WWUTT 1068 Helpless Persons Raised to Life?

Toward the end of Acts 9, Peter healed two people, a man and a woman. And what these two persons have in common is that neither one of them were able to do anything on their own, just like us, when we understand the text.

You're listening to When We Understand the Text, committed to sound teaching of the Word of God. For questions and comments, email whenweunderstandthetext at gmail .com. And don't forget our website, www .tt .com.

Here's our host, Pastor Gabe.

Peter’s Healings of Aeneas and Tabitha in Acts 9

Thank you, Becky. We come back to our study of the book of Acts chapter 9, looking to finish up the chapter today. And we're going to start reading in verse 32 and read through verse 43. Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda.

There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you, rise and make your bed. And immediately he rose, and all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which translated means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room.

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. 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. 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. And he gave her his hand and raised her up, then calling the saints and widows he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.

And he stayed in Joppa for many days, with one, Simon, a tanner. So we come back to verse 32 here. As Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. Now, we're turning back to Peter in the story of the book of Acts.

I mentioned at the beginning of our study that there's two main characters that Luke focuses on, and that is Paul and Peter. So we've been introduced to Saul. We were introduced to him back in Acts chapter 7.

He becomes a convert, becomes a Christian in Acts chapter 9, at least about the first two-thirds of Acts 9. So now we're leaving the story of Saul, and we're going back to Peter. We won't come back to Saul again until Acts chapter 11, and it's there that he also begins to be called Paul.

We'll talk about that when we get there. So Peter is going throughout the region. He's traveling from place to place here, and he came down to the saints who lived at Lydda. Now Lydda is to the northwest of Jerusalem, and then Joppa, the other place that's mentioned here, is right on the Mediterranean Sea.

These are both important cities of trade. Not that this has any reason to do with why Peter is there. All the writer is meaning to convey is that now the disciples and the apostles, they're kind of spreading out.

They're going out with the gospel into further places, even beyond Jerusalem. Paul has been sent to Tarsus. Well, Saul's still being called Saul. He's gone up to Tarsus. He's preaching to Gentiles there.

And then Peter is still going from town to town in Judea. So we're about to see things really branch out into Gentile regions. But in the meantime, we bring the action back to where things are close to Jerusalem.

Lydda first, and then to Joppa. So at Lydda, he finds a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years. And that's just said to show how serious his ailment was, how long it had been going on. He was paralyzed.

And Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you, rise and make your bed. And immediately he rose. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. Now, both of these miracles here, I forgot to preface this, both of the miracles that we see here in Acts 9, 32 through 43, neither of these miracles requires the person's faith in order to be healed.

It does not say that Aeneas believed Simon Peter, and therefore he was healed. It just says, Peter says to him, Jesus Christ has healed you, rise and make your bed. And that's what he does. By the command of God, Aeneas was healed.

Then the next person that gets healed is Tabitha, this woman who lives in Joppa. And she is healed. She has no faith to be healed. She's dead. So there's no belief on her part. And neither does it say there's any belief on Aeneas' part.

Both of these miracles showing that God heals whom he wills to have healed. And it has nothing to do with that person having faith, and therefore their faith channels the healing power of God into their body.

It's nothing like that at all. One of the things this shows to us is that with Aeneas, he's paralyzed, can't move, been that way for eight years. Tabitha is dead. And so both of these persons are incapable of doing anything on their own.

Aeneas, though he's conscious and though he can listen to Peter, he can't do anything on his own. He's been bedridden for eight years. He can do nothing but lie there. And yet it is the power of God that raises him up and heals him.

And same with Tabitha. This person can't do anything on her own. She's dead. And so we are shown here through this physical healing, the way that the Spirit moves and works in our hearts to raise us from death to life.

Once we were dead in our sins and our transgressions in which we once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.

That's Ephesians two, one through three that I've just quoted to you there. And then Ephesians two, four says, but God being rich in mercy has made us alive together in Christ. By grace, we have been saved.

It has nothing to do with our works. It has everything to do with God healing whom he wills, saving whom he wills. Romans chapter nine, God has mercy on whom he has mercy and compassion on whom he has compassion.

Aeneas and Tabitha have no ability to save themselves, but the Lord saves them because the Lord was pleased to do so. As we read in Philippians two, 13, it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

God has mercy on whom he will have mercy. And it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that our heart is regenerated from a heart that was rebellious against God to a heart that loves God and desires to obey his commandments.

