The Word of the True King Prevails

Introduction

Do you expect your state or national government to make room for religious freedom?

Do you know that many Christians and churches in the world today live under the rule of governments that are openly hostile to Christian beliefs and practices?

According to Open Doors USA, an organization that has monitored Christian persecution in the world since 1992, there were nearly 5,000 Christian martyrs in 2021 (most on the continent of Africa, and in particular Nigeria). In Pakistan a common persecution against Christian women is to force them to marry non-Christians. In China, Christians can be detained without charges and even imprisoned for holding to certain historical Christian doctrines and practices… an more than 7,000 Christian churches in China have been forcibly closed and disbanded over the last two years.

You can read more statistics like this in the full article: https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/january/christian-persecution-2021-countries-open-doors-watch-list.html

To state it bluntly, I am so thankful for the freedoms Christians have had in the western word, and especially in America over the last couple of centuries, but when I read history and current news headlines, I am forced to admit that religious freedom is not the norm… it is the exception.

In fact, I am a bit confused sometimes when I think about how often the New Testament warns Christians to expect persecution and to prepare to endure it. I think, “This isn’t my experience at all… What gives?”

Brothers and sisters, in many ways religious freedom has been a wonderful blessing… but I wonder if it doesn’t also come with some downside.

How many of us are prepared to face real persecution?

How many of us are able to parse out the differences between our biblical convictions and our cultural preferences?

How many of us already know which hills to die on, which ones to fight for, and which ones to retreat from?

Today, we’re going to read and consider a passage of Scripture that highlights real persecution and God’s preservation. We will see that God is the true sovereign over all of this, and we will also see where our hope should be as Christians in a fallen (post-Genesis-3) world.

The context is the ongoing expansion of Christianity in the first century. Beginning in Jerusalem, Christianity has spread as far as Antioch, and there have been threats and opposition at every step of the way. But the word of God and the kingdom of Christ seems unstoppable, and this (it seems to me) is really getting at the heart of our passage today.

Let’s stand and read together…

Scripture Reading

Acts 12:1–25 (ESV)

1 About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. 2 He killed James the brother of John with the sword, 3 and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread.

4 And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

6 Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. 7 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 9 And he went out and followed him.

He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him.

11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”

12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. 13 And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer.

14 Recognizing Peter’s voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!”

16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. 17 But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.” Then he departed and went to another place.

18 Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. 19 And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there.

20 Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food.

21 On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. 22 And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!”

23 Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last. 24 But the word of God increased and multiplied.

25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark.

Main Point

The word of the true King always prevails, even when it appears to be weak in the world.

Message Outline

State-Sanctioned Persecution

Divine Deliverance

Rescue Reported

The Words of Two Kings

Message

1) State-Sanctioned Persecution

Who was Herod?

In v1 Luke says, “About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church.”

This is Herod Agrippa I, king of Judea at that time.

Agrippa’s uncle was Herod Antipas, who governed Galilee for a while.

Herod Antipas both envied and hated John the Baptist, so he had John imprisoned. And later he had John beheaded at the request of his niece (Matt. 14:1-12).

Agrippa’s grand-dad was Herod the Great, king of Judea at the time of Jesus’ birth.

Herod the Great feared the rise of the one who had been born “King of the Jews,” so he murdered all the boys 2-yrs-old and younger in and around Bethlehem (Matt. 2:16-18).

One can only imagine the heartbreak of such widespread and horrific violence.

Agrippa had come to power by family lineage and also by political cunning, and he had both reclaimed and rebuilt the kingdom his grand-dad once ruled, covering all of Judea.

Incidentally, it seems from this passage that political cunning was the reason for Herod Agrippa’s persecution of the church in Jerusalem, and throughout Judea more broadly.

A new kind of persecution

v1 tells us that “Herod [Agrippa] the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church.” And verses 2 and 3 tell us a couple of details about the “some who belonged to the church” (v1).

This persecution was new because it was coming from the civil government, not only from the Jewish leaders who continued rejecting Jesus as the Christ.

Herod “killed James the brother of John” (v2).

James was a fisherman, who Jesus called to be one of His disciples (Matt. 4:21)… and who was named among the 12 Apostles in Acts 1:13-14.

And Herod “arrested Peter also” (v3).

v3 says that Herod “saw that it [i.e., the murder of James] pleased the Jews,” and that this is what prompted Herod to “proceed” with further persecution.

As I said before, it seems that Herod’s political maneuvering (trying to win favor with the Jews in Judea) was behind his violent persecution.

v3 also tells us that Peter’s arrest was “during the days of Unleavened Bread,” which concluded with “the Passover” (v4).

