2008-08-22
PETER, AENEAS, TABITHA AND CORNELIUS
01. Our previous teaching dealt with the conversion of an Ethiopian minister of finance by the ministry of Philip and we also dwelt on the conversion of Paul.
02. The present teaching returns to the ministry of the apostle Peter and deals with miracles he performed in regard to a man called Aeneas and a lady named Tabitha. We also discuss Peter’s preaching of the Gospel to an Italian centurion called Cornelius.
03. We read from Acts chapter 9:32-39:
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.
04. We last spoke about Peter when we dealt with God’s judgment of Ananias and Sapphirah. Peter was chosen by Jesus to be the first leader of the apostles in Jerusalem. In the first chapters of the Book of Acts, Peter’s ministry is at the forefront but then the emphasis shifts to the ministry of Paul.
Peter did not only minister to the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem but he also visited the believers in distant towns like Lydda and even Joppa which is on the west coast of Palestine overlooking the Mediterranean sea. It was here that he found Aeneas who had been paralytised and unable to walk for 8 years. When Peter spoke Christ’s healing over him, he got up and walked around.
We must remember that at that time, the Gospel was a new teaching and that most Jewish people that had been brought up to serve the God of Abraham on the basis of the Law as taught by Moses, had very little understanding of the grace of God. They would not easily be moved by words alone to take a step of faith and put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. They were not just hardened and skeptical like the Pharisees, but were hesitant and afraid to be deceived. God is always willing to assist such people by giving them a greater revelation of His glory and what better way was there than to raise up a pitiable lame man, a man from their midst. When they saw Aeneas, whom, in that small little town all of them knew, walking, and perhaps running around and giving testimony of what Jesus did for him through the ministry of Peter, their smouldering faith flared up like when petrol is poured onto fire. Many of them trusted Jesus to save them and give them eternal life. Glory to God.
Do remember that miracles are not limited to those times. We should also expect God to perform miracles through our ministries. Can you imagine the joy in Lydda and Sharon as scores of people gave witness of the joy they had found in Christ. But God had still greater things in store for Peter.
05. So let us read from verse 36 to verse 39:
In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcasa), 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.
06. While Lydda and Sharon were rejoicing in what Jesus had done for them, the people of Joppa were mourning for death had struck in their midst, taking away one of their dearest sisters in the Lord, a dear lady called Thabitha or Dorcas, both names meaning a “gazelle”. As we know a gazelle is a joy to watch as it runs and jumps with joy and never harms anybody. The sisters washed her body and laid it in an upper room as was the custom when preparing a corpse for burial.
However, instead of burying her, they sent for Peter. He probably left the joy of Lydda immediately and rushed to Joppa for that hot climate necessitated the burial to be as soon as possible. On arrival, the leaders took him to the upper room where the lifeless body lay stretched out on the bed. In the meantime all the widows of the town had returned to their homes to collect all the robes and other clothing Dorcas had made for them. Each had an armful and sobbing pitifully, tears running down their cheeks, they showed these to Peter, expressing their heartfelt grief for the passing away of their dear sister in the Lord. I am sure that Peter was deeply moved and that, in his heart, he cried out to God imploring Him to reverse this tragedy.
07. Let us continue reading from verse 40 to 43:
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.
08. Peter must have received confirmation from God that it was His will to restore Tabitha’s life. He could however not do it in the presence of this wailing crowd. Some, had faith for the miracle that God wanted to do. Most, however, probably just ecperienced sorrow and tears alone will not bring about a miracle. God wants faith. So Peter sent all of them out of the room, then knelt down, looked away from the dead body, focussed on God and prayed. Next, he turned to the silent corpse and spoke the following words of faith “Tabitha, get up.” Then God’s mighty power, by which he raised Christ from the dead, operated in this little upper room and Tabitha opened her eyes, saw Peter, took his offered hand and got up. All that remained was for Peter to call in the widows that, I am sure, were anxiously waiting and praying downstairs, not knowing what to expect. Can you imagine the astonishment and shouts of joy as the risen lady Tabitha Dorcas stepped forth from the room of death to meet the waiting believers.
Friends, our Lord Jesus is full of compassion and He, I think, often He cries when we cry. Let us also remember that on His ascension to heaven He said “Unto Me has been given all power in Heaven and on earth, go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” When we are responding to His command by making disciples, we can expect to see our efforts accompanied by miracles.
