The Scene (Acts 3:1-3)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/27/2017 10:59 PM

My Worship Time                                                                                               Focus:  The Scene

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                           Reference:  Acts 3:1-3

            Message of the verses:  “1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. 2 And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms.”

            I want to begin with just a reminder of who Peter and John were.  Before they met Jesus they worked together in a fishing business, but when they met Jesus the left their nets after He called Him and began to follow Jesus.  They were close friends and were a part of the inter-circle of our Lord’s disciples.  What we see here in Acts 3 are these two men going about the business of the Lord after He went back to heaven as seen in Acts chapter one.  I want also to mention that the first part of the book of Acts we find Peter as the main character as Jesus had promised this to Him when he walked with Jesus. 

            John MacArthur writes “The imperfect tense of the verb translated ‘were going up’ suggests it was their custom to go to the temple frequently (cf. 2:46).  The ‘ninth hour, the hour of prayer’ would be three in the afternoon according to the Jewish reckoning, which counted the hours from sunrise.  Psalm 55:17 mentions the three hours of prayer, the other two being in the morning (the third hour) and at noon (the sixth hour).  The ninth hour was also the time of the evening sacrifice, when the daily temple crowds would be at their peak.”

            As we read this section we see that as these two men were going to the temple they encountered this man who was lame from his mother’s womb, he was always lame, similar to the man who was born blind that Jesus healed in John chapter nine.  This man was a beggar who sat near the temple in order to have people give him money.  I suppose that many Jewish people would do this as they thought this would please the Lord and perhaps allow them to get into heaven, but perhaps some of the people did it out of love for the Lord.  Now the temple treasury was near where he would be sitting and so people would come prepared to give money as they came into the temple.  John MacArthur writes “The ‘Beautiful Gate’ inside the temple mount area on the eastern side, separated the Court of the Gentiles from the Court of the Women.  Like the other gates, it was large and ornate.  According to the Jewish historian Josephus, it was made of Corinthian brass, and was so large it took twenty men to close it.”

            So we see this lame man was in the right place to receive money from those who went into the temple, but I don’t think he was expecting what Peter and John were about to give him which we will see more about in our next SD.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Two wagons and four oxen” (Numbers 1:7).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who loved the best seats in the synagogue?”

Answer in our next SD.

8/27/2017 11:18 PM