And in v4 Luke says that Herod’s plan was to hold Peter until that Jewish festival was over… and until then, Peter was “kept in prison” (v5), guarded by “four squads of soldiers” (v4).

It’s worth noting here that Peter’s situation was hopeless, and that’s Luke’s point.

Herod Agrippa is not delaying Peter’s execution because he’s still deciding what to do with him. No, Herod is waiting for the opportune time… a social and political opportunity to make Peter’s execution a spectacle.

This is clear because Luke says Herod “intended after the Passover to bring [Peter] out to the people” (v4)… and also because Peter was guarded so heavily - 16 soldiers, 4 groups of 4, taking shifts so that no distraction would be possible.

Calvin commented on this passage, “Luke… declared by circumstances that Peter was, as it were, shut up in his grave, so that it might seem that he was quite past hope” (Calvin, v4).

A praying church

v5 says, “So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.”

Luke doesn’t tell us what they prayed for, but it could have been at least a couple of things.

They could have prayed that Peter be released.

Of course, that’s what my prayer would be, if I were Peter… and this is what I’d want others praying for me.

This is what most of us are prone to pray when we are going through the midst of some difficulty… “Lord, please make this stop!”

But they also could have prayed that Peter be resolute (that he would persevere in faith), even as he faced the pain of death.

What a horrible situation for Peter! All he had to do is recant his faith in Christ and declare himself a faithful son of Israel, and maybe the crowd Herod was trying to please would come to Peter’s defense.

Peter might spare his own life… but what of his soul?

Is Jesus the Messiah? Is He the one and only mediator between God and man? If so, then how can Peter loosen his grip upon his only hope in life and death?

What a blow to the church in Jerusalem! Peter (seemingly their chief spokesman, evangelist, minister, and leader) was awaiting execution, and what if Peter decided that it wasn’t worth it?

If Peter recanted, or if he died in a shameful display of hopelessness and unbelief, what would the rest of the church do?

Did Peter believe what he preached? Would he now exemplify the very Christian hope which he had called so many others to embrace?

Whatever the content of their prayers, and whatever the intent of King Herod, Luke wants his reader to know that God is the true King, and God’s word prevails over everything.

That’s what our passage is about, and that’s a constant theme throughout the book of Acts.

2) Divine Deliverance

The last hour

v6 says, “Now when Herod was about to bring [Peter] out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison.”

Peter is surrounded by death! The next morning, he’s going to die, and all around him are soldiers and chains and an entire prison structure that is meant to hold him down until the executioner’s sword is laid upon him!

If God was going to preserve Peter’s life, then surely He would have done it by now!

And if God is going to save Peter, then why wait until the very last possible moment?!

An angelic rescue

Into that hopeless scene, and in that last moment “an angel of the Lord stood next to him” (v7)!

And from v7 through v11, God shows His total sovereignty over everything.

At the end of v7, Luke says, “the chains fell off his hands.”

In v8, the angel makes time for Peter to gather up all his stuff.

In v9 we read that Peter was so sure of his impending execution and so free to move about the prison that he “thought he was seeing a vision.”

v10 says that the angel led Peter past a “first” and a “second guard,” and then the “iron gate leading into the city… opened for them of its own accord.”

God rules over chains, guards, and even prison gates!

A miracle for a purpose

v11 concludes this divine deliverance with a truth statement… It’s the “why” behind God’s rescue.

v11 says, “When Peter came to himself, he said, ‘Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.’”

Friends, God’s miracles are never magic tricks. God is never merely entertaining us. He is always teaching us.

And what is the lesson for Peter in all of this? What is the lesson for the church in Jerusalem? What is the lesson for Christians throughout the ages?

No earthly king, and no raging mob is able to do anything outside of the Lord’s will and power.

Peter was “sure” that God had “rescued” him “from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting” (v11).

This is not to say that everything kings and mobs and politicians do is good or right!

No, every sinner sins, and those sinners with greater power or opportunity tend to use such things to extend the reach of their sin.

We ought never excuse or justify sin or errors because, after all, “It is God’s will that it be this way.”

No! Herod was dead wrong for opposing the church in Jerusalem… He was a pagan ruler with a wicked and idolatrous heart, at war with Christ and His people in the world.

The Jewish mob was dead wrong for demanding the blood of Christians… The Jewish leaders, and most of the Jewish people, were not only in rebellion against God in that they were not obeying the law of Moses (which God has specifically and graciously given to them, and no one else!), but they had also flexed their adulterous muscles against the very Messiah God had sent for their salvation (and that of the whole world), scheming to have Him murdered in the most shameful way possible.

