Common People, Astonishing Works (Acts Sermon 23)

Turn your Bibles to Acts 9. We’re continuing our series in the Book of Acts to this passage. 

The most famous church building in the world is St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It is a massive building, 432 feet high at 730 feet long, covering a total of 5.7 acres, and it can accommodate over 20,000 people. It is a spectacular building that took over a century to complete. It is made of the finest materials that could be purchased by the Roman Catholic authorities over the course of the 16th century. Its soaring columns and its overwhelming dome dominate the scene, but its most breathtaking ornament is a single sculpture made by arguably the greatest sculptor of all time, Michelangelo. It is called the Pieta, and it pictures the Virgin Mary holding the dead body of her son, our Lord Jesus Christ across her lap. 

Michelangelo was commissioned by the Pope to do this monument in the year 1497. In 1498, he traveled 240 miles to a quarry in Carrara, Italy, northwest of Florence to select the perfect block of marble. He was so discriminating that it took him over nine months before he finally selected it, a single piece of pure white Carrara marble. It may be the most celebrated piece of rock in human history.

It was the result of the choosiest eye of the greatest sculptor perhaps that ever lived. He would not permit any workman to quarry it… He did it himself lest it be damaged in any way. He finally liberated it from the mountain using a complex pulley system. He lifted it onto a wooden sled, and it started its long journey to Rome. The marble that he chose has a stunning translucent shimmer to it, making it glow. It seems almost alive. As I pondered this amazing achievement of artistry by a human sculptor on a block of stone, I thought about Michelangelo’s stunning selectivity. Nine months choosing exactly the right stone. It had to be perfect. No flaws in it, no structural weaknesses. It would become the most famous ornament in the most famous church building in the world. 

How differently does Jesus Christ, the master architect and builder of the true and eternal church go about his process. His building of his church is done out of vastly inferior materials. Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:4-5, “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him, you also like living stones are being built into a spiritual house.” We’re living stones, quarried, and set in an eternal building. But how does the scripture describe us in our native state? I don’t think any pastor describes it better than Romans 3:10-18. There the apostle Paul writes of us all, 

“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, we have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

 That’s not talking about some of us, that’s talking about all of us. Those are the living stones that Christ has selected to be part of his eternal temple. It’s an amazing contrast. In the middle of that list in Romans 3 is the word “worthless.” The Greek word is “achreio.” It means, “of no use whatsoever.” That is the kind of stone any architect would absolutely unequivocally reject immediately. But instead, these are the kind of stones that Jesus the master craftsman is selecting every day to build his eternal temple out of. Christ is searching it seems for the worst possible building material, not the best. And out of that kind of building material, he has been building his eternal temple for twenty centuries now. The apostle Peter who wrote about living stones in 1 Peter 2 is a prime example, is he not? He is a sinner saved by grace. He was useless in himself, but he was made useful by the master craftsman, by Jesus himself, by the transforming power of Almighty God through Christ’s work in his life. I believe Peter spoke of the building project in 1 Peter 2 because he will never forget the moment he first heard of that building project through Christ’s own words.

I. Christ Builds His Church

That day Christ gave Simon a new name, Peter (meaning “rock”), and told him he would be building his church on that rock to last for all eternity. He said in Matthew 16:18, “I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” 

Christ spoke those words to Peter on a mountain in Caesarea Philippi. Jesus was training his disciples. They’re on a retreat away from the hustle and bustle of life. He asked them, “Who do people say I am?” (Mark 8:27-29).They gave various answers. He said, “What about you? Who do you say that I am?” Peter gave his timeless answer. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Jesus spoke this blessing over him, “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17). Only by God’s direct revelation, by the Spirit of God to individual sinners, can we make that saving confession. You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Blessed are you Simon, son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my father in heaven.

Then he said, “I tell you that you are Peter (rock), and on this rock, I’ll build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18). Since his ascension to heaven in the day of Pentecost, Jesus has been doing precisely that. The Book of Acts is a story of that building project. He has been fulfilling his promise to build his church, and this is how Christ builds. He received the plan from his Father, a plan determined from before the foundation of the world. In the fullness of time, Jesus entered the world. He lived a sinless life, perfect. He worked a perfect righteousness in constant obedience to the law of God. He is the only man that has ever done that. And at the perfect time, he laid down his life as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of God’s chosen people in every generation and every nation on earth.

On the third day, He rose from the dead physically, and then He ascended to heaven and has taken his seat at the right hand of Almighty God. From there, He sent the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ to continue this building project that He told Peter about. Now in all of this, Christ has laid the foundation of this work as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3 that no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 

Having laid that foundation, He sent his Spirit to complete the building. By the power of the Spirit is the church rising. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2 to become a dwelling in which God will live forever by his Spirit.

II. Christ Uses Common People

Now as we’re going to see in the text today, He uses common people to do the work, like Peter, and He uses sinners as his building materials. Therefore, in a direct contrast with Michelangelo, nine months scouring the hills of northern Italy until he can finally find the perfect marble. Instead, 1 Corinthians 1 tells us what God is looking for, what Christ is looking for. Where Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, 

Brothers, consider yourselves. When you were called not many of you were wise, not many were influential, not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; he chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong; he chose the lowly things and the despised things, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification, redemption.”

we are flawed living stones made perfect once for all by the atoning work of Christ, made perfect progressively through sanctification, and we will be made perfect at the resurrection for all eternity.

It’s all Christ. What we are, we are flawed living stones made perfect once for all by the atoning work of Christ, made perfect progressively through sanctification, and we will be made perfect at the resurrection for all eternity. This is the work of the Craftsman. 

