Astonish, bewilder, flabbergast and stupefy are words synonymous with amaze. Throughout the course of history, there has been numerous jaw dropping events that have left eyewitnesses dumbfounded. Some may likely ponder “did that just happen or am I dreaming?” When human minds can’t explain, fathom or understand an occurrence like the parting of the Red Sea, amazement is a common response.
“With the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up, the flowing waters stood up like a mound; the deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea, Exodus 15:8.”
After healing a man crippled from birth, Peter doesn’t know why people are so surprised. Two months earlier, a man was nailed to a cross, rose from the dead, spent 40 days with his followers and ascended into heaven. This is the context of Peter’s comment below. Perhaps, Peter was remembering accounts of the Exodus out of Egypt, referring to those who saw Moses part the Red Sea in two. The moment Jesus conquered death, this opened the door for anything else to be possible.
And Peter, seeing this, said to the people, “You men of Israel, why are you amazed at this? Why are you staring at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? – Acts 3:12
The phrase seeing is believing is an idiom that was first recorded in 1639. Eyewitnesses to events that defy science trigger an inner desire to believe in a higher power. The lame man healed in Acts 3 occurs during the hour of prayer, between 3 and 4 in the afternoon. When participants of this prayer service began to see the fruit of crying out to God, expectations increased. The point that Peter is making about amazement is that when you keep in step with the Holy Spirit, God has the power to move mountains. For those individuals on fire for God, faith provides the hope to tarry on in prayer.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 