AS PETER TRAVELED about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda. 33There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years. 34“Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up. 35All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
36In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor. 37About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38Lydda 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!”
39Peter 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.
40Peter 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. 41He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. 42This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. 43Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.
Original Meaning
PETER’S VISIT TO “the saints” (hagioi) around Palestine indicates that he had a pastoral role throughout the church (v. 32). We can imagine him teaching, encouraging, correcting, and counseling the believers and leaders on these visits. Hagios (lit., “holy person”; one of Paul’s, though not Luke’s, favorite words for Christians) appears three times in chapter 9 (four times total in Acts to mean “saints”: 9:13, 32, 41; 26:10). The New Testament always uses the word for a group rather than for an individual believer. It is not a designation given to a special class of people, so that the emphasis is not on saintly character, as it became in later centuries. Rather, the term is used “with reference to the group of believers who belong to God as his own.”1 This fits in with a basic meaning of “holy” being separateness. Separated as God’s own people, saints must follow the laws of his kingdom. In other words, saintly character is implied in the designation.
Among the many healings performed through Peter’s ministry, Luke mentions two here—those of Aeneas and Tabitha. Aeneas was from Lydda (vv. 32–33), twenty-five miles northwest of Jerusalem, and Tabitha was from Joppa (v. 36), thirty-five miles northwest of Jerusalem. Joppa was the sea port of Jerusalem (modern Jaffa, a suburb of Tel-Aviv). Aeneas had been relatively inactive for eight years because he was a paralytic (v. 33) whereas Tabitha had been extremely active in the service of the needy (v. 36).
With both healings Peter clearly places the emphasis on Christ as the healer. The first time he says, “Jesus Christ heals you” (v. 34); the second time, before speaking, “he got down on his knees and prayed” (v. 40). After Aeneas’s healing we are told that “all those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord” (v. 35).2 After Tabitha’s healing Luke says that “many people believed in the Lord” (v. 42). We do not know whether Aeneas was a Christian, but Tabitha certainly was; this fact indicates that miracles in the church were performed not only on unbelievers but also on believers.
Tabitha, “who was always doing good and helping the poor” (v. 36b), had died. Great haste was needed in bringing the message to the apostle Peter and in getting him to come to Joppa from Lydda (a distance of ten miles). A body was normally buried before sundown on the day of death. But Peter made this journey on foot right away to help the lady who had helped so many presumably insignificant people. Upon arrival, he was confronted by a moving scene of widows weeping and showing things that Tabitha had made for them (v. 39). Peter, who was there when Jesus had raised Jairus’s daughter, followed some of his procedures here. He sent the mourners out (v. 40; cf. Mark. 5:40). He probably spoke in Aramaic, and his words, probably “Tabitha koum(i)” (Acts 9:40), differed in only one letter to Jesus’ words, “Talitha koum(i).”3
Peter stayed on in Joppa in the house of Simon the tanner (9:43). In the Babylonian Talmud4 appears the statement: “Woe to him who is a tanner by trade.”5 It was a demeaning trade in Jewish eyes, for strictly speaking, tanners were ceremonially unclean since they handled dead animals. A tanner’s shop had to be in the outskirts of town because of the bad odor that came from it; Simon’s home was by the sea (see 10:6).
In this whole passage there is no record of any preaching, though it must have been done. The focus is on service. In the next chapter Luke will refer to Cornelius’s acts of charity (10:2).
Bridging Contexts
MIRACULOUS HEALING FOR believers. The healing of Tabitha (vv. 36–41) shows that healing ministry can occur in a pastoral setting, that is, outside the evangelistic setting, where it generally occurs in Acts. It is also interesting that though there would have been Christian leaders and people of prayer in Joppa, the believers asked for Peter to come a distance of at least ten miles and pray for Tabitha. In this time of emergency the church looked for help from the person with the special gift of healing. There was nothing wrong in this, which suggests that today too we can go for prayer in times of crisis to those with special gifts in our area of need.
James outlines the proper procedure in his letter, which leaves us with no doubt that in times of sickness we can call specially gifted people to pray for the need: “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up” (James 5:14–15).
In this instance in Acts 9, a dead believer is miraculously raised. This is probably what happened later when Paul raised Eutychus (20:7–12). Can this happen today too? Jesus did it, the apostles did it, and there is no prohibition to Christians in later ages praying for the dead. We must, of course, remember that death is God’s gateway to ultimate triumph, and many wonderful Christians, like Stephen and James in Acts, were not spared “untimely” deaths. Therefore, we must have considerable discernment and sensitivity before praying for the raising of the dead. But submission to Scripture prohibits me from saying that we should never pray in this way.
