Peter’s Preparation (Acts 9:32-43)
Introduction
The stories of Aeneas and Tabitha can seem like small transitional narratives in the book of Acts. We can read Acts and note that the historical record is fine without these stories. Luke, the inspired writer and researcher, records these stories in his orderly account. These two stories testify to Peter’s credibility as a witness and apostle of Christ. These stories also assure us that Christ is present with his church even as he is in heaven.
In Acts 9:32-43, Luke records two significant miracles that Peter performs. These miracles are not ultimately about Peter. They point beyond Peter to Christ. The people who witness the healing of Aeneas do not turn to Peter in worship. They turn to the Lord in worship. The other thing we note is that Peter’s actions echo the ministry of Christ and demonstrate that he is a commissioned messenger sent by God. He is not just the man who denied his Lord three times. No, he is a credible apostle who brings the gospel to the nations, breaking down the clean/unclean distinction. How does Luke establish all this?
Healing Aeneas
Peter performing a miracle that restores Aeneas’ mobility is remarkable. The story itself is pretty straightforward. This seems like a good time to review what we understand about the Lord giving his people signs and miracles.
We might think that this is done so the person can be in the spotlight. That is not the case. In fact, signs and miracles establish the credibility of the messenger and point people to the God who sent him. When Moses asked how Israel would know that the Lord had truly sent him, God gave him signs. The signs demonstrated that Moses was not simply making claims on his own authority. (Exodus 4)
The same principle is evident with Peter. Peter had denied Christ three times. Luke records this failure on Peter’s part. Now Peter is ministering in Lydda and Joppa, bearing witness to Christ and performing signs in Christ’s name. The man who once denied his Lord is now being used by Christ as a credible witness to his resurrection and saving work.
So, as Peter travels, he ministers the gospel. He bears witness to Christ’s work. The Lord gives signs that testify to Peter’s apostolic authority. Like Moses, Peter brings the Lord’s revelation, and the signs and wonders authenticate his ministry as a witness of Christ.
This is important because Peter is not the centerpiece. He is not saying, “Look at me.” In fact, Peter’s ministry echoes what Jesus himself had done. When Peter tells Aeneas, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” (Acts 9:34), Luke echoes the healing of the paralytic in Luke 5. Peter is not replacing Christ; he is bearing witness to Christ. Luke is assuring us that Peter is a credible witness with apostolic authority.
We need to remember that the purpose of spiritual gifts and ministry is not to elevate the messenger but to build up the body of Christ. The ultimate call is to direct the congregation’s attention to Christ. The result of Aeneas’ healing makes this unmistakable: the people who saw what happened turned to the Lord. The miracle accomplished its purpose because Christ received the glory.
Healing Tabitha
Tabitha, also called Dorcas, is introduced to us through her gracious and charitable life. Her name means gazelle. This is an animal that is thought to be full of beauty and gracefulness. Her beauty is a life that is shaped by grace. The widows show Peter the garments she made for them, demonstrating her kindness. Their showing the garments implies they are proud of the garments. Dorcas/Tabitha/Gazelle does not make garments that display their poverty, but garments that express their dignity.
We have no idea if Peter knows this woman or ever met this woman. One thing we know is that he meets her in a tragic scene: her funeral. However, we should not see this scene as dire and hopeless.
The scene intentionally echoes Christ’s own ministry. The language here echoes Christ raising Jairus’ daughter in Mark’s Gospel. The people are grieving. There is a body prepared for burial. Peter arrives and puts the people outside just as Christ has done with Jairus’ daughter. He prays. Peter then commands her to arise and takes her by the hand after she sees Peter. Remember the story with Jairus? First, Jairus requests Christ to heal his sick daughter, but then the girl dies. Christ goes to his house and assures the grieving crowd the girl is sleeping. He takes her by the hand and says, “Talitha (little girl) cumi (I say to you, arise)!”
Peter is imitating the pattern of his Lord's ministry, not independently exercising Christ's divine authority. The point is not that Peter has somehow become Christ. Rather, the miracle demonstrates that Peter is a credible apostle whose ministry bears a correlation to the same Lord who conquered death.
Christ is still at work after his ascension into heaven. The Lord of life has not abandoned his people. He continues to care for his church, to strengthen his people, and to demonstrate that death does not have the final word. The gospel is not simply a message about something Christ did in the past. It is the proclamation of the living Christ who continues to work among his people.
Luke tells us that she was called Tabitha, which is translated as Dorcas. He gives us both her Aramaic name and its Greek equivalent. The gospel is going to the Roman world and to the Gentile peoples, and Luke continues to give us subtle hints that the Lord's intention is for the gospel to go forth.
Peter stays in Joppa with Simon, the tanner. A tanner worked with animal skins and dead animals. This is a career that is offensive to Jewish people and to someone concerned about remaining clean. Yet Peter stays with Simon the tanner. And immediately afterward, Luke takes us into the events of Acts 10, where Peter begins wrestling with whether he can enter the home of a Gentile and eat with him.
Luke is already beginning to prepare us for the answer. Peter can enjoy the hospitality of a man who would be considered unclean. Surely, he can have a meal with a Gentile, and build fellowship with one who was at one time unclean.
Christ is in heaven, but the gospel is going forth. A kind woman makes clothing to build up dignity rather than to shame. Peter can stay with a man who is engaged in an unclean, but not necessarily sinful, occupation.
The gospel therefore brings people together not because they share the same nationality, genealogy, background, or outward identity, but because they share the same Redeemer. Christ is bringing his people together in himself.
Conclusion
These stories are not some filler so Luke can meet a requirement.
First, Peter is shown to be a credible apostolic witness. His past denial of Christ does not define him. Christ has restored him, commissioned him, and is working through him. The signs Peter performs point beyond Peter to the authority of Christ.
Second, we are reminded that Christ is still the Lord of life. He has ascended, but he has not abandoned his church. He continues to work through his people, and his gospel continues to bring life where there was death. The gospel is the message of redemption that restores man to receive his glorious inheritance while tasting Christ’s blessings today.
And finally, we see the gospel beginning to break down the barriers that once separated God's people from the nations. The Lord is gathering his people together in Christ. The distinctions that once marked out clean and unclean are giving way to the greater reality of cleansing in Christ.
So when we read these stories, we should not simply marvel at the miracles. No, we should see our Christ. We should trust the apostles who bear witness to Christ.
Let us therefore go forward in that gospel not to glorify ourselves, but to be humbled so our Lord can be glorified. Let us walk in Christ, find our life in Christ, and trust the Lord who continues to work in his church.