Untitled Sermon

Introduction:

Acts 12 continues the story of the First Century Church and provides a real transition from the Pentecost launch in Jerusalem to the ongoing mission of a church continuing to spread throughout the Roman Empire. Today, we’ll see Herod launch a public assault on the leaders of the church in Jerusalem, killing James and imprisoning Peter, but he ultimately cannot stop the advancement of Christ’s kingdom.

I.Scene 1: The Evil Attack (12:1-5)

A.Opposition is inevitable.

B.God’s sovereignty is inscrutable.

C.Prayer is effectual.

II.Scene 2: The Lord’s Rescue (12:6-19)

A.The Lord’s peace is phenomenal.

B.The Lord’s grace is astonishing.

C.The Lord’s power is immeasurable.

III.Scene 3: The Final Word (12:20-24)

A.Herod’s idolatry

B.Herod’s obituary

C.A word of warning and a word of hope [1]

Rivalries exist everywhere. In politics it’s Democrats versus Republicans. In computers it’s Mac versus PC. In sports it’s Auburn versus Alabama. In superhero movies it’s Superman versus Lex Luthor. In the home it’s kids versus vegetables! And in the kingdom of God, it’s the kingdom of darkness opposing the kingdom of God’s beloved Son (Col 1:11-12). Importantly, in this last example in particular, the rivals aren’t equal. Not even close.

In this narrative Luke provides a vivid example of the folly of opposing the King of kings. I agree with John Polhill, who says it’s “one of the most delightful and engaging narratives in all of Acts” (Acts, 276). It’s told with brilliant artistry.

Here we see the church’s mission taking significant steps forward. Before Luke tells about the major advancement of the gospel with the first missionary journey in chapter 13, he provides us with a story about opposition in the Jerusalem church. It reminds us that kingdom advancement doesn’t come without a significant cost.

The tyrant leading the assault on the church is Herod Agrippa I, who killed the apostle James then imprisoned the apostle Peter. Such conflict isn’t unusual. John Stott notes the following pattern, providing great hope for believers in the midst of conflict:

Indeed, throughout church history the pendulum has swung between expansion and opposition, growth and shrinkage, advance and retreat, although with the assurance that even the powers of death and hell will never prevail against Christ’s church, since it is built securely on the rock. (Message of Acts, 207)

In other words, we can relate to this story. Christians from every age will face conflict if seeking to advance the gospel. But we can face such conflict with unshakable assurance that Christ will win!

Scene 1: The Evil Attack

Acts 12:1-5

“About that time” (when the Antioch church prepared the relief offering, 11:27-30) King Herod (Agrippa I) launched a violent assault on the church (v. 1). If you’re familiar with the Bible, then you’re familiar with the name Herod, but it’s easy to get the Herods confused. This Herodian dynasty was notorious for attacking the people of God. They ruled Palestine with the delegated power of Rome. Herod Agrippa I’s grandfather was Herod the Great, who was responsible for slaughtering the babies after the magi’s visit (Matt 1:16-18). Herod Antipas, a younger son of Herod the Great, and uncle of Herod Agrippa I, beheaded John the Baptist in a moment of arousal (Matt 14:1-12). Here in Acts 12 we read of Herod Agrippa I. His son, Agrippa II, appears in Acts 25–26.

Herod Agrippa I bears many of the characteristics of his evil family. As a child he was sent to Rome and was reared among Roman aristocracy. He developed childhood friendships that eventually led to his ruling of the Jewish kingdom—nearly to the same extent as his grandfather (Polhill, Acts, 278). One of his classmates was the emperor Claudius, who extended Herod’s rule. Herod was a political chameleon. When with the Romans, he lived in a Roman fashion. When around the Jews, he lived for their favor. He was a people pleaser, a glory seeker, and a Christ hater.

Herod Agrippa uses an approach different from Saul’s house-to-house, one-by-one method of eliminating followers of Christ. Herod instead opts to put to death the leaders of the church, consequently destroying the morale of the church. He starts with James (son of Zebedee and brother of John, not to be confused with James, half brother of Jesus and author of the book of James, who became a leader in the Jerusalem church). This James, along with Peter and John, was a member of the innermost circle of Jesus. Herod kills this important leader “with the sword” (v. 2), which may imply beheading. So following the violent martyrdom of Stephen, the church grieved over the first martyred apostle, James.

This decision “pleased the Jews,” and because it did, Herod proceeded to arrest Peter also (v. 3). There was no reason to execute James or to arrest Peter—the two weren’t political revolutionaries—but Herod wants to play to the Romans and the Jews. In taking such drastic actions, he can assure the Romans that this little sect called Christianity isn’t violating the ways of Rome, and he can also appeal to the Jews by showing that he is standing up for their traditions (i.e., the temple, the law, and separation from Gentiles). Herod loves power. He loves glory. He loves to please people.

We don’t have to look far to find modern examples of the beheadings of those who claim the name of Christ. The images of ISIS beheading professing believers on the coast of Libya will never leave my mind. But Christians can die with confidence because our King can put heads back on.

Herod may have started with James and not Peter, who seems the more outspoken of the two, in order to gauge the crowd’s reaction to his cruelty. When they were pleased with the death of James, Herod decided to go all the way to the top of the Christian movement’s human leadership in making an attack on Peter. (The evil one always loves to attack those in leadership.)

