E22
Peter
Acts 9:32-43
Saul had led quite an attack against the church in Jerusalem, and then as the church split up into hundreds of small churches, most as small as a couple of families in a household, Saul expanded his operations from city to city and from house to house.
But that was before. Before God dramatically stopped him in his tracks. Saul turned from his destruction of church groups to becoming a preacher of the gospel.
When he no longer was persecuting Christians, it seems, so did his ‘crew’. But then, in a very short order, Saul himself came under the attack of the Jewish rabbis. It happened in the synagogues of Damascus, and then it happened in the synagogues in Jerusalem.
The ‘elders’ in the Jerusalem church thought it wise for Saul to ‘lay low’ for a period of time. Time was needed for the many Christians who had heard of Saul of Tarsus, the enemy of Jesus, to determine whether his conversion story was true. So Saul was escorted about 70 miles to the Northwest, to a sea-coast town called Caesarea. From there he was put on a ship traveling North to Tarsus.
With Saul no longer challenging the Jewish priests to accept the truth about Jesus, things finally quieted down. We read, 9:31 Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.
In this peaceful setting we turn our attention to Peter. He is one of eleven other Apostles who started ministering in Jerusalem after Pentecost and then just remained there. Saul’s persecution was intense and many thousands of new believers ran for other towns and villages.
But now the conditions are perfect for the Apostles to circulate through the many areas where these ‘fledgling’ churches had begun springing up.
Luke does not fill us in on the particular activities of the other eleven apostles, but he does bring us up to date on what Peter was up to. Three remarkable events are about to be described. And each one is greater than the previous one.
It is possible, and even likely, that Peter had accompanied the group that transported brother Saul down to Caesarea, and now, since he is already so far from Jerusalem, Peter takes advantage of visiting the new churches. We read earlier that Philp, after preaching a revival meeting in Samaria, and after being sent by the Holy Spirit to the desert to speak to an Ethiopian official about Jesus, that the Holy Spirit then, somehow, transported him to Caesarea.
Although we don’t have a lot said about it, it looks like Peter shared the gospel, found some of the fleeing believers that had arrived from Jerusalem, and he organized them into church groups. Much later, Saul will come through Caesarea and will spend time with deacon/evangelist Philip who had made his home in Caesarea.
But for now, we are reading about Peter who is in that area. We read, 32 ¶ Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda.
Lydda was situated straight west from Jerusalem about 46 kilometers. It was about half-way between Jerusalem and Caesarea. He comes to ‘the saints who dwell in Lydda’. This is another way of saying ‘the church’ in Lydda. We know that from the previous verse … Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace. By the way, this is the first time the word ‘church’ is used in the plural form.
Peter arrived at the church and 33 There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed.
Luke does not give us any background information as to how Peter found this man. It is most likely that Peter had met up with Christians there who brought him to this paralyzed man. And from the next verse it appears that Aeneas has become a believer.
34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” Then he arose immediately. We have not read much about Peter healing people since earlier in the book of Acts. I think this account is included because Luke (The Holy Spirit) is leading up to something. Aeneas is instantly healed. The result is remarkable.
35 So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
I have no idea what the population of these two towns were at the time. But I think we are supposed to gather from this, that the results are wonderful.
God has just done something great in Lydda and Sharon. He is about to do something even greater in Joppa.
36 ¶ At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did.
37 But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room.
38 And since Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them.
We could say, News travels fast, but we have no way of knowing how long Peter has been in the area.
We are told that ‘the disciples’ heard that Peter was in Lydda. Previously Luke used the word, ‘The Saints’. Now he says, Disciples. This is another term for church.
How big was the group of disciples in Joppa? We have no way of knowing. Some of them likely had arrived from Jerusalem when the persecution broke out. Others (as would be the case in many of the towns in Israel) others could have been people who became believers directly through the ministry of Jesus as He traveled around. At any rate, groups are coming together in home church groups all over the country.
The church in Joppa has experienced the loss of a dear Saint. She is in heaven. The group wants her back. They send for Peter. What do they expect? Peter has healed people but he has never raised the dead.
