CHAPTER 9
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. Acts 9:1-2
As we come to this chapter, Luke is setting the stage for the conversion of Saul (later to be Paul), who was at this point the leading persecutor of Christians. Wiersbe notes that this “was perhaps the greatest event in church history after the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost.” 1 Stott calls it “the most famous conversion in church history.” 2 Stedman comments: “He was preparing the instrument by which the gospel would move into the third stage, the stage in which we today are still involved, that of going to the uttermost parts of the earth…” 3 Rabbi Dr. Burton Visotzky says: “The Pharisee Saul of Tarsus is arguably one of the most influential religious figures in the history of Western culture.” 4
We note that Saul was still “breathing out murderous threats” against the church. Robertson says that Saul was like a warhorse sniffing the smell of battle. He was breathing out threats of slaughter (Gk. phonou).5 In order to bring about his plans for slaughter, Saul went to the high priest of Israel that he might obtain special permission for his wicked enterprise. At this time Caiaphas was likely still the high priest.6 It seems that in these days the high priest of Israel still maintained religious authority over Jewish people throughout the whole area. Since Judaism was a legal religion in the empire, it is felt that he had the right of extradition over subjects in the strictly religious arena.7
At this time many Jewish people lived in Damascus and there were numerous synagogues. The historian Josephus tells us that on one occasion in the days of Nero 10,000 Jews of Damascus were slaughtered in a single hour (Wars, Bk. 2, ch. 20, sec. 2). On a later occasion, as a result of the Roman/Jewish war, an additional 18,000 were slaughtered.
So, with murder in his heart Saul made his way to Damascus. It was a journey of 136 miles (218 km.), and on foot would have taken the better part of a week. Damascus was a very old city, even from the days of Abraham (Gen.15:2). It was an important city sitting astride an important trade route.
We notice that Saul was intent on persecuting those who belonged to the Way. This seemed to be the early name for the Christian movement (Acts 18:25-26; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22).8 Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin, was indeed living up to his tribal characteristic. It is said in Genesis 49:27, “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.” That was soon to change for Saul. As Calvin once said, the wolf was about to be turned into a sheep. He was about to even assume the gentle character of a shepherd.9
“As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him” (9:3). In 26:13, Saul relates that it was about noon when this happened, and that the light flashing around him from heaven was brighter than the sun. Utley says, “It is just possible that this light is theologically/physically related to the Shekinah glory of YHWH’s presence.” 10
“He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’” (9:4). In 26:14, Saul makes plain that everyone in the party fell to the ground. This is a natural defensive posture when human beings are confronted by a power or force much stronger than themselves. As Saul fell to the ground he heard a voice speaking with him. The voice called out “Saul, Saul!” Apparently this voice was in the Aramaic language, since Luke preserves the Aramaic name “Saoul” in the Greek.11 The name is repeated twice for emphasis. One woman quipped about the divine repetition of men’s names in the Bible. She said, “Every time God calls a man he has to call him twice!” Apparently, women are much more attentive to the divine voice.
There was a good deal of teaching in Judaism at this time claiming that the divine voice had become muted since the time of the last prophets. Among the Pharisees the divine voice was said to be the “bath qol” (daughter of a voice).12 However, in this instance the voice of God seems to be quite forceful. Lyttelton says, “…the conversion and apostleship of St. Paul alone, duly considered, was of itself a demonstration sufficient to prove Christianity to be a divine revelation.” 13
The Lord asked Saul, “Why do you persecute me?” Saul must have been greatly confused at this point. He had thought in his troubled mind that he was doing the Lord’s own work. Suddenly he discovers that he is fighting against God. It is interesting here to realize that an attack upon the Lord’s church is an attack upon Jesus himself. On that last day the King will reply to the wicked: “…Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, [his followers] you did not do for me” (Matt. 25:45). Coffman sums it up saying: “What is done to the church is done to Christ…Hatred of the church is hatred of Christ…Persecution of the church is persecution of Christ…Neglect of the church is the neglect of Christ.” 14
“‘Who are you, Lord?’ Saul asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied” (9:5). At this moment Saul’s spiritual world was literally turned upside down. He was in a conversation with the Jesus whom he had despised and persecuted. Some commentators, based upon 9:17 & 27 feel that Saul actually saw the Lord on this occasion.15 Stedman adds here, “All those long, built-up prejudices of a Pharisee against Gentiles; all the bigotry, the pride and the prejudice that twisted and distorted his view of the Gentile world; all of it disappeared in one moment…” 16
In the King James Version this statement is added here: “it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” This thought is also carried over into the New King James translation. While these words are found in 26:14, they are not found here in the original Greek manuscripts. Apparently, a copyist was attempting to make the accounts of this incident uniform.17
“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do” (9:6). God knows how to bring all our pride and vainglory down and make us wallow in the dust with it. He also knows how to lift us up from the dust and give us a hope and a future.