You want to know what kind of stones He’s looking for? Just look at the Beatitudes. He’s looking for spiritual beggars who have nothing to offer. He will give them the kingdom of heaven. He’s looking for those that are meek, that is, deeply humbled because they know who they are, and they have nothing to boast about. He’s looking for those that grieve over their sins and yearn to be freed from them. He’s looking for people who are hungering and thirsting for what they do not have- righteousness- and He’s going to give it to them.

He’s looking for people who when He’s finished with them will be pure in heart. That’s who He’s looking for. What a contrast to Michelangelo. Now for myself as a lover of art, I’m glad that Michelangelo looked for a really good piece of stone. But for myself as a Christian aren’t you glad, I am glad that He’s looking for sinners like us, searching for us. Those are the kind of worshipers the Father is seeking. This is what He’s looking for, sinners that He can save by grace. 

And that’s what this account is about. Just stepping back and looking at it, we got a story about Aeneas who’s a nobody. We don’t know anything about him. We’re going to talk about him. We got a story about this woman, Tabitha, who’s a humble servant of a local church who does tasks that if it weren’t written here, you’d never hear about.

You’ve got Peter, a common fisherman who would’ve been a nobody fisherman except that Jesus walked by and called him to follow him. You got three, if I can just say it, I’m not trying to be disrespectful, but you have three nobodies, and then you’ve got miracles in the middle of it. Just supernatural, sovereign works by Almighty God that none of them could ever do, but that Christ does. That’s the story here today. So how do we fit into this? We fit in first and foremost as Aeneas and as Tabitha, (Dorcas) needing a work done on us. 

We can’t do anything. You would think you can’t be more powerless than a paralyzed man. Well, that’s not true. How about being dead? That’s more powerless than being paralyzed. And we are all Christians- we are all testimonies of God’s power in us, the sovereign power of God.

You may say, I don’t know about these miracles here. That was the apostolic age. Is Christ still doing miracles to build his church? Yes, he is. He’s doing miracles of sovereign grace and transforming dead sinners into living worshipers of him. But let’s be honest, let’s talk about an actual physical miracle. Aren’t you all counting on one? I mean, what’s your plan to raise yourself from the grave? Aren’t you looking ahead to a miracle being done in your case? Aren’t you hoping for it? I’m here to tell you it’s going to happen. So, we’re not that kind of cessationists, believing in a future miracle called resurrection. 

I’m way off my sermon right here. I have no idea how long this sermon’s going to be. This has been an unusual morning. I usually have much more things figured out before I get up to preach. The Lord has been handing me ingredients all morning long, and I’m baking a cake right in front of you. So now I need to kind of get back to my outline so that we can follow it a bit. But I think it just came from an insight into what this text is about. Why is this account here? Do you know how many things the apostles did that were not recorded in the Book of Acts? Why is this story here? This is what I’ve come up with, common ordinary people that God uses and saves and puts into that spiritual building. It’s a complex issue here because we also have evidence of what kind of craftsmen or workers that He uses, He the master craftsman, to do the building. So, we are both living stones and builders of the new Jerusalem.

We’re both. I think you can handle, you’ve got bandwidth enough to handle both of those images. We are living stones in the wall, and we are also called on to work on this rising temple. We’ve got a job to do, but what kind of people does God use to do that? That’s what we’re going to walk through today. 

Let’s start with Peter. Peter was a common man. He’s an ordinary man. I’ve already declared that he was a fisherman. He was fishing one day with his brother Andrew along the Sea of Galilee, and Jesus just walks by and says, “Follow me and I’ll make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). He left his nets and followed Jesus. That’s Peter. There’s nothing extraordinary about him. He’s not a theological genius. We wouldn’t think of him as a writer, ordinary in every way. 

But beyond that, he’s definitely a common sinner. I mean, he’s a fascinating case study, isn’t he? This week and next week we’re going to have opportunity to kind of mull on Peter’s sinfulness and talk about it, but I’m going to do more of it this week. We’ll refer to it again next week. But you remember that same day in Caesarea Philippi that Jesus made that incredible statement and gave him that new name, Peter, he confessed by the Spirit of the living God, you are the Christ the Son of God.

A few moments later after Jesus started to warn his disciples that He was going to have to die to build that church, He was going to have to build it with his blood. Peter said to Jesus, “do you have a minute?” Peter took him aside and rebuked him. “That’ll never happen to you.”  He did it privately to spare Jesus the embarrassment. What an interesting moment that was. Jesus didn’t do the next thing He did privately. He did in front of all of them. He turned around and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Then He warned his disciples what kind of lives they would have to live to build his church. The kind of life where they’re going to have to be willing to lay down their lives and not live for earthly glory, and all that he has, too. But it’s because of Peter that He did that. That was Peter. 

Later on, Peter boasted arrogantly that he was the greatest of all of Jesus’ followers. “Even if everybody on earth falls away because of you, I never will. I’m number one, the most loyal.” He said in Luke 22:33, “Lord, I am ready to go to prison and to death with you.” But he wasn’t, and Jesus knew it. “I tell you the truth… This very night before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times” (Matthew 26:34). All four Gospels reveal Peter’s stunning fall into sin, self-saving sin. He even calls down curses on himself, at one point, if he even knew Jesus. When the rooster crowed in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus turned and looked right at him and Peter was ashamed, cut to the heart, and he went outside and wept bitterly, beginning his painful restoration.

Peter remembered what the Lord had said he would do, and he was ashamed of himself and rightly so. But the Lord in his grace after his resurrection restored him so beautifully and quickly, too. It says in 1 Corinthians 15, “He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve.” Peter had a private audience with the resurrected, glorified Christ. Incredible. Jesus gave him an opportunity in John 21:17 to a reaffirm his love for him three times, “Do you love me, Peter? Do you love me? Do you love me? Feed my sheep,” he said, restoring him. He needed to do that quickly though, because the Pentecost is coming soon. That’s 40 days. 

