A Certain Tanner

Minor details can make a story seem plausible.

Now as Peter went here and there among all the believers, he came down also to the saints living in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years, for he was paralyzed. Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!” And immediately he got up. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord. Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, “Please come to us without delay.” So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner. - Acts 9:32-43

It is the little things the storyteller, Luke, adds that makes the whole story believable, like the fact that Peter stayed with a certain Simon, a tanner.

The story itself, is about Peter healing a crippled man and raising a dead woman back to life, and yet, Luke ends with Simon.

Ending with the tanner makes us shift our focus away from the miraculous deeds Peter just performed.  Luke doesn't remember many details about Simon, and that makes the story real.

Who would remember the tanner?  We would remember Dorcas and Aeneas, because their lives were changed.  But the tanner is not that important.

Isn't that how we would recall the facts?

So it is for us when we hear a story.  The details matter, especially when they are left out.

When we hear a story, then, we may want to listen for the details, and when something is missing, we can ask for more information.

Then we can decide if we find the story truthful or not.

More to come...