Acts 12:1-25 "Herod's Persecution & Death"

Good morning Calvary Chapel Lake City! Please turn in your bibles to Acts 12. Acts 12:1-25 today.

Last time, we looked at the evangelistic work of the early church… especially in Antioch of Syria.

So great was the number of people getting saved, that the church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to encourage them to ‘remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose.’

And, even more people were added to the Lord.

Barnabas departed Antioch to find Saul of Tarsus (who becomes Paul the Apostle), and they returned to Antioch together…

And, for a whole year Barnabas and Saul “assembled with the church and taught a great many people.”

At this time… people started to take notice that there was something different about this believers in Antioch…

Thus, they named them “Christians” Gk. Christianŏs meaning “followers of Christ” or “Belonging to the party of Christ.”

That’s the proper posture of a true Christian… you… your life belongs to Christ.

The Christian movement in Antioch was growing, and people were taking notice… which also drew negative attention.

Today, we encounter Herod Agrippa I, who will persecute the church, because it pleased the Jews.

It was a political move on the part of Herod, but Luke weaves Chapter 12 into Acts to show us the national rejection Israel had for Jesus Messiah.

… which paves the way for the first missionary journey to Gentile lands… which we look at next week in Acts 13.

Next week is going to be a beautiful topic… today… not so much… as Chapter 12 is about persecution.

So, sorry if you’re visiting today… come back next week… it will be a much better message!

No… today will be good, because as we teach the Bible chapter-by-chapter and verse-by-verse… the Holy Spirit shows up… and there is rich application for all of us in Chapter 12 today.

Since Herod stands as bookends to this chapter… the title of today’s message is “Herod’s Persecution & Death.”

Let’s Pray!

Acts 12:1-4 “Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. 2 Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. 3 And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread. 4 So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.” Pause there… let’s get grounded.

V1 begins “Now about that time...” which was the time that Emperor Claudius reigned according to Act 11:28… and the time relief funds were sent to the church in Jerusalem.

At this time Herod persecuted the church. There were many Herods, so I have a slide of their family tree.

The name Herod Gk. Hērōdēs- means “son of a hero.” Fitting, for the Herodian dynasty was as arrogant as their name.

This family line sprung from Herod the Great…

…who was a crazy little man...

He’s the guy who had the male children 2 years old and younger… slaughtered in Bethlehem in attempts to kill the Christ, so that he had no opposition to his throne.

The Herod in Acts 12 (roughly 45 A.D.) is his grandson… Herod Agrippa I… #9 on the slide in dark blue.

The name Agrippa means “one who at his birth causes pain.” And, this was thematic of his adult life as well.

According to Josephus, within the Herodian line, Agrippa I was shrouded in controversy and began as a black sheep of the family, having incurred many debts while in school at Rome… due to his overly indulgent and sinful lifestyle.

Agrippa was eventually taken back to Isreal by his sister Herodias and her husband Herod Antipas… who was their uncle… yeah, wrap your mind around that…

Herodias and Antipas are the same couple responsible for the beheading of John the Baptist… because John rebuked them publically since Herodias was married to Antipas’ 1/2 brother Herod Philip I… who was also her Uncle.

And you thought your family was messed up.

With arrogance running through their veins, it’s not surprising that tensions arose when Antipas insulted Agrippa by reminding him of his poverty and dependency on them.

So, Agrippa returns to Rome… gets back into debt… and befriends Gaius Caligula…

Agrippa vocalized he wished Caligula was Caesar over his Great Uncle/ Grandfather by adoption… Tiberius Caesar…

Tiberius was the 2nd Roman Emperor reigning from 14-37 A.D.... encompassing the ministry of Christ.

Tiberius catches wind of Agrippa’s comment, and imprisons him until Tiberius dies 6 months later, and his friend Caligula is named Caesar…

Now Caesar Caligula releases Agrippa from prison, gives him the title “king”… and gives him Philip the tetrarch’s territory.

