Acts 9:32-35
32As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda. 33There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years. 34“Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up. 35All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
During a time of relative peace for the church in the region, Peter was able to leave Jerusalem and spread the gospel in other areas. Lydda was a coastal city 25 miles from Jerusalem. As we will see in the next passage, Joppa was nearby, and Azotus, Gaza, and Sharon also were coastal cities that Peter probably visited on this trip, since verse 32 says that Peter traveled about the country, or as the NKJV puts it, he went through all parts of the country.
In Lydda, Peter found a man named Aeneas, who had been paralyzed for 8 years. We aren’t told whether Aeneas was a believer at that point. But if he wasn’t, he soon would be. Peter, like his master before him, healed the lame and told Aeneas, essentially, to “take up his mat and walk.” But Peter made clear who was doing the healing. When Peter healed the crippled beggar at the temple in 3:1-10 (blog), he healed in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Here Peter’s language is even more direct. He says, “Jesus Christ heals you.” Peter was always careful to give his Lord the credit. When accolades come our way, we must be careful to do the same.
As I’ve mentioned before in this blog, and as everyone knows, when someone is crippled, they don’t retain their muscle tone, especially when they’ve been bedridden for 8 years. Atrophy sets in. But when God heals someone, there is no need for months of physical rehabilitation. Aeneas got up immediately. God doesn’t do things halfway.
Another thing I keep saying in this blog is that the purpose of miracles is twofold; to glorify God, and to help people believe. Both things happened as a result of this healing. God was glorified, and the people of two towns turned to the Lord. God could have healed Aeneas long before this had he chosen to, and could have done it without Peter’s help. But he chose to use Peter to heal Aeneas at this particular time so that the maximum amount of people would be won to Christ. That’s why miracles happen.