BLINDED AND BROKEN SAUL
The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Acts 9:7
Obviously, the men traveling with Saul were stunned. One would think that these men would immediately make up the first fruits of Saul (or Paul’s) new ministry, but we have no information to this end. We read that they heard the sound but that they did not see anyone. This implies that Saul actually did see the Lord on this occasion.
Saul’s statement here seems to disagree with his statement in 22:9. In this passage he says that his companions either did not hear, or else they did not understand the voice (cf. Jn. 12:28-30).18
“Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus” (9:8). When Saul got up and opened his eyes he discovered that he was blind. He was in total darkness. Stedman notes that when film is exposed to light it is always developed in darkness.19
It is amazing how far some commentators will go in trying to deny the miraculous. Some have suggested that Saul was suffering from an epileptic seizure of some sort and thus fell to the ground. He only imagined he heard voices. To this, the great English preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon, remarked, “O blessed epilepsy! Would that every man in London could have epilepsy like that!” 20 It is thought by some that Saul or Paul from this point on in his life suffered from eye problems (cf. Gal. 4:13-15; 6:11), and this was precisely what his “thorn in the flesh” was all about (cf. 2 Cor. 12:7-10).21 Perhaps it is so, but we will not be able to determine this for sure from the scripture.
Stott comments on this whole amazing situation saying: “He who had expected to enter Damascus in the fullness of his pride and prowess, as a self-confident opponent of Christ, was actually led into it, humbled and blinded, a captive of the very Christ he had
opposed.” 22
“For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything” (9:9). Guzik remarks, “Saul was dying to himself. It would only be after the three days of dying that he would receive resurrection life from Jesus.” 23 It was Howson who remarked “Only one other space of three days’ duration can be mentioned of equal importance in the history of the world.” 24
MINISTRY FROM A SPECIAL DISCIPLE
In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” Acts 9:10-12
It is no doubt for good reason that Barclay calls Ananias “one of the forgotten heroes of the Christian church.” 25 We simply cannot imagine the fear and dread Ananias must have had to fight off in order to go to Saul. This man had murdered Christians. How did Ananias know that this was not some sort of trap to capture Christians in Damascus. Ananias summoned his courage and answered “Yes, Lord.”
Someone has remarked that “Yes” and “Lord” always have to go together. It is quite impossible to say “No” and “Lord” together in any meaningful way. To Ananias, this must have been like an order to go pay a visit to Al Capone. It might have been some comfort to Ananias to hear that Saul was “praying” and not still “preying” upon believers.26 After all, there is not much to fear from a praying man. There has been an idea that has prevailed for centuries in the Greek Church that Ananias was actually one of the seventy-two disciples of the Lord (Lk. 10:1) and that he was eventually martyred for the faith.27
Damascus is a very ancient city and it is said that Straight Street still forms a major thoroughfare going east and west through the city. The general location was likely well-known to Ananias. We do not know how Ananias came to live in Damascus. Commentators generally feel that he was not a Jewish refugee from the persecution in Jerusalem but that he was a true resident of the city.28 We do not know how Saul ended up at the house of Judas. Judas obviously had a Jewish name. Perhaps through the local synagogue he was placed there. Neither do we know what happened to the men who were traveling with Saul.