On the day of Pentecost, this restored sinner, Peter, preached the most effective sermon arguably in church history, it probably was. 3,000 people saved in one day. [Acts 2] Then in Acts 3, Peter, along with John was the first apostle to be arrested for the gospel, boldly proclaimed Christ crucified and resurrected there in the temple grounds. And they arrested him; he spent a night in prison.

The next day Acts 4, he gives this fantastic, bold proclamation of the exclusivity of Christ. I think the clearest statement along with John 14:6 of the exclusivity of Christ. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” [Acts 4:12]. That was Peter by the power of the Holy Spirit. Then in Acts 8, He used Peter along with John to lay hands on the Samaritan believers and bring them under and in the work He was doing in the Jews so that there wouldn’t be a separate Jew and a Samaritan church. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit of God was given through the laying on of Peter’s hands and John’s. 

Peter is the focus here in this account in terms of the worker, a worker, a conduit, a pipeline of the sovereign grace of God through this common man, this sinful man restored by the grace of God.  He’s going to be the focus humanly speaking in the next three chapters as well, Acts 10, 11 and 12. Then we’re going to leave him and from Acts 13 on, we’re going to follow Paul, another sinner saved by grace. We’re not going to get into that this morning, but it is Peter and Paul, primary figures, both of them very different from each other, but sinners saved by grace. These are the kind of people God uses.

We have accounts of two common people that are healed as I already mentioned. We’ve got Aeneas, who we know nothing about. We don’t even know that he’s a disciple. It doesn’t say that he was. He’s just, “a certain man,” whereas Tabitha is called a certain disciple. I think it’s likely Aeneas wasn’t converted yet. It doesn’t say that he was converted because of the miracle. Just because your body gets healed doesn’t mean your soul gets transformed. As we learn in John 5, Jesus healed the paralyzed man and then warned him later that something worse might happen. So, we don’t know about Aeneas. He’s just a common person with a significant problem paralysis. Then we got Tabitha, also called Dorcas. Again, as I said, a common woman in the local church who used her skills as a seamstress to bless people. Let’s look at their accounts.

One, Aeneas. Verses 32-35, Acts 9: 

As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years. “Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up. All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

So that’s his story. 

Now, Tabitha’s story: verses 36-43. 

In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor. About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!” Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon. 

We’ve talked about Peter’s shortcomings, his sins, and it’s important to see that. But now what I want to do is I want to draw out some positive attributes of Peter so that we can learn from him his admirable attributes here as a worker for Christ. Number one, first he’s fully dedicated to the gospel ministry, fully dedicated to the gospel ministry. He was constantly going around traveling about the country. It says moving here and there, serving the Lord. He was given over to that.

Now, Peter was a married man. We know that because in Mark 2 Jesus healed his mother-in-law. I don’t know any way to get a mother-in-law other than having a wife. I have nothing more to say about that topic. I’m just thinking it proves that he was married, but he was willing to leave her and his family. We don’t know anything about children, but willing to leave her at least and whatever family he had for long periods of time to serve Christ. Jesus prepared his apostles for that kind of a life. 

In Luke 18:28-30, “Peter said to him, ‘We have left everything we had to follow you!’ Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this present age, and in the age to come, eternal life.’” So, He’s preparing them and they’re already doing it for a life in which he’d be away from his family and his home base for long stretches of time serving the Lord. Peter was constantly moving around, visiting believers in various places, preaching, teaching, strengthening the church, leading them, doing apostolic ministry with them. He was fully devoted to the gospel ministry, and he was a very busy, hardworking man. He came to this place, Lydda, known as Lod, about nine miles southeast from Tel Aviv today… Tel Aviv, modern day Tel Aviv, about 25 miles northeast of Jerusalem.

Devote yourself to the gospel ministry. Think, “I’m alive here today to build the church of Jesus Christ. That’s why God has left me here

He’s there dedicated to build up the church of Jesus Christ by his apostolic ministry. He lived every day of his life for the gospel of Christ. So that’s a lesson for us. Devote yourself to the gospel ministry. Think, “I’m alive here today to build the church of Jesus Christ. That’s why God has left me here after I’ve come to faith.”

Secondly, he humbly dealt with common people. He’s immersed with common ordinary people. Peter is a great leader of the church at this point, arguably the main human leader, but he’s not too busy for two very humble, common people here. Often these great leaders in the world can’t be bothered with the so-called little people. But he learned this from Jesus, didn’t he? Jesus was amazingly accessible by anybody, anybody. He mingled constantly, Jesus did, with common ordinary people. He was interruptible, stoppable by anybody. 

This included, by the way, little children.You remember how parents were bringing children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them, but the disciples were rebuking those who brought them. So, Jesus rebuked them; He became indignant with them. “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, unless you are transformed and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of God. And so he placed his hands on them and blessed them and prayed for them” (Mark 10:14-16, paraphrase). That was a very strong lesson to his apostles: you are not too important to interact with little children.

Peter’s humility came from Jesus’ humility and accessibility. I think Jesus said to his apostles, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is reclining at the table or the one who serves? But I am among you as one who serves.” This is a very important lesson, accessibility. You’re not too important for anybody. Peter drew that in. So a nobody, as far as we know, like Aeneas was not beneath his focus. A humble woman who was known for being a seamstress was not beneath his focus. That’s who he was. 

Peter was Christ-centered when he came to Aeneas’ bedside, a man who had been paralyzed for eight years. Peter was there as a servant of Christ. He wasn’t there in his own name or in his own power. He was there as a servant of Jesus Christ.  He was humble enough to know that he had no power whatsoever to raise a paralyzed man from a sick bed. He had no power to do that. He knew that. But the Lord did his healing work through Peter. Note what Peter said, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you.” [Verse 34]. It’s beautiful, isn’t it? I did not heal you, Jesus Christ heals you. Peter did not take on himself a power he clearly doesn’t have. Christ alone could heal. This man reminds me of John 15:5, which is on your bulletin cover today. “Jesus said, I’m the vine. You’re the branches. If a man remains in me, he’ll bear much fruit for apart from me you can do nothing.” And Peter knew that. He knew that it was Jesus doing his powerful work in and through Peter that accomplished both of these healings. Peter gave Christ full glory.

