Pause (Acts 9:28-43)

Peace, Healing, & Resurrection in Christ

After the increasing persecution against the apostles and then the violent outbreak of severe persecution at the death of Stephen, the church was scattered taking the gospel message with them as the Lord had said that they would. Then in Acts 9, we have the account of the conversion of their chief persecutor—Saul of Tarsus (AKA Paul). After time alone in the desert, Saul returned to Damascus and preached boldly about Jesus. Some years later, when he journeyed to Jerusalem and everyone was afraid to trust him, Barnabas broke the ice and introduced Saul/Paul to the apostles and brothers at Jerusalem as one who had seen the Lord and had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. (v.27). Pastor Mark spoke on these events and more in a message last week about “Interruptions.”

This week we are reviewing a few of those verses and finishing Acts 9 with the theme, “Pause.” This passage comes as the transition between two major sections of Acts. Verses 9:28-31 summarize the preceding section and then v. 32-43 change focus from Paul to Peter and set the stage for the major events in Acts 10. It is in this “seam” that we can learn a few things from the “pause.”

1) God’s Plan & Timing are Best (v.28-30)

      So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem,

                preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 

    And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. 

But they were seeking to kill him. 

    And when the brothers learned this,

                         they brought him down to Caesarea

                               and sent him off      to Tarsus.

Here are a few thoughts from this passage:

• Sometimes we can win the battle and lose the war.
• Sometimes we can take upon ourselves a role that the Lord has not assigned. It seems that Paul naturally took up the ministry of Stephen, for whose death he was to some extent responsible. While this seems the honorable thing to do, God had a different plan for Paul…on no less filled with danger and suffering.
• The church didn’t need Saul to end up like Stephen at that time. Great violence had been released, now things were settling down.

This action on the part of the brother was neither compromise, nor cowardice, but caring intervention on behalf of their former enemy.

2) Peace—State of the Church Summary

    So the church

                  throughout all Judea and

                                         Galilee and

                                         Samaria

                        had peace and was being built up.

         And walking in the fear of the Lord

                      and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, 

                     it multiplied.

They had come through intense persecution into a period of relative peace. This would happen many times over the first 300 years of church history. They had benefited from the ministry of the Apostles and others such as Stephen and Philip the evangelist. God was doing his work whether in times of persecution, or times of peace, such as that which they now enjoyed.

A Peaceful Setting

The Lord’s “Pause” Brought…

• Purposeful Peace—instead of being torn down or worn down, this was a time not only of no persecution but of their being built up.
• Spiritual Peace—for they were walking in “the fear of the Lord,” which should be considered a combination of loving obedience and worship. It is an indicator of a greater level of relationship with the Lord.
• Internal Peace—for they were comforted by the Holy Spirit. At this moment they were experiencing greater encouragement from the Lord.
• Missional Peace—the church multiplied. It not only grew spiritually but also grew numerically as people heard the gospel and responded in faith.

What is the state of our church today?

• Are we persecuted or at peace?
• Do we fear the Lord or are we more concerned about something else?
• Do we sense the very real comfort of the Holy Spirit?
• Are we multiplying? Are we growing? I remember a quote from my late pastor (Ron Mehl) back in the late 1970s. When interviewed by the local newspaper and asked about the sudden growth of his church, he said, “I am more concerned about growing big people, not a big church.”

3) Downs & Ups: The Healing of Aeneas

   Now as Peter went here and there among them all,

                he came down also to the saints

                                                          who lived at Lydda.  [Plain of Sharon]

     There he found a man named Aeneas,

                                          bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. 

         And Peter said to him,        “Aeneas, 

                   Jesus Christ heals you;

                                                  rise and make your bed.”

                 And immediately he rose. 

                                   And all       the residents of Lydda

                                                                              and Sharon saw him,

                                       and they turned to the Lord.

One of my favorite things about this incident is Peter’s instruction to the man that was healed, “Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” This verse should be well used by parents don’t you think? The man has been bedridden for eight years and Peter tells him to make his bed. I find that hilarious…but also poignant. That season is past, a new season of purpose has come.

When people saw this miracle, they turned to the Lord. How was this different from today? If we saw someone who was paralyzed for 8 years get healed in the name of Jesus, would we “turn to the Lord”? I am not so sure. We have a saying in America that “seeing is believing”, but now that may not be entirely true. Recently on vacation, while standing in a parking lot, my nephew pointed his cellphone camera at me and told me not to move. I thought that he was going to take a picture, but instead he told me that I had a bug on my shoulder.  He was playing “Pokemon Go” and apparently there was a virtual insect on my shoulder that he was trying to capture. It seems that we have become jaded by special effects to the point that when posting photos on Instagram a popular hashtag is #nofilter. If a B-movie like Sharknado can have four or five sequels then we know we don’t really believe what we see.

