Good Morning,
Read Acts 9:32-10:23a
Today’s passage shifts the focus back to Peter as he heals, and as he has a vision in preparation for meeting with Cornelius the Romans centurion.
A word or two before we get to Peter, can we just focus on Tabitha/Dorcas for a minute? She is described as devoted to good works and acts of charity. When she dies and Peter arrives at the scene, all these widows stand beside him weeping and showing him all the clothing that Tabitha/Dorcas had made for them. Small moments of faithfulness are important. We may never know what kind of impact we might make on others or on the world just by faithfully giving ourselves to the moment before us.
Peter on the other hand is preparing us for the next big moment in Acts, which we’ll get to tomorrow! After healing Tabitha/Dorcas Peter stays in Joppa with Simon, who happens to be a tanner. A man who works with dead animals, and therefore almost always ritually unclean, according to Jewish law. It’s no wonder Peter’s vision is about clean and unclean animals for eating purposes. Sure, he’s never eaten anything unclean, but already he is staying with someone considered unclean.
The vision Peter receives comes during his prayer time. So much of what happens in the early church is rooted in its prayer life, of waiting and listening for God. Peter models responsiveness to both God and humans today. When Peter hears that Tabitha/Dorcas has died he gets up and goes when they ask him to come without delay (9.38-39). Later, the Spirit tells Peter to “Get up, go down, and go with them [Cornelius’ men] without hesitation; for I have sent them” (10.20).
This ties back in with the faithfulness of Tabitha/Dorcas in the small things. Peter is faithful in each moment. He doesn’t know exactly what will happen when he responds to these requests, but he makes himself available and present. What is one way you can be more responsive to God in the little things today?
Grace and Peace,
Matt
Inductive Questions: (These will be included each day and your work on them will be the foundation we build upon at our Wednesday evening in-person and Zoom Bible Study as we explore the church, mission, and Holy Spirit in Acts.)
Pick at least one of these to be a focus for all of Acts, but answer as many of them as you want.
- What does the church look like in Acts? Who is a part of it? What do they do? How is it formed? How does it relate to mission and the Spirit? In other words (fancy, technical terms) What is the ecclesiology of Acts?
- What does mission look like in Acts? Who does it? What do they do? How does it happen? How does it relate to the church and the Spirit? In other words (fancy, technical terms) What is the missiology of Acts?
- What does the Holy Spirit look like in Acts? What does the Spirit do? How is the Spirit active? How does it relate to church and mission? In other words (fancy, technical terms) What is the pneumatology of Acts?
Answer the question with the language of Acts as much as possible and cite the chapter and verse reference in your notes.