Title: Peter's Outward Evangelism/ (Acts 9:32-43)
Contents
Peter's outward evangelism/ (Acts 9:32-43)
In the text, Peter leaves Jerusalem and goes on an evangelistic tour in a foreign area that he does not usually go to. Until now, since there is only one temple in Jerusalem, all people from abroad have to gather, but now that Peter is going abroad is a big change in the Jerusalem church. This has never been possible before. It is a God-given permission and timing that the way of the gospel has been opened for foreign countries or Gentiles to each other. It is very important that the road is open. It is said that an inter-Korean summit will be held in June, but it will be the first in 50 years of division. It is very desirable to say that there is a dialogue between countries and between countries. However, there are many unfortunate human relationships that do not work at all because dialogue and values are blocked even if they are not countries.
A couple couldn't go on their honeymoon, so they went on a trip later. The two of them stopped talking, and when the man brought up the woman's parent and a fight broke out, the couple shut their mouths. One day, while my husband was frustrated because he could not speak, a bus passed by the ranch. I saw a cow grazing on grass, and the husband wanted it to be this time, so he talked to his wife. To the question "Honey, is that your relative?", the wife replied, "Yes, it is toward your in-laws."
fellowship of the gospel
It is unimaginable for a Jew to meet a Gentile or a sinner, so-called prostitutes, tax collectors, or Samaritans. Even among the Jews, there are many senses of privilege. In particular, rabbis are the most noble group. The rabbi is not to blame for any misconduct. Children are always taught to pay close respect when they see a rabbi even when they are with their mother. Even among Jews, there is a lot of discrimination between Orthodox Jews, Conservative Jews, and Liberal Jews.
Peter visited Lydda and Joppa, and this is a great fellowship of the gospel. It is a great event from a spiritual point of view that we go to unbelievers who do not know Jesus. Visiting a house without Jesus in the name of Jesus is the first way the gospel will be opened. Peter is going to the Gentiles with the gospel and the resurrected Jesus Christ. However, there were special individuals in Lydda and Joppa. There was a saint in Lydda named Ania, who had been paralyzed for 8 years. This means that the patient is likely to be 8 years old, and it can be considered that he has suffered from the disease from birth.
In Joppa, a woman named Tabitha died. Tabitha was a widow who lived alone because she had a lot of money. After this woman died, many people who knew him lamented that she washed her body and laid it in the attic. This is also an expression from the point of view of the doctor Luke. There are many records of laying the dead in the attic since the Old Testament, but it is not the same as our attic today. In that sense, the body was placed in an important place.
However, it should be noted that Ania and Tabitha are two special people. If we are evangelizing, we might think that if the paralytic is healed or the dead come back to life, great works will happen, but in today's evangelistic meetings or evangelistic fields, such incidents as Peter raising Ania in Lydda or raising Tabita in Joppa are not happening . However, it should be noted that these two are very special individuals, not typical church members. Through a special miracle, God opened the door of the gospel to Lydda, where the gospel was blocked, for special individuals, and through that miracle, many people came to believe in Jesus that Peter preached, and through Dorcas, He made the people of Joppa believe.
special individual
Now, to think about two things, the fact that Ania was paralyzed from birth and was raised to life was a miracle that happened to a special individual specially mobilized by God. Given that these two people are special individuals, we can freely apply it to today's reality. can. God uses all people, but he uses special individuals. Therefore, there are times when God uses special individuals as tools for the gospel. In terms of being special, just as the two men in the Bible became instruments of the gospel through special miracles in a special environment, all of our special gifts can become instruments of the gospel in the kingdom of God.
And God distinguishes between the beginning and the process when generating miracles that spread the gospel. Peter's coming to Lydda and Joppa is the first step. In the first step of history, God granted Peter a special miracle to open their hearts. Such miracles were not accompanied by Peter's evangelistic journey or wherever he went.
There is a record of two female missionaries from the United States entering a cannibal race that eats people in remote areas of South America and preaching the gospel. Once, the missionary woman was caught by an unfamiliar cannibal and was about to perform an operation with a sword, when the cannibal with the sword screamed and passed out. When he woke up and asked the reason, the moment he was about to kill the female missionary with his sword, angels in heaven looked at him and pointed a spear at him.
However, in today's reality, where the gospel is witnessed in our country, 45,000 churches are established, and the number of people who believe in Jesus is approaching 10 million, God does not do that. In today's reality, God is giving us today's method.
Like Tabitha, God only set the problem of life to be solved by dying, but he did not set it up so that all the dead would survive and all problems would be solved. Tabitha attains all life's success by dying and entering into eternal life by the way. However, God saved Tabitha as a tool of the gospel to testify the gospel in Joppa.
Peter used these special individuals as a tool for God to open the hearts of the hardened in working miracles and opening the door of the gospel. In a way, the spiritual condition at that time was that the regional barriers were so deep that no one would accept Peter's words unless a miracle like this happened.
get up by hand
Notice how Peter saved Tabitha in verse 41, "And Peter stretched out his hand and raised him up, and summoned the saints and widows to show him that he was alive, and all the people of Joppa knew him, and many believed in the Lord." He also told Ania, "Jesus Christ is healing you, get up and make your bed." Perhaps Peter took Ania's hand and got him up. Also, Peter said that he raised the lame man at the beautiful gate of the temple with his hands, and the role of the hands that the apostles lifted up from the sick and raised toward the dead with their hands is very unique.
There are many records of Peter performing miracles with his hands. As such, the hand becomes the central member of the work no matter what. By the way, there are many superstitions about the hand. A very different meaning is involved if we assume that we place our hands on our heads at installation ceremonies, but we do not place our hands in that way and put our hands anywhere on the human body. Just placing our hands on our heads and touching our cheeks or chin involves more than the intrinsic meaning of the laying on of hands, our voluptuous senses and other things.
Lao-tzu and Confucius in the East considered the left hand to be long and holy, and the right hand to be pleural. When traveling in the Arab world, shaking hands or eating with your left hand is a big deal. The English word 'light' means right, and the Latin word 'left' means evil. So, in ancient Latin society, it is said that when a woman puts her left hand on the back of her hand at a social gathering, it was accepted as a signal to play with me. In sports, it is the same when a baseball player hits a home run and comes in, when the players shake hands or when a volleyball player spikes. By the way, we know that we hit this for joy, but we do it out of a superstitious religious spirit that the energy of hitting a home run comes to us. So if you use your hands incorrectly, you get caught up in a strange superstition. Sometimes, when we go to visit the patient to pray, we sometimes hold the patients' hands privately, and sometimes we pray with our hands on the sore spot. We should not attach too much spiritual meaning to the laying on of hands.
closing words