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!

“Such As I Have”: Miracle, Message, & Mandate (Acts 3)

This week, we continue our journey through the Book of Acts by examining Chapter 3.

1) A Miracle: A Lame Beggar Healed (v.1-10)

      Now Peter and John were going up         to the temple

                                              at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 

  And a man lame from birth was being carried, 

                    whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple

                     that is called the Beautiful Gate 

                            to ask alms of those entering the temple. 

  Seeing Peter and John about to go           into the temple,

                                  he asked to receive alms. 

       And Peter directed his gaze at him,

                    as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 

  And he fixed his attention on them,

                                 expecting to receive something from them. 

       But Peter said, “I     have no silver and gold,

                  but what I do have I give to you. 

                    In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,

                                             rise up and walk!” 

  And he took him by the right hand and raised him up,

                          and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.

  And leaping up he stood and began to walk,

                                                       and entered the temple with them,

                                                                walking and

                                                                  leaping and

                                                                    praising God. 

  And                   all the people saw him walking  

                                                             and praising God, 

             and recognized him as the one

                        who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple,

                                  asking               for alms.

And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

This “time of prayer” was the last of the three daily times of prayer (9 am, Noon, 3 pm). The early church continued to participate in the customary times of prayer. One interesting observation is that two named apostles headed to the temple together and were used by God to pronounce healing on this lame beggar. Why two of them? This glimpse of Peter and John ministering together is in keeping with the ministry methodology established by Jesus when he sent out the 12 and also the 70. Witnessing in pairs was normal for them and meshed perfectly with the cultural expectation that required the testimony of at least two witnesses to establish the truth of a matter.

The lame beggar was at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. Giving alms was highly regarded in the Middle East. However, to beg, you had to be deserving of it due to illness or disability (e.g., blind, lame, leprosy); you couldn’t just panhandle because you didn’t want to work. Beggars would then give a blessing in return and declare the praises of the one who gave to them. In this case, Peter and John engaged him more personally than was customary. They didn’t just throw a coin in his cup, but he looked steadfastly at him and got the beggar’s attention as well. The picture is one of an eye-to-eye human connection. The apostles didn’t avert their gaze in superiority or aloofness; neither did they allow the beggar to remain distant by going through the motions mechanically. This certainly led the man to expect to receive something. He got what he needed, which far exceeded what he asked for.

I have always loved this story because I have fond childhood memories of my Grandmother singing the chorus based on the KJV translation of Peter’s words.

“Silver and gold have I none;

but such as I have give I thee:

In the name of Jesus Christ

of Nazareth rise up and walk.”

Each morning, during our summer visits to her home, my brother and I would wake to hear her singing this song while using an old carpet sweeper, in the next room, that would squeak twice at the end of each line, “Silver and gold have I none [squeak, squeak]”! Go ahead and sing along!

Two things I want to point out from this situation. First, Peter and John gave what they had, not what they didn’t have. They didn’t have money, which would only have marginally maintained the man’s miserable existence. But what they did have—Jesus’ authority—they gave to the man. Jesus has given his authority to work transformation in the world.

Second, before we get to all of the walkings, leapings, and praisings, we should notice that when the man was told to rise and walk, he did nothing. This is understandable since he had been lame since birth. He had never been able to stand and walk…so why would he think in a moment that he would be able to do so? We have probably done the same thing ourselves. In his classic reference set, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Robertson wrote, “Peter had to pull him up on his feet before he would try to walk.” We, too, may have to be willing to grab the needy by the hand and help them to stand before they will be made strong to walk, run, and leap.

When God moves personally in power, people will notice. Jerusalem was no different. When the people heard that the familiar lame beggar had been healed, they were “stopped in their tracks” with wonder and “beside themselves” with amazement. When the Lord works healing in our lives (spiritual, emotional, physical, relational), people notice!

Our God is a miracle-working God!

2) A Message: Peter Pointed People to Jesus (v.11-18)

  While he clung to Peter and John,

         all the people, utterly astounded,

                       ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's. 

    And when Peter saw it he addressed the people:

                   “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this,

                                       or why do you stare at us,

                         as though by our own power or piety

               we have made him walk? 

             The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, 

              the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus,

                                                       whom you delivered over

                                                                 and denied in the presence of Pilate, 

                                 when he had decided to release him.

                                                 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One,

                                and asked for a murderer

                             to be granted to you, 

                                                   and you killed the Author of life,

            whom God             raised from the dead.

                                                                  To this we are witnesses. 

                And his name—by faith in his name—

                                                                   has made this man strong

                                                                                  whom you see and know,

                             and the faith

                                  that is through Jesus has given the man

                                                                                          this perfect health

                                                               in the presence of you all.

   “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance,

                                                             as did also your rulers. 

       But what God foretold by the mouth of all      the prophets,

                                  that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 

The miracle produced a wonder beyond measure—it was like the whole city dropped what it was doing and ran to the spot. This led Peter to do a lot of explaining. 

     “Why do you wonder at this,

  or why do you stare at us,

                            as though by our own power or piety

                                      we have made him walk? 

