Acts 9: The Raising Up of Tabitha for Little Children

Tabitha had two names: Tabitha of course was one and Dorcas was the other. Her Jewish friends who spoke Hebrew knew her as Tabitha while her Greek-speaking friends called her Dorcas. Either way, both names meant the very same thing: a gazelle.

It may seem strange to us now to name someone after a gazelle. But gazelles were widely regarded back then as a symbol of beauty and grace. So her parents thought she would be lovely. And so she became.

Luke does not tell us what she looked like on the outside; but he does tell us how beautiful Tabitha was on the inside. She gave the silver and gold that was hers to others who had little; and she blessed others with the beautiful dresses she was quite skilled to make.

Tabitha did not make her beautiful dresses for the fashionable or the well-to-do. Only someone whose pockets were empty, and only someone whose clothes were tired and worn out, would receive the lovely dresses Tabitha could make.

You could not earn one of her dresses; you could not buy them. To get one of her dresses, you had to have nothing to give Tabitha in return. Tabitha was like Jesus in that way. He has made for us the loveliest garment in all the world—a garment of righteousness. You cannot earn it, and you cannot buy it with your own money; but Jesus is a cheerful giver and gives such a garment to anyone who believes in Him.

Tabitha must have learned something about Jesus, and must have thought to herself, I would like to be like Him. And so she sewed, and so she gave.

One day, Tabitha fell ill. She could not get well. All her friends were afraid; they did not want her to go.

There are some people you will meet in your life that are so lovely that the world is a little less bright after they are gone. Tabitha was like that to her friends. So they were in despair when she died. Their hearts were broken.

Not all was lost however. They heard Peter was in Lydda and sent for him straightaway. Maybe he could help. Think about that for a minute. Tabitha was dead, and they had prepared her body for burial. But her friends must have at least entertained the possibility her death could be reversed. Love is stronger than death it seems; and they loved Tabitha.

When Peter came, they wept and wept and wept. They showed him all the beautiful dresses she had made, and told him about all the gifts she had given. She had been so kind, so thoughtful. She was beautiful, and now she was gone.

Peter needed to pray. Wouldn’t you? The grief around him was overwhelming. Tabitha’s body had been treated with care, but she was gone. A million thoughts could have flooded Peter’s mind. But he remembered one thing. A little girl had died a year or two before—and yet she lived. Jesus had healed her.

Peter could remember the shouts of grief, the wailing of a mother for her child. Jesus was resolute, however. His feet were always firmly planted where ever He went. He had encouraged the father to believe: death would not reign supreme. Little girl, get up, He said. And so she did. She opened her eyes, she sat up, and she leapt into the arms of her parents. Jesus reigned supreme that day.

What about Tabitha, Lord? Will death reign supreme today? Was that Peter’s prayer? Luke doesn’t tell us. Only believe, and she will be well. Is that what Peter heard in answer to his prayer. We don’t know, except this: Peter echoed the words of his Savior, and said, Tabitha, get up. And so she did.

Why Tabitha you might ask. There had to be plenty of good people in Lydda where Peter had just been or in Joppa where Tabitha lived who had died. But we are only told of Tabitha. Was it because of her alms? Was it because of the beautiful dresses she made? No. That’s not why.

Jesus wanted them to know that He had no gone for good. To be sure, He has ascended into the heavens. But His being alive meant the signs (pointing to who He is) and the wonders (that God so loved the world) had not ceased because Jesus was now out of their sight. He could be, and would be, very much present, by faith in His name; just as present as He had been in that little girl’s room in Capernaum. He was now present in Tabitha’s room as the resurrection and the life. Even though Peter could not see His face, faith in Jesus provided Peter with a clearer image of His Lord and Savior than his eyes had ever done when Jesus walked with him on the shores of Galilee.

As for Tabitha, who had been very beautiful in word and deed, she was now clothed with an even greater beauty. She would be, as long as the Word is read, a witness to the beauty of the resurrected Lord. How her heart was full; the Lord had given her life. The tears of her friends had been wiped away. And Peter knew Jesus Christ had not left him. What a glorious day! Each received new life; His life touched them all that day, and reminded them that death no longer reigns supreme. Jesus Christ does, and He will, with a promise of everlasting life to all those who believe. That is very lovely and very good news!