Acts 9:32–43
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Main Idea
The struggles and blessings of your life’s story can point others to Christ.
What drew you to the faith? If you were a skeptic before your conversion, what solidified your faith in Jesus? Was it something God did in your life, or was your faith a result of something done to someone else?
Today, we are jumping back into Acts and will read two stories together. These two stories occur in two different cities and describe two different miracles done to two different people, all while undergirding two central truths. I am excited to unearth these beautiful truths with you today because taking them seriously could dramatically alter how you view your current circumstances.
The last time we saw Peter’s ministry activity was back in chapter 6 in Jerusalem when all twelve disciples selected the first deacons (except for a guest appearance in Samaria to vet the Holy Spirit going to the 1/2 Jews). Now, Peter is outside of Jerusalem, going “here and there” in the regions of Judea and Samaria. Peter is also operating in Phase 2 of the Act 1:8 commission. In fact, that is where Lydda (a predominantly Jewish town) is located between those two regions, 25 miles northwest of Jerusalem. To put that into perspective, that is roughly the distance between here and Rocky Knob Park on the outskirts of Boone.
Passage
Outline
I – The healing of the paralytic (vv. 32-35)
II – Raising Tabitha from the dead (vv. 36-43)
I – The healing of the paralytic
Acts 9:32–35 ESV
32 Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. 34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. 35 And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
Aeneas’ brokenness
The first story is a quick one, only four verses long. Luke wastes no time in getting to the point. A man named Aeneas in Lydda had been paralyzed for eight years. We don’t know don’t know anything about the guy other than that. We don’t know where he is (was he at a public place like the lame beggar at the Jerusalem temple?). We don’t know if he is a Christian, a Jew, or a Gentile. How old was he? Was he a well-known figure in the community? Why was he paralyzed? Did he get hurt on the job or get hit by a speeding horse? Did he have family or friends who were supporting him? We know virtually nothing about this man or his circumstances. We just know he is broken and has been for quite some time.
Aeneas has a difficult life filled with trials. Everything from getting dressed, using the bathroom, and buying food is difficult for him. I’m sure you can relate to some degree, though most of us don’t have such an extreme handicap like his. Think over your life in the past eight years. What hardship have you endured? What difficulty do you still find yourself in? The benefit of staring at such a vague, ambiguous person is how we can see ourselves in him. What parts of your life do you see in Aeneas’ situation right now? How grim does your life seem at this moment? If you can resonate with his hardship, I hope you will also resonate with his coming redemption.
Aeneas is healed
Thankfully, Peter didn’t just toss a coin in his beggar’s cup (if he had one). Something about this man caught his attention… I would argue that it was the Holy Spirit directing him. Whatever the initial cause, once Peter walked up to Aeneas, he gave the man the best news of his life. Peter looked at him and said, “Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” Ten words spoken in ten seconds forever changed this man’s life. And it’s important to see that Peter didn’t heal Aeneas. Jesus did. Jesus Christ of Nazareth sees you. He loves you. He wants to restore you. Peter didn’t point to himself; he pointed to the Great Physician and caring High Priest. He is the one who sees you.
That is the first glorious truth for us to recognize. Jesus sees you in your hardships and trials. He is not a God who is far off but who is intimately involved in the lives of His people.
Could you imagine the elation he must have felt as he stood up for the first time in nearly a decade? We wouldn’t know because Luke doesn’t tell us! We just know that he was able to stand. We don’t even know if he actually made his bed (which likely meant he was to pick up the mat he was lying on and take it with him).
And the lack of detail about this individual is the entire point Luke makes.
As grand as it is to be able to see your struggles in this human mirror, and as wonderful as it is to draw hope for yourself in the dramatic change in circumstance we see in him, your personal circumstance isn’t the only point of the story, nor is it the miracle itself.
The bigger picture of this brief story is in the next verse.
The residents of the towns turn to the Lord
It is true that Jesus healed Aeneas because He loved him and wanted to restore his physical body, but his restoration was not just for him. It was also for the benefit of the residents of the town. Did you catch that?
ALL the residents of the town of Lydda and the coastal plain of Sharon (a 40-50 mile stretch of coast north of Joppa) turned to the Lord!