I have a map of Agrippa’s Kingdom… the land in yellow and green.

Agrippa’s sister Herodias was jealous of his kingly title… which led to Antipas’ downfall and Agrippa acquiring all of his Uncle and brother-in-law’s territories.

Caligula reigned not quite 4 years before he was assassinated. But the new Emperor Claudius (who is mentioned in V28 of Acts 11) extended favor to Agrippa… and gave him the territories of Judea and Samaria.

With that acquisition… Agrippa now controlled all the land his grandfather, Herod the Great, once ruled.

So, Agrippa was a powerful, and reigned 7 years… 37 A.D. to 44 A.D.... but his reign was cut short… which we will see at the end of this chapter.

And, I hope you took good notes, because there will be a test later.

Of all the Herods, Agrippa identified as Jewish more than all the others, and attempted to win the favor of the Jews and preserve Jewish Law… which we get a glimpse of in V3.

So, all that to say… in V1… when we read “...Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church.” Now you have a better picture of who Herod Agrippa I was… and the deranged family from which he came.

In V2, Agrippa “...killed James the brother of John with the sword.”

James and John were partners with Peter in the fishing industry… the sons of Zebedee… nick-named by Jesus “Boanerges”… the “Sons of Thunder.”

James was not just one of the Twelve Apostles, he was part of Jesus’ inner three… Peter, James and John.

These three were the only Apostles present with Jesus…

… on the Mount of Transfiguration…

… witnessing Jesus raise Jairus’ daughter from the dead…

… and when Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane…

They were with Jesus in some of His greatest moments, and during one of His greatest trials. They were his closest friends.

And, now… James… he’s been taken… executed by Herod… by the sword.

This was predicted by Jesus when James and John’s mother asked Jesus for them to have positions of honor on His right and and on His left.

Matt 20:22 reads, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to Him, “We are able.”

They seemed to indicate a willingness to walk the road of trial, and they would.

Question: How did James’ death effect the early church?

The church experienced persecution… and saw Stephen stoned, but this feels a little different… James was an Apostle.

I’m sure this impacted the church… that they grieved tremendously.

We don’t know loss like this where the government executes a loved one because their Christian.

This is difficult to grasp.

V3 tells us that the murder of James had a political motivation. Herod did this "… because he saw that it pleased the Jews...”

And, seeking to please man and not God… to further his political position… Agrippa also seizes Peter and imprisons him.

The timing of this imprisonment was “…during the Days of Unleavened Bread.”

Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are back to back. They are close, yet distinct feasts.

Passover is 7-8 days depending on your Jewish sect… followed by a 7 day Feast of Unleavened Bread.

The institution of the Passover occured in Exo 12. The Passover meal is described, and then we read in Ex 12:11-12 “And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover. 12 ‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt...”

Then we read of the institution of the Feast of Unleavened Bread in Exodus 12:15 “Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.”

Leaven is a picture of sin… both permeate and puff up… and so it was to be cleansed from the home… as sin should be cleansed from our homes.

On the Passover night, when the Israelites fled Egypt… in haste they had no time to add leaven to their bread… so they ate unleavened bread.

Lots of symbolism behind these feasts. Those of you who attended our Passover Seder, may recall how each element of the meal was symbolic to the Jews, but also pointed to Christ.

Passover is one of three mandatory feasts where all able bodied ‘made aliyah’… ascending up to Jerusalem for the feast.

And, the population swells upwards to 2 million Jews plus additional Roman troops to keep order.

So, back in Acts… it was at this time… in the days of Passover, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread… when Herod intentionally persecuted the church to gain favor with the vast number of Jews present in Jerusalem.

In V4, we observe Peter’s imprisonment.

Peter is arrested and guarded by “...four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.”

As Herod was in touch with Jewish Law, he knew executions were forbidden during high feasts… so he would wait until after Passover to move on executing Peter as well.

