Minor Characters, Major Impact
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Last week we talked about the conversion of Saul. Like I said it’s one of those stories that most people know about. If you’ve grown up in the church you’ve probably heard about it over and over again. This week we come to a couple of stories that probably aren’t so well known. Even those of us who grew up in the church, while we may have heard the stories, probably don’t know a whole lot about them. These are stories focusing on some of the minor characters, the ones that we always seem to forget, whether it be in movies, in literature, or even in the Bible.
So let’s pick up reading where we left off last week. Beginning in verse 32 of chapter 9
32 As Peter was traveling from place to place, he also came down to the saints who lived in Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years. 34 Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed,” and immediately he got up. 35 So all who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
Now the last time we saw Peter mentioned specifically, and not just as part of “the apostles” was back at the end of chapter 5. He had just gone through one of his trials in front of the Sanhedrin and been ordered not to preach in the name of Jesus anymore. And his reply, as always, was, “We must obey God rather than people.” So it’s not really a surprise here to see Peter here travelling around the country sharing the gospel. Here he comes to the town of Lydda which is about 25 miles northwest of Jerusalem. It’s the site of modern day Lod, Israel. And there he finds this man named Aeneas who has been paralyzed and bedridden for the past eight years. This is not a new experience for Peter. If you’ll remember back when we started this series one of the first times we saw Peter was when he and John were headed to the Temple to share the gospel with the worshippers there and he was asked for alms by a man who had been lame since birth and spent his days begging outside the Temple gates. So this is something Peter knows. He tells the man “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and make your bed.” And it says that Aeneas immediately got up. But more important than the actual healing is the next verse which says, “So all who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.”
Now here’s the thing, it wasn’t that “all who lived in Lydda and Sharon” were there and saw the healing happen. No, what this tells us is that Aeneas didn’t keep silent about what had happened to him. The Bible doesn’t tell us this specifically but what can be inferred here is that Aeneas became an evangelist. He went around talking to people saying, “I was paralyzed. I couldn’t walk, but through the power of Jesus I was healed.” And it wasn’t just because Peter was there preaching because, as we’ll see in the next section, he was called away pretty quickly after this healing. So the spread of the gospel, the spread of the story of this miracle, fell not to the apostle, Peter, but to the ordinary believer. It fell to Aeneas.
Now let’s pick up reading with that next section I mentioned. Beginning in verse 36.
36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which is translated Dorcas). She was always doing good works and acts of charity. 37 About that time she became sick and died. After washing her, they placed her in a room upstairs. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples heard that Peter was there and sent two men to him who urged him, “Don’t delay in coming with us.” 39 Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived, they led him to the room upstairs. And all the widows approached him, weeping and showing him the robes and clothes that Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40 Peter sent them all out of the room. He knelt down, prayed, and turning toward the body said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up. 41 He gave her his hand and helped her stand up. He called the saints and widows and presented her alive. 42 This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed for some time in Joppa with Simon, a leather tanner.
Acts 9:36-
Joppa was another 15-20 miles northwest from Lydda. It was along the coastal route where we saw Philip sharing the gospel after his encounter with the Ethiopian official a couple of weeks ago. So here we see another ordinary disciple, Tabitha or Dorcas. She has obviously had a huge impact on the widows in this area as can be seen by their reaction when Peter arrives. It says all the widows approached him weeping and showing him the things that Dorcas had made for them while she was alive. Peter sends everyone out of the room and prays then turns to the body and says simply in Aramaic “Tabitha, koum,” “Tabitha, get up.” In studying for this message this morning one of the commentaries brought out a really interesting parallel. This incident with Peter bringing Dorcas back to life looks very similar to the time in the book of Mark when Jesus revives Jarius’s daughter. In that incident Jesus enters the room and sends out all the mourners, just like Peter. He prays and takes the girl by the hand and says in Aramaic, “talitha, koum,” “little girl, get up.” Even the phrase that was spoken was only different by one letter, “talitha, koum” and “Tabitha, koum.” And then it even says that Peter gave her his hand and helped her stand up.
So Dorcas, or Tabitha is restored to life and verse 42 tells us, “This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.” Again, this was likely due to Dorcas and the widows whom she ministered to, sharing this story of her healing through the power of Christ. As they encountered people they couldn’t keep silent. They would share the story of how she got sick and died and how the power of Christ had brought her back to life and this testimony led to many people coming to faith in Christ as the Messiah they had been waiting for.