That's the work of the spirit that does that. The work of repentance is not even your work. It is the work of God. Second Timothy two, 25, God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.

And it is God by his spirit working in Aeneas to heal him and working in Tabitha to heal her. So then we go next to the story of Tabitha, verse 36. Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha. So this is a woman who believed she believed in Christ.

We also saw Peter going among the saints, as it said in verse 32, Peter went here and there among them. And he came down to the saints who lived at Lydda. So now verse 36, there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which translated means Dorcas.

And that means gazelle. And simply all that means she was full of good works and acts of charity. She was a disciple of Jesus Christ in her lifetime, did many great things in service to her Lord God and the people of God.

In those days, she became ill and she died. And when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 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.

Now note verse 39. So Peter rose and went with them. In first Corinthians chapter nine, the apostle says, though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant of all that I might win more of them. What we have in Luke's narrative here regarding these men that came to Peter and said, please come quickly.

And Peter goes with him, at least as far as the story goes, that Luke has told us, Peter doesn't question why they're asking him to come. They they don't. He doesn't sit there and deliberate, well, I mean, you seem like nice guys, so I'll go with you.

They come to him and ask him to come in. And Peter goes. And so he has made himself a servant of all that he might win more to the faith through this miracle, knowing that the Lord God can use this to open the eyes of the blind.

If he's going to raise a dead person to life, then those who are blind will have their eyes open to see and their ears unstopped so that they may hear the profession of the gospel of Christ. And, you know, most certainly that Peter is going to preach that.

He's not just going to do some sort of wonderful act of kindness toward this woman, but he is there to preach the gospel as well, using this opportunity to preach the gospel of Christ to those whose hearts would be open to receive it.

Peter rose and he went with them. He has become a servant to all in service to his Lord Christ. So we must be willing to do that as well. If you have opportunity and means to be able to meet those requests that people make of you, do so.

Don't question it. I mean, within wisdom, most certainly, but don't don't deliberate. Don't say, well, I'll help this person, but I'm not going to help this person show charity to everybody. As the apostle Paul said in Galatians six, as we have opportunity, let us show charity to everyone, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

And so here in this section of Acts nine, Peter is mainly focusing on those saints. That's where it was in verse thirty two. He came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda here in in raising Tabitha from the dead.

He's again going to the saints, but there's most likely people that are around Tabitha who aren't actually believers. After all, because of these miracles that Peter performs, it says that there are many who come to faith as a result of this.

I'll qualify that here in just a moment. Let's continue. Well, continue on in verse thirty nine. 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.

You know what it is that Luke is conveying here in Acts nine thirty nine about Tabitha? He's saying this was a Proverbs thirty one woman, you know, Proverbs thirty one thirty right. Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain.

But a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. It also says of her in verse twenty, she opens her hand to the poor. She reaches out her hands to the needy. Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time that is to come.

She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. And it is also said of her that she makes coverings for herself. Her clothing is fine linen and purple. This is a woman who is a godly woman being described here in Proverbs thirty one.

And the fact that these widows are showing Peter the garments that Tabitha had made for them shows this is a woman who cared for the poor and the needy. And she knew how to make garments. And she did.

So this this is demonstrating the kind of charity that this woman had. And so many friends gathered around her as well, mourning over the loss of this woman. But Peter put them all outside. Verse forty.

And he 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 and he gave her his hand and raised her up, then calling the saints and widows.

He presented her alive and it became known throughout all Joppa and many believed in the Lord. And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner. So think of the scene here that Peter is kind of putting them all outside.

So he's in the room alone with Tabitha, prays for her, raises her from the dead and he opens the door and presents this woman to them that they had been mourning over somebody who was previously dead, who is now alive.

This scene probably looked somewhat like when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Maybe not exactly, but pretty close to that. Lazarus is in a tomb. Jesus says, Lazarus, come out. Lazarus rises from the dead and walks out and he says, take the burial clothes off of him.

Peter put everyone out of the room. So you would almost think of this as Peter is in the tomb with Tabitha. You almost think of it as being that way. And then the door opens and Tabitha walks out. And it's just like when the tomb was opened, the stone was rolled away and and Lazarus walked out.

So Peter does kind of the same thing with her. But but again, mentioning that those who are dead don't have the power to revive themselves. It's not that Tabitha was listening to Peter. Hey, I'm just waiting for you to give me the word and then I'm going to rise up off of this bed.

