The Acts of the Apostles 59

Subtitle: The Jerusalem Council II

Acts 15:13-21.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on October 15, 2023.

We continue to look at the gathering in which the First-Century Church settled the question on what Gentiles had to do in order to be saved.

Let’s make it clear that the Church and its leaders do not have the authority to promote anything but what God is saying and doing.  The Church is not a business that Jesus started and current leaders can choose to do something different.  Salvation is not a product that we can tweak in order to be more profitable, or any other human aspiration.

In reality, the leaders in this gathering were seeking to discern and come to agreement upon what the Lord Jesus wanted them to do and to teach.

This is an important distinction because, when you look at the history of the Church, you will find that over time leaders began to look more to human reasoning to lead them than to the Word of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Like ambassadors of a great king, we are to rightly represent Him to the world.  This is important in general, but it is especially important to those who are responding to the Gospel of Jesus.  We do not want to be guilty of misleading those whom God plans to save.

Last week, we looked at Peter’s testimony, and then we looked at the testimony of Barnabas and Paul.  Now we are going to look at the testimony of James, the brother of the Lord.

Let’s look at our passage.

They gather to make a decision: James’s testimony (v. 13 -21)

Luke only gives the name of James without any other description.  This is not the apostle James, the brother of John, sons of Zebedee.  James was put to death by Herod Agrippa I in Acts 12:2.  He was the first of the apostles to die, and his brother was apparently the last (separated by around 45 years or so).

This could make us question God.  Why?

There is a certain amount of testing that we all need, and yet there are also a variety of the kinds of witness and testimony that we can be.  Sometimes God simply lets certain things happen and play out as people intend, and yet other times He has something more specific that He wants to happen, so He intervenes.

We must be careful of thinking God will always part the Red Sea if a person really knows Him, or if He is really involved in a matter.  Of course, God can do a dramatic miracle any time He pleases.  Yet, we can take a clue from the New Testament story of the resurrection of Lazarus.  Four days after he died and was buried, Jesus showed up and miraculously raised him from the dead.  Yet, even Lazarus came to death’s door a second time and Jesus didn’t come down from heaven to raise him up.  There were probably a few people keeping watch for at least 4 days, just in case. 

Yet, Jesus didn’t show up.  Why not?  Our inheritance is not living in a mortal body forever.  Lazarus had lived a full life and it was time for him to rest from his Gospel labor, and enter into the joys of the Lord.

My main point is that we can over promote the miraculous, or the providence  of how long we live.  Israel’s problem was never that they didn’t have enough miracles.  Their problem was walking in faith with God after the miracle.  In fact, that is not just Israel’s problem, but a human problem.  In fact, we often have trouble trusting God even as He is doing the miraculous in our lives. 

God does miracles from time to time, but the longer period is walking in trusting faith in between.  The tension of having an impossible mission is punctuated by God showing up from time to time in amazing ways.  Yet, we need to walk in faith regardless.

Tradition has always held that this is the half-brother of Jesus, though there are some groups that try to make out that Mary did not have any other kids after Jesus.  The record shows that Joseph was not a biological father to Jesus (the Holy Spirit created a child within Mary).  Yet, he and Mary did have children later:  James, Jude, Joses, and others.  None of the brothers of Jesus believed in him until after the resurrection.  Once they believed, they quickly became pillars in the Jerusalem church.

The only place in the Bible where it mentions that James was a brother of Jesus is in Galatians 1:19.  James, who wrote the book of James, never calls himself the brother of the Lord.  He calls himself, “James, a bondservant [slave] of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ…”

For some people that was big doings.  But, Paul makes the point in Galatians 1 through 2 that such is not important before God.  James is not taking the place of Jesus, as if he were in a line of succession.  No man will ever succeed the Lord Jesus who reigns forever and ever.

James starts out by referencing the testimony of Peter.  It is clear that James agrees with Peter’s conclusions and that his purpose is to give supporting evidence and then offer a solution.  He mentions in verse 14 that Peter had described how God had visited the Gentiles in order to take out of them a people for His name.  This helps us to see what James is focusing on, Gentiles belonging to Yahweh like Israel did.

It is interesting that Peter’s testimony focuses upon the power and work of the Holy Spirit in teaching him, and powerfully working among the Gentiles through him.  He gives testimony to the supernatural move of God, and is very practical, focused on activity of the Spirit of God.

The testimony of James is more theological, and looks to Scripture.  Most likely, James did not have any visions himself.  We are not told whether Jesus appeared to him during the 40 days following the resurrection.  Regardless, James knows the Scriptures, and he sees a connection between Scripture and what Peter is saying.

First James points out that the words of the prophets (plural) agree with this idea of the Gentiles becoming a people belonging to God.  James is going to quote one of those prophets, but the verse he is going to quote is merely representative of a large number of other places he could have gone to and quoted.  He could have mentioned God’s promise to Abram that through him the nations would be blessed.  He could have quoted Moses telling Israel that God would make them jealous through a foolish nation.  He could have quoted Isaiah saying that the death of God’s servant would be to precious to only redeem Israel, but that he would also become a light to the Gentiles.

However, James thinks of Amos 9:11-12.  This passage clearly pictures the Gentiles being called by the name of the LORD.

By the way, in general, quotes of the Old Testament that are given in the New Testament are clearly from a Greek translation called the Septuagint that was made in the 200’s BC. (also designated as LXX for the 70 scholars who worked on the project),  Long story short, there are sometimes where the LXX differs from the Old Testament texts in Hebrew that the Pharisees maintained from the first century down to now.  The reality is that not everyone read and wrote in Hebrew.  The Bibles of the early Church were the LXX and Greek copies of the Gospels and Letters of the Apostles.  These were later translated into Syriac and Latin, among other languages.  Even though there may be some differences in word choice between the LXX and the oldest Hebrew manuscript that we have, those differences do not change anything that is essential.

I bring this up because Amos 9:11-12 has a few differences from the LXX.  We will deal with them as we come to them.

Amos first talks about the fallen tabernacle of David.  God will raise it back up and repair its damage.  What is this tabernacle of David?  Moses had built a tabernacle, a tent, to house the ark of the covenant.  This was used by Israel in the desert and brought into the promised land.  The tabernacle was set up in a few different places, but Shiloh becomes the main place from the time of Joshua to Samuel.  Eli’s sons try to use the ark of the covenant as a talisman against the Philistines, and it is captured in a defeat.  At the same time, Eli falls and dies.   This appears to taint the place of Shiloh, so the tabernacle is moved to Gibeon, but the ark never returns to it. 

David wanted to build a temple, but God would not let him.  His son would do it.  Thus, David put up a temporary tent in Jerusalem in order to house the ark until the temple was finished.  This would be the closest thing to a literal tabernacle of David.  However, the temple replaced this tent.  It is quite clear that this is not about raising up a literal tent that had belonged to David.

