Acts 9:31-9:43
Each month, on the last Sunday of the month, we have a shorter teaching followed by communion together and then a sharing time, where anyone can contribute what the Lord has been teaching them, ask for prayer, and generally, be open to promptings of the Spirit so that we “build one another up in love.” This Sunday is such a Sunday.
We have been traveling through the book of Acts. Today, in a sense, “The last will be first and the first will be last.” I am going to take the passage a bit out of order. I will save the first verse, Acts 9:31, for last, because it leads so well into communion.
As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years. "Aeneas," Peter said to him, "Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat." Immediately Aeneas got up. All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord. – Acts 9:32-35
Does this event remind you of anything? It reminds me of something in Matthew 9:
Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!" Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." And the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men. – Matt. 9:2-8
Peter had been there and had seen Jesus heal this man. Here in Acts, we see a similar situation, except that Jesus is not there. Actually, though, He is there! Peter acknowledges beforehand that it is Jesus Christ, Jesus the Messiah, who does the healing, not him.
There are other parallels too. One is that the purpose goes beyond just the healing of the person present. Peter was not primarily a healer. He was a sharer of the gospel – the good news that Jesus, the promised Messiah, the Son of God, was risen and offers forgiveness of sins to those who would put their trust in Him. Isn’t it interesting that in Matt. 9, Jesus does the same thing. He uses it as an opportunity to teach that He had the power to forgive sins.
I am also struck by the similarity of the response. In Matthew, it says the crowd was greatly affected by the miracle. They were filled with awe, and they praised God. In Acts, it says, “All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.”
These healed men became, in effect, walking billboards for Jesus Christ. It gives new meaning to “Total Makeover,” doesn’t it! Even though we may not see such dramatic healings, these events in history can and should have the same effect on us. They should make us turn to the one who does the greater healing – the forgiveness of sins. (And, by the way, healings have continued to the present day. They tend to occur in cultures just being exposed for the first time to the gospel of Jesus Christ, just like in these two examples.)
These passages are great for reminding us that, just as Jesus really has the power to heal physically, He has the power and ability to give us a greater healing. Just as He can enable a paralyzed person to move and walk again, He can take us, who were “paralyzed” by the power of sin, and, immediately, make us walk again. Do you want this greater healing? It is available to all. The bread and the cup remind us that it is available, and they remind us of what it took for Jesus to make it available. There was great cost for Him to secure this spiritual healing for us. We should remember, and be thankful.
In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor. About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, "Please come at once!" – Acts 9:36-38
Tabitha and Dorcas mean “gazelle,” or “deer.” Symbolically, it means graceful, able to leap. I think the name is relevant here – I think Luke is saying her name fits who she was. She was always doing good and helping the poor. She was not all about talk, but about action. Matthew Henry’s commentary gives the Latin saying, non magna loquimur, sed vivimus. Not great talking, but living.
But her vivimus came to an end. She became sick and died. This was, I am sure, a great blow to this community of believers. Now, I am a bit shocked by what the disciples there did – after Lydda died, they sent for Peter once they learned he was nearby. Also, they didn’t finish preparing the body for burial. I have to conclude that they actually thought that maybe, just maybe, Peter could, by Jesus’ power, raise Tabitha from the dead! So they sent messengers who said, “Please come at once!”
There are some deep questions here I don’t even begin to know how to answer. Was their focus on Peter misplaced? Couldn’t God use any believer as a means to raise someone from the dead? Yes to the second question. Maybe they were led by the Lord to call on Peter. Maybe in these early days of the church, it was appropriate that many of these things came through Peter, the “Rock.” Jesus had said some special things about him. He was symbolically, the rock or foundation on which the church was built. The real rock, of course, was Christ.
Regardless, what they are doing here – waiting on the burial – just takes my breath away. This is action based on faith. To even think of this!
Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. – Acts 9:39
You can see that the death of Tabitha was a huge blow to those she had served. Can you picture this scene? A crowd of poor women, weeping for the loss of their friend. “Look at this robe I am wearing! She spent months making it for me! If it weren’t for her, I don’t know what I would have done! She spent all her time helping us!” What a testimony to a life of usefulness, caring, and love.
Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. – Acts 9:40-42
Peter listened to them, but now he had them leave. He prayed. How does it say he prayed? On his knees. There is something special about the position of how we pray. It’s not magic, but it is unnatural. I think this is good, because it helps us have a greater appreciation of Who it is we are praying to. I would encourage you, if your knees are strong, to get on your knees this morning when you take communion. When a king or queen enters a room, everyone bows as a sign of respect. Let us give our Lord special respect this morning.
