Acts 9:32-35

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.

Lydda (v.32) was on the direct route from Azotus to Caesarea (Acts 8:40). It was likely one of Philip’s stops after meeting the eunuch.

Lydda was called “Lod” in the Old Testament (1 Chronicles 8:12; Ezra 2:33; Nehemiah 7:37; 11:35), and still bears the name “Ludd.” It is situated in the fertile plain of Sharon, about ten or twelve miles southeast of Joppa on the way to Jerusalem. In the old times, the great caravan route from Babylon to Egypt passed through it. At the time of Peter’s visit, it was still a town of considerable importance. — Walker, page 221.

Aeneas (v.33) = praise — a Greek name. He was probably a Hellenistic Jew.

bed (v.34) — pallet, a poor man’s bed

make your bed (v.34) — said as an imperative — a sign of complete recover. “Do for yourself what others have been doing for you for eight years.”

Sharon (v.35) — It has the definite article with it, indicating the well-known fertile plain of that name (Isaiah 35:2) extending from Joppa to Mt. Carmel, between the central mountains of Palestine and the Mediterranean Sea. — Walker, page 222.

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As we have seen, God began to do something new with the conversion of Saul. But He would teach us at the outset that this does not mean that the old program was immediately to disappear. Though the secret crisis in Israel had passed with the stoning of Stephen, God would not leave the nation with any excuse for rejecting Christ. He would continue to work with His people. He would provoke them to jealousy by the conversion of the Gentiles (Romans 11:11). He would continue to prove, through Paul as well as the other apostles, that Jesus was the Christ (Acts 9:22; 18:28). He would stretch out His hands all day long to a disobedient and gainsaying people (Romans 10:21). The new program would only gradually displace the old. This is one reason why God now introduces Peter again, in the healing of Aeneas, the raising of Dorcas and the conversion of Cornelius. — Stam, pages 65-66.

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