This is where we must recognize that God used a word play in 2 Samuel 7 when he told David that he could not build the temple.  Instead of David building a house (temple) for the Lord, God would build a house (dynasty) for David.  In fact, one of the offspring of David would be a son to God and God would be a father to him.  This son would inherit a forever kingdom and restore Israel.  The prophets all picked up on this theme of a Messianic Son of David who would raise up Israel and subdue the Gentiles.  However, God continued to add more to these prophecies.  The main point is that the “tabernacle of David” had fallen a long time ago.  The last Davidic king was taken out by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC.  No Son of David sat on a throne over Israel for the last 600 years.  This is what is meant by a broken down and ruined tabernacle.  Who could raise up such a thing?  Only Messiah.

James clearly sees the raising up of Jesus as a fulfillment of this raising up of the tent of David.  Though Jesus was not ruling in Jerusalem, he is at the right hand of the Father awaiting the day in which it is time to make his enemies his footstool (Psalm 110).  The line of David had been restored, and the glorified Jesus can never die again.  He is both the restarting, and the true end of the Line of David.

This leads to the second part of the prophecy in Amos.  The broken tent is raised up in order to “possess the remnant…all the Gentiles who are called by My [the LORD’s] name.”  There is a question on whether it is the remnant of Edom or the remnant of Adam (i.e., humanity).  Hebrew originally had no vowels and they have the same consonants.  However, because there is a parallelism here, the next phrase that is not in question settles it, “the Gentiles” are intended.  Since we end up in the same place (the Gentiles), I am not too worried about whether Amos 9:12 should read “the remnant of Edom,” or “the remnant of mankind.”  Both ultimately say the same thing.

The next issue is to notice that in Amos the tabernacle of David is raised up to possess the remnant, and the quote from James says that the tabernacle is raised up “so that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD.”  This may seem to be contradictory at first, but give me a second and I will show you that they are two sides of the same coin.

Notice that the Messiah coming forth would both raise up the line of David, but also have an impact on the Gentiles.  Let’s start with the verb possess.  The Messiah would possess, or take possession of, the remnant of the Gentiles.  A remnant is always a small faithful group in the midst of a larger group that is not.  It can also mean a small group that survive a judgment of God, and thus are the blessed of the LORD.  We should also notice that the second part of Amos 9:12 is that the remnant are “called by My name.”  Who is the ruling Messiah of Israel?  It is Jesus who even now is possessing the remnant of the Gentiles and will possess the remnant of those who miraculously survive the Great Tribulation.

The point is that “possess” does not essentially mean to stomp on, destroy, dominate, or tyrannize.    It essentially means to inherit.  It is not a negative thing for the Gentiles here, it is a positive thing.  How does the Bible describe Gentiles (and Jews) as a possession of God?  We are called a “Treasured Possession,” also “Jewels.”  The flip side to Jesus inheriting the remnant of the Gentiles concerns what it takes to be part of the remnant.  Those who are seeking salvation and believe on Jesus become his possession.  Thus, to possess and to seek are merely two sides of the same revelation.  There is both seeking and possessing going on. 

Basically James is saying that the Bible prophesies what Peter is describing.

Then, James says, “Known to God from eternity are all His works.”  In a sense, this is not a new thing to God.  It may seem shocking and surprising to them, but God had been planning and leading up to this moment long before He even laid the foundations of the earth.

Again, James cannot be clearer that he agrees with Peter that they are seeing the prophesied move of God to take a people for Himself from among the Gentiles.  It is also good to see the Church working together paying attention to what the Spirit of God is doing now, and also what the Scriptures say, i.e., the sure and proven work of the Holy Spirit in the past.  We can become off-base when we emphasize one over the other.  We need both working together because the same Holy Spirit is behind both.

At this point, James puts forward a solution, or resolution in verse 19.  He says, “I judge…”  Some people read far more than they should into this.  James is not giving a decision for the whole group.  This could just as easily be interpreted as “I opine (it is my opinion)…”  James has made up his mind and is completely convinced by the evidence.  There are two main aspects to the resolution that James puts forth.

He determines that Jewish believers should not trouble the Gentile believers who are turning to God.  Essentially, he is referring to requiring them to obey the Law of Moses.  Troubling those who are turning to God, or have already turned to God, is something that we would associate with the wicked, and not God’s righteous people.  Though the terminology of James is not as dire as Peter’s (“why do you test God putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples…”), he still uses a disparaging term, “trouble.”

Troubling people who are coming to faith in Jesus can be a problem for the Church today.  We can try to stipulate things that God never commanded.  However, some groups seem to believe it is troubling people to put the commands of the Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles before them.  We should say no more and no less than what the New Testament puts before us.

The wicked do not realize the danger they are in when they trouble God’s people.  In truth, they bring trouble upon themselves and will perish in the way if they do not repent.

The second part of James’ resolution is to write to the Gentiles that they abstain from three things.  It lists four, but two of them are two aspects of the same issue.  He believes that Gentiles should only be told to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from eating things strangled, and from ingesting blood.

Why these three things and where is James getting this?  Some see a connection to Leviticus 17 and 18.  In this section, God recognizes that there will be people who are not Israelites living among them.  He does not require them to follow all the Law of Moses if they are going to live among His people, but He does place some prohibitions upon them.  Leviticus 17 brings up the issue of idolatry.  If they want to do a sacrifice, it can only be at the tabernacle, and it can only be a sacrifice to Yahweh.    All of Leviticus 18 deals with the sexual immorality that was rampant among the Canaanites.  No foreigner who lived in Israel was to be involved in any sexual immorality.  Lastly, Leviticus 17 talks about blood issues.  The pagans often drank blood and used blood in their rituals as a way of gaining power and life.  For Israel, the blood of the animals was closely associated to the offerings before Yahweh.  He commanded them not to eat meat with the blood still in it, which would also prohibit straight out drinking blood.  Strangulation does not allow an animal to bleed out, which causes the blood to coagulate in the vessels and tissue of the animal.  No foreigner was to eat meat that had not been properly drained of its blood.

Coming back to James, he ties these prohibitions in verse 21 to the fact that Moses has been preached in many cities throughout many generations.  Though some differ as to how this is a “because” to the prohibitions, I believe that it has to do with Gentiles coming to the Lord being around Jewish people.  The Church is going to grow and expand into cities where there are Jews who need Jesus too.  Perhaps, James sees this as wisely removing some barriers to Jews and Gentiles coming into the Church together.  The Gentiles would not be trying to keep the Law, and the Jews could see God’s word instructing the minimum that they need to do.

Regardless of whether this is all how James thought about it, there is more than one way to support abstaining from anything associated with idols, sexual immorality and eating/drinking blood.  Simply following the “Law of Love” will teach you that sexual immorality is a selfish way of life that brings great sorrow into relationships, families, and societies.  The moral issues of the Old Testament were all reiterated by God’s apostles in the New Testament and are binding upon the believer today.  I don’t have to go to the Law of Moses to know and believe that God does not want me to murder, and if I do, I will not be right before Him.