Two men have just arrived in Lydda, urging him to come with them.
39 Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them.
It is hard to place ourselves in Peter’s shoes. Peter has been gifted by God to be able to perform miracles. We must remember that there is a difference between results produced as a result of faith, compared to results produced by means of possessing a particular gift. In a sense, both require faith. Praying with faith is taught and encouraged all through scripture. This something we all do … whether or not we have the ‘gift’.
Using a gift is different. This only requires enough faith to recognize, ‘God has given me this gift’. After that it is just a matter of using it. Using a gift is easy and almost automatic. That is why it is called a gift.
For this reason, Peter could step into a situation with confidence, knowing that all he had to do was use the gift that he knew he had. Later we will point out one qualifier which can affect the outcome of the gift. It may even make it appear that the gift ‘failed’. This qualifier is, the will of God.
Peter is here, trusting that he is about to perform the will of God. Next we read, 40 But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up.
41 Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive.
Peter’s words were very simple. How does Luke know which words that Peter used? There are a few possibilities. First of all, it could have been the Holy Spirit telling Luke directly … or telling the apostle Paul who may have been relating everything he knew to Luke.
We know by what we have just read that Peter was alone in the room. There were no witnesses other than Tabitha herself. Perhaps she actually heard the words and told her friends. Maybe Peter was asked what he had said, and he answered, All I said was, Tabitha, arise!.
At any rate, 42 it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord.
These are the kinds of results we love to hear … many believed on the Lord. The results in Lydda were also tremendous. The new ‘believers’ need to be assimilated in the church … or should we say ‘church groups’, because in those days a church in a city or town had to be split up into many house groups. People would need to be assigned into the group that would be best for them. Each group would need a leader. Peter had spent time in Lydda doing this same thing no doubt. And here in Joppa Luke tells us, 43 So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with Simon, a tanner.
Luke, as he has turned the focus onto Peter, has mentioned the healing of Aeneas in Lydda and the raising of Tabitha in Joppa. Two great things. The second one greater than the first. Next Luke moves on to something even bigger than raising the dead.
But that was before. Before God dramatically stopped him in his tracks. Saul turned from his destruction of church groups to becoming a preacher of the gospel.
When he no longer was persecuting Christians, it seems, so did his ‘crew’. But then, in a very short order, Saul himself came under the attack of the Jewish rabbis. It happened in the synagogues of Damascus, and then it happened in the synagogues in Jerusalem.
The ‘elders’ in the Jerusalem church thought it wise for Saul to ‘lay low’ for a period of time. Time was needed for the many Christians who had heard of Saul of Tarsus, the enemy of Jesus, to determine whether his conversion story was true. So Saul was escorted about 70 miles to the Northwest, to a sea-coast town called Caesarea. From there he was put on a ship traveling North to Tarsus.
With Saul no longer challenging the Jewish priests to accept the truth about Jesus, things finally quieted down. We read, 9:31 Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.
In this peaceful setting we turn our attention to Peter. He is one of eleven other Apostles who started ministering in Jerusalem after Pentecost and then just remained there. Saul’s persecution was intense and many thousands of new believers ran for other towns and villages.
But now the conditions are perfect for the Apostles to circulate through the many areas where these ‘fledgling’ churches had begun springing up.
Luke does not fill us in on the particular activities of the other eleven apostles, but he does bring us up to date on what Peter was up to. Three remarkable events are about to be described. And each one is greater than the previous one.
It is possible, and even likely, that Peter had accompanied the group that transported brother Saul down to Caesarea, and now, since he is already so far from Jerusalem, Peter takes advantage of visiting the new churches. We read earlier that Philp, after preaching a revival meeting in Samaria, and after being sent by the Holy Spirit to the desert to speak to an Ethiopian official about Jesus, that the Holy Spirit then, somehow, transported him to Caesarea.
