Acts 09(32–43)

Introduction

Today’s passage is obviously about Peter. But it’s been a while since we’ve heard anything about him.

The passage which we studied last week was all about Saul who is now known as Paul. Up until the events of chapter 9, Saul hated the church of Christ and he wanted to do what he could to destroy it. And so, he was on his way to Damascus to round up and arrest as many Christians as possible to bring them to Jerusalem to stand trial. But on the road to Damascus, the Risen and Exalted Lord Jesus appeared to him in a bright light. And as a result of this encounter with the Risen Lord Jesus, Saul was converted to a true faith in Christ and he was commissioned to be one of the Lord’s apostles. And so, from that time on, Saul — or Paul — went about from place to place preaching the good news of Jesus Christ.

That’s what we were thinking about last week when we were studying the first part of chapter 9. Chapter 8 was mostly about Philip the Evangelist and how he took the gospel to the Samaritans and many of them believed; and then he explained the gospel to the Ethiopian eunuch who was on his way home from visiting the temple in Jerusalem. And that man believed the good news about Christ, who is the Suffering Servant of the Lord who suffered and died for our salvation. And so, chapter 8 was mostly about Philip and Peter was only mentioned briefly when he and John were sent to check out what had happened in Samaria.

Chapters 6 and 7 were about the choosing of the seven deacons to oversee the daily distribution of food to the widows; and then it was all about Stephen, the first Christian martyr.

So, the last proper mention of Peter was in chapter 5 when he confronted Ananias and Sapphira about lying to the Holy Spirit about the money they gave to the church for the support of the needy members. And then, when the apostles were arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin, because they hadn’t complied with their orders not to preach about Christ, Peter stood up and announced to the Sanhedrin that the apostles must obey God, rather than them. And, of course, it was God’s will for them to proclaim the good news of Christ who died but who is alive.

So, it’s been a while since we were thinking about Peter. But today’s passage and chapters 10 and 11 and 12 are all about him. In today’s passage, he heals these two believers: Aeneas and Dorcas. Then, in chapter 10, the Lord sends Peter to preach the good news of the gospel to Cornelius and to Cornelius’s relatives and friends. And then, in chapter 11, Peter went back up to Jerusalem where he explained to his fellow believers what had happened and why he had preached the gospel to Cornelius who was a Gentile. And he needed to explain this to them, because up until that time good and faithful Jews normally tried to stay away from the Gentiles, who were regarded as unclean. So, why was Peter prepared to eat at the home of a Gentile? And in chapter 12 we read of the time when Peter was arrested and imprisoned. And while he was in prison, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and released him.

So, for the next few chapters, Luke focusses once more on Peter. And today’s brief passage can be divided into two parts: verses 32 to 35 and verses 36 to 43. In the first part, Peter heals Aeneas who is paralysed. In the second part, he restores Dorcas to life. And this is the first time one of the apostles brought back to life someone who has died.

Verses 32 to 35

Let’s turn firstly to verses 32 to 35 where Luke tells us that Peter travelled about the country. If you glance back to verse 31, you’ll see that the church was enjoying a time of peace. And during that time of peace, Peter — and presumably the other apostles as well — travelled about the country. What was Peter doing? Presumably he was preaching the gospel to his fellow Jews who had not yet heard the good news about Christ. However, it seems from what we read here that he was also visiting his fellow believers who were living outside Jerusalem. Churches now existed in other places and not just in Jerusalem. And on this occasion, Peter was visiting the saints — or the believers — in a city called Lyyda, which was about 25 miles from Jerusalem.

And while he was there, he came across this man named Aeneas. Luke doesn’t tell us explicitly that this man was a believer, but it seems natural to assume that he was, because the reason Peter had gone there was to visit his fellow believers. Luke does tell us however that Aeneas was a paralytic and that he had been bedridden for eight years. We don’t know what was the cause of his condition, but whatever the cause, he was unable to walk.

And when Peter found him, he said to him: ‘Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and tidy up your mat.’ More literally, Peter tells him to rise: ‘rise and make your bed.’ And immediately the man got up or immediately the man rose. The Risen Lord Jesus — who was raised from the dead to live for ever at God’s right hand in heaven — raised this man from his bed.