THE RELUCTANCE OF ANANIAS
“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” Acts 9:13-14
We would have to say that the “grapevine” (message system) from Jerusalem to Damascus was working quite well. Ananias knew all about the ravages Saul had worked in the Jerusalem church. He even knew that Saul had authority from the high priest to arrest Christians and take them back to Jerusalem for punishment. The expression “holy people” (Gk. hagios) in a number of other translations is rendered “saints.” We might note that this is the first time “saints” is used in Acts.29 This is the common designation for the Lord’s people in the New Testament. It means a people set apart for God.30
It should be noted that “saints” is always plural in the New Testament. There is only one exception to this rule, Philippians 4:21, where even there it appears in a plural context.31 There is no such thing as a Christian alone, or as some have said, a “Lone Ranger Christian.” Even the Lone Ranger had his Indian sidekick Tonto. In our current “Me Generation” people have come to be proud and self-sufficient. This is only an illusion, because we all really need each other.
“But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name’” (9:15-16). There are many ways that Saul was a chosen instrument of God. He received the best Bible training that could be had in his day; he was a Hebrew of Hebrews, understanding well the rich Jewish heritage; he had come from Tarsus and was thoroughly acquainted with the Greek culture and language. He was the ideal person to be apostle to the Gentiles (1 Tim. 2:7; 2 Tim. 1:11; Gal. 2:7-8; Eph. 3:8).
We note here that Saul was not just chosen to work with the Gentiles, but he would also work with the people of Israel. Wherever he ministered he tried always to go to the Jews first of all (Rom. 1:16). Usually, he spoke first in the Jewish synagogue. When he was rejected there, he then went to the Gentiles. The synagogue with its “God fearing” Gentiles was always a rich source of converts for Saul.32 Wiersbe remarks that this is the first reference we have in the Book of Acts of the gospel going to the Gentiles.33
The early Christians suffered for Christ a great deal. Even Ananias was quite concerned about the suffering Saul might inflict. However, here we learn that Saul himself would suffer greatly for Christ. That suffering was to be almost unspeakable. In 2 Corinthians 11:23ff., he details many of his sufferings. He was flogged and beaten with rods; shipwrecked 3 times; he faced all kinds of dangers on the road; he had suffered loss of sleep, hunger, thirst; in addition he had the grave concern for all the churches. These actually were only a few of the things he suffered for the Lord.
In this passage it is made plain that Saul would minister before kings and rulers of the people. In Israel, he would proclaim the gospel before the Sanhedrin, the Roman governors Felix, and Festus as well as King Agrippa. He would then be sent to testify before Rome.
SAUL’S HEALING
Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord— Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here— has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Acts 9:17
We have to really admire Ananias. Bruce says of him, “Ananias had an honored place in sacred history.” 34 He was about to place his hands on Saul and minister to the man who would take the gospel to the whole Western world. It was Saul who just might well be known as the most important and famous Christian in all of history.
Despite his fear, Ananias placed his hands on Saul and addressed him as “brother.” What a loving and precious thing to do! Ananias immediately confirmed that it was the Lord who appeared to Saul on the road. He got right down to business and told Saul why he had come— that Saul might both see again and be filled with God’s Holy Spirit. There was no hesitancy in his voice and no unbelief.
Actually we have a rare thing here. It is a double vision. Saul had certainly seen a vision on the road, but Ananias had experienced one too, and the visions were complimentary. Keener says, “Such twin visions occur rarely in ancient literature…when they occur they allow no misunderstanding that the event was divinely coordinated (cf. Gen. 41:32).” 35
Saul would be filled with the Spirit through the laying on of the hands of Ananias. The Greek word is plēstheis and it speaks of the special power he would need as an apostle of the Lord.36 We note here that the Baptism of the Spirit is no longer mentioned but rather the filling of the Spirit.
“Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus” (9:18-19). Dr. Luke comes to the forefront here by using a Greek medical term (lepides) for the flaking of skin. In the Septuagint version, the word is used for the scales of a fish (cf. Lev. 11:9, 10, 12; Deut. 14:9).37 We really do not know what God had to do to restore Saul’s eyes. For all we know, he could have been permanently blinded by the vision.
Once again we see the new convert baptized immediately (cf. Acts 2:41; 8:12, 8:36-39). There was to be no delay in this first step of discipleship. We can but wonder how much zeal for the Lord and spiritual power we lose today in the church by our dilly dallying concerning the act of baptism. Saul, who had been on a complete fast since having his vision, began to take some food and was thereby strengthened. He then spent some time in Damascus bonding with the local Christians.
