WEBVTT 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:07.620 Would you turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Acts, chapter 9, looking today at 00:00:07.620 --> 00:00:10.160 Acts chapter 9, verses 32 to 43. 00:00:10.839 --> 00:00:14.019 If you're looking in a pew Bible, that is page 918. 00:00:14.019 --> 00:00:30.140 Acts chapter 9, beginning at verse 32. 00:00:32.700 --> 00:00:39.700 Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived 00:00:39.700 --> 00:00:40.579 at Lydda. 00:00:41.560 --> 00:00:43.480 There he found a man named Aeneas. 00:00:44.420 --> 00:00:47.160 Bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. 00:00:48.240 --> 00:00:52.040 And Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. 00:00:52.740 --> 00:00:54.440 Rise and make your bed. 00:00:55.520 --> 00:00:56.760 And immediately he rose. 00:00:57.380 --> 00:01:01.100 And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him and they turned to the Lord. 00:01:02.480 --> 00:01:08.379 Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which translated means Dorcas. 00:01:08.960 --> 00:01:12.180 She was full of good works and acts of charity. 00:01:12.180 --> 00:01:15.700 In those days she became ill and died. 00:01:15.700 --> 00:01:19.200 And when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 00:01:20.200 --> 00:01:24.780 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men 00:01:24.780 --> 00:01:27.680 to him, urging him, please come to us without delay. 00:01:28.180 --> 00:01:29.760 So Peter rose and went with them. 00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:32.840 And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. 00:01:32.840 --> 00:01:39.800 All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas 00:01:39.800 --> 00:01:41.040 made while she was with them. 00:01:41.600 --> 00:01:45.340 But Peter put them all outside and knelt down and prayed. 00:01:45.340 --> 00:01:49.040 And turning to the body, he said, Tabitha, arise. 00:01:49.939 --> 00:01:51.340 And she opened her eyes. 00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:54.200 And when she saw Peter, she sat up. 00:01:55.300 --> 00:01:58.040 And he gave her his hand and raised her up. 00:01:58.939 --> 00:02:01.560 Then calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 00:02:01.620 --> 00:02:05.240 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 00:02:06.240 --> 00:02:10.800 And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner. 00:02:10.800 --> 00:02:17.180 One of the interesting aspects of living in New Haven is that you never know who you might 00:02:17.180 --> 00:02:17.680 run into. 00:02:18.820 --> 00:02:24.820 If you walk around the Yale campus, you may rub shoulders with some of the present and 00:02:24.820 --> 00:02:26.260 future leaders of the world. 00:02:27.320 --> 00:02:33.000 If you're a freshman at Yale, your randomly selected suite mate could easily be the most 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:38.880 accomplished violinist in the state of Arkansas, or their parents might own a Fortune 500 company 00:02:38.879 --> 00:02:44.019 or an island off the coast of Florida, or perhaps they might even become the President 00:02:44.019 --> 00:02:45.019 of the United States. 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:45.699 You never know. 00:02:46.780 --> 00:02:50.539 Your professor could be the world's leading authority in their field. 00:02:51.319 --> 00:02:57.120 Your law school classmate could become a prominent judge and make a decisive vote in a precedent-setting 00:02:57.120 --> 00:02:57.519 case. 00:02:58.400 --> 00:03:04.859 Now, even outside of Yale, New Haven is filled with people seeking to make their mark on the 00:03:04.859 --> 00:03:05.099 city. 00:03:05.099 --> 00:03:11.519 Whether it's through reforming the public schools or establishing charter schools, starting 00:03:11.519 --> 00:03:17.060 a business or beginning a non-profit, campaigning for public office or writing for the independent. 00:03:18.079 --> 00:03:22.840 And the more rooted you become in New Haven, the more time you spend around here, you sort 00:03:22.840 --> 00:03:26.459 of begin to recognize who's who around town. 00:03:27.240 --> 00:03:30.079 Who are the big players in the non-profit world? 00:03:30.199 --> 00:03:33.240 Who are the up-and-coming leaders in City Hall? 00:03:33.240 --> 00:03:36.560 Who are the influential decision-makers at the Board of Ed? 00:03:38.020 --> 00:03:43.300 New Haven can be an exciting place to live, but it can also be an intimidating place to 00:03:43.300 --> 00:03:43.520 live. 00:03:43.580 --> 00:03:48.400 A place full of accomplished, busy, important, influential people. 00:03:49.620 --> 00:03:56.640 Now, this morning, the passage we're considering in Acts is sandwiched right in between two extensive 00:03:56.640 --> 00:03:59.780 accounts of massively influential people. 00:03:59.780 --> 00:04:05.879 The first three quarters of chapter nine describes the conversion and calling of Saul. 00:04:06.699 --> 00:04:10.360 Saul, later known as Paul, was an intellectual giant. 00:04:11.099 --> 00:04:16.040 He was an elite religious scholar who became the most prominent apostle of the first century 00:04:16.040 --> 00:04:20.540 Christian movement and the author of several books that are still read 2,000 years later. 00:04:21.300 --> 00:04:21.920 Not bad. 00:04:22.620 --> 00:04:24.740 Probably better than most of your professors. 00:04:24.740 --> 00:04:32.180 Chapter 10, which we'll look at next week, describes the conversion of Cornelius, a centurion 00:04:32.180 --> 00:04:36.280 who commanded 480 men, a cohort in the Roman army. 00:04:36.840 --> 00:04:41.900 And in the book of Acts, chapter 10 marks a major turning point because the gospel of Jesus 00:04:41.900 --> 00:04:45.960 is received for the first time by large numbers of Gentiles. 