And according to verse 35, all those who lived in Lyyda and Sharon — Sharon was the name of the surrounding region — and who saw Aeneas, now healed, turned to the Lord. That is to say, they turned to the Lord Jesus Christ. The turned to him in repentance and faith, giving up their sins and trusting in him as the Christ, God’s Spirit-Anointed and Conquering King who died and who was raised for us and for our salvation.

Verses 36 to 43

Let’s move straight on to verses 36 to 43 and the account of the restoration of Dorcas to life.

Luke turns our attention away from Lyyda to Joppa, which was about 12 miles from Lyyda. And he tells us about a disciple, or a believer, who was known as Tabitha and Dorcas. Tabitha was her name in Aramaic and Dorcas was the Greek translation. It seems that Joppa was a city with a strong Greek influence and presumably lots of the people in the city spoke Greek. And Luke tells us that this woman was always doing good and helping the poor. The phrase ‘helping the poor’ means that she would give them money to help them. That suggests she herself may have been a wealthy person. Not every wealthy person gives to the poor, so her generosity and kindness demonstrates that the Spirit of the Lord Jesus was at work in her, prompting her to be as kind and generous as the Saviour is to us.

Luke then tells us that she became sick and died. Again he doesn’t go into any of the details, so we don’t know what kind of sickness she had or what the cause of death was. But her body was washed in preparation for the burial. However, while they would normally bury a body immediately in those days, Dorcas’s body was placed in an upstairs room. And according to verse 38, the disciples in the city sent word to Peter, who was in nearby Lyyda, and they asked him to come at once. It’s not clear what they expected Peter to do, but perhaps, if they had heard about the healings he had performed in Jerusalem, they were hoping that he would be able to do something for Dorcas.

Luke tells us in verse 39 that Peter went with the messengers who had come to fetch him. And when he arrived, he was shown to the upper room, where the body was laid. And some of the widows stood around, crying because of their grief and sorrow and showing Peter some of the clothes Dorcas had made. Perhaps they were wearing what she had made and they pointed out to him that she made this and this and this.

Peter sent them out of the room, as the Lord Jesus did when he raised Jairus’s daughter. And he got down on his knees and prayed. And, of course, he had to pray, because he had no power of his own and he needed to look to the Lord, who is the only one who can give life to the dead. And after he prayed, he turned to the dead woman and he spoke to her and told her to get up. That is, he told her to rise. And the dead woman was no longer dead, because she opened her eyes and sat up. And then Peter took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. More literally it says that he raised her. And he called down to the others and presented Dorcas to them alive.

And Luke tells us that this became known throughout Joppa. And of course it did! We can imagine people taking the news from house to house and talking about it in the market place. It was a remarkable miracle. And as a result, many believed in the Lord. That is, they believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, because Peter was his apostle and ambassador and he would have made clear that the Risen and Exalted Lord Jesus Christ was the one who had raised Dorcas from the dead. And Peter stayed in that city for a time with a tanner named Simon.

Application 1

So, that’s the passage. As we think about the lessons we can learn from it, let me first point out how Luke describes the believers. He refers to Dorcas in verse 36 as a ‘disciple’. We’re familiar with this word from the gospels, because the Lord chose 12 men to be his disciples. But here in Acts, Luke uses the same word to describe an ordinary believer like Dorcas.

And a disciple is a learner or a student. As those who believe in Christ, we are continually learning more and more about our God who is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit: the Father who sent his Son into the world as our Saviour; the Son who was sent and who gave up his life for our salvation; and the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and Son and who renews us in God’s image. We are continually learning more and more about this God and his infinite love and mercy towards us. And we are continually learning about what it means to follow Christ and to live our lives for him. Every time we open up the Bible, God is teaching us about himself and about how we’re to love and serve him. That’s why we read the Bible here on Sundays and that’s why you’re encouraged to read the Scriptures at home. God uses the Scriptures to teach his disciples. And God not only teaches us through the Scriptures, but he uses all the events and circumstances of our life to teach us about his goodness and kindness and faithfulness. He’s continually testing our faith and teaching us to trust in him. And so, believers are disciples because we’re continually learning about our God.

