Acts 9:31

So the church throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, being edified; and, walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, was multiplied.

See under Acts 6:7 for other examples of Luke's device of pausing at intervals to record the growth and prosperity of the church, thus giving several reminders of his grand design of showing how Christianity developed and spread to the whole world. It could be, also, that Luke intended that we should see the connection between this period of relative tranquillity and the departure of Paul, just mentioned. Such was the fury and bitterness of the Jewish community over the defection of one of their most able partisans, that they could hardly have suffered Paul's presence in Jerusalem without continued persecution; but, in his absence, there appeared for a while a period of quietness during which the church grew and prospered.

In time, of course, Paul would return, speaking his epic words of wisdom and judgment against Israel; but for the present he would be left out of sight in Tarsus. In the meanwhile, Luke returned to stress two apostolic miracles performed by Peter, and which mighty signs contributed emphatically to the growth of the church.

PETER HEALS AENEAS

Luke's purpose here is evidently that of showing how the apostles continued to preach the gospel in Judaea and Samaria and Galilee, these provinces actually being part of Palestine. It comes to light here that Peter had traveled and preached along the whole seacoast of Palestine in some of the same cities evangelized by Philip. As Harrison said:

Peter found in Lydda a group of Christians who had probably fled there in the dispersion caused by the persecution in Jerusalem. Here Peter healed Aeneas. This area was populated in part by Gentiles.[28]