SAUL LAUNCHES INTO MINISTRY
At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. Acts 9:20
The Jews, like the Moslems, to this day do not believe that God has a Son. This is blasphemy to them. Incidentally, this is the first time the phrase “Son of God” appears in the Book of Acts.38 From the very start, Saul was fearless with his preaching. It appears that he had already been crucified with Christ in his heart (Gal. 2:20); that he had already counted everything loss for the sake of the Lord Jesus (Phil. 3:7-8).
Unlike so many today, he did not just “take Jesus as his Savior” but he took Jesus as his Lord and Master. We have a twisted Christianity around today and now millions of people have supposedly accepted the Saviorhood of Jesus without the Lordship of Jesus.39
“All those who heard him were astonished and asked, ‘Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” (9:21). It seems that Saul took immediate advantage of his great skill in theological studies. He took advantage of the fact that it was a synagogue custom to invite any able Jewish man to come up and expound on the scriptures.40
This whole thing may have been rather comical. Pett says: “We have to smile when we consider his first entry into the synagogue. Here was the high priest’s official representative, bearing the high priest’s authority, and as he walked in he would be led to the special seats at the front. All would know why he was there. And then during the course of the gathering he would be asked to speak by the ruler of the synagogue, possibly even to read the scriptures. And then he looked around at the gathered and expectant people – and began to proclaim that Jesus is the Son of God.” 41
“Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah” (9:22). Other translations bring out Saul’s increasing prowess. The NJB says, “Saul’s power increased steadily.” The TEV says, “Saul’s preaching became even more powerful.” Saul began to overwhelm the Damascus Jews with his superior skill and biblical argument. No doubt, serious opposition was beginning to build. Fortunately for Saul, his initial time in Damascus was to be limited.
SAUL’S TIME IN THE WILDERNESS
After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, Acts 9:23
At this point we only want to look at this first phrase, “after many days,” and later we will return to the rest of this verse. In order to do justice to this account we simply must turn to Galatians 1:17-18, where Saul fills us in on the time frame. He says, “…I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days.” Most Bible interpreters feel that Saul went immediately into the Arabian desert for a period of approximately three years. According to Jewish reckoning this could have been parts of three years or somewhat over two years.42 No doubt Saul needed some alone time.
It has been suggested that just as the other apostles were with the Lord for a period of three years, Saul is being given the same period of training.43 Stedman says jokingly that Saul got his D. D. degree there—Doctor of the Desert.44 It is very possible that some of the deeply spiritual experiences that Saul later mentions were desert experiences. After all, many of the good things that happened in the Old and New Testaments sprang from the desert, including the ministry of Jesus.
This trip to Arabia was not nearly as difficult for Saul as we might imagine. In those days King Aretas IV (9 BC – AD 40) ruled an Arabian kingdom that stretched all the way to Damascus. If Saul went to Arabia for a religious retreat he would not have had far to go.
A few have suggested that Saul did some preaching in Arabia which may have raised the ire of King Aretas. It does seem that Saul returned from the wilderness with much more spiritual strength in his ministry. This did not bode well for his continued stay in Damascus.
Now let us take up where we left off with verse 23: “After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him…” Thus, after his return to Damascus we see that the Jews immediately conspired to kill him. Undoubtedly they had gained the help of King Aretas or his ethnarch who was ruling the city. Later Paul fills us in from 2 Corinthians 11:32-33: “In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.”
In those days major cities were surrounded by high walls. Some walls were wide enough that a chariot could be driven on top of them.45 The gates were always guarded and at night they were usually closed. The Jewish people had their spies at all the gates watching for Saul. Apparently some believer must have had a house attached to the wall, as was sometimes the custom in those days.46 It was probably through a window in that house that Saul made his escape.
Luke says, “but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall” (9:24-25). We note here that Saul already had a loyal following in Damascus, and that was fortunate for him in this instance. Saul was let down in a basket. The word for this basket is spuris. We see a similar basket mentioned in the feeding of the 4,000 (Mk. 8:8). Such a large basket had many uses and was suitable for the transport of hay, straw, bales of wool, etc.47 No doubt, we remember similar stories from the days of Rahab and the Israelite spies (Josh. 2;15) and their escape from Jericho, or from David’s escape from the enraged king (1 Sam. 19:12).48
SAUL VISITS JERUSALEM
When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. Acts 9:26
Finally, three years from his conversion, Saul made his journey back to Jerusalem. There seems at first to be a disconnect here, in that the believers in Jerusalem were suspicious of Saul and would not trust him. We noticed earlier how the information “grapevine” seemed to be functioning well enough between Jerusalem and Damascus. How could the Christians not know that Saul was now on their side?
