S149P5 – Stories of life and death: Dorcas
Acts 9:39-42
So Peter rose and went with [the men sent to retrieve him]. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.
The difference between a message and a messenger can go overlooked in many circumstances. When we interact with those who have some authority in an official capacity, this can be the case. A magistrate might grant your request for leniency in some way, and that decision might be given to you by a clerk of that court. Upon receipt of that favorable decision, you will be happy and grateful, but the object of your appreciation is not necessarily the individual who relayed to you this decision. The object of your appreciation is the authority who decided in your favor. You might thank the clerk for handing you that order, but you thank the judge for entering it.
We spoke of how the resurrection of Lazarus served to give the disciples confirmation of and confidence in Christ’s power over death. After his own resurrection, Jesus proclaimed that He had received all authority in heaven and on the Earth. [Mt. 28:18] His authority was clear by the fact that He himself had been resurrected when He made this claim. This authority operates through those He left behind to represent him and his kingdom. What we see Peter doing here is exercising that authority, but Peter was just a messenger. Peter had no power or authority of his own over death even though his prayer resulted in this resurrection. Just like the resurrection of Lazarus, the resurrection here happened so that some might believe in the Lord.
We must take notice of the fact that those who either witnessed or heard about this resurrection came to a belief in the Lord as a result. They did not follow Peter because he had some special powers. They did not worship him as if he made this happen. Although Peter certainly would have been blessed to play this role in this miracle, any believer could have filled those shoes. Jesus was showing people through Peter that He is as alive as He was when He physically walked the Earth. Likewise, the power He exhibited then still exists now in us. Father, give us faith like Peter to ask You to move through us in all the authority we have through Christ and that this would bring others to believe in him.