After praying, Peter simply says, “Tabitha, koum.” This is so similar to another passage: Mark 5.
While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher any more?" Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe." He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at him. After He put them all out, He took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!" ). Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat. – Mark 5:35-43
“Talitha, koum.” “Tabitha, koum.” Isn’t that fascinating? Peter was there in Mark 5. I have no question he saw the connection. And as with the first part of passage today, the effect of this healing was that a community came to Christ. “Many people believed in the Lord.” It’s the same Jesus doing the healing. As they say, “death could not contain Him.” Neither His own death, nor the death of another. He has defeated death. If we die before Christ returns in bodily form to the earth, He will defeat our death. We will be not just restored, as Tabitha was, but we will be resurrected into new bodies, bodies that will not see decay. We will finally be free from the effects of sin. Our fight with our “old man,” the “flesh,” will be over. We will not even want to sin. Give thanks for these things as we share communion.
Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon. – Acts 9:43
It is easy to read a verse like this and see nothing there, except that Peter stayed in Joppa (Haifa). But there is something here I find fascinating. It says Peter stayed with a tanner. What is a tanner? What do tanners do? They make leather from dead animals. What does the Old Testament say about hanging around dead animals? It is unclean.
Tanners were usually forced to live outside town, because they were “ceremoniously” unclean all the time. There was a stigma associated with being a tanner. Probably the thing that comes closest today is a person in the mortuary business. In ancient Jewish times there was apparently a problem that a man would not mention his occupation of being a tanner while trying to get a wife. There was a Jewish law that stated that hiding the fact you were a tanner was grounds for annulling the wedding. I find the fact that Peter would live with such a man absolutely fascinating. Consider it a sneak preview for Acts 10 next week.
So now I want to make the first last, and so let us look at Acts 9:31:
Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord. – Acts 9:31
I am struck by the verbs in this passage: being strengthened, being encouraged, growing, and living in awe. These should apply to us individually and collectively. It is good to reflect on these before we take communion together today. Are you being strengthened in the Lord? Is your faith growing stronger? Is your faith affecting those around you? Do you have an awe of the Lord? Does it affect how you live?
Search your heart, pray, on your knees if you can, and when you are ready, take the bread and the cup, and consume them in remembrance of our Savior.
We then went on to have a wonderful, intimate time of remembering the Lord with the bread and cup, and then went on to have a special time of sharing together, "a time of peace."
We have been traveling through the book of Acts. Today, in a sense, “The last will be first and the first will be last.” I am going to take the passage a bit out of order. I will save the first verse, Acts 9:31, for last, because it leads so well into communion.
As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years. "Aeneas," Peter said to him, "Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat." Immediately Aeneas got up. All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord. – Acts 9:32-35
Does this event remind you of anything? It reminds me of something in Matthew 9:
Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!" Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." And the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men. – Matt. 9:2-8
Peter had been there and had seen Jesus heal this man. Here in Acts, we see a similar situation, except that Jesus is not there. Actually, though, He is there! Peter acknowledges beforehand that it is Jesus Christ, Jesus the Messiah, who does the healing, not him.
There are other parallels too. One is that the purpose goes beyond just the healing of the person present. Peter was not primarily a healer. He was a sharer of the gospel – the good news that Jesus, the promised Messiah, the Son of God, was risen and offers forgiveness of sins to those who would put their trust in Him. Isn’t it interesting that in Matt. 9, Jesus does the same thing. He uses it as an opportunity to teach that He had the power to forgive sins.
I am also struck by the similarity of the response. In Matthew, it says the crowd was greatly affected by the miracle. They were filled with awe, and they praised God. In Acts, it says, “All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.”
These healed men became, in effect, walking billboards for Jesus Christ. It gives new meaning to “Total Makeover,” doesn’t it! Even though we may not see such dramatic healings, these events in history can and should have the same effect on us. They should make us turn to the one who does the greater healing – the forgiveness of sins. (And, by the way, healings have continued to the present day. They tend to occur in cultures just being exposed for the first time to the gospel of Jesus Christ, just like in these two examples.)
These passages are great for reminding us that, just as Jesus really has the power to heal physically, He has the power and ability to give us a greater healing. Just as He can enable a paralyzed person to move and walk again, He can take us, who were “paralyzed” by the power of sin, and, immediately, make us walk again. Do you want this greater healing? It is available to all. The bread and the cup remind us that it is available, and they remind us of what it took for Jesus to make it available. There was great cost for Him to secure this spiritual healing for us. We should remember, and be thankful.
