Sermon Audio: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ministrybymail

Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” Then he arose immediately. So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did. But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. And since Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them. But Peter put 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. Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord. So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with Simon, a tanner.

Dearly Beloved Fellow Believers,

As we read of Jesus in the four gospels, what is it that sets Him apart from other religious figures that have appeared in the world? It is surely His miracles. Those mighty acts that we read of in the four gospels put Jesus in a class by Himself. No one else ever did the works that Jesus did. During a period of three years, He performed the most astounding acts: with His word He gave sight to the blind, gave the gift of speech to the mute, the ability to walk to the paralyzed; He changed water into wine; He fed thousands with a few loaves and fish; He cast out demons; He commanded the wind and waves to be still and they obeyed Him. He did many of these works in many places and before many witnesses: they form a body of evidence so great, so overwhelming that it could not be denied or suppressed.

Of course, it isn’t only His miracles that set Jesus apart from other teachers. He spoke with a power and authority that we find in no one else. His holy life has no parallel. But for these things people tend to regard Jesus as only an extraordinarily wise and good man. It is His divine works that lead us to the inescapable conclusion that He is the Son of God. And Jesus Himself directs those who doubt Him to His works: “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.” (John 14:11) The miracles of Jesus are “signs,” which is what John calls them in his gospel. They tell us something, they direct us to something.

But what about the miracles in our text? Here it is not Jesus telling a paralyzed man to arise and take up his bed. Here it is not Jesus saying to a dead woman, “Tabitha, arise.” Here it is Peter one of Jesus’ apostles who is saying these things, yet with the same results as when Jesus said them. Are these also signs? And, if so, what do they tell us?

I. To Christ sitting at the right hand of God the Father.

The miracles worked through the apostles after Christ’s ascension are indeed signs. Jesus Himself calls them that. Before His ascension Jesus spoke this prophecy about His apostles: “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:18) In the book of Acts we see the fulfillment of that prophecy. The apostles did many miracles in the name of Jesus. They were the same kinds of works that Jesus had done.

In our text we have two notable examples. Peter was traveling about the country visiting the Christian congregations that had sprung up in many places in Judea and Galilee. One of these was in a place called Lydda. There Peter came upon a man named Aeneas who was paralyzed. His condition was well known in that village because he had been bedridden for eight years. But with a few words spoken by Peter the man was immediately healed and got up from his bed.

The second example here is an even greater miracle, a resurrection from the dead. In Joppa, not far from Lydda where Peter was, a believing woman named Tabitha became ill and died. Her fellow believers prepared her body for burial. But when they heard that the apostle Peter was nearby, they sent for him. With a single word a dead woman was brought back to life.

Now, although these works were done through the apostle Peter, the writer of Acts is careful to indicate that it wasn’t Peter who had performed them. Peter too was careful to indicate this when he said to Aeneas, “Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” And before he spoke to Tabitha, Peter cleared everyone out of the room where her body was and knelt down and prayed. Clearly Peter did not make the decision to raise her from the dead. The apostles did not perform miracles at will. They did them when they were prompted to do them.

From this we see what purpose these miracles were to serve. They were the visible evidence of an event that happened invisibly, the entrance of Christ into heaven and His sitting at the right hand of the Father. Jesus ascended in the presence of His disciples; as He spoke to them He ascended and they watched Him until He disappeared into a cloud. As they continued to look up, straining to catch one more glimpse of Him, angels spoke to them of Jesus’ ascension and His coming again. The disciples knew where Jesus had gone because He had told them where He was going. By His word we too know that Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father with all power in heaven and on earth. We also know it because of these signs that were performed by His apostles as He had promised. They show that Jesus really is at God’s right hand in heaven; all power in heaven and earth is indeed His.

This assurance is vital to our everyday life and to our hope for the future, both now and in eternity. Jesus rules over all things; He is able to make all things work together for good to those who love God (Romans 8:28). He is able to continue as Mediator between us and the Father, so that our sins are forgiven and our prayers are heard and answered.

II. To the word of the apostles as the word of Christ.

To what do the signs worked by the apostles direct us? Again, we find an answer in the closing verses of the Gospel of Mark. There it says that after Jesus was received up into heaven the apostles “went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.” (Mark 16:20) The miracles that the apostles did confirmed the word that they preached. The miracles demonstrated that the twelve really were Jesus’ chosen representatives; they spoke in His name, with His authority. Peter could say to a man who had paralyzed for a long time, “Arise,” and he got up from his bed. He could say to a dead woman, “Tabitha, arise,” and she sat up. These were the words that Christ Himself spoke with divine power; now His apostles spoke with that same power.

The word of the apostles is the word of Christ. And this is the word on which our faith rests. We are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, the New Testament says (Ephesians 2:20). It is through the word of the apostles that we know Jesus Christ, His life, death and resurrection. It is essential to our confidence in this word to know that Christ Himself confirmed it by mighty acts such as those in our text.

Understanding that the purpose of the signs was to confirm the apostles’ preaching helps us to see why these signs did not continue beyond the apostolic age. People sometimes ask why we don’t see signs like these in our day. Some unbelievers even say that they would believe if they saw someone raised from the dead. But the word of the apostles has been confirmed by the signs recorded for us in the book of Acts. It does not need to be confirmed again. Anyone who will not accept these signs performed before many witnesses would not accept similar signs if they were done today. It is as Jesus said, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.” (Luke 16:31)

The word of the apostles has the same power today as it had in the days of the apostles. It has the power to change peoples’ lives and conduct. The word was what moved a woman like Tabitha to spend her days making clothing for poor widows. It was the gospel of Christ that made her as she is described to us here, “full of good works and charitable deeds.” Her simple acts of love, her unselfish, giving way of life is just as much a testimony to the power of Christ in the gospel as a healing or a resurrection.

The gospel word passed down to us from the apostles has the power to work faith in Christ. It imparts the gifts of Christ: the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. This is something greater than a healing or a resurrection. Remember that Aeneas, the man who was healed of his paralysis, still got old and died. Tabitha, who was raised from the dead, had to die again and be mourned again. The greater gift that these two people received was faith in Jesus Christ. And through that faith they have eternal life.

That’s the gift that you and I have regardless of anything else that we do not have or do not achieve in this life. We have it through the apostolic Word, the Word of Christ. Let us value and treasure this source of life more highly than anything else. Amen.

—Rev. John Klatt

Watertown, SD

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