Walking In The Love Of God

Acts 9:32–35 (NKJV)

32 Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. 33 There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed. 34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” Then he arose immediately. 35 So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

We are approaching this study out of the brethren of Jerusalem leading Saul down to the city port of Caesarea to escape persecution, and the summary of effects that gave the churches of God rest and a period of peace, to seek holiness in the Lord. Our previous study led us to reexamine our mission in the purpose of God. We discovered that we are not merely sent out to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah, but are also to continue to seek our own sanctification and holiness in Him. Just as Saul needed a renewal in repentance to God, and just as the church in Jerusalem needed rest to regenerate their love for God and for their wounds to heal, we also need to be continually examining ourselves to see if we are in the faith and are not trusting in our own efforts and works to be justified in God. No matter how much we suffer or how much truth and knowledge we retain; if we do not retain and abide in the love of Christ, we are nothing and can do nothing in God; and all our works are in vain (Ps.127:1). Therefore Saul and the churches needed a time of rest and regeneration to be made more holy and sanctified in the purposes of God. Saul was not going to be received by the brethren if he continued to stoke the flames of hell that holds the Jews captive to do the will of their father – Satan (2Tim.2:26; Jn.8:44).

God’s purpose in giving the churches peace was to add more life to the church, not death and destruction. Therefore, we see in the following context, Peter going into all the churches healing and extending life to her, deepening the saints’ trust in God. In this study we will focus on the transition from Saul’s conversion to Peter’s ministry in the churches. The regional focus is the area between Caesarea and Lydda, as the brethren led Saul from Jerusalem to Caesarea. D.G. Peterson gives a concise summary of the transition in his commentary on Acts:

This last section of Acts 9 reintroduces Peter in preparation for the great events of Acts 10–11. Peter travels to Lydda and then to Joppa, moving further and further away from Jerusalem into Gentile territory. As he responds to various needs, God blesses his Pastoral and evangelistic endeavours. Aeneas is healed, Tabbitha (Dorcas) is raised from death, and many people turn to Christ. So Peter is led by God to the house of Simon the tanner, where he receives the vision that will impel him to preach the gospel to a Roman household in Caesarea.

Peterson, D. G. (2009). The Acts of the Apostles (pp. 319–320). Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, England: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

32 Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda.

In my opinion the NKJV translators do not give us an adequate rendering of Luke’s train of thought. To spare you some boring work that I put into translating verse 32, I will just give you my rendering of the text. “Meanwhile, Peter went from place to place, as he [came down] among the saints who dwelt in Lydda.” It will be upon this rendition of the text that I will expound on Luke’s train of thought. Egeneto de (Meanwhile) is the transitional conjunction that Luke leads off with, in verse 32, following the previous verbal context of katelthein (came down) or kategagon (brought down). In the previous context Luke informs the reader that ‘the brethren’ brought Saul down to Caesarea. However, in our current context, Luke is transitioning the focus from the effects of Saul’s presence unto the actions and intents of Peter. Luke is not transitioning from one time frame to another, but is us giving another vantage point in the same frame of time that the brethren left the persecution in Jerusalem. This also gives us the clear impression that some of the brethren continued onto the destination with Saul; while at the same time Peter slowly goes through the region strengthening the saints. This is most likely why Luke left out Peter’s name in verse 30 where he states that ‘the brethren’ brought him down to Caesarea. It was never Peter’s intention to continue with Saul the whole way to Caesarea, but to visit the saints and shepherd them back to strength in the holiness of God as a result of being weakened by the first wave of Saul’s persecution.

Now as we define where Peter went from “place to place,” we need to consider the geographical context to help us understand Luke’s intentions. A little further down in our context we see Luke make reference to the plains of Sharon when he notes all those who witnessed the healing of Aeneas (vs.34). A careful study of the geography will help illustrate what is taking place with Peter in each habitation of the region of the plains of Sharon where Lydda is located.

Sharon, Plain of (שָׁרוֹן, sharon). One of two geographical locations by this name in the Bible. A segment of Israel’s coastal plain, remembered in the Bible for its fertility and pasture land.