Peter it seems knew ahead of time what Jesus was going to do for Aeneas. How did he know that Aeneas was going to be healed by Christ Jesus? Jesus Christ told him or revealed it to him in his inner man. That’s what faith is. Faith is the eyesight of the soul by which we see in this case the invisible activity of God before it happens; what God, what Christ is, intending to do here and gets on board with that. Faith doesn’t create reality. It doesn’t shape God’s sovereign purpose and plan. It perceives it, it sees it and it gets involved in it. That’s how I understand faith.

III. Christ Uses Astonishing Miracles

Things are different when Peter has come there and done the ministry of the Word and Christ. It’s a powerful ministry. It makes an impact. I mean it certainly did with Aeneas. Immediately Aeneas got up. That’s power. I like it also that Peter told him to take care of his mat. So you parents, as you’re raising kids, household chores, alright, household chores, you got to do that. It’s a big part of parenting. It’s right here in the text. Have your kids pick up their mat. But I think what I get out of this also is the instantaneous healing. How long ordinarily would it take for somebody who has not moved, who’s been in a bed for eight years to regain full use of their body? How much therapy would it take? How many training sessions, occupational therapies or physical therapies coming to strengthen those weakened muscles? But not so when Jesus was healing, it was instantaneous. So also now this healing as well, he’s fully able to take care of his mat. He gets up and does. It’s beautiful. 

Now let’s turn to Tabitha’s story. Tabitha, her name means “female gazelle.” In case you wanted to name your daughter Tabitha or even better Dorcas. I’ve actually never known a Dorcas, but maybe there are some. But that’s what the name means. As we said, she was a common woman with a basic skill. She was a seamstress and she used that skill to bless people in her church. She was clearly beloved. So to me, she represents godly women who do quiet unsung ministries that bless the lives of many people without ever being recorded usually on the pages of a book. This one is recorded in that way. 

It reminds me of that widow with the two copper coins, that poor widow that Jesus said put in more than all the others. Remember her again, the kind of thing that no one would ever have noticed. But God notices, He notices those kind of quiet ministries, not just by women but by men. Many of the servants of God, both men and women do their ministries without anyone ever noticing it. They serve and strengthen the church by doing what God has given them to do and it matters.

That’s who Dorcas was. She represents to me also the Proverbs 31 woman. It  says in Proverbs 31: 19-20, “In her hand, she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.” The Proverbs 31 woman makes garments and she has a heart that’s expansive toward others. That’s who she was. Every godly woman who has those kind of quiet skills and works hard to bless others are honored through her and remembered through her. And you can have hope in your kind of ministry that God sees and notices. 

Let’s talk about her healings. She lived in Joppa, modern day Jaffa again on the Mediterranean coast near Tel Aviv.  Joppa was a port city known for the place where Jonah tried to escape from his mission.  It was a bad moment for Jonah, but God hunted him down. It was also the port city by which timbers for Solomon’s temple were delivered from Lebanon; they came in there and then made their way to Jerusalem. The people of the church in Joppa had heard that Peter was in Lydda and it was near Joppa. We don’t know the distance, maybe six miles or a little more. We don’t know, maybe up to 15 miles, but it was nearby. They sent for Peter probably because of the miraculous healing he did in the case of Aeneas and earlier in Jerusalem and miracles that attended Peter’s ministry. So they sent for him. Tabitha (Dorcas) had gotten sick and had died and the people washed her body as was traditional and they put her in an upper room, rather than burying her. That was not traditional in a hot climate like that, they want to get that person buried immediately.  So by not burying her, they’re showing a hope. Maybe not expectation, but they’re hoping perhaps Peter can do something amazing, clearly hoping for a miracle. Peter came available as he was ready to serve a simple, humble woman. The church there and the scene is affecting. Look at verse 39,  “Peter went with them and when he arrived, he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.” That’s her situation. Now we see another powerful and important attribute of Peter’s apostolic ministry, and that is prayer. Prayer goes right together with faith. It is where Peter got his power, from prayer. Prayer is humbling. It’s saying to God, I can’t do anything apart from you.

We’ve already asserted Peter’s humble, faithful dependence on Christ. He gives Christ full credit for Aeneas’ healing. But in this case, I think his faith led him to pray rather than say what Christ was going to do. He doesn’t say, “Christ raises you from the dead.” I don’t think he knew what Christ intended. I don’t think he knew necessarily at that moment. Death is the final enemy, only at the end of the world will it be defeated. Death is going to be with us until the second coming of Christ. So it is not clear and obvious that he’s intending to raise this dead woman or effectively resuscitate her back into the life she lived before. That is not normal. I think he wanted to find out what the Lord’s intention was. There was no doubt in Peter’s mind that Christ had the power to do it, but did He will to do it. Peter sends everyone out. He wants to pray, and he does it alone. Look at verse 40, “Peter sent them all out of the room, then he got down his knees and prayed”, and somewhere in there the Lord told him He wanted to raise Tabitha from the dead.

I think this is powerful. If you don’t know what to do in your life, if you just need wisdom, get down on your knees and ask God to tell you what to do, and He will tell you, He will lead you. He’ll tell you what his will is for you. He determined to Peter that He indeed wanted to raise this woman from the dead. Look at verse 40 and 41, “Turning toward the dead woman. He said, ‘Tabitha, get up.’ She opened her eyes and seeing Peter, she sat up, he took her by the hand, helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive.” What an incredible moment that must have been. An incredible moment. What joy. So much joy at that moment. We see Christ uses astonishing miracles to build his church. These are two amazing miracles.

