Christ Shifts the Mentality of the Weak

Acts 9:26-43

God’s in the business of transforming minds and lives. He’s in the business of maturing his church - to shift us from cultural, superstitious, and umbilical ways of thinking to a biblical, liberating, and loving mindset. The disciples wouldn’t believe that Jesus would die. No, he just love to punish his enemies! But Jesus does to show mercy to his enemies. They thought the Samaritans had to be destroyed. But Jesus saved them through the preaching of Philip. He frequently and purposely healed on the Sabbath to show God’s love and destabilize unbiblical thinking.

Christ did the same in the early church. The disciples had their mind blown experience - Saul, the persecutor of Christians, now prayed to Christ and preached Christ! But Christ was not done blowing minds. The gospel would soon be preached to the Gentiles. Saul would be the apostle to the Gentiles. But Christ had to prepare the ground. The church would not be ready otherwise. Nicodemus was certainly not ready - for God so loves the world? Really? They needed a massive attitude shift - a mentality overhaul. They were still immature. But Christ is in the business of saving sinners and maturing weak believers.

In this passage, we see 3 works that God does to mature his people. Firstly, God gives weak men the love to accept the unclean. Secondly, God prepares weak churches with necessary strengthening. Thirdly, God pushes the weak to prepare them.

Firstly, God gives weak men the love to accept the unclean. This was the love that was shown to Saul in Damascus. He was once a self-righteous man who went after Christians. He was converted and became a Christian. And they recognized it and received him as a brother, even risking their lives to help him escape. That was radical love. In verse 26, we see that he traveled to Jerusalem. But the reception he received in Jerusalem was not the same warm reception he received in Damascus. He tried to join the disciples there, but they were afraid of him and didn’t believe him in their weakness. There had to be a massive attitude change. But these disciples were the apostles! This tells us that leaders can still be weak. If you remember, everyone else had fled. So where the ordinary disciples - not officers - like Ananias received him, these apostolic disciples would not receive him. Now, this was understandable - but it also tells us that officers of the church are still a work in progress. They were still weak and had to mature. To them, he was not to be trusted even though he preached Christ. He was not kosher. He hurt the church greatly. They were afraid and didn’t believe him. This could be some ruse to infiltrate and destroy the church from within. But Saul received love from a non apostle. Verse 27 - “But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles.” It’s not surprising who showed this love. The one who helped Saul the unclean, putting aside his terrible past, was Barnabas. The phrase “but Barnabas” shows a contrast. The apostles were afraid and disbelieved him, BUT Barnabas! This means he was not afraid and believed him. This was the same man, who sold all he had to give to the church. He was called Joseph then, but now his nickname became his forever name. When everyone was doubting Saul, he stood up for him. He took him to the apostles and told them he was preaching in the name of Jesus - that he was completely changed. He declared - meaning he testified and advocated. Many people are willing to believe a bad report. They will gossip and hear and hold in their heart. Thinking ill for religious reasons seems to be very en vogue. It seems spiritual. But it’s not. And Barnabas overlooked Saul’s past and weakness to receive him. It was because Barnabas was mature.

And because of what he did, Saul stayed with the apostles and moved freely in Jerusalem, verses 28-29. Christ worked maturity in these former enemies. He grew the leaders up. Saul stayed with the apostles. The apostles who were afraid of him, received him, and gave him shelter. And we see an amazing contrast. He debated with the Grecians - the Greek speaking Jews - his old posse - his friends from his old synagogue. These were the ones that once supported him. But now they tried to kill him. And we see again, how Christ has worked. He matured the apostles. When Saul’s brethren - the apostles, in verse 30 - knew that his old friends wanted to slay him, they brought him down to Caesarea so he could take a ship back to his home town Tarsus. They may have brought him to Philip the deacon who was stationed there. Philip would’ve served him - arranging Saul’s escape. God gives weak men the love to receive those whom others would call unclean. And what happened after that was amazing. This section ends with verse 31. The churches of Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had rest. They were built up. They feared the Lord. They were comforted by the Holy Spirit. They grew in number. God was maturing the church. It started in Jerusalem with the apostles maturing. He was preparing the church for something. Notice the words carefully. The churches in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria. The gospel was conquering geographically. Like what Jesus said - “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” But the gospel was also conquering mindsets. Judea was the stronghold of the Pharisees and religious Jews. Galilee had the less religious Jews and had many Gentiles. Samaria comprised of half-Jews. So now, they were being built up and growing. The next stop was the uttermost parts of the earth.

