Aeneas Healed and Dorcas Raised (Acts 9:32-43)
As Peter travels through the region visiting the believers, he comes to the town of Lydda. There he finds a man named Aeneas, who has been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years. Eight years of lying still, of needing help with everything, of watching life happen around him. Peter stands over him and says: "Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat." And immediately, Aeneas gets up. All the residents of Lydda and the surrounding plain see him walking around. Many of them turn to the Lord.
In the nearby coastal city of Joppa, there is a disciple named Tabitha, also called Dorcas. She is a woman full of good works and generosity. She makes robes and other clothing for the widows around her. She cares for the poor with her own hands. But while Peter is still in Lydda, Dorcas becomes ill and dies. The believers in Joppa wash her body and lay her in an upper room. They hear that Peter is nearby and send two men to him with an urgent message: "Please come to us without delay."
Peter goes with them immediately. When he arrives, they lead him upstairs to the upper room. All the widows are standing there weeping, holding up the tunics and cloaks that Dorcas had made for them. These are the works of her hands. Peter sends everyone out of the room. He kneels down alone beside her body and prays. Then he turns to the body and says: "Tabitha, arise." She opens her eyes. She sees Peter. She sits up. Peter takes her by the hand and helps her stand. He calls in the believers and the widows and presents her to them alive.
The news spreads throughout all of Joppa. Many people believe in the Lord. Peter stays in Joppa for many days, in the home of a leather worker named Simon. And the work goes on.
A Curious Question
When the believers in Joppa showed Peter the garments Dorcas had made, they were not showing him a resume. They were showing him a life. What do you think it would feel like to have the things you made with your hands shown to someone as proof of who you were? What do the things you do every day say about who you are?
Old Testament Connection
Peter's raising of Dorcas echoes two of the most dramatic moments in all of Israel's history. The prophet Elijah raised a widow's son in Zarephath: he went into the room, prayed over the child, and the child came back to life. The prophet Elisha did the same thing for the son of a woman in Shunem: he went in alone, closed the door, prayed, and the child opened his eyes. Think of those stories like two footprints in the snow. Peter's story is a third footprint landing in exactly the same place. But here is the deepest connection: Jesus Himself had raised the daughter of Jairus, going into the room alone and saying, "Talitha, arise." Peter says, "Tabitha, arise." Those names sound almost identical in Aramaic. Luke recorded it on purpose. Jesus was still doing what Jesus does, now through His Spirit-filled apostle.
Discussion Questions
- The text describes Dorcas as someone "full of good works and acts of charity." It then shows the widows holding up the garments she made as evidence of who she was. What kind of evidence would people have of your life if they looked at what you do with your time and hands?
- Peter sent everyone out of the room before he prayed for Dorcas. Elijah and Elisha did the same thing. Why do you think these men of God chose to be alone when they asked God for something this big?
- The healings of Aeneas and Dorcas both caused people to turn to the Lord. The miracles pointed beyond themselves. What is the point of a miracle in the book of Acts? Is it just to help the person who is healed?
"So What?" What Can I Do?
Dorcas was remembered for the specific, tangible things she made for people who needed them. Her love was practical. This week, make or do one specific, physical thing for someone who could use help. Not a general offer to help, but one actual thing: bake something, write a note by hand, fold someone else's laundry, carry something heavy for someone. Do it quietly, without telling a lot of people about it. Then notice how it feels to serve someone the way Dorcas did.
Memorize God's Word
Acts 9:40: "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."
Hand Motions:
- Peter put them all outside: Sweep both arms outward from center, as if gently clearing a room.
- and knelt down and prayed: Slowly lower yourself or press both hands together and bow your head.
- and turning to the body he said: Slowly rotate your upper body to one side, then point.
- Tabitha, arise: Start with both hands low and raise them upward, palms up.
- And she opened her eyes: Place your hands over your eyes, then open them wide and look up.
- and when she saw Peter she sat up: Mime rising from lying down, propping yourself up on one hand.
Praying with Kids
Lord Jesus, thank You for Dorcas, who showed us that faithful service is never wasted and that You notice every act of love done in Your name. Thank You that You are still the one who heals and restores, and that You work through ordinary people who are willing to pray and to serve. Help us to be people who are remembered for what we gave, not what we kept. In Your name, Amen.
Craft: A Garment of Good Works
Children decorate a small felt tunic and write three specific acts of service they will do this week, just as Dorcas served the widows with her own hands.
Materials Checklist
Instructions
- Give each child a pre-cut felt tunic shape, roughly the size of an index card or slightly larger.
- On the tunic, have each child write three specific acts of service they can do this week. Not "be kind," but concrete actions: "set the table without being asked," "help my sibling with homework," "write Grandma a note."
- Decorate the edges of the tunic with yarn or marker patterns.
- Attach the printed strip of Acts 9:36 at the bottom of the tunic.
- Use the safety pin to attach the tunic to the child's shirt for the rest of class as a wearable reminder.
- Take it home and pin it somewhere visible as a reminder of the three commitments.
Effective Teaching Techniques
Open the Dorcas section of the lesson with a moment of show-and-tell. Bring in something handmade: a knitted item, a sewn pouch, a woven bracelet. Hold it up and say: "Someone made this with their hands. When I see this, I think of that person. Dorcas made things like this, and when she died, the widows showed Peter everything she had made. Her service was so specific and so faithful that people held it up as evidence of who she was." That physical object will anchor the lesson throughout the class period.
When you read the words "Tabitha, arise," pause and say quietly: "Does that sound familiar?" If children have heard the story of Jairus's daughter, they may recognize the similarity to "Talitha cumi." If not, tell them directly. Jesus said, "Little girl, arise." Peter said, "Tabitha, arise." Luke wrote both accounts. He wanted us to notice. The most likely difficult question is about whether Peter had a special power that we do not. Tell children honestly: Peter's power came entirely from prayer and the Holy Spirit, not from himself. He could not raise anyone on his own. What we share with Peter is the same access to prayer and the same Spirit. That does not mean we will raise the dead, but it does mean that when we pray, we are asking the same God who answered Peter.