Serving the needy. Luke gives special emphasis to the acts of kindness of Tabitha by mentioning them twice in this passage (vv. 36, 39). Presumably Tabitha had the spiritual gifts of service and acts of mercy (Rom. 12:7–8). But kindness is a quality that all Christians should have (1 Cor. 13:4; Gal. 5:22). Considering Luke’s special mention of Tabitha’s kindness, we can conclude that she is a model for all Christians. This passage reminds us that, however important evangelism may be, kind deeds for the needy must never be overlooked. The urgency of this is well expressed in the sudden ten-mile journey that Peter took to pray for Tabitha. The top leaders of the church also seem to have distinguished themselves in the art of servanthood!
Various passages of the New Testament contain instructions about a special concern for the needy. Indeed, Acts shows how the Christians shared their possessions so that the needy would be looked after. James 1:27 says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” Paul made special mention to Timothy of arrangements for the care of widows (1 Tim. 5:16). Yet it is in the Old Testament, the Bible of the first Christians, that this theme is dealt with comprehensively (esp. in Deuteronomy). We can safely say that caring for the needy is an essential aspect of the Christian lifestyle.
Hospitality to preachers. Verse 43 records the second of the four types of hospitality described in Acts: having traveling servants of the Lord over to stay in the homes of believers. Peter’s stay in the home of Simon the tanner is one of many instances of this type of hospitality in Acts.6 This was a standard practice in the early church, partly because inns were morally unsuited for Christians. After describing the moral and hygienic degradation of taverns and inns in those days, Everett Ferguson writes:
The moral dangers at the inns made hospitality an important virtue in early Christianity (Rom. 16:23; 1 Pet. 4:9; 2 John 10; 3 John 5–8; Heb. 13:2; 1 Clement 10–12; Didache 11–13) because of the needs of missionaries and messengers of the churches and other Christians who happened to be traveling . . . The churches provided an extended family, giving lodging and assistance for the journey.7
This is a good practice to follow today as well. There are, of course, hygienically clean hotels today. But morally they can still be snares for traveling Christians, especially if they are alone, as we will show below. Thus the same need that existed in the early church exists today, prompting the suggestion that we give the practice of hosting traveling ministers in the homes of Christians more emphasis today.
Contemporary Significance
PRAYING FOR SICK believers. There is considerable controversy in the church today about whether, when someone is sick, we should have special people like Peter pray over him or her. Obviously, this practice is endorsed in Scripture. Yet I have heard people say, “Why should you go to special people? Don’t we all pray to the same God? Why not just go to the people in your own church?”
I believe that we should go first to our own local church (cf. James 5:14–15). If we choose to go to someone else, our church should know about it. It is unfortunate that some church leaders get angry when their members go outside for help, so that it has to be done secretly. This did not seem to have happened with the leaders in Joppa when Peter was called. The fact remains that although all church leaders should pray with their sick, some have gifts of healing and/or faith that enables them to pray in faith that results in healing and glory to God (1 Cor. 12:9).
I have personally prayed with countless sick people over the years. Perhaps there have been some (unspectacular) healings along the way. But I have friends who are able to pray with a faith that I do not have. One of these friends is an illiterate person, whose only way to study personally the Scriptures is to meditate on what he has heard because he cannot read. But when he prays there is great faith, and God answers his prayers wonderfully. We have come to recognize that he has the gift of healing.
I think, however, that we should beware of what may be called “panic praying,” where people go from place to place seeking special prayers. That may be an expression of our lack of faith in the sovereign will of God. I know of people who cannot settle down to any abiding Christian service because they keep going from one prayer meeting to another, seeking prayer for their problems. There are times when we may find that the answer we hope for is not forthcoming. On such occasions we will need to adopt the attitude of Paul, who, after pleading three times for release from his thorn in the flesh, was told to depend on the sufficient grace of God that perfects strength in weakness. Instead of panicking, Paul gladly boasted about his weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).
At such times we should affirm that the answer we want has not come because God has something better in store for us (Rom. 8:28). God does not have to answer our prayers in the precise way as we ask. Sometimes he may have a better plan that will take us through what may look like a disaster. Though we cannot understand what we are going through, we can remain at peace, for we trust God and know that he will do what is best for us.
Perhaps a word should be said about the possibility of raising the dead today. There have been reports of this happening in different parts of the world today. I met a missionary working with a tribal group in India who told me that among this group in the past few years, there have been seven cases of bringing dead people back to life. When someone among them dies, the believers pray for about three-and-one-half hours after his or her death. After that, if the person has not come back to life, the elders give the signal to prepare the corpse for burial.