You have never seen anything like this in your life. We get so accustomed to the miracles of the Bible. It’s like, oh yeah, another miracle. Really. Tell me about the last time you saw something like this with your own eyes. This is highly amazing and unusual. Let’s not become blase about what happened with Aeneas and Tabitha. This is incredible. You’ve never seen a paralyzed man laying in a bed for eight years rise up immediately strengthened and normal and healed because of the word of someone in the name of Jesus Christ. You’ve never seen that. As amazing as that is, I think sometimes paralyzed people do get healed. Rare, but it happens. But dead people dead for many hours, if not a day or two at this point. Never seen anything like that. 

All of the miracles, the healings that Jesus did himself and then He did through the church, through the apostles, all of them are displays of his deity and his heart of compassion and care.  But ultimately, they are signs of a future reality that hasn’t come here yet. A world in which they will be no more death, mourning, crying or pain. Aren’t you yearning for that? All of these healings are little pictures of the real healing that is yet to come. And what is that? Jesus said it, “I am the resurrection in the life. He who believes in me will live even though he dies and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” The resurrection of the body into a body that can never perish or spoil, that is the miracle we’re all waiting for, and it’s going to happen. Jesus says very plainly in John 6, three times, “I will raise him up at the last day”. He’s going to raise us up. That’s the miracle we’re waiting for.

So if you’re a cessationist, fine, so much for being a cessationist, you don’t believe in your own bodily resurrection from the dead. I know you’re counting on it, looking forward to it, yearning for it. I’ve had the privilege of getting to know Don Carson, D.A. Carson through “Ministry of the Gospel Coalition.” And he has Parkinson’s, a very degenerative and violent disease just wrecks the body. He’s had to pull back from a lot of ministries as a result. He said beautifully, “There’s nothing that’s happened to me that a good resurrection can’t cure.” I love that. That is the miracle we’re waiting for. 

But in the meantime, in the meantime, we have another miracle, and let’s not minimize it. Conversions, salvation for sinners. None of that can just happen. Jesus said it to Peter at Caesarea of Philippi. It cannot happen except by the direct revelation of God to a spiritually dead person by the preaching of the gospel.  And that’s what happened. Look at verse 35, “All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him (Aeneas) and turned to the Lord.” That’s a revival. Huge numbers of people were converted as a result of Aeneas’ healing. And again, verse 42, with Tabatha, “this became known all over Joppa.” Many people believed in the Lord, signs and wonders building the church and they still build it. We don’t need him to do this again. You read about it in the Bible and know Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. If he chooses to do a miracle of healing, we should  as in James 5, pray for it and ask for it, and the Lord will raise him up if it’s his will. But the real miracle that we need is the forgiveness of sins and salvation and then the future bodily resurrection from the dead. 

the real miracle that we need is the forgiveness of sins and salvation and then the future bodily resurrection from the dead

IV. Humility and Simon, the Tanner

I want to make a final note, something that I didn’t know, but as I was studying, I came to find out, and that’s the kind of humility that we see in Peter in verse 43. Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.  The tanner’s trade was generally despised by Jews. I mean they’re constantly immersed in the blood and entrails of dead animals and in the skins and all that, getting them ready. It’s a nasty trade. As a result, they were just a click above from lepers or that woman with the bleeding problem. They were generally despised. What I see as I start to connect the dots is the Lord is getting Peter ready to be free from his taboos. I mean, first of all, it’d be interesting to stay in the home of a tanner, especially on a hot day. But here’s Simon willing to open his home to him. And he therefore, as Jesus said, when he first sent out the apostles two by two, he talked about people welcoming them. He said, “Whoever receives or welcomes you welcomes me. And he who receives me receives the one who sent me.  Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet, receive a prophet’s reward. Anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. And if anyone gives one of these messengers of mine, even a cup of cold water, he will never lose his reward.” Simon, the tanner is open for that reward because he hosted Peter. And that’s where Peter’s going to be in the next chapter when we connect the dots. Peter has to overcome a massive hurdle as a Jew and gone into the home of a Gentile and eat with him. The Lord’s going to get him ready. God willing, we’ll talk about that next week. 

V. Application 

The miracles, all of this are pictures of salvation. The work is taking sinners like you and me that I described very clearly in Romans 3. That’s you, all of you and me, and saving us from eternal damnation that we all deserve because of those sins.

Has that happened to you? Have you been transformed by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ? He is the only savior. I have given you all of the facts you need in birth, the sinless life, the miraculous life, the atoning death and the bodily resurrection of Jesus, and the need you have of repentance and faith. If you repent and believe in Jesus, your sins will be forgiven. The question is, has that happened to you? I think there’s almost no chance that every person I’m speaking to here today is a Christian. So how dangerous would it be for you to hear a message like this and walk out unconverted? Don’t do that today. If you hear his voice, don’t harden your heart trust in Christ.

 Secondly, rejoice that Christ builds his church out of imperfect building materials instead of Michelangelos searching for the perfect stone. He’s not looking for the perfect stone.  There aren’t any. Instead, he’s looking for those that will be quarried out of Satan’s dark kingdom and brought into the glory of the new Jerusalem, transformed by his sovereign grace. Thank God he chose you, and be humble about that and realize that He is transforming you and getting you ready for glory. Someday you’re going to shine like the sun. So praise God that you are a living stone, so that as it says in 1 Corinthians 1, “Let Him who boast, boast in the Lord.” 

Thirdly, study the attributes of Peter on display. I believe that you have the bandwidth mentally to handle that. You are both a living stone and a craftsman or called to be a craftsman building the building. You’re both, you’re a living stone in it and you are a craftsman helping with the power of the spirit to build it. What kind of attributes have we seen in Peter? A focus on the kingdom of God. It’s why I am here. This is what I’m doing today. What are you doing today? I am seeking to build the kingdom of God.