And, friends, every sinner (whether school teacher or accountant, whether little-league coach or project manager, whether police officer or politician, whether religious or ‘spiritual’ or atheistic) every sinner is dead wrong in his/her rebellion against God and His right rule.

When you and I and others act or think or speak in sinful, idolatrous, and God-denying ways, we and others are to blame… not God. And we and others are wrong!

And yet, the Bible clearly teaches us that God is sovereign over everything… both the good and the bad.

In Lamentations 3, God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?” (v36-37).

Through the prophet Isaiah, God said, “I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God… I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things” (Is. 45:5-7).

Such passages are only a portion of the clear and repeated testimony of Scripture: God is God, and He does as He pleases.… God rules as supreme over all creation, and His will is always carried out… through the thoughts, words and deeds of those who love Him, and through the same of those who hate Him.

The Second London Baptist Confession puts it like this: “God the good Creator of all things, in His infinite power, and wisdom, doth (a) uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all Creatures, and things, from the greatest even to the (b) least, by his most wise and holy providence… according unto… the free and immutable Counsel of his (c) own will; to the praise of the glory of his wisdom, power, justice, infinite goodness and mercy” (chapter 5, section 1).

It is not for us to know the ultimate reasons why God does all that He does… why He raises this king, rescues this Christian, overthrows that nation, or suffers that Christian to endure the worst persecution… It is for us to know that God is the true King, and to trust that He is working out His good will in all of life… and we must also remember that there is coming a day when all injustices will be made right.

3) Rescue Reported

There are two reports of Peter’s rescue in our passage. Let’s briefly look at each, and then let’s see how Luke concludes this section of his historical record of the establishment and expansion of Christ’s kingdom in the world.

The Christian report

v12 tells us that Peter went to “the house of Mary… where many were gathered together praying.”

“Rhoda” heard Peter at the door, and “in her joy she did not open [it], but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate” (v13-14).

For some reason, the Christians praying for Peter didn’t believe Rhoda, but Peter kept knocking, and they finally answered the door.

v16 says “they… were amazed.” No doubt an incredible understatement!

And Peter “described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison” (v17).

Then, Peter told those Christians praying at Mary’s house to “Tell these things to James [a different James than the one beheaded by Herod (v2)] and to the brothers [probably referring to the rest of the Apostles]” (v17).

And, finally, Peter left… possibly to avoid putting those Christians at Mary’s house in danger… because Herod would not be happy to learn that Peter had escaped.

Herod’s report

In v18-19, Luke tells us about how Herod recieved the report.

“among the solders” there “was no little disturbance… over what had become of Peter” (v18). Can you imagine?!

Even Herod himself “searched for [Peter] and did not find him” (v19).

And, after concluding that Peter had in fact escaped, Herod “ordered that [the soldiers] should be put to death” (v19).

There does seem to be a common practice in first-century Rome of prison guards forfeiting their own lives if their prisoners escaped (Acts 16:27, 27:42).

But, no doubt Herod was furious that all his precautions had somehow been thwarted… His reaction to this embarrassing development was to kill those responsible and to get away from Judea for a while (v19).

The end of v19 says that Herod “went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent some time there.”

These two reports serve to move Luke’s narrative forward.

Once again, Luke means for the reader to see a sort of comparison:

- There’s an earthly king, with political cunning and violent power… who is willing to use both to elevate himself and even to make war against Christ and His people.

- And there’s the true King, who’s kingdom appears weak and powerless in the world, especially against the onslaught of persecution... but the true King is actually growing and expanding His kingdom right in the face of every opposition the world can bring against it.

4) The Words of Two Kings

The increase and the word of the earthly king

In v20, Luke makes reference to the geopolitical maneuvering of the day, which doesn’t matter much to us… except to tell us that Herod was gaining in strength and influence.

Basically, the cities of Tyre and Sidon were self-governing, but they depended on Judea (Herod’s kingdom, within and under the greater authority of the Roman emperor) for food supply.

v20 tells us that Herod was increasing in power, since “the people of Tyre and Sidon” were having to persuade him (by political networking) toward peace.

Just imagine how the Christians of Judea must have felt to see Herod’s power growing… just as Herod’s violence against Christianity was getting hotter!

Is God only going to rescue Peter, just to let widespread persecution increase?!

The fact is that all the Apostles ended up suffering a martyr’s death… except John, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.

But Luke’s point in this narrative is NOT that God always delivers His people from persecution. No, the New Testament warns Christians repeatedly to expect persecution in the world.

Rather, Luke’s point is that the word of the true King always prevails… even through persecution… and even when Christians appear to be “killed all the day long” and “regarded as sheep to be slaughtered” (Rom. 8:36; cf. Ps. 44:22).

In v21-22, the whole scene comes to a climax.