00:04:45.959 --> 00:04:53.479 But in between these two extensive accounts about influential people, well-known people, 00:04:54.299 --> 00:05:01.839 Luke includes two brief stories about two obscure characters, Aeneas and Tabitha. 00:05:02.539 --> 00:05:06.879 We know nothing else about these two people apart from what we learn here. 00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:13.560 They would not make it into many lists of who's who in the New Testament or in the ancient 00:05:13.560 --> 00:05:14.019 world. 00:05:14.899 --> 00:05:18.279 And if you're reading quickly through the book of Acts, you might skim through these stories 00:05:18.279 --> 00:05:20.319 and not give them much second thought. 00:05:21.379 --> 00:05:26.560 As I was preparing this week, since I had to say something about this text, I was asking 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:32.560 myself, why did Luke choose to include these two stories here in Acts? 00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:39.699 Now, some people say they established Peter's authority as an authoritative messenger of 00:05:39.699 --> 00:05:40.680 the risen Lord Jesus. 00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:42.639 And there's some truth to that. 00:05:43.040 --> 00:05:48.100 Peter seems to be following in the footsteps of Elijah and Elisha, two of the greatest prophets 00:05:48.100 --> 00:05:53.340 of the Old Testament who not only healed the sick, but also raised a dead person to life. 00:05:53.779 --> 00:05:55.680 First Kings 17, Second Kings 4. 00:05:56.579 --> 00:06:02.500 Even more so, Peter's following the pattern of Jesus, who also told a paralyzed man, rise 00:06:02.500 --> 00:06:08.019 up and walk, Luke 5, and who raised Jairus' daughter from the dead with very similar words 00:06:08.019 --> 00:06:08.899 in Luke chapter 8. 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:15.199 And in Acts chapter 1, Luke reminds us that his gospel was about what Jesus began to do 00:06:15.199 --> 00:06:15.800 and teach. 00:06:16.540 --> 00:06:21.540 And by implication, the book of Acts is about what Jesus continues to do and teach by the 00:06:21.540 --> 00:06:23.199 Holy Spirit through his apostles. 00:06:23.199 --> 00:06:30.779 So it's, now it's true that we see in this passage God approving of Peter as an authoritative 00:06:30.779 --> 00:06:32.360 messenger of the risen Lord Jesus. 00:06:33.199 --> 00:06:36.980 But you know, I don't think this passage is mostly about Peter and his role. 00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:40.659 Because Peter's role has already been well established in the book of Acts. 00:06:40.719 --> 00:06:45.800 If you read chapters 1 through 5, he's teaching, he's preaching, he's healing, he's leading the 00:06:45.800 --> 00:06:46.560 church in Jerusalem. 00:06:47.579 --> 00:06:49.300 He's already been introduced to us. 00:06:49.300 --> 00:06:56.220 Other people say this section is a transition, leading up to the main event in chapter 10, 00:06:56.699 --> 00:07:01.199 about the gospel of Jesus gradually moving toward Gentile territory. 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:02.759 And again, there's something to this. 00:07:03.420 --> 00:07:08.759 So far, the gospel has spread from Jerusalem, where Jesus was crucified and resurrected, where 00:07:08.759 --> 00:07:09.980 the temple was located. 00:07:10.500 --> 00:07:14.300 And it's spread to all kinds of people on the fringes of Judaism. 00:07:14.300 --> 00:07:20.960 So to people visiting Jerusalem for the festival of Pentecost, to the Samaritans, to the Ethiopian 00:07:20.960 --> 00:07:21.480 eunuch. 00:07:21.900 --> 00:07:27.560 And here we see Peter gradually moving away from Jerusalem toward Gentile territory. 00:07:28.259 --> 00:07:34.100 Verse 32, he comes to Lydda, which was a primarily Jewish city, 25 miles northwest of Jerusalem. 00:07:34.280 --> 00:07:40.379 Verse 36, he goes further northwest to Joppa, a primarily Greek city on the coast. 00:07:40.379 --> 00:07:45.560 Chapter 10, he goes all the way up the coast to Caesarea, which was named after the Roman 00:07:45.560 --> 00:07:46.839 emperor himself. 00:07:47.860 --> 00:07:53.379 Where Cornelius, a Roman military officer, comes to faith in Jesus, and the Holy Spirit's 00:07:53.379 --> 00:07:55.139 poured out on the Gentiles for the first time. 00:07:56.500 --> 00:08:01.480 But you know, the question still remains, if this passage is simply a transition leading 00:08:01.480 --> 00:08:06.040 up to the main thing in chapter 10, why does Luke bother mentioning these two people, 00:08:06.040 --> 00:08:10.860 Aeneas and Tabitha, who play no further role in the story? 00:08:12.160 --> 00:08:19.060 Well, I think the main reason that Luke puts this story where it is, and arranges his book 00:08:19.060 --> 00:08:25.480 in this way, is not only because it happened that way, there were lots of events that happened 00:08:25.480 --> 00:08:31.160 that he knew about that he could have included, but he deliberately arranged it this way to 00:08:31.160 --> 00:08:37.379 remind us of this, that God's work in the world proceeds not just through influential 00:08:37.379 --> 00:08:43.220 intellectuals, like Saul in chapter 9, not just through political and military leaders, 00:08:43.460 --> 00:08:47.360 like Cornelius in chapter 10, but also through ordinary people. 00:08:48.779 --> 00:08:52.800 Through people who don't hold a lot of political power, through people who aren't distinguished 00:08:52.800 --> 00:08:57.980 by their academic degrees, through people who aren't well known outside their local community, 00:08:57.980 --> 00:09:02.320 through people that some of us might be tempted to ignore or overlook. 