And many believed in the Lord

Rev. Andrew Hunt, III

Walking through the book of Acts • Sermon • Submitted 6 years ago

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And many believed in the Lord

And many believed in the Lord!

Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 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.” 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. 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. And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner. (ESV)

What is the greatest miracle that God can do for us?

Some would call the healing of our body God’s greatest miracle, while others would vote for the raising one from the dead. However I believe that the greatest miracle God does for us is when He saves us, which heals our body and raising us from our dead state in our sins and trespasses, and brings God glory!

In our passage this morning we find Peter participating in all three miracles: he heals Aeneas, he raises Dorcas from the dead, and his message about Christ bring many to belief in the Lord.

The miracles in the Bible always have the main purpose of confirming God authority, power, and sovereignty in all things.

All miracles have a purpose— there purpose is to prove that there is no one like God, that God has complete control of His creation because He is its source. Miracles serve to prove and convince us that if God can do miraculous things! Nothing in our lives is too hard for God to handle. He wants us to trust Him and know that He can do miracles in our lives as well.

If the miracles did not occur, then how could we trust anything the Bible tells us, especially when it tells us eternal life is available through Christ?

When we begin to call any part of Scripture into doubt, all of God’s marvelous plan becomes suspect, and we open the door for the lies and distortions, which are Satan’s plan to destroy our faith.

, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” The Bible is to be read and understood literally, including the miracles. The spiritual gift of miracles is one of the spiritual gifts listed in , where the NIV calls it “miraculous powers” and the ESV and KJV list it as “the working of miracles.” The gift of miracles, or miraculous powers, is different from the gift of healing, which is listed separately in verse 9. Those in the early church who had the gift of miracles had the ability, by the Spirit of God, to do miraculous things, they held tremendous powerful: they casted out of demons (), the struck Elymas blind (), and they healed Aeneas and they raised Tabitha from the dead ().

Some in the early church, besides the apostles, who had the gift of miracles, were Stephen and Philip. These specific gifts mentioned in are unique to the apostles, a power they used to confer the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit to others through the laying on of hands. The ability to transfer gifts, peculiar to the apostles, would have been something that set them apart from others and greatly aided in the spread the gospel everywhere.

Paul speaks of his showing “the marks of a true apostle, including signs, wonders and miracles” (). Miracles are supernatural events that occur outside the bounds of what is natural. By definition, they are rare and out of the ordinary. The apostles certainly had the gift of miracles as they laid the foundation of the church and bore witness to the veracity of their message. The spiritual gift of miracles is mentioned again in

, “And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets third teaches, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administration and various kinds of tongues.”

In this context, Paul emphasizes the fact that all gifts have the same source, which is the Holy Spirit, and he encourages equality and unity among the believers. Paul compares each believer to a part of a larger whole, like parts of the body (verse 12). Not every part of the body can do everything—not everyone had the gift of miracles (verse 29). We need one another. Paul goes on to show in how love is “the most excellent way” and the greatest gift. The question arises as to whether or not the spiritual gift of miracles is still active today in the church. Though I believe that the apostles were given the ministry of miracles.

This in no way limits God’s power or ability to work miracles as He sees fit.

I absolutely believe that God still heals and works miracles today. In today’s message we are looking at two examples of God’s sovereign work through the healing of Aeneas and the raising of Tabitha. Through the work of the Holy Spirit in Peter’s ministry we see two things: (1) And many believed in the Lord because Jesus Christ heals; (2) and many believed in the Lord because Jesus Christ calls us to rise up; and Jesus Christ has to power to raise us up.

Let us pray…

Jesus Christ heals…

, “Now as Peter went here and there among them all , he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.”

Peter is now being led by the Holy Spirit to go here and there preaching and teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Preaching and teaching by His power and for His purpose.

This last section of reintroduces Peter in preparation for the great events of . Peter travels to Lydda and then to Joppa, moving further and further away from Jerusalem into Gentile territory. As he responds to various needs, God blesses his Pastoral and evangelistic endeavors. Aeneas is healed, Tabbitha (Dorcas) is raised from death, and many people turned to Christ.

So, Peter is validated once more as an authentic representative of the line of prophets who “work signs and wonders among the people.” His Christ-likeness is highlighted by his obedience to Christ and his focus on doing God’s will. These two narratives form a pair, with a number of common elements, but with the second account more detailed. The first focuses on a man and his helplessness, which he overcame through his hope and faith in God. And the second on a woman, highlighting her good works and the respect she commanded among the believers in Joppa.

Peter approaches Lydda, a town 23 miles northwest of Jerusalem and on the road to Joppa. Lydda served as a regional administrative town for Judea, and was on an important trade route. Peter came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda.

As in , these ‘saints’ are Jewish Christians, who came from Jerusalem because of the persecution and turned to Christ because of the preaching of Philip, when he journeyed from to Caesarea (8:40).