It is by the power of God that a person is healed in their physical ailments. It is by the will of God that we are healed from our spiritual deadness as well. We do not revive ourselves spiritually. It is the work of God that does this.

These things are demonstrated here at the end of Acts nine to show that it is God who gives. It is God who gives the lame man his legs. It is God who gives the dead person their life. And so take those things and transfer them into what we understand spiritually, the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

We are lame. We are given legs to walk in the way of the Lord, walking in sanctification by the Holy Spirit. We were dead in our sins and our transgressions, rebellious against God. We had nothing to look forward to except the judgment of God that would happen on Judgment Day.

And yet the Holy Spirit of God raised our dead spirits to life, which he did through the teaching of the gospel. Now, that's very important here. We don't see a gospel presentation in this section, Acts 9, 32 through 43, but we know that Peter gave a gospel presentation.

How do we know that? Well, because it says in verse thirty five, all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him and they turned to the Lord. They saw Aeneas, who was no longer paralyzed, and they turned to the Lord.

And then here in verse forty two, it became known throughout all of Joppa and many believed in the Lord. Why? Because they believe that somebody was raised from death to life. Not exactly. I mean, certainly in the case of you are thinking that of Christ, but just because you had heard, hey, this woman named Tabitha was dead and now she's been made alive again.

Believing that doesn't make you a Christian. Believing that doesn't save you. There are a lot of charismatics out there who will say that miraculous signs are the gospel. So if a person believes in this miracle, they are therefore believing the gospel.

No, that's not true, because the gospel is not the news that someone could be healed of their diseases. The gospel is the news that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. And so the judgment that we deserve for our sin was poured out on Christ instead.

And all who believe in him will not perish. But we have a righteousness, the righteousness of God that has been transferred to us. And now we've been brought from death to life. So we will no longer perish, but we will have everlasting life.

That's the gospel. And that's the good news. And it is the hearing of the word of God that brings about faith, not the belief that some sort of miracle happened to some person. Romans 1017 says faith comes through hearing and hearing through the word of Christ.

And so that is how we come to faith. That is how we come to salvation. We heard the gospel, the word of God proclaimed, and we turn from our sin and believed it. So even though it does not state here that Peter preached the gospel, we know that was done because believers were made and believers can't be made unless they hear the gospel and the call to turn from sin and follow Jesus Christ.

Some will take a story like this that we're reading here at the end of Acts nine, and they will use it as a defense for how miracles are the gospel. But miracles are not the gospel. The gospel is the gospel.

Peter in every other place would perform a miracle and he would preach the gospel. We saw that previously in the book of Acts, though that's not explicitly stated here. We know that he's still following that same pattern that Luke has laid down.

That's a miracle is performed, everybody's attention is grabbed, and then the gospel is preached and its belief in that gospel that has been leading some to the Lord. All the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him and they turned to the Lord.

They were ready to hear the gospel. And many of them did. That's what we can conclude from that sentence. And then verse forty two, it became known throughout all Joppa and many believe the name of the Lord, because after performing this miracle, Peter preached the gospel and the people believed it and they were saved.

We do not have a guarantee in this life that God is going to heal us of our physical diseases, but we most certainly know that he will in the next life, because what is promised to us in scripture, Revelation chapter twenty one says that a day is coming in which there will be no more pain, no more suffering, no more sorrow, no more tears.

He will wipe every tear from our eyes for death will be no more since the former things have passed away and Christ is making all things new. So that day is coming and we will certainly be healed of all of our problems on that day.

But in the meantime, there's no guarantee that you will be healed of these things that you are struggling through. And so we commit our entire way unto the Lord. We have something greater promise for us later on.

We must still give God the glory and all things for great things he has done. Let us conclude with prayer. Our heavenly father, we thank you for this day and we thank you for this word. And I pray that we remember it is not by our works that we are saved or have accomplished anything great, but it is your work in our life.

And we praise you for this work that you have done and you are continuing to do for as the apostle Paul said to the Philippians in Philippians 1 6. I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

It's in his name that we pray.

Amen. You've been listening to When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Gabe will be going through a New Testament study. Then on Thursday, we look at an Old Testament book.

On Friday, we take questions from the listeners and viewers. Tomorrow, we'll pick up on an Old Testament study, When We Understand the Text.