Luke also refers to believers in verse 32 as the ‘saints’. And the word ‘saints’ can also be translated ‘holy ones’. Believers are God’s holy ones. And we’re God’s holy ones in at least three ways.

We’re holy because we’ve been set apart. To be holy means to be set apart. In the Old Testament temple, the various utensils which the priests used were holy, because they were set apart from ordinary use to be used in the temple for God’s worship. The priests themselves wore a sign on their forehead which read ‘Holy to the Lord’, because they too had been set apart from the rest of the people to serve God in the temple. Nowadays, we talk about Holy Communion, because the bread and cup we take when we receive the Lord’s Supper have been set apart by prayer from all ordinary use to be used in this special way to worship the Lord. The Bible is the Holy Bible, because it’s set apart from every other book, because it alone of all the books in the world is God’s word. And the church and its members are holy, because we are a people who have been set apart by God to belong to him. He has chosen us from the rest of humanity to be his special people.

When did God choose us? According to the Scriptures, he chose his people before the creation of the world. And so, this is a wonderful doctrine because it speaks to us of God’s kindness to us. Before we existed and before we had done anything — whether good or bad — he chose us to belong to him. He said of us: ‘I want him’ and ‘I want her’ to be part of my holy people and to be with me for ever. We didn’t do anything to deserve it or to earn it. And so, when he chose us to belong to him it was an act of his infinite grace towards us. And by choosing us in this way, he was bestowing on us a wonderful privilege and honour that we should belong to the Most High God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth.

But we’re holy also in the sense that we’ve been set apart from sin. Once sin was our Master and it used to boss us around and make us do its will. But now we’ve been set apart from sin by God and sin’s mastery over us has been broken. Paul writes in his New Testament letters about how believers died to sin. So, when we first believed and we were united with Christ by faith, we were united with him in his death and in his resurrection so that our old life of sin died and we began to live a new life of obedience to God. And so, we have been set apart from sin: there’s been this once-for-all decisive break with our old life when sin was our Master. And now, Christ is our Master. We’ve been set apart from sin to serve the Lord.

And then we are God’s holy people, because God the Father and God the Son have sent God the Holy Spirit into our lives to renew us more and more in God’s image and to enable us to say ‘no’ to sin and to live holy and upright and obedient lives which are full of good works.

This doesn’t happen all at once, but it happens over time as God the Holy Spirit works in us to enable us to obey God more and more and to devote ourselves to doing what is good in his sight. And we see the effects of this sanctifying process in the life of Dorcas who was known for her good deeds and her acts of charity to the poor. By nature we are selfish and unkind. We think only of ourselves; and instead of giving generously to others, we cling on to what we have and we want more and more for ourselves. But when God the Holy Spirit comes into our lives, he begins his work to make us more and more holy and more and more Christ-like. And the result is that we begin to love and serve the people around us just as Christ our Saviour loved and served the people around him. And so, when someone is in need, we want to help them just as Christ our Saviour went around doing good to all. And our life becomes a series of little acts of love and kindness to others. And we learn to bear with one another, just as Christ bears with us and our shortcomings.

And this too is a wonderful doctrine, because it means we can expect the Holy Spirit to continue his work in us throughout our life. We can hope and pray that as we get older we’ll become more and more like our Saviour. Some people, as they get older, becomes cranky or bitter or impatient or stubborn. They’re stuck in their ways. But believers can hope and pray that God the Holy Spirit will continue to shape us into the likeness of our gracious and kind and most merciful Saviour.

And so, there’s something for you to pray for and to hope for and to work for. We’re to fight against our natural inclination to sin; and we’re to make every effort to do what’s good, relying on the Holy Spirit to help us. And so, there’s something for you to pray for and to work at. Aim to become like Dorcas who was known for her good deeds and acts of charity.

Application 2

And we see the grace and kindness and the mercy of our Saviour in today’s passage. Who was it who healed this man and this woman? Was it Peter? Did he have the power to heal Aeneas and to raise up Dorcas? No, he did not have the power to heal them, because Peter is only a man like us. It was the Risen Lord Jesus who healed them. Luke made this clear in verse 34 where he records Peter saying to Aeneas that it’s Jesus Christ who heals him.

