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BIBLE STUDY PROJECT: INTERPRETATION
Passage: Acts 9:36-43
Summary
The theme of Acts 9:36-43 is God is sovereign and can use anyone at any time to
accomplish His will and ultimately receive glory. In the passage, the disciples sent
two men and called for Peter to come from Lydda to Joppa to pray for Tabitha.
God’s purpose is shown by Tabitha being raised from the dead. Verse 42 says that
many believed in the Lord after seeing Tabitha alive. Starting at verse 40, “Peter
sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning
toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and
seeing Peter she sat up. 41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then
he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them
alive. 42 This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the
Lord” (Acts 9:40-43 NIV - - bible gateway 2022). God had the choice of not
healing Tabitha, He could have done anything he wanted to do but He had a plan.
Peter also had the option of not coming and praying for Tabitha, but Peter obeyed
the Holy Spirit and came to Joppa to pray for Tabitha.
The entire story reveals obedience and faith. The obedience to the Holy Spirit and
faith the disciples had in God's ability to raise Tabitha from the dead and
obedience to send two men to get Peter to come and pray and faith that God
would raise her from the dead. The faith of the two men to believe what the
disciples told them to do and the obedience of the two men to go to Lydda to get
Peter. Then it also shows the obedience of Peter to come because the disciples
sent the two men and the faith in God’s power to go because Tabitha was dead.
Verse 40 says, Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his
knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get
up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up (Acts 9:40 NIV - - bible
gateway 2022). Then it shows the obedience of the widows and all that were in
the room to obey what Peter told them to do, leave the room. The faith to leave
and believe that God had the power to raise Tabitha from the dead. The obedience
and faith to wait until Peter had prayed and come back into the room expecting
that Tabitha would be raised from the dead. Finally, the obedience and faith that
many had after hearing all over Joppa and then believing in the Lord.
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Identify:
God is a sovereign God and requires glory. Jesus healed and raised Tabitha from
the dead and promised even greater things they would do. Peter believed in the
promises of God and that anything he asked in Jesus’s name believing, it would
be done.
John 14:9-14, “Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been
among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you
say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father
is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the
Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the
Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works
themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been
doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the
Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified
in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it (John 14:9-14
NIV - - bible gateway 2022).
Check:
“Acts 9:36–38 Joppa was the major seaport of Palestine, located on the
Mediterranean about thirty miles northwest of Jerusalem. Among the Christians
there was a kindhearted lady named Dorcas , 47 who was well-known for making
clothes for the poor. When she suddenly died , the disciples sent an urgent
message to Lydda , asking Peter to come without delay . 9:39– 41 Upon his
arrival, he found all the widows . . . weeping pathetically as they showed the
garments which Dorcas had made for them. He asked them to leave, then knelt
down and prayed , and commanded Tabitha to arise . Immediately she was
restored to life, and rejoined her Christian friends. 9:42 This miracle of
resurrection became widely known, so that many believed on the Lord”
(MacDonald Et. Al, Believer’s Bible Commentary : Second Edition, Thomas
Nelson Incorporated, ProQuest Ebook Central, 1992). The commentary shows
that there was a lady named Dorcas, otherwise known as Tabitha, who suddenly
died. The disciples sent an urgent message to Peter in Lydda, asking him to come
immediately. When he arrived, he was met by the widows, showing him all the
garments that Dorcas made. Peter asked all to leave the room, then he knelt and
prayed, and commanded Tabitha to arise. Immediately she was restored to life and
rejoined her Christian friends. This miracle became widely known and many
believed in the Lord. This commentary shows the obedience and faith of the
disciples. Peter would not have come if he didn’t have faith and had not been
obedient to what he believed the Lord would do. The widows were obedient to
what Peter asked them to do and had faith if Peter prayed that Tabitha would be
raised from the dead. The two men that went to get Peter were obedient and had
faith that Peter would come if they went and asked him to come. All were
obedient to one another, and all had faith in the power of God to raise Tabitha
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from the dead. Then many had faith in the Lord because of the obedience of a
few. I believe that obedience and faith are two characteristics of this story and
without obedience and faith of a few people then God would have either not
raised Tabitha from the dead or this story would have been totally different. God
would have achieved his goal of being glorified and many believing in him, but
he would have gone about doing this in a different way. I believe that he would
have used other characters, or he would have told this story in a different way.
Acts 9:40-43 NIV - - bible gateway. (n.d.). Retrieved July 14, 2022, from
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2B9%3A40-43&version=NIV
Acts 9:40 NIV - - bible gateway. (n.d.). Retrieved July 14, 2022, from
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2B9%3A40&version=NIV
John 14:9-14 NIV - - bible gateway. (n.d.). Retrieved July 14, 2022, from
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2B14%3A9-14&version=NIV
Acts 9:36-38 MacDonald, William. Believer’s Bible Commentary : Second Edition, edited by
Arthur L. Farstad, Thomas Nelson Incorporated, 1992. ProQuest Ebook Central,
http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=5391565.
Created from liberty on 2022-07-14 20:05:40.
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