Caring for the needy. As governments throughout the world are cutting welfare budgets these days, the church can once again expect to play a major role in caring for the needy. Tabitha’s care for the needy is presented as a model to the church. I will go so far as to say that a good test of Christian character is how people treat those considered unimportant in society, especially when no one is looking. Those of us who are leaders should not be too influenced by special concern showed to us. The true test is whether special concern is shown to the needy. Many Christian women have distinguished themselves in God’s kingdom by their service to the needy. Some were widows who may have not had much strength and means left. But they did what they could, and they left their mark in the lives of the people they touched.
Such concern may not be known to others because of the Christian principle of not letting the left hand know what the right hand is doing (Matt. 6:3). But frequently what they have done emerges at funerals. In Acts 9 the poor were openly expressing their sorrow over Tabitha’s death. While eulogies from the rich and famous are impressive, words of gratitude from the poor and unknown are especially moving. The Earl of Shaftesbury (1801–1885) did much to improve the conditions of the poor and needy out of a Christian concern that was expressed in the arena of politics. When his coffin was being carried out of Westminster Abbey, a poor laborer in tattered garments, but with a piece of crepe sewed on his sleeve, was heard to say, “Our Earl’s gone! God A’mighty knows he loved us, and we loved him. We shant see his likes again.”8
The blessings of staying in homes. As in the first century, there are moral dangers in staying in today’s hotels. Therefore, also as in the first century, it may be advisable for traveling Christians to stay in the homes of believers rather than in hotels. After a busy day of ministry, which can be emotionally and spiritually draining, usually we are unable to go to bed at once. It is easy to sit before the television and keep flipping from channel to channel, imbibing unedifying material. One may even be tempted to watch R-or X-rated adult shows that are sometimes even shown without a fee, especially at night. Extramarital affairs among traveling members of Christian ministry teams have become sufficiently common to force the church to ask hard questions about drastic changes in customs associated with ministerial travel. As a result, I strongly feel that we give more emphasis to staying in the homes of believers.
(1) The most frequently heard objection to staying in homes of Christians when traveling is how tiring it can be to spend time talking with the hosts. I think we used to call this fellowship! But today we strictly regulate fellowship so that we can control it according to our well-planned schedules. Long conversations with our hosts are one of the best ways to identify with the people to whom we are ministering. We get to know things about these people that we may not find out by other means, and thus we can be more relevant in our ministry.
(2) We may also have opportunities for personal ministry, which is a key to freshness in ministry. Staleness is one of the common pitfalls of an itinerant ministry. A person who travels a lot often loses freshness because of lack of deep contact with people. Staying in homes is a great way for incarnational identification with people. True, staying in homes may be inconvenient. But incarnational ministry has never been and never will be convenient. But it adds depth to ministry. While it can be helpful to learn about the people by reading up on them, it can never be a substitute for incarnational closeness with the people.
(3) I have also found that I am usually greatly enriched by my hosts. They teach me so many things about life, about the struggles that laypeople have in their places of work, about their opportunities for service, and so forth. Moreover, our hosts can back us spiritually through their prayers and concern. Traveling people are particularly in need of prayers, especially since they are far away from their network of spiritual support. So the loss of sleep as a result of conversation is more than compensated for by the enrichment that comes through these conversations.
Unfortunately, the church has elevated some people to superstar status, which can make it uncomfortable for potential hosts. My first response to this objection is that there are no superstars in Christianity. The greatest person in the kingdom is the servant. Traveling preachers and artists, however famous they may be, are also servants, because that is the leadership lifestyle of Christianity. We must never allow anyone to elevate them to any higher status; to do so is dangerous to their spiritual well-being.
Peter is a model for us here. When he heard about the death of a church member, he dropped everything and rushed ten miles on foot (!) in order to bring healing to this woman. Then he stayed in the home of a tanner for a number of days. He certainly seemed to be freed from the celebrity syndrome! He had learned his lifestyle from the servant Jesus, who, on his way to the parallel event in Jairus’s home, stopped and sought out the woman who had touched the hem of his garment in the midst of a milling crowd (Mark 5:21–34). We are first and foremost servants of the people. When we travel on speaking tours, we are not celebrities; rather, we are servants of the pastor and the members of the congregation, servants of the driver who picks us up, servants of the enthusiastic young person whose long testimony eats into our sermon time, servants of the little child whose cries disturb our message.