Lydda was about a day’s journey (25 miles or 40 km.) on the road from Jerusalem towards the coastal town of Joppa (another 12 miles on). It was situated in the Plain of Sharon and was the capital of one of the ten local government areas in Judea. In Lydda, Peter found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years, “for eight years had lain on his bed’). We can only wonder how many times he dreamed of being healed or how many times his hopes had been dashed.

Aeneas (a Greek name) is not specifically identified as a disciple, as Dorcas is, but the mention of his name in the context of visiting the saints suggests that he was one of them.

Peter took the initiative, Peter looked at his condition, and Peter then made his declaration (‘Jesus Christ heals you’), and then the command (‘Get up and roll up your mat’). Peter saw in his spirit that Aeneas was sick and tired and being sick and tired and that Jesus could and would heal him.

Though narrative is brief, the benefit is miraculous, without any other supportive action Aeneas immediately got up. Jesus called him to rise up and he rose.

The benefits of this miracle were not only felt in the body of Aeneas, the miracle was felt in the body of Christ.

It was felt in the body of Christ through increase faith and belief in the word of God.

The text tells us that those outside the church, all those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw Aeneas, remember that he had been paralyzed for over eight years, they saw the miracle and it moved their hearts and many turned to the Lord).

Many unbelievers—in Lydda and the surrounding coastal Plain of Sharon—turned to Jesus as their Savior and Lord of their lives, acknowledging his divine authority and saving power through the actions and words of his apostle.

But what does it mean to turn to Jesus as your Savior and Lord?

To turn to the Jesus as your Savior means to ask the question, who is Jesus Christ?

Many people will acknowledge Jesus Christ as a good man, a great teacher, or even a prophet of God. These things are definitely true of Jesus, but they do not fully define who He truly is.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is God in the flesh, that Jesus is God in human form. That Jesus is God who came to earth to teach us, heal us, correct us, forgive us—and die for us! Jesus Christ is God, the Creator, the sovereign Lord. Have you accepted this Jesus into your life as your Savior? What is a Savior, and why do we need a Savior?

The Bible tells us that we have all sinned; we have all committed evil acts (). As a result of our sin, we deserve God's anger and judgment. The only just punishment for sins committed against an infinite and eternal God is an infinite punishment.

, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

, “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

This is why we need a Savior! Jesus Christ came to earth and died in our place. Jesus' death was an infinite payment for our sins (). Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins (). Jesus paid the price so that we would not have to. Jesus' resurrection from the dead proved that His death was sufficient to pay the penalty for our sins. That is why Jesus is the one and only Savior (; )! Are you trusting in Jesus as your Savior? Is Jesus your “personal” Savior?

Many people view Christianity as attending church, performing rituals, and/or not committing certain sins. That is not Christianity. True Christianity is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Accepting Jesus as your personal Savior means placing your own personal faith and trust in Him. No one is saved by the faith of others. No one is forgiven by doing certain deeds. The only way to be saved is to personally accept Jesus as your Savior, trusting in His death as the payment for your sins and His resurrection as your guarantee of eternal life.

Is Jesus personally your Savior? If you want to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, say the following words to God.

Remember, saying this prayer or any other prayer will not save you.

Only believing in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross for you can save you from your sin. This prayer is simply a way to express to God your faith in Him and thank Him for providing for your salvation. “God, I know that I have sinned against You and deserve punishment. But I believe Jesus Christ took the punishment I deserve so that through faith in Him I could be forgiven. I receive Your offer of forgiveness and place my trust in You for salvation. I accept Jesus as my personal Savior! Thank You for Your wonderful grace and forgiveness—the gift of eternal life! Amen!”

"What does it mean that Jesus is Lord?" Generally speaking, a lord is someone with authority, control, or power over others; to say that someone is “lord” is to consider that person a master or ruler of some kind. In Jesus’ day the word lord was often used as a title of respect toward earthly authorities; when the leper called Jesus “Lord” in , he was showing Jesus respect as a healer and teacher. However, after the resurrection, the title “Lord,” as applied to Jesus, became much more than a title of honor or respect.

Saying, “Jesus is Lord,” became a way of declaring Jesus’ deity. It began with Thomas’ exclamation when Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection: “Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” (). From then on, the apostles’ message was that Jesus is Lord, meaning, “Jesus is God.”

Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost contained that theme:

“Let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah” (). Later, in Cornelius’s house, Peter declared that Jesus is “Lord of all” (). Note how in Jesus’ lordship is linked to His resurrection: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” The statement, “Jesus is Lord” means that Jesus is God. Jesus has “all authority in heaven and on earth” (). He is Lord of the Sabbath (). He is “our only Sovereign and Lord” (). He is, in fact, the Lord of lords (). Jesus referred to Himself as “Lord” many times (e.g., ; ). And when we compare the Old Testament with the New, we find several times when the “LORD” (Yahweh) of the Hebrew Bible is equated with the “Lord Jesus” by the apostles.

