Servants Like Tabitha

by Edwin Crozier

To make sure his readers knew Peter could be trusted to baptize Gentiles (which we’ll see happen in Acts 10), Luke told the stories of two incredible miracles. First, he told about the healing of Aeneas, a man paralyzed for eight years. Second, he told about the raising of Tabitha. If God would work these kinds of miracles through Peter, then we can trust Peter when he baptizes Gentiles.

But there is a second aspect of Tabitha's story that I just love.

In Acts 7, Stephen, a deacon and evangelist, who was one of the leaders of the work among widows in the Jerusalem church, was stoned to death. The disciples mourned him, buried him, and went on about their business.

In Acts 12, James, an apostle and evangelist, will be killed by the sword. The disciples will mourn him, bury him, and go on about their business.

But in Acts 9, Tabitha, a woman full of good works and acts of charity, dies. In this case, the disciples do not simply mourn her, bury her, and go on about their business. They know Peter is in a nearby village. They send messengers to get him to come do something about this travesty. They show him all the garments she made for the widows. Peter prayed and then commanded Tabitha to arise. She did.

Wow!!!

Think about that. A deacon and evangelist dies and nothing. An apostle and evangelist dies and nothing. A sister who quietly serves in the congregation dies, and we have to have her back.

Doesn’t that tell us something about the relative importance of the work done? We spend so much time bickering about who gets to preach sermons or lead publicly in worship. But who was raised from the dead? Not the leaders. Not the preachers. The quiet servant.

This drives home Jesus’s point to the apostles. As we jockey for what we see as positions of greatness, we completely miss the point. She who is first will be last, and she who is last will be first. The servant is the greatest of all.

Let us quit worrying about whether we get to be preachers. Instead, let us be servants like Tabitha.