Our story is that of a very unequal contest. But Herod did not think so! This is the story
of the human beings created in the image of God, but corrupted by the fall, who
have gone in search of many schemes [Eccl.
7:29]. Our biggest self- deception
is that we can be stronger or smarter than God. The ability of man to think
that he can be the master of his destiny and that he can think that he is invincible before his Creator
is addressed in this text. The key players in our text are Herod, Peter, the
church and God. But the contest at face value is essentially between
Herod and the church of Jesus Christ, the bride of the Lamb of God. It is , I
say , an unequal contest.
HEROD VERSUS GOD: ACTS 12:1-5a
The name ‘Herod’ will be familiar to a Bible reader. There
are, however at least four Herod’s who need to be distinguished. Herod is a name used by several kings
belonging to the Herodian Dynasty of
the Roman province of Judaea.
(i) Herod the Great
(born c. 74, ruled 37–4 B) [FOUNDER OF
THE DYNASTY]: Builder
of the second temple. He was ruling in
Jerusalem when the 3 wise men came looking for the one who was born “King of the Jews” (Matt. 2:1-17). He was the
killer of the baby boys, seeking to destroy the newly born “King of the Jews.”
(ii) Herod Antipas (born 21 BC, ruled 4 BC–AD 39),
tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea [SECOND GENERATION] :
He beheaded John the Baptist (Mk
6:14-29) and he is the one before whom Jesus stood trial (Lk. 23:7-12).
(iii) Herod Agrippa I: (born
c. 11 BC, ruled AD 41–44), king of Judaea.[THIRD GENERATION] He is the Herod of
our text, who killed James and who put Peter in prison. He is this Herod who
was eaten by worms and died.
(iv) Herod Agrippa II: (born
AD 27, ruled 48–c. 92), ruled Chalcis, then parts of Herod the Great's kingdom [FOURTH
GENERATION] : This is the one before
whom Paul will stand trial in Acts 25:13-32.
The introductory words, “About
that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church”
(12:1) provide a link with the preceding chapters. The gospel is beginning to make its presence strongly
felt, following the stoning of Stephen (Ch.
7), the powerful preaching of Philip in Samaria (Ch.8),the conversion of Saul
(Ch. 9) and the spreading
of the gospel into gentile territories (Ch. 10,11), the highlight being the
wonderful work of God reported upon in
the Church at Antioch in Syria.
It was about that time that James, the brother of John (part
of the inner circle of Jesus) was killed by Herod in Jerusalem [12:1] , and when Peter was imprisoned with the intention to have him killed after
the Passover. The reason why Herod did
this, we are told, is that he saw that it
pleased the Jews [12:3]. The growing influence of the church of Jesus
Christ began to unnerve the leadership of the Jews, and they
decided to turn this into a political
game, accusing Christians of all
sorts of things, and mainly claiming that they were opponents of the Roman
government, by maintaining that in
Jesus they had chosen another King to
rule over them. When Herod began to buy
into their game, by having James
executed, Herod’s political popularity suddenly increased, and
Herod was very pleased about that. He was a politician after all.
Peter’s fate was soon to follow, but there was one problem. The Feast of Unleavened Bread, which
immediately follows Passover, had begun. Being a religious holiday, this was not a good
time to execute Peter. They would have to wait until the feast was over. Remember, that Peter had been in prison
before [5:17-25], and had escaped. So, now extra cautionary measures were
taken to insure that this would not happen again. Four
squads of soldiers guarded him! There were first and second guards, to make
sure that he were kept securely [12:10].
In addition he was chained to two guards.
Humanly speaking Herod made sure that there would be no escape for
Peter.
2. THE CHURCH AND HER GOD [
12:5b-17]
In the meantime the church was not idle. “Earnest
prayer for him was made to God by the church” [12:5,12].
God will have to do something extraordinary to get Peter out of this
prison. And He will, and He does so by means of an angel ! The guards seem to have no
awareness concerning what is
happening . In the midst of this the
angel gives Peter instructions to get
dressed , put on his sandals and wrap his cloak around him, just like a man who gets out of bed in the
morning, and he walks out of this heavily guarded prison, unhindered! In fact
it all seemed unreal to Peter, until he came to himself [12: 9-11].
It all seemed like a dream, like a vision (see also 10:9ff). So, Peter left the prison unhindered, and when
it all dawned on him, we are told “ …
when Peter came to himself, he said, now I know that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod.” Only after he was out of prison did Peter understand that his experience was real. And Peter knew himself to be in the hand of a
sovereign Lord who had orchestrated
the escape from beginning to end. He was
delivered by the Lord’s angel, not only from Herod’s hand, but also from what
the Jewish people were expecting. It is not just Herod who has set himself in
opposition to the church, and thus to
our Lord; it is the Jewish leadership as well.
