Acts 9:36-42 – When Death Doesn’t Get the Last Word

In Acts 9, we meet a woman named Tabitha—also known as Dorcas—whose life overflowed with acts of kindness and generosity. She was deeply loved by her community, especially the widows who had no one else to care for them. When she fell ill and died, the people she had touched were devastated. But instead of giving in to grief, they reached out to Peter. And through his prayers, Tabitha was raised back to life.

Devotional: Good Friday is the day we remember death. Not just any death—the death. The death that seemed to silence the Son of God, the death that left the disciples in shock and the earth itself trembling. It’s the day when hope looked defeated, when the light was snuffed out, and when grief wasn’t just felt—it was loud, crushing, and all-consuming.

That’s why Tabitha’s story echoes so powerfully on this day. Because it meets us in that same space—grief, finality, silence. Her death was sudden. Shocking. And it broke the hearts of the very people she had poured herself out for. But they didn’t just plan the funeral. They sent for Peter. That may sound small, but it’s actually a massive act of faith. They believed—not fully, not perfectly, but enough to ask for a miracle.

And Peter? He didn’t give them a theological explanation or words of comfort. He walked in, knelt down, and prayed. Because he had seen what Jesus could do. He had stood at the tomb of Lazarus. He had watched Jairus’s daughter rise. He had walked with the Resurrected Christ. So he prayed like someone who knew death wasn’t the end.

“Tabitha, get up.”

Those words weren’t magic. They were resurrection words—born from faith, soaked in prayer, and empowered by the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the grave.

That’s what makes this story so perfect for Good Friday. Not because it bypasses grief, but because it stares grief down and says, “You don’t get the final word.” It reminds us that even on this day, when death did its worst to the Son of God, resurrection was already written into the story.

We live in a world where we get pretty used to burying things. We bury dreams. We bury faith. We bury hope for our marriages, our kids, our calling. We say, “Well, I guess that’s just how it ends.” But the resurrection wasn’t a one-time event. It’s the heartbeat of who God is. He is the God who speaks life into what we’ve written off as gone.

So let me ask you—what have you buried? What have you decided is over? Maybe it’s time to pray again. To kneel down beside the thing you’ve already grieved and whisper the impossible. Because if Jesus could rise from that tomb, there’s nothing in your life He can’t raise.

Action: Name the thing you’ve given up on. The dream, the relationship, the part of yourself that feels long gone. Write it down, bring it to God in prayer, and speak to it in faith: “Get up.” Even if all you have is a mustard seed of belief—plant it anyway.

Prayer: Jesus, You walked into death so I wouldn’t have to fear it. You didn’t just overcome the grave—You flipped the whole story. On this Good Friday, I bring You my grief, my doubts, and the places in me that feel lifeless. Speak resurrection over what I’ve buried. Teach me to hope again. I trust that You are still the God who brings dead things back to life. In Your name, Amen.

Thought for the Day: The cross looked like the end, but it was only the beginning. Death never gets the last word with Jesus.