September 9, 2024
The gospel is good news. At no time is the good news of the gospel more relevant than at the time of death. While not all will experience a miracle of resuscitation from the grip of death, the gospel transforms the fear of death.
The narrative of Acts has highlighted Peter’s ministry up to this point, including the healing of many sick people. The description of this miracle in Acts is one of the most dramatic miracles so far. Peter was on an evangelistic tour and came to Lydda, a town near the Plain of Sharon near modern-day Tel Aviv.
Lydda was located at an intersection of international caravan routes from Egypt to Babylon and the coastal city of Joppa and Sharon. In Lydda, Peter encountered a bedridden paralytic named Aeneas who had been bedridden for eight years. Peter proclaimed, “Jesus Christ heals you” and then commanded him to get up and make his bed. The healing occurred immediately and resulted in many residents in Lydda and Sharon coming to Christ. The term translated “get up” is a verb form of the Greek term for the noun “resurrection.” I can still hear my mother quoting Peter: “Make your bed.”
As Peter traveled “from place to place,” he came to Joppa, a place located on the Mediterranean coast. In Joppa, there was a disciple named Tabitha, or Dorcas. The name “Dorcas” means “gazelle.” The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says a gazelle is a “marvel of lightness and grace.” Dorcas is the only woman in the New Testament named for an animal connected to grace.
She lived up to her name as a lady “always doing good works and acts of charity.” This woman famed for graceful ministry to others became sick and died. Others around her prepared her body for burial by washing her body. They placed her body in a room upstairs. Her death was devastating to the body of believers in Joppa.
The believers in Joppa sent men to Peter to urge the apostle to come quickly.
When Peter heard of Dorcas’ death, he accompanied the messengers to Joppa. The widows who had benefited from Dorcas’ ministry of good works and charity approached Peter and showed the apostle the robes and clothes made by Dorcas.
Peter requested others to leave the room for privacy’s sake. He knelt and prayed. Luke does not narrate the words Peter prayed. Peter himself may have been mourning. After prayer, Peter turned to the body and addressed the woman by name and commanded Tabitha to get up. How strange is it to give a command to a corpse? The command “get up” in verse 40 is a common verb for resurrection in the Greek New Testament. A dead Dorcas had come back to life.
Peter continued to stay in Joppa with a leather tanner — a profession regarded by the Jews as making workers unclean. The conclusion of Acts 9 describes a man-made barrier being broken down as Peter stayed with an unclean Gentile.
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This lesson was written by Mark Rathel, professor at the Baptist College of Florida in Graceville, Fla., and originally published by The Baptist Paper. This study is based on the Explore the Bible curriculum from Lifeway Christian Resources.
