“At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did. But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room…But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he said, ‘Tabitha, arise.’ And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. Then he gave her his hand, and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive.” –Acts 9:36-37, 40-41 (NKJV. Read Acts 9:36-43).
Many miracles were performed through the power of God and through the disciples’ obedience to Him in the early church. At Joppa, Peter was able, after praying earnestly, to call Tabitha (Dorcas) forth from the dead.
Tabitha, her Aramaic language name, lay ill. Her Greek name is Dorcas. Her occupation was seamstress. She was well known throughout Joppa for her good deeds and charity to those in need.
A dramatic event happened while Peter was at Lydda. Aneas, a man paralyzed and bedridden for eight years, had been healed. Peter told him Christ would heal him and commanded him to take up his bed and walk. That news soon spread throughout Lydda and Sharon. Since Joppa, the town where Tabitha (Dorcas) lived was near Lydda, the news of Peter’s healing reached there. Could it be that he could raise Dorcas from the dead?
Two men were sent to get Peter to go to the house of Dorcas in Joppa. Have you ever wondered what went through Peter’s mind as he walked from Lydda to Joppa?
Evidently the men who were sent to fetch him thought Peter could raise Dorcas from the dead. Or maybe they wanted him to come to say some words at her funeral, to eulogize her goodness as a believer and to commend her deeds of mercy and her expertise as a seamstress.
When Peter arrived, he cleared the mourners and others from the room where Dorcas’ body had been laid. He knelt and prayed. Then he turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, arise.” She opened her eyes, immediately recognized Peter, and taking her hand, she was restored, whole to all those gathered for her funeral. The raising of Dorcas was a miracle used of God to draw people to him. The church grew and many believed when they heard of the miracle.
Tabitha, her Aramaic language name, lay ill. Her Greek name is Dorcas. Her occupation was seamstress. She was well known throughout Joppa for her good deeds and charity to those in need.
A dramatic event happened while Peter was at Lydda. Aneas, a man paralyzed and bedridden for eight years, had been healed. Peter told him Christ would heal him and commanded him to take up his bed and walk. That news soon spread throughout Lydda and Sharon. Since Joppa, the town where Tabitha (Dorcas) lived was near Lydda, the news of Peter’s healing reached there. Could it be that he could raise Dorcas from the dead?
Two men were sent to get Peter to go to the house of Dorcas in Joppa. Have you ever wondered what went through Peter’s mind as he walked from Lydda to Joppa?
Evidently the men who were sent to fetch him thought Peter could raise Dorcas from the dead. Or maybe they wanted him to come to say some words at her funeral, to eulogize her goodness as a believer and to commend her deeds of mercy and her expertise as a seamstress.
When Peter arrived, he cleared the mourners and others from the room where Dorcas’ body had been laid. He knelt and prayed. Then he turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, arise.” She opened her eyes, immediately recognized Peter, and taking her hand, she was restored, whole to all those gathered for her funeral. The raising of Dorcas was a miracle used of God to draw people to him. The church grew and many believed when they heard of the miracle.
c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Thursday, April 22, 2010
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