“As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the Lord’s people who lived in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years. ‘Aeneas,’ Peter said to him, ‘Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat.’ Immediately Aeneas got up. All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha; she 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. … 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 for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.“
Acts 9:32-42

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JANUARY 14, 2025

Do Peter’s words to the lame man and to Tabitha sound familiar? Commentaries mention how closely Peter imitates Jesus himself in these passages. Jesus healed a lame man and told him to pick up his mat; Peter does the same. Jesus brought a young girl back to life and told her to “get up”; Peter does the same. Prayerfully and totally crediting the power to Jesus, Peter’s life is marked by doing as Jesus did.

After marveling at the amazing, “all at once” transformation that Jesus wrought in Saul, we might not register the more subtle maturing of Peter’s faith.

 Just a few years prior, Peter was afraid to admit to a servant girl—a “nobody” —that he even hung out with Jesus. At Pentecost, Peter boldly proclaimed the gospel even when told not to by powerful men. Now Peter is traveling far from home, confidently visiting “God’s people” and boldly preaching and healing in Jesus’ name. God is bringing Peter on more than a physical journey.

Peter is traveling in an area not as fully Jewish as his previous settings. Traveling through Lydda and Joppa, heading towards the sea, might Peter have started to wonder about the Gentiles he encountered? Was he aware that he was in the very town Jonah had run off to when he didn’t want to call the Gentile Ninevites to repentance?  Might he have begun questioning his own understanding of who God’s grace and salvation were for?

Questions for reflection and discussion:

  • Is God less miraculously at work in those of us who do not have a dramatic conversion story?
  • Can you look back and trace God’s hand in your journey of growing in grace?

 

Church Reading Plan: Genesis 15; Matthew 14