Acts 3:6

My Notes

What Does Acts 3:6 Mean?

Acts 3:6 is Peter at the temple gate, offering something infinitely more valuable than what the beggar asked for: "Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk."

The Greek argyrion kai chrysion ouch hyparchei moi — "silver and gold have I none" — is a frank admission of material poverty. Peter is financially empty. The church is seven weeks old and its leaders have nothing in their pockets. The admission isn't embarrassed. It's matter-of-fact. I don't have what you're asking for.

"But such as I have" — ho de echō — what I do have. Peter pivots from what's absent to what's present. The absence of money reveals the presence of something else. And what Peter has is the name — en tō onomati Iēsou Christou tou Nazōraiou. The name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The full identification: Jesus (personal name), Christ (messianic title), of Nazareth (geographic origin). Peter uses the entire name because the authority is in the specificity. Not a vague spiritual power. A named person's authority, exercised by a named representative.

"Rise up and walk" — egeire kai peripatei. Two imperatives. Get up. Walk. The command expects immediate obedience — not gradual improvement but instantaneous transformation. And it comes (verse 7) — immediately the man's feet and ankle bones receive strength.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Have you been apologizing for what you lack instead of giving what you have? What do you actually carry that's more valuable than money?
• 2.The beggar asked for a coin and got legs. Have you been asking God for small things when He wants to give you something far larger?
• 3.Peter's authority came from a specific name, not a general spirituality. Is your faith anchored to the specific person of Jesus, or to vague spiritual concepts?
• 4.What would it look like to stop focusing on your empty pockets and start deploying the name you carry?

Devotional

I don't have money. I have a name. And the name is worth more than the money.

Peter is broke. The early church has no budget, no endowment, no building fund. The leading apostle stands in front of a beggar and says: I have nothing you asked for. No silver. No gold. Empty pockets. And then he gives the man something the man didn't know to ask for — something no amount of silver could purchase.

The name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. That's what Peter has. Not a feeling. Not a philosophy. A name — specific, historical, identified by hometown. The authority isn't abstract. It's located in a person. And Peter, as that person's representative, exercises the authority the person gave him.

The beggar asked for money. He got legs. He asked for a coin and received a life. That's what happens when God's representatives give what they actually have instead of apologizing for what they don't. Peter didn't say "I'm sorry I can't help." He said: I can't give you what you want. Let me give you what I have. And what he had turned out to be infinitely more valuable than what the man requested.

If you've been apologizing for what you lack — feeling disqualified because you don't have the money, the platform, the credentials, the resources that seem necessary — Peter's example says: give what you have. The name of Jesus, carried by a person with empty pockets, accomplished what a lifetime of begging never could. The name doesn't need your resources. It needs your mouth. Rise up and walk.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture