'Ac 9:32-43

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Ac 9:32-12:25 JERUSALEM AND THE GENTILES

Peter in Lydda and Joppa (Ac 9:32-43)

While God was preparing Paul for the Gentile mission ahead, he was also broadening the vision of Peter and other church leaders. Peter moved out from Jerusalem and visited some of the Christian groups that had sprung up in the semi-Gentile coastal plain area where Philip had preached earlier (cf. Ac 8:40).

At Lydda he healed a paralyzed man (Ac 9:32-35) and at nearby Joppa he raised a woman to life. In both places news of the miracles spread and many people believed (Ac 9:36-42).

By staying with a person whose trade the Jews considered unclean, Peter demonstrated a more relaxed attitude towards former Jewish restrictions (Ac 9:43).