5/5 Sermon - Tabitha, a disciple of Jesus

Acts 9:36-42

Do you know who Tabitha was? She was also called Dorcas. We read about her in Acts 9. Her name means “gazelle.” Gazelle were known for their grace, beauty, and elegance. We don’t talk about the women of the Bible enough. The Bible is full of so many stories of the faith and strength of women. Today, I want to talk about Tabitha, a disciple of Jesus.

Who was Tabitha? 36a In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha. She was a disciple. Boom, right there. It’s the first thing we’re told. Tabitha was a disciple of Jesus. It’s who she was. We will be returning to this again and again today, so keep this in mind: Tabitha, a disciple of Jesus.

What did Tabitha do? 36b She was always doing good and helping the poor. What a beautiful description! There is a picture that the Greek word has: She was full of good deeds, or rich in good deeds. Tabitha did so much good she was like a cup overfilling with water. Tabitha was rich! Not in money or property, but in good deeds. Wow. Is that how we count wealth? Not usually. But Tabitha did. She was rich in kindness. Why? She was a disciple of Jesus.

But then tragedy strikes. 37 About that time, she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. Why? Tabitha was a wonderful, loving, caring person. She was rich in helping others. A source of light and love in her community. Why did God do this to such a wonderful person? What about those she helped? Why did God do this to his disciple?

The people of Joppa hear about Peter, who is nearby. 38 Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!” Why did they ask Peter to come? Did they think Peter would raise her from the dead? We’re not told. But he was a shepherd, an apostle. He was a source of spiritual guidance, comfort, and hope. They wanted Peter to shepherd them.

What does Peter see when he walks in? 39 Peter went in with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing Dorcas had made while still with them. Just imagine the scene! People crying, grieving, wailing. Holding up all the evidence of Tabitha’s love. “Why? Why God? Why did you take away this loving disciple of Jesus?”

What did Peter do? 40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. There are only 10 resurrections in the Bible. That’s it! 10! This is one of them. How amazing that this is one of them. Peter walked in, got on the ground and prayed to God. God reversed death, he raised Tabitha back from the dead. It’s amazing, isn’t it, that this little story in Acts, about Tabitha, contains one of the resurrections accounts. What joy, what wonder!

Why? Why did God make this one of his resurrection accounts? 41 Peter took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive. 42 This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. Why? Two reasons. One: Peter had compassion on the widows. God had compassion on the widows! God gave Tabitha back! That’s how God shows love, he works through people. God loved the people of Joppa by raising Tabitha. Her love as a disciple of Jesus would overflow to so many people. Two: That was the main, apostolic message: through Jesus, we will rise to eternal life. God proved something through Peter: that the resurrection of the dead to life was real. Maybe some were doubting. But Peter raised Tabitha to show this: Everyone who is a disciple of Jesus, like Tabitha is, will be raised from death to life everlasting.

Tabitha, a disciple of Jesus. Tabitha has a lot to teach as we live as disciples of Jesus, just like Tabitha was. Tabitha condemns, comforts, and guides us.

First, Tabitha actually condemns us in a couple of ways.

- Tabith was a great person. She was rich in good deeds, overflowing with generosity. She was a model citizen, a model disciple of Christ. And what happened? She died. Doesn’t matter how good we are, we’re sinners. And if I’m being honest, I’m not as good of a person as Tabitha was. And do you know what’s going to happen to me? To all of us? We’ll die. It doesn’t matter how good we think we are. We die because we’re sinful.  

- Tabitha was rich in good deeds. She was helping the poor, giving money away, she was generous towards others. That’s how they describe her. How would someone describe me? To often, I am a disciple of American selfishness. God gives me time, money, possessions. But my first thought is, “How can I serve myself? What fun can I have?” The American way is to put myself first. Other people are an afterthought. That’s what we do. God give us so much, but generosity toward others is an afterthought.

Tabitha also comforts us. She was a disciple of Jesus. So are you. Yes, we sin. We can be very selfish many times. But we are disciples of Jesus. We hope in Jesus. And this reading about gives us a little glimpse of our hope.

Do you know what Tabitha believed in? The resurrection of Jesus Christ and the resurrection of the dead. The same thing that we do! This story is Easter 2.0. Tabitha rose from the dead because she was a disciple of Jesus. Although someday she would die, she still knew, as a disciple of Jesus, that she would rise from the dead and live forever.

With this story of Tabitha, we see what is coming for all of us. We are disciple of Jesus; we believe in him. So just like Tabitha rose from the dead, we too will rise. Death has no hold over us. We will and live forever in paradise, with Jesus, the Father, the Spirit, and everyone else in Jesus.

What happened to the tears of the widows? Tears poured out of their eyes, tears of grief and loss. What happened? The sorrow turned to joy. I’m sure they still cried! But they were tears of joy!

That’s what’s waiting us. So much in this life can cause us to cry. Sin, suffering, pain, problems. Death itself. But then we see Tabitha rise. We believe that will happen to us, to our loved ones, as disciples of Jesus. Someday we will see all our loved ones who are in Jesus in heaven. We will have joy without end.

Tabitha, the disciples of Jesus, believed in the resurrection of the dead, in the joy that Jesus brought. We, as disciples of Jesus, also hope for the resurrection, and we have joy in Jesus.

Finally, Tabitha guides us. We can follow in her footsteps. She helps us answer the question, “What do we do as Christians?”

- Let’s be rich. Let’s be wealthy. And for this kind of wealth, we don’t need to invest, discover a gold mine, or land a 6-figure job. This kind of wealth is worth far more. Let’s be rich in good deeds and generosity. How wonderful what it be if, as Christians, we took that attitude, that status, where others would describe us as rich, wealthy, and full of good deeds and generosity.

How can we do that? Tabitha helps by leading us to ask a few questions.

1. Who can I love? For Tabitha, there were a number of widows in Joppa that she helped. Maybe she herself was a widow. Who is it for us? Whom has God placed in our lives for us to love? Family and friends. It’s a God-pleasing thing to serve and love our family and friends. It’s also good to extend that as well to the broader society. Who else can I show love to? How am I showing love to the people I live around?

2. What can I do with my hands, with my actions, to love others? How can I serve my husband or wife, by children, by friends, by doing something for them. Fixing something. Making dinner. Doing the dishes. Cleaning. Taking care of the house. Helping with a project. Making something. There are so many ways we can use our hands to help others.

3. What can I do with my time? It’s important to rest. Take a break. Relax. But too often, ‘me-time’ comes first before spending time with others. In fact, “me-time” consumes most of our time, and “other-time” becomes an afterthought. It could be our spouse, our family, and even spending time volunteering to help others. How do I use my time.

4. What can I do with my money? We have a stewardship series coming up this summer, so I’m not talking right about giving money to church, though that’s important. How do I use my money to help others? Yes, we need to spend it to an extent on ourselves, on our families. But it’s good to also think about spending it on other people as well. Maybe set aside each month in our budget money just to donate or to help others. We are blessed with so much money in America, far more than we realize. How can we use it to help?

Why? We should we follow Tabitha’s example? What should use our hands, our time, our money to help those around us? Because we, just like Tabitha, are disciples of Jesus. We have the hope and the joy of the resurrection from the dead.

Finally, Tabitha helps us in some of the most difficult interpersonal situations in our life. And really, its Jesus who helps us, because Tabitha is a disciple of Jesus. What do we do when our boss is just really mean or hard to deal with? What do we do when there’s tension in our family, between spouses or children? What do we do when we don’t get along with our friends or neighbors? It’s simple. Love. We love them. We be rich in good deeds and generosity. We love. Tabitha did. We do too. We are disciples of Jesus.