ἐπιστρέφω ĕpistrĕphō, ep-ee-stref´-o: to revert, come (go) again, convert, (re-) turn.
This can refer to turning from sin toward Jesus upon conversion, as we see in 2 Cor. 3:16, or as a wayward believer who is turning back from wandering away from the faith. Both could be applicable since we don’t know the spiritual status of the town’s residents. The amazing truth is that an entire region was converted or drawn back to Christ!
The bigger story here isn’t that Peter worked miracles or that one man’s life was restored. The second truth is the real takeaway of this story: it is the truth that the struggles and blessings of your life’s story can point others to Christ. No one likes struggling, but remember… you cannot be delivered if you were not once held captive, and you cannot be restored if you were not once broken. The whole of your experience, both the tragic and the ecstatic, all work together to magnify the greatness of Jesus Christ to everyone else around you.
So again, I ask you, what drew you to the faith? Odds are, you likely saw a change in someone close to you. You saw Christ work in someone else’s life and opened your eyes to what you were missing. Am I close?
So, we see that Aeneas’ story wasn’t just about him; it was about everyone around him.
II- Raising Tabitha from the dead
Acts 9:36–43 ESV
36 Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. 37 In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all outside, 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 And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner.
While Peter is still in Lydda, the narrative pans to the port city of Joppa, which is only another 10-12 miles away from Lydda. That would be roughly the distance from here to the Fleetwood Fire Station. For you history buffs, this is also the seaport where Jonah jumped into a ship headed for Tarshish to run from God. Here, we meet a lady named Tabitha or Dorcas- one being her Aramaic name and the other being her Greek name.
Who is Tabitha?
We get more information on her than we got on Aeneas. Tabitha was a skilled, charitable disciple. In this context, it would make sense to take the term disciple as a Christian disciple, not a Jewish one, especially since the other disciples in the town called for an Apostle instead of a local Jewish leader. So, Tabitha is a dedicated Christian disciple who was very active in the community. She was constantly doing good things and giving generously, whether that was an offering of her time, money… or likely both. If she was a skilled seamstress, she might have been a well-known figure in the area with funds to give charitably. She was also probably a widow since other widows were invited to see her restored to life. She was everything one could hope for in a disciple: caring, giving, active, sharp, and faithful.
What happened?
She died. Just as we got to know her, we were told that this faithful, active, and generous follower of Christ got sick and died from her illness. So much for the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel, right? The reality of this fallen world is that we still have to live in it. Just because we believe in Jesus doesn’t mean we are exempt from illness, suffering, and dying young. One of the highlights of this passage is the understanding that our sufferings, trials, and even our deaths play a role in God’s plan.
Thankfully, the story doesn’t end here because this faithful disciple has faithful friends (that’s a whole different sermon in and of itself). Even though Peter has never raised the dead, news of the miraculous things he was doing reached their ears. And, knowing that he was only ten or so miles away, they sent two messengers to him post-haste. I wonder what they were thinking along the way. Surely, they heard the news of how Peter healed the lame beggar at the Temple and how many sick, lame, and demon-possessed people were brought to the Apostles and healed. Surely, if these things can be done in the name of a resurrected messiah, even His followers could be raised. Is that possible?
Clearly, they thought so, or they wouldn’t have traveled to Peter after her death and ceremonial washing. And clearly, even Peter thought so, or he wouldn’t have traveled back with them.
Peter gets a glimpse of Tabitha’s life
Don’t you wonder what is going on in Peter’s mind at this point? We are likely at least one day past Tabitha’s death. Her status hasn’t changed. This would have been enough time for rigor mortis to set in, clearly indicating that the death diagnosis was correct. What would Peter have been thinking in this situation? Raising a person from the dead was unprecedented for the twelve apostles. What emotions do you think were stirred as Tabitha’s friends surrounded him like merchants in the local market, showing him her beautiful textile creations and telling stories of all the gracious things she had done for them and others in the community? Do you think he felt pressure to perform? Do you think Peter prayed silently in his mind for God to move without knowing what would happen next? Or do you think God told him in Lydda what His plans were for His faithful daughter? I’ve always found it helpful to let my mind explore these nuances that we don’t get from scripture because it makes the story come alive in my mind.
