Life Lessons From Peter

Intro

Good morning. It’s good to be with you all again, and thanks for coming on this long weekend! I’ve been working hard at putting something together for today, and I trust that it’s going to be both encouraging and challenging for all of us.

Acts 9:32–43 NIV

As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the Lord’s people who lived in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years. “Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up. All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord. In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she 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!” 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. 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 for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.

For the last few chapters the book of Acts has been focused on the story of Saul’s conversion and the start of his mission work. Now in verse 32 Luke brings the focus back again to Peter, who has been center stage of Acts almost up to this point. Now the last time Peter is mentioned specifically is in chapter 8:25, where he and John had gone to Samaria to help in the work that Philip was doing among the Samaritans. If you remember, this is the story where Peter ‘rebukes’ Simon the Sorcerer for trying to buy the gift of God with money.

Then in chapter 9:26 and on, it says that Paul tried to join the disciples, and that Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. Now it doesn’t say specifically that Peter was there with them, but based on this it seems reasonable to assume that Peter was there at that time as well. Verse 31 concludes like this:

Acts 9:31 ESV

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

So it looks as if there is a bit of a break in the timeline here, where the church gets continues to grow and is strengthened. We don’t know how long this time is, but the way it’s set up this story of Peter could be part of that time of strengthening and growth. Because as we heard in the Scripture reading, the church definitely was strengthened, and it definitely grew. So Luke set up the transition from Paul, to a time of peace in the church, and then with a smooth transition to Peter’s work in the area, presumably in the in-between time. It’s good to remember that the original writings of the New Testament didn’t have these section headings. In the NIV translation this passage starts with a heading called “Aeneas and Dorcas.” When this all got recorded for the first time, they didn’t even have chapters and verses, let alone section headings! Without those, everything flows for smoothly from one verse to another, so if you can imagine that there’s no heading between verses 31 and 32, this idea that Peter is traveling in the peace time makes sense.

Peter at Lydda

Verse 32 finds Peter doing some traveling through the area, and he visits the Christians in Lydda. Now a few things on the town of Lydda. This is a bit of an old town. The first time it is mentioned is in , where it says that a Benjamite built the town. Lydda is now known as ‘Ludd’ or ‘Lod,’ depending where I looked. One encyclopedia said it was the modern city ‘Ludd’ but I looked on Google maps and it said ‘Lod.’ So I guess either one will work. Anyway, Lydda was quite the city back in the day, with a large market, lots of cattle, and industries like cloth, dyeing (as in dyeing clothes, not people dyeing, although I’m sure that happened as it does anywhere else) and pottery. There was a sanhedrin (not THE sanhedrin in Jerusalem, but this does probably mean a powerful council of Jewish leaders for the greater area) and several prominent scholars lived here as well.

Now as we know from , Peter was last reported in Jerusalem. Now I pulled out the most important resource of the 21st century, Google. I went to Google maps just to see how far Lydda is from Jerusalem. Now I don’t know if Peter walked or what, but if he did there are some serious respect points that we should be giving him, because on today’s recommended walking path, it would take almost 10 hours to walk from Jerusalem to Lydda! And this wasn’t even the only place he was going! He was traveling about the country.

Once he got there he found a man named Aeneas, and as was read before, we know that he was paralyzed and could not walk. Peter heals him in Jesus’ name, and tells him to pick up his mat. Now obviously an event like this doesn’t stay quiet and word spreads quickly. But what’s more interesting is what is said afterward. Obviously Aeneas has been healed, which means that he can now walk. We don’t know exactly how big Lydda was back then, but based on what we know about it, we can guess that it was pretty big. Sharon is the surrounding area around Lydda. The Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible states that this region is 34 miles from north to south and 10 miles wide, and that after the Jewish exile to Babylon about 700 men repopulated this plain. That was several hundred years before this story happens, so the population has probably grown quite a bit over those years. But let’s say that there are only those 700 originals living there. Verse 35 states that all those living in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord. At the very minimum there were 700 Christians in that area as a result of this healing! That’s a pretty good ratio of new Christians to miracles performed!

An Unexpected Journey

Now in verse 38 it states that Lydda was near Joppa. Now when it says “near,” again I was curious how close it was, and if someone walks from Lydda to Joppa it would take about 5 hours. It must have taken some time before the Christians there heard about Peter’s visit to Lydda. Now here we know that there was a woman named Dorcas or Tabitha who had passed away who lived in Joppa. Not only did the news reach them that Peter was only 5 hours away, but they also thought it worthwhile to send someone on this 5 hour trek to go get him, and then the five hours back. It seems clear from the passage that Dorcas was well loved among the Christians in Joppa, especially the widows. She helped them by making clothing and other items for them, so losing her from a ministry standpoint was probably a heavy blow to the Christians there.

The way it sounds in this passage Peter wasn’t necessarily planning on going to Joppa while he was traveling. He had gone to Lydda and healed Aeneas, and the news of that miracle spread.

Acts 9:38 ESV

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.”

Acts 9:

When he gets there, he finds Dorcas in an upstairs room. Here again we find the value of another miracle in proclaiming the Good News of Jesus. Peter sends everyone out, and after praying, brings her back to life. Here it says that it became known all over Joppa, and many believe in the Lord.

Now Joppa was another fairly important city. It was on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and there was a natural harbor there, so it was then naturally a seaport. This is the city where Jonah gets on a boat to go to Tarshish instead of Nineveh. Joppa was also known for its “beautiful gardens and the craftsmanship of its workers in metal, leather, and wood.” Alexander the Great added a mint there, making it not only important to the Jewish people, but also to the Greek world. This is a fairly strong repertoire, so we can again safely say that this city was fairly large, one writer saying several thousand at least. One miracle here for many to come to Jesus is another good ratio!

Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, “Joppa,” Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 1209.

Parallels to Jesus’ healing ministry

When we look at these two events in Peter’s travels, we can see some strong similarities to the life and ministry of Jesus. We should expect this, since Peter spent 3 years following Jesus across Israel! I want to read two passages about healings that Jesus did. The first one is in , it’s the story of the friends lowering their bedridden friend down into the home that Jesus was teaching in, in the town of Capernaum. The Pharisees are silently criticizing Jesus for claiming to forgive the man’s sins.

Mark 2:8–12 NIV

Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Mark 2:1–12 ESV

And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Mark 2:8-

Mark 2:1-

This story closely resembles the story of Peter healing Aeneas in Lydda. Now it doesn’t say that all those in Capernaum turned to Jesus as a result, but they praised God!

The story of Peter raising Tabitha from the dead also has a parallel story in the life of Jesus. This one is found in , where Jesus raises a young girl from the dead.

Mark 5:21–24 NIV

When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him.

Skip to verse 35.

Mark 5:21-

Mark 5:35–43 NIV

While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?” Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “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 leader, 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 began to walk 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

Here again we can see some similarities. People come to get Jesus, and he sent the mourners out of the room. Obviously there are some differences as well, but it looks like Peter was taking notes, he was right there with Jesus when the girl was raised from the dead.

Holman Bible Handbook Peter Joins Witness (9:1–12:25)

Peter. Two healing stories are related, both with close resemblances to Jesus