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:11.440 In our passage this morning, we're introduced to two ordinary people, a pair of them, a very 00:09:11.440 --> 00:09:14.259 inactive man and a very active woman. 00:09:15.379 --> 00:09:16.620 First, we see Aeneas. 00:09:17.320 --> 00:09:24.139 He's described in verse 33 as having been bedridden for eight years because he was paralyzed. 00:09:24.139 --> 00:09:31.519 Perhaps he was in an accident, fell down somehow and off a building and never recovered his mobility. 00:09:32.299 --> 00:09:36.879 Perhaps he had a stroke, which left him unable to move and take care of himself. 00:09:37.139 --> 00:09:44.179 Whatever happened, from that time on, he had been confined to his bed for eight years. 00:09:44.819 --> 00:09:51.000 Unable to work, unable to care for his family if he had one, unable even to take care of himself 00:09:51.000 --> 00:09:52.240 or to move around freely. 00:09:52.379 --> 00:09:54.899 He had nothing to show for himself. 00:09:55.980 --> 00:10:01.539 It would have been a depressing, isolating experience, especially in comparison to the 00:10:01.539 --> 00:10:03.759 freedom of movement he had enjoyed in the past. 00:10:05.320 --> 00:10:11.960 Even today, motorized wheelchairs and disability accommodations, being paralyzed can be a frustrating 00:10:11.960 --> 00:10:16.679 and lonely experience where you're easily forgotten and excluded. 00:10:16.679 --> 00:10:22.259 By contrast, verse 36, we see a very active woman, Tabitha. 00:10:23.219 --> 00:10:27.099 Now, that was her given name, her Aramaic name, which indicates her Jewish heritage. 00:10:27.919 --> 00:10:32.519 Luke also gives her the Greek translation of her name, Dorcas, for the benefit of his readers. 00:10:33.159 --> 00:10:37.000 But he describes Tabitha as full of good works and acts of charity. 00:10:37.839 --> 00:10:41.899 In other words, she was characterized by deeds of kindness and compassion. 00:10:41.899 --> 00:10:50.259 Things like visiting sick people, feeding hungry people, and especially, in her case, caring for widows. 00:10:51.120 --> 00:10:55.879 Now, in the ancient world, widows were some of the most vulnerable and neglected people. 00:10:57.000 --> 00:11:02.639 Women had few opportunities for honorable work, and there were no institutions in the broader society 00:11:02.639 --> 00:11:04.720 that assisted widows. 00:11:05.220 --> 00:11:06.939 Widows basically had three options. 00:11:07.639 --> 00:11:11.100 Live off an inheritance, if you were lucky enough to have gotten one. 00:11:11.100 --> 00:11:16.800 Live with extended family, if they existed and were willing to take you in. 00:11:17.420 --> 00:11:18.139 Or remarry. 00:11:19.220 --> 00:11:22.080 For some widows, there were no good options. 00:11:23.100 --> 00:11:28.680 But Tabitha took on these neglected, vulnerable women's burdens as her own. 00:11:29.580 --> 00:11:31.840 In particular, she made clothes. 00:11:32.840 --> 00:11:37.639 In an age when there were no clothing stores and no clothing factories. 00:11:37.639 --> 00:11:45.019 For some widows, this might have made the difference in cold months of the year between keeping warm and shivering while alone at night. 00:11:45.960 --> 00:11:48.480 For others, it provided a sense of dignity and honor. 00:11:49.179 --> 00:11:54.259 Knowing that despite their loss, they were loved in the family of the church. 00:11:55.580 --> 00:12:01.539 Now, in order to support all these widows, it's likely that Tabitha had at least some spare time and resources. 00:12:01.539 --> 00:12:09.919 If the upper room, verse 37, where her body was laid, was in her own home, that would indicate that she had a good-sized house. 00:12:10.059 --> 00:12:12.559 Not everyone had a two-story house back then. 00:12:13.159 --> 00:12:18.439 So she may have been a relatively well-off widow, living off an inheritance, or she may have been happily married. 00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:19.059 We don't know. 00:12:19.059 --> 00:12:21.739 But what we do know is this. 00:12:23.099 --> 00:12:32.259 Tabitha sacrificially and generously shared, out of her abundance, in order to help some of the most vulnerable people in her culture, 00:12:33.179 --> 00:12:37.819 because the spirit of Jesus Christ was living and active and working in her. 00:12:38.979 --> 00:12:42.359 Now, we also see the Apostle Peter in this story. 00:12:42.360 --> 00:12:51.460 And important and influential and busy as he was, he didn't hesitate to spend time visiting these ordinary Christian believers. 00:12:52.560 --> 00:12:58.180 You know, Peter was one of the most prominent, if not the most prominent at this time, of the Twelve Apostles. 00:12:58.779 --> 00:13:03.200 He was a powerful preacher, well-known speaker, traveling here and there and everywhere. 00:13:03.639 --> 00:13:04.680 He was a busy man. 00:13:04.679 --> 00:13:13.699 But, you know, he wasn't too busy to visit with Aeneas, who was lying in his bed at home, 00:13:14.139 --> 00:13:21.459 or with Tabitha and the widows, who she had cared for, who no one else really thought about. 00:13:22.379 --> 00:13:25.039 He wasn't too busy to visit with them and to pray for them. 00:13:25.339 --> 00:13:29.019 Verse 38, the disciples sent word to Peter after Tabitha died. 00:13:29.719 --> 00:13:33.219 And Peter immediately got up, left whatever he was doing, and went with them to Joppa. 00:13:33.220 --> 00:13:34.580 That was ten miles away. 00:13:35.820 --> 00:13:39.720 And, you know, the way people got from one place to another back then was they walked. 00:13:40.820 --> 00:13:47.980 Unless you were very wealthy and could hire, could ride a mule or ride a horse and carriage or something like that. 00:13:48.019 --> 00:13:49.500 But very few people were able to do that. 00:13:50.519 --> 00:13:52.000 Peter got up and walked ten miles. 