And God had to prepare these churches for that. He had to do it progressively. He started with getting the apostles to mature and receive Saul the once unclean and hated. Here, he was going to prepare the church. That’s the second point - God prepares weak churches by demonstrating his power. Verse 32 says, “And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda.” Christ sent Peter to visit the young churches. He visited Lydda and Joppa and other places - all quarters it says. Why? Young churches need strengthening. Peter was sent to help these Christians who were either converted in Jerusalem or by Philip who traveled the coasts. Joppa was on the coast and Lydda was near the coast. They were young churches with new Christians and new Christians need to be taught - that they not be tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine. There could’ve been false doctrine, legalism, overly tender consciences, or worldly ways of doing things. We don’t know exactly what these churches were facing, but they needed pastoral care. But we see it was also to prepare the apostles and the young church for what would come next.

God demonstrated his power to make whole. In verse 33, we see what happened when Peter went to strengthen the saints - “And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy.” He found a man in Lydda among the saints named Aeneas. Aeneas was paralyzed for 8 years and bed-ridden. He wasn’t paralyzed from birth - which means he knew a different life. He was able bodied, but now, he dependent on others. And Peter healed him in the name of Christ. In verse 34, Peter told him that Jesus Christ makes him whole. And then gave 2 commands - rise up and make your bed. Before he couldn’t do either, now he could do both. Jesus had made him whole. And this reminds us of what Christ did in Luke 5 and John 5 respectively. There was the paralytic who was lowered through the roof. After healing him, Jesus said - “Arise, and take up your couch, and go home.” Then there was the lame man at the pool of Bethesda. Jesus asked him “Wilt thou be made whole?” And after healing him on the Sabbath day, Jesus said, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” Same with Aeneas. He was made whole. As a result, all that dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw and turned to Christ, verse 35. Aeneas became a walking testimony. You see, this miracle was not just random display. It illustrated Christ’s power. Aeneas was weak and sick. But Christ changed him. And if he changed him, he could change anyone.

Meanwhile, in Joppa, a Christian lady named Tabitha died, verse 36. Here we see, Christ’s power over death and ceremonial uncleanness. She was a remarkable woman - full of good works and charity. She made clothes for the widows. But she fell sick and died in God’s providence. When she died, her body was washed ceremonially according to custom. But bizarrely, it was put upstairs. But according to Jewish tradition, she should’ve been buried the same day. To delay would risk ceremonial uncleanness. That’s what happens when you touch a dead body. But they kept the body? Why? It’s because they expected something to happen. Verse 38 tells us that that Lydda wasn’t far from Joppa. And they sent 2 men to get Peter. Lydda was 16 kilometers away from Joppa. So they sent for him to come without delay - not to conduct a funeral, but to do something else. Upon arriving, he was brought to the upper room where the widows were weeping. They told him what Tabitha had done for them. How wonderful she was - how she sewed clothes for them. They even showed him the garments she made - they could’ve been wearing them. So in verse 40, he told them to leave the room. He knelt down and prayed to Christ because it would be Christ who would heal. He turned to the body and said, Tabitha, arise. And she did. Christ healed her.

When Jesus was asked in Mark 5 by Jairus, chief of the synagogue to heal his daughter, Jesus went to her. She was already dead. But Christ could do anything. He said to her - Talitha cumi, which means “little girl arise.” Jesus also, through Peter calling, Tabitha cumi, healed this saint who had been dead. Jesus touched that dead girl - he was not made unclean. Peter prayed alongside this dead woman - he was not made unclean. And the result of the healing, in verses 40-41, was she opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up. He helped her up, and presented her to all these widows she had helped. She would continue in a life of usefulness. She’d care for God’s most vulnerable people. And when people knew she was alive, many in Joppa believed Christ, verse 42. Dearly beloved, what are we to make of these examples? They are not merely demonstrations of God’s power. This was to prepare the church. He showed that the hardcore nasty religious person can be saved, that judgmental apostles could shift in mindset, that a useless person could be made whole, that an unclean corpse could be made alive. He did this in the early church to prepare them for the time the Gentiles would be saved. He was changing mindsets.

