Acts 9:32-35 “Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. (33) There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed. (34) And Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed." Then he arose immediately. (35) So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.”
So why does our Lord want His saints to lay hands on the unsaved so that they may be healed and delivered? You will recall that our Lord taught us that these would be the signs that He would perform through His saints. And so the answer to the question as to why Jesus has instructed us to lay our hands on the unsaved is so that our Lord Jesus can perform signs of healing and deliverance, so that the unsaved may believe in the message of the gospel when they see God’s power displayed and thus be saved. In the above quoted passage of scripture we see that the apostle Peter had come to the town of Lydda to hold meetings there. Peter’s reputation for healing the sick would have been widely spread throughout the region by that time, and many who wanted healing would have sought to be healed by him. In this example it seems as if family members had petitioned Peter to come to their home to heal Aeneas, and Peter responded by going to his home to heal him. This account refers to Aeneas as “a certain man”. Whenever this term is used in the book of Acts it usually refers to one who is unsaved, whereas in referring to those who were saved the term “a certain disciple” would normally be used. And so the Lord used Peter to heal Aeneas on this occasion, and because of that sign being performed, the Holy Spirit tells us that every unsaved person in the towns of Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord, i.e. they were saved. The Holy Spirit specifically tells us in this passage that those who saw Aeneas turned to the Lord, which clearly implies that everyone in those two towns knew about Aeneas’ condition, and so when they saw him walking about completely healed they had no doubt that they were witnessing a miracle of God.
Michael E.B. Maher
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