St. Peter goes to Lydda and Joppa
The
Passage: Acts 9:32-43
Structure:
a. 9:32, Travel of St. Peter
b. 9:33-35,
Healing of Aeneas, people turned to the Lord
c. 9:36, she
is occupied with good works and almsgiving
d. 9:37a, she
died, and was brough to the upper room.
c’. 9:38-39,
showing the tunics and cloaks that Dorcas made
b’. 9:40-42,
Healing of Tabitha, people turned to the Lord
a’. 9:43,
Stay of St. Peter
Historical
and geographical context:
Interesting
fact, St. Peter undertakes his trip when Jerusalem congregation together with
the churches in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria reached peace. Then the apostle
decided to visit them all (v.31). [On singularity of this decision see
below…]. Going around the land – again, visiting all – the author of
Acts paid attention only to two accidents – in Lydda and Joppa.
Lydda –
modern Lod and Joppa – Jaffa in Israel. Lod is a city within the boundaries of
the tribe of Benjamin. Interesting, it is not mentioned in a list of cities
given to the tribe during the Conquest (Josh. 18:11-28). It is one of the
dominant places for the returnees from the Exile (Ezra 2:33). Jaffa is
technically a part of modern Tel-Aviv. Historically, it is believed that Joppa
was built by one of the sons of Noan – Japheth (cp. Gen. 10:2-5). It is the
city that prophet Jonah ran into for his attempted escape to Tarshish (Jonah 1:1-3).
Theology:
Trip of
St. Peter. Worthy to
note that the apostle makes his trip singlehandedly. Lenski noted the work was
so abundant that apostles had to spread themselves so thin – take the tours one
by one (Lenski, Acts, p. 381-382). It does not sound convincing. The mission
field of St. Paul is even widespread, yet he is always accompanied by other
people (cp. 2 Tim. 4:11). Honestly, I don’t know what to make out that.
Personal gain? Unlikely. Pride? He is not maintaining his fame. Being first
among the even ones? Don’t know…
Healing. St. Peter did not exercise his own
healing abilities. He states: Jesus Christ heals you. Two things should be
remembered here. First, Luke from the very beginning carries the idea that the
Book of Acts is a continuation of the work of Jesus Christ. Second, the healing
is similar to the healing in 3rd chapter, where the apostle heals
the lame in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Aeneas and
Dorcas’ healing and (her) resurrection – double stories. This is not the
first parallel (or sandwich-type) story. Mark tells us (5:21-43) how Jesus goes
to heal Jairus’ daughter. His attempt is intervened by a woman who suffered for
12 years of a blood discharge who is healed. Then the story returns to the resurrection
of Jairus’ daughter. She is raised by Jesus’ command – Talitha cumi (Mark
5:41), while Dorcas is raised by St/ Peter’s command – Tabitha cumi (9:40).
Note the similarity of beth and lamed in Hebrew/Aramean letters.
Resurrection
of Tabitha. First, a
disciple is not an apostle or a minister. Tabitha is called a disciple. It does
not mean that she should be “labeled” as a “worship leader” of their church.
Second, her Aramaic name has a Hebrew parallel – Zibiah (2 Kings 12:1; 2 Chr.
24:1). Historical books mention Beersheba in both passages. Michael Kochman
believes that it was given as a sign to gather control over all the land by
Judean kings. If it is true, Tabitha’s death and resurrection consolidates and
invites more believers into the fellowship of the saints.
Other
themes:
Burial
customs – bringing a person to the upper room and having “criers” in the room
for a period of time. Usually, in a warm climate people are buried fast (cp.
John 11). Yet, Bible has a few stories of falling asleep “ascending to the
upper room” (1 Kings 17:17-24; 2 Kings 4:32-37). The resemblance with these
stories leads us to believe that the resurrection of Tabitha is done not for
her sake but for the sake of the community. In the similar way it forces us to
rethink the Upper Room dinner of Jesus and apostles – He did everything for
their (and our) sake.
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