Untitled Sermon (19)

Herod the Appeaser

In 41 A.D. a troop of Roman soldiers marched toward Jerusalem, haling behind them a massive statue of Emperor Caligula. Caligula was known to be a wild and crazy emperor, even so far as Roman emperors go. He was known, like Herod Agrippa here, to have people carted off and executed for the smallest of offenses. Caligula married his sister, because he thought he was Zeus, and Zeus had also married his sister. He ordered his army to march to war against the sea, and had his men stab at the ocean waves and collect seashells as trophies of his victory over the god Neptune. He even granted his favorite racehorse a place on the Roman Senate, a move which even Kentuckians have to admit was a little crazy.

So it shouldn’t have been a surprise that this crazy emperor would eventually do what none of the other emperors had: place a statue of himself in the Jewish temple. Even Herod Agrippa, the ruler of Judea we’ve read about today, begged the emperor not to do something so obviously offensive and antagonistic against the Jews. Even the Roman soldiers marching with the statue to Jerusalem asked Caligula to reconsider. Fortunately, the crazed emperor died the day before the statue was to be installed. Many Jews, of course, considered it an act of God.

We should not make the mistake, however, of assuming that Herod Agrippa was just like Caligula. When Caligula had people killed or tortured, it was because he was genuinely crazed and evil. Herod Agrippa, not to be confused with his father Herod the Great, was not like Caligula in this respect. He killed because it was politically expedient.

Herod did not try to stop Caligula from placing a statue in the temple because of deep religious convictions, and neither did he execute James and imprison Peter out of any allegiance to the Jewish Pharisees or the Torah. Herod was, in fact, good friends with Caligula, and often spent months at a time partying with the senators and emperors in Rome. Herod was simply politically savvy. He knew when to say what, when to side with Rome and when to side with the Jews, and when to execute one or two men to appease a much larger crowd.

Very often in the New Testament, it is this kind of ruler who poses the greatest threat to the followers of Jesus. Not the crazed and evil emperors like Caligula, but the ones who are just looking for a way to win over the crowds and thus stay in power. The ones like Pontius Pilate or Herod Agrippa.

Passover Deliverance

Fortunately, we worship a God so much greater than these earthly kings. Throughout the history of the Church, many kings and rulers have tried to destroy the church, whether from an evil heart or, more often, as an easy way to win political points. Luke reminds us of the first time we see this theme emerge in God’s story by pointing out that Herod’s arrest of Peter happened during the days of Unleavened bread; that is, during the week of Passover.

So long ago Pharaoh, like Herod, had attempted to enslave and imprison God’s people. Not because he was an insane ruler like Caligula, but because he believed himself to be doing something wise, to be acting “shrewdly” as he himself puts it. But our God will not allow his plan to be hindered by Pharaohs, tetrarchs, emperors, kings, presidents, prime ministers, or whatever title men give themselves. The people of Israel were the people through whom God was going to rescue the world, just as Peter and the early church were the people through whom God was saving the world by the gospel.

And so on the night before he was to be executed, the Angel of the Lord delivered Peter from death. Just as Moses had lead the people out of bondage in Egypt and through the Red Sea, God’s angel now delivered Peter from bondage in Herod’s prison and through his sea of guards.

Unbelief

But, if we remember the story of Exodus, we may recall that not everyone believed Moses. In fact, even Moses had a hard time believing what God told him. When God spoke to Moses through the burning bush and said, “I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people out of Egypt,” Moses argued. “Me? That’s your plan? What if Pharaoh doesn’t let us go? What if the people won’t follow me? What if....what if....?” Is God more powerful than Pharaoh?

Similarly, Peter doubted that what he was seeing was real. And when he finally realized that it was real, and he arrived at the home of Mary, those inside also doubted. When the slave-girl Rhoda announced that God had delivered Peter from the hand of Herod, they all accused her of being crazy. They had, of course, all been praying. But somewhere in their hearts was the same burning question that had been with Moses and the Israelites: “Is God really more powerful than Pharaoh? Is God really more powerful than Herod?”

Passover Judgement

As we well know from the Exodus story, God is far more powerful than Pharaoh. He not only delivers his people from slavery in Egypt, but he also threw Pharaoh and his army into the Red sea. He displayed his mighty power in the signs and wonders he set against Egypt, most notably in the passover. Through the passover, God not only demonstrated his faithfulness and love toward the Israelites, but his power over even he mightiest of earthly kings.

Luke draws us back to the Passover as we read this story as well. When the angel of the Lord struck Peter, because Peter was marked by the blood of Jesus Christ and the prayers of the Church, the Angel brought deliverance. When the angel struck Pharaoh, however, it was with judgement, pestilence, and death.

Herod had become arrogant and power hungry. The same King who had executed James and imprisoned Peter to “please the Jews”, was now more than happy to be worshipped as a God by the gentiles. Luke tells us that Herod’s speech was so great that those listening proclaimed, “This is the voice of a God and not of a man!”. Other sources also tell us that Herod had worn a robe woven of silver that day that shined in the sun, and that his robe was so extravagant people thought he was a god.

The very moment Herod began to think himself divine, however, was the moment that God struck him down. Just as he had struck down Pharaoh, or had struck down the many other kings since then who thought themselves powerful and important enough to oppress God’s people and claim themselves to be gods.

Christ and Exodus

The story Luke shares with us here is one both of God’s deliverance for his people as well as his judgement against earthly Kings and governments. He echoes the Exodus, where God did the same, but this passage of scripture is also trying to remind us of another even greater event where God delivered his people and judged the earthly rulers: The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Jesus parallels Peter here

Disbelief of salvation paralleled

Christ came not only to deliver us from sins, but to bring judgement on worldly and spiritual powers

Luke is the same who wrote “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s,” but here reminds us that we must also “Render to God what is God’s”