We will finish this next week, but let me end with this.  We have the same Word of God, and the same Holy  Spirit today.  Yes, many denominations and leaders in the Church have made ungodly decisions throughout history.  However, we must not let that sidetrack us from looking to God and seeking His leading.  We can throw up our hands saying that “it doesn’t work anymore!”  Or, “God doesn’t care.”  Yet, we would be wrong.  God cares deeply and is always ready at every moment to lead us by His Spirit.  It is we who become hurt, apathetic, and uncaring about seeking Him.  May God help us to be a people of the Word who are also seeking the leading of the Holy Spirit.  If we will do this, then He will lead us forward and help us to reach others.

Council II audio

The Acts of the Apostles 58

Subtitle: The Jerusalem Council I

Acts 15:1-12.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, October 8, 2023.

The early Church was spreading rapidly, and it was becoming clear that there were some very different ideas on what Gentiles had to do in order to be saved. 

Of course, God was never confused, or unsure of their salvation.  It was the preachers, teachers, and elders who had some conflicting ideas.  To be fair, most of the conflict is caused not among the apostles, but from a group of Pharisees who had become believers in Jesus as the Messiah.

The church in Syrian Antioch had become the main hub of ministry to the Gentiles, specifically through the missionary work of Paul and Barnabas.  Thus, they are the ones who are going to present this conflict before the apostles and elders of Jerusalem because the Church needed to be united on such an important doctrine, salvation itself.  However, that unity needed to be founded upon what the Lord would have them teach.

This issue of unity is important.  Unity is good when it is united upon a good thing.  However, unity around a bad thing is at best a house of cards.  This world cannot deliver anything without God, but an implosion of ideas, activity, and culture.  In reference to the end times, Paul tells the Thessalonians that when the world says, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them.

The key here is determining what God expects from the Gentiles who are coming into the new covenant.  This will even have implications on what God expects from Jews as well.

Let's look at our passage.

A conflict arises regarding Gentile salvation (v. 1-5)

At the end of chapter 14, Paul and Barnabas had come back from their missionary journey in Asia Minor.  They reported to the people all of the amazing things God had done among the Jews and Gentiles there.

It then says that they stayed there "a long time."  Luke is good at giving general statements that make it hard to nail down a perfect timeline.  However, from analyzing the book of Acts along with passages in Galatians that giving timing information, we can determine that within the next year certain people from Judea arrive in Syrian Antioch.  They have some strong opinions on what Gentiles need to do to be saved, which causes a big conflict.

Before we look at this conflict, I want to point out one of the schemes of the devil.  Whenever God's people see a big victory, there will always be a spiritual counter-attack from the kingdom of darkness.  Another thing to keep in mind is that he doesn't always use pagans, witches, and satanists to do his bidding.  Of course, he does use them.  Yet, at the same time, the devil is always on the prowl for unstable Christians who are not grounded in the Word of God, and are not led by the Holy Spirit.

The devil finds fertile ground in these men to stir up conflict in the church even though they are believers in Jesus.  This is why it is important for us to pay attention to what the Bible says about our relationships in the Church.  We do need to be forgiving and work for reconciliation, but we also need to be firm on the truth.  This helps to defend against the devil's ability to find leverage within someone's heart and mind.  He knows how to ask slippery questions that get us second guessing, and thinking that we know what others are thinking and what their motivations are.

These Jews from Judea, the area surrounding Jerusalem, were teaching that a Gentile had to be circumcised in order to be saved.  However, circumcision was just the cause célèbre, the tip of the conflict.  Notice that verse 1 mentions that the custom of Moses is why they think that.  Of course, Moses instituted other customs as well.  We will see in verse 5 that they believed Gentiles should obey the whole Law of Moses in order to be saved.

It is important to understand what they are doing.  If you think about it as a formula, it would look like this.  Obeying the Law of Moses + Believing in Jesus = Salvation.  To them, Jesus is simply an addendum to the Old Covenant made with Israel through Moses.  They fail to see that this is a new covenant altogether.  It is based upon God writing laws upon our heart instead of on stone tablets.

Verse 5 also relates that the source of this persuasion are a group of Pharisees who had become believers.  Of course, the apostle Paul had also been a Pharisee who came to believe in Christ.  However, Paul learned his lesson about kicking at the goads of the Holy Spirit the hard way.  They on the other hand have not. 

Now at the first, this argument of the Pharisees might sound wise.  They would just cast the aspersion against Paul and company that if a person is merely saved by faith in Jesus, then they can sin with impunity.  Of course, this would be an error.  You can say that you believe in Jesus, but have you really put your faith in Jesus?  God knows.  He is not playing a game of words.  He deals in reality and truth.  However, let's keep walking through the passage.

Paul and Barnabas quickly get wind of what these guys are teaching and a strong dispute breaks out between them.  Neither side is backing down.  

Let me just remind us something Paul taught in Acts 13:39 when he was in Pisidian Antioch.  He said, "and by Him [Jesus] everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses."  So, Paul does not just see this as an issue for the Gentiles.  He sees it as critical to understanding even how Jews are made right before God.  There were certain things that the Law of Moses could never justify.  Only God's perfect sacrifice could make right those things, and that is Jesus.  The Law's weakness is not what it says, but that I cannot fulfill it in the flesh.  I need a redeemer, and that redeemer alone can make me right with God.

As I said before, if we make unity the cardinal doctrine, we must make it a unity upon what God is saying and doing.  This is why it is a good thing, a necessary thing, to stand strongly against those who teach error, especially when they claim to be believers.  These men were in danger of supplanting the truth in the hearts and minds of the believers of Antioch, and anywhere else they would go.

In Galatians 2, Paul refers to these men as false brothers (in the same fashion as the Bible speaks of false christs, false prophets, and false teachers).  He most likely did not call them that up front.  But later, he would see that many of them never truly embraced the grace of Jesus.  They were more about keeping the Law and its traditions than they were about coming into the new covenant.  In Galatians 2, Paul says that they did not submit to those false brothers for even one hour.  In our day, he would probably say not for one nano second.

When it is clear that neither side intends to relent, the church of Antioch decides to send Paul, Barnabas, and some others to Jerusalem in order to talk with the apostles and elders there.  This issue had to be ironed out now.

It is interesting to me that Paul and Barnabas did not jump on a ship to Jerusalem, which would have been quicker.  Instead, they travel down the coast through Phoenicia (modern-day Lebanon) and Samaria (northern Israel).  As they travel, they share with the churches they find about God's gracious work among the Gentiles.  We are told that this brings great joy to the believers.  It is always wonderful to hear stories of God moving powerfully anywhere in the world today.

I think the main purpose was to counteract any of the false teaching that may have happened by this group of men who had stirred up so much conflict in Antioch.  By the way, the term "Judaize/Judaizer" is often used of Christians who teach others to obey the Law of Moses in addition to believing on Jesus for salvation.