In the meantime, we
find the church at prayer for
Peter. This story has a humorous side
to it.Notice the ironic contrast
between the ease with which Peter seems
to get out of prison, and the difficulty
of getting into the prayer meeting at
the house of Mary ! He knocked on the
door of the house, where the church was praying and Rhoda, a servant girl went
to answer. She immediately knew it was
Peter, but left the door closed and locked and told the good news to those who
had gathered for prayer, but could not convince them that their prayers had
actually been answered! They said to her, “You
are out of your mind!” [12:15].
This does make me wonder just what they were praying for, and what they
were hoping for at this point in time?
Peter persisted in knocking until they let him in, at which
time he explained how God had rescued him. He then instructed them to inform James , i.e.
James, the Lord’s brother who was recognised
as the leader of the Jerusalem church, [1]
and “the brothers” (his fellow-apostles), and then he, too, went
to another place, where no doubt they could not be found by Herod or the
leaders of the Jews.
GOD VERSUS HEROD: ACTS 12:18-23
So then, imagine the consternation of the soldiers and Herod
the next day [12:18]. What conclusion
did they come to, since nobody at this time was thinking that it was actually God that was actually fighting against them? They thought that this was an “inside job.” Peter’s
empty cell was as impossible to explain as the empty tomb! So, when Herod could find no other explanation he had
the guards all executed. This is very ironic! The guards who would have led
Peter to trial, and then to his death, were now being led away to their death,
while Peter was alive and free. You cannot fight against God. Many people in history tried it, a and lost!
And Herod left to go to Caesarea [12:19]. An deeply
fascinating and awesome event follows now, all woven into the ordinary
happenings of time and history. In 12:20-22 we read of the people of Tyre
and Sidon on the coast of Phoenicia with whom Herod had been angry. These people were
dependent upon Herod for their food supply, and since the rift had occurred in
their relationship they were eager to mend that relationship with him. They had lobbied with Blastus,
the king’s personal assistant, so that he persuaded Herod to give them a
hearing. Herod appeared before the
people with royal pomp and ceremony, at which time he also gave a speech. The people
of Tyre and Sidon, desperate for reconciliation began to flatter the king with inappropriate language. The
people were shouting, “The voice of a
god, and not of a man!” [12:22]
How different is the situation later in Acts 14:8-18 where we find a similar situation. Here Paul and Barnabas are proclaimed to be gods, but what a very
different response do we find from these servants of God! Paul and Barnabas immediately calmed them down
and explained that they were merely men and not God, and drew their attention to the true God who made the Heavens and the
earth, whose spokesmen they were. Herod, by contrast revelled in the praise given
to him. And so, he who was trying
to receive worship and praise
from men, he who opposed God by opposing His church was now struck by an angel of the Lord with an illness, so
that he was eaten by worms and died. And
that was the end of Herod. Dr A.
Rendle Short, professor of surgery at Bristol
University wrote a book entitled, ”The
Bible and modern Medicine” . He said
, “ a great many people in Asia
harbour intestinal worms, which can form
a tight ball and cause acute intestinal
obstruction.” This may have been the cause of Herod’s death.
SUMMARY : Acts 12:24-25
Our story began with a
very real threat and some terrible
consequences against the church of our Lord
Jesus Christ. For a little while we thought that Herod
might finish off the church by killing her leadership. But
God, not Herod had the final word. The final words of our text tell us that the
Word of God triumphed. Herod could not stop the progress of the gospel. He
could not destroy the progress of the church. In fact, the next few chapters of
Acts will demonstrate an even greater spread of the gospel as the gospel expands into the Greek and Roman world and beyond.
Last time I mentioned
the name of Justin the Martyr
(100AD – 165AD), so called because he was killed for his faith. He wrote concerning the spread of the Christian
faith, “…We have exchanged our swords for plowshares, our spears for farm
tools…now we cultivate the fear of God, justice, kindness, faith, and the
expectation of the future given us through the Crucified One….The more we
are persecuted and martyred, the more do others in ever increasing numbers
become believers.”
Jesus said to Peter, "I
will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it"
[Matt
16:18]. Our text powerfully illustrates that God is sovereign over history –
His story! He is sovereign over His
church. This is one of the great themes of Acts, and indeed of the Bible.
Listen to these words written by John Stott: “The chapter opens with James dead, Peter in
prison, and Herod triumphing; it closes with Herod dead, Peter free and the
Word of God triumphing.” [2]
POSTSCRIPT :
What about James? Why was James was executed while Peter was allowed to live? After all, Peter, James, and John were all a part of the “inner circle” of Jesus. [3]
James died first. John died last. Each
of these three had the same exposure to Jesus.Why would God “waste” His efforts on James by
allowing his premature death? The answer is that no one dies prematurely! James’ death at this
time was instrumental in the progress of the gospel, as we can see in
the case of Stephen’s death. In the final analysis, we must rest in the
sovereignty of God, knowing that He purposed this for His good pleasure. God is
God, and thus He can do as He sees fit. The explanation may only be revealed to
us in heaven.
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