36 Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, (which translated into Greek means Dorcas). She was rich in acts of kindness and charity which she continually did. 37 During that time it happened that she became sick and died; and when they had washed her body, they laid it in an upstairs room. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter got up [at once] and went with them. When he arrived, they brought him into the upstairs room; and all the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing [him] all the tunics and robes that Dorcas used to make while she was with them. 40 But Peter sent them all out [of the room] and knelt down and prayed; then turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise!” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand and helped her up; and then he called in the saints (God’s people) and the widows, and he presented her [to them] alive. 42 This became known all over Joppa, and many came to believe in the Lord [that is, to adhere to and trust in and rely on Jesus as Christ and Savior].
Acts 9:36-42 AMP
We make a mistake sometimes in reading the book of Acts, thinking it’s the book of the Acts of the Apostles. I think they would be appalled at that thought. The book of Acts is truly the Acts of the Holy Spirit. And yet, even saying that, tends to get our eyes focused on what we call the big things – the visible signs, wonders, and miracles that make it clear God is a God of power who demonstrates that power through His children. Which is true – but if that’s all we see, if that’s all we read, we miss the point. And I believe that the story of Tabitha (aka Dorcas) invites us to look closer and see something we miss when we only look for the things we consider spectacular. We need the eyes and heart of God to see it – like Samuel needed when God sent him to anoint David King. God looks on the heart and the same God who saw David in the wilderness, tending sheep, forgotten by his family, is the God who saw Tabitha in Joppa loving Him and serving those in need.
Joppa (modern day Jaffa/Tel Aviv) was a significant Mediterranean port city that served as a hub for trade and travel. It was a fortified harbor and ultimately became a hub from which Christianity spread to the Gentile nations. It was a perched on a steep rocky promontory and was a primary seaport to Jerusalem. It is said to have had narrow steep streets.
In Acts 9, we learn that Tabitha lived there. In Greek her name was Dorcas, but we’ll call her Tabitha here.
God always tells us what we need to know and we learn a lot about Tabitha by what God didn’t say.
She was a disciple of Christ.
She abounded in good works, kindness, and acts of charity. She made garments for the poor and the widow.
This is what we know about her.
Acts 9 is the first place we see a woman called a disciple. She is not the first female disciple. We know there were many other women who loved and followed Christ before her, but God chose to give us only one piece of her identity – the piece He valued most, the piece He found most important. She was a disciple.
He didn’t care about her age, her social status, her financial status, her relationship status. The only thing He felt we needed to know about this woman was that she was a disciple. And from that identity – the identity of being His – everything else flowed.
If we set aside her resurrection from the dead we can see Christ in her life, and the work of the Holy Spirit. The love of God shed abroad in her heart (Romans 5:5) compelled and empowered her to go about doing good – just like her Savior, who, anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power went about doing good (Acts 10:38). We bypass that piece don’t we, we read it fast and focus on healing all who were oppressed of the devil but the going about doing good was just as much an expression of the presence of God and anointing of the Holy Spirit as the healing and freeing from oppression.
James 1:27 AMP Pure and unblemished religion [as it is expressed in outward acts] in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit and look after the fatherless and the widows in their distress, and to keep oneself uncontaminated by the [secular] world.
Tabitha was anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power, as Jesus promised in the great commission and in Acts 1 and she went about doing good, loving her neighbor as Christ loved her, and clothing the poor and the widow.
She lived, what I imagine, was a quite life. Loving generously and lavishly. Pouring out her life on the service of the faith of others because she was His and because His Spirit in her empowered her to live such a life.
Reminiscent of 1st Thessalonians 1:3 her work was energized by faith and her service motivated by love and unwavering, confident hope in the return of the One she loved.
It’s no mistake that her name means Gazelle (or hart, or deer). God truly did place her feet on high places in Joppa, and her lifestyle that did not seek notoriety or fame or power – preferring to be known by Him – speaks clearly to the deer who pants for the water. And one who escaped harm because God made her feet like hinds feet on the high and hard places of her life.
She is a testimony to all who believe they are unseen and unnoticed, who believe they are too young, too old, or don’t have the right natural status, who discredit themselves as faithful and powerful because they don’t see healings, resurrections, and other miracles. She stands in the book of Acts with the seal of the heart of God upon her life of quiet service and genuine love as a disciple.
She may not have known she was making an impact. She just did what her hands found to do to the glory of God and her King.
And then she got sick and died.
Suddenly her impact was felt in the community and in the church. They prepared her body for burial. They gathered, weeping, holding in their hands the tangible evidence of her service and the love of God for them. And members of the local church went to the neighboring town where Peter was and implored him to come.
When Peter arrived, he was not just greeted by the weeping and pleading of the church, he was greeted by widows and the poor showing the work of Tabitha’s hands – each article of clothing, each tangible gift a sign, wonder, and miracle to the one holding it; proof positive that they were seen, known, and loved by God, provision in time of need. Each item just as powerful in it’s declaration of the power of God as physical healing, as casting out demons, as resurrection. These people held out the clothing, and other things she had made as evidence that God was wither Tabitha and working through her. No less than He was with Peter and working through him.
Peter put them all outside and prayed and God raised her from the dead. Peter returned her to the church and those she ministered to alive, and many in Joppa heard and were saved because of it.
It seems so amazing to me – she may not have known her impact. She was living a life of simple, daily obedience that regarded following Christ as more important than anything else, and then she is raised from the dead and suddenly everyone whose lives God has touched through her is able to share their hearts and tell her and show her the impact and influence she carried. Most of us don’t get that opportunity, but she did. I wonder if it changed how she viewed her life, if it changed how she viewed the value of her contribution? I wonder if it was suddenly more work for her to stay focused on following Christ because so many heard her testimony of being raised from the dead and how many missed the real testimony of her faithful service and love before she ever got sick?
Tabitha’s story reminds us that signs, wonders, and miracles look different in every life but they are all the result of the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives and our responsiveness to Him. Her story reminds us that what matters most is not what people see, not our status, not our income, not who we are married to or not married to, but our value is found in one simple thing: we are His.
Jesus said in John 6:38 AMP For I have come down from heaven not to do My own will and purpose but to do the will and purpose of Him Who sent Me.
And I believe that was the life Tabitha lived that so deeply honored Christ – she lived a life that declared with every act, in every moment: I am His and my purpose is to do the will of Him who sent me. That is the heart of a disciple, and it is the one thing God asked us to know and understand about Tabitha – she was a disciple of Christ.
SELAH: Pause & Reflect
Now that you’ve seen Tabitha’s story, let’s sit with this truth: God values the heart of a disciple above all else. From that identity—being His—everything else flows.
Reflect:
- If you were going to describe what the life of a disciple of Christ looks like, how would you describe it? Is there a gap between your idea of the life of a disciple and what we know of Tabitha’s life?
- We tend to create qualifications that determine our worth in the Kingdom—age, marital status, financial status, specific gifts, talents, or abilities—and by doing this we may disqualify ourselves or assume that God could not or would not use us. Are there places in your life you may have done this?
- Tabitha may not have known her impact. What if the things you’re doing right now—the acts no one notices—are signs, wonders, and miracles to those receiving them? How might that change your perspective of your own impact in the Kingdom?
Respond:
Take this to the Holy Spirit. Ask Him what He wants you to see, know, or do in response to Tabitha’s story. Then listen—and follow where He leads.