Which helps us see further how Jesus’ trials and execution were illegal, but Jesus had to die during Passover to fulfill Passover.

To become “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

16 Soldiers for Peter… was Herod careful because he heard how the Apostles were arrested in Acts 5, by the Sanhedrin, but later that night were set free by an angel… and the next morning they taught in the Temple courts?

Certainly, Herod did not want a repeat of that event.

So Herod has 16 soldiers… most likely… four squads of four soldiers taking 6-hour shifts to guard Peter.

Typically, two soldiers were chained to each wrist of the prisoner… and two soldiers guarded the door… as we see in V6.

The soldiers were highly trained and took this serious because to fail in their duties meant to take on the sentence of the prisoner… in this case death. So, they didn’t play around.

You see a glimpse of this in Act 16, when the Philippian Jailer was about to take his own life when an earthquake set Paul and Silas free from jail.

Fortunate for him… they returned to jail… preached the gospel to him, and he was saved… today… our jailers don’t have the same end.

Now… I want you to consider the tragedy of what happens in this chapter.

James is killed by the sword… just to please the Jews who hated the Christians at this time.

His life cut short, despite him having all the potential for kingdom impact.

Peter is imprisoned for the same reason, and facing death.

And, it raises the questions why do bad things happen to good people?

Short answer… “I don’t know.”

What I do know is God is sovereign. One day… as we sit at Jesus’ feet in heaven… these things will make sense to us.

But, we ask and wrestle with God…

Why sickness? Why injustice? Why crime? Why disparity? Why prejudice? Why death? The list is long…

For now, we know trials come for various reasons…

We live in a fallen world. We are under the attack of Satan. Maybe even God Himself places us in a trial. Maybe it’s self inflicted.

Sometimes, we're not certain.

But I know this… Isa 55:9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

At the close of Job’s trial, he came to realize that God is sovereign. He confessed Job 42:2 “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.”

And, even if I cannot understand why bad things happen to good people… why suffering is real… I do understand…

The nature of God can be trusted…

He is holy, sovereign, immutable (he does not change)…

He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent… (All powerful, all knowing, and everywhere).

And… very important… God is love. And knowing that God is love (1Jn 4:8)… it helps me to look beyond the trial and to trust that perhaps in God’s sovereignty there is a higher purpose… and a better plan…and perhaps even some mercy that I cannot see, but He can.

What if the sword was mercy for James? What if a far worse fate was around the corner? We don’t know.

It’s important that we don’t waver in our faith… especially when the wind and waves of life surround us.

And, the disciples do not waver. Let’s continue on and see what how they handle Herod’s persecutions...

Act 12:5 “Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.”

James is executed by the sword… and now Peter is imprisoned and awaiting execution.

Yet, the disciples do not curse God… they plead with God.

They offered “constant prayer.” Constant means “fervent, earnest, or ‘without ceasing.’”

They enter battle on their knees. As should we.

And, thus V5 becomes the center of this chapter.

Considering the trials and duress, and real threat to the church caused by Herod…

Easily the disciples could have digressed into fear and anxiety.

“First James, now Peter.... who’s next?”

It’s sad, but it often takes extreme situations in life to get us to place where we pray fervently.

It’s safe to say…many of us pray routinely… and we may throw up popcorn prayers… but do we pray constantly?

As difficult as trials are… are they really bad if they prompt us to pray earnestly?

Peter was bound physically… and most of us are bound by something… a medical trial… poor life choices… the love of money… addictions…

If earnest prayer was offered pro-actively… instead of re-actively… would our imprisonments even occur?

Towards our self-inflicted wounds, I say absolutely.

Praying earnestly is also time well spent…

James, the 1/2 brother of Jesus was nicknamed ‘Old Camel Knees’ because of the calluses he developed while kneeling in prayer.

How much time on your knees would it take to develop calluses?

A long time and a consistent routine.

Time spent with another forms a relationship… and James had a strong relationship with his brother.