And that’s really one of the points of this chapter in Acts. Yes it relates the story of the conversion of Saul who would go on to write the majority of the New Testament and be a huge factor in the spread of the gospel to the Gentiles, and I don’t want to diminish the importance of that. However, we also shouldn’t overlook the fact that in all three of these stories in this chapter we see believers who are mentioned no where else in scripture but who play a role in the spread of the gospel. In the first part of the chapter we saw Ananias whose only role was to go to Saul, to lay his hands on him, and to pray for the restoration of his sight. It seems like a small thing, a minor role in the story, but oh how important it was, because it showed Saul someone who was obeying the voice of God even when it was hard, even when they may not want to do it. And then we see Aeneas. The passage tells us that Peter came down to the saints who lived in Lydda and there he found Aeneas. So we can assume that Aeneas was already a believer. He was with the saints in Lydda. This is an example of someone who believed and followed Christ even though initially he didn’t get better. He wasn’t healed immediately when he believed. Yes, he was healed in this story, but his belief came first. And he believed even though he hand’t been healed for eight years. And then we see Dorcas. Here is a woman who spent time ministering to the widows of her community. She made robes and clothes for them, not in order to make her name known, not in order to be some famous fashion designer, but simply because it was the right thing to do, simply because God said to take care of the widows and the orphans. That’s really what I get from this chapter, the effects that a faithful servant of God can have on the spread of the gospel. We never know who’s listening, who’s watching us. We never know what might come from our sharing of the gospel, or from our simple obedience to God’s voice.
Let me give you an example of the influence one person can have simply by being obedient to the voice of God. How many of you know the name Edward Kimball? Most people don’t.
Kimball was a Sunday School teacher in Boston in the 1800’s. He was determined to win the souls of the boys in his class for Christ and he prayed for them individually. One boy in particular weighed heavy on his heart and he decided to go to where he worked to witness to him. Mr. Kimball says “I was determined to speak to him about Christ and about his soul, and started down to Holton's boot store. When I was nearly there I began to wonder whether I ought to go in just then during business hours. I thought my call might embarrass the boy, and that when I went away the other clerks would ask who I was, and taunt him with my efforts in trying to make him a good boy. In the meantime I had passed the store, and, discovering this, I determined to make a dash for it, and have it over at once. I found him in the back part of the building wrapping up shoes. I went up to him at once, and putting my hand on his shoulder, I made what I felt afterwards was a very weak plea for Christ. I don't know just what words I used. I simply told him of Christ's love for him, and the love Christ wanted in return. That was all there was. It seemed the young man was just ready for the light that then broke upon him, and there in the back of that store in Boston, he gave himself and his life to Christ.” That young man’s name was Dwight Lyman Moody. Some of you may know that name. He became one of the most famous American evangelists of the 19th century and would found the Moody Bible Institute, which has been responsible for the training of thousands of pastors over the last 130 years. He also founded Moody Publishers which publishes Christian books.
Now that seems like a pretty big legacy from a simple Sunday School teacher that shared Christ with a young man in a shoe store in Boston doesn’t it? But that’s not the end of the story. One day a young man named Wilbur Chapman heard Dwight L. Moody preach and he gave his life to Christ. Chapman would go on to be an evangelist in his own right and one day a young professional baseball player came on his day off to hear Chapman preach. Most people today don’t know the name Wilbur Chapman, but more know the name of the baseball player, because after he gave his life to Christ he would quit baseball and become the famous evangelist Billy Sunday. Another young man named Mordecai Ham came to a Billy Sunday meeting and was converted to the cause of Christ. In 1934 Ham was invited to preach at a tent revival in North Carolina. On October 8, 1934 he was discouraged with the response he had seen and he wrote on the stationery in his hotel, “Lord, give us a Pentecost here. … Pour out thy Spirit tomorrow. … ” Now there was a group of high school students who had decided to interrupt the meeting the next night. Word got out that this was going to happen so other students came just to see what would happen. One of those students who came to see what was going on was known to his friends and family by one of those great deep south double names. He went by Billy Frank. Well Billy Frank listened to Mordecai Ham that night because the meeting was never interrupted, and God got a hold on his heart. He came back to listen again, and again, and he gave his life to Christ. Now Billy Frank’s given name was William Franklin Graham Jr. and he would go on to be better known as Billy Graham the most prolific evangelist the world has yet seen. It has been estimated that Billy Graham has preached, either in person, or via television or radio to some 2.2 billion people during his lifetime. That’s over a quarter of the current population of the world.
Now think back to where this story began. Edward Kimball was determined to witness to a young man in his Sunday School class. He passed up the store, but he obeyed the voice of God and he went back. And look what that simple act of obedience has led to. A seminary that trains thousands to preach the gospel. A publishing company that prints books and study material for people to learn more about the Bible. A series of evangelists that include Dwight L. Moody, Billy Sunday, Billy Graham and now his son Franklin Graham, and his grandson Will Graham who have continued the family legacy. But Edward Kimball didn’t do it because he wanted to be famous. For that matter neither did Dwight L. Moody, Billy Sunday, or Billy Graham. They all did what they did simply because God said so. They were simply obedient to the voice of God calling them to share the gospel, some on a worldwide stage, some on a national stage, and one in the stock room of a shoe store in Boston.
Will we do the same? Will we be obedient to the call to share? Will we, like Ananias, be obedient to the voice of God even when it doesn’t make sense, even when it goes against human logic? Will we, like Aeneas, be obedient to the voice of God even when we don’t get any immediate benefit from it? Will we, like Dorcas, be obedient to the voice of God just because it’s the right thing to do? And will we, like Edward Kimball, be obedient to the voice of God to share the gospel even when it might be embarrassing, even when we don’t know the words to use, even when we’re not sure of the outcome?
Would you join me in prayer?