In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor. About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, "Please come at once!" – Acts 9:36-38
Tabitha and Dorcas mean “gazelle,” or “deer.” Symbolically, it means graceful, able to leap. I think the name is relevant here – I think Luke is saying her name fits who she was. She was always doing good and helping the poor. She was not all about talk, but about action. Matthew Henry’s commentary gives the Latin saying, non magna loquimur, sed vivimus. Not great talking, but living.
But her vivimus came to an end. She became sick and died. This was, I am sure, a great blow to this community of believers. Now, I am a bit shocked by what the disciples there did – after Lydda died, they sent for Peter once they learned he was nearby. Also, they didn’t finish preparing the body for burial. I have to conclude that they actually thought that maybe, just maybe, Peter could, by Jesus’ power, raise Tabitha from the dead! So they sent messengers who said, “Please come at once!”
There are some deep questions here I don’t even begin to know how to answer. Was their focus on Peter misplaced? Couldn’t God use any believer as a means to raise someone from the dead? Yes to the second question. Maybe they were led by the Lord to call on Peter. Maybe in these early days of the church, it was appropriate that many of these things came through Peter, the “Rock.” Jesus had said some special things about him. He was symbolically, the rock or foundation on which the church was built. The real rock, of course, was Christ.
Regardless, what they are doing here – waiting on the burial – just takes my breath away. This is action based on faith. To even think of this!
Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. – Acts 9:39
You can see that the death of Tabitha was a huge blow to those she had served. Can you picture this scene? A crowd of poor women, weeping for the loss of their friend. “Look at this robe I am wearing! She spent months making it for me! If it weren’t for her, I don’t know what I would have done! She spent all her time helping us!” What a testimony to a life of usefulness, caring, and love.
Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. – Acts 9:40-42
Peter listened to them, but now he had them leave. He prayed. How does it say he prayed? On his knees. There is something special about the position of how we pray. It’s not magic, but it is unnatural. I think this is good, because it helps us have a greater appreciation of Who it is we are praying to. I would encourage you, if your knees are strong, to get on your knees this morning when you take communion. When a king or queen enters a room, everyone bows as a sign of respect. Let us give our Lord special respect this morning.
After praying, Peter simply says, “Tabitha, koum.” This is so similar to another passage: Mark 5.
While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher any more?" Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe." He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at him. After He put them all out, He took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!" ). Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat. – Mark 5:35-43
“Talitha, koum.” “Tabitha, koum.” Isn’t that fascinating? Peter was there in Mark 5. I have no question he saw the connection. And as with the first part of passage today, the effect of this healing was that a community came to Christ. “Many people believed in the Lord.” It’s the same Jesus doing the healing. As they say, “death could not contain Him.” Neither His own death, nor the death of another. He has defeated death. If we die before Christ returns in bodily form to the earth, He will defeat our death. We will be not just restored, as Tabitha was, but we will be resurrected into new bodies, bodies that will not see decay. We will finally be free from the effects of sin. Our fight with our “old man,” the “flesh,” will be over. We will not even want to sin. Give thanks for these things as we share communion.
Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon. – Acts 9:43
It is easy to read a verse like this and see nothing there, except that Peter stayed in Joppa (Haifa). But there is something here I find fascinating. It says Peter stayed with a tanner. What is a tanner? What do tanners do? They make leather from dead animals. What does the Old Testament say about hanging around dead animals? It is unclean.
Tanners were usually forced to live outside town, because they were “ceremoniously” unclean all the time. There was a stigma associated with being a tanner. Probably the thing that comes closest today is a person in the mortuary business. In ancient Jewish times there was apparently a problem that a man would not mention his occupation of being a tanner while trying to get a wife. There was a Jewish law that stated that hiding the fact you were a tanner was grounds for annulling the wedding. I find the fact that Peter would live with such a man absolutely fascinating. Consider it a sneak preview for Acts 10 next week.
So now I want to make the first last, and so let us look at Acts 9:31:
Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord. – Acts 9:31
I am struck by the verbs in this passage: being strengthened, being encouraged, growing, and living in awe. These should apply to us individually and collectively. It is good to reflect on these before we take communion together today. Are you being strengthened in the Lord? Is your faith growing stronger? Is your faith affecting those around you? Do you have an awe of the Lord? Does it affect how you live?
Search your heart, pray, on your knees if you can, and when you are ready, take the bread and the cup, and consume them in remembrance of our Savior.
We then went on to have a wonderful, intimate time of remembering the Lord with the bread and cup, and then went on to have a special time of sharing together, "a time of peace."
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