I’ve said before that while this book is known as ‘The Acts of the Apostles’ it should really be called ‘The Acts of the Lord Jesus through the Apostles’. The Lord Jesus was raised from the dead and he ascended to heaven to rule as king over all. And as king over all, he sent his apostles in the power of his Spirit into all the world to be his witnesses. And he enabled them to be — as it were — his hands and feet and to go where he wanted them to go and to do what he wanted them to do. And what the Lord Jesus wanted to do — and what he wanted to do through his apostles — was to set his people free from their sin and misery. And so, he commanded his apostles to proclaim forgiveness for all who believe in his name. And from time to time, he enabled the apostles to heal the sick and to revive the dead. And in this way he demonstrated his grace and mercy and his kindness to us. And in this way, he also demonstrated his great power over sickness and over death and the grave.

And every time the Lord Jesus healed the sick or revived the dead — whether he did it during his own earthly ministry or whether he did it by the hand of the apostles — he was showing us what he will do for all his people when he comes again on the last day to raise the dead from their graves and to give everlasting life and joy and happiness to his people who believed in him and who looked forward to his coming.

And so, it’s probably significant that Peter commanded Aeneas and Dorcas to rise, because healing Aeneas and Dorcas was a foretaste of what the Lord will do when he comes again in glory and with power and he will tell the dead to rise and the graves will be opened and the dead will be raised. Those who did not believe in him in this life will be raised to suffer eternal punishments away from the presence of God. But all those who believed in him in his life will be raised to enjoy everlasting life in the presence of God where we’ll be perfectly happy and holy for ever. And there will be no more sorrow or sadness and no more sickness, no more paralysis, no more disease or death, but only life forevermore.

Healing Aeneas and reviving Dorcas was a foretaste of what he will do for all his people when he comes again. And so, this is what he will do for you so long as you’re trusting in him as the Eternal Son of God and the only Saviour of the world.

And he continues to show his kindness to us in this life by providing us with all kinds of people with the knowledge and expertise and the will to help us. When once he worked through the hands of the apostles to bring healing, he now works through the hands of doctors and consultants and surgeons and nurses and care-workers. They are his hands to help us, even though they may not even know it. And he provides us with all kinds of other people who help us in our daily lives and who remove some of the misery of this life and who make life a little bit easier for us.

And he continues to work through the mouths of his preachers to declare to us the good news and to make known to us the forgiveness of our sins through faith in his name.

And so, from his throne in heaven, the Lord Jesus continues to act in the world through his preachers and through all kinds of other people to deliver his people from our sin and misery and to give us the hope of everlasting life in his presence.

And so, he still cares for us. And isn’t that what we all want? We want someone to care for us and to watch over us and to help us. And that’s what Christ our Saviour does for us.

And as we were thinking about on Easter Sunday in West Kirk, the reason the Lord Jesus is able to raise the dead when he returns is because he is the resurrection and the life. He’s the source or the cause of our resurrection from the dead to everlasting life, because not only did he give up his life to pay for our sins and to establish peace for us with God, but having been raised from the dead, he gives his Spirit to his people. And everyone who receives his Spirit, who is the Lord and Giver of life, will live forever.

Conclusion

And so, here are two wonderful lessons to learn from this passage. Firstly, we are God’s holy people. We are God’s holy people, because he has chosen us before the creation of the world to belong to him. And we’re God’s holy people, because sin is no longer our Master and we have the Holy Spirit who is presently renewing us in God’s image, enabling us to obey God more and more and to live a life of good works. So, this coming week you can look to God for the help of his Spirit to walk in his ways and to do his will.

And then secondly, Christ our King and Saviour continually demonstrates his kindness and goodness and his love for his people. From his throne in heaven, he sends us preachers to proclaim the good news to us for our forgiveness. And he sends all kinds of other people to relieve our suffering in this world. And when he comes again he’ll raise us from the dead and he’ll make us perfectly happy and holy in his presence for ever.