Reflecting on the prayers of the church, the Prince of Preachers… Charles Spurgeon wrote, “I do not find that they met to petition Herod. It would have been of no avail to ask that monster to relent. They might as well request a wolf to release a lamb which he has seized. No, the petitions were to the great invisible God. It looked as if they could do nothing, but they felt they could do everything by prayer. They thought little of the fact that sixteen soldiers had him in charge. What are sixteen guards? If there had been sixteen thousand soldiers, these believing men and women would still have prayed Peter out.”

This is a fantastic chapter to ponder the interaction between God’s sovereign will, and how our prayers… when in alignment with His will… will move mountains.

Continuing to V6…

Acts 12:6 “And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison.”

So, on the night before his trial and execution… Peter is bound between two soldiers… and he is fretfully terrified and anxious…

Oh… no wait… that’s not what it says…

We read, “… that night Peter was sleeping…”

Answer me this… how on earth do you sleep on a night like this?

Bound between two stinky soldiers.

In a prison cell.

Awaiting trial and death.

On one hand, we could reflect back on the many occasions Peter, James and John slept…

They were heavy with sleep at the Mount of Transfiguration…

At the Garden, Jesus woke them three times… asking, “Could you not pray with Me one hour?”

So often we think of Peter, James, and John as being Jesus’ inner circle… when it could have been the teacher was keeping His naughty students close.

My third grade desk, was butt up to my teacher… Ms. Bundy’s desk.

I was her favorite. That got me to stop talking with the other students, but it didn’t stop me from talking to her!!

In Peter’s case of sleeping on the eve of trial… I don’t think he slept for any other reason than he rested in the Lord.

To sleep and not be anxious, Peter simply needed to think back and meditate upon the words of Jesus.

Jesus told Peter in John 21:18 “Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.”

Jesus said that about 15 years prior… Peter is about 45 years old at this time… the same age as me.

Which my kids say IS old, but those of you in your 60’s say I’m young…

And, I haven’t had any visions or dreams lately, to tell me if I’m young or old.

But, I think Peter thought himself young and rested in Jesus’ words that he would die when old, and that he would stretch out his hands to be crucified… not to die by the sword.

So, Peter clings to Jesus’ words… and saws some logs.

And, there’s a lesson for us here… when you can cling to the words of our Lord, you will rest well… the enemy and your anxieties will not rob you of sleep.

I hate losing sleep when I can’t stop thinking about a situation… playing out scenarios in my mind… it steals rest…

I was at a ‘We Are Messengers’ concert this week, and the lead singer, Darren Mulligan, said, “… the enemy wants to keep us in the future and the past, so we are not present. In the future… anxieties… in the past… depression.” And, I think he said, “But in the present… that’s where we are powerful for God.”

Peter wasn’t caught in the anxieties of tomorrow… and you don’t need to be either… IF you can just rest in the promises of His word.

Isa 26:3 great verse…“You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.”

A worst case scenario is our trial takes our life… but can we rest knowing absence from this physical body, means eternal presence with the Lord? (2 Cor 5:8)

Where there is “no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.” (Rev 21:4)

Can you trust God’s promises amidst the troubles of life?

Prolific Author & Missionary Director… J. Oswald Sanders said, "Peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of God."

When did Peter walk on water? When he kept his eyes fixed on Jesus. Peter literally walked on the storm… it was below his feet. Peace amidst the storm.

Phil 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Peter rested in Jesus’ words and slept… and the disciples earnestly prayed… and the peace of God guarded their hearts and minds.

VSS 7-8 “Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. 8 Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.”

Peter’s obviously a heavy sleeper. I’m a light sleeper… a sound… an angelic night light… that would wake me up.

I have learned to sleep through the sound of trains though.

The light of the angel does not wake Peter though, so the angel “struck Peter on the side.”

I imagine it was a gently blow, but enough to get Peter moving.

The angel supernaturally removes the chains, and provides instructions for Peter to do his part… ‘Get up, get dressed quickly, and follow me.’

