Luke the physician wrote how, “Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour”, and in chapter three and verse two of the book of Acts Luke shared about, “a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried” where we read:
And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
The verse begins, “And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, ...” Luke began with the words, “and a certain man” which means “and a particular and specific male human being” “lame from his mother's womb” or “deprived of foot, maimed or crooked from the time he was born by his immediate female ancestor or relative” “was carried” which means “was born up, sustained, upheld and supported”, “whom they laid daily” or “the people who carried the lame man put, placed and set him every day” “at the gate of the temple” which means “at the door, vestibule, opening or entrance way belonging to the sacred worship place in Jerusalem” “which is called Beautiful” or “that is named, affirmed and spoken as blooming or flourishing”. Luke shared how a man who was crippled from the time of his birth was “carried” every day and set at the entryway to the “temple” located in Jerusalem.
The verse continues, “... to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;” Luke added the words, “to ask alms” or “to beseech, crave, desire and beg” “of them that entered into the temple” which means “from the people who made entrance and came into the sacred worship place”. Luke shared the reason the people set the cripple man at the entryway of the “temple” was so he could beg from the people who were entering there.
When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we learn about a “crippled man”. He was born lame, so people carried him to the “temple” to beg. We shall see what Peter and John do with this man in our next few verses, but for now let us remember there are people who are in need, and Jesus is the answer for all of them. Those who believe and trust in Jesus will be forgiven of their sins and be appointed to share how He can meet others' needs as well. Let all who read these words yield to Jesus and be willing to be used to meet the needs of others.
Next time Luke shares how the lame man, “seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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