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More persecution
More persecution
1 Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them.
2 And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword.
Herod - Agrippa 1 - Grandson of Harod the great. Remember when the wise men were following the New Star to find the newborn King?
This Herod tried to appease the Jews.
James the brother of John (Sons of Thunder) Apostle of Christ.
Stephen - A guy put in charge of food distribution was martyred and got a whole chapter. Luke gave James two words. (Put to death/with a sword).
3 When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread.
Pleased the Jews - If he pleased the Jews, they would not revolt against Rome - Harod would win favor with Rome.
During the days of Unleavened Bread. 7 day feast before the passover.
4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out before the people.
Each squad was four well trained and disciplined soldiers. Total 16 soldiers.
Bring him out before the people: public trial (apostate)
But they have to wait for the Passover.
5 So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.
There are few things God does apart from prayer.
The church - congregation.
We tend to think of the Church as an entity and the people that go to the Church as the congregation of that particular Church.
Like the Church is a large bus and the members get on the bus and the pastor drives the bus.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of riding with Drew, Jonny, Carol, and a couple others to Mt. View. I decided to ride in the back most of the time and as I rode and watched this small group of riders, I thought about how the church mentioned in the bible. The ekklesia (the congregation) is like a group of motorcycle riders.
We all have the same purpose and destination, We help each other by communicating trouble or traffic. We keep an eye out for one another, we wait for one another. But ultimately this group is made up of individuals responsible for operating their own bike. Everybody in the group didn’t ride the same. Each person has their own style and own abilities. Drew was up front leading most of the way, but although I was in the back, I knew where we were going and if Drew led us down a wrong path, I like everyone else in the group would have a responsibility to ride up front and communicate where we went wrong.
In Peter’s case, the church was praying fervently for God to intervene for Peter.
Prison Break
Prison Break
6 On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison.
Check mate. They got the tater.
7 And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And his chains fell off his hands.
Description of the account.
This isn’t the first time an angel of the Lord has sprung Peter.
In Acts 5 the apostles were put in prison and we are told in Acts 5: 19
19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and taking them out he said,
20 “Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life.”
Back to Acts 12:8
8 And the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”
Sometimes you can be told big broad directions and you are good.
The Core Team last week decided we needed to get a back-up computer and get ours looked at.
Broad directives. An I was good with that.
But when someone is in trouble and you want to help them, you can’t always just give them broad instructions. We try to help people by saying, “read your Bible,” “Follow Jesus.”
That just adds to their stress and anxiety.
They may need what Peter was getting, “Get up, get dressed, put your shoes on, put on your coat, follow me.”
9 And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.
He thought it was a dream.
10 When they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.
They - He and the angel.
11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”
Intersections - Its hard sometimes to recognize God’s hand in your life until after the fact.
12 And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.
13 When he knocked at the door of the gate, a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer.
14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate.
15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, “It is his angel.”
16 But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, 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 led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to James and the brethren.” Then he left and went to another place.
Rhoda - I love that Luke recorded this for us.
Here in the South we would day “Bless her.”
I love that she was so excited, that she forgot to open the gate.
The aftermath
The aftermath
18 Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to what could have become of Peter.
19 When Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they be led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and was spending time there.
The fate of Herod - Herod was sideways with the people of two cities (Tyre and Sidon) and they were trying to make peace with him. They won an audience with the King and when he started talking to them, they called him a god.
He didn’t correct them, and
23 And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.
Lessons from Acts 12
Lessons from Acts 12
Bad things happen even when you follow Jesus.
James
Peter’s arrest.
Prayer moves God
8 When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
3. God has a plan
Peter in a terrible predicament.
4. Joy comes when we follow God.
Peter realizing what God has done
5. There is only one God
5 “I am the Lord, and there is no other;
Besides Me there is no God.
I will gird you, though you have not known Me;