Fourthly, humility, recognizing you don’t have any power in and of yourself, but only through Christ. You have to abide in Christ for him to do anything through you. And then you’re willing to associate with anybody, common people, humility.

Fifthly, faith, seeing Christ at work and joining him in that work, that faith, trusting in Christ. Prayer, kneeling down and asking God to use you and to direct you and empower you and to specifically heal this person or work in this way or save this person prayer. Then powerful evangelistic fruitfulness as we just ask God for it.

Then finally, let’s honor women like Tabitha. Let’s be the kind of church where we actually notice, not just women, but men who unsung tasks are those that ordinarily people would not notice. Let’s thank God for those tasks and encourage people in those kinds of patterns of service. 

Close with me in prayer. Father, we thank you for this wonderful text today. We thank you for the things that we’ve learned from it. We pray that you would use these truths to build your church, not just here in Durham, but even to the ends of the earth. Lord, we pray that you would be working in us and be working in churches like us around the world in the same gospel work that Peter was doing. It goes on to this very day in Jesus name, Amen.

These are only preliminary, unedited outlines and may differ from Andy’s final message.

The most famous church building in the world is St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It is massive… 452 feet high, 730 feet long, covering a total of 5.7 acres, and it can accommodate over 20,000 people.

It is a spectacular building that took over a century to complete. It is made of the finest materials that could be purchased by the Roman Catholic authorities over the course of the 16^th century. Its soaring columns and its overwhelming dome dominate the scene, but its most breathtaking ornament is a single sculpture made by arguably the greatest sculptor of all time—Michelangelo. It is called the “Pieta,” and it pictures the Virgin Mary holding the dead body of her son, our Lord Jesus Christ, across her lap.

Michelangelo was commissioned by the Pope to do this monument in 1497, and in 1498 he traveled 240 miles to a quarry in Carrara northwest of Florence to select the perfect block of marble. He was so discriminating that it took him over nine months before he finally chose it, a single piece of pure white Carrara marble. It may be the most celebrated piece of rock in human history, the result of the choosiest eye of the greatest sculptor who ever lived. He would not allow any workman to quarry it… he did it himself, lest it be damaged in any way. He finally freed it from the mountain, used a complex pulley system to lift it onto a wooden sled, and then started its journey to Rome.

The marble has a stunning translucent shimmer to it, making it glow and seems almost alive.

As I pondered this amazing achievement by a human sculptor on a block of stone, I thought about Michelangelo’s stunning selectivity… NINE MONTHS choosing exactly the right stone. It had to be perfect, no flaws, no structural weaknesses. It would become the most famous ornament in the most famous church building in the world.

How differently does Jesus Christ, the master architect and builder of the true and eternal church, go about his process!! His building of his church is out of vastly inferior materials:

1 Peter 2:4-5  As you come to him, the living Stone– rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him–  ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house

These “living stones” we are told are all of them stunningly flawed by sin:

Romans 3:10-18  “There is no one righteous, not even one;  ¹¹ there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.  ¹² All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”  ¹³ “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.”  ¹⁴ “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”  ¹⁵ “Their feet are swift to shed blood;  ¹⁶ ruin and misery mark their ways,  ¹⁷ and the way of peace they do not know.”  ¹⁸ “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

A stunning contrast! In the middle of that list is the word “worthless.” The Greek word is achreio… of no use whatsoever. The kind of stone an architect would definitely reject immediately. Instead these are exactly the kinds of stones Christ has been building his true church with for over two thousand years.

And the Apostle Peter is a prime example. A sinner saved by grace, useless in himself, but made useful to the Master by the transforming power of God’s grace in Christ.

I believe Peter spoke of the building project in 1 Peter 2 because he will never forget the moment he first heard of Christ building the church. That day Christ gave Simon his new name, Peter (meaning “rock”) and told him he would be building his church on that rock to stand for all eternity.

I. Christ Builds His Church

Matthew 16:18  And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

A. Christ Spoke Those Words to Peter

1. They were on a retreat in Caesarea Philippi

2. Jesus was training his apostles in the gospel ministry he would entrust to them

3. He asked them “Who do people say I am?” They gave various answers

4. Then he asked them, “What about YOU? Who do you say I am?”

5. Peter gave his timeless answer

Matthew 16:16  “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

6. Jesus spoke this blessing on Peter

Matthew 16:17   Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.

a. Only by direct revelation of God through the Spirit on a human soul can anyone know truly who Jesus is

b. The true identity of Jesus is the “mystery of godliness” that is incomprehensible to the natural mind

c. But God has the power to reveal Christ to the minds of ordinary people by his Spirit and in response to the proclamation of the Word of Christ, the gospel

d. Only by this work of God in a human heart can anyone make Peter’s confession: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

7. Then Jesus said

Matthew 16:18  And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

8. Since his ascension to heaven and the Day of Pentecost, Jesus Christ has been fulfilling his promise to build his church

B. This is How Christ Builds

1. He received the eternal plan from his Father, determined from before the foundation of the earth

2. In the fulness of time, he entered the world and lived his sinless life, a perfect righteousness in full obedience to God’s laws

3. At the perfect time, he laid down his life on the cross and on the third day rose again from the dead

4. He ascended to heaven to take his seat at the right hand of God

5. In this, Christ laid the foundation for the eternal temple of God, the church of the living God

1 Corinthians 3:11  For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

C. Then He Sent His Spirit to Complete the Building…

1. By the power of his Spirit is the church rising day after day to become a dwelling in which God lives with his people

2. As we shall see today, he uses common people doing both common things (like a woman sowing garments or a tanner showing hospitality) and supernatural things (an apostle doing stunning miracles in the name of Jesus Christ)

3. AND especially the power of the gospel message, spreading as a result of these works, leading more and more people to salvation

II. Christ Uses Common People

A. Peter Was a Common Man

1. Ordinary fisherman

2. Chosen along with his brother Andrew as they were fishing one day on the Sea of Galilee

3. There was nothing extraordinary about him at all

4. He was no theological genius or man of great valor

5. Ordinary in every way

B. Peter Was a Common Sinner

1. To make matters worse, throughout the gospels Peter is revealed as a sinful man

2. That same day in Caesarea Philippi, when Jesus revealed that he was going to die in Jerusalem, Peter took him aside and rebuked him saying, “Never… this shall never happen to you!”