Geography of Sharon

The Plain of Sharon is a segment of the coastal plain, which is bordered on the west by the Mediterranean Sea. It lies between the Plain of Dor and the seaport of Dor to the north and the Plain of Philistia and the port of Joppa to the south (Aharoni, Land of the Bible, 25; Curtis, Oxford Bible Atlas, 21). The Samarian mountains border the plain to the east (Karmon, “Geographical Influences,” 46). The plain itself stretches a length of about 50 miles and a width of 9–10 miles (Pfeiffer and Vos, Bible Lands, 102). The Plain of Sharon is divided into three primary segments that run north to south: western, central, and eastern segments (Karmon, “Geographical Influences,” 43–46).

The Central and Western Segments

The largest section of the Plain of Sharon is the central segment. This area is made up of Mousterian red sand hills, large sand dunes that average a height of 160–195 feet (Aharoni, Land of the Bible, 24; Karmon, “Geographical Influences,” 44). The central segment was once thickly forested and known for its oak trees (Curtis, Oxford Bible Atlas, 19; Aharoni, Land of the Bible, 24).

The western segment lies between the Mediterranean Sea and the red sand hills. It is characterized by “three parallel ridges of a limy sandstone, called kurkar, with intervening lowlands” (Karmon, “Geographical Influences,” 44). Due to these geographical features, both the central and western segments lack proper drainage (Karmon, “Geographical Influence”; see also Faust, “Sharon and the Yarkon Basin,” 65) and as a result are characterized by swamps (Aharoni, Land of the Bible, 24; Karmon, “Geographical Influences,” 44).

The Eastern Segment

The eastern segment of the Plain of Sharon, situated directly west of the Samarian mountains, is largely level, and is well drained rather than swampy (Karmon, “Geographical Influences,” 46). The towns mentioned in both biblical and extrabiblical sources—such as Gath-Padalla, Yaham, and Socoh—were in this eastern region (Aharoni et al., Carta Bible Atlas, 31, 35, 87). In addition, one of the most important international highways—the Way of the Sea or Via Maris—ran through this region of the Plain of Sharon. The Via Maris connected Egypt in the south to the various empires in the north, such as Assyria and Babylon.

Sharon in the Bible

The Plain of Sharon appears in the Bible six times—five times in the Old Testament (1 Chr 27:29; Song 2:1; Isa 33:9; 35:2; 65:10) and once in the New Testament (Acts 9:35). It is also indirectly referred to twice in 1 Kings (1 Kgs 4:7; 14:25–28). Another Sharon, Sharon of Bashan, is mentioned in 1 Chr 5:16.

The Bible does not devote much time to a description of Sharon, but it is clear that the plain was remembered for its fertility (Song 2:1; Isa 33:9; 35:2) and as a place of pasture (1 Chr 27:29; Isa 65:10). The Song of Solomon records, “I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys” (Song 2:1 NRSV), which suggests that the Plain of Sharon was also well known for its beautiful flowers. In 1 Kings, the Plain of Sharon is reported as the third of King Solomon’s commissioner’s districts, which “provided food for the king and his household” (1 Kgs 4:7 NRSV; see also Aharoni et al., Carta Bible Atlas, 87). In addition, Pharaoh Shishak I campaigned there in 926 bc (1 Kgs 14:25–28) and conquered at least three cities of the eastern section of the plain (Gath-Padalla, Yaham, and Socoh; Aharoni, Land of the Bible, 327).

Historical Significance

New Testament Period

In New Testament times, Roman architectural advances allowed previously uninhabitable parts of the Plain of Sharon to become new cities and towns. Karmon notes, “The Romans were masters in the construction of roads and bridges, [so] the obstacles that had impeded inland traffic in earlier times, like rivers and swamps, could now be overcome with the aid of bridges and causeways” (Karmon, “Geographical Influences,” 54). King Herod built the major port city of Caesarea on the coast of the Plain of Sharon, and in doing so created the need for a new transportation system in the plain’s inland area. Consequently, the Plain of Sharon became “the most densely settled part of the coastal plain” during the Roman period (Karmon, “Geographical Influences,” 53).

Jones, R. (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015). Sharon, Plain of. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, … W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

It is clear that Luke intends that Peter came down from the higher topography of Jerusalem to the lower plains of Sharon, “going from place to place”, to gather in the saints for encouragement and strength in the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Robert Jones notes above, Lydda would have been on the eastern segment of the plains of Sharon. It is also clear, that Luke intends, that Peter was only going into the saints and was not causing open disturbances as had been previously done in Jerusalem. His mission and intention was to give the saints rest and courage to continue in the daily practices and pursuit of the holiness of God. Peter is not setting a new example or a new standard for preaching, like preaching to believers only, but is taking a turn of direction in wisdom to guard the sheep of Christ from the wolves who would devour them.

Lod (לֹד, lod) (Greek, Λύδδα, Lydda). A Benjamite town in the Plain of Sharon, between Jaffa and Jerusalem. The modern city of Lod is about 14 miles southeast of Tel Aviv, near Ben Gurion International Airport.

Biblical Relevance

The Old Testament’s only references to Lod occur in postexilic books dating to the Persian period. First Chronicles attributes Lod’s founding to one or all of the sons of Elpaal the Benjaminite: Eber, Misham, and Shemed (1 Chr 8:12). Ezra notes that 725 inhabitants of Lod, Hadid, and Ono survived the Babylonian exile and returned to their home cities (Ezra 2:33); in a parallel passage, Nehemiah puts the number at 721 (Neh 7:37). Nehemiah also indicates that Lod received surviving members of the tribe of Benjamin (Neh 11:35).

In the New Testament, Peter spreads the gospel in Lydda, the Greek name for Lod. After Peter heals a paralytic there, all the town’s residents become believers (Acts 9:32–35).

Gaines, J. M. H. (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015). Lod. In J. D. Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, … W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

Lydda appears to be a holy place chosen by God, as a place of rest and refuge, to illustrate His special love for His bruised and battered children. A place where they can hear and perceive His divine love for them. Therefore, Peter has come down to be God’s chosen instrument for the Word to heal the wounds of God’s children. Lydda, being a strategic place in the providence of God, illustrates to us a special love that God has for His bride; in that, the Word has come down from the high and transcendent mountains, which the gate called Beautiful sat upon and gave entrance to the holy city of God, and was the home of the Most Holy Place in the Temple of God, unto the saints who took refuge in the plains of the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valley (SofS2:1).

Peter was sent to inspect the safety of the Lord’s bride and aid her to rest and bask in His special and superior love, over and against, the hatred and jealousy that the world holds against her. J.P. Lange comments:

As Peter passed throughout all quarters [went through all].—This διέρχεσθαι (literally, a journey through different inhabited places) was an apostolic visitation, for the purpose of inspection.

Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., Gotthard, V. L., Gerok, C., & Schaeffer, C. F. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Acts (p. 186). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

Before this, all the early disciples were seeking God in the heights of Israel in the city of Jerusalem during the Pentecost as God commanded. God came to them, then, to give them power to extend to the ends of the earth with the Word of God; but the devil quickly broke into their homes “to choke out the truth,” and put them in prison, and force them to flee by the divine providential hand of God. Therefore, Peter’s coming down to them is an illustration of God’s humbling of Himself like a husband who has battered his wife, and to woo her forgiveness (although God needs no forgiveness for being the cause of their persecution that was a result of their submission and obedience to His will) with a sincere act of love in healing them with the Word. This was God’s “Highway of Holiness” for the early saints!

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

In this place (Lydda) is in conjunction with the previous adverb kai by which the Lord calls out Aeneas by name to be the ‘emphatic’ object to express this special love in the form of a divine and miraculous healing. While Peter himself did not know what he was looking for, as the verb heure (found) describes, it remains clear that the Holy Spirit searched out and personally sought Aeneas to display the power of God. In other words, it was the emphatic will of God that this man named Aeneas, be searched for and found, by the divine love of God.

Luke does not say whether Aeneas was paralyzed due to a stroke, an illness such as polio, or an injury. In any case, his paralysis was beyond the abilities of the limited medical knowledge of that day. He had already been bedridden eight years, and faced that prospect for the rest of his life.

MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1994). Acts (p. 280). Chicago: Moody Press.