This group from Antioch is received by the Jerusalem church like any group of believers coming from abroad.  Paul and Barnabas share all that God was doing through them, particularly among the Gentiles.

This initial report is quickly resisted by a group of Pharisees who were now Christians.  In verse 5, we have their main argument.

First, they state that "it is necessary..."  Necessary things have no wiggle room.  They are not saying that they think it is wise for Gentiles to do this.  There are thing that I myself choose not to do out of wisdom, not because I believe they are necessary.  I will not drink alcohol because of the damage it did in my life before I surrendered to Jesus.  I do this not because it is necessary for salvation, but as a matter of wisdom.  I've never looked back.  Yet, they are emphasizing that there are some things that the Gentiles necessarily have to do.

Now, let's be honest.  There are some things that God says are necessary, and when He does, we do well to pay attention and obey.  Acts 4:12 says, "There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  Jesus is a necessary condition to salvation.  This cannot be rejected without losing salvation.

Second, the first necessary thing is circumcision, according to the Judaizers.  Circumcision was a sign that you were under the covenant of Moses.  They believed it necessary for Gentiles to be circumcised to be saved.

Third, which actually incorporates the second, the Gentiles should be commanded to obey the Law of Moses.

This contention precipitates a gathering of the apostles and elders.  It is not referred to as a council in Acts, but historically it is viewed as an official gathering of the leaders of the Church to hammer out doctrine, so it qualifies as such.   They gather to determine exactly what should be taught to Gentiles in regard to salvation.

We should note that the kingdom of God is not about a democracy where everyone votes, and each votes is equal, regarding what we are going to teach.  What we teach must be based upon the decrees and work of God, and it should be led by spiritually mature believers.  Like a family, we would not expect the toddlers to help with the security and provisioning of the household.  Moms and dads are accountable before God to make decisions that are in conformity with God's Word for the sake of the children in their home.  Similarly, the apostles and elders are supposed to be a safety, and a help, to the new believers coming into the Church.  Of course, those elders would one day pass on, and young believers would become the elders of tomorrow.

They gather in order to make a decision (v. 8-12)

Luke tells us that there was much dispute, and then he gives us three testimonies that seem to have helped the group make their decision.  It is not important what all the intricacies of the arguments were.  Rather, Luke gives us the important testimony.  He gives us what we need to know.

The testimony of the apostle Peter is given first.  He was one of The Twelve taught directly by Jesus, and God had worked powerfully through him in Jerusalem and the surrounding area.  He also did not represent the "extreme" of the position of Antioch.  He was from Jerusalem, not one of "them."  Of course, the position of Paul and Barnabas, even that of the Antioch church, was not "extreme."  It is only extreme to a person who is unwilling to listen to God, and continues to resist what He is doing.  If God is moving and we are dead set on staying still, then even He will seem extreme to us.

So, what is Peter's argument, and which side does he take?

Peter points out that God's ministry through him made no distinction between Gentiles and Jews, especially in the pouring out of the Holy Spirit.  They knew the story of Peter's vision of the sheet let down from heaven and how God told him to go to Caesarea and preach the Gospel to the Gentiles there.  In fact, even before he finished his sermon, God poured out the Holy Spirit upon those Gentiles in the same manner as had happened to the Jews on the Day of Pentecost.  Peter says that God, who knows the heart of a man, poured out the Spirit upon them.

How do you argue against that?  So, you are left with disagreeing that God had actually led Peter to do this.  However, that leads you to having to deny that they actually received the true Holy Spirit.  They would have to reject Peter's clear ability to know what God is doing before everyone.

Peter was not participating in an intellectual exercise of who-can-outwit-whom.  He was dealing with the reality of what God was telling Him, and what God was doing among Gentiles.  Jesus was saving and filling Gentiles with the Holy Spirit without them being circumcised.  This is a bigger deal than we might think.

Peter then says that God purified their hearts through faith (verse 9).  How could God take up residence in an unclean vessel (Gentiles were considered such under the Law)?  God had to purify them first.  On what basis?  Purely on the basis of their faith in Jesus.  There is no way theologically around this except calling Peter a liar, which would not be based in reality either.

In verse 10, Peter clearly separates himself from those who are pushing for Gentiles to be circumcised and follow the Law.  He asks them why do they "test God" by putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples that even we Jews couldn't carry.

This phrase "testing God" is loaded with the connotation of Israel in the wilderness where they tested God.  Those who tested God in the wilderness perished while others went into the Promised Land without them.  These Pharisees may not have known it, but they were acting the part of their forefathers in the wilderness.  They were rebelling against God.

Peter could not have put this in clearer terms.  He is firmly on the side of Paul and Barnabas, but really on the side of Jesus.  He believed it to be dangerous to persist in requiring Gentiles (or Jews) to follow the Law of Moses in order to be saved.  Why would it be dangerous?  This is the argument Paul makes in the book of Galatians.  It is dangerous because it teaches you to lean upon all the wrong things for your salvation.  It diminishes Jesus to something less than your total hope of salvation.  Salvation belongs to the Lord, and is not a work of man, though we can work with the Lord in it.

Peter ends his testimony in verse 11 by giving a summary that parallels that of Paul in Ephesians 2:8,9.  "We believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they."  When you couple that statement with the statement earlier that they were purified by faith, we see the grace of God working through our faith in Jesus to save us.  "Not of works lest any man should boast," as Paul would later say.

Peter had come to see salvation as a gift, a grace, of Jesus, and that even Jews are saved in the same manner as Gentiles.  There are not two paths to salvation: one for Jews, and another one for Gentiles.  In Jesus Christ, we are saved the same way, into one body, the Church (English), the Ekklesia (Greek), the Qahel (Hebrew), the People of God.

After Peter's testimony, we then have Barnabas and Paul testify.  Instead of focusing on a biblical argument, they give evidence of the work of God among the Gentiles.  In a sense, they are packing the testimony of Peter, which involves the work at one point in time among one group of Gentiles, with that of many groups of Gentiles, and many points of time, and many different places.

This creates a mounting question that is harder and harder to overlook.  Why would God fill Gentiles with the Holy Spirit and do miracles among them, if they now needed to be circumcised?  If circumcision was needed at all, then God would not do the other.  They would not be fit for service, and for His presence.  A holy God filling an unclean vessel would have been a concept that was anathema.  The vessel is cleansed first, and then it can be holy unto the Lord for His work.

The Pharisees are faced with either obeying God in this matter, or continuing to hold on to their traditions and points of pride.

We will finish up with the council next week.  Yet, let us notice that the freedom of Christ for believers is often put in contention with obeying the Word of God.  However, this is a false dichotomy.  We who have put our faith in Jesus have been purified by faith and now stand in a place of safety, on a foundation of salvation.  From that safe place of Jesus, we are enabled to partner with the Holy Spirit and follow the commands of Christ.  We are enabled to walk out the righteousness of Christ by the grace of God.

