Contents ▼▲
Front Matter The Story of a Beautiful Garden The First Baby in the World and His Brother The Great Ship That Saved Eight People The Tower That Was Never Finished The Story of a Long Journey How Abram's Choice Brought Blessing The Angel by the Well The Rain of Fire That Fell on a City The Boy Who Became an Archer How an Angel's Voice Saved a Boy's Life The Story of a Journey after a Wife How Jacob Stole His Brother's Blessing Jacob's Wonderful Dream A Midnight Wrestling Match The Rich Man's Son Who Was Sold as a Slave From the Prison to the Palace How Joseph's Dream Came True A Lost Brother Found From the Land of Famine to the Land of Plenty The Beautiful Baby Who Was Found in a River The Voice from the Burning Bush The River That Ran Blood The Night When a Nation Was Born How the Sea Became Dry Land and the Sky Rained Bre The Mountain That Smoked and Words That Were Spoke How Aaron Made a Golden Calf and What Became of It The Tent Where God Lived Among His People How They Worshipped God in the Tabernacle What Strong Drink Brought to Aaron's Sons The Scapegoat in the Wilderness The Cluster of Grapes from the Land of Canaan How the Long Journey of the Israelites Came to an What a Wise Man Learned from an Ass How Moses Looked upon the Promised Land The Story of Job The Story of a Scarlet Cord How the River Jordan Became Dry The Story of a Wedge of Gold How Joshua Conquered the Land of Canaan The Old Man Who Fought Against the Giants The Avenger of Blook and the Cities of Refuge The Story of an Altar Beside the River The Presnt That Ehud Brought to King Eglon How a Woman Won a Great Victory Gideon and His Brave Three Hundred Jephthah's Rash Promise and What Came from It The Strong Man: How He Lived and How He Died The Idol Temple at Dan and Its Priest How Ruth Gleaned in the Field of Boaz The Little Boy with a Linen Coat How the Idol Fell Down Before the Ark The Last of the Judges The Tall Man Who Was Chosen King How Saul Saved the Eyes of the Men of Jabesh The Brave Young Prince Saul's Great Sin and His Great Loss The Shepherd Boy of Bethlehem The Shepherd Boy's Fight with the Giant The Little Boy Looking for the Arrows Where David Found the Giant's Sword How David Spared Saul's Life The Last Days of King Saul The Shepherd Boy Becomes a King The Sound in the Treetops The Cripple at the King's Table The Prophet's Story of the Little Lamb David's Handsome Son and How He Stole the Kingdom Absalom in the Wood; David on the Throne The Angel with the Drawn Sword on Mount Moriah Solomon on This Father's Throne The Wise Young King The House of God on Mount Moriah The Last Days of Solomon's Reign The Breaking Up of a Great Kingdom The King Who Led Israel to Sin The Prophet Who Raised a Boy to Life The Prayer That Was Answered in Fire The Voice That Spoke to Elijah in the Mount The Wounded Prophet and His Story What Ahab Paid for His Vineyard The Arrow That Killed a King Elijah's Chariot of Fire A Spring Sweetened by Salt The Pot of Oil and the Pot of Poison The Little Boy at Shunem How a Little Girl Helped to Cure a Leper The Chariots of Fire around Elisha What the Lepers Found in the Camp Jehu, the Furious Driver of His Chariot Elisha and the Bow; Jonah and Nineveh How the Ten Tribes Were Lost The First Four Kings of Judah The Little Boy Who Was Crowned King Three Kings and a Great Prophet The Good King Hezekiah The Lost Book Found in the Temple The Last Four Kings of Judah and the Weeping Proph What Ezekiel Saw in the Valley The Jewish Captives in the Court of the King The Golden Image and the Fiery Furnace The Tree That Was Cut Down and Grew Again The Writing upon the Wall Daniel in the Den of Lions The Story of a Joyous Journey The New Temple on Mount Moriah The Beautiful Queen of Persia The Scribe Who Wrote the Old Testament The Nobleman Who Built the Wall of Jerusalem Ezra's Great Bible Class in Jerusalem The Angel by the Altar The Manger of Bethlehem The Star and the Wise Men The Boy in his Father's House The Prophet in the Wilderness Jesus in the Desert, and beside the River The Water Jars at the Wedding Feast The Stranger at the Well The Story of a Boy in Capernaum and a Riot A Net Full of Fishes The Leper and the Man Let Down through the Roof The Cripple at the Pool and the Withered Hand The Twelve Disciples and the Sermon on the Mount The Captain's Servant, the Widow's Son, and a Sinn Some Stories Jesus Told by the Sea "Peace, Be Still" The Little Girl Who Was Raised to Life A Dancing Girl and What Was Given Her The Feast beside the Sea and What Followed It The Answer to a Mother's Prayer The Glory of Jesus on the Mountain The Little Child in the Arms of Jesus At the Feast of Tabernacles The Man with Clay on His Face The Good Shepherd and the Good Samaritan Lazarus Raised to Life Some Parables in Perea The Poor Rich Man and the Rich Poor Man Jesus at Jericho Palm Sunday The Last Vistis of Jesus to the Temple The Parables on the Mount of Olives The Last Supper The Olive Orchard and the High Priests Hall The Crown of Thorns The Darkest Day of All the World The Brightest Day of All the World The Stranger on the Shore The Church of the First Days The Man at the Beautiful Gate The Right Way to Give, and the Wrong Way Stephen with the Shining Face The Man Reading in the Chariot The Voice That Spoke to Saul What Peter Saw by the Sea How the Iron Gate Was Opened The Earliest Missionaries The Song in the Prison Paul's Speech on the Hill Paul at Corinth Paul at Ephesus Paul's Last Journey to Jerusalem The Speech on the Stairs Two Years in Prison The Story That Paul Told to the King Paul in the Storm How Paul Came to Rome and How He Lived There The Throne of God The City of God

