|
|
James Killed and Peter Imprisoned
12 About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.
Peter Is Rescued
Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”
When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. Recognizing Peter’s voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!” But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.” Then he departed and went to another place.
Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there.
The Death of Herod
Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.
But the word of God increased and multiplied.
And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark.
(ESV)
Acts 12 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
King Herod never saw it coming. The grandson of the infamous Herod the Great was part of long line of family dysfunction that fought against the people of God many times throughout history.
His grandfather, Herod the Great, tried to kill Jesus in Bethlehem. The horrific massacre known as “The Slaughter of the Innocents” killed every baby boy 2 years or younger in an attempt to put an end to the coming Messiah. In this case, the cliche fits: like grandpa, like grandson.
The Bible tells us that while the slaughter was going on in Bethlehem, Jesus and his family had escaped to Egypt as Joseph was warned ahead of time. During Jesus’ time in Egypt, Herod the Great suffered a miserable death. It was fitting for a man who was equally miserable in his rule as king. In fact, with the proof of ancient historical texts, modern-day physicians tell us Herod the Great suffered an extremely painful death complicated by a case of maggot-infested gangrene of the genitals. Not so “great.”
Enter grandson, Herod Agrippa I. Sporting his grandfather’s same pride and arrogance, he decides to mess with the early church. He starts by having the apostle James killed by the sword. Seeing this pleased the Jews, he decides to improve his charisma by throwing Peter in prison as well. In prison, Peter was under the confinement of 4 sets of 4 guards each. Herod thought he had everything covered and under control.
Just like his grandfather, he fought against God. And, just like his grandfather, he didn’t learn from his mistakes. And in one of the more horrific deaths of the Bible, he is struck down dead and covered in worms.
Herod’s greed was fueled by political dominance. We see that this is a primary method by which Satan works to disrupt the plans of God. Remember when Satan promised Jesus all the domain and its glory?
And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
Luke 4:6 NASB
In the secular world, Herod was looked at as a champion. He was winning. He had power and control. He used his political sledgehammer to make his mark on Christianity. However, God had a much bigger plan in mind. Although the church was under attack, it was actually spreading. It was growing stronger. It was unstoppable. Though it seemed for a time that Herod had dismantled God’s plan, he would be utterly humiliated in the end.
The lesson is two-fold. First, don’t fight against God. It seems like a no-brainer, but where are we pursuing selfish gain over kingdom gain? Where are we becoming a hindrance to what God is trying to move forward? Where are we struggling for power and control like Herod? Second, we must understand that if we are faithful to walking with God, we will experience times when we feel defeated. Some would question that statement, but I believe it’s just the reality of life.
I’m sure there was great sadness and grief over the loss of James. But God was doing much more. He had set a time limit on Herod’s life. He rescued Peter. And he was priming the apostles to take the Gospel to the ends of the Earth. There is always so much more going on than what we can see on the surface.