Although we don’t have a lot said about it, it looks like Peter shared the gospel, found some of the fleeing believers that had arrived from Jerusalem, and he organized them into church groups. Much later, Saul will come through Caesarea and will spend time with deacon/evangelist Philip who had made his home in Caesarea.
But for now, we are reading about Peter who is in that area. We read, 32 ¶ Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda.
Lydda was situated straight west from Jerusalem about 46 kilometers. It was about half-way between Jerusalem and Caesarea. He comes to ‘the saints who dwell in Lydda’. This is another way of saying ‘the church’ in Lydda. We know that from the previous verse … Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace. By the way, this is the first time the word ‘church’ is used in the plural form.
Peter arrived at the church and 33 There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed.
Luke does not give us any background information as to how Peter found this man. It is most likely that Peter had met up with Christians there who brought him to this paralyzed man. And from the next verse it appears that Aeneas has become a believer.
34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” Then he arose immediately. We have not read much about Peter healing people since earlier in the book of Acts. I think this account is included because Luke (The Holy Spirit) is leading up to something. Aeneas is instantly healed. The result is remarkable.
35 So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
I have no idea what the population of these two towns were at the time. But I think we are supposed to gather from this, that the results are wonderful.
God has just done something great in Lydda and Sharon. He is about to do something even greater in Joppa.
36 ¶ At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did.
37 But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room.
38 And since Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them.
We could say, News travels fast, but we have no way of knowing how long Peter has been in the area.
We are told that ‘the disciples’ heard that Peter was in Lydda. Previously Luke used the word, ‘The Saints’. Now he says, Disciples. This is another term for church.
How big was the group of disciples in Joppa? We have no way of knowing. Some of them likely had arrived from Jerusalem when the persecution broke out. Others (as would be the case in many of the towns in Israel) others could have been people who became believers directly through the ministry of Jesus as He traveled around. At any rate, groups are coming together in home church groups all over the country.
The church in Joppa has experienced the loss of a dear Saint. She is in heaven. The group wants her back. They send for Peter. What do they expect? Peter has healed people but he has never raised the dead.
Two men have just arrived in Lydda, urging him to come with them.
39 Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them.
It is hard to place ourselves in Peter’s shoes. Peter has been gifted by God to be able to perform miracles. We must remember that there is a difference between results produced as a result of faith, compared to results produced by means of possessing a particular gift. In a sense, both require faith. Praying with faith is taught and encouraged all through scripture. This something we all do … whether or not we have the ‘gift’.
Using a gift is different. This only requires enough faith to recognize, ‘God has given me this gift’. After that it is just a matter of using it. Using a gift is easy and almost automatic. That is why it is called a gift.
For this reason, Peter could step into a situation with confidence, knowing that all he had to do was use the gift that he knew he had. Later we will point out one qualifier which can affect the outcome of the gift. It may even make it appear that the gift ‘failed’. This qualifier is, the will of God.
Peter is here, trusting that he is about to perform the will of God. Next we read, 40 But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up.
41 Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive.
Peter’s words were very simple. How does Luke know which words that Peter used? There are a few possibilities. First of all, it could have been the Holy Spirit telling Luke directly … or telling the apostle Paul who may have been relating everything he knew to Luke.
We know by what we have just read that Peter was alone in the room. There were no witnesses other than Tabitha herself. Perhaps she actually heard the words and told her friends. Maybe Peter was asked what he had said, and he answered, All I said was, Tabitha, arise!.
At any rate, 42 it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord.
These are the kinds of results we love to hear … many believed on the Lord. The results in Lydda were also tremendous. The new ‘believers’ need to be assimilated in the church … or should we say ‘church groups’, because in those days a church in a city or town had to be split up into many house groups. People would need to be assigned into the group that would be best for them. Each group would need a leader. Peter had spent time in Lydda doing this same thing no doubt. And here in Joppa Luke tells us, 43 So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with Simon, a tanner.
Luke, as he has turned the focus onto Peter, has mentioned the healing of Aeneas in Lydda and the raising of Tabitha in Joppa. Two great things. The second one greater than the first. Next Luke moves on to something even bigger than raising the dead.