Request your free, three-month trial to Tabletalk magazine. You’ll receive the print issue monthly and gain immediate digital access to decades of archives. This trial is risk-free. No credit card required.
Try Tabletalk NowAlready receive Tabletalk magazine every month?
Verify your email address to gain unlimited access.
Acts 9:36–43
“[Peter] gave [Dorcas] his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner” (vv. 41–43).
Joppa sat on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea about ten miles north of Lydda. (Today it is part of the greater urban area of the modern city of Tel Aviv.) Unsurprisingly, news of Peter’s ministry in Lydda quickly came to Joppa, since the two cities were so close. We read in today’s passage that the Christians in Joppa reached out to Peter in Lydda to get his help when they heard of his healing Aeneas (Acts 9:32–35).
The believers in Joppa needed Peter’s assistance because one of the Christian women in their community had died. Her Greek name was Dorcas and her Aramaic name was Tabitha; both names mean “gazelle.” She had engaged in a valuable ministry to widows, sewing clothes for those women in need (vv. 36–38). Luke notes that she was “full of good works and acts of charity,” evidence of her faith in Jesus and full commitment to Him as His disciple (v. 36; see James 2:14–26). It is noteworthy that she is called a “disciple”—a “learner”—for it indicates that from the start, Christianity has made learners of both men and women and that ongoing study is integral to the Christian faith. John Calvin comments, “This title teaches us that Christianity cannot be without doctrine; and that that form of learning is prescribed.”
Dorcas was surely dead, for the believers in Joppa had already washed her body and prepared it for burial (Acts 9:37). Only a miracle could restore her, and God provided this miracle through Peter. Arriving in Joppa, Peter went to the upper room of the house where Dorcas’ body lay dead. He sent the other people outside, leaving him alone with the body of Dorcas. Commentators note that he perhaps did this to avoid having so much attention focused on him as a miracle worker, preferring that the believers remember that God alone provided the power to raise the dead. After praying, Peter commanded Dorcas to get up, and she was restored to life. He then presented her alive to the believers and widows in Joppa. The news of Dorcas’ resurrection spread, and many people became Christians (vv. 39–42).
In addition to revealing the power of God, this episode from Peter’s ministry illustrates the compassion of the Lord. When the widows in Joppa, who were in desperate material need, lost their benefactor, our Creator acted to restore the godly seamstress, and the ministry to those who had lost their husbands could continue. The Lord cares about both the spiritual and physical needs of His people.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Dorcas models “pure and undefiled” religion, as James 1:27 puts it. Not only was she a learner who engaged in the discipleship of the mind, but she was also full of good works, engaging in the discipleship of her hands. We receive the gospel with our hearts and minds by faith alone, and we are declared righteous in the sight of God. We then display that faith through our service to our neighbors. Faith and deeds are both vital in the Christian life.
For further study
- Psalm 68:5
- Isaiah 49:13
- Matthew 22:34–40
- Ephesians 2:8–10
The bible in a year
- 2 Samuel 9–11
- Luke 19:28–48