00:13:52.980 --> 00:13:53.899 And he did it quickly. 00:13:55.519 --> 00:13:58.160 I mean, there's only so much time that could have passed in this story. 00:13:58.500 --> 00:13:59.100 Maybe a day. 00:13:59.100 --> 00:14:04.360 Now, it's not completely clear what the people were hoping. 00:14:05.420 --> 00:14:07.720 Were they hoping that Peter would raise her to life again? 00:14:07.820 --> 00:14:12.420 Or were they simply wanting him to officiate the funeral and comfort the mourners? 00:14:12.899 --> 00:14:13.759 We don't know. 00:14:14.759 --> 00:14:16.500 But Peter dropped everything and he went. 00:14:17.920 --> 00:14:20.300 Verse 43, we learn another interesting detail. 00:14:21.139 --> 00:14:25.360 That Peter stayed for many days at Simon the Tanner's house in Joppa. 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:28.580 Now, probably not many of you know what tanning is. 00:14:28.659 --> 00:14:31.519 I didn't know what it was until I Wikipedia'd it. 00:14:32.100 --> 00:14:34.680 The solution to everything in the ancient world that you don't know. 00:14:35.340 --> 00:14:36.139 Not really. 00:14:36.440 --> 00:14:39.620 But tanning is the process of making animal skins into leather. 00:14:40.419 --> 00:14:44.759 And in the ancient world, it was an incredibly stinky process. 00:14:44.759 --> 00:14:48.860 It involved cleaning off a bunch of decaying animal skins. 00:14:49.580 --> 00:14:52.899 Removing the hair fibers by soaking them often in urine. 00:14:53.600 --> 00:14:56.759 And then softening the skins by smearing them with dog poop. 00:14:57.720 --> 00:14:59.179 It was foul smelling. 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:02.899 There were rules that tanners were not allowed to live downtown. 00:15:03.179 --> 00:15:05.179 They had to live outside of town. 00:15:06.519 --> 00:15:08.620 Chapter 10 says Simon lived by the sea. 00:15:11.139 --> 00:15:13.200 Some distance from everyone else. 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:18.660 But it says Peter stayed with him in his house for many days. 00:15:20.200 --> 00:15:26.259 The most prominent traveling apostle of the early church stayed in a really stinky house. 00:15:28.580 --> 00:15:31.379 Now, like Peter, some of us here are busy. 00:15:32.780 --> 00:15:32.980 Right? 00:15:33.140 --> 00:15:34.020 Going here and there. 00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:37.879 Perhaps speaking to large groups of people placed in prominent positions of leadership. 00:15:38.840 --> 00:15:40.200 Maybe you can identify with that. 00:15:40.200 --> 00:15:43.640 More emails in your inbox than you can possibly answer. 00:15:43.800 --> 00:15:49.320 And so many requests for help that it would be unwise and unloving to your family to say yes to them all. 00:15:51.100 --> 00:15:56.259 But how do we interact with the Aeneases and the Tabathas in our world? 00:15:56.840 --> 00:15:57.840 Or in our church? 00:15:58.840 --> 00:16:00.500 The cashiers at Stop and Shop. 00:16:01.160 --> 00:16:02.780 The workers in the dining hall. 00:16:02.779 --> 00:16:04.059 The elderly. 00:16:04.059 --> 00:16:04.860 The disabled. 00:16:04.860 --> 00:16:04.879 The disabled. 00:16:05.059 --> 00:16:08.120 Who spend their days in nursing homes and day programs. 00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:09.740 The awkward people. 00:16:10.419 --> 00:16:12.819 Who don't take social cues very quickly. 00:16:13.600 --> 00:16:15.019 The people who smell bad. 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:18.120 For those of us who are busy. 00:16:19.299 --> 00:16:20.600 Perhaps accomplished. 00:16:21.159 --> 00:16:22.939 Influential to some extent or another. 00:16:22.940 --> 00:16:29.180 Have we bought into a lie that some people are not really worth our time and attention? 00:16:30.360 --> 00:16:37.840 Does our busyness become an excuse for simply ignoring people that we can't figure out how to relate to? 00:16:39.020 --> 00:16:42.120 Do we make ourselves not just busy but also frantic and anxious? 00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:46.780 And so we reject potential interruptions to our schedule out of fear. 00:16:47.420 --> 00:16:50.660 Rather than exercising discernment. 00:16:50.659 --> 00:17:03.679 Peter, great apostle, spent costly time and allowed a couple days of interruptions to his schedule to spend time with ordinary Christians. 00:17:04.379 --> 00:17:08.920 Because his master, the Lord Jesus Christ, had done exactly the same. 00:17:10.220 --> 00:17:19.079 One of Jesus' final acts before his crucifixion was to get down on his knees and take a towel and wash his disciples' feet. 00:17:19.079 --> 00:17:23.460 It was the task that was normally relegated to the lowest servant. 00:17:25.159 --> 00:17:28.119 And none of the other disciples were even willing to do it. 00:17:30.039 --> 00:17:31.379 At first, Peter resisted. 00:17:32.480 --> 00:17:33.720 Peter would have remembered this. 00:17:33.859 --> 00:17:35.059 Because he didn't want it. 00:17:35.699 --> 00:17:36.839 He said, Jesus, no, not me. 00:17:37.019 --> 00:17:38.500 And Jesus says, no, I must do this. 00:17:39.419 --> 00:17:42.179 You don't get it now, but later on, you'll understand. 00:17:42.180 --> 00:17:50.060 And then he said, if I, then your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:56.680 A servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 00:17:56.680 --> 00:18:07.500 If we are servants, messengers of Christ, no matter how accomplished and influential we may become in the church or in the world, 00:18:08.420 --> 00:18:14.320 we are not greater than the one who sent us, who became the servant of all. 00:18:16.299 --> 00:18:17.240 We're not greater. 