Story of the Bible Told for Young and Old - Jesse Hurlbut




The Man at the Beautiful Gate


The two apostles, Peter and John, were one day going up to the Temple at the afternoon hour of prayer, about three o’clock. They walked across the court of the Gentiles, which was a large open square paved with marble, having on its eastern side a double row of pillars with a roof above them, called "Solomon’s Porch." In front of this porch was the principal entrance to the Temple, through a gate which was called "The Beautiful Gate." At this gate outside the Temple, they saw a lame man sitting. He was one who in all his life had never been able to walk; and as he was very poor, his friends carried him every day to this place; and there he sat, hoping that some of those who went into the Temple might take pity on him and give him a little money.

Peter and John at the beautiful gate

PETER AND JOHN AT THE BEAUTIFUL GATE


In front of this man Peter and John stopped; and Peter said, "Look at us!"

The lame man looked earnestly on the two apostles, thinking they were about to give him something. But Peter said:

"Silver and gold have I none; but what I have that I will give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!"

And Peter took hold of the lame man’s right hand, and raised him up. At once the lame man felt a new power entering into his feet and ankle-bones. He leaped up, and stood upon his feet, and began to walk, as he had never done before in all his life. He walked up the steps with the two apostles, and went by their side into the Temple, walking and leaping, and praising God. The people who now saw him leaping up and running, knew him, for they had seen him every day sitting as a beggar at the Beautiful Gate; and every one was filled with wonder at the change which had come over him.

After worshipping and praising god in the Temple, the man, still holding fast to Peter and John, went out with them through the beautiful Gate into Solomon’s Porch. And in a very few minutes a great crowd of people were drawn together to the place to see the man who had been made well, and to see also the two men who had healed him.

Then Peter stood up before the throng of people, and spoke to them.

"Ye men of Israel," he said, "why do you look wondering on this man? Or why do you fix your eyes upon us, as though by our own power or goodness we had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob has in this way shown the power and the glory of his Son Jesus; whom you gave up to his enemies, and whom you refused before Pontius Pilate, when Pilate was determined to set him free. But you refused the Holy One and the Righteous One, and chose the murderer Barabbas to be set free in his place; and you killed the Prince of life whom God raised from the dead. We who have seen him risen, declare that this is true. And the power of Jesus through faith in his name, has made this man strong. Yes, it is faith in Christ that has given him this perfect soundness before you all. Now, my brothers, I am sure that you did not know that it was the son of God and your own Saviour whom you sent to the cross. Therefore turn to God in sorrow for this great sin, and God will forgive you; and in his own time he will send again Jesus Christ. God who has raised up his Son is ready to bless you, and turn away every one of you from his sins."

While Peter was speaking, the priests, and the captain of the Temple, and the rulers, came upon them; for they were angry as they heard Peter speak these words. They laid hold of Peter and John and put them into the guard-room for the night. But many of those who had heard Peter speaking believed on Jesus, and sought the Lord; and the number of the followers of Christ rose from three thousand to five thousand.

On the next day the rulers came together; and Annas and Caiaphas, the two high priests, were there, and with them many of their friends. They brought Peter and John and set them before the company. The lame man who had been healed was still by the side of the two apostles. The rulers asked them:

"By what power or through whom have you done this?"

Then Peter spoke boldly to the priests and the rulers. He said: "Ye rulers of the people and elders, if you are asking us about the good deed done to this man who was so helpless, how it was that he was made well, I will tell you that by the name and the power of Jesus of Nazareth, whom you put to death on the cross, whom God raised from the dead; even by him this man stands her before you all strong and well. And there is no salvation except through Jesus Christ, for there is no other person under heaven who can save us from our sins."

Peter and John before the rulers

PETER AND JOHN BEFORE THE RULERS


When these rulers saw how bold and strong were the words of Peter and John, they wondered, especially as they knew that they were plain men, not learned in books, and not used to speaking. They remembered that they had seen these men among the followers of Jesus, and they felt that in some way Jesus had given them this power. And as the man who had been healed was standing beside them, they could say nothing to deny that a wonderful work had been done.

The rulers sent Peter and John out of the council-room, while they talked together. They said to each other:

"What shall we do to these men? We cannot deny that a wonderful work has been done by them, for everyone knows it. But we must stop this from spreading any more among the people. Let us command them not to speak to any man about the name of Jesus; and let us tell them that if they do speak, we will punish them."

So they called the two apostles into the room again, and said to them: "We forbid you to speak about Jesus, and the power of his mane, to any man. If you do not stop talking about Jesus, we will lay hands on you, and put you in prison, and will have you beaten."

But Peter and John answered the rulers"

"Whether it is right to obey you or to obey God, you yourselves can judge. As for ourselves we cannot keep silent; we must speak of what we have seen and heard."

The rulers were afraid to do any harm to Peter and John, because they knew that the people praised God for the good work that they had done; and they would be angry to have harm come to them. For fear of the people, they let them go. And being let go, they went to their own friends, the company who met in the upper room, and there they gave thanks to God for helping them to speak his word without fear.

Joppa

JOPPA