The Raising of Dorcas

Transcript

Let us turn our attention back now to the Scriptures. I will be reading this morning from Acts 9:32–43:

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. There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” Then he arose immediately. So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did. But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. And since Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them. But Peter put them all out, 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. Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord. So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with Simon, a tanner.

He who has ears to hear the Word of God, let him hear it.

Peter Goes to Lydda

In the first-century Christian community, the church in Jerusalem was led chiefly by the Apostle Peter. He was pre-eminently the Apostle to the Jews, while Paul’s principal mission was to be the Apostle to the Gentiles. Peter also had ministry to Gentiles, and Paul also had ministry to Jews, but the chief emphasis of each was different. We know Paul went on many missionary journeys to the Gentile nations, which we will look at, God willing, in the days ahead.

This morning’s text opens with the record of Peter traveling around the nation in the countryside of Israel, visiting the villages where the gospel had been taken outside of Jerusalem and ministering to the small congregations scattered throughout the land. Luke tells us that Peter was making his way back toward Jerusalem, heading south, and he came to the village of Lydda, which was the New Testament name for the Old Testament town of Lod.

Lydda was significant for its location, which was about halfway between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean Sea, where the Jews had their chief seaport at Joppa. If you look at the maps in the back of a Bible that has them, you can see where it was situated. It was just a few miles from Emmaus, where the disciples had walked from Jerusalem after Christ’s resurrection, and a bit south of Arimathea, from which Joseph had come.

Peter Heals Aeneas

Peter came to Lydda and found a certain man named Aeneas. We are told that Aeneas had been bedridden for eight years and was paralyzed. He was paralyzed to such a degree that he was not able to walk. He was not able to move about. He was confined to his bed for eight years.

As Jesus had healed a similar paralytic during His earthly ministry, Peter looked at Aeneas with compassion. Listen to what Peter said to the paralyzed man: “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you.” It could also be translated, “Jesus the Christ is healing you”—that is, at that moment. Then Peter said, “Arise and make your bed.”

I find that last portion significant. Peter did not just tell the man to get up from his bed, but said, “As soon as you get up, I want you to make your bed.” That sounds like my mother.

Aeneas was not able to make his bed for eight years. I am sure there were occasions when his friends or family came and turned him on the mat he laid on and changed the linens around him while he was in a paralyzed state. But Peter essentially said: “Get up. It’s time to make your bed because it’s no longer your permanent dwelling place twenty-four hours a day.” Why? Peter said, “Jesus the Christ is healing you.”

Christ Makes Whole

There is another way we could translate that sentence: “Jesus the Christ, at this moment, Aeneas, is making you whole.” If you are a Christian, as the bumper sticker that we have all seen reads, “God is not finished with you yet.”

In every believer’s life, there remains deficiency. Sanctification is a lifelong process that is never completed until our entrance into heaven, at which point we will be glorified and freed from sin altogether. In the meantime, we are called to move from infancy in our spiritual journey toward adulthood, to grow up into the fullness of the image of Christ and be more and more conformed to Him each day.

Right now, Christians, Jesus is making us whole. But no one of us is whole yet, though we will be someday. That is the Christian hope. That was what Peter communicated. Peter did not take any credit for healing Aeneas. Peter did not say, “In my name, get up off your mat and walk.” No, he said: “Get up, Aeneas, for Jesus the Christ is making you whole. Make your bed.”

This episode from Acts happened in the little village of Lydda where, centuries later, Richard the Lionheart, made famous by the legend of Robin Hood, stopped and dwelt for some time when he went on his crusade to the Holy Land. He even built a church in honor of Saint George, the ruins of which remain even today.

Tabitha’s Charity

The news of Aeneas’s healing spread throughout the region. We read next that at Joppa, on the seacoast, there was a certain disciple named Tabitha. There was a disciple there whose Aramaic name was Tabitha, and her Greek name was Dorcas. Listen to Luke’s description of her: “This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did.” How would you like to have that for an epitaph? Luke continues: “But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. And since Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them.”

Peter was summoned just as his Lord had been summoned to Bethany upon the death of Lazarus, His friend. We have John’s account of how Jesus ventured to Bethany and raised Lazarus from the dead. When the alarm was sent to Peter, he came the ten miles or so to see about the woman who had died. When he arrived, there was a crowd of people, mostly widows.

We learn now what Luke meant when he said that Tabitha was given to charity and filled with good works. She had constantly made garments, tunics, blouses, and other forms of clothing to distribute to the widows. To honor her in her death, the widows of the community came to the home where she had been laid out for her funeral viewing, as it were, and they brought with them the garments Tabitha had sewn for them.

We do not want to miss this, because remember what Jesus’ brother James said: the essence of true religion is the care of widows and orphans. There is a special compassion from Jesus toward those who suffer the loss of their mate, particularly women who lose their husbands. We are to give special concern to ministering to them. Here, this woman Tabitha had done just that.

“Tabitha, Arise”

Peter saw all the women gathered around weeping because of Tabitha’s death, and he excused himself from them. He wanted to go into the room and be alone with the corpse of Dorcas or Tabitha. Interestingly enough, the name “Tabitha” meant “gazelle,” or “antelope.” When you think of a gazelle, you think of a graceful animal that moves with rapidity and ease. But now, this gazelle was dead, inert, and lying in view on this bed.

Peter, we are told, after he put the women outside, went into the room, knelt down, and prayed. It does not say he did that with Aeneas. It is one thing to heal somebody who had been paralyzed for eight years—that is hard enough. It is another to raise somebody from the dead. This time, Peter got on his knees and started to pray earnestly.

Then Luke tells us that he looked over at Tabitha’s body and began to talk to it. He said, “Tabitha, arise.” Peter was looking at her corpse, and she opened her eyes. The eyelids that had been closed in death were now opened in life. The first thing Tabitha saw when she opened her eyes was Peter. After she opened her eyes and saw the Apostle, she sat up in bed.

Listen to what Peter did next: “Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive.” There is potential for us to misunderstand the idiom in this text. It was not that she was sitting up and only strong enough in her resurrection to be half alive, and needed the help of Peter to lift her up off the bed. No, for Peter, this was an act of chivalry for Tabitha, who was so well known for her good works, charity, and kindness, whom everybody loved and was now alive again. Peter reached out his hand, perhaps saying, “Let me take your hand,” helped her get up, escorted her to the door, opened the door, and presented her alive to her friends. What would you have given to have been in that group, see the door open, and watch Peter standing there, holding the hand of a woman who was now vibrant and alive with her eyes wide open?

The story of what happened spread around the area just like the healing of Aeneas, and we are told that Peter stayed there many days. Many believed in the Lord, and he stayed in Joppa with Simon, a tanner, whom we will mention more about, God-willing, next week.

This is the Jesus that we adore and worship. This is the Jesus who sets His table before you. This is the Christ who is making you whole. One of the ways He makes us whole is by feeding us, strengthening us, and healing us through His Word and through the sacrament. He is present with us when we worship. Sometimes when we read these stories and think about all the years that separate us from Apostolic days, we think, “If only He were here now.” But He is here, and He is here to feed you Himself.

This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.