“On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes [according to extrabiblical sources, Herod’s robes were sown together with silver and gold, such that he glistened in the sunlight], took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration [or “speech” or “public address”] to them [the representatives from Tyre and Sidon who came to see him in Caesarea]” (v21).

“And the people were shouting, ‘The voice of a god, and not of a man!’” (v22).

The whole display is to show Herod’s ascent to the status of a deity… and his word was said to be divine.

And the indication we get as we read is that Herod loved every second of it.

But Herod’s word did not prevail.

The increase of the word of the true King

v23 says, “Immediately an angel of the Lord struck [Herod] down, because he did not give God the glory...”

This is the wicked heart of every sinner.

The Apostle Paul described the natural posture of all children of Adam when he wrote, “although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him… they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator...” (Rom. 1:21, 25)

The Scripture elsewhere teaches us that even when sinners know that they are under God’s judgment, “they [do] not repent and give him glory” (Rev. 16:9).

Both Herod and the people gathered around him that day epitomized God-rejecting, man-glorifying idolatry.

Friend, if you think your worst sins are those that you don’t want others to know about, I think you’re probably wrong… Our worst sins are those that everyone seems perfectly fine with.

We live as ungrateful servants of God in the world… We breathe God’s air, we eat His food, we enjoy comfort and camaraderie among His image bearers… and we think and act like we are the master of our own castle.

We crave glory for ourselves, and we forget or actively withhold the glory God deserves… We admire the sunrise just for the sake of the sunrise… We celebrate a matching balance sheet without glorifying God for His wisdom in the perfect logic and accuracy of numbers… We spend entire days (and sometimes weeks!) living as though God does not exist… giving Him no attention or thought, much less glory for all He is and does.

Friends, we are far more like Herod in this episode than most of us would like to admit.

And God judged and struck Herod on the spot.

v23 says, “Immediately an angel of the Lord struck [Herod] down… and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.”

Luke is vague on the details of Herod’s illness, except one: It was “an angel” or “messenger” of “the Lord” who brought the disease of dearth upon him (v23).

Rather than speculate about how Herod died, we ought to aim hard to keep our minds focused on the fact that this was God’s judgment… immediate, definite, and fatal.

Friends, we are often tempted to think that just because God has not judged me yet, He probably won’t ever judge me.

This thinking is horribly mistaken. God‘s patience and kindness is great, but He will not let any sin of mine or yours go unpunished.

The gracious and beautiful promise of the gospel is not that God has gone soft.. No, it is that He has unleashed the full force of His fury on His own Son, so that those sinners who look to Jesus may see their own sin carried and paid for.

Though Herod (the earthly and seemingly powerful king) raised himself up as a sort of rival to God Himself, he died an embarrassing and degrading death… BUT v24 says, “the word of God [the true King] increased and multiplied.”

This is the repeated phrase Luke uses at the close of each section of Acts.

In Acts 6:7 (after Pentecost and after a threat to church unity from within was resolved) Luke says, “the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem.”

Then, in Acts 9:31 (after God dramatically reduced Jewish persecution of Christians by converting the chief persecutor, Saul/Paul), Luke says, “the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.”

And now, in Acts 12 (after God struck down the pagan king who laid violent hands upon Christians throughout Judea), Luke says, “the word of God increased and multiplied” (v24).

At every step along the way, with threats from within, threats from Jewish leaders, and threats from pagan earthly kings, the kingdom or Church of Jesus Christ grows because the word of the true King always prevails.

v25 even serves as a sort of conclusion, which displays this very reality.

Acts 12 begins with James martyred and Peter in prison, but it ends with “Barnabas and Saul” returning to Antioch “from Jerusalem” after having “completed their service,” which was to bring financial relief to the church in Jerusalem (v25; cf. Acts 11:27-30).

The word of the true King prevails, and His servants continue on in their task unhindered by the violent earthly king who tried to destroy them.

Brothers and sisters, this does not teach us that we should expect to survive all earthly attacks, nor should we expect to outlive all rivals to Christianity in the world… No, but we can expect that the true King and His people always prevail in the end.

It is not for us to make war for Christ, nor is it for us to be cunning political negotiators for Christ; it is for us to be His faithful servants and His enduring witnesses… And we entrust ourselves to the true King who judges all things justly (1 Pet. 2:18-23).

May God help us to be just this sort of Christian in the world.

Bibliography

Calvin, John, and Henry Beveridge. Commentary upon the Acts of the Apostles. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010. Print.

Peterson, David G. The Acts of the Apostles. Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, England: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009. Print. The Pillar New Testament Commentary.

Polhill, John B. Acts. Vol. 26. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992. Print. The New American Commentary.