Peter Raises Tabitha

Visiting God’s people. Peter “went through all parts of the country” and came to “the saints who dwelt in Lydda” (9:32). Saints means God’s people, everyone who belongs to Jesus. Peter went to help them grow strong. Eight years in bed. In Lydda Peter found Aeneas, “who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed” (9:33). Bedridden means a person cannot get out of bed. Jesus the Christ heals you. Peter said, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed” (9:34). Peter did not take the credit. He pointed to Jesus. Christ means the Anointed One, the Savior God promised. Right away. “Then he arose immediately” (9:34). The man who had stayed in bed for eight years could now make his own bed. Turned to the Lord. “So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord” (9:35). Sharon was the wide, flat land along the coast. To turn to the Lord means to turn away from sin and trust Jesus. Jesus is alive. Jesus had gone back to heaven, but He was still healing people through His followers. Peter knew the power was not his own. What we learn. Jesus is the One who heals and saves. When God answers a prayer or helps you, thank Him, and tell others what Jesus has done.

Among the saints (9:32). “Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda.” The churches had peace (9:31), and Peter used it to visit and strengthen the believers. Saints means holy ones: everyone set apart to God through Jesus. Aeneas (9:33). “There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed.” Lydda stood on the road toward the coast, about eleven miles from the port of Joppa. The One who heals (9:34). “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” Peter said Jesus heals you, right now. The healer was the risen Christ, the Anointed One, working through His apostle. Peter never took the credit for himself. Make your bed. The command gave Aeneas something to do at once. A man who could not move for eight years made his own bed: “Then he arose immediately.” The healing was complete and instant. Turned (9:35). “So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.” Sharon was the coastal plain around Lydda. The healing pointed past Peter and past Aeneas to the Lord Jesus. Turning to the Lord means leaving sin and self behind and trusting Him. Application. Jesus is the One who heals and saves. When He works in your life, make sure people see Him and not you.

Peter traveled from town to town. He visited God’s people in each place. In the town of Lydda he met Aeneas. Aeneas had stayed in bed for eight long years. His body was paralyzed, so he could not get up. Peter did not tell Aeneas that Peter could heal him. He said, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you.” Jesus was the One who made Aeneas well. Aeneas stood up right away. Now he could make his own bed! Many people in Lydda and Sharon saw him. They turned to the Lord. That means they turned away from sin and trusted Jesus. When God does something good for you, tell others about Jesus.

Peter met a man who could not walk. Peter told him that Jesus would make him well. The man stood up and made his bed!

A disciple. “At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha” (9:36). A disciple is a follower who learns from Jesus and lives His way. Joppa was a town by the sea. Two names. Tabitha was her Aramaic name, and Dorcas was her Greek name. Both names mean a gazelle, a small, graceful animal like a deer. Full of good works. “This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did” (9:36). Charitable deeds are gifts to people in need. Her love for Jesus showed in what she did. Sick, and then gone. “She became sick and died” (9:37). Her friends washed her body and laid her in an upper room. Believers get sick and die too. Being sick does not mean God is angry with you. Do not delay. The disciples heard that Peter was nearby in Lydda. They sent two men, “imploring him not to delay in coming to them” (9:38). Imploring means begging. In their sorrow, they called for help right away. The tunics and garments. In the upper room, “all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them” (9:39). A tunic was a shirt worn under a coat. Widows often had no one to provide for them. Tabitha most likely made these clothes for them. What we learn. Good works do not have to be big. A shirt made with love mattered to God and to the person who wore it. Ask God to show you someone you can help this week.

A disciple (9:36). “At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha.” The Greek word is mathetria (say: mah-THAY-tree-ah), a woman disciple. Tabitha is the only woman the New Testament calls by this word. She was a learner and follower of Jesus, just as the Twelve were. Joppa. Joppa was the port on the coast west of Jerusalem, where people spoke both Aramaic and Greek. Her Aramaic name, Tabitha, and her Greek name, Dorcas, both mean gazelle. Full (9:36). “This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did.” Her life was filled with them, not sprinkled with a few. Charitable deeds are gifts of mercy to the poor. She did not only wish people well; she did these things. Death (9:37). “But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room.” Faithful believers are not kept from sickness or death in this life. Her friends cared for her body with love. The urgent call (9:38). Lydda was near, and “the disciples had heard that Peter was there.” So “they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them.” In grief, the church sent for help at once. Widows (9:39). “All the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them.” The tunic was worn next to the body; the garment was the outer cloak. A widow often had no one to provide for her. Most likely Tabitha made these clothes herself and gave them away. Application. Faith in Jesus shows itself in ordinary, practical love. Ask God what you can make, give or do for someone who needs it.

Tabitha was a follower of Jesus. She learned from Jesus and lived for Him. Her life was full of good things she did for others. She helped people who were poor. She made shirts and coats with her own hands. Most likely she made them for the widows. A widow is a woman whose husband has died. In those days many widows had no one to help them. Then Tabitha became sick and died. God’s people get sick sometimes too. Being sick does not mean God is angry with you. The widows cried and showed Peter the clothes. Tabitha’s love was something they could hold in their hands. Small kind things matter to God.

Tabitha was always doing good. She made shirts and coats for people. When she died, her friends cried.