As Dr. MacArthur duly notes, Scripture does not give clear evidence why this man was paralyzed. However, my presumption, based on the eight years he was paralyzed, leads me to believe it was a result of the persecution. At this point, it has been about eight years since the original persecution of the saints in Jerusalem, and we know that it was very severe (Acts22:19). It is very possible that Aeneas survived an attempted stoning, much like Stephen, but who was stoned to death. Either way the passage expresses a very clear and special love of God for Aeneas. Luke, who is recording this account of the miracle, was a trained medical doctor and is more than qualified to testify of the divine intervention of God on behalf of this seemingly hopeless circumstance of Aeneas. As MacArthur already mentioned the paralysis is beyond any medical remedy of that day. The Greek name Aeneas literally means “laudable” or praise worthy. Apparently, God considered Aeneas worthy of some kind of praise. Maybe for his endurance in his suffering for the name of Jesus of Nazareth? That, of course, is mere speculation, but my trust and hope in the Lord’s providences give me much assurance and satisfaction. It is clear, however, that the Lord decreed this ‘particular’ man to be singled out, that the praises of God would be made manifest in his personal healing. Therefore, my word for word rendering of the text is, “In this place, a particular man named Aeneas was found, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed.”

34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” Then he arose immediately.

A piece of advice my mother once told me has since clung to me. She has been one of many of God’s instruments to convey his Word to me; she said, “Wherever you make your bed, lay in it. (Prov.1:8)” In a sense, Aeneas has made his own bed in the roses of Sharon, where he only could dream of being in the heavens, as he gazes up at them upon his back; but here and now, heaven has come down to him and called him to rise and make his hopes come true. It is clear that Aeneas has not made his own way to the heights of God, but that in the humiliation of Christ, Aeneas has been risen in God.

Song of Solomon 2:10 (NKJV)

10 My beloved spoke, and said to me: “Rise up, my love, my fair one, And come away.

Song of Solomon 3:1 (NKJV)

1 By night on my bed I sought the one I love; I sought him, but I did not find him.

Song of Solomon 7:10–12 (NKJV)

10 I am my beloved’s, And his desire is toward me. 11 Come, my beloved, Let us go forth to the field; Let us lodge in the villages. 12 Let us get up early to the vineyards; Let us see if the vine has budded, Whether the grape blossoms are open, And the pomegranates are in bloom. There I will give you my love.

Maybe this illustration sickens you and offends your limited morality? But this is a literal illustration of a love between a man and his wife, not of a man and a man; however, because the Word of God is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness (2Tim.3:16), it can be used to illustrate the special love that God has for His prized possession, who He identifies as His bride. Aeneas, who being in the form of a man does not hesitate to receive such love, but rises ‘immediately’ with joy and satisfaction. Sometimes God is like a cat who plays hard to get, but at the time of His choosing gives Himself completely to us. Indeed, Aeneas received the full assurance that Christ has come particularly for him. He is now called to make his bed with God in the surety of a future reward (Heb.11:3).

Those who would minister effectively for Jesus Christ must seek to exalt Him, not promote themselves. Peter understood his role perfectly (cf. Acts 10:25–26). Coming to Aeneas, Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ (Not Peter) heals you” (cf. Acts 3:6). Peter’s selfless humility stands in sharp contrast to the many in the ministry today who seek their own fame (And fortune), instead of seeking to exalt the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1994). Acts (pp. 280–281). Chicago: Moody Press.

Dr. MacArthur stole the words right from my mouth, “literally”. We must have the same mind (1Cor.2:16). I was going to make the same emphasis that it was the Word, not of Peter, that healed Aeneas. The miracle was clearly displayed to exalt the power and majesty of our Sovereign. This was not to call attention to a man so that he can make a fortune in fortune telling. In fact, Peter came down from Jerusalem to make a low profile of the church, as we studied earlier, the miracles of the apostles in Jerusalem were not enough to cause, even the Jews, to behold the power and majesty of God; but rather caused them to put this sect on the way to holiness to death. Indeed, it was not the miracles that hardened the hypocrites but the message that produced the miracles. Truly, the miracles were only to validate the message. Therefore we are to give greater attention to the message (the Word). It was the Word that healed Aeneas!

Then Peter commanding Aeneas to respond to the healing said, arise, and make your bed. Aeneas immediately arose, with no paralysis. Since Aeneas’s cure was complete, and he would no longer be confined to it, Peter commanded him to make his bed. As noted in the discussion of Acts 3:8 in chapter 8, the healings performed by Jesus Christ and the apostles were instantaneous and total. The New Testament knows nothing of “progressive healings,” where someone has been “healed,” and is now gradually getting better. (For a discussion of the gift of healing, see my book Charismatic Chaos [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992].)

MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1994). Acts (p. 281). Chicago: Moody Press.

While the church is being progressively healed and sanctified, this healing was complete and total as the good Dr. already defined, and was to illustrate the future glory that would be revealed in the members of Christ’s church in her total and complete glorification (1Peter5:1). Peter who was the under-shepherd and instrument that God used, later reminds us:

1 Peter 5:2–4 (NKJV)

2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.

Peter, who made himself available to God, has witnessed nearly every miraculous event and testifies that the greatest need of an overseer is to remain humble after being exalted to such a high and lofty position. With power comes great responsibility and can be quickly taken away and forfeited through the sin of pride. We need to make it our aim to glory only in the works of the Lord, which clearly has only come to the saints, and to those who respect God’s divine right and authority over their life. Peter fully understood that he was, merely a man, serving as an equal to the men and women he was called to serve. He also fully understood that there was a continual authority that resided over him in the form of the eternal Word of God in the person and work of Jesus Christ, for it was in His name ‘alone’ that Aeneas was healed. Peter added nothing of his own to it, except to have the privilege and freedom to exercise his faith in the Word of God, and even that was a gift of God.

35 So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

We enter into the concluding effects of the Aeneas miracle. The power of God now owns Aeneas as he is made a spectacle of the Lord; for all who dwelt in the plains of Sharon ‘saw him.’ The Greek word pas (all) in this context is not referring to the whole population of the Sharon, but only the hagious (holy ones) that is referred to in verse 32 of our complete context. The NKJV translators render it as (saints), but the original Greek gives the clearer picture that only those of a holy and pure heart can see God (Matt.5:8). The only ones who have the ability to perceive this miracle and turn to God are those whom God has made holy and pure in the core nature of their being.

It is true that we are beings that have an element of life that resides in our blood, but only in the image of Christ are we alive to God and are spiritually known to Him. All others (without Christ) are known to God like an animal is known to a man. Man has some affection for the life of his animal (Pr.12:10) but has no means to fellowship with it and understand its thoughts and motivations (Acts17:26; Gen.9:4). We have life in us from Adam, but not the life that is in the image of God (Gen 9:6), and (all) our murderous thoughts and actions express that. Even with all the scientific advancement in our current generations, we will (never) have true communion with an animal. This is God’s purpose and intent when (He declared) men to be spiritually dead in trespasses and sins (Gen.2:17). Mankind has no means to see and understand the thoughts of God apart from a sovereign and divine miracle of God. The nature of man must be made holy first (Jn.3:7). If God is able to open the mouth of a donkey, He can surely open the eyes of a spiritually dead man to behold the wondrous love of God (Num.22:28).

It is upon this truth that the emphatic ‘holy ones’ epestrepsan (turned) to God. We need to take mental note that only the holy ones, who saw the miracle in Aeneas, turned (from) the praise that was in Aeneas, and turned (to) the external praise that was in the Lord. This was not a trust in the work of Peter, but a full and complete trust in the work of God. Therefore the saints’ repentance was a renewal of what the Lord had already begun in them through the first workings of the Word. The saints were tired and weary from the waves of persecution and may have begun to give way to the temptation to turn away from their first love; but the miracle expressed God’s relentless pursuit of His love for them as His bride, and they once again turned to Him (Rev.2:4).

Have you turned to the Lord? Maybe this is your first time hearing of the love of God and need to turn to Him for the first time, or maybe you have been a believer for several years and have been beaten down by the hardships of life and are in need of a renewal of your repentance and pursuit of the holiness that is in God? In either circumstance, you have a Lord and a Savior, who humbled himself to die the death of a dead dog, to give you the holiness and purity that exalts you and lifts you up to God (Ecc.9:4; 2Sam.9:8). Do you believe this (Jn.6:53-54; 11:25; 17:3)? Truly, indeed, God has brought down the gate called Beautiful, where in the name of Christ, Peter first called the paralytic to walk, unto the plains of Sharon to reenact the same miracle (Acts3:2), and call us all again to rise up and walk in the love of God.