God's Healing

Have you ever heard of a man named Aeneas in Acts? I was reading through Acts 9 and realized that I was unfamiliar with this name. Now, it is kind of understandable that we may not be familiar with him as the story of Aeneas' healing is squeezed between two very well know Bible stories: the conversion of Saul and the resurrection of Dorcas.

So here it is.

Acts 9:32-34 ESV

Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight year, who was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

 

Healing has been on my mind a fair bit recently because of several things: Timmy's sicknesses over the last 6 weeks; my current head cold; the Gospel passages of the past two Sunday lectionary readings (Luke 7:1-10 and 11-17) which show Jesus healing the centurion's slave and raising the widow's son from the dead; and a discussion on inner healing at my Bible study last Thursday.

 

What caught my attention with Aeneas' story was Peter's command. After proclaiming healing by Jesus, Peter tells Aeneas to “rise and make your bed”. It is really the “make your bed” part that intrigues me. Yes, I am happy that he is healed in Jesus' name and that he is able to rise. But here is a man who hasn't been out of bed for eight years due to paralysis and now he is being told to make that bed! Could that be significant? Does it speak to us of the purpose and meaning of Aeneas' healing?

 

Well, here are a few of my thoughts on the significance of “make your bed”.

• Peter gives Aeneas something to do immediately after being healed that he will only be able to do if he is healed. Aeneas is told to act because he is no longer paralyzed.
• The healing that Aeneas experienced means that he is saying “goodbye” to the life he has been living and as a result he no longer needs that bed. In NIV, it is translated “roll up your mat”. A drastic thing has happened in this man's life. Things are not the same. He is moving on from his life of the last eight years.
• This one may be a bit of a stretch in interpretation because of my resonance with the phrase “make your bed”. For me, “make your bed” means take responsibility for your life. Take care of your stuff. It wasn't until well into my adult life that I started making my bed regularly as a part of shouldering the life and responsibilities that I had been given by God. So, when I hear Peter tell Aeneas to make his bed, I hear it as a call to take hold of the new life he has been given through this healing and live it diligently and well. 

Interestingly, the Bible doesn't tell us whether or not Aeneas made his bed. We are told that “immediately he arose” but that's it! This leaves me with a question... am I making too big of a deal out of the “make your bed” part of the command? Maybe. The bigger point of the story is the response to Aeneas getting up out of bed. “And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.” When the paralyzed man got up, people saw him. He was a witness to Jesus' healing power and the result was followers of Christ. So whether or not he made his bed, his healing brought much glory to God!