You will notice that the moral aspects of the Law (forbidding sexual immorality, murder, hatred, dissensions, etc.) are all restated in the New Testament.  However, the dietary laws, the temple ordinances, the special days of observance, et. al. are not reiterated as obligations of believers.  However, regardless of this, even the moral requirement to love one another is not a work I am doing to obtain salvation, but an act of love out of thanks for salvation.  Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey my commands."  Let us love the Lord our God with all our heart.  And, if we stumble, let us confess our sin, repent of it, and let him do his work of cleansing us from all unrighteousness.

Jerusalem Council I

The Acts of the Apostles 42

Subtitle: A Tale of Two Visions

Acts 10:1-16.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Pentecost Sunday, May 28, 2023.

Jesus in John 16:12-15 told his disciples that he had much more to say to them, but they would not be able to bear it, or handle it at that time.  However, he promised that the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit, would come and teach them everything that they needed to know.  He would guide them into all truth- at least, all the truth that they would need.

These apostles are often referred to as the early leaders of the Church, but let us recognize up front that Jesus is the true leader of the Church.  The Apostles and any subsequent leaders are simply helpers, servants of the Lord, in his leadership.

In our passage today, we will be given a glimpse at what it looked like for the Spirit of Truth to lead the early Church.  The issue at hand was the status of Gentiles who would be coming to faith in Jesus.  What exactly did they need to do in order to become Christians?  Did they need to first adopt Judaism and its requirements and then believe on Jesus?

The book of Acts from chapter 10 to 15 gives a resounding, "No," to this question.  All of this features the Holy Spirit teaching the apostles.

Let's look at our passage.

The vision of a Gentile named Cornelius (v. 1-8)

As Peter continued to minister in Joppa, Luke brings our attention to a Gentile in Caesarea named Cornelius.  This city was 40 miles north on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and it was the headquarters for Rome's operations in the area, hence the name, Caesarea.

Cornelius is an officer in one of the Roman Legions, particularly the Italian Regiment, or Cohort.  He is a centurion, which generally means a command of 100 men or less (depending on losses in battle).  Of course, such a profession would not put Cornelius on the "nice list" with most Judeans.

Yet, verse 2 tells us that this Cornelius was a devout believer in the God of Israel.  It was not uncommon for there to be Gentiles who were sympathetic towards, and even convinced of the God of Israel as the One True God.  Most of them, however, did not want to be circumcised and officially become attached to Israel.  This created a group of people that were referred to as "God-fearers."  They were uncircumcised, but followed many of the customs and worship of Israel.

We are also told that Cornelius was very generous in alms, or charitable giving.  He had donated to particular issues that would help the people of Israel.

On this particular day, we are told that it was the ninth hour, or 3:00 pm.  Verse 30 will tell us later that he was praying and fasting.  This would be at the time of the evening sacrifice in Jerusalem.  All of this pictures a man who is worshiping God in Spirit and in truth.

Of course, prayer is a relationship with God, which begs the question.  What is his status with God?  We will talk more on this later.

As Cornelius is praying, he has a vision of an angel coming into the room.  A vision is commonly distinguished from a dream.  It is used of a person who is not asleep, and yet, sees something that may be as real as a dream, i.e., a day-dream.  It is a real spiritual interaction.  However, a vision is generally distinguished from an actual physical manifestation.  He mentally sees and hears the message of the angel.  If someone else had been there, they would not have seen or heard the angel.

Though Cornelius is startled, he addresses the angel with, "What is it, lord?"  Again in verse 30, he tells us that "a man stood before me in bright clothing."  This is common in biblical text.  Heavenly angels generally look like men when they appear to people.  However, something makes it clear that it is not an earthly messenger.  Here, the clothing of the man is glowing, he has a message that is from God, and it would not be easy for a mortal to slip into Cornelius' room.  There was no doubt it was an angel.

The angel tells Cornelius that his prayers and alms have come before God as a memorial.  That is important to note.  Whatever his status, God was taking notice of his prayers and charitable works.  The term "memorial" is a reference to a kind of sacrifice.   This can be seen in Revelation 8:4 where we see the heavenly temple.  Incense is burned before God along with "the prayers of the saints" by angels.  It is not clear exactly how this is done.  However, the truth is shown that the prayers of the saints are before God continually.

Of course, God doesn't need incense offered  with their prayers.  He sees it all.  Thus, the importance is a demonstration to the heavenly beings that humans are praying unto God, and that God is receiving their prayers.

I believe that his status was much like Abram's.  Yes, he is a gentile and is not in complete conformity to the Law of Moses.  Yet, he is approaching God in faith, and God is responding with grace.

We should note that Cornelius is not praying to see an angel.  He already has a lot of God's grace as he has heard the truth of God, and is serving near Israel.  Rather, it was in the midst of his being faithful to God in prayer that God said, "that's my man." 

The angel is not so much a response to good worship and prayer, but as a fulfillment of the purposes of God.  This was just the sort of man that the Lord would use to help the Church to understand that Gentiles were to be saved just like Judeans.  God's grace comes to us in many different ways.  It is not ours to worry about the way, but rather, it is ours to be thankful for whatever ways the grace of God materializes.

When you pray, you may feel like nothing big is happening.  However, at the least, your prayers are coming before God.  If you are discouraged in prayer because you want something specific to happen, be careful that you are not complaining about the grace of God you already have.  God has a timing for everything, and we can be guilty of overlooking the grace that He is already giving us each and every day.

Cornelius is then told to send to Joppa for a Simon Peter who was staying with Simon the Tanner.  Peter would then tell him what he "must do."

Couldn't the angel have told him what to do?  Yes, of course, the angel could have.  God Himself could do everything in the universe while we all stand on the sidelines cheering, "Go, God!"  But, God isn't looking for a cheerleader to cheer Him on.  That may stroke your ego, but God is looking for a bride who will join Him in the field of work.

It was important that an apostle of Jesus be involved in this critical juncture of Gentiles coming into the Church.  Though Paul would become the main apostle to the Gentiles, Peter would be an important link in convincing the Jerusalem Church that God was saving Gentiles too.  He would be critical in establishing what the status of Gentiles coming to Christ would be.

Though it was afternoon, Cornelius immediately calls two of his household along with a soldier who is also a devout believer from his personal detail.  He tells them the task and sends them to Joppa in order to fetch Simon Peter.

Let us note how important it is to respond to the promptings of the Lord as quickly as we can.  All of us can think of times where we were dilatory with the leading of God's Spirit.  God doesn't generally send angels to speak to us, though He can do so at any time.  Typically the Holy Spirit prompts us in our heart and mind as we pray.  The person who is devoutly praying to God will receive instruction from Him from time to time.  We need to be in a relationship with Jesus where we are seeking his leading, and responding quickly to the leading that He gives.  Don't be lazy, and don't be resistant, or rebellious.

