Supernatural Healing: The Raising of Dorcas

Focal Text: NRSV

36Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. 37 At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40 Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.

37 At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs.

Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40 Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.

38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40 Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.

Introduction

Regardless of one’s life path, stage, or age, anyone can find themselves in need of a miracle.

Sometimes miracles appear at the height of human suffering and adversity.

Today’s lesson exposes a woman3 Dorcas is this woman’s Greek name. Her name is Tabitha in Aramaic and it means gazelle. who was “devoted to good works and acts of charity.”

Today’s lesson exposes a woman3 who was “devoted to good works and acts of charity.”

Our good works do not exempt us from pain, sickness, or crises.

Our lesson presents a picture of the growth and miracles which take place in the Spirit- empowered church.

Our lesson presents a picture of the growth and miracles which take place in the Spirit-

Meanwhile the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was built up. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

empowered church.

The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), .

In the Spirit-empowered church, our pain and our problems make us prime candidates for God’s miracle of healing.

In the Spirit-empowered church, our pain and our problems make us prime candidates for God’s

miracle of healing.

The Big Idea: God performs miracles in complex situations and against impossible odds.

I. Situation: Dorcas Was Saved, Yet She Endured Suffering.

36Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. 37 At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs.

The story takes place in Joppa, the main port city of Judea, located on the Philistine coast some ten or eleven miles northwest of Lydda. In Joppa was a “female disciple” named Tabitha.

The story takes place in Joppa, the main port city of Judea, located on the Philistine coast some ten or eleven miles northwest of Lydda. In Joppa was a “female disciple” named Tabitha. Luke provided the translation “Dorcas” for his Greek readers. Both terms mean gazelle in English. She is described as “always doing good and helping the poor,” which enhances the pathos of her death.

While Peter was still in Lydda, Tabitha became sick and died. According to custom, her body was washed for burial. It was then placed in an upper room, which was not particularly the custom. Perhaps this was the most available room. It could also be that the Christians of Joppa were performing, as it were, a symbolic act, indicating their faith that she would rise

Luke provided the translation “Dorcas” for his Greek readers. Both terms mean gazelle in English. She is described as “always doing good and helping the poor,” which enhances the pathos of her death.

A.Our salvation does not exempt us from suffering.

B. We are saved by grace, not by our knowledge of the scriptures and our actions alone.

C. Dorcas had friends who fought for her miracle.

4 Peter healed Aeneas, a man who was bedridden for eight years.

I. Situation: Dorcas Was Saved, Yet She Endured Suffering.

II. Complication: Peter arrived after Dorcas died.

38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40 Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.

In any event, knowing that Peter was close by—a distance of three hours journey by foot—they sent two men to Lydda to urge Peter to hasten to Joppa without delay.

When Peter arrived at Joppa, he was taken to the upper room and there greeted by a group of widows who were in mourning. already evidenced numerous Jewish Christian widows. In the later Pauline churches a special order of “senior” widows looked after the other widows in the congregations (.). Though such a degree of organization probably had not developed in the churches of Dorcas’s day, her charity to the widows would qualify her as a genuine precursor of those women who helped widows so that the church would not be burdened (). The helplessness of these widows further heightens the pathos of the story. Their neediness is exemplified in their showing Peter the tunics and robes Dorcas had made, which they probably were wearing.

9:40 Peter requested that they leave him alone in the room with the body, just as Jesus had sent everyone from the room except the girl’s parents and his three most trusted disciples when he raised Jairus’s daughter (). Falling to his knees before the body, Peter prayed, turned to the body, and said, “Tabitha, arise.” Naturally Peter addressed her by the Aramaic form of her name, and Luke was careful to preserve the distinction. He had used the Greek form Dorcas in his narrative (v. 39). But Luke was perhaps aware of more than a linguistic nicety. Jesus’ words to Jairus’s daughter were, “Little girl, arise,” which Mark preserved in the original Aramaic form, “Talitha koum” (). In Aramaic, Peter’s words would have been almost identical, “Tabitha koum”—only a single consonant’s difference. In the Aramaic churches who cherished the story of Tabitha, the similarity would not be missed. In the footsteps of his Master, and through the power of his Master (the prayer shows that), Peter worked the same miracle of “resurrection.” As with Jairus’s daughter, the widow’s son at Nain, Lazarus, and Dorcas, it was not a matter of resurrection but of resuscitation, of temporary restoration of life. But all the miracles of raising from the dead are in a real sense “signs,” pointers to the one who has power even over death and is himself the resurrection and the life for all who believe and trust in him.

The New American Commentary: Acts (2) The Raising of Dorcas (9:36–43)

In any event, knowing that Peter was close by—a distance of three hours journey by foot—they sent two men to Lydda to urge Peter to hasten to Joppa without delay

John B. Polhill, Acts, vol. 26, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 247–248.

A. When Peter arrived, the people were mourning Dorcas’ death.

B.The weeping widows held up garments Dorcas made as Peter walked through the house.

C.Perhaps they questioned why her good works didn’t prevent her untimely end.

D.Peter put everyone out and prayed.

5 Sometimes God needs to isolate us to heal, set free, and deliver us.

I. Situation: Dorcas Was Saved, Yet She Endured Suffering.

II. Complication: Peter arrived after Dorcas died.

III. Restoration: God Raised Dorcas Out Of Pain, Death, And Despair.

He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.

The story concludes with Peter presenting Dorcas alive to “the believers and the widows.” That the widows are separated from the believers does not indicate the widows were not Christians but serves to single them out as the group who served to benefit most from her restoration to life. The description that Peter “presented” her to them reminds one of the similar expression of how Elijah “gave” her son back to the widow of Zarephath () and how Jesus “gave” her son back to the widow of Nain (). In these two instances the restoration of an only son to a destitute widow was indeed a gift, and Peter’s presentation of Dorcas alive was no less a gift to the widows of Joppa. As with the healing of Aeneas, so with the raising of Dorcas, the news spread quickly in Sharon’s Plain; and many believed in the Lord, in the risen Lord.

9:43 Peter remained in Joppa, residing with a tanner who shared with him the name of Simon. Luke often mentioned the names of hosts or the particular trade of persons. He had an eye for human-interest detail. This particular tanner lived by the sea. This location may be due to the fact that tanners used sea water in their trade, but the ultimate significance of the “address” would be to help Cornelius’s messengers find Peter in the story that follows. In a real sense, Peter had been moved by God ever closer to Caesarea, where the greatest demonstration of God’s leading would take place when Peter was urged to witness there to the Gentile Cornelius.

A. Our impossibilities and extreme needs make us perfect candidates for miracles.

63 The sea breeze certainly did not hurt either; it removed the odor of the hides. For the view that Simon was a tanner of fishnets, see J. McConnachie, “Simon a Tanner (Burseus) (, , ),” ExpTim 36 (1924–25): 90. The linguistic evidence, however, would indicate that the word βυρσεύς in Greek is generally restricted to the tanning of hides.

He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.

Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.

This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.

A. Our impossibilities and extreme needs make us perfect candidates for miracles.

The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), .

A. Our impossibilities and extreme needs make us perfect candidates for miracles.

B.God’s Word gives us hope and assurance for our sickness, pain, and hurt.

C.God has proven Himself. He is faithful to meet us at our points of death and disbelief.

D.God has the power to perform miracles in complex situations and against impossible odds.

odds.

Apply It! W.I.I.F.M.? (What’s In It For ME?)

1. What miracles am I trusting God for this year? Does my faith match my miracle or do I feel discouraged by unmet expectations?

2. How might I embrace God’s impossible possibilities for my life?