Written by Scott Fiddler
The Word
32 Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. 34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. 35 And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
. . . .
39 So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. 40 But 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. 41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive.
-Acts 9:32-35; 39–41
Reflection
Peter told Aeneas, “Rise and make your bed.” Why didn’t he say, “Stand up and give glory to God”? That seemed odd until I realized it also sounded familiar. When Jesus healed the paralytic in Capernaum, He said, “Rise, pick up your bed, and go home” (Mark 2:11). And when Jesus healed the man who had been paralyzed thirty-eight years, He said, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk” (John 5:8).
Something similar happens with Peter raising Tabitha from the dead. It should sound familiar too. You may recall Jesus raising Jairus’s daughter from the dead. When Jesus got to the room where the girl lay dead, people were mourning. Jesus put them out of the room. He then took her by the hand and said, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.”
When Peter arrived where Tabitha lay dead, people were weeping and mourning. Peter made them all leave the room. Peter prayed. Then he turned to her lifeless body and said, “Tabitha, arise.” He gave her his hand and raised her up.
Peter hadn’t figured out how to do this on his own. And the gospels don’t record Jesus ever giving the disciples a step-by-step on how to heal the sick or raise the dead. But Peter had followed Jesus for three years. Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead, and ministered to people. Peter watched, and he learned. This is discipleship.
Discipleship is not just telling; it is showing. So much more is conveyed by showing than telling. Non-Christians have figured this out too. The famous Stoic, Lucius Annaeus Seneca (c. 4 BC–AD 65), said, “…the road is long if one proceeds by way of precepts but short and effectual if by way of personal example.” The Apostle Paul said it like this, “The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things” (Philippians 4:9).
When I was in law school, I was discipled by my pastor, Dennis Darville. He would let me sit in when he ministered to people I brought to church, and I would watch how he did it. He would take me to the golf course or the driving range, and I would watch how he struck up conversations with strangers and shared the gospel. And I learned.
Something else happened as well—an impartation. When people interact in a discipleship relationship, something of the discipler is imparted to the disciple. I think it is why we always remember those who have discipled us—they left us with something far more personal than just information.
Application
The world recognizes something of discipleship in mentorship and life coaching. But too often mentorship and life coaching consist almost entirely of talking and teaching. There is still value in them, but what is lost is the showing. And perhaps more importantly, the imparting.
That is what we get from following another as they follow Jesus. I think this is what Paul was getting at when he said, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). We don’t just have the same information our discipler has; something of what Jesus has formed in them is formed in us.
If information exchange alone had been enough, Jesus could have just held a seminar. Instead He said, “Follow Me.” Discipleship is the model, and discipleship is showing, telling, and imparting.
So, here are the questions: Who is discipling you? Who are you discipling?
Prayer
Lord, help me find the person You want to disciple me and help the people You want me to disciple to find me. Amen.
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