Peter has a vision (v. 9-16)

As the men from Cornelius approach Simon the Tanner's house, Peter also has a vision around noon.  These two visions are basically the same, but they would hit those who first heard about it as a contrast.  Peter is a Jew, devout, and an apostle of Jesus.  Of course, we can picture him having a vision.  However, Cornelius is not a Jew nor a follower of Jesus.  Yet, the same God is working in them both for His singular purpose.

Peter is praying and becomes extremely hungry.  It appears that this has been made known to the house and they are fixing some food.  Meanwhile, he continues to pray on the roof of the house.  I don't know if God caused him to be hungrier than usual, but regardless, He uses Peter's hunger to emphasize a command that will be important in regards to Cornelius.

Verse 10 tells us that Peter "fell into a trance."  The difference between a trance and a vision is nothing.  They are the same thing described from two different angles.  The word "vision" focuses on the fact that he sees something.  It is the experience from the view of the person who sees it.  The word "trance" focuses on the fact that his mind is elsewhere at the time.  It is the experience from the view of a person watching the one having the vision.  In fact, in Acts 11:5, Peter will describe this event with both words.  He will say, "in a trance, I saw a vision."

The vision was of a sheet that is bound up on all the four corners creating a sling.  It is let down from heaven before him and is filled with unclean, or non-kosher, animals.  Unclean animals are such that the Law of Moses proscribed from being eaten by the people of Israel, and from being offered up as a sacrifice to Yahweh.

Of course, it is not the contents of the sheet that are the problem, but the content of the command that is given to him next.  Peter is told to rise up, kill and eat.  This picture is going to occur three times.  Peter protests that he had never eaten such animals before.  It appears that he also has no desire to do so even though he is quite hungry. 

God knew that he would respond this way, and He intends to use this to hammer home a point Peter needs to understand.  Before we get into the point, we should touch base on this whole issue of unclean and common as opposed to that which was clean and holy.

We often use unholy to mean something morally bad, but the foods themselves were not morally bad.  To be holy simply means that something, or someone, is set apart for a particular purpose of God.  To be unholy simply meant to be a thing, or one, that is not set apart for a particular purpose of God.  Israel was a holy nation.  They had been called to do a particular, special duty for God among the nations.  The other nations were unholy, or common.  Yet, within the nation of Israel, there were particular people who were called to serve as priests in the temple.  In this area, the priest would be holy, but the other Israelites would be common.  The same could be said of a temple bowl.  A common bowl could be used for any purpose you like.  It wasn't holy.  However, a bowl that had been consecrated to God's work in the temple could not be used for a common purpose.  Even among the priests, only one man could go into the Holy of Holies once a year.  None of the common priests could perform the work of the high priest.

At this point, it is important to note that the clean and unclean animals served an important purpose in Israel.  Yet, now God was directly connecting the concept of unclean animals versus clean animals with the concept of unclean peoples (i.e., Gentiles) and clean people (i.e., Israel).

Let me interject at this point that I run into people who make a big deal out of Christians changing the laws of the Old Testament.  Or, they will say something like God said it was bad and then He changed His mind and said it was good.  They underlying accusation is that God is whimsical or Christians are hypocritically changing the bible.  Neither are true.

Note what God says to Peter's protest.  "What God has cleansed you must not call common."  Do you see that.  Something has changed from the days of Moses to the vision of Peter.  God has actively "cleansed" these foods.  How did He do that?  The death and resurrection of Jesus fulfilled all the requirements of the Old Covenant.  God would now establish a New Covenant with the remnant of Israel and whosoever will of the Gentile nations.  It was no longer necessary under the New Covenant to continue a restriction on foods because the truth that they pictured was now changed.  Gentiles were no longer considered common because of the work of Jesus.

Let's be clear here.  Common and holy here have to do with the ability to approach God and have our sins dealt with.  Yes, we can speak of the holiness of one who has had their sins removed.  But, the Old Testament had an additional concept of being able to approach the altar of the Lord and offer sacrifices for your sins.  Gentiles could not do this under the Old Covenant because they were unclean.  Now, through the work of Jesus, they have been made acceptable to enter God's presence and be cleansed.  This is not a whimsical or hypocritical change.  It is a very real sacrifice done once and for all by God's Anointed One, Jesus.

Under the New Covenant, Christians can eat any food without fear of defilement.  All foods are cleansed by the work of Jesus.  However, this is also a picture of the reality that any person from any tribe, tongue, or nation, can come to God in faith and be accepted at His altar.  There is no longer any distinction between a Jewish Christian or a Gentile Christian, other than heritage.

There is a sense of warning in this command, "you must not call common."  If God makes something holy, then no one should treat it as unholy, common.  This would apply to Jewish Christians like Peter who would tend to shrink away from treating Gentiles as completely clean in Christ.  However, it would also apply to the Corinthian Christians who were taking the Gospel of Jesus and the Gifts of the Spirit, and using them in a defiled way, unholy way.  Such people often have an attitude that says, "Jesus has paid the price so all things (i.e., even sin) are clean to us now."  Such a thing must not be done.  It is important for the Church to uphold this truth in a day and age that is transgressing this on both sides.

Do you believe that God is working in your life as He was in Peter's life, or Cornelius' life?  Yes, the scope of what God is doing is greater in them.  You may not see an angel, or even have a vision.

However, we need to recognize that as we are praying and serving Jesus, there comes times when He speaks to our heart and mind.  It might be something that you are intimidated by, or afraid to do.  It might be something that you are even unsure about.

This is why God has given us His Word, His Spirit, and a body of believers with the Gifts of the Spirit distributed as He wills.  Peter had great spiritual gifts placed in his life in order to help the early Church and even us today through the word.  We may not all experience everything that Peter did, but we are all the beneficiaries of what God did through him and the other apostles.

It is not the vision, or angelic visitation, that we should be seeking.  Rather, it is the purpose and presence of the Lord Jesus Himself that is our desire.  The help of the Holy Spirit is always happening and available for those who are seeking Him.  However, it is up to God the particular ways that His grace is given to us.  Let us be a people who are used of God to further His work of saving Gentiles and Jews in these last days!

Two Visions audio

The Acts of the Apostles 41

Subtitle: Peter Continues to Minister

Acts 9:32-43.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on May 21, 2023.

We are picking back up where left off several months ago.  At this point in the book of Acts, Luke has detailed the beginnings of the Church in Jerusalem and its spread.  He has also introduced Saul, his persecution of the followers of Jesus, and his conversion to faith in Jesus as Messiah.  After an attempt on his life, Saul left the area and went back to Tarsus, his hometown.

Luke's narrative now turns back to the Apostle Peter.  Today, we will look at two miracles of healing that were done through Peter.  All of this is leading up to an important event in Acts 10.  It will be the first time that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit comes upon Gentiles who believe in Jesus.

Let's look at our passage.

The healing of Aeneas (v. 32-35)

Here is a link to a map of the area in our story today.