It is possible that, since Saul dropped out of sight for three years while in the desert, the people of Jerusalem heard nothing about him. If they had heard about the desert stay they may have wondered why Saul was a loner and went off by himself. “History, however, has shown that minority movements under persecution frequently become defensive and suspicious of news that sounds too good.” 49
“But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus” (9:27). We can guess that Saul initially stayed with his sister when he arrived at Jerusalem (cf. 23:16).50 However, just as Ananias took him in when he arrived at Damascus, Barnabas took him in at Jerusalem. Beloved Barnabas was a Levite from Cyprus. His name meant “son of encouragement” and he was destined to play a key role in the early church (4:36-37; 11:27-30). He would team up with Saul or Paul in the great outreach at Antioch (11:19-26). He would eventually join with Paul in the First Missionary Journey (13:1 – 14:28).
Barnabas took Saul and introduced him to the Jerusalem saints. There seems to be a small problem between this verse and the account in Galatians 1:18-19. The question is how Saul could meet the apostles (plural) if only Peter was in town? The Galatian passage calls James the brother of the Lord an apostle also.51 So, there were at least two apostles in town and the rest were undoubtedly busy taking the gospel out to the world. We are told that on this visit Saul stayed with Peter for fifteen days (Gal. 1:18).
“So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him” (9:28-29). It was not Saul’s nature to remain quiet about the Lord. He spoke boldly in Jerusalem and even debated with the same Hellenistic Jews who had murdered Stephen. “Saul was worse than Stephen; he was in their eyes a traitor to the true cause…” 52 Saul was literally too hot to handle.
“When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus” (9:30). Of course, Tarsus was Saul’s hometown, being the chief city of Cilicia. He would drop out of sight for some seven years, until 11:25. However, knowing Saul we can believe that he was not out of work. He was no doubt preaching the gospel throughout his home territory. More than likely, some of the trials which he lists in 2 Corinthians 11:23-26, happened during this period. For instance, we see only one Roman beating in Acts 16:22 but in 2 Corinthians 11:25, he mentions a total of three.53
“Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers” (9:31). It seems that once the main antagonist was out of the way Jerusalem settled down for a time of peace. The work grew and stabilized in Judea, Galilee and Samaria. This is the first mention in Acts of the churches in Galilee.54 Some have thought that the quiet time with the Jews may have resulted from the Emperor Caligula’s attempt to set up his own image in the temple at Jerusalem.55 Thus, the Jews may have been fully occupied with this event and had no time to persecute Christians.
PETER’S MINISTRY WITH ANEAS AND DORCAS
As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the Lord’s people who lived in Lydda. Acts 9:32
Just as Peter had ministered in Samaria, we now see him moving out to minister to the dispersed Christians in Judea. No doubt, other disciples were doing similar things. In his travels, Peter arrived at Lydda. Today, when tourists get comfortably seated on their tour buses at Ben Gurion Airport, about the first thing their guide tells them is that they are at Lod, or ancient Lydda. This village sits in the middle of the Plain of Sharon, a very fertile strip of land that runs up the Mediterranean coastline toward Mount Carmel and Haifa.
When Peter arrived at Lydda he met the scattered people of the Lord or the saints (Gk. hagios). We have previously mentioned that this word “saints” is always plural in the Bible. Together, God’s people make up his sacred, holy ones, or his people set apart for himself. Peter no doubt wished to strengthen the church. In fact, this is what the Lord once said to him: “But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Lk. 22:32).
“There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years” (9:33). In his ministry at Lydda, Peter ran onto this paralyzed man, and he had been in that condition for a long time. The name Aeneas is Greek, so likely this man was a Hellenist.56 Aeneas was probably a Christian and no doubt, folks had prayed for him many times without results. This time it would be different.
