Acts 9:32–43: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Savior
Introduction
When we read the Bible, we can be tempted to think that we are reading primarily about extraordinary people. Either we will be tempted to identify pridefully with such important people so that we dismiss the “ordinary” people from consideration, or we will be tempted to despair by thinking that what God does in the Bible would not include ordinary people like us. Yet, while we do read a number of stories about remarkable people—prophets, priests, kings, and apostles—the Scriptures never let us forget that these people are all ordinary, like us. They do not receive God’s favor because of their merit but because of God’s grace and mercy toward sinners. Further, amidst all of the stories of seemingly extraordinary people, the Bible never fails to give us portraits of the lives of ordinary people. Here at the end of Acts 9, we see God’s care for two ordinary people in order that we might be reminded that Jesus is an extraordinary Savior for ordinary people.
Discussion Questions
1. What is Peter doing by going “here and there among them all” (v. 32)? How does this pastoral work of visitation exemplify God’s care for the whole flock of Christ’s church? Who is Aeneas (v. 33)? How much do we know about him? How does Aeneas compare to the paralyzed man whom Peter and John met in the temple in Acts 3? Who heals Aeneas (v. 34)? What is the effect in the wider region? How did God use this ordinary man?
2. What do the names “Tabitha” and “Dorcas” mean (v. 36)? From what languages do those names derive? What do we know about Dorcas? How extraordinary would her life have seemed up to the point of her death? Why do you think that Dorcas’s friends call Peter and ask him to come to them (v. 39a)? When Peter arrives, what do the widows do (v. 39b)? What does that suggest about the impact of Dorcas’s mercy ministry?
3. How does the miracle of raising Dorcas from the dead echo miracles from Elijah and Elisha (1 Kgs. 17:17–24; 2 Kgs. 4:32–37)? How does this miracle echo miracles of Jesus (Luke 7:11–17; 8:49–56)? How do the miracles from Elijah and Elisha emphasize God’s power to work beyond the bounds of Israel (see Luke 4:26)? How do the miracles of Jesus show the beginning of Jesus’ care for ordinary people in distress and even death?
4. How are you tempted to despise or dismiss ordinary people in your life? How are you tempted to despise or dismiss ordinary work and service for others? How does the Bible give us lenses to see God’s great care and compassion for ordinary people in our midst? How does this passage challenge the way that you think about yourself and your work? How does this passage challenge the way that you think about specific other people?
