In Acts 3, we read about a crippled man, coming to faith in Jesus, because Peter and John made the gospel matter the most.

At this time in history, a crippled man, was an outcast in society.  Likely, he would have been taught to believe that he was cursed; that is ailment was a direct result of that curse.  He would have likely been ignored by the general public, mocked by the passerby, and even worse unwanted in the temple.

In Acts 3:2, Luke records this, “Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put everyday to beg from those going into the Temple courts.”

Every day, this crippled man, came to the Temple to beg.  Every day, religious folk, would walk by this man.  Every day, this crippled man, would have witnessed the Pharisees and the Rabbis, and the disciples of the rabbis, and the common Jewish person, coming to the Temple to worship God, yet, no one would have paid attention to the crippled man.  The people were there to pray, yet, no one seemed to notice the crippled beggar.  And every day, this crippled man, would witness religion without action.

The crippled beggar had been coming everyday to the temple, so it would even be save to suggest, that Peter and John on the days they came to the temple to pray, would have walked by this crippled man, just like the rest of those who came to pray.

But this one day, recorded for us, is a different day; Peter on this day, made the gospel matter the most.

Peter, instead of coins, offers to this helpless and hopeless cripple—whom he’s passed a numerous of times—Jesus Christ of Nazareth.  Peter decides in this moment, that the gospel matters the most, and that the gospel is more important to this man, then any amount of coin.   And that the gospel was more important than religious duty and tradition.

Peter, in his busyness of life, takes time to open his eyes, to the world around him, and see the need of one man.   He’s sees in this man, dignity.  He sees in this man, possibility.  He sees in this man, Jesus.

Peter may have been reminded as he walked by this man, of a parable Jesus told, about sheep and goats.  Jesus in this story, tells of the King inviting the sheep, into the kingdom of God.  Matthew 25:35-40 records this:

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.

Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?

Jesus replies, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Peter, as he calls out to the crippled man, sees Jesus.  He sees Jesus in this man, and he offers grace.  Peter brings restoration to his physical ailment, but in doing so, Peter through his actions, offers to this man, the gift of eternal grace, a spiritual restoration.  He offers the gospel.

May we, as followers of Jesus, be so in tune with the gospel, that it drives every part of our lives.  May we, as we live our lives, at home, at work, at church, not miss the opportunities around us, to be Jesus to people that desperately need His grace.  May we remember that religion without action is meaningless.  And may we, make the gospel, above all else, matter the most.

For us who are Christians, what would it look like if we had a passion for the gospel; if our main priority in life, wasn’t work or family, but the gospel?  How different would our families, churches, and city be?

In Acts 2, we read about Peter and his passion for the gospel.  Before, the ascension of Jesus, you may remember Peter being a very passionate disciple of Jesus, very much wanting to be like his Rabbi, very much wanting to do what Jesus did, but you may also remember the Peter, that was more worried himself, the one who denied his Rabbi at the most crucial moment in history, the one who refused to acknowledge even knowing Jesus.

However, in Acts 2, we see that Peter got it!

Peter finally realized that his personal gain, that his work, that his family, was less important then proclaiming the Good News of Jesus.  Peter’s passion for the gospel and for Jesus is undeniable.  Peter’s priority was no longer himself, but the gospel of Jesus.

In Acts 2 we see that because Peter made the gospel priority ‘about three thousand’ became believers and were baptized.  Three thousand of Peter’s peers came to know Jesus personally, because Peter made the gospel matter the most.

What if Peter refused to speak the gospel?  What if Peter refused to get out of his comfort zone?  What if Peter decided that it was easier to deny Christ, then to share Christ?

I think, many of us, have sadly denied the gospel from our peers, because we have made something other then the gospel matter the most.  Instead of worshipping Jesus as Lord and Christ, we have given our worship to something other then Jesus.  So much of the time we unknowingly refuse to make the gospel priority, because we are unwilling to get out of our comfort zones.  We miss divine opportunities to be gospel influencers, when we neglect to make the gospel everyday priority.

What would Guelph look like, if we as Christians made the gospel priority, like Peter did?  What would our workplaces and our families look like?  For us to see the gospel move forward, and for us to be like Peter in Acts 2, we must realign our passions and our priorities, being conscious to make the gospel matter the most in all areas of our lives.

May we as followers of Jesus, as Christians, become like Peter.  May we become so passionate and so in love with Jesus that it overflows into all that we do.  May we see people’s lives, our workplaces and our families transformed through the grace of Jesus.  And may you and I, make the Good News of Jesus our number one priority.

He had one last thing to say; one last opportunity; one last chance to hammer it home, in the hearts of His followers.

On the verge of entering back into the presence of His Father, Jesus communicates to His disciples, one last timeless truth. Jesus makes the main matter, matter the most.

Imagine you had one last opportunity to speak, one last chance to encourage, or to speak into the lives of those who are closes to you. Would you not speak of the most important thing that matters?

Jesus does just that.

He says to his disciples these words, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." [Matthew 28:16-20]

For Jesus, the most important thing, the main matter that mattered the most, was the gospel of Him. Jesus wanted His disciples to remember the one thing, which mattered most. He wanted them to remember that they were now the disciple-makers; they were now left with the mission of continuing the mission that brought Him to earth; they were responsible for the souls of humanity in their city, country, and the rest of the world.

The disciples over the course of three years had had their lives transformed by the very person they were watching ascend into heaven. They would have never crossed paths with each other; they would have never witnessed the miracles of Jesus; and they would have never met face to face the Son of God, if they had never been called from their worldly work into the rabbinic and spiritual work of Jesus.

The Apostle Luke records in the book of Acts, what no other gospel records, he writes this “They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” [Acts 1:10-11]

“Why do you stand here looking into the sky?”

The disciples themselves may have been thinking this, “What Jesus said about going and making can wait ‘til tomorrow. Right now, I am going to do nothing, but watch the sky.”

The disciples were quickly reminded, by the two men dressed in white that the mission of Jesus, cannot wait until we have done and seen everything we think we need to do or see. The mission of Jesus begins now. The Gospel is the main matter that matters the most.

Sadly, I think many of us, who are the good church going folk of North American Christianity, have neglected the ‘now factor’ of the gospel, and have resorted to either pushing it off until tomorrow, or simply handed the mission of Jesus off to someone else.

If we have experienced the grace of Jesus, our lives should and will never be the same. Therefore, to withhold the “Good News” that has transformed my life, from the life of my neighbour, friend, coworker, classmate, family, enemy, brother from another mother, or whoever, is simply another message that does not matter the most in my life.

May we, as a follower of Jesus, make what matters the most, the main matter that makes up our lives. And may we make the main matter –the gospel—matter the most to everyone we come into contact with. May we not be, like the disciples, and get too caught up in what’s happening right in front of us, but may we make the gospel of Jesus, that’s transformed us, matter right now, to someone today.