Signs of the New Covenant

Our passage today describes two different miracles performed by one of the Apostles, but it also serves as the necessary backdrop of what is about to happen in the storyline of Acts.

I think there is much for us to consider in the content of these two records of miraculous healings, and we will do that, but it’s necessary for us to know the context of these miracles in order to understand what they mean and why they happened.

Luke is about to tell us about a monumental shift in Acts 10-11. He recorded the mass conversion of many Gentiles, and all by divine appointment and with divine confirmation (Acts 10). And then Luke recorded how the early church wrestled with the newness of the New Covenant - in/through Christ - as contrasted with the Old Covenant - in/through Moses (Acts 11).

But it was Peter, and not Saul/Paul, whom God used to overtly and clearly bring Gentiles into the covenant benefits, which God had been promising His people in the world for centuries.

So, at this point in the unfolding story, Luke darkened the lens that had been focused on Saul. Saul was the target of persecution, so he was shipped off from a port in Caesarea and headed for Tarsus (a very long way away from Jerusalem).

But Luke also told us that Saul’s conversion resulted in “peace” among the churches in “Judea and Galilee and Samaria” (Acts 9:31). Christ brought peace and edified His people, not by crushing the opposition, but by graciously converting His chief opponent. Furthermore, by the power and presence of His Holy Spirit, Jesus “comforted” His people and “built [them] up,” both in spiritual maturity and in number (Acts 9:31).

With all of this in view, Luke now focused his story-lens (once again) upon the Apostle Peter.

Peter was traveling “here and there” among the saints in Judea, and Luke tells us what happened when Peter encountered two particular ailing saints, one in Lydda and the other in Joppa.

It will be in Joppa that the Lord God will make clear the inclusion of Gentiles in the New Covenant, but let us consider what we might learn from this passage which sets the stage for what is to come.

Scripture Reading

Acts 9:32-43 (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.

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.

Main Point

Jesus has promised complete healing for all those believe, and the fullness of this promise will be enjoyed in the world to come.

Message Outline

The Messianic Promise of Healing

The Rarity of Miracles in History

Healing as a Sign of the New Covenant

An Anticipated Expansion

Some Practical Applications

Message

1) The Messianic Promise of Healing

Sickness and Death are features of the curse.

When Adam sinned, he did so with God’s warning echoing in his ear; “You may surely eat of every tree in the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die [or dying you shall/will die]” (Gen. 2:16-17).

Historically, Christians have understood that all disastrous, sorrowful, and malfunctioning realities we now experience in this fallen world stem from this divine warning and from Adam’s subsequent sin.

Before Adam sinned, everything in creation was “good,” even “very good” (Gen. 1:3, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31).

After Adam sinned, there was “enmity” (Gen. 3:15), “pain,” “contrary desire,” abusive of authority (Gen. 3:16), suffering and failure in work, and ultimately death itself (Gen. 3:17-19).

Sickness, like dysfunctional relationships and a thousand other grievous pains, is a feature of life under God’s curse.

We get sick, some of us have chronic illness, all of us know someone who’s body doesn’t function as it should… because we live in a post-Genesis-3 world.

But God has been saying from the beginning that He would not leave things the way they have become… Revelation 21 is coming!

Healing was both demonstrated and promised in the Exodus.

When God brought His people out of Egypt, His judgment fell upon the Egyptians, including forms of sickness and death, but He spared His people from such things… “for,” God said, “I am the LORD, your healer” (Ex. Ex. 15:26).

When God confirmed His covenant (with its promises and its warnings) He said to His people, “You shall serve the LORD your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you” (Ex. 23:25).

The Psalmist looked to God for healing and redemption.

Psalm 103 - “1 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

The Messianic prophecies throughout the Old Testament pointed to a day of judgment and salvation, which included perfect health and peace.

Malachi 4 - “1 behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall… 3 on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts.”

Friends, do you ever get sick? Why is that?

Don’t you know that it’s a constant evidence that the Bible is true?!

You get sick, and people die because of sin… So, listen to the evidence… and look to the only Savior who has conquered death!

2) The Rarity of Miracles in History

There are three major miraculous eras in redemptive history.

