are studying?
Text-to-World What general lessons about life are in the text? What similarities do you see between the story and our modern world? What differences are there between the story and today’s world?
Text-to-Self What specific application can you find for your own life, i.e., what message is the Holy Spirit trying to give you from this story? Have you ever experienced any situation similar to the story? Would you have reacted differently than the characters? If so, why
Text-to-God What does this story reveal about God and the way that He interacts with humans? Did God approve or disapprove? How do you know? Is there anything confusing about God in this story?
My Example Bible Study
Note: You can go much deeper than this example with lots of connections and details. You can also use this narrative format for studying the Bible at a more basic level with fewer connections and skipping textual cross-references. This format can be used to suit your own needs at the present time. You may decide to fill in more information at a later date when you have more time. I recommend that you either type or write your ideas because this is an attempt to understand the Bible at a deeper level. Thus, you may want to refer back to your notes and add information as you learn more.
Narrative Bible Study—Acts 3:11-26
Characters: The healed man who had been lame from birth was clinging to Peter and John as they walked through the temple. Earlier in the chapter, it says that he had been jumping around and praising God, so people’s attention was drawn to him and the men he was clinging to.
Peter and John were disciples of Jesus. Peter had healed the lame man and was now the center of attention for a large group who recognized the lame man and were astonished to see him healed.
Peter uses the opportunity to speak to a large audience about Jesus. This large group of men had gathered to worship in the temple on this day. They were not believers in Jesus at this point.
Peter points the crowd to the God of Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, and the forefathers and says that their God had glorified Jesus. Thus, Peter is citing the very God that the audience had come to worship as the authority for accepting Jesus as the Messiah.
Peter refers to Jesus as the servant of God, the Holy and Righteous One, and the Author of Life. The first two references are titles given to the Messiah. The last one is pointing to Jesus as the Creator. I always think of John as being the apostle who points to Jesus as being the God who made the earth, but Peter is doing the same thing here.
Various prophets are referred to, especially Moses, Samuel, and Abraham. Peter points out that all of these prophets spoke of Jesus.
Setting: Where and When?: This scene takes place in Solomon’s Portico shortly after the lame man was healed. Peter and John had encountered the lame man probably a little before 3:00 (the ninth hour). Thus, this part of the story probably took place a little after 3:00 and maybe closer to 4:00 depending on how long the healing and post-healing interactions with the lame man took. I tend to think that it was closer to 3:00 and that the two apostles did not spend a long time outside of the temple. I think that this may be why the man was still clinging to them. He didn’t want to let them out of his sight for a second, but they wanted to go inside the temple, so they just sort of drug him with them as they proceeded forward. They may have told friends that they would meet them in Solomon’s Portico, which was a colonnade covering the eastern side of the outer court. This was a common gathering place out of the sun where people could be taught and relax, so the area was full of men who would be attracted by the former lame man’s commotion.
Plot (Problem and Solution): One problem in the story was that the former lame man’s antics had attracted the attention of a large crowd of people. If the apostles were attempting to fly under the radar of the temple leaders, they were out of luck. Another problem was that all of these people needed to repent and be saved. Peter and John may have tried to speak to some of the men there in the past and received the cold shoulder. Many of them were guilty of condemning Jesus to death, either with their voice or with their sympathies. Something needed to happen to reach their hearts. In a way, the healing was the solution to gaining the attention and sympathies of the people. Others may have been hopeful that Jesus was the Messiah when He was alive, but they had lost hope at His death. Even if the resurrection was a reality, they would have felt under condemnation from God for their people’s part in killing the Messiah. The healing was also a solution for showing that God’s favor did not depart at the death of His Servant.
Peter’s speech is a way to show everyone that he is aware of who he is speaking with and that they, or their people, were guilty of gross treason against God, but that God was willing to provide forgiveness if they repented and gave their loyalty to Jesus as the anointed King of Israel. Peter tells them that God understands that they acted in ignorance. However, now that Jesus has been resurrected, and they have witnessed God’s power through Jesus’ servants, they are no longer in ignorance. They have to make a decision. Peter cites prophecies about the suffering servant. He reminds them of Moses’ prophet. Peter speaks of the promise given to Abraham that the world would be blessed through his descendant and says that God had begun the promise with the people of Israel. On the other hand, Peter points out that Moses said that those who did not obey the Prophet would be destroyed. Peter was telling the group that they had to make a decision. They had chosen wrongly in the past, but now they had a chance to choose the right course.
Text-to-Text: In Acts 3:15 when Peter refers to Jesus as the Author of Life, it reminds me John 1:10-11. “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” Both Peter and John are emphasizing that Jesus was the Creator, and that Jesus’ own creation rejected Him. This means that the world rejected Jesus, not once, but twice—at the cross and in the garden.
In Acts 3:20, the times of refreshing remind me of Joel where he talks about the early and latter rain. “Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before. The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame” (Joel 2:23-27). There will be a time of refreshment where we will never again be put to shame, and we will know that God is in our midst. This is the times of refreshing for me.
Moses’ promise of a prophet comes from Deuteronomy 18:15-19. ““The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ And the LORD said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.”
In Acts 3:24, it speaks of Samuel and the following prophets making predictions of Messiah. In 2 Samuel 7, there is a prophecy spoken by Nathan the prophet to King David. “‘When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David” (2Sa 7:12-17).
Acts 3:25 refers to the promise God made to Abraham. “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen 12:3).
Text-to-World: The world acts in ignorance every day denying God and rebelling against Jesus’ rule. The world kills and screams and clings to power, but Jesus still calls to them to turn from their ways and return to loyalty to God. Even with all the screaming and rebellion, God holds out His hand in acceptance to those who turn to Him. The world today still has the same opportunity to be healed as the man who was lame from birth. It may look impossible and seem impossible, but it is not impossible. We think we are so different and more modern today, but the reality is that we are just the same in our rebellions, but also in our opportunities to make peace with God by accepting His outstretched hand of peace.
Text-to-Self: In Acts 3:12, Peter asks the people why they were staring at him and John as if they had done this themselves. Peter was working for his Master and not taking any credit to himself. I want to be like Peter, working for Jesus and always pointing to Jesus and away from myself. I see people like Mother Theresa that the world reveres, and I think of all the wasted opportunities she had to point people to Jesus. I want to serve God in a way that they look to Jesus as the Lord of Mercy and their Creator and forget about me. I want to remain humble and never do anything in arrogance. Instead, I want people to see Jesus when they look at me and my actions.
Text-to-God: God has no ego. He doesn’t get impatient or reject us out of pride. He simply keeps coming back to try to pull us up out of the muck again and again because He is completely self-giving love and love tries to rescue the dying. Even after the Jews killed Jesus, He came to those same Jews and through His servant Peter stretched out His hand to them. He knew that they would reject Him ahead of time, and He cried for the fate that they would endure because of that rejection. “Oh Jerusalem!” He sent His messengers to rescue as many of His people as He could get to choose life before that day. On this day, Peter was truly speaking Jesus’ words of mercy to the people.