What was significant about the shadow of Peter?

For my blog I am going to focus on Acts 5:15-16 where Luke wrote “As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.  Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.” These particular verses struck a chord with me because although I have read about many miracles that have been done in the bible, I had never read about a shadow that healed people and I wanted to find out more about it. Did it really happen? Or is it some sort of exaggeration? I have always been fascinated by the works of miracles, like when Jesus would heal the sick or the blind, and even the crippled with just a touch of his hand. However, was Peter’s shadow really what healed them? Or was it something different? 
   

                                                                                       

The only facts we know from the wording of verse 15 are that people thought highly of Peter’s miracle-working and that they put faith even in his shadow. Verse 16 does say people were healed at that time, but there is no evidence that Peter’s shadow was the reason.  The verse says that “all were healed”, even those who were not under Peter’s shadow. People wanted to believe there was something special about Peter, so they got closer to him in hopes of having some healing come over them. It wasn’t the first (orlast) time that people sought a special blessing through a physical object. The paralyzed man in John5 believed that water in a certain pool could heal his lameness. Some Ephesians in Acts19 believed that healing power was concentrated in articles of Paul’s clothing (cf.Matthew 9:21). Some people today put their trust in handkerchiefs that have been “prayed over,” in homage to the saints, or in holy water.                              

This sounds to me like people were being healed by God through Peter, it was not Peter himself that held the power to do so, but more likely the spirit of God working through him for these miracles to happen. An example of this is in Acts 3 and 5 when “God’s power was demonstrated through Peter and John when a lame man was healed. The news spread quickly, and a great crowd gathered in Solomon’s Colonnade, full of amazement. Peter spoke to the crowd, correcting their assumption that he and John had special power in themselves: “Men of Israel, 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?” (verse 12). The apostle then goes on to point the crowd to Jesus: “It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see” (verse 16).

In Acts 5, the sick were not being healed by shadows or auras or magic garments; they were being healed as a direct answer to the apostles’ prayer in Acts 4:30: “Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” The miracles performed by the apostles were demonstrations of the Lord’s power and mercy, affirming Christ Jesus as Savior and testifying that their message was true.”

These miracles of healing brought attention to the early church and shed light on the truth of the teachings of the apostles and the fact that God was with them. The religious leaders who were jealous of Jesus’ power and authority saw the apostles as a continued threat and demanded respect for themselves. The apostles weren’t demanding respect for themselves.  Their aim was to bring respect  to God.  The apostles had acquired the respect of the people, not because they forced it, but more so because they deserved it. 

It is significant that Peter and the others had spent time with Jesus, and were held in some high regard for that connection. But the awe was not to be related to them, but to Jesus.  The “cult of personality” continues to exist today, more so in relation to “healing and miracle” ministries.