Tabitha, arise

 

Tabitha, arise

 

Acts 9:40-42 『But Peter put them all out, knelt down and prayed(Proseussato). And turning to the body he said, 'Tabitha, arise(Anasteti).' She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. Then he 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.』

Peter went from Lydda to Joppa, which was nearby. The reason Peter went to Joppa was to raise Tabitha from the dead. Tabitha was a woman who had done many good deeds and charity. When Tabitha died, those who mourned her showed Peter the tunic and outer garments she had made while she was alive. It is said that when Peter came to Joppa, he told Tabitha to get up, and she sat up.

Proseusato (προσηύξατο) means to pray, to entreat. Peter did not go to raise the dead, but because Tabitha died and many people gathered around her and mourned, Peter immediately prayed to Jesus. Peter was talking to Ho Logos, who was present in his soul, through prayer. That is why 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 to be around.

Anastheti (ἀνάστηθι) means to raise up, to raise. It has the meaning of a dead body being raised, but it also has the meaning of rising from the spiritual dead. She came back to life and received resurrection life.

Previously, Jesus raised three people from the dead: Lazarus, the daughter of Jairus, the synagogue leader, and the son of the widow of Nain. These people were brought back to life, but they did not receive resurrection life because it was before Jesus died on the cross.

We must receive resurrection life while our bodies are alive. Tabitha was a person who was zealous for good deeds and charity, but it is possible that she did not know about resurrection life. Today, believers in the church community are also zealous for good deeds and charity, but if they do not have resurrection life, they are living a vain life of faith. This is because they believe in resurrection after the body dies. However, they must believe in resurrection life while their bodies are alive.

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 had faith, she may not have been a fervent believer. Also, Tabitha of Joppa was a person who was zealous for good deeds and charity, whereas Aeneas of Lydda is not introduced as such. Those who experienced the history of healing through Peter knew that the basis of that healing was not in themselves.

The basis of healing was only through the grace of Jesus Christ, not through the good deeds or faith of man. 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 a history of increasing the number of believers in the Lord.

The history of believing and returning is believing in the resurrection life and returning to God. It is not a concept of believing in God simply by witnessing the amazing sight of a dead body coming back to life, seeing that God's power has come, but believing that the resurrection life has entered through the amazing history of God.

Comparing the relationship between a person before being born again and one who is born again, it is like being raised from the spiritually dead, the old person dying and the new person appearing, the old temple in the soul being destroyed and a new temple being built, one was the master of the temple in the soul, but Jesus becomes the master, the physical body dies and is resurrected as a spiritual body, having a limited life but gaining eternal resurrection life.

In Genesis 2:7, "Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living soul (nephesh chaya)." Nephesh chaya means living life.

The Revised Version translates it as a living soul, which causes misunderstandings that it means spirit. Also, the King James Version translates it as soul, and the Authorized Version translates it as hon, which brings up the same meaning as the native belief that a soul dwells after a person dies. Therefore, nephesh hayah should be translated as life. This life is a limited life because it came from the earth. It became a living life when God breathed life into it, but it is a life that must die someday. However, the resurrection life that Jesus gives becomes eternal life.

When we receive the resurrection life, the fleshly body that comes from the flesh dies and we are clothed in the eternal spiritual body. The fleshly body is a body of sin, a vessel that contains sin, like clothing. Those who are in Christ take off the old and put on new clothing (the clothing of Christ). Romans 6:6 says, “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.”

The old man symbolizes Christ as the first man, and the new man symbolizes the last man, the resurrected Christ. God made the first man a body of sin and passed that body of sin on to the next generation. That is why the body of sin is passed on to the next generation. Jesus is the first man, but he also plays the role of the last man. When Jesus is crucified, the old man is crucified, and so the body of sin also dies. And the new man appears with the life of resurrection. Jesus gives the life of resurrection to those who are crucified with him.

The first man and the last man, Adam, are Christ, who has a temple built in their hearts. The temple is Christ. This temple is also passed on to the next generation. However, at some point in the next generation, the temple becomes the old temple. Christ, who is in the image of God, should be the master, but he himself became the master. That is why Jesus said that the old temple must be destroyed. This is the parable of the vineyard where the owner built a vineyard, rented it out to farmers, and left.