Acts 9:33 - Printer Friendly

ESV: There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed.

NIV: There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years.

NASB: There he found a man named Aeneas who had been bedridden for eight years, because he was paralyzed.

CSB: There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years.

NLT: There he met a man named Aeneas, who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years.

KJV: And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy.

NKJV: There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed.

Peter is in the city of Lydda, about 25 miles northwest of Jerusalem. Saul is now a Jesus-follower (Acts 9:13–18) and no longer persecuting the church (Acts 8:1–3). Other persecution has also decreased (Acts 9:31), so Peter has freedom to travel around Judea, encourage those who have received Christ in Jerusalem, and share the gospel with those who haven't heard yet.

In his travels, he meets a man who is paralyzed. Peter had seen Jesus heal the paralyzed before (Matthew 8:5–13; Luke 5:17–26; John 5:2–9), and Peter had performed many miracles in Jesus' name since His ascension (Acts 5:12–16). In the Bible, God equips His messengers to perform miracles to validate the fact that He sent them. God's healing, however, is not a universal right. When Adam and Eve sinned, the world was no longer the "very good" creation of God (Genesis 1:31). Injury and illness became a part of life. Sometimes, God does choose to heal. Other times, He chooses to work in the injured or ill person's life to bring them closer to Him.

Sometimes God uses that person to reach the world. Joni Eareckson Tada was paralyzed in a diving accident in 1967. Despite chronic pain and several bouts with cancer, she has changed the way people see the disabled. She was one of the driving forces behind the Americans with Disabilities Act, and she is a strong advocate for helping the disabled have full and meaningful lives.

Peter heals Aeneas, and in response, the residents of Lydda and the nearby Plain of Sharon come to a saving faith in Jesus (Acts 9:35). Because of Joni Eareckson Tada's injury, millions have a better life. Putting our trust in God always results in life.

Acts 9:32–35 is a short story about Peter healing a paralyzed man near the western slope of the coastal range of Judea. It is also the beginning of an account, running through Acts 11:18, of Peter opening the doors for the apostle Saul's mission to reach the Gentiles for Christ. Saul has become a Jesus-follower and will soon go by the name Paul. The immediate, intense threat to the church is greatly eased. Peter is traveling, possibly visiting the churches that were started by those who fled from Saul's persecution (Acts 8:1–3). Soon, he will witness and validate that Gentiles can be saved and receive the Holy Spirit. The last phase of Acts 1:8 will begin in earnest.

Acts 9 sets the stage for the spread of the gospel to the Gentiles. Saul continues the persecution of the church by traveling to Damascus to arrest Jesus-followers. Before he reaches the city, Jesus confronts him. Saul realizes Jesus is the Messiah and immediately starts spreading the news, first in Damascus and later in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Peter travels to modern-day Tel Aviv to heal a paralyzed man and bring a dead woman back to life. The miracles aren't unusual, but the story leaves him in Joppa, poised to take the next step in Jesus' mandate to be His witness (Acts 1:8).

The murder of the Jesus-follower Stephen has ignited a fierce persecution against the church, led by a young Pharisee-trained man named Saul (Acts 7:54—8:3; 9:1–2). When he realizes Jesus truly is the Messiah, that fervor fuels his own evangelism (Acts 9:3–30). Meanwhile, Peter travels to the coast of Judea. Soon, he will teach a prominent Gentile household about Jesus and discover that Gentiles can be saved (Acts 10). The stage will be set for Saul to spread the saving news of Jesus to ''the end of the earth'' (Acts 1:8) under the Greek version of his name: Paul.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.