“Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.” ~Acts 3:2 NIV
How many times have I read and heard that verse, but this time it hit me in a different way.
The gate was called Beautiful.
Beautiful.
I know God likes to choose names full of meaning and significance.
But Beautiful.
Consulting my study bible and briefly the interwebs didn’t yield much insight into why the gate was called Beautiful. Possibly the original Greek meant ripeness, as in “coming at the right time” … it’s one of those pesky words that translates as more than one thing. Also it’s suggested that the Hallel Psalms (Psalms 113-118) and the Feast of Tabernacles might have something to do with it. I have more reading and study to do.
As a refresher, in Acts 3 Peter and John healed the crippled man, shared the gospel with a bunch of people, and then got into trouble with the religious leaders.
Anyway, today I can’t stop thinking about the word Beautiful.
I also can’t stop listening to the couple of sneak peak tracks that went out to Kickstarter supporters of Mitch McVicker’s upcoming album today. Which reminds me … Kevin Max has a campaign going, so if you dig his music, go check it out.
As for me, I’m going to go keep thinking about the word Beautiful.