In Acts 8:40, we are told that Philip, a deacon of Jerusalem, had preached in all of the cities from Azotus to Caesarea.  God worked through Philip to do miracles, healings, and exorcisms.  Lydda and Joppa would fall within this area.  Thus, Philip would have seen healings and salvations in Lydda, and there had been ministry in the name of Jesus already.

Verse 32 tells us that Peter was going throughout all of the area and visiting believers.  He is being faithful to the Lord's command to him, "Feed my sheep."  Just as Peter and John followed up on Philip's ministry in Samaria, so Peter is now coming into these areas after Philip.  It could be as much as a year or two since Philip has ministered here.  Some of these saints in Lydda may also have fled to there from the earlier persecution in Jerusalem under Saul of Tarsus.  Regardless, Jesus intended his disciples, apostles, to be a gift to the early Church, helping it to be established firmly upon His Word and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Verse 33 tells us that Peter "found" a certain man named Aeneas.  He had been bed-ridden from a paralysis for eight years.  We know very little about this man.  It doesn't say that he was a believer like it will mention with Tabitha in the next event that Luke relates.

It also begs the question.  Where was Aeneas when Philip ministered in the area earlier?  Why wasn't he healed and saved then?  However, we could ask the same question about people who were healed by the apostles.  Jesus had ministered throughout Israel for three and a half years, healing people and casting out demons.

There seems to be a certain accident of timing in many things in life.  The timing can be affected by the person.  Were they gone when it happened, or unreceptive at that time?  It can be affected by circumstances outside of the person's control.  Why are some reached quickly and others take a great length of time?  On this side of eternity, our lives are filled with questions that will most likely remain unanswered.  Our walk and experience with the Lord is not dependent upon having all of the answers.  What matters is that a person comes to faith in the work of Jesus as their Anointed Savior, and submit to him as their Lord.

You may notice that your conversations with some who are not Christians can devolve into one question about detail in the Bible after another.  However, at some point, you have to move a way from questions that are the theological equivalent of "Did Adam have a belly button?" and  press the issue.  Can you now put your trust in Jesus as God's answer for your sin and the sin of the world? 

We are never going to have all of the answers.  Even if we did, you may think about whether or not it would actually help us.  Peter's power came from a trusting relationship with the Lord and not from having all of the answers.

I love how Peter says to Aeneas, "Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you."  Peter wants to make it abundantly clear just how this healing is happening.  We shouldn't turn this into a kind of mantra that always works to perform healings, and yet, we shouldn't rush past it.  God does use people in different ways, and we should recognize that.  However, we can never see that person as our source.  God is our source.  He is the giver of ever good and perfect gift.

Peter then tells Aeneas to arise and make his bed.  It was most likely a bed roll so making it is most likely rolling it up.  Yet, we are told that he arose immediately.  The cynic may cry foul, and call it a long con, but that just doesn't make sense.  He is not going to convincingly pretend to be paralyzed for 8 years in order to make the disciples of Jesus look good after Jesus himself was crucified.  However, Aeneas was initially paralyzed, God touched the underlying issue and he was healed in an instant!

The spread of this story among the people of Lydda and the area around it called the Sharon led to an influx of believers into the faith.  Just like this paralytic not being healed, we see that there were still people who needed to be saved.  They had resisted, or missed out, earlier, but now they have finally believed.  Oh, the grace of God to not give up on us!

The phrase "turned to the Lord" reminds us that salvation is not just a matter of intellectually faith in Jesus and a change of life-style.  It is also a relationship with the Lord Jesus who is the master.  They have changed their mind and become his students.  They have believed on Jesus and have been born again by the Spirit of God into His family as a child of God.  They have said "Yes" to Jesus and have taken their place among the bride of Christ.  God is always working to bring us into proper relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. 

They had been resisting, but now they believed.  What if God was as easily miffed as we are?  God's grace kept sending people their way.  Yes, for all people, there is a last time that the gospel is brought to our minds and hearts, but even then God loves us to the very end.

The raising of Tabitha (v. 36-43)

At this point, our story segues to the nearby coastal city of Joppa, modern-day Tel Abib-Yafo.  The news of the healing of Aeneas spreads so that the believers in Joppa hear that Peter is nearby.  While this good thing is happening in Lydda, there is trouble in Joppa among the believers.

A woman named Tabitha becomes sick and dies.  Luke notes for his Greek readers that her Aramaic name of Tabitha is equivalent to the Greek name Dorcas.  Both of the names mean "gazelle" in their respective languages, and she was a graceful woman.  She was a very industrious doer of charitable works among the people of Joppa.  Verse 39 gives us an idea of at least one thing that she did.  It speaks of the widows weeping and showing the tunics and garments that Tabitha had made for them while she was alive.  Apparently, Tabitha was able to afford making and giving away these garments to the less fortunate in town.

We could contrast this with a man like Peter.  We should not put down very natural gifts of helps like Tabitha displayed in relation to the supernatural gifts that were displayed through Peter.  We can be guilty of diminishing the importance of simply using the natural gifts of God in our life to bless others.  It reminds me of Moses when God sends him to go to Egypt and deliver the Israelites.  Moses is very intimidated by the task.  However, God asks him, "What is that in your hand?"  It was a simply staff, but it was all Moses needed as long as the Spirit of God was with Him.  The Spirit of God used Tabitha to bless people, but not through healings and raising people from the dead.  It is not that Peter had no natural abilities either, and Tabitha no spiritual ones.  Both of them upon their deaths would find people weeping over their passing.

So, Tabitha became sick and died during the time that Peter was at Lydda.  Tabitha is the kind of person that we can struggle with their deaths.  She is not dying of old age.  Why would God allow her to die?  We need more people like her.  Why don't you take a bad person?  Many are the questions that people have of God. 

Clearly, not all believers are healed from disease, and even less are raised back to life from death.  There are only a few stories from the Old Testament.  Jesus himself raised three people back to life: the son of the widow of Nain, the daughter of Jairus, and Lazarus.  There are only two stories of someone raised back to life in the New Testament.  Peter raising Tabitha here, and Paul raising Eutychus, a young man who fell out of a window and died- probably breaking his neck, or blunt force trauma.

In all of these cases, it is probably best not to use the term resurrection.  They are brought back to life, but into mortal bodies.  This is different from the resurrection of Jesus and the promise of resurrection to believers (1 Corinthians 15).  At the resurrection, believers receive a glorified, immortal body.  The story here is more on the level of an impossible "healing." 

Lazarus was raised from the dead after being in the grave for four days.  Yet, he went on to grow old and die.  When he died, Jesus did not come down out of the heavens and raise him back to life, or send an apostle, nor should we see his later death as some kind of failure with the spiritual power of the Church.  Lazarus would die a second time and, though it too would be sad, it would be the grace of God.  He can let go of this mortal body knowing that he shall have a glorified one in the resurrection.  This is not to discount this mortal life.  It is in this mortal life that God teaches us about Himself, and we can do exploits for His glory.   It is where we learn to trust Him!

