Acts 9: Walking Around By Faith To Fulfill the Great Commission
Luke records in Acts Chapter 9, verse 32 that Peter went here and there. He was walking around the land, having left the cradle of Jerusalem. That should sound familiar to us because it is reflective of the life of faith God built in Abraham. In Genesis 13:17, God commands Abraham to, “Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.” As you know, Abraham did a lot of walking around, and yet never received the land., nor did he really ever know where he was going. See Hebrews 11:8 (“By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”). The promise remained open.
Fast forward to Simon Peter, he is walking around, in the length and breadth of the land. What is the land at this juncture. It’s quite expansive geographically: from Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria, to the ends of the earth. But that phraseology should alert us to a transcendence in the promise to Abraham through Christ Jesus; we have become the land, if you will.
In eternity, the Father said to the Son, Ask of Me and I will give you the nations as an inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. Psalm 2:8. He did ask; that is reflected in John 17:20-26. But we also know He received: Here I am, and the children God has given me. Daniel 7:13-14 is a good reference as well.
We are the land, promised from Father to Son. The promised land to Israel was representative of a much greater fulfillment in Christ Jesus in the covenant in His blood. So, when Christ having made a greater offering than Isaac or the provisional ram, He was able to say with all authority: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you . . . . Matthew 28:19-20.
While Simon Peter, and the rest, would not “Go” beyond Jerusalem, much less to all nations, until Stephen’s death dislodged them, marvelous things will happen when they do. As we will see, very interesting things will happen when they “go, make, baptize, teach all nations” starting here in Chapters 9 and 10 with Aeneas, Tabitha/Dorcas, and Cornelius.
That makes complete sense whether we look at Abraham’s life of faith or consider the life of faith, and fruitfulness, Jesus commanded his disciples to walk in. A fruitful life of faith must commence with His command (which He has already given) and our response to “go, make, baptize, teach all nations.” But while we may have the principle, and may endeavor to apply it to our lives, we will likely have to do a lot of walking around with very little idea where we are actually going. Even so, we should expect to find Aeneas when we do, to His glory, and the liberty of someone who needed to know Jesus Christ lives.