Peter and John took no credit for the miracle, but pointed people to Jesus, for it was Jesus’ name and authority that had healed the man. It’s as if Peter and John said, “We didn’t do it!” They made it clear that it was not their power, nor their piety (i.e., their godliness, merit, or spiritual maturity) that had accomplished the miracle. They didn’t say, “I meant to do that!” Instead, they established that it was the covenant-keeping God of Israel’s patriarchs (v.13) that had done it, even though the people and their leaders had turned Jesus over to the Romans and denied that he was their king. In Greek, this is a paragraph of emphatic pronouns. Perhaps we should read it with such intensity, “You, yes you!”, “he had decided, yes, him”, and “You denied him, yes, you!” You killed the prince of life and asked for a murderer instead. Yet God raised the Messiah—Jesus Christ—from the dead! This was the real miracle of which Peter and John were witnesses.

Peter perhaps softened his emphatic accusation of their delivering and denying Jesus Christ by recognizing that they and their leaders had acted in ignorance. Jesus had said this from the cross, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34) and Paul would write of this to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 2:8). It makes me wonder what things I do because I am ignorant of the purposes of God in any given circumstance.

3) A Mandate: Repent & Turn Back (v.19-26)

   Repent therefore, and turn back,

                      that your sins may be blotted out, 

                               that times of refreshing may come

                                         from the presence of the Lord, and

                      that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 

                                                              whom heaven must receive

                until the time for restoring all the things about which

                    God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.

Moses said,

    ‘The Lord God      will raise up for you 

                                                         a prophet like me from your brothers.

                         You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 

And it shall be that every soul

              who does not listen to that prophet 

                                                   shall be destroyed from the people.’ 

And                                        all the prophets who have spoken,

                    from Samuel and those who came after him,

                                                             also proclaimed these days. 

                  You are the sons of the prophets and

                                        of the covenant that God made with your fathers,

         saying to Abraham, 

           ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ 

                         God, having raised up his servant,

                                                      sent him to you first,   

                                                           to bless you           

                                   by turning every one of you from your wickedness.

The mandate that Peter and John delivered to this audience (a different group from that in Chapter 2) was the same. Summed up as, "Repent and return to the Lord. Turn away from your wickedness and turn back relationally to the Lord through faith in Jesus Christ." Peter cited their most revered prophet, Moses, as the one relaying the mandate to listen to Jesus. Moses basically said, “Pay attention! If you don’t listen, you will be destroyed from out of the people.” The truth is, they were already headed for destruction, but Jesus’ words were calling them away from certain death. Certainly, there was also a connection with the approaching destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Peter followed this with a second witness in the Abrahamic covenant specifically referring to God raising up “his servant” a reference to the Messiah as the “suffering servant” as found in Isaiah (42:1-4; 52:13-15; 53:5-6)

In the final verse of this chapter, we find that God sent Jesus the Messiah “to you first” [Why?] “to bless you...” [How?] “By turning every one of you from your wickedness.” Chapter 4:4 tells us that many heard the word and believed, bringing the number of men in the church to 5,000 (counting women and children would probably have brought the number closer to 20,000 or more.

Silver and Gold Have I None…

Let me conclude this post by asking three questions that arise from this passage…

1. What is it that has you begging? This man had been lame from birth through no fault of his own. Some of us are “lame” because of our choices, and some because of the choices of others. Too often, instead of being transformed by God, we just settle into the role of victim and beggar, assuming nothing will ever change. So what keeps us from being a giver instead of a taker? What are the handicaps and disadvantages in our lives? What are the physical, mental, emotional, behavioral, economic, racial, and educational challenges we face?

This man had always been lame and considered a helpless beggar. He had settled into that unchanging life. All he expected to receive was what he had received in the past…a coin or two. It is one thing to be content; it is another to lose hope. Where have we become settlers? What do we expect to receive from the Lord? (See James 4:2b-3; Hebrews 11:6)

2. What am I willing to give to others?

Can we say with the apostles, “What I have, I give to you”? Such a concept did not begin with them but with a Trinitarian concept of ownership. “The doctrine of the social Trinity, however, claims that God’s owning is not grounded in self-possession but rather in self-giving.”[1] If God’s ownership of all things is established not by possessing but by giving, how should that affect the way we view that which has been entrusted to us? We would then realize that we have it for this very purpose…to give it to the one who needs it. In fact, what we have needs to be given. Some gardeners grow their produce for the food bank, some who knit make "prayer shawls" for those in the hospital, others repair bicycles, some can cook, while others can pull weeds and mow grass really well.

Peter and John declared the authority of Jesus over the lame beggar, and he was completely strengthened and made whole. The Greek word for “salvation” (sozo) is not unlike the Hebrew word for peace (shalom) in its holistic effects. Here, the apostles had the authority and compassion of Jesus Christ to bring to bear upon the man’s condition, and they did so freely.

3. What needs to change in my life? (v. 19-22)

In verse 19’s call for the people of Jerusalem to repent and return, do we see our own need for our sins to be blotted out? The Greek word is exaleiphō, and the blotting out took place at the cross of Christ. As it is written,

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. (Col. 2:13-14)

If we have put our faith in Christ and been led by his love to turn from our sins, we may still need to allow the Holy Spirit to bring godly changes to our lives. So, is there something in my life that is delaying the arrival of “times of refreshing”? Nazareth missed out on times of refreshing because of their unbelief, their resistance to extending the goodness of God to the nations, and in rejecting Jesus’ work in their midst.

God has given us all things in Christ so that we might share his goodness with the world instead of keeping it for ourselves!

---

[1] M. Douglas Meeks, in God’s Life in Trinity, edited by Miroslav Volf, 18.