Aeneas

Aeneas (meaning praised or praiseworthy) was a man of Lydda, a town on the coastal plain of Sharon, who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years when the apostle Peter passed through the region. His healing is one of the most concise miracle accounts in Acts: "Peter said to him, 'Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.' And immediately he rose" (Acts 9:33–34). The text does not specify whether Aeneas was already a believer before his healing, though he was clearly known to the local community of saints.

The significance of his healing extended well beyond the individual miracle. Luke records that "all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord" (Acts 9:35), making Aeneas's restoration a catalyst for widespread evangelization along the coastal plain. His story in Acts 9 stands alongside the resurrection of Tabitha (Dorcas) at nearby Joppa, framing Peter's coastal ministry as a concentrated display of the same healing power that had characterized Jesus' ministry in Galilee and demonstrating that the risen Christ continued to act through his apostles in extending the church into new territory.