The Reciprocal Gaze: Peter's Look of Faith and Power

And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, "Look on us" (Acts 3:4). Peter's gaze was no casual glance—it was a reciprocal examination. He read character in the beggar's face and discerned that the man possessed pistis (faith) sufficient for healing (verse 16). The beggar, in turn, gazed upon Peter and John to read in their pitying looks not merely the wish to heal, but the consciousness of power to effect it. As Dean Plumptre observed, this mutual seeing embodied the proper effects of witnessing misery: "When thou seest misery in thy brother's face, let him see mercy in thine eye; the more the oil of mercy is poured on him by thy pity, the more the oil in thy cruse shall be increased by thy piety" (F. Quarles).

The power of presence operates like a magnet. Just as iron filings cling to magnetized steel while a lily passes through sand untouched, so certain natures possess magnetic influence over their fellow-creatures. When one instrument in a room sounds a chord, every other instrument vibrates with its octave. Similarly, when you stand among persons of strong spiritual character, their vibration of feeling resonates through you—not through exhortation or instruction, but through the wine of being itself. You are lifted up and strengthened by their presence alone. Peter and John's fixed gaze transmitted the authority of Yahweh's power.