Alone with God. “But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed” (9:40). Peter had seen Jesus do this. When Jesus raised a little girl, He first “put them all outside” (Mark 5:40). Peter was in that room (Mark 5:37). He prayed. Peter knew he could not give life. Only God can. So he knelt and asked God. Tabitha, arise. Then he turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, arise” (9:40). Only God could answer that word with life. She sat up. “She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up” (9:40). Then “he gave her his hand and lifted her up” (9:41). Presented alive. Peter called in the saints and the widows, and “he presented her alive” (9:41). The women who had been weeping now saw their friend standing in front of them. A real miracle. Tabitha had truly died, and God truly gave her life again. God does not raise everyone who dies right now, and Tabitha most likely died again later. But Jesus hears every prayer, and one day He will raise all who belong to Him. A picture. Many Christians see Tabitha’s new life as a picture of what Jesus does for everyone who trusts Him. He gives new life to people who were dead in sin. What we learn. When you face something too big for you, do what Peter did. Get alone with God and pray.

Put them all out (9:40). “But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed.” Years before, Peter had watched Jesus do the same in Jairus’ house: “when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him” (Mark 5:40). Peter, James and John were the ones with Him (Mark 5:37). Knelt and prayed. Jesus raised the girl by His own word. Peter first knelt and prayed, because the power belonged to God and not to him. An apostle had no life of his own to give. Arise. “And turning to the body he said, ‘Tabitha, arise.’” The verb is anistemi (say: ah-NIS-tay-mee), to stand up or rise. Peter used the same verb at Pentecost about Jesus: “This Jesus God has raised up” (Acts 2:32). Eyes opened (9:40-41). “She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up.” Life returned step by step: eyes, sitting, standing. Presented alive (9:41). “When he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive.” The verb is paristemi (say: par-IS-tay-mee), to set before or present. Acts 1:3 uses the same words of Jesus, who “presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs.” Raised for a time. Tabitha came back to this life and most likely died again later. Jesus rose to a life that never ends: “Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more” (Romans 6:9). God does not promise to raise every believer now, but He hears every prayer. A picture. Many Christians see Tabitha raised as a picture of salvation: God “made us alive together with Christ” when we “were dead in trespasses” (Ephesians 2:5). Application. Bring impossible things to God on your knees. Prayer is not a last resort; it is where real help begins.

Peter sent everyone out of the room. Jesus had done the same thing once. Peter was with Jesus that day. Jesus brought a little girl back to life. Now Peter kneeled down and prayed. Peter did not have any power of his own. He asked God to help. Then he said, “Tabitha, stand up!” She opened her eyes and sat up. Peter took her hand and helped her stand. God really gave Tabitha her life back. God does not bring back every person who dies today. But He always hears our prayers, and He cares. One day Jesus will raise all His people to live with Him. Many Christians see Tabitha as a picture of what Jesus gives. He gives new life to everyone who trusts Him.

Peter kneeled down and prayed. Then Tabitha opened her eyes! God gave her life again. Only God can do that.

The news spread. “And it became known throughout all Joppa” (9:42). People told other people what God had done. Many believed. “And many believed on the Lord” (9:42). They did not only believe that Tabitha was alive. They believed on the Lord Jesus. To believe on Him means to trust Him with your whole life. Pointing to Jesus. The miracle was not about Peter, or even about Tabitha. It pointed people to Jesus. The same thing happened at Lydda, where people “turned to the Lord” (9:35). Why miracles? Jesus’ signs were written down “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31). His followers did mighty works in His name for the same reason. Many days. “So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with Simon, a tanner” (9:43). A tanner made leather from animal skins. Most likely Peter spent those days teaching the new believers. Still at work. Jesus had gone back to heaven, but He was still at work. He was healing, raising and saving people through His followers. What we learn. God wants people to know Jesus. When He does something good in your life, tell others about it so they can trust Him too.

Known throughout Joppa (9:42). “And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord.” A woman who had died was now alive in the upper room, and the news went all through the port town. Believed on the Lord. Their faith had a clear object. The people of Joppa did not put their trust in Peter, in Tabitha, or in the miracle itself, but “on the Lord,” the risen Jesus. Faith is trusting a Person. Two towns, one result. At Lydda “all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord” (9:35). At Joppa “many believed on the Lord” (9:42). In both towns the mighty work served the message. Signs that point. Jesus’ signs were written down “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). A sign is meant to point beyond itself, and every one of these pointed to Jesus. Simon the tanner (9:43). “So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with Simon, a tanner.” A tanner turned animal hides into leather. Most likely Peter spent those many days teaching the new believers. The risen Lord at work. Healing at Lydda, life at Joppa and faith in both towns were the work of the risen Jesus through His church, just as He had promised. Application. What God does in your life is meant to point others to Jesus. Tell the story, and give Him the credit.

News about Tabitha went all over Joppa. People heard what God had done. Many of them believed in the Lord. They did not only think that Peter was great. They put their trust in Jesus. The same thing happened in Lydda after Aeneas stood up. God’s wonderful works point people to Jesus. Peter stayed in Joppa for many days. He stayed with a man named Simon. Simon was a tanner. A tanner made leather from animal skins. Most likely Peter taught the new believers about Jesus. What God does in your life can help others trust Jesus too.

Everyone in Joppa heard about Tabitha. Many people believed in Jesus. God’s power pointed them to Him. Jesus wants everyone to trust Him.