00:18:18.200 --> 00:18:21.259 Peter not only spent time with ordinary Christians, 00:18:21.259 --> 00:18:27.640 He also accepted hospitality from the brother who lived in a foul-smelling house on the outskirts of town. 00:18:28.700 --> 00:18:29.819 How did he do that? 00:18:30.940 --> 00:18:33.099 Well, he knew that his Savior had done so much more. 00:18:34.859 --> 00:18:38.559 He knew that his Savior, Jesus, had left behind a heavenly palace 00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:43.940 in order to be born and laid in a feeding trough for animals at his birth. 00:18:45.059 --> 00:18:48.019 And he knew that his Savior had left behind a throne of glory 00:18:48.019 --> 00:18:51.059 in order to be hanged on a tree. 00:18:51.259 --> 00:19:00.819 Bloody, naked, despised, in order to bear our sin and remove our shame. 00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:06.640 And because Peter had encountered Jesus, he could never look at anyone else in the same way. 00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:10.879 So that's what we've seen so far. 00:19:10.980 --> 00:19:15.779 Two ordinary people and an apostle who spent time with them. 00:19:16.879 --> 00:19:21.000 But you know, we also see in this passage God's extraordinary work. 00:19:21.259 --> 00:19:23.000 In these two ordinary people. 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:28.359 The striking thing about this passage is not just that Peter spent time with Aeneas and Tabitha, 00:19:28.440 --> 00:19:36.019 but that the Lord Jesus displayed his transforming power in Aeneas and Tabitha in amazing ways. 00:19:36.500 --> 00:19:37.240 Aeneas was healed. 00:19:38.180 --> 00:19:39.460 Tabitha was raised to life. 00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:43.900 And in both cases it's clear that it was Jesus who did it. 00:19:43.900 --> 00:19:50.800 Peter looks at Aeneas and it's almost as if he observes Jesus doing something. 00:19:50.960 --> 00:19:53.759 And he says, Aeneas, Jesus Christ is healing you. 00:19:54.300 --> 00:19:55.040 So get up. 00:19:55.620 --> 00:19:56.240 Make your bed. 00:19:57.380 --> 00:20:00.640 In the case of Tabitha, he knelt down and prayed. 00:20:02.080 --> 00:20:05.060 In utter dependence on the Lord Jesus. 00:20:05.059 --> 00:20:09.980 And then he said almost exactly the same words that Jesus had said to Jairus' daughter. 00:20:11.099 --> 00:20:12.159 In Mark 5.41. 00:20:12.299 --> 00:20:13.700 Jesus said, Talitha cum. 00:20:14.179 --> 00:20:15.419 Child, arise. 00:20:16.480 --> 00:20:19.059 Peter said, Tabitha cum. 00:20:19.599 --> 00:20:20.819 Tabitha, arise. 00:20:22.099 --> 00:20:27.139 Now of course we might wonder, so what exactly are we supposed to take away from these examples? 00:20:27.140 --> 00:20:32.460 Aeneas was healed, but surely there were other sick people in his city who were not. 00:20:33.259 --> 00:20:37.400 Tabitha was raised from the dead, but this was not the normal pattern in the early church. 00:20:38.280 --> 00:20:39.140 Stephen was stoned. 00:20:39.520 --> 00:20:40.340 James was executed. 00:20:41.060 --> 00:20:43.820 Both of them died what we might call an untimely death. 00:20:43.980 --> 00:20:45.240 Neither was restored to life. 00:20:48.140 --> 00:20:49.720 So what do we take from these examples? 00:20:50.120 --> 00:20:55.840 Well, what we see in Aeneas' case is that Jesus set him free from unhealthy inhibitions 00:20:55.839 --> 00:20:57.399 and called him to work. 00:20:58.319 --> 00:20:59.119 It's interesting. 00:21:00.099 --> 00:21:01.839 That's the first thing Peter tells Aeneas. 00:21:01.939 --> 00:21:05.179 Jesus Christ is healing you, so get up and make your bed. 00:21:06.399 --> 00:21:10.500 In other words, you haven't done a thing for eight years because you couldn't. 00:21:11.299 --> 00:21:13.039 But that's going to change right now. 00:21:13.859 --> 00:21:19.539 The minute that Jesus heals you, he also calls you to work. 00:21:19.799 --> 00:21:22.339 He has important work for you to do. 00:21:22.339 --> 00:21:28.720 And you know, Jesus is still at work setting people free from unhealthy inhibitions and 00:21:28.720 --> 00:21:30.799 calling us to meaningful activity in his kingdom. 00:21:31.679 --> 00:21:36.279 You know, some of you may feel like you're not worth very much here in New Haven. 00:21:36.279 --> 00:21:42.480 You walk around the city, or even you look around the church, and you see Yale professors, 00:21:43.420 --> 00:21:48.839 medical doctors, married couples with kids, and you see accomplished, influential, important 00:21:48.839 --> 00:21:52.339 people, and you think, man, I didn't even finish high school. 00:21:53.480 --> 00:21:55.119 I might never get married at all. 00:21:56.180 --> 00:21:58.599 Or I'm at home all day taking care of little kids. 00:21:59.879 --> 00:22:02.279 I'm struggling to find a job and just pay my bills. 00:22:02.379 --> 00:22:04.180 I'm battling my own demons from the past. 00:22:04.180 --> 00:22:05.440 I'm dealing with chronic pain. 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:06.600 I've got a criminal record. 00:22:08.580 --> 00:22:09.840 Maybe I'll come here and listen. 00:22:10.980 --> 00:22:13.000 But I don't have much to offer in this church. 00:22:14.240 --> 00:22:18.840 But if that's you, brother, sister, let me tell you, we need you. 00:22:19.600 --> 00:22:21.000 We need you here. 00:22:21.720 --> 00:22:24.779 That's why Luke puts this story right here. 00:22:25.320 --> 00:22:30.160 Right between the conversion of Saul, the scholar, and Cornelius, the military commander, 00:22:30.160 --> 00:22:35.000 Aeneas, the paralyzed man, and Tabitha, the woman who cared for elderly widows. 