One thing stood in the way of his beheading this second disciple: it was Passover season (v. 3). It was time for the Jews’ annual celebration of the exodus, when God freed his people from Egyptian tyranny. During this time neither trials nor the carrying out of sentences was permitted. So Herod sends Peter to prison guarded by “four squads of four soldiers” (v. 4). That’s a lot of soldiers for one guy, suggesting that perhaps the Sanhedrin informed Agrippa of the previous jailbreak (5:19). Herod intends to bring Peter out to the people for a show trial following Passover. No doubt Herod thought this would curry great favor with the Jews and bring him much public glory.

Don’t miss that when Herod attacks with the sword, the church counters with prayer (v. 5). This should always be the church’s response during times of great trial and agony. We’ve seen the earliest Christians model it previously in the book of Acts (cf. 4:29-31).

Allow me to point out three applications.

Opposition Is Inevitable

The Bible gives accounts of battles within the broader context of one great battle. Various people lead assaults on God’s people, using various means of warfare. Pick your tyrant: Pharaoh, Jezebel, Nebuchadnezzar, Herod. God’s people have always faced persecution. Already, in eleven chapters of Acts, we have observed opposition in the form of threats, intimidation, physical beatings, and stoning. Now the sword turns against God’s people. We shouldn’t be surprised when we face opposition while living on mission; we should be surprised when we don’t.

Jesus told his disciples, “You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world” (John 16:33). While Jesus told us the honest news, he also reminded us of the great news! Christ crushed the head of the serpent at the cross. He triumphed over death as he vacated the tomb. He ascended into heaven where he rules and reigns over all. And soon Jesus Christ will return to judge the living and the dead. In light of this bigger story, we can live out our little stories with faith, knowing that the King will always win. He’s in control.

The King was in charge when James died and in charge when Peter went free. He could have saved James, but he didn’t—for his own sovereign purposes. (And let’s remember, the moment James died, Jesus was there to meet him in heaven.) The King can use miraculous deliverance or martyrdom for gospel advancement.

We see examples of the power of persecution throughout church history, and yet neither persecution nor death can ultimately stop the mission. Jesus just replaces martyrs with other missionaries. When Paul was in prison, he rejoiced in the ways the sovereign One was working in the midst of his imprisonment (cf. Phil 1:14). Jerome said,

The church of Christ has been founded by shedding its own blood, not that of others; by enduring outrage, not by inflicting it. Persecutions have made it grow; martyrdoms have crowned it. (Letter 82, in Piper, “Execution, Escape, and Eaten by Worms”)

Opposition is inevitable, yet we don’t engage in this war as victims but as victors. Our King rules and reigns.

God’s Sovereignty Is Inscrutable

God’s ways are fathomless. We can’t ultimately comprehend the works of God (cf. Rom 11:33-36). Hymn writer William Cowper said, “God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform.” Why does James die and Peter live? We aren’t told all the reasons. We know that Jesus promised James’s death in Mark 10:39, but we’re not told why. Surely the church was praying for James, like Peter, yet he was put to death. John, James’s brother, lived to be an old man. Sometimes believers suffer terribly, and sometimes God delivers miraculously (Schreiner, “God’s Inscrutable Sovereignty”). We can’t predict the ways of God.

Sometimes those who would be great parents can’t have biological children. Sometimes those who are terrible parents keep having babies. Sometimes God answers prayers for healings, and sometimes he doesn’t. Sometimes the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer—at least for a season (Ps 73).

While such trials bring much grief and pain, we must not be angry with God. Trials are not necessarily a sign that he’s displeased with us. God calls us to trust him, even when life hurts. His ways are wise, good, and just. And we must remember this: God has given us his Son. God doesn’t promise to give us an explanation for everything, but he has given us the promise that changes everything: he will raise us from the dead. We will dwell with him in the new heaven and new earth, where sin and suffering can’t touch us. God doesn’t explain everything, but through Christ, God has entered into our suffering, has taken the ultimate injustice at the cross, and has risen triumphantly so that all who call out to him may have eternal life. Latch on to this reality in suffering. Glory is coming. It’s not here yet, but keep looking to God in faith. He gave his Son for sinners like us, and soon all suffering will end.

Prayer Is Effectual

One might wonder about the church’s response here. Why not take up arms? Why not protest? While force and outcry are appropriate at times, prayer is always the first and best response. Prayer is the church’s weapon, and using it isn’t passive. The believers in this passage essentially go to war through prayer. Prayer is “an act of defiance to opposition” (Azurdia, “The Pendulum of Gospel Ministry”). The band Rend Collective sings a catchy victory song in “More than Conquerors,” declaring, “We are more than conquerors, through Christ; You have overcome this world, this life; We will not bow to sin or to shame; We are defiant in Your name.” In that hope-filled spirit the church prays. Prayer isn’t retreat. It’s an act of holy defiance. It’s an act of placing dependent confidence in the sovereign God who hears the prayers of his people and rules over all. In the words of John Piper, prayer is a “wartime walkie-talkie” (Let the Nations Be Glad, 45). The church is at war, so they call up the Commander, who shuts lions’ mouths, humiliates pharaohs, breaks chains, and opens prison doors, knowing he will act in whatever way he knows is best.

How do you regard prayer? Is your initial response to conflict one of planning or petitioning? Learn from the church in Jerusalem. The kingdom of darkness uses physical weapons; the church uses the weapon of prayer. Wield your weapon! [2]

[1] Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in Acts (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2017).

[2] Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in Acts (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2017).