Realities: Good and Bad

Introduction:

Believers live in this world.

We embrace a view of God.

We trust the historical evidence about Jesus.

We submit to baptism.

We assemble.

We grow.

We long to know God and to replace our identity with His.

We proclaim the message of the incarnation, crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and return.

We also live in an unjust world.

God can be rejected.

The evidence for Jesus dismissed.

So far, Luke has focused on three sources of opposition:

Some members of the Jerusalem “council” especially the Sadducees, wanted Peter and John executed.

Saul.

Now, Herod Agrippa I.

Herod’s Opposition

Herod Agrippa I received a significant education in Rome.

He was born in 10 BC.

He was the grandson of Herod the Great and father to Agrippa II, his successor.

He was educated in Rome alongside Claudius, a close friend and the future emperor.

According to Josephus, he received restoration of his grandfather’s kingdom as a reward for his negotiations that helped Claudius secure power after the assassination of Gaius in 41 AD.

Luke offers no explanation for Herod’s initial opposition.

Some things go unexplained, and we just have to make the best sense of them we can.

We do know, however, why he wanted to apprehend Peter and execute him.

He saw that James, the brother of Jesus’ execution “pleased the Jews” (Acts 12:3).

Luke places events during the lead up to the Passover festival.

He had Peter apprehended.

He put him in jail.

He placed four squadrons of four soldiers to guard him.

Herod places everything on hold until after the Passover festival.

He thinks he knows and understands his people well.

Introduction Part 2

We want to begin tonight with a consideration of the importance of prayer.

Acts 12:5: concludes the introduction with a mention of prayer.

Acts 12:12: Peter goes to the home of John Mark’s mother, Mary, where a group gathered and prayed.

See below.

We know they prayed “concerning” or “about” him, but we do not know with certainty what motivated them.

Did they want his freedom?

Did they want him not to suffer?

Did they want him to remain faithful to the end?

Two other passages can help us understand what we see within the church in Jerusalem:

Lk. 18:1-7

1 Thess. 5:17

Normalcy

The writer places Peter’s arrest in contrast with those who guarded Peter.

They place him in prison where he is being watched.

Meanwhile, “the church” prayed fervently for Peter.

Peter’s Rescue

Herod placed Herod in jail, chained to two of the four guard squadron.

Luke draws the attention to:

Introduction of the angel.

Appearance of the angel.

It struck Peter on the side to awaken him.

The conversation between the angel and Peter.

At first, Peter thinks he is having a dream.

He later comes to realize that it was reality.

Mary and Her Family

According to Acts 12:12, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John called Mark (Marcus).

They have a servant girl named “Rhoda” (Rose).

Mary is the mother of John, his Hebrew name, but he also has a Roman name, Mark.

The Book of Acts in Its First Century Setting, Volume 4: The Book of Acts in Its Palestinian Setting 3. Latin

In the Diasporan onomastikon Mark occurs with fair frequency, not as a name on its own, but only as the praenomen of Jews who had acquired the Roman citizenship.279

Peter Explains the Evidence

The house became excited at Peter’s presence.

They recognized his voice.

He motioned at them to calm down “having shaken down the hand at them to be silent”.

They expected him to be dead (Acts 12:15).

He wanted James, presumably the other James, the brother of Jesus, and the brothers to know these things.

Perhaps this prevented them from being worried or discouraged.

Peter leaves for some undisclosed place.