Acts 9:42 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.

NIV: This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.

NASB: It became known all over Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.

CSB: This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.

NLT: The news spread through the whole town, and many believed in the Lord.

KJV: And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord.

NKJV: And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord.

This is a seemingly innocuous verse with a heavy theological consideration behind it. Peter has just raised Tabitha from Joppa from the dead. Her resurrection gives authentication to Peter's message about Jesus. Many are saved.

The question that arises is, did God cause Tabitha to die so that Peter could raise her and people would be saved? This is a nuance of the so-called "problem of evil," which considers whether God ever causes suffering for the sake of a better good.

Certainly, God does redeem suffering. Our assurance is the perhaps overused but no less true Romans 8:28: "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Whatever a Jesus-follower experiences, no matter how horrible, can be used for good if we trust God.

But does God cause suffering so that He can use it for good, or does He just allow suffering to happen because of the free will of humanity? That depends on the situation. Certainly, God disciplines His own, which is unpleasant and may involve suffering (Hebrews 12:5–11). In other situations, He allows humans, or demons (Job 1:6, 12; 2:6; Ephesians 6:12), to cause suffering because we do have a measure of free will. This must be exercised as an expression of our nature as humans. This is the difference between the permissive will of God—that all things are under His control—and the efficacious will of God, by which He directly dictates what will happen. All things are under His sovereign will.

The story of Tabitha seems an innocuous setting for such a heavy debate. She is raised from the dead, her friends are happy, and God is glorified as people listen to Peter's message about Jesus. The situation is much different when the dead are not raised, or a wound is not healed, or a wrong is not righted in our lifetime. Romans 8:28 only brings comfort for those who "love God" and "are called according to his purpose." It also goes on to explain a large portion of what God's purpose is: that those who are His be "conformed to the image of His Son" (see Romans 8:29–30). If we trust God enough to value His perspective over our own, we will see the good. That doesn't mean we won't suffer. It does mean we can find comfort in the suffering and ultimately justice, peace, and full healing in eternity (see also 2 Corinthians 4:7–18; James 1:2–4; 1 Peter 1:3–9).

Acts 9:36–43 describes Peter raising a disciple named Tabitha—or Dorcas in Greek—to life. He has been in Lydda, about 15 miles southeast, where he healed Aeneas from paralysis and taught the people of the city about Jesus (Acts 9:32–35). Soon, he will receive a request to travel 40 miles north to Caesarea Maritima where he will meet a Roman centurion. Peter will share the story of Jesus, and a houseful of Gentiles will receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 10). Given his upbringing, Peter might think of Gentiles being saved as a greater miracle than Tabitha coming back to life!

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.