By the time Peter reached Tabitha’s room on the second floor, he probably felt he already knew her. Maybe he could see a growing crowd surrounding her home in anticipation of what the lead Apostle would do. Can you feel the significance of this moment?
Tabitha is raised from the dead
Personally, I don’t think Peter cared one bit about peer pressure or a growing audience. I believe he was doing what his Master taught him to do: listen to Father and do what you see Him do. Peter was following the prompting of the Spirit (of whom he was filled with) and following the actions of Jesus because what he did and said next is almost verbatim of what Jesus did and said to Jairus’ daughter. He put the others outside, turned toward the lifeless body, and said, “Tabitha, arise.”
And she did. She opened her eyes and sat up in the bed, then stood to her feet when Peter gave her his hand. Not even death can overcome the power of Jesus Christ.
Not only does this one instance mirror Jesus’ actions, but the whole circumstance follows the same pattern. Jesus was elsewhere and healed a woman who had been suffering for years. Now, Peter is doing the same. This is a reflection and call for us to live our lives in a manner worthy of an emulation of Jesus. This is not the main point of the passage, but it is certainly a wonderful little exhortation we can walk away with.
The residents of Joppa believe in Jesus
As before, this miracle had a two-fold effect. First and most obviously, it made a difference in Tabitha’s life… mainly that she continued to have one! Like Lazarus and Jairus’ daughter, the Author of Life brought her back to life so that she could continue to live a life that pleased and honored God. This also reiterates our first nugget of truth: Jesus sees you in your hardships and trials. He is not a God who is far off but who is intimately involved in the lives of His people.
But, as before, it also impacted the entire town. Luke tells us that the news of her restoration was known throughout the entire town of Joppa (which was under Roman control, by the way), and many believed in the Lord (aka Jesus).
All the saints and widows renewed their faith at Tabitha’s resurrection. Their beloved sister was brought back! Interestingly, the word ‘believed’ is different from the word ‘turned’ in the first story. Here, the word in Greek is:
πιστεύω pistĕuō, pist-yoo´-o: to have faith (in, upon a person or thing), believe, commit, put in trust with.
Whereas the previous word held the connotation of a wayward believer returning, this word (in every instance I could find in the New Testament) is a new convert who had not yet believed but now believes. The ‘many’ who believed were those who had not previously believed. This was another move of the Spirit that brought new believers into the Kingdom.
We would miss out on so much the Lord wants to teach us if we limit our takeaway to only a single miracle done to an individual, even as miraculous as it was. Please don’t leave here today with a limited view of just another two instances of miracles performed in scripture. Do we praise God in His compassionate love and grace toward a man who had suffered for eight years as a paralytic and a faithful servant in the faith who was raised from an untimely death? Absolutely we do! Praising God in light of His attributes is right and good.
But there is so much more to praise Him for.
So, we see that Tabitha’s story wasn’t just about her; it was about everyone around her. And that is where I want to land the plane today.
Conclusion
Maybe you have already noted some of the gold nuggets in our scriptural mountain today.
- God is gracious and compassionate toward the afflicted.
- God is a God of miracles. Nothing is impossible for Him.
- God cares about your physical circumstances, though health and prosperity are not rights we can claim.
- God acts first. We see that in how neither of these two people sought Peter out. Jesus, through Peter, sought them.
- You should surround yourself with faithful friends who can act when you cannot.
All of these are great takeaways and will affect how you live out your faith, but again, two underlying truths bind these two passages of scripture together.
- Individual Level: Jesus sees you in your hardships and trials. He is not a God who is far off but who is intimately involved in the lives of His people.
- Broader Level: The struggles and blessings of your life’s story can point others to Christ.
Scripture compares people to fruit-bearing trees, and the last time I checked, a tree doesn’t eat its own fruit. The fruit is for everyone who comes near the tree. The point of these two stories today is how their trials and restorations were used to draw people to Christ. It was about Kingdom expansion, not personal benefit.
The story of Aeneas is not just about Aeneas. The story of Tabitha is not just about Tabitha. The story of Nate Roten is not just about Nate Roten. My life’s story and yours is about how God’s glory is revealed to others through every aspect of my life. How you conduct yourself on the mountaintops AND in the valleys will either point people to Christ or push them away from Him.