With Paul waiting in the wings, Peter now returns to the limelight. We last heard of him in 8:25, and this section picks up the thread of that narrative. No doubt the apostles made frequent journeys “throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria” visiting the Christian communities. The next two chapters tell of one journey in particular, which had far-reaching consequences. There is no way of telling when this happened in relation to the events of 9:1–31.

9:32–35 The story opens with Peter visiting the saints (see disc. on v. 13) in Lydda. This was the Lod of the Old Testament (1 Chron. 8:12). It lay some twenty-five miles from Jerusalem on the way to the coast, where the Plain of Sharon begins to rise (the Shephelah) to the central ranges. Lydda was a predominantly Jewish town in a region of ot…