Chapter V. Apostle Peter: The Healings in the Streets
“Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and
make your bed” (Acts 9:34).
“Then
fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the
apostles” (Acts 2:43).
The apostles received their ability to perform miracles and
signs from the Lord Himself during the time of Christ’s preaching in Judea. When the Twelve Apostles were chosen, the Lord sent them to preach and spread the Holy Gospel. Before they went with their own mission, He said to them: “Heal the sick, cleanse
the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely
give” (Matthew 10:8). That grace accompanied the apostles during
the whole time of Christ's saving ministry on earth. After the descent of the
Holy Spirit, as John the Theologian, the favorite disciple of Christ said, the
apostles got the “grace for grace” (John
1:16).
So, according to Apostle Luke, many people came to
Jerusalem from the nearest cities, bringing the sick people and the people possesed by dark spirits. Many of them were brought into the streets right
on their beds so that “at least the
shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them” (Acts 5:15). All
those people were got healing from their diseases. Once, when Apostles Peter and John were heading to the
Temple, they met a beggar who sat by the gates of the Temple. Peter called the
Holy Name of Jesus Christ and healed the man, so he “leaping up, stood and
walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God”
(Acts 3:8).
Apostle Peter, while he was visiting his brothers and
sisters in Christ in different areas, came to Lydda, where he healed Aeneas, who could not stand
up from his bed for 8 years.
Tabitha, one of the Christ’s followers who helped
people in need and gave alms, got sick and died in the city of Joppa,
which is located not far from Lydda. When other disciples knew that Peter was
in Lydda at that time, they asked him to come. Peter came to Joppa and was brought
to the chamber where the dead girl was lying. There he saw many people crying
above her body. He ordered them all to leave the place 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” (Acts
9:40). After that the whole city learnt about that miracle and many people turned
to the Lord through it.
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| Apostle Peter heals the sick man with his shadow |
The Book of Acts does not describe all the journeys
and miracles performed by Apostle Peter. However, we know from the ancient stories that he
visited many different cities and countries, where he preached, established Christian
communities and brought people to life. Particularly, there are such well-known
facts as the resurrection of the dead man in Ankira of Galatia as well as the
establishment of the God’s Church there and the ordination of a bishop. We
learn about this from the works of St. Simeon the Metaphrast, an Orthodox saint
who lived in the 10th century. By the order of the emperor, St. Simeon translated several hundreds of life stories and made a compilation
of them.
We should point out that the holy apostles and all the
other saints after them performed miracles not just by their own will, but
calling the Name of God – they asked the Lord to perform the miracle in their
prayers. Seeing their strong and pure faith, the Lord performed miracles through
his loyal disciples. Even our Lord Jesus Christ often performed miracles by the
faith of other people. On the other hand, sometimes He did not – just because there
was no faith in them: “Now He could do no
mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and
healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief” (Mark 6:5-6).
It is important that we remember about this. We can ask God
for something only with our living faith and love towards him, for the Lord
performs miracles not just to reveal His power to the world and amaze people
with it. God’s miracles are always addressed to our hearts and our souls in
order to awake people from their sinful sleep, to turn them to the path of life
and take them off the path of death. This is why the greatest miracles of God are the miracle of repentance, the miracle of conversion and the miracle of love
towards God and your close ones. “Though
I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge,
and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not
love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2).
What St.
John Chrysostom says in his works:
"They did not perform all their miracles with the same
ease. But this was profitable for them: for truly God took thought not only for
the salvation of others, but for their own. He that liealed so many by his very
shadow, how is it that he now has to do so much first? There are cases also in
which the faith of the applicants cooperated. This is the first dead person
that he raises. Observe how he, as it were, awakes her out of sleep: first she
opened her eyes: then upon seeing (Peter) she sat up: then from his hand she
received strength. And it teas known throughout all Joppa and many believed in
the Lord. Mark the gain, mark the fruit, that it was not for display. For where
tears are — or rather, where miracles are, there tears ought not to be; not where
such a mystery is celebrating. Hear, I beseech you: although somewhat of the
like kind does not take place now, yet in the case of our dead likewise, a
great mystery is celebrating. Say, if as you sit together, the Emperor were to
send and invite some one of us to the palace, would it be right, I ask, to weep
and mourn? Angels are present, commissioned from heaven and come from thence,
sent from the King Himself to call their fellow servant, and say, dost thou
weep r Knowest thou not what a mystery it is that is taking place, liow awful,
how dread and worthy indeed of hymns and lauds?"
Reflections
in the Holy Church tradition:
Let us praise as champions of all the world, those leaders, Peter and Paul: the disciples
of Christ, and founders of the Church, true foundations, pillars and trumpets
of inspiration, sounding forth the teachings and sufferings of Christ! They
indeed went out into all the earth as husbandmen spreading the seed of the faith,
planting for all mankind divine understanding, revealing the Word of the
Trinity. O Peter, rock and foundation, and Paul, the chosen vessel: you were
Christ's yoke of oxen, drawing all to the knowledge of God: the Gentiles, men
of the cities and islands. You brought the Hebrews back again to Christ, and
now you both intercede that our souls may be saved. (The sticheron on the
Litya, Tone 2)
To be
continued…