“‘Aeneas,’ Peter said to him, ‘Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat.’ Immediately Aeneas got up” (9:34). At that command Aeneas simply got up and rolled up his mat. He was healed instantly and completely.
“All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord” (9:35). His instantaneous healing created quite a stir in Lydda. It appears as if everyone in the area saw the man and immediately turned to the Lord. We must realize that “all” many times in scripture is a manner of speaking. We do the same thing today when we say things like, “All Americans like apple pie and baseball.” Calvin comments here saying, “…when scripture mentions all, it is not embracing, to a man, the whole of whatever it is describing, but uses ‘all’ for many, for the majority, or for a crowd of people.” 57
“In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor” (9:36). Ancient Joppa was a natural seaport for much of Israel and Jerusalem in those times. It was about 14 miles (23 km.) from Lydda. Today Joppa makes up a southern portion of the metropolitan area known as Tel Aviv-Joppa or Tel Aviv-Yafo.
At Joppa there was a beloved disciple named Tabitha. In Greek her name was known as Dorcas. Both names meant “gazelle,” a lovely and graceful animal of the deer family. This blessed woman was known all over for her many good works. She was especially known for providing the poor and needy with garments of all sorts which she herself made.
“About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room” (9:37). Unfortunately, Dorcas died. As was the custom in those days, her body was washed and prepared for burial. In this case, as in some Old Testament instances (1 Ki. 17:19; 2 Ki. 4:10, 21), her body was placed in an upper room. There was much lamentation, especially by all those who had benefited from her work.
“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!’” (9:38). There was quite an urgency with the disciples at Joppa because it was customary to bury the body before sundown.58 They therefore sent two men for Peter and asked him to come quickly.
“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” (9:39). We can only imagine what was going through Peter’s mind at this point. Wiersbe says, “There is no record in Acts that any of the apostles had raised the dead…” 59 Peter only had the experiences of seeing Jesus raise the dead in his ministry (Mk. 5:38-43; Lu. 8:50-56). So really, he was launching in to this experience by blind faith.
“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” (9:40). It is interesting that Peter did exactly what Jesus did when he raised the daughter of Jairus. Jesus cleared the room of everyone except the mother, father and his three disciples. Even the Aramaic utterance here is almost identical to that of Jesus at Capernaum. In fact, it differs only in one letter. 60
We can imagine that Peter was about as surprised as the dead woman must have been. Raising from the dead was a very big deal just as it would be today. We need to point out that Tabitha was not resurrected with a new body as Jesus had been. She was raised from the dead, but at some point like all others raised in Jesus’ ministry, she would die once more.
“He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive” (9:41). Once again, Peter did exactly what he had seen his Master do. In fact, Jesus had done this very thing when he healed Peter’s mother-in-law. He reached down, took her by the hand and helped her up (Mk. 1:31). We can only imagine the joy and rejoicing that took place when the dead woman was presented alive to all her friends.
“This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord” (9:42). Such an event must have sent shock waves all over the city and surrounding area. Crowds of people must have gathered around to see this miracle with their own eyes. As they did so, many also believed on the Lord Jesus. The church was gratified and the Lord was glorified.61
“Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon” (9:43). Today, what is supposedly Simon’s house can be seen in Joppa, nestled along the seacoast. We do not know if it has any connection to Simon’s real house but it makes a good story for tourists. My wife and I always enjoyed visiting in Joppa (Yafo). Very close to Simon’s house there are some fine restaurants where we could have a nice lunch as we looked out over the harbor and felt the refreshing breezes of the Mediterranean.
Obviously, some significant changes were taking place in Peter’s heart. Being a tanner was a prohibited vocation for any Jewish person wishing to keep the laws of Moses (Lev. 11:35-40). Since tanners dealt with dead animals, it was considered an unclean profession and avoided whenever possible.62 Morgan says, “According to the laws of that time, a tanner had to live at least 75 feet (25 meters) outside a village because of his constant ritual uncleanness…The trade of a tanner was held in such supreme contempt that if a girl was betrothed to a tanner without knowing that he followed that calling, the betrothal was void.” 63
It seems that Peter spent some time with Simon the tanner. Wiersbe says of the Lord, “He deliberately detained his servant in Joppa to prepare him for his third use of “the keys.” 64 That event was about to begin.