3. Jesus in turn rebuked him with the sharpest rebuke he ever gave any of his true apostles:

Matthew 16:23 “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

4. But that wasn’t his lowest point; not by a longshot!

5. Prideful, Peter boasting that he was the greatest of all the apostles

6. The night Jesus was arrested, he predicted that all his apostles would fall away in unbelief

Matthew 26:33 Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”

In other words, I am your most faithful disciple.

He clearly boasted,

Luke 22:33 “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”

But Jesus rightly predicted:

Matthew 26:34 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”

7. All four gospels reveal Peter’s stunning and shameful fall into cowardice, deceit, and denial of his faith in Jesus

8. He even called down curses on himself if he even knew Jesus.

9. When the rooster crowed, the Lord Jesus turned and looked straight at him. He then remembered what Jesus had said he would do, as well as all he had promised, and he went outside and wept bitterly

C. Peter Restored

1. The Lord Jesus after his resurrection specifically showed himself to Peter

2. He also gave Peter a three-fold opportunity to confess his love for him and he did

3. Jesus forgave Peter and immediately restored him to his place of leadership among the apostles

4. Peter led the way in preaching the great Pentecost sermon

5. Peter and John were the first of the apostles to be arrested for their preaching of the gospel

6. Peter boldly said

Acts 4:12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

7. Acts 8: Peter was used by God, along with John, to lay hands on the Samaritan believers so they could receive the Holy Spirit

D. Peter the Focus

1. Peter is the main focus here in this account… and for the next three chapters as well

2. It will be Peter’s great privilege to unlock the gospel for the Gentiles in the next chapter

3. Here we see his powerful ministry of working miracles for two very common people

4. Peter was a common man, a common sinner, used greatly by God

E. Two Common People Healed

1. Aeneas: we know nothing about him at all, except that he was paralyzed; he may not even have been a believer, since it just says “a certain man” whereas Tabitha was called “a certain disciple”

2. Tabitha (also called Dorcas) was a common, ordinary woman who used her ordinary skills as a seamstress to make clothes for widows; her works so greatly endeared her to them that they were all standing around Peter weeping and showing him the clothes she had made for them

F. The Accounts

1. Aeneas

Acts 9:32-35  As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda.  ³³ There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years.  ³⁴ “Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up.  ³⁵ All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

2. Tabitha (Dorcas)

Acts 9:36-43  In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor.  ³⁷ About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room.  ³⁸ Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!”  ³⁹ Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.  ⁴⁰ Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up.  ⁴¹ He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive.  ⁴² This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.  ⁴³ Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.

G. Peter’s Admirable Attributes

1. Fully dedicated to the gospel ministry

a. Peter was a married man (he had a mother-in-law whom Jesus healed in Mark 2)

b. But he was willing to leave her and his family for long periods of time to serve Christ

Luke 18:28-30  Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!”  ²⁹ “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God  ³⁰ will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.”

c. He was constantly visiting believers in various places, preaching, teaching, strengthening them, leading them

d. He was fully devoted to the gospel ministry, and was a very busy, hardworking man

e. He came to Lydda (also known as Lod), about 9 miles southeast from modern-day Tel Aviv… about 25 miles northwest of Jerusalem

f. He was there to build up the church by his apostolic ministry

g. He lived every day of his life for the gospel of Christ

2. Humbly dealing with common people

a. Peter, this great leader, was not too busy for two very humble, common people

b. Often these great leaders can’t be bothered with “the little people”

c. But Jesus was amazingly accessible by anyone and everyone

d. He mixed and mingled with very common people

e. This included children… little ones who it would seem would be far beneath the attention of a great man like Jesus

f. But when the apostles tried to prevent the children from coming to him, he sternly rebuked them

Mark 10:14-16  When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  ¹⁵ I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”  ¹⁶ And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.

Jesus’ humility trained Peter in humility

Luke 22:25-27  Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors.  ²⁶ But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.  ²⁷ For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

So a nobody like Aeneas, and a humble elderly woman like Tabitha, these people were not beneath Peter’s attention. Like Jesus he gave himself fully to them!

3. Christ-centered

a. When he came to Aeneas’s bedside, a man who had been paralyzed for eight years, he was there as a servant of Christ

b. Peter was humble enough to know that he had no power whatsoever to heal anyone

c. But the Lord did his healing work THROUGH a common servant like Peter

d. Note what he said,

“Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you!”

e. Peter does not take on himself a power he clearly doesn’t have; Christ alone could heal this man

f. This reminds me of what Jesus said to them

John 15:5  I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

g. It was Jesus doing his powerful work in and through Peter that accomplished both of these healings

h. Peter gave Christ the full glory… he was not doing it in his own name

4. Faith

a. Peter knew ahead of time what Jesus was intending to do

b. Christ had revealed it to him in his spirit before he spoke the words

c. Faith doesn’t create reality; faith sees what Christ is doing and joins in to do our part

5. Power

a. The power of Christ flowed through Peter to heal Aeneas

b. He was effective!

Acts 9:34  Immediately Aeneas got up.

Note also that Peter told him to take care of his mat.

Ordinarily, it would take months of rehab, convalescence, to train the atrophied muscles in their duties. Aeneas had been bed-ridden for EIGHT YEARS! But he was instantly strengthened and was now able to look after his own needs.

