Peter's Healing Miracles: God's Power Revealed — Acts 9:32-43 Daily Word

Explore Peter’s powerful miracles in Acts 9: the healing of paralyzed Aeneas and the raising of Tabitha. Discover how Jesus Christ’s authority transforms lives through His disciples’ faith and spiritual power.\

Peter’s Healing Miracles: God’s Power Revealed

[Scripture]

[32] Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. [33] There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. [34] And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. [35] And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. [36] Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. [37] In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. [38] 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.” (Acts 9:32-38, ESV)

[39] 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. [40] 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. [41] And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. [42] And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. [43] And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner. (Acts 9:39-43, ESV)

[Daily Word]

During Peter’s missionary journey, many people came to believe in the Lord through two remarkable events: the healing of Aeneas, a paralyzed man in Lydda, in the name of Jesus Christ, and the raising of Tabitha, a deceased female disciple in Joppa. Through these miracles, God revealed His love and grace for all people, transcending the mere letter of the law.

In verse 32, Luke records that Peter traveled throughout all those regions. Peter was on a missionary journey visiting various churches in Judea. In the course of visiting these churches, Peter came to the saints living in Lydda. Lydda was a city located between Jerusalem and Joppa, approximately 41 kilometers from Jerusalem. There was already a church established in this region as well.

In Lydda, Peter encounters a paralyzed man named Aeneas.

Aeneas had been bedridden with paralysis for eight years. Peter proclaimed to him, ‘Jesus Christ heals you’, and at the same time commanded Aeneas, ‘Rise and make your bed.’ This command was like a declaration confirming that Aeneas had been completely healed. It closely parallels the ministry of Jesus in Luke 5, where He healed a paralyzed man and said, ‘Rise, pick up your bed and go home.’ As a result of Peter’s healing ministry, many people living in Lydda and the region of Sharon repented and turned to the Lord. In this season, God worked through Peter to bring about healing, opening the way for many people to come to Him.

The second work takes place in Joppa, not far from Lydda.

There, a female disciple named Tabitha had fallen ill and died. The Hebrew name Tabitha, when translated into Greek, becomes ‘Dorcas,’ meaning ‘gazelle.’ Dorcas had devoted herself to many good works and acts of charity. Notably, the word ‘female disciple’ appears only here in the entire New Testament. The name ‘Tabitha’ or ‘Dorcas,’ meaning gazelle, is also the very word used to translate ‘beloved’ in the Song of Solomon. In this light, we come to understand her as a ‘female disciple beloved of God’—one who loved her neighbors as herself, just as she loved God.

In Judaism, there is a three-day period between a person’s death and burial. So the people washed Tabitha’s body and laid it in an upper room. Those who had been with Tabitha heard that the apostle Peter was in Lydda, near Joppa, and sent two men to him, urging him to “come without delay.”

When Peter arrived, he went up to the upper room with them. All the widows who had shared in the faith community with Dorcas stood beside him weeping, showing him the tunics and outer garments that Dorcas had made, and speaking of her beautiful life of faith.

Then Peter sent everyone out, knelt down and prayed, and turning to the body, gave this command: “Tabitha, arise”(40). At that, Tabitha opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up. Peter had not touched Tabitha from the start, because under the Law, touching a corpse would make a person ceremonially unclean, and so he had kept his hands away until that moment.

But now that Tabitha had sat up, he extended his hand and helped her stand to her feet. In this way, we witness the work of God raising the dead to living testimony. Through this miracle, all the people of Joppa came to know what had happened, and the Scripture records that even more people believed in the Lord. (42)

Peter stayed at the house of a man named Simon, a tanner.

A tanner is someone who processes animal hides. Tanning, in particular, involves skinning animals, scraping away the fat attached to the hide, and softening the leather. This process required special tree sap or lime, as well as large amounts of water for washing. However, the work produced a foul stench, damaged the surrounding environment, and above all required constant contact with the bodies of dead animals. For these reasons, it was considered an unclean occupation among the Jews, and tanners were perpetually labeled “sinners.” Yet Peter lodged in the house of such a “sinner” for many days.

This means that none of these things are considered sin before God.

People interpret the law only literally and treat the paralytic, the sick who have died, and the tanner as sinners — but in truth, before God, Aeneas the paralytic of Lydda, Tabitha who had fallen ill and died, and Simon the tanner of Joppa were not sinners. This is because death is seen as the end of all hope.

The real sinners are those who claim to believe in the Lord yet do not pray for them. The same message is found in (1 John 3:14)

Acts, Peter, miracles of healing, faith and conversion, the love of God

Originally published in Korean at bible2u.com