Peter must be groggy, because the angels instructions sound a bit like a parent telling a child step by step how to dress in the morning.

“Are your shoes on?” “Yes Dad.” “Are they tied?” That’s not a given with kids.

Notice the balance between the chains being removed supernaturally, and Peter getting dressed naturally.

Often, this is how God works… He will move supernaturally, but He wants us to do common and normal things simultaneously…

Like laying hands and praying over a person… then their faith is actuated… then God heals.

God invites us to play a part in the supernatural through our obedience in the natural realm.

V9 “So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.”

Peter recently had a vision of a sheet descending from heaven… is this another vision he wonders?

I imagine between the mental fog of just waking, and not yet having that first cup of coffee… Peter’s a bit confused.

This is a lot to take in! Peter was in an impossible situation. You don’t escape being chained to two guards.

Yet, I escaped alcoholism in a moment. My wife escaped a 2 1/2 foot long blood clot in a moment. We all have stones of remembrance of the prisons God escorted us out of… of the impossible situations that God loosed us from.

What is too big for God?

VSS 10-11 “When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. 11 And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.”

Passing the first and second guard posts of highly trained soldiers is yet another miracle. And, then the exit to the prison… the iron gate… it “opened to them of its own accord.”

“of its own accord” in Gk. is autŏmatŏs. It’s the etymology… the origin of our English word “automatic.”

This is the first automatic gate… yet another miracle.

As they hit the fresh night air, and walk down one street “immediately” the angel departed.

And, that’s how angels seem to roll. If you are in conversation with someone, and then suddenly they’re gone… probably an angel.

Now Peter’s awake… he grasps the miracle. God has delivered him from the hand of Herod who would have killed him… and from the expectation the Jewish people had for him… death.

I imagine Peter was a bit emotional in this moment. And, how could he not be as he reflects on yet another moment God was faithful in the storm?

VSS 12-15 “So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark [enter John Mark… the writer of the Gospel of Mark], where many were gathered together praying. [“constant prayer”] 13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda [her name means ‘Rose’] came to answer. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate. But they said to her, “You are beside yourself!” Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, “It is his angel.”

This young girl, Rose, is so joyful to see Peter she runs away to declare to the prayer gathering that Peter is at the gate.

But, she leaves Peter hanging there. What a funny scene. Can you imagine being Peter?

This is one of those slightly humorous… slightly frustrating moments.

Peter knows he is a wanted man. He needs to keep moving… he can’t just hang out in the streets.

Rhoda loses her mind out of joy, and interrupts the prayer meeting.

The people at the prayer meeting are praying for Peter’s release… and their prayer is answered… but, when announced by Rhoda… they don’t believe it.

Sometimes it’s difficult to grasp… but, God actually answers big prayers.

Rhoda has to be frustrated with them, and feeling the urgency to let Peter in…

But, they blow her off further telling her it’s Peter’s angel.

Peter escaped the prison of his enemies, but can’t get into the prayer meeting of his friends.

What a scene!

VSS 16-17 “Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 But motioning to them with his hand to keep silent, he declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Go, tell these things to James [“Old Camel Knees”] and to the brethren.” And he departed and went to another place.”

Between the persistence of Peter’s knocking and the response of Rhoda, the prayer meeting investigates and to their astonishment… there is Peter!

They no doubt erupt in joy and start to make a commotion, which could draw a crowd… which could draw soldiers…

So, wisely, Peter quiets his friends… and shares the testimony of his release.

Peter also asks them to tell James and the other brothers…

James, the 1/2 brother of Jesus, served in leadership in the early church.

Paul calls James a “pillar” of the early church in Gal 2:9.

Luke titles James an “elder” in Acts 21:18.

In Acts 15, James led the Jerusalem Council of A.D. 49.

So, it would make sense why Peter would send word to James, so he can step up and lead… because Peter has to get out of Dodge… V17 “he departed and went to another place.”