4) The Resurrection of Dorcas

   Now there was in Joppa     a disciple named Tabitha,

                                                                         which, translated,

                                                               means Dorcas. 

                         She was full of good works and

                                                  acts of charity. 

   In those days she became ill and died,

                                       and when they had washed her,

                                                       they laid her in an upper room. 

                                                                   Since Lydda

                was near Joppa, the disciples,

                                                 hearing that Peter was there,

                                                 sent two men to him,

                                                                 urging him, 

          “Please come to us without delay.” 

   So  Peter rose and went with them.

               And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room.

All the widows stood beside him weeping

                                             and showing tunics and other garments

                                                                    that Dorcas made

                while she    was with them. 

   But Peter put them all outside,

                   and knelt down and prayed;

                   and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.”

                  And she opened her eyes,

         and when she saw Peter she sat up,

    And he gave her his hand and raised her up.

                      Then calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 

    And it became known throughout all Joppa,

                              and many believed in the Lord. 

    And he stayed in Joppa for many days

                                          with one Simon, a tanner.

Joppa was a mostly Gentile town at the time, but here was a woman who worked hard for the poor. In Acts it is instructive to notice what people are “full of” for Luke uses the descriptive phrase at least nine times. Dorcas/Tabitha is described as being, “full of good works and acts of charity.” The crowd of widows were basically saying, “What will we do without her?” And their case for Peter’s intervention may be an appeal to Proverbs 31.

At this time I would like to list other examples of the dead being raised.

      Resurrections In the OT

• 1 Kings 17:17-22 The widow’s son raised by Elijah
• 2 Kings 4:32-35  The Shunammite’s son by Elisha
• 2 Kings 13:20-21 A dead man’s body accidentally touches Elisha’s bones and comes back to life (perhaps fulfilling the “double portion” request of Elisha).
• Jonah 2 There is some question whether Jonah’s language from the belly of the “great fish” is merely a figurative poetic description or an actual resurrection? Either way it is miraculous.

Resurrections In the NT

• Matthew 9:23-25 Jairus’ daughter by Jesus
• Luke 7:11-15 The widow’s only son
• Matthew 11:4-6 Jesus’ answer to John’s disciples (Luke 7:22;
• John 11:43-44 Lazarus raised on 4th day by Jesus
• Matthew 27:52-53 Many saints were raised when Jesus died
• Acts 9 6-40 This passage where Dorcus is raised by Jesus through Peter
• Acts 14:19-20 Paul was stoned at Lystra thought to be dead. This was either a mistake by the executioners or a miracle by God (or both).
• Acts 20:7-12 Eutychus raised by Paul after he fell asleep during a long sermon and fell out of a window (don’t try this!).
• Rev. 11:8, 11 the two witnesses (in Apocalyptic symbolism) are raised up to the dismay of the world.

And finally,

• Acts 3:15; 4:10; 13:30,34; Romans 6:9; 8:11, etc. testify that Jesus was raised from

  

  Empty Tomb

  the dead on the third day! 1 Corinthians 15 is the chapter on the theological ramifications of resurrection. If Jesus wasn’t raised we believe in vain. But because He was raised, we have hope.

5) Our Hope (Romans 8:10-11)

But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin,

                                                  the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 

   If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,

                           he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead

                                                    will also give life to your mortal bodies 

                                       through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Eternal life is not so much a place, or a thing, but knowing/relating to a person, as Jesus said, “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3)

In like of this, we will now draw near to the Lord in Holy Communion. I like what John D. Zizioulas wrote about communion,

“In the Eucharist we can find all the dimensions of communion: God communicates himself to us, we enter into communion with him, the participants of the sacrament enter into communion with one another, and creation as a whole enters through man into communion with God. All this takes place in Christ and the Spirit, who brings the last days into history and offers to the world a foretaste of the Kingdom.” ― John D. Zizioulas, Communion and Otherness: Further Studies in Personhood and the Church

Let’s read together,

And when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, 

“This cup is the new covenant in my blood.

Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

       For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,

                                you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. (1 Cor. 11:24-27)

It is as we pause, and proclaim his death on our behalf, that we in joy remember his resurrection that brings the hope we need until his return!