Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you

 

Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you

 

Acts 9:33-35 『There they found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years, paralyzed. Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you." Immediately he got up, and all who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.』

Paralyze, translated as paralysis, has the meaning of stretching sideways, weakness, paralysis, etc. The scene where Jesus heals a paralytic is introduced in Mark 2:3-12, where Jesus says to the patient, "When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven you. '"

In Luke 5:21, “The scribes and the Pharisees were thinking, ‘Who is this who blasphemes? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’” Jesus said to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven.” We can see that paralysis and sin are related.

A paralytic is someone who cannot move on their own, and cannot move unless someone else helps them. The spiritual meaning of a paralytic is also someone who cannot enter the kingdom of God unless Jesus Christ helps them.

The Bible says that Aeneas had been bedridden for eight years with paralysis. If believers only think of the long period of suffering for eight years, they may miss the spiritual meaning. The arm symbolizes a new creation. It implies that a person who was spiritually dead is spiritually alive.

『Jesus Christ heals you (Iatai ἰᾶταί)』Iatai (basic form: Iasatai) means to heal, to make whole, and in Luke 4:18 it says, 『The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.』 Here, the phrase “healing the brokenhearted (ιασασθαι τους συντετριμμενους την καρδιαν)” is missing from the Netsle-Aland Bible.

The fact that Jesus heals has a spiritual meaning behind the fact that he healed an eight-year-old leper. The Holy Spirit comes and tells the poor in spirit what the gospel of heaven is, sets those who are caught in sin free, lets those who cannot see the kingdom of God spiritually see the kingdom of God, and restores those who are spiritually dead and have destroyed their spiritual heart.

『Rise (anastēdi ἀνάστηθι) and make your mat (Strawson)』 It is used in Matthew 9:9, 『As Jesus passed by from that place, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he rose and followed him.』 The word “rise” does not mean to rise from a physical sitting position, but rather to rise from the spiritually dead to heavenly life. Resurrection (anastēsiἀναστάσει)) means to regain heavenly life from a state of spiritual death.

The word “strobson” (στρῶσον) means to spread, to spread. In Matthew 21:7-8, it says, “They brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. Most of the people spread (stronuo) their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.” And in Luke 22:11-12, it says, “Tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ And he will show you a large upper room prepared (stronuo); make preparations there.” Straboson means to prepare to receive the gospel. It means to be among the spiritually dead, but now hear the gospel and rise from the spiritually dead.

"All the people living in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord (Ephestrems ἐπέστρεψαν). Ephestrems means to return, to turn back. The same word is used in Luke 1:16. "Many of the children of Israel will turn to the Lord their God."

For Aeneas, who was lying in bed, and his family who had to take care of him, the eight years must have been an unspeakable time of suffering. The moment Peter saw Aeneas in Lydda, he preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to Aeneas. Peter told Aeneas to get up, for Jesus Christ heals you. And immediately after, he told him to get up and make his bed. The Lord made Peter do this in an instant, and the Holy Spirit worked.

When the Lord healed Aeneas of his paralysis, He told him to clean up his place. Cleaning up Aeneas’ place in life meant healing Aeneas’ physical illness and being reborn as a spiritual body at the same time. Along with the healing of the physical illness, there must be a spiritual rebirth. If the physical illness is healed, but the spiritual aspect is still the same as when he was lying paralyzed, then the healing of the physical illness cannot be a true healing. Perhaps a bigger problem than the physical illness is that the spirit must come alive.

Peter healed the paralytic Aeneas in Lydda and went to nearby Joppa. The reason Peter went to Joppa was to raise Tabitha from the dead. Tabitha was a disciple who was very good and generous. Those who mourned her death showed Peter the tunic and outer garments that she had made while she was alive.

Acts 9:40-42, “But Peter put them all out and knelt down and prayed (proseusesato). Then turning to the body he said, ‘Tabitha, arise (anasteti)!’ She opened her eyes; and when she saw Peter she sat up. But Peter gave her his hand and lifted her up. Then he called the saints and widows and presented her alive to them. This became known to all the people of Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.”

Proseusato (προσηύξατο) is grammatically a middle dipote. In the situation where Tabitha died, many people gathered around her and mourned, so Peter prayed to the Lord. Peter was talking to the Ho Logos who was present in his soul through prayer. Therefore, Peter heard the voice of the Lord and raised the dead. He sent everyone else out for the prayer of proseus. Since the prayer of proseus is a prayer of the most holy place in the soul, there is no need for people around.

『And he said to the body, 'Tabitha, arise (anastedi ἀνάστηθι)' (eipen).' Anastedi (ἀνάστηθι), eipen (εἶπεν) is the aorist tense. It means speaking in the power of the Holy Spirit in the moment. Anastedi is the same word that Peter used when he healed Aeneas the leper. It means rising from the spiritually dead to heavenly life.

Peter healed Aeneas of Lydda and revived Tabitha of Joppa. Aeneas of Lydda was different from Tabitha of Joppa in many ways. First, Tabitha of Joppa is introduced as a female disciple, whereas Aeneas of Lydda is not introduced. She may not have faith, or even if she does have faith, she may not be a fervent believer. Also, Tabitha of Joppa was a person who was zealous in good deeds and charity, whereas Aeneas of Lydda is not introduced as such.

Regarding "people who showed healing through Peter," the basis of their healing was solely through the grace of Jesus Christ, not through the good deeds or faith of people. The Bible reveals what kind of results there were through Aeneas of Lydda and Tabitha of Joppa. It says that all the people of Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord, and all the people of Joppa knew about him and many believed in the Lord. The Bible records that the Lord was with them wherever there was a history of turning to the Lord and an increase in the number of believers in the Lord.