Moses, and the establishment of the Old Covenant

Elijah and Elisha, the quintessential prophets

Jesus and the Apostles, and the establishment of the New Covenant

Outside of these eras/times, miracles and God’s revelation is almost entirely absent.

One might argue that Noah and Abraham and a few generations of Abraham’s sons all experienced God’s self-disclosure, along with some miraculous signs.

But these are so few among all the people in the world during each of their generations… and even this handful of individuals spans many generations (hundreds, maybe more than 1,000 years).

Miraculous healing is a sign that something big is happening!

But what?

3) Healing as a Sign of the New Covenant

The two signs of healing in our passage.

Peter healed a paralyzed man, named Aeneas.

Aeneas is not explicitly called a “saint,” but the implication is that he was “among” the “saints” in Lydda when Peter “found” him (v32-33).

Aeneas had been “bedridden for eight years” (v33).

And Aeneas was “immediately” healed (v34).

Peter was clear that it was not Peter doing the healing, but it was “Jesus Christ” who “heals you” (v34).

Peter also healed a lady, named Tabitha or Dorcas, who had died.

Tabitha was clearly named a “disciple,” “full of good works and acts of charity” (v36).

She died of some unspecified “illness,” and her body had been prepared for burial (v37).

We’re told that the “disciples” in Joppa sent messengers to Lydda to “urge” Peter to “come…without delay” (v38).

When Peter came, mourners were there (understandably), “but Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed” (v40).

This again shows that it is God/Christ who ultimately has the power to heal, not Peter.

Just as with Aeneas, Tabitha was immediately healed (v40).

Those who saw or knew believed.

At the conclusion of both of these healings, Luke tells us that those who “saw” or “knew” about the miraculous healings in each of those towns “turned to the Lord” (v35) and “believed in the Lord” (v42).

But, what did they “believe” about “the Lord”? And what does it mean that they “turned” to Him?

The two “signs” pointed to Jesus as Messiah.

All Christians up to this point were Jewish converts; thus, the sign of healing testified to them of Jesus’s Messianic office/authority.

The two miraculous healings Luke records here are quite similar to healings in the ministries of Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 17:17-24; 2 Kings 4:18-37) and Jesus (Luke 5:17-26; Luke 7:11-17).

Focusing on the sign over the Messiah is bad.

The Gospels (especially John’s) warn against false belief which merely focuses intently on a miraculous sign.

For example, John 2 ends by saying “many believed in his [Jesus’s] name when they saw the signs he was doing” (v23). But Jesus “did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people” (v24).

The idea is that the “belief” those “many” had was not true, but false… a circumstantial “belief.” …“Keep doing those ‘signs,’ and we’ll believe.”

4) An Anticipated Expansion

The miracles recorded in the Gospels and Acts (during the ministry of Jesus and the Apostles) anticipate a far greater expansion.

Lazarus (Jn. 11:23-27, 38-44) and Tabitha (Acts 9:39-41) both died again.

The point of these miraculous healings cannot be merely that Jesus has the power to temporarily heal… or even that He will always heal when we ask Him!

Lazarus and Tabitha, and the loved ones we know who are right now with the Lord, they are all waiting for a greater healing that is still yet to come.

Complete/perfect healing is indeed a feature of all that the Messiah has provided… but not in full as of yet.

Peter himself later applied the Messianic promise of healing to the New Covenant reality of forgiveness and life in Christ Jesus.

1 Peter 2:24-25 says, “He [Jesus] himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, [so] that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

Complete physical healing, as well as all other features of salvation are presently the possession of every Christian… but there is coming a day when we shall all be saved completely!

In fact, the most profound aspect of our passage this morning is probably something none of us would notice.

Implicit in this passage, hidden away in v43, is an anticipation of gospel expansion into the world of Gentiles.

Peter, a Mosaic covenant Jew by lifelong experience, “stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner” (v43).

The Mosaic covenant forbid touching anything dead without becoming “unclean” or “defiled” (Lev. 5:2).

5) Some Practical Applications

Why do people get sick? Die?

Because of sin, both Adam’s and our own (Gen. 2:16-17; Rom. 5:12; Rom. 6:23; 1 Cor. 15:56).