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:38.960 This is how the gospel of Jesus Christ goes forward. 00:22:40.080 --> 00:22:43.380 Through high-status leaders, but also through ordinary people. 00:22:44.380 --> 00:22:46.279 And Luke calls us all saints. 00:22:47.279 --> 00:22:54.140 Verse 32 and verse 41, that means holy ones, called, set apart for God's purposes in the world. 00:22:54.140 --> 00:22:56.900 And let me say this to us as a church. 00:22:57.740 --> 00:22:59.000 This isn't an either-or. 00:23:00.100 --> 00:23:06.759 Throughout the gospel of Luke and throughout Acts, Luke makes it a point to show us that the gospel of Jesus is for the lost and the least, 00:23:07.140 --> 00:23:09.780 as well as for the accomplished and the influential. 00:23:10.200 --> 00:23:11.540 It's for all kinds of people. 00:23:11.820 --> 00:23:14.420 Because Jesus is the Savior of the whole world. 00:23:15.080 --> 00:23:16.220 Of all kinds of people. 00:23:16.220 --> 00:23:23.720 So as a church located in downtown New Haven, we're not making a choice between one or the other. 00:23:24.539 --> 00:23:32.160 Between strategic ministry to Yalies, or compassionate ministry to the poor, or sustainable ministry with families. 00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:36.039 In fact, those aren't even the best labels to put on it. 00:23:37.380 --> 00:23:42.220 Sometimes you need as much compassion to minister among Yalies as you do among the poorest people in town. 00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:45.259 I'll say that myself. 00:23:46.220 --> 00:23:46.620 Right? 00:23:47.240 --> 00:23:53.880 We need all of you to come as you are and be transformed by God's grace into what he's called you to be, 00:23:53.960 --> 00:23:58.860 and to use the gifts God's given you in order for us to be who God has called us to be as a church. 00:23:59.960 --> 00:24:01.180 We need all of you. 00:24:02.440 --> 00:24:10.100 Now let me speak to you if, like Aeneas, you are disabled, or chronically ill, or in pain. 00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:14.259 Maybe you're wondering, how is God supposed to work in my life? 00:24:14.259 --> 00:24:18.519 Now that could look like miraculous physical healing. 00:24:19.539 --> 00:24:21.359 The New Testament never rules that out. 00:24:22.220 --> 00:24:27.180 And the book of James tells us if we're sick, call the elders of the church and have them pray over us. 00:24:27.180 --> 00:24:32.019 So if you haven't had someone pray for you, ask someone to. 00:24:33.180 --> 00:24:37.140 But you know, that's not the only way that God's power can be displayed. 00:24:37.900 --> 00:24:40.980 Let me give two examples of disabled people. 00:24:40.980 --> 00:24:44.880 Some of you may even know Jonathan Sigworth. 00:24:45.380 --> 00:24:46.339 He grew up in Hamden. 00:24:46.839 --> 00:24:47.839 Went to Hamden High. 00:24:48.539 --> 00:24:49.640 Graduated in 2005. 00:24:49.920 --> 00:24:52.720 Took a year off before going to college to do mission work in India. 00:24:53.200 --> 00:24:54.920 He was late to Bible study one day. 00:24:55.400 --> 00:24:58.599 So he borrowed someone's bike that didn't have great tires. 00:24:59.720 --> 00:25:02.500 Riding on a high and narrow footpath fell off an 80-foot cliff. 00:25:02.500 --> 00:25:05.519 By a mere miracle, he survived. 00:25:06.059 --> 00:25:09.039 But he was paralyzed and became a quadriplegic at the age of 19. 00:25:10.460 --> 00:25:13.400 Jonathan refused to be defined by his injury. 00:25:14.380 --> 00:25:17.119 He went through an extensive regimen of physical therapy. 00:25:17.319 --> 00:25:20.819 He learned from others and trained himself to do as much as he could. 00:25:21.940 --> 00:25:24.839 Including not only transferring from his bed to his chair. 00:25:24.839 --> 00:25:29.000 But also, by this time, getting dressed, driving a car. 00:25:29.759 --> 00:25:31.539 I'm not sure how he does that, but he does it somehow. 00:25:31.740 --> 00:25:32.899 And playing wheelchair rugby. 00:25:34.159 --> 00:25:37.500 He now spends half the year in India, where he got injured. 00:25:38.319 --> 00:25:40.439 Mentoring spinal cord injury patients. 00:25:41.259 --> 00:25:43.240 Helping them achieve new levels of activity. 00:25:43.919 --> 00:25:49.379 And testifying to the grace and the power and the good purposes of the risen Lord Jesus. 00:25:51.419 --> 00:25:54.559 A few years ago, he produced a documentary called More Than Walking. 00:25:55.379 --> 00:25:56.740 He said, life is more than walking. 00:25:57.579 --> 00:26:00.759 Our value doesn't depend on our capacity to do things. 00:26:01.740 --> 00:26:04.359 He says, my purpose is to glorify God in everything. 00:26:05.019 --> 00:26:06.699 And knowing that truth gave me hope. 00:26:07.459 --> 00:26:08.859 I never would have chosen this. 00:26:09.399 --> 00:26:11.259 But God puts us in places for a reason. 00:26:12.859 --> 00:26:15.339 Second example, perhaps you've heard of Johnny Erickson Tada. 00:26:16.659 --> 00:26:18.720 Paralyzed from the neck down in a diving accident. 00:26:19.199 --> 00:26:21.779 At the age of 17, she's written some wonderful books. 00:26:22.659 --> 00:26:24.500 Now, there's at least one of them down on the book stall. 00:26:25.480 --> 00:26:28.339 I commend her to you as a wonderful resource. 00:26:29.339 --> 00:26:33.039 You know, when her accident initially happened, she felt her life was over. 00:26:34.399 --> 00:26:36.519 She writes, or she said this. 00:26:36.579 --> 00:26:40.279 She said, I was lying on a hospital bed in suicidal despair. 00:26:40.279 --> 00:26:46.500 I couldn't face the prospect of sitting down for the rest of my life without the use of my hands and legs. 00:26:47.039 --> 00:26:48.539 All my hopes seemed dashed. 00:26:49.059 --> 00:26:50.259 My faith was shipwrecked. 