H. Tabitha

1. Her name means “female gazelle”

2. As we’ve said, she was a common woman with a basic skill, sewing, that she used to serve widows and others in the church

3. She was clearly beloved; she represents godly women who do quiet unsung ministries that bless the lives of many without ever being recorded (usually) on the pages of the history books

4. She is very much like the poor old woman who put in two copper coins and whom Jesus noted and praised as having given more than all the others

5. She also represents the Proverbs 31 woman in one of her gifts and duties:

Proverbs 31:17-22  She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.  ¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.  ¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.  ²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.  ²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.  ²² She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

6. Every godly woman who has quiet unsung skills and works hard to bless others in the church are honored through her

I. Her Healing

1. She lived in Joppa, modern-day Jaffa, again on the Mediterranean coast near Tel Aviv

2. Joppa was the port city from which Jonah got on the ship to flee from the Lord; it was also the city by which the timbers for Solomon’s temple were delivered from Lebanon

3. The people of the church in Joppa heard that Peter was in Lydda; we are told in the account that “Lydda was near Joppa”… we don’t know the distance, but somewhere between 6-15 miles

4. They sent for Peter, probably hearing of the miraculous healing of Aeneas… as well as all the other healings God had done in Jerusalem through Peter

5. Tabitha had gotten sick and had died; the people washed her body (as was traditional), but they put her in an upper room rather than burying her right away (which was highly unusual)

6. Clearly hoping for a miracle

7. Peter came, available as he was, ready to serve a simple, humble woman, and the church there

8. The scene was affecting:

Acts 9:39  Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

9. Another attribute of Peter: PRAYER

a. We’ve already asserted Peter’s humble, faith-filled dependence on Christ… giving Christ full credit for Aeneas’s healing

b. In this case, it may well be his faith led him to pray rather than immediately raise her from the dead

c. He may not have known when he arrived what Christ’s will was

d. Death is the “final enemy”… only at the end of the world will it be defeated

e. But Christ does have the power to do resuscitations… raising dead people back into the state they were in before they died as a picture of the future and actual resurrection from the dead

f. So, Peter wants to find out what Christ’s will is… and he wants to do it ALONE

Acts 9:40  Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed.

10. Then, having determined Christ DOES want to raise her from the dead, he spoke simply to her

Acts 9:40-41  Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up.  ⁴¹ He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive.

III. Christ Uses Astonishing Miracles

A. Two Amazing Miracles

1. We grow so accustomed to the miracle accounts un the New Testament that we forget how absolutely amazing these two miracles are

2. None of us in this room today has every seen anything as great as what happened to Aeneas… a man bedridden for eight years, instantly healed by the simple words of Peter

3. He immediately rises from his sick bed and has full strength to walk and care for his bed

4. But as amazing as that was, Tabitha’s resuscitation was far greater

5. Sometimes in this world paralyzed people do rise up and walk again, though through amazing medical interventions and stunning efforts by physical therapists. BUT IT DOES HAPPEN, though not instantly and at a word

6. But NO DEAD PEOPLE rise up after many hours or a day or so like Tabitha

7. Death is the unconquerable foe

B. Note the EFFECT

1. After Aeneas rose up… many people were converted

Acts 9:35  All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

The words “all those who lived in …” should not make us think it was universal salvation; but rather, as when we say “everybody was talking about the hurricane” or “everyone watched the Super Bowl”… it was the most common and widespread response

Like a revival… large numbers coming to Christ

2. And again, with Tabitha

Acts 9:42  This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.

The signs and wonders pointed to the truth of the gospel

The physical miracles validated the power of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ

And they pointed to the true healing from sin that Christ alone can give:

John 11:25-26  “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;  ²⁶ and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.

At some point, death seized both of these two people; death paralyzed Aeneas’s legs permanently, and they never walked again

Death laid Tabitha out once and for all, and she has not gotten up again

But the true healing from all that sin and death has done is the final resurrection.

D.A. Carson, struggling in a body ravaged by Parkinson’s disease, tweeted “It’s nothing that a good resurrection won’t cure!”

IV. Humility and Simon the Tanner

A. A Final Note:

Acts 9:43  Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.

B. There is a Larger Story of Humility Behind These Words

1. The tanner’s trade was generally despised among the Jewish people

2. Tanners were constantly immersed in the blood and gore of the carcasses of dead animals

3. Their workshops reeked of this stench day and night, especially on hot days

4. Tanners were generally seen almost as outcasts, similar to lepers or the woman with the bleeding problem

5. Simon showed humility in housing Peter as a messenger of the gospel for a long time, and therefore stands in line for an eternal reward as Jesus said

Matthew 10:40-41  He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me.  ⁴¹ Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.

6. PETER for his part is having any of his conservative Jewish taboos broken down

a. First with the Samaritans, now with this tanner

b. Next, will be Gentiles… with Cornelius

c. God will show Peter a vision of clean and unclean animals preparing him to go into the house of a Gentile and lead him to Christ

d. Ordinarily a law-abiding Jew would never cross the threshold of a Gentile home, still less sit at table and eat with him

e. Staying in the home of Simon the Tanner was preparing him for the greatest missionary calling of his life

f. More next time!!

V. Applications

A. The Miracles Are Pictures of Salvation… Come to Christ!

B. Rejoice that Christ Builds His Church Out of Imperfect Stones!

C. Study the Attributes of Peter on Display Here

1. Dedication and availability to Christ and the work of the gospel

2. Humility

a. willingness to associate with common people

b. giving all credit to Christ

3. Faith (seeing Christ at work before he joins in)

4. Prayer (kneeling down, asking Christ to work)

5. Powerful evangelistic fruitfulness

D. Honor Women Like Tabitha

1. Like the widow with the two copper coins

2. Jesus wants us to honor humble servants like her