09. There are two more questions I feel we should deal with in regard to this incident. The first is “Why did God allow Tabitha to die?” I think the answer is that she was allowed to die so that the Lord Jesus might be glorified and that the believers’ faith may be strengthened by her resurrection. The reason I say this is that when Lazarus died (see Luke 11:4 and 15) and word was brought to Jesus, He said that this sickness was not unto death but that the Son of God may be glorified and that the faith of His disciples in Him may be strengthened.
10. The second question is, “May we also pray for a dead person to be resurrected?” I think the answer is, “yes”, but we must be certain that God wants to do it. Peter probably enquired from the Lord before speaking the words, “Talitha kumi.” We must not forget that, for a believer to die, is for him to pass into eternal glory. Do you think that such a person would really want to return to this life? No, I think not, and God will not do it, unless it is for His glory and for the good of mankind. If the Lord had said no to Peter, he would not have commanded Talitha’s spirit to return to her body. He would have returned to the waiting crowd and said, ‘Sorry, but the Lord said, “No”‘. End of the story.
11. And now we proceed to the next chapter of Acts which is chapter 10, reading from verse 1 to verse 8.
At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, ‘‘Cornelius!” 4 Cornelius stared at him in fear. ‘‘What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, ‘‘Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.” 7 When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. 8 He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.
12. In the above and following Scriptures, we will again see how God brings together those that are desiring to know Him or know Him more intimately but are ignorant as to His ways, and those that have already received more knowledge as to the ways of God. It is as if God is using an overflowing cup to go and fill up an empty one or one that has only a few drops of water in it.
The almost empty cup in this instance, is a leader of a regiment of 100 soldiers of the Roman army stationed at Caesarea, an important harbour on the Mediterranean sea. He was an Italian by birth, but now he was on duty, far from his homeland. Unlike most soldiers of his time that were rather worldly, reckless and mocking those that loved God, this was a righteous man that feared God and prayed regularly. His relationship with the Lord was furthermore practically demonstrated by his giving alms to the poor, having a good name with the Jewish community and also influencing his family and fellow soldiers to serve the Lord. He however, had not received the light of the Gospel. The Lord Jesus saw the earnest desire in his heart to know more and serve God in a deeper way, and sent an angel to deliver a message to him. Seeing the angel, he feared, but the angel quickly allayed his fears, informing him of God’s good pleasure in him and that the Lord wanted him to send to Joppa to call a man named Simon, Peter, through whom the Lord would give him further revelation. Cornelius wasted no time in doing so and sent three devout and trusted men to Caesarea.
13. Now let us see how God prepared the heart and mind of Peter before their arrival. Peter, a devout Christian and also an apostle, was at the same time a devout Jew that would never enter the home of a Gentile, that is a non-Jew, for he believed that he would thereby spiritually defile himself before God. To us, this may seem very strange, more so, since Peter had already been down to Samaria where scores of Samaritan non-Jews had found Christ through the ministry of Philip. Peter had even prayed for them and had seen them being filled by the Holy Spirit. Still he could not believe that God saw no difference between a Jew and a Gentile. Perhaps he thought that a Samaritan that also believed in Abraham, was not quite so much of a heathen as an Italian or Roman or whatever. God new this attitude of Peter very well. So He knew that He would have to do something drastic to further enlighten Peter’s mind to think like God thinks, so that he would be willing to accompany the three messengers to Cornelius.
14. Now let us read verses 9-23
About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. 13 Then a voice told him, ‘‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” 14 ‘‘Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. ‘‘I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” 15 The voice spoke to him a second time, ‘‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” 16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. 17 While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. 18 They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there. 19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, ‘‘Simon, three a men are looking for you. 20 So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.” 21 Peter went down and said to the men, ‘‘I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?” 22 The men replied, ‘‘We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to have you come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” 23 Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.”
15. Let us begin by asking why Peter said that he would not eat those animals because they were unclean. You may remember that in the course of our study of certain Old Testament Books like Leviticus, we came across God’s commandments that forbid the Israelites to eat certain animals. The Lord classified them as unclean because of the fact that they had unclean habits like eating the flesh of other animals, eating worms, eating filthy food etc. This commandment was meant to teach God’s people that what He ruled to be unclean, they also were to consider unclean. This was to teach them that certain thoughts and acts He considered to be morally unclean and therefore, sin. Such would spiritually defile a person that would indulge in them. The moral lesson contained in the example of not eating this or that animal, was therefore what really mattered.