00:26:50.660 --> 00:26:55.500 I was sick and tired of pious platitudes that well-meaning friends often gave me at my bedside. 00:26:55.940 --> 00:26:58.899 Sixteen good biblical reasons as to why this all happened. 00:26:59.160 --> 00:27:00.440 I was tired of advice. 00:27:00.940 --> 00:27:03.859 I was numb, alone, frightened, and angry. 00:27:03.859 --> 00:27:11.459 Over the next few years, she went to various healing services with well-known faith healers. 00:27:12.159 --> 00:27:17.699 And she would sometimes imagine herself lying by the pool at Bethesda where Jesus had healed a paralyzed man. 00:27:17.700 --> 00:27:22.759 And waiting for Jesus to come to her and heal her. 00:27:23.460 --> 00:27:24.220 But he never did. 00:27:24.220 --> 00:27:35.960 Finally, she said, I realized after a long time I was into Jesus, mainly to get my pains and my problems and my paralysis fixed. 00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:43.819 But he said, but the same man who healed withered hands and paralyzed people also said, 00:27:43.900 --> 00:27:49.039 if your eye causes you to sin or your hand causes you to sin, cut it off and gouge it out. 00:27:50.299 --> 00:27:52.920 I always thought that physical healing was the big deal. 00:27:54.220 --> 00:27:58.039 But as far as God was concerned, my soul was an even bigger deal. 00:27:59.140 --> 00:28:01.759 So she says, little things began to matter more. 00:28:02.579 --> 00:28:07.200 Looking straight on into the eyes of another person in a wheelchair and sensing their pain. 00:28:07.960 --> 00:28:09.220 Feeling the rhythm of their heart. 00:28:10.140 --> 00:28:21.600 God used this injury to develop in me patience, endurance, tolerance, self-control, steadfastness, sensitivity, love, and joy. 00:28:21.599 --> 00:28:26.919 I began to get a lively hope of heavenly glories above. 00:28:27.019 --> 00:28:31.359 This wheelchair helped me see that the good things in this life aren't the best things. 00:28:32.019 --> 00:28:33.740 The best things are yet to come. 00:28:35.099 --> 00:28:42.599 You see, the Lord Jesus is still setting people free from physical, emotional, social, spiritual inhibitions. 00:28:42.599 --> 00:28:48.000 And calling them to participate in his redemptive work in the world. 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:55.019 And you know, nothing that you've experienced is too big for Jesus to handle. 00:28:56.359 --> 00:28:58.900 And for him to overcome and work through. 00:29:00.359 --> 00:29:05.180 And you know, the partial healing and restoration that we may experience now 00:29:05.180 --> 00:29:10.579 is only a sign of what is to come in full one day when Jesus returns. 00:29:10.579 --> 00:29:16.000 That's what we get a glimpse of in the story of Tabitha being raised from death to life. 00:29:16.500 --> 00:29:20.599 She had spent her years on earth making clothes for needy widows. 00:29:21.399 --> 00:29:24.299 For the most vulnerable and neglected people in her society. 00:29:24.659 --> 00:29:29.619 As a member of the church, she did what no other social institution in the Roman world was doing. 00:29:30.659 --> 00:29:36.159 She paved the way for future generations of Christian women and men who would follow her example. 00:29:36.160 --> 00:29:41.940 Caring for the most vulnerable, for widows and orphans and others. 00:29:42.540 --> 00:29:47.040 And as the gospel spread throughout the Roman world, the church became the primary institution, 00:29:47.820 --> 00:29:56.160 the primary community, really, where grieving widows were loved and comforted and supported and valued. 00:29:58.400 --> 00:30:01.220 But death had brought Tabitha's work to an end. 00:30:02.340 --> 00:30:05.080 And most of the legacy of it, she would never see. 00:30:06.160 --> 00:30:08.840 But you know what, the first thing she saw, 00:30:09.680 --> 00:30:13.759 when Peter said, Tabitha, arise, and she opened her eyes. 00:30:13.880 --> 00:30:18.279 She saw Peter, and then she saw all of the widows 00:30:18.279 --> 00:30:22.300 wearing all of the clothes that she had lovingly made for them. 00:30:22.980 --> 00:30:26.540 She saw what most of us, probably all of us, will never see. 00:30:27.320 --> 00:30:29.900 All the people gathered for her funeral. 00:30:30.759 --> 00:30:34.779 The tears they shed, the testimonies that they shared about her labors of love 00:30:34.779 --> 00:30:37.039 motivated by her faith in Jesus Christ. 00:30:38.299 --> 00:30:42.259 All kinds of things about a person's life come to light only after they die. 00:30:43.319 --> 00:30:44.299 Sometimes at the funeral. 00:30:45.079 --> 00:30:50.500 And in Tabitha's case, her care for those whom the world largely ignored was now on display for all to see. 00:30:51.299 --> 00:30:52.200 What a testimony. 00:30:52.200 --> 00:30:55.480 But also when she saw that. 00:30:55.880 --> 00:31:04.340 What a motivation for her to keep on doing that work of loving widows for the rest of her life. 00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:10.080 Because she saw some of the result of it standing right before her. 00:31:12.299 --> 00:31:15.000 Brothers and sisters, what are you laboring for? 00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:18.460 What are you laboring for in your career? 00:31:19.380 --> 00:31:21.400 What are you laboring for in your home? 00:31:22.380 --> 00:31:26.900 For those of you who are retired, how are you spending your later years? 00:31:27.680 --> 00:31:31.059 If you have extra time and resources, how are you using them? 00:31:32.799 --> 00:31:37.980 1 Corinthians 3 says that if we are building on the foundation of Jesus Christ, 00:31:38.440 --> 00:31:42.900 one day our work, like Tabitha's, will be on display for all to see. 00:31:42.900 --> 00:31:46.880 Paul says the day of judgment will disclose it. 00:31:47.600 --> 00:31:51.100 And the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 00:31:51.860 --> 00:31:56.340 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation of Jesus Christ survives, he will receive a reward. 