Acts 3:12 kjv
And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
Acts 3:12 nkjv
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?
Acts 3:12 niv
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?
Acts 3:12 esv
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?
Acts 3:12 nlt
Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. "People of Israel," he said, "what is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness?
Acts 3 12 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Divine Power/Source of Miracles | ||
| Acts 4:7 | "By what power, or by what name, have you done this?" | Sanhedrin questioning the source of healing. |
| Acts 4:10 | "be it known to you all... that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth... does this man stand here..." | Peter explicitly attributes healing to Jesus. |
| Acts 4:30 | "...while you stretch out your hand to heal... through the name of your holy servant Jesus." | Prayer for God to continue working through Jesus' name. |
| Rom 1:16 | "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation..." | The gospel is inherently God's power. |
| 1 Cor 2:5 | "...so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." | Faith is grounded in divine, not human, power. |
| 2 Cor 12:9 | "...My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." | God's power perfected in human inability. |
| Not by Human Ability/Glory to God Alone | ||
| 2 Cor 3:5 | "Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God..." | Paul denies self-sufficiency in ministry. |
| Gal 3:5 | "Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law or by hearing with faith?" | Miracles are from God's Spirit, not human effort. |
| 1 Cor 3:6-7 | "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth." | Human agents are nothing; God gives results. |
| Isa 42:8 | "I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols." | God alone receives glory and praise. |
| Psa 115:1 | "Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!" | Rejects glory for humans, assigns to God. |
| Phil 2:9-11 | "...Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name..." | All glory and confession point to Christ. |
| 1 Cor 10:31 | "...whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." | All actions to be for God's glory. |
| Rom 11:36 | "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen." | God is the ultimate source and end of all. |
| Focus on Christ/Redirecting Praise | ||
| Acts 3:16 | "And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong..." | Peter clarifies healing is by Jesus' name and faith in Him. |
| John 5:19 | "So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing...'" | Jesus' own example of attributing power to the Father. |
| John 14:12 | "...the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these will he do..." | Promises works through faith in Him, not independent power. |
| Rev 19:10 | "...Worship God!" | Angel's instruction not to worship humans. |
| Addressed to "Men of Israel" | ||
| Acts 2:22 | "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God..." | Peter's address at Pentecost. |
| Acts 2:36 | "Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." | Calling Israel to recognize Messiah. |
| Rom 9:4-5 | "...To them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises." | Emphasizes Israel's special heritage from God. |
Acts 3 verses
Acts 3 12 Meaning
Upon seeing the crowd's amazement at the healed lame man, Peter immediately confronted their misconception. He challenged them for marveling at the apostles as if Peter and John had performed the miracle through their own inherent power or personal piety, clarifying that the true source of such divine intervention was not human ability but God alone.
Acts 3 12 Context
Acts chapter 3 follows the momentous outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Peter and John, on their way to the temple for prayer, encountered a man lame from birth, begging at the Beautiful Gate. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, commanded him to rise and walk in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The man was instantly healed, leading him to enter the temple walking, leaping, and praising God, drawing an astonished crowd in Solomon's Portico. Verse 12 serves as Peter's immediate response to this crowd's awe, which was focused on him and John, rather than the true source of the miraculous healing. Historically, this event took place in the very heart of Jewish religious life, the Jerusalem Temple, making the public nature of the miracle and Peter's subsequent sermon highly significant.
Acts 3 12 Word analysis
- And when Peter saw it: Refers to Peter observing the crowd's reaction, their "marveling" (thaumazō) and intense gazing (atenizō) at him and John following the healing. Peter quickly discerned their misdirected focus.
- he answered unto the people: Peter did not remain silent. He actively "answered" (ἀποκριθείς, apokritheis, aorist passive participle, indicating a decisive, immediate response) their unspoken question or their manifest amazement. This sets the stage for his authoritative teaching.
- Ye men of Israel (ἄνδρες Ἰσραηλῖται, andres Israelitai): A direct and customary address to a Jewish audience in a public setting (cf. Acts 2:22). It evokes their national identity and their covenant relationship with God, reminding them of their heritage and their spiritual responsibility to discern God's hand. This also serves to ground his message within their familiar religious and cultural framework.
- why marvel ye at this? (τί θαυμάζετε τοῦτο, ti thaumazete touto): "Marvel" (thaumazō) signifies astonishment, wonder, or amazement. Peter challenges their surprise, implying that given Israel's history of divine interventions and messianic prophecies, such an act, if properly understood, should point to God, not evoke mere human wonder. Their marvel was rightly at the miracle, but wrongly at the perceived human agents.
- or why look ye so earnestly on us (ἢ ἡμῖν τί ἀτενίζετε, ē hēmin ti atenizete): "Look so earnestly" (atenizō) means to stare intently, fix one's gaze, or be captivated by. This indicates the crowd's intense, focused attention on Peter and John, as if they were the source of the wonder. Peter immediately deflects this misdirected focus.
- as though by our own power (ὡς ἰδίᾳ δυνάμει, hōs idia dynamei): "Our own power" (idia dynamei) contrasts human, personal ability or might (inherent strength) with divine power. Peter emphatically denies any claim to personal agency in the miracle. Miracles do not originate from human will or strength but from God's Spirit and power.
- or holiness (ἢ εὐσεβείᾳ, ē eusebeia): "Holiness" (eusebeia) here means piety, devoutness, or godliness. It refers to human religious or moral uprightness. Peter refutes the notion that their personal spiritual virtue, no matter how great, was the source of the healing. This is a crucial theological point, clarifying that miracles are acts of God's grace and power, not earned by human merit or personal sanctity. True holiness aligns with God's will, but it does not generate divine power as a product of human effort.
- we had made this man to walk?: Refers directly to the dramatic and undeniable miracle performed, where a known lame man was instantly enabled to walk and leap. Peter's question is rhetorical, designed to highlight the absurdity of attributing such an act to mere human capacity.
Acts 3 12 Bonus section
- Peter's immediate and emphatic denial of personal credit in Acts 3:12 reflects a consistent pattern of humility throughout the New Testament apostolic teaching, which stands in stark contrast to human tendencies towards self-aggrandizement. This aligns with Christ's own example of deflecting glory back to the Father.
- The disavowal of "holiness" as the source of power is crucial; it means the apostles weren't seen as performing a "magical" act through ritualistic purity, but rather as channels for God's sovereign will and power, flowing through faith in Jesus.
- This verse acts as an important theological safeguard, preventing the early Church leaders from being mistaken for demi-gods or elevated to a position that rightfully belongs only to God or Jesus Christ.
- The setting in Solomon's Portico, where Jesus Himself often taught (Jn 10:23), adds another layer of significance, as Peter now continues Christ's work in the very same space.
Acts 3 12 Commentary
Acts 3:12 is pivotal as Peter's immediate redirection of glory from himself and John to God, preparing the way for the profound kerygma that follows. The verse is a strong polemic against self-exaltation and human agency in divine works. Peter clearly understood that the people's wonder, though natural given the miraculous healing, was misguided. By challenging their intense focus on "us," he asserts that the power came from elsewhere – an unseen, divine source. His denial of "our own power" highlights the complete dependence on God for any supernatural act. The rejection of "our own holiness" as the cause reinforces that God's power is not a reward for human virtue or spiritual attainment, but an outpouring of divine grace. True Christian leadership consistently points away from self and toward Christ as the sole source of power, authority, and ultimate praise. This humility protects the purity of the gospel and ensures God alone receives the glory.