Acts 3:6Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

But Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give you.” He did not say, “I will give you something far better than silver.” What did he say? “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise and walk.” See how John is silent everywhere, while Peter answers for him also. “Silver,” he says, “and gold I do not have.” He did not say, “I do not have it with me,” as we say, but “I do not have it at all.” What, then, does the lame man say? “Are you despising my request?” “No,” Peter answers, “but take what I have.” Do you see how free Peter is from arrogance? He does not vaunt himself even before the one receiving a benefit from him. And so his word and his hand accomplished everything. Such also were the Jews who limped.

"Silver and gold I do not have." He did not say, "I do not have any with me," as we usually say, but, "I have none at all." See, John is silent everywhere, while Peter speaks also for him. What then? Having no silver, do you leave your petitioner wholly without attention? No. "What I have, I give you," Peter says. Christ acted in the same way, often healing the sick by a word alone. Yet often, when He was surrounded by people very weak in faith, He healed by touch, so that it would not seem that the healing had happened by itself.

The Apostle Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise and walk" (Acts 3:6). But now many, without saying a word, say by their deeds: I have no faith and mercy; and what I do have, silver and gold, I will not give you.

This first executor of the Lord’s commandments showed that the Lord’s commandments had not been poured out in vain. In response to the beggar’s request for money, Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have.” He boasts that he has neither silver nor gold, and are you ashamed to have less than you desire? Know that there is a praiseworthy poverty, because there is a blessed poverty, as it is written: “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Mt 5:3). Yet Peter did not boast merely that he had neither silver nor gold, but that he had kept the Lord’s commandment: “Do not possess gold” (Mt 10:9). It was as though he said: “You see that I am a disciple of Christ, and you ask me for gold? He gave us something greater than gold (cf. 1 Pet 1:7): to work miracles in His name. Therefore I do not have what He did not give, but I possess what He gave: In the name of the Lord Jesus, rise and walk.”

In the end, those who received authority from God never used this authority as their own, but referred it to Him from whom they had received it. For authority itself can have no power except in the name of the One who granted it. Therefore both the apostles and all the servants of God never did anything in their own name, but invoked the name of Christ. The authority itself received its dignity from the place from which it began, and could in no way be given by servants unless it proceeds from the Creator.

The ancient tabernacle had ordinances of worship and an earthly sanctuary, adorned with gold and silver. But the precious Blood of the Gospel shines more brightly than the metals of the law. For that people, who lay with paralyzed mind before gilded pillars, is saved by the name of the Crucified One and enters the temple of the Kingdom of Heaven. Yet blessed Peter, mindful of the Lord's command, "Take neither gold nor silver with you" (Mt 10:9), did not usually set aside for himself the money placed at the apostles' feet. He kept it for the needs of the poor who had renounced their possessions.

After the sacred historian, in the first two chapters of his narrative, has told us how the opening of the Kingdom of God, or the Church of Christ on earth, was prepared, begun, and accomplished, he now recounts a remarkable and extraordinary event. This event had great significance for the success of the apostolic preaching, for aiding the inner condition of the first Christian community, and for its outward relations and position in Jerusalem. It was the miraculous healing by the Apostle Peter of a man lame from birth.

“Peter said”: on the day of Pentecost, after the descent of the Holy Spirit, all the apostles stood together with Peter (Acts 2:14), but Peter alone lifted up his voice and spoke in explanation of the event. So here also, Peter and John go together to the temple, but again Peter alone performs the miracle and then delivers the discourse. John’s hour had not yet come. “Silver and gold I do not have,” and so forth: as the lame man looked intently at the apostles, he hoped to receive alms from them. Peter, discerning this desire, takes it as the occasion for his word and action. He directly breaks the lame man’s hope by saying that he does not have what the man expects. By this he lets the lame man understand his insight into his thoughts and feelings.

Although the lame man probably hoped to receive monetary help, some small thing, this still did not deter the apostles from performing a miracle. He nevertheless expressed his hope in them, and this could have its own value. Those who have suffered for many years no longer dare even to think of a greater mercy. For example, the paralytic who had lain by the pool for thirty-eight years, when asked whether he wished to be healed, could only answer that he had no man to put him into the pool when the angel stirred the water (see Jn 5:7). The apostolic word about their having neither silver nor gold is significant. Still more remarkable is the statement of what they do have, and their giving this to the lame man: the wonderworking power of God acting in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

How can one fail to marvel at their contempt for wealth? He proved this by not avoiding, but welcoming, the Teacher who forbids the acquisition of gold and silver and commands that one have only a single tunic. Someone who hears this might complain about the heaviness of such a command. But these men, as has been shown, fulfilled the commandment in deed.