Some think that God should have made us powerful like the angels.  They seem to see our weakness as an argument against the goodness of God.  But, it seems that a perfect world is one in which we face the exact kind of difficulties that will enable us to become like God enough to understand His heart.  I'm reminded of the classic problem of a man who creates a business from scratch from hard work and over the top of great adversity.  No matter how good of a man he is, his kids, and then grandkids, will not have as much adversity as he did.  They will only know a life of being born with a silver spoon in their mouth.  This doesn't guarantee that a kid will be spoiled and not like their grandfather, but it tends towards that.  It appears that a world in which nothing can ever go wrong would more likely ensure that none of us truly understood God and became like Him.  We would never truly be able to have a deep relationship with Him.

Christians have a greater hope than having someone pray for us and being healed, or raised from the dead.  The God that can heal mortal bodies and raise them back to mortal life, can do even greater things than that!  He is able to do far above what we often are wanting from Him at the time.  Let us learn to trust the Lord.

Back to our story, we are told that the disciples send for Peter and urge him to come without delay.  This seems to imply that she wasn't dead yet when they sent for him.  I say this because they would have no expectation that Peter would raise her from the dead.  None of the apostles had done such a thing.  Yet, she passes before Peter comes.

Verse 39 describes the scene as Peter shows up in Joppa.  They brought him to the room where Tabitha's body has been prepared for burial.  There are women weeping, mourning her death, and explaining what a special woman she was.

However, at verse 40, something changes.  Peter has all of the weeping women and others leave the room.  We then see a scene similar to the time that Jesus healed the daughter of Jairus in Mark 5.  Peter was there and saw all that Jesus did.  Surely, this is not he first person in the Church around Peter to die.  What gives rise to this coming raising of Tabitha from the dead?

This is conjecture at this point, but I do believe that the Holy Spirit put it in Peter's mind and heart.  Something about this scene gave Peter the faith, or belief, that God may want to raise this woman back to life.  First of all, we are told in Mark 5:41 that when Jesus healed the girl he said, "Talitha, cumi."  Talitha is an Aramaic word that simply means "little girl," and cumi means "rise."  Talitha sounds the same as Tabitha, but is different by one letter.  I think that, upon hearing that her name was Tabitha, Peter remembered Jesus saying "Talitha, cumi."  This may have put the question in his mind.  Does the Lord want to raise her?

Thus, Peter does the same thing as Jesus did by putting the people out of the room.  In Mark 5, Jesus was clearly bolder than Peter.  He told the people the girl was merely sleeping and that he would wake her.  They began to ridicule her.  Thus, for Jesus, it appears that he is removing the doubters, not just so that he could perform the miracle, but also because this was a holy thing and they were not worthy to witness it. 

We can become stuck in a group that is not speaking and walking in faith in Jesus.  Even if it is not spoken, people can be cynical and doubtful.  God's people will not thrive in an environment of doubt.

Peter does something that Jesus didn't.  Peter gets on his knees and begins to pray.  Jesus prayed all the time, but he didn't need to pray on the scene to do a miracle.  Jesus was already prayed up, and knew the will of the Father.  But, this is just Peter.  I think Peter is praying for understanding from the Lord.  Lord, are you really wanting to heal this woman?  Do you want me to command this dead body to rise? It doesn't say how long he prayed, but at some point, Peter says to the body, "Tabitha, rise."  Luke doesn't say what language Peter used, as Mark does with Jesus.  However, I tend to think that Peter said, "Tabitha, cumi."  It is not the language and the words that brought Tabitha back to life, it was faith in Jesus and trust in the leading of the Holy Spirit that healed her that opened the door for the Lord to heal her.

We want to avoid two extremes that exist today.  Some point to a passage like this and attempt to make it normative for every Christian at all times.  To them, the Church should be raising people back to life all over the place, and when you really have Jesus, you will do this too.  This is in the face that the whole New Testament only lists twice that this happened in around 30 years of ministry.  It was a rare thing.

On the other hand, some go to the other extreme and say that God doesn't heal or raise people from the dead anymore.  It is one thing to say that raising from the dead is rare, but quite another to say that God doesn't do this any more, to say that God doesn't heal anyone any more.  What does the Word of God say?  It tells us that, when someone is sick, we should call the elders together, anoint the person with oil, and pray for them.  Whether God grants a miracle or not is up to Him.  My part is to be a person on his knees seeking God for what His will and purpose is, and then do it.

Just as God used Tabitha to dress some widows in Joppa, so He can use a doctor to help you, i.e., through natural means.  However, God is able to use anything.  He still has the creative power to turn dirt into a body, and a broken body into a healed body.  We will never be able to put God's power into a Petri dish.  God is not jumping through our hoops to satisfy our fleshly mind, or curiosity.  But, He does care about your soul, and He does want a relationship of trust and faith with you.-o

When you think about it, Tabitha's raising back to life is a mercy to the people of Joppa rather than to her.  She was in the presence of the Lord.  There can be a level of selfishness in our mourning and crying out to God about His purpose in taking someone "too soon."  If they knew Jesus, then they are in a better place.  However, the answer is not to "de-supernaturalize" our faith and walk with God.  Rather, He is the one that we always need, and it is to Him that we should always look.  Lord, what do you want me to do in this moment?  Help me to honor you.

In these stories, the tragedies are reversed by God, or at least, they are ameliorated, improved by His grace.  However, let us know that, even if these people had not been healed or raised from the dead, God still would love the people of Lydda and Joppa.  He would still love Aeneas, and Tabitha.

Luke does not describe the shock and joy when the people see Tabitha alive.  She responds immediately to Peter's command to rise.  She sits up and he helps her out of bed, presenting her to the people.

News spread about this amazing miracle, leading many to believe on Jesus.  Luke ends this story with the note that Peter stayed at Joppa for many days at the house of Simon the Tanner.  The influx of people who heard about the miracle provides a great springboard to sharing the Gospel of Jesus.

God gives miracles from time to time, but they are not the emphasis.  The emphasis is people turning to the Lord Jesus because they see that he is truly the one who can forgive sins, and make us right with God.  May God help us to be a people of faith! 

Let us not make anything become an ultimatum to the Lord because we don't understand.  Instead, let us trust Him because He has proven trustworthy.  If you challenge God to heal someone, or do a certain thing, as a condition of faith, He may simply not do it.  He loves you too much to jump through your hoops on demand.  His purpose is bigger than this mortal life, even eternal in scope.  Trust God because He loves you and is fitting you even now for an eternal relationship with Him.

This generation needs people who are trusting in God.  Even those who ridicule you for your faith do not understand just how much they need you to stand firm.  They will never see it, or admit it, until the day that they come to faith in Jesus.  May we be God's blessing to the people in our life in the ways that He determines.

Peter ministers audio