Does God promise to heal His people from all their diseases?

Yes, but not yet.

The citation from 1 Peter 2:24 is itself a citation from Isaiah 53:3, which predicted the suffering of the Lord Jesus in His role as Savior.

Isaiah 53:3 says, “He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”

My favorite Christmas song is Joy to the World, which we sang a few weeks ago… But this isn’t just a Christmas song. It’s a New Covenant song! It’s a Christian song! It’s a song of the inauguration of the kingdom of Christ, which is hear now and is not yet fully made visible.

The song teaches us to say, “Joy to the world! the Lord is come; Let Earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare him room, And heaven and nature sing...” And the third verse (which sometimes people sadly leave out) says, “No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found, Far as the curse is found, Far as, far as, the curse is found.”

Should we expect to see miraculous healing today?

Miracles in the Bible are always unexpected.

It is precisely those concentrated accounts of miracles that tip off the reader/observer to the idea that God is revealing something during that time or period.

The Old Covenant came (through Moses), accompanied by miracles.

The prophets spoke at rare and various times throughout the Old Testament, accompanied by miracles.

The New Covenant has been established (by Jesus and the Apostles), accompanied by miracles.

If you do expect frequent miracles (like healing) to happen today, then why?

What further revelation is God giving today?

What new feature of His plan of redemption is unfolding today?

Isn’t our next expectation (as Christians) the return of the Lord Jesus, when all previous miracles will be overshadowed by the fullness of His real presence and power?

Should we pray for healing (for ourselves or for our loved ones) today?

Of course!

The New Testament teaches us to pray for one another for all sorts of things, including healing!

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him… Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed” (James 5:13-16).

But we don’t only pray for healing.

We pray and live with the perspective that God is sovereign over our sickness and the sickness of those we love.... And God works all things for the good of His people, including sickness (Rom. 8:28).

Sickness and disease and bodily malfunctions of all sorts teach us that we are weaker than we might imagine otherwise.

Sickness reminds us that life in this world is short.

Sickness tends to focus us on more important things, and sometimes helps us better prioritize our time and attention.

Sometimes severe sickness can even make us loosen our grip on this fleeting world and prepare us to embrace (with joy) the world that is to come.

How should this passage provoke hope and anticipation in us today?

We should hear the reverberation of God’s gracious promises in this passage, reminding us that God has been telling one spectacular story of redemption and blessing all along… A story that ends with perfect and complete healing of every disease… and perfect peace on earth… and perfect righteousness among humanity… and perfect unity and intimacy between God and His people… blessings all and 10,000 beside.

Consider one Old Testament passage that demonstrates exactly what I’m saying here:

Jeremiah, a prophet who spoke of God’s coming judgment and future salvation, wrote,

33:2 Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: 3 ‘Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. 4 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of [Jerusalem]... I have hidden my face from [my people] because of all their evil.

6 Behold, I will bring to [them] health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security. 7 I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and rebuild them as they were at first. 8 I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me.

9 And this city shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them. They shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it.’

10 Thus says the Lord: ‘there shall be heard again 11 the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing, as they bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord: “Give thanks to the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!”

14 ‘Behold, the days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days Judah [my people] will be saved, and Jerusalem [my city/kingdom] will dwell securely.’”

Brothers and sisters, these promises of blessing (including complete healing) are for everyone who turns from sin and believes in the Lord Jesus, who is that “righteous branch” who reigns right now in “justice and righteousness.”

“Those days” when God’s people “will be saved” and God’s kingdom “will dwell securely” have already begun… as demonstrated by the miraculous healing we saw among those Christians in the first century… and all Christians will enjoy the fullness of “those days” and the promises of which Jeremiah spoke when Christ returns to make all things new.

Jesus has promised complete healing for all those believe, and the fullness of this promise will be enjoyed in the world to come.

Bibliography

Calvin, John, and Henry Beveridge. Commentary upon the Acts of the Apostles. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010. Print.

Peterson, David G. The Acts of the Apostles. Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, England: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009. Print. The Pillar New Testament Commentary.

Polhill, John B. Acts. Vol. 26. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992. Print. The New American Commentary.

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