Which we are told is Caesarea in V19… which is where Philip has a home according to Acts 21:8, so perhaps Peter stays with Philip.

VSS 18-19 “Then, as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter. [I imagine so] 19 But when Herod had searched for him and not found him, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death. [The guards took the prisoner’s sentence]. And he went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there.”

The next morning, everything comes to light. Herod is irate and examines the guards… which I imagine was a brutal examination… considering he has them killed.

And, in these closing verses… Luke writes a parenthetical… displaying the end of Herod Agrippa I… this man who thought he could stretch out his hand on Jesus’ bride.

Acts 12:20 “Now Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon [on the Phoenician Coast]; but they came to him with one accord, and having made Blastus the king’s personal aide their friend, [the name Blastus means “a sucker”, and you’d have to be to be Herod’s aide.] they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food by the king’s country. 21 So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. 22 And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” 23 Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died. 24 But the word of God grew and multiplied.”

Jewish historian Josephus… in Antiquities Book 19, Chapter 8 tells us great detail of this event…

Josephus details a conflict between Agrippa and Marcus, the president of Syria (which bordered Tyre and Sidon). Was it this conflict that led Herod Agrippa to be angry with the people?

Certainly, they don’t want conflict with Herod… who supplied their cities with food. So, they aim to make peace through sin.

Josephus tells us, in Agrippa’s seventh year of reign, he held a festival in Caesarea Maritima to honor Caesar… and on the second day of the festival that’s when the events of VSS 21-23 occurred.

Josephus describes the “royal apparel” of Herod as a “garment made wholly of silver” that reflected the sunlight and was frightful to look upon.

So, essentially, Herod now looks like an Elf wearing Mithril… -or- a disco ball… however you want to envision him.

Josephus details the idolatrous words of V22 as “… his flatterers cried out, one from one place, and another from another (though not for his good), that he was a god; and they added, “Be thou merciful to us; for although we have hitherto reverenced thee only as a man, yet shall we henceforth own thee as superior to mortal nature.” [as a god] (346) Upon this the king did neither rebuke them, nor reject their impious flattery.”

After this Josephus records he saw an owl which he interpreted as a messenger of ill tidings.

Josephus describes Herod’s end and final words… after seeing the owl… he “fell into the deepest sorrow. A severe pain also arose in his belly, and began in a most violent manner. (347) He therefore looked upon his friends, and said, “I whom you call a god, am commanded presently to depart this life; while Providence thus reproves the lying words you just now said to me; and I, who was by you called immortal, am immediately to be hurried away by death. But I am bound to accept of what Providence allots as it pleases God; for we have by no means lived ill, but in a splendid and happy manner.” (348) When he said this, his pain was become violent.”

And Josephus details for five days he suffered and then died at age 54.

For five days, Herod was being eaten alive by worms.

I’ve seen this recently. One of my roosters had Flystrike. He was eaten alive by worms. I should have named him Agrippa.

The quick lesson of Agrippa’s end… the man, not the rooster… is this… it’s a contrast.

Peter lived to glorify God and was granted life. Agrippa robs God of His glory and was granted death.

In Isa 42:8 God declares, “I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.”

Be careful to walk humbly… and give God His glory.

Agrippa robbed God of His glory and it cost him his life through a hideous end.

Wrapping up...

V25 “And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, [delivering relief funds from the church in Antioch to the church in Jerusalem… at the end of Chapter 11] and they also took with them John whose surname was Mark.”

We will pick up there next week… Read ahead in Chapter 13 as we see Barnabas and Saul set out on their first missionary journey. Exciting chapter next week!

Let’s Pray!

Lessons from today… pray earnestly… give God His glory… and keep your eyes on Jesus especially during trials.

When you trust in Him… you can sleep through the night even when imprisoned by circumstance.

God is sovereign… God is love… and He does not forsake His own. Rest in that this week.

God bless you as you go.