Acts 9:32-35 Peter and Aeneas

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The Acts of the Apostles
Acts 932-43 Peters Ministry

• Acts 932-35 Peter and Aeneas Now as Peter
  was traveling through all those regions, he came
  down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. There
  he found a man named Aeneas, who had been
  bedridden eight years, for he was paralyzed.
  Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals
  you get up and make your
  bed. Immediately he got up. And all
  who lived at Lydda and Sharon
  saw him, and they
  turned to the Lord.
• There were saints already in Lydda (Lod
• of the OT Ezra 233)!
• scattered by persecution in Jerusalem
• Aeneas (Greek) must have believed in the
  healing power of the Lord
  Jesus Christ, or did he?

June 1, 2014 Bob Eckel
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The Acts of the Apostles
Acts 932-43 Peters Ministry

• But there was a command to perform an act make
  your bed
• Are you kidding me, Ive been flat in bed for 8
  years now?
• A precedent set by the Lord Jesus Christ
• Matt 96 Mark 29,11 John 510-12
• This could have been simply evidence of the
  continuing healing power of the Lord Jesus
  Christ.
• And all at Lydda and (plains of) Sharon turned to
  the Lord
• Acts 1121 - And the hand of the Lord was with
  them and a great number believed, and turned
  unto the Lord.
• This work of Peter NW of Jerusalem probably took
  place during Pauls sojourn in Arabia.
• Acts 936-38 Peter is Called when Dorcas Died -
  Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha
  (which translated in Greek is called Dorcas)
  this woman was abounding with deeds of kindness
  and charity which she continually did. And it
  happened at that time that she fell sick and
  died and when they had washed her body,

June 1, 2014 Bob Eckel
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The Acts of the Apostles
Acts 932-43 Peters Ministry

• they laid it in an upper room. Since Lydda was
  near Joppa, the disciples, having heard that
  Peter was there, sent two men to him, imploring
  him, Do not delay in coming to us.
• Joppa (Jaffa today, a suburb of Tel Aviv) was 10
  miles NW of Lydda on the sea.
• The seaport of Jerusalem
• Tabitha (gazelle) or Dorcas was a disciple always
  about doing good her sewing for widows was
  exemplary I Tim 29,10.
• Apparently it was customary for Jews in a seaport
  town to have both a Jewish and Greek name.
• Dorcas died and her body was washed, but not
  buried and burned, but placed in the upper room
  why?
• A place where the saints gathered?
• Two men were sent to implore Peter to come he
  must have been developing a reputation.

June 1, 2014 Bob Eckel
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The Acts of the Apostles
Acts 932-43 Peters Ministry

• Acts 939-43 Peter Raises Dorcas from the Dead
• So Peter arose and went with them. When he
  arrived, they brought him into the upper room
  and all the widows stood beside him, weeping and
  showing all the tunics and garments that Dorcas
  used to make while she was with them. But Peter
  sent them all out 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 and calling the saints and widows, he
  presented her alive. It became known all over
  Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. And Peter
  stayed many days in Joppa with a tanner named
  Simon.
• Death is separation from God but its still
  death!

June 1, 2014 Bob Eckel
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The Acts of the Apostles
Acts 932-43 Peters Ministry

• Peter witnessed the love of Dorcas by the
  presence of the weeping widows and the many
  hanging garments she had sown.
• Why did Peter send everyone out of the room?
• He then shut the door, knelt and prayed
  necessary?
• Yes, he was the lowly servant and this indicated
  his reliance was on the Lord Jesus and the power
  of the HS.
• Elisha and the dead child II Kings 431-36
• And she opened her eyes and sat up
•  This all happened quickly
• As Peter witnessed his Lord do to his own
  mother-in-law - Mark 131.
• Only one other example after the Gospel account
  of raising someone from the dead Acts 209-10
• And is this still happening today?
• The result - It became known all over Joppa, and
  many believed in the Lord.
• A similar effect followed when Jesus raised up
  Lazarus - John 1211.

June 1, 2014 Bob Eckel
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The Acts of the Apostles
Acts 932-43 Peters Ministry

• Why did Peter hang around Joppa and who is Simon
  the tanner?
• Simons house was by the seaside Acts 106
• Tanners were looked upon unfavorably because they
  worked with the skins of dead animals.
• A witness of Peters freedom in Christ?
• Surpassing Jewish prejudice
• In summary, this was a time of the expanding
  body of Christ, of miracles, and the expanding
  boyd of Christ!

June 1, 2014 Bob Eckel
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