For example, says, “Taste and see that the LORD is good,” and that passage is alluded to in , except there Jesus is the “Lord” who is good. says that “the LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy”; in

we are commanded, “In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy” Amazingly, the Lord Jesus left His exalted position in heaven and came to earth to save us. In His Incarnation, He showed us what true meekness looks like. Just before His arrest, Jesus used His power and authority to teach us humility: “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet” (). The last will be first, according to our Lord (). In saying, “Jesus is Lord,” we commit ourselves to obey Him. Jesus asked, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (). An acknowledgement of Jesus’ lordship is logically accompanied by a submission to Jesus’ authority. If Jesus is Lord, then He owns us; He has the right to tell us what to do. A person who says, “Jesus is Lord,” with a full understanding of what that means (Jesus is God and has supreme authority over all things) has been divinely enlightened: “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit” (). Faith in the Lord Jesus is required for salvation ().

Jesus is Lord. It’s the truth, whether or not people acknowledge the fact. He is more than the Messiah, more than the Savior; He is the Lord of all. Someday, all will submit to that truth: “God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” ().

So many believed in the Lord and the risen Jesus continues to heal through Peter as he called Aeneas to rise us and make his bed, now he calls Tabitha to rise up from the dead.

Jesus Christ calls us to rise and has the power to raise us up!

, Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity.”

Despite its close association with Judea, Joppa seems to have been a distinctly Greek city. So when Peter reached this point, he was definitely in Gentile territory. Remember that Joppa was the place that God Jonah was trying to escape too, went God sent a whale to retrieved his for his disobedience. God sent Peter to Joppa to raise a young lady from the dead. Joppa is mentioned in the OT (; ; ; ). In that city there lived a disciple. Her Aramaic name was Tabitha (the feminine form for ‘deer, gazelle’, LSJ), and her Greek name Dorcas similarly meant ‘an animal of the deer kind’. She had a reputation for always doing good things and helping the poor. Further details of her good works are given when mention is made of the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them (v. 39).

, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

But there is no doubt that Luke wishes to highlight the importance of Dorcas and her ministry to the needy. She was probably a woman of means, ‘with leisure and freedom to do good deeds for others’. Once again, generosity surfaces in the narrative of Acts as a sign of the Spirit’s work in those who turn to Christ (cf. 2:44–45; 4:32–37).

, “In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 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.”

About that time, ‘in those days’, when Peter was in the region, she became ill and died. Her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. Perhaps the church met in her house, in that same upstairs. The washing of her body in preparation for burial suggests ‘something of her significance for this community of believers’. When the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, ‘Please come at once!’

Did they simply want him to pay his respects to this outstanding Christian lady at her impending burial, or did they hope that he might raise her from death? The text does not really gives us in certain clues in this area.

, “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. 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.”

Whatever their intention, Peter moved swiftly to the place of mourning, and was taken upstairs to the room. Luke then paints a very sad picture. All the widows stood round him, encouraging him to share in their grief by crying and showing him the robes and other clothes that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. Somewhat like Jesus in .

, “While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler's house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.” But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.” And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child. And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.” And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat. And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.”

In a similar way, Peter sent them all out of the room, though this miracle occurs even more privately. Furthermore, whereas Jesus took the little girl by the hand and commanded her to get up, Peter got down on his knees and prayed. Like Elijah, he expressed in prayer his total dependence on God for the resuscitation of the dead (). Then, turning towards the dead woman, he said, ‘Tabitha, get up’, recalling Jesus’ address to the daughter of Jairus (; ). The same word get up (anastēthi) is used in v. 34 and v. 40, though here with reference to an even more remarkable event than the healing of a man who was paralyzed. It is the verb frequently associated with the resurrection of Jesus. In dependence upon the risen Lord, Peter called upon a dead person to rise. The reality of the miracle is stressed in simple terms: she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up.

Peter’s continuing care for her is stressed (he took her by the hand and helped her to her feet). He then confronted the believers in general and the widows in particular with this mighty act of God and presented her to them alive (the language here is reminiscent of 1:3). Such a miracle could not be kept secret, so that this became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord (Jesus, as in v. 35). Luke ends this story on a strange note: Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon. Indeed, this Simon the tanner is mentioned again several times in the following narrative (10:6, 17–18, 32). Tanners were considered unclean by more scrupulous Jews because of their contact with the hides of dead animals. Peter was apparently not troubled by such concerns, but he would soon have difficulty taking the more radical step of visiting a Gentile household (cf. 10:6 note). He would need a series of revelations from God to move him in that direction.

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