00:31:57.140 --> 00:31:59.540 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss. 00:32:00.180 --> 00:32:03.480 Though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. 00:32:04.940 --> 00:32:09.820 You see, like Tabitha, we too will see our work again. 00:32:09.819 --> 00:32:21.720 And that's both a warning, because some of our work, done for selfish reasons, for wrong purposes, will not last into eternity. 00:32:22.319 --> 00:32:24.359 It will be burned up in the fire. 00:32:25.619 --> 00:32:32.579 But it's also an encouragement for us, who trust in the Lord Jesus, to persevere. 00:32:32.579 --> 00:32:40.159 To persevere in the labors of love and kindness to which God has called you and me. 00:32:40.720 --> 00:32:45.879 One day you will see the people you have loved and served in the name of Christ. 00:32:45.960 --> 00:32:50.799 You will see the fruits of your labors that you have undertaken for the glory of God and for the good of his people. 00:32:50.799 --> 00:33:07.519 And so Paul says, in light of the promise of the resurrection, therefore, my beloved sisters and brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 00:33:08.740 --> 00:33:10.099 That's what Tabitha saw. 00:33:11.399 --> 00:33:14.960 And that's what we're meant to see in her story as well. 00:33:14.960 --> 00:33:20.079 That your labor in the Lord is not in vain, so do not give up. 00:33:21.980 --> 00:33:27.980 Don't stop loving people, even when no one else notices or no one else cares. 00:33:29.440 --> 00:33:38.400 You see, we see in this passage not only God's extraordinary work in ordinary people like Aeneas and Tabitha, but through them. 00:33:38.400 --> 00:33:49.280 At the end of each of the sections, verse 35 and verse 42, we see the result of the healing of Aeneas and the raising of Tabitha. 00:33:49.560 --> 00:33:58.280 Verse 35 says, all the residents of Lydda and the plain of Sharon, which was the region north of that city, saw him and they turned to the Lord. 00:33:58.279 --> 00:34:04.759 Aeneas became a living testimony to the power and grace of the Lord Jesus. 00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:12.840 Perhaps the people, excuse me, perhaps the people of Sharon took note of him when they came to visit Lydda. 00:34:13.380 --> 00:34:18.659 Or perhaps Aeneas took advantage of his newfound freedom to become a traveling evangelist, 00:34:19.579 --> 00:34:26.920 heralding the good news of the one who had saved him and healed him around the rural areas around his city. 00:34:26.920 --> 00:34:34.440 Verse 42, the result of Tabitha being raised to life was similar, became known throughout all Joppa and many believed in the Lord. 00:34:36.019 --> 00:34:43.760 You see, Peter was powerfully used by God to do extraordinary miracles, but the result was not that Peter attracted attention to himself. 00:34:44.500 --> 00:34:46.099 If anything, he tried to avoid it. 00:34:48.440 --> 00:34:54.200 The result was not the people turned to him, but the people turned and believed in the Lord Jesus. 00:34:54.199 --> 00:34:58.099 You see, the message from this passage is this. 00:34:58.219 --> 00:35:07.399 God carries out his extraordinary work in the world through ordinary people, transformed by the spirit of Jesus Christ. 00:35:08.739 --> 00:35:11.919 May he continue to carry on his work through us here. 00:35:12.759 --> 00:35:13.219 Let's pray. 00:35:13.219 --> 00:35:13.239 Let's pray. 00:35:13.239 --> 00:35:35.779 Lord Jesus, you are a glorious and compassionate Savior. 00:35:35.780 --> 00:36:05.760 Lord Jesus, you are a glorious and compassionate Savior. 00:36:05.760 --> 00:36:09.660 Lord Jesus, we thank you for the gospel, the good news of your grace. 00:36:11.280 --> 00:36:20.000 That you receive us sinners when we come to you acknowledging our sin and asking for your forgiveness. 00:36:21.380 --> 00:36:29.480 And we thank you that you use us in the particular circumstances that we're in. 00:36:29.480 --> 00:36:31.780 Lord Jesus, we thank you for the love of your grace. 00:36:31.780 --> 00:36:47.280 We thank you that you can work through those particular circumstances hard as they may be sometimes, ordinary or unnoticed as they may be at other times, for your glory in the world. 00:36:47.280 --> 00:37:00.580 Lord, we pray that you would strengthen each of us by the power of your spirit to trust in you and to be your ambassadors, your representatives in this world. 00:37:03.060 --> 00:37:07.340 Lord, work through each of us individually and work through us as a body, as a church. 00:37:07.340 --> 00:37:12.600 Help us to reflect what Luke has laid out before us here. 00:37:13.880 --> 00:37:17.559 Of how the good news of Jesus is displayed and goes forth. 00:37:19.740 --> 00:37:24.900 Through all kinds of different people who encounter you and are transformed. 00:37:26.460 --> 00:37:31.059 Lord, may that be true for us here. 00:37:31.700 --> 00:37:32.780 More and more we pray. 00:37:33.180 --> 00:37:33.900 In Jesus' name. 00:37:34.160 --> 00:37:34.380 Amen. 00:37:34.380 --> 00:37:44.640 As the music team comes forward, we're going to sing our closing song that speaks of the good news of Jesus. 00:37:44.780 --> 00:37:54.519 That speaks of what Jesus has done to come into our world and to draw us to himself and to give us that great promise of resurrection help. 00:37:55.260 --> 00:37:56.820 So let's stand as we sing. 00:37:56.900 --> 00:37:58.720 Come behold the wondrous mystery. 00:38:04.380 --> 00:38:28.760 Come behold the descriptions.