Jesus, however, fulfilled the Laws which were given as examples to people of old when He died on the cross, so that only the moral laws of not sinning against God by stealing, swearing, lying etc. remained. There was therefore no need for Peter or any other Jew to keep those laws any longer. The Lord explained to Peter that He had not, when He created heaven and earth, created some animals unclean but that all were clean. They became unclean by their unclean habits. Likewise God did not create some people as unclean but created all to be clean. They become unclean because of their habit to sin.
This is true, not only of the Gentiles, but also of the Jews, just as it is a fact that all peoples may be cleansed from their sin by the Blood of Jesus. It was therefore improper for Peter to see certain people as unclean and that he would spiritually defile himself, should he mix or eat with them as he was taught by his ancestors. What is more, just as Peter was at that moment hungry for food and could very well have eaten any of the animals presented to him on the sheet. Likewise God was hungry for the salvation of all mankind, for peoples of all nations and he wanted to free Peter from his wrong conceptions so as to be able to use him to take the Gospel to the heathen.
This revelation boggled Peter’s mind. However, at that moment there was a knock at the door and the Holy Spirit said to Peter, “Simon, three men are looking for you. Get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.” Peter, knowing the voice of God, went down, invited them in and hosted them for the night.”
16. Now let us read from verse 23b to verse 48:
The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went along. 24 The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. 26 But Peter made him get up. ‘‘Stand up,” he said, ‘‘I am only a man myself.” 27 Talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. 28 He said to them: ‘‘You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?” 30 Cornelius answered: ‘‘Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. 32 Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.” 34 Then Peter began to speak: ‘‘I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. 39 ‘‘We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” 44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues a and praising God. Then Peter said, 47 ‘‘Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.
17. Let us note a few facts from what we have read. Firstly we see that Peter, although he had a clear command from God to accompany these heathen people to their home, knew that he would eventually have to answer to the other leaders who had not had this revelation. So he wisely asked a number of his fellow Jewish Christians to accompany him in order that they may eventually bear witness with him of all that transpired. Christian leaders need to continually receive counselling from the Holy Spirit to guide their footsteps for they may so easily tear a congregation apart although not intending to do so. Those that walk in the Spirit see the traps which satan sets for them and wisely avoid them.
18. Secondly, it is amazing what tremendous respect this commander of a regiment of soldiers had for Peter. He actually fell down at his feet in worship. This is a lesson for us as Christians to respect our God-given leaders, especially those that are clearly being used by God and especially those which God has clearly called to instruct us. I am of course not saying that we must kiss their feet, but we need to show respect under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Peter, on the other hand, did the right thing to say, “No, do not do that for I am merely a human being, just like you.”
19. Thirdly note how many people Cornelius had drawn to God notwithstanding his lack of understanding of His ways.
20. What we can also appreciate about Peter, is that he did not just walk in and started preaching to those gathered there. He first of all enquired from Cornelius what his reason was for calling him. As ministers of God’s Word, we need to be humble and respect the people we are trying to help. Our attitude should be, “You have called me; now how can I serve you.”
21. Once he had honoured his host by giving him the first opportunity to speak, Peter started sharing the Gospel and how gracious were his first words, ‘‘I now realize how true it is that God does not show favour to some but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.” These pleasant words must have opened the hearts of his hearers to accept what was to follow.
22. He then proceeded to tell them the story of Jesus that had ministered throughout the land, was crucified but had risen from the grave and was coming to judge the living and the dead.
23. When he got to the point of saying “All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name,” the Holy Spirit fell upon the listeners just as He had done in regard to the Jewish believers, that is, He probably came in a visible and audible way. This was God’s way of demonstrating to all that He had, on account of the faith He saw in the hearts of these believers, accepted them as His children. He thereby demonstrated clearly that He did not regard certain people above others No, all that put their faith In Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour, would be saved and receive eternal life.
24. The Jewish believers were amazed and Peter quickly used the opportunity to order that these new believers be baptized in water to testify of their new found faith. Now just think of the tremendous joy of these heathen people, realizing that God loved them just as much as the Jews. And look at Peter, he who would a few days ago never have dreamt of entering the home of a heathen person, was not rushing home, but is now happily staying over in the house of Cornelius for another few days. Bless the Lord for His love and mercy!
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