That’s what we see thirdly. God pushes the weak to shift their perspectives. After Tabitha was healed, verse 43 says, “And it came to pass, that he tarried many days in Joppa with one Simon a tanner.” This is the last verse of the chapter. And while we may think it’s a strange way to end a chapter, it’s pregnant with meaning. After he completed his ministry to Tabitha, he didn’t stay with her. She was likely a rich Christian. She was a philanthropist - supplying clothes to widows. But Peter didn’t stay with her, but at the house of Simon the Tanner - for many days.

This was a preparatory moment for Peter. Saul had been a shock to his system. He was just in a room with a corpse. Now he was in a house for many days with a Tanner. A tanner was one who took the skins of animals and tanned them to make leather. He worked with dead animals and blood every day. This was ceremonially unclean work. So before Peter preached to the Gentiles, he had this preparatory moment. The Gentiles were different. There’d be a lot of resistance by the mostly Jewish church. The Gentiles ate differently, didn’t perform the ceremonial cleansing rituals, dressed differently, acted differently, and led lives with pagan morality, etc. They had no knowledge of Christian ways. Yes, the Ethiopian eunuch was a Gentile, but he was a god-fearer. The Samaritans were half-Gentiles who had knowledge of Scripture. But the Gentiles had none - drunkenness, fornication, gambling, divorce, cheating, etc. Peter had to shift in his mentality. Not to be a weaker brother. Not to be exclusive - because Christianity is inclusive - it includes everyone who repents and believes in Christ - not your brand of ceremonial cleanliness.

That’s why it was a preparatory moment. Simon the Tanner was Jewish - he had a Jewish name. He was likely a believer. As a tanner, he had to cure leather. To do this, he used ammonia - which was abundant in urine. That was used. And salt water also - which is why he lived in Joppa, by the seaside. So Peter stayed here for many days amidst the animal hides, blood, and urine.

Talitha was made alive after a few moments. Tabitha was made alive after a day. But Simon the Tanner dealt with days old death - the stench would’ve been incredible. Peter had to shift in his mentality. If he had any weakness or an unclean attitude to unclean people, he needed to be strengthened in knowledge and he needed to be cleansed.

The city he was in was also significant. Joppa was a place of mission. It was a port city - filled with Gentiles. We are reminded of Jonah who many years before was called to preach to the Ninevites. And he refused, and coming to this port city, he boarded a ship bound for Tarshish. He couldn’t bear to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. But could Simon, son of Jonah, bring the gospel to the Gentiles? Could he, if called by God, be willing to have his weakness strengthened, his weak mindset shifted? Would he be able to deal with not just blood, urine, and stench - but those who ate pork and shellfish? Could he love and minister to those who were covered with tattoos, those who listened to heavy metal music, were rabidly LGBT affirming, etc. Dearly beloved, Simon the tanner was not unclean. Simon the apostle needed to be cleansed. To minister to people, we must be changed in our mindset. People outside the church need to be made clean; people in the church need to change in their mindsets to them. Dearly beloved, what are some ways to apply this message?

Firstly, we’re all weak and in need of strengthening. We all want to honor the Lord Jesus Christ - we want to grow in holiness and desire the same for others. We want the gospel to be spread to others. But often, we are not holy in our mindset. That’s why Christ needs to shift us in our mentality. I heard once of a church that disciplined a member for adultery. A divorce occurred. When he was repentant, he returned to the church. Rightly, they examined his repentance and restored him. But he couldn’t sit in the worship hall now. He had to sit in the basement to worship. Was he clean or unclean? What Christ had made clean, was still unclean to them. We look at each other in church with the same eyes too - what Christ has made unclean, to many of us we can’t see them as clean. They’re still dirty. Could be the music they listen to, the way they may dress, the markings on their body, the way they use language - different from us. If Christ has made them whole, they are whole. There must be more Barnabases around.

Secondly, having been made clean, what kind of testimonies are we? When Saul was saved, he ministered. He would be an apostle to the Gentiles. Aeneas was made whole and many in Lydda and even Sharon turned to Christ. Tabitha rose up and many in Joppa heard and turned to Christ. We need one another. We need each other’s ministry. To love one another and serve one another. Years later, the Apostle Paul wrote about this, no doubt fueled by his own experience. 1 Corinthians 12:18-25 - “But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. But now are they many members, yet but one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.”