Pride and the Misuse of Our Power

Sunday, November 26th, 2023

Introductory information

In the beginning part of chapter 12, we learned a few important facts about King Herod (Agrippa the First)

He used his power to increase his reputation and popularity

People were expendable to him

He was nothing compared to God

Peter had just been set free from Herod’s prisons by an angel of the Lord

Peter informed the church then fled the city and he couldn’t be found

READ

Question to consider as we read:

Why does God give anyone power?

Acts 12:18–24 CSB

18 At daylight, there was a great commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod had searched and did not find him, he interrogated the guards and ordered their execution. Then Herod went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. 20 Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. Together they presented themselves before him. After winning over Blastus, who was in charge of the king’s bedroom, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food from the king’s country. 21 On an appointed day, dressed in royal robes and seated on the throne, Herod delivered a speech to them. 22 The assembled people began to shout, “It’s the voice of a god and not of a man!” 23 At once an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give the glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died. 24 But the word of God spread and multiplied.

EXAMINE

What are the key points in this passage?

#1 | Herod was guilty of misusing his authority and power

He sinned against James, Peter, and his own guards

Acts 12:2–3 ...he executed James, John’s brother, with the sword. 3 When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter too...

Acts 12:19 ...Herod had searched and did not find him, he interrogated the guards and ordered their execution...

Rather than using his position to protect order and justice, he used it for his own popularity and power

#2 | Herod steps over the line

He accepts the praises of the people - worship reserved for God alone

Acts 12:21–22 On an appointed day, dressed in royal robes and seated on the throne, Herod delivered a speech to them. 22 The assembled people began to shout, “It’s the voice of a god and not of a man!”

Consider this prophetic warning to kings and rulers:

Psalm 2:10–12 So now, kings, be wise; receive instruction, you judges of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with reverential awe and rejoice with trembling. 12 Pay homage to the Son or he will be angry and you will perish in your rebellion, for his anger may ignite at any moment. All who take refuge in him are happy.

This is a clear prophecy about Jesus, as the King above all kings, and a warning on how the other rulers of the earth should submit to Him and learn from Him

In light of this, think about what Herod has done in this chapter alone...

He has killed the servants of King Jesus

He has accepted praises that put him in the place of Jesus

#3 | God asserts Himself as the King above all kings

God shows His authority over the kings of the earth

At the peak of his power and reputation, Herod is humiliated by the power of God

God is the one who reigns over all the kings and governments of the world

Daniel 2:20–21 … “May the name of God be praised forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to him. 21 He changes the times and seasons; he removes kings and establishes kings...”

God punishes Herod for his pride and the abuse of the power God gave him

Acts 12:23 At once an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give the glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died.

As a ruler, Herod’s authority had been given by God so he could promote justice and defend the innocent (Romans 13:1-4)

Instead, Herod had done the opposite. So God avenged the wrongful deaths that Herod has inflicted: James, the guards, and perhaps many others

Herod’s reign ends, while the Kingdom of Heaven continues to expand

Acts 12:24 But the word of God spread and multiplied.

Herod is dead, but the church he attacked continues to live and grow by the power and authority of God

APPLY

Explore and apply the passage with these questions:

[These questions must be focused, yet very open-ended. Allow the conversation to go where people take it - we want to encourage everyone to share and explore the topics of the passage. You don’t have to ask all these questions. Sometimes a group may only get through one or two questions. Select the questions you think are right for the conversation. Then, as it comes time to wrap up, refocus the conversation to “land the plane.”]

Let’s answer the opening question: Why does God give power to anyone?

How can we misuse the power God gives us?

In what ways do we put ourselves in the place of God?

What power and/or authority has God given you?

Where we want to “land the plane”

We must give thought to the power and authority that God has given each of us, so we can be intentional and use it for the benefit of others.

REFLECT

Prayer Points for Today

Humble ourselves before the Lord - Giver of all authority and Source of all power

Ask the Lord for wisdom in using whatever power and authority He has given us

Devotional Question for the Week

Pride is the focus on self. Pride can make us arrogant and selfish. It can also make us wallow in self-loathing. How is pride causing problems in your life?

FOOTNOTES

We are indebted to Josephus for a parallel account of what followed. At Caesarea, says Josephus, Agrippa “exhibited shows in honor of Caesar, knowing that this was celebrated as a festival for his welfare. There came together for this occasion a large number of provincial officials and others of distinguished position. On the second day of the shows Agrippa put on a robe made of silver throughout, of quite wonderful weaving, and entered the theatre at break of day. Then the silver shone and glittered wonderfully as the sun’s first rays fell on it, and its resplendence inspired a sort of fear and trembling in those who gazed at it. Immediately his flatterers called out from various directions, in language which boded him no good, for they invoked him as a god: ‘Be gracious to us!’ they cried. ‘Hitherto we have reverenced you as a human being, but henceforth we confess you to be of more than mortal nature.’ He did not rebuke them, nor did he repudiate their impious flattery. But soon afterward he looked up and saw an owl sitting on a rope above his head, and recognized it at once as a messenger of evil as on a former occasion it had been a messenger of good; and a pang of grief pierced his heart. At the same time he was seized with a severe pain in his bowels, which quickly increased in intensity.… He was hastily carried into the palace, and … when he had suffered continuously for five days from the pain in his belly, he died, in the fifty-fourth year of his life and the seventh year of his kingship.” The accounts of Luke and Josephus are independent, but they agree in all essentials. F. F. Bruce, The Book of the Acts, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1988), 241.

Josephus - Jewish priest, statesman, and author. Born Joseph son of Matthias in AD 37, he acquired the Latin name Titus Flavius Josephus when the emperor Vespasian granted him Roman citizenship in AD 71. Josephus published his last known work sometime during the mid-90s AD; he probably died around the turn of the century. Josephus’ writings provide much of our knowledge of early Judaism and Christianity. He was an eyewitness to events of the first century, and briefly mentions Jesus, John the Baptist, and James, Jesus’ brother (Antiquities 18.63, 18.116, 20.200). His history of the Jewish people includes the first comprehensive interpretation of the Bible by any individual. Though opinionated and partisan, Josephus depicts the diversity of Jewish belief and practice in his day. Chris Seeman, “Josephus, Flavius,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).