Headlines: James Executed; Peter Imprisoned, Freed by Angel; Herod Dies

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.-Acts 12:1-4 (ESV.  Reads Acts 12).

 All of Acts 12 is indeed fast-paced action, the kind that any television newscaster or avid Jerusalem Times reporter would follow with zeal and make the events headline news. Luke himself reports the news to us in his summary of major events in early church history.  We get an account of both the tragedies and triumphs.  Through the events, we see the hand of God working to bring about His purposes.  Acts 12 is the last chapter in Acts that tells about the Jerusalem Church unless it is in reference to Paul’s work and ministry.  This chapter is an important transition.  I hope you read it all and consider as you read how God worked out His purposes despite the earthly conditions that set up one roadblock after another.  Looking at these events we note their significance:

Apostle James, the brother of John and son of Zebedee, was killed by the sword on order of King Herod Agrippa I, who was the grandson of Herod the Great who ruled at the time of Christ’s death.  Due to political favors, Agrippa’s friends in youth who had become Roman Emperors, Gaius (called Caligula) and Claudius, this Herod Agrippa I had been appointed ruler over the whole region of Palestine and northward to include Syria, Tyre, Sidon and Abilene.  Know the volatile political situation:  Herod Agrippa I wanted power and favor, and since he curried favor from the Jews, his having James killed was pleasing to the Jews who so strongly disapproved of the growth of Christianity. 

Seeing that James’s death pleased the Jews, Herod then went after Peter and had him put into prison, probably in the Tower of Antonio, which was close by the Temple in Jerusalem.  It was the time of Unleavened Bread, a period of seven days of celebration immediately following Passover.  In Jewish law, it was unholy to have anyone executed during this period, so Peter was kept in prison.  He was well-guarded around the clock, chained to two soldiers and two more guarding the door to the prison.

Meanwhile, the church was gathered and praying earnestly for Peter.  God sent his angel in the night who loosed Peter’s chains.  Peter, not fully awake and thinking he was dreaming, followed the angel out of that prison and through the city gate that opened to allow them to walk through. From that point on, Peter, now fully awake, was on his own.  He went to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many from the church were gathered, praying.  Hearing a knock at outside gateway door, a servant named Rhoda went to answer.  Seeing Peter for whom they had been praying, she got so excited she didn’t even unbolt the gate (a bit of humor here?).  When she told the believers that Peter was outside, they said:  “You’re out of your mind!” (v. 15).  This action is a commentary on how we sometimes react to answered prayer:  we are so surprised at the work of God that we can’t believe what is happening!  But the latch was lifted and Peter came in and told the gathered believers about his miraculous release from prison, careful to declare it was the work of the Lord.  “Tell these things to James and to the brothers,” Peter said (v. 17).  Then Peter left them and “went to another place.”  Where Peter went is not specified in Luke’s account in Acts, but scholars believe it may have been back to Antioch of Syria, or even to Rome.  From this point on in Acts, the leader of the Jerusalem Church was James, the brother of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now the next phase of this fast-breaking story:  At daybreak the strong Roman soldiers were troubled, as well they should have been, that Peter was missing.  To lose a prisoner who was under a death penalty meant to lose their own lives.  And Herod immediately ordered their execution.  Then he left Jerusalem and went northwestward to Caesarea and spent time there.  He had a delegation from the provinces of Tyre and Sidon who worked through the king’s chamberlain, Blastus, to get them an audience before Herod Agrippa I.  They had a rightful complaint:  their very food supply depended upon trade between their provinces and Palestine.  The historian Josephus adds a comment on the scene at Caesarea.  Agrippa was dressed in royal regalia made of silver-studded cloth that sparkled in the sun. His appearance, and the fact that he spoke with such authority, made them shout out:  “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” (v. 22).  However, Herod received this wrongful praise with delight, puffed up with pride.  Because he did not give glory to God, he met a bitter end.  He was immediately stricken down, and “eaten by worms,” and died.  Dr. William Barclay describes the king’s death in this way: “The pride of man had ended in the wrath of God” (Barclay, Acts, p. 103).

Despite the secular turmoil in the political environs of the early church, we hear this triumphant note:  “But the word of God increased and multiplied.” (v. 24) “My word shall not return unto me void,” God had promised in Isaiah 55:11.

With their mission of delivery of the famine-relief money to the church at Jerusalem completed, Barnabas and Saul returned to Antioch.  In their company was John Mark who would go with them on their first missionary journey.  The newscasters would say, “Stay tuned as we continue with this breaking story!” God is working His mission to perform.  Although He could have called ten thousand angels to spread His word among the nations, he chose people—persons willing to go and to tell.  And that is still His method in this 21^st century.  Praise be to God that He entrusts us with this responsibility.  May we be found faithful!