Acts 12

Introduction

In chapters 10 and 11 of the book of Acts, the Lord made clear that salvation and eternal life in the presence of God is for everyone who believes. And the way he made that clear was by sending the Apostle Peter to preach the good news of Christ to Cornelius, who was a Roman centurion and a Gentile.

Up until this point, the gospel had been preached to Jews and to Samaritans only. Samaritans were half-Jews and half-Gentiles. And so, up until this point, the gospel had been preached to them only and Peter and his fellow Jewish believers regarded the Gentiles as being unclean in God’s sight and separated from his grace.

But in chapter 10, the Lord sent Peter to preach to Cornelius and his companions. And the Lord enabled them to believe the good news; and then he poured out his Spirit on them, as he has done with the believing Jews in chapter 2 and he had done with the believing Samaritans in chapter 8. And in this way the Risen and Exalted Lord Jesus Christ made clear that salvation and eternal life is for everyone. It’s not for Jews only. It’s not for Jews and Samaritans only. It’s for Jews and Samaritans and Gentiles. It’s for everyone who believes the good news about Jesus Christ, who is the Eternal Son of God who came into the world as one of us and who gave up his life on the cross to pay for all that we have done wrong and to make peace for us with God. And Sunday by Sunday the Risen and Exalted Lord Jesus Christ comes to you in the preaching of the gospel to re-assure you that salvation and eternal life is for you so long as you believe in him.

Today we’re studying chapter 12 and Luke has structured the content of this chapter so that it begins and ends with King Herod. And in the middle, there’s the story of Peter’s arrest and rescue. And right at the end, there’s a little postscript.

The text

If you’ve got your Bible out in front of you, you can see that the passage begins in verses 1 to 5 with Herod. There are several Herods in the New Testament. There was the Herod who tried to kill the Lord Jesus shortly after he was born and Mary and Joseph had to take their child and flee for Egypt. Then there was the Herod who gave orders for John the Baptist to be beheaded. And now there’s this Herod. These Herods were from the same family and they bear the same likeness, don’t they? They bear the same likeness because just as one wanted to kill the infant Jesus and another one killed John the Baptist, this one killed the Apostle James, who was the brother of the Apostle John. And this Herod was also intending to kill Peter once the Jewish Feast of Unleavened Bread was over. And so, all three of them have set themselves up against the Lord and his kingdom. Instead of entering the kingdom of God by trusting in Christ the King, which all of us must do, they were trying to destroy the kingdom of God by killing the King and his people.

And according to verse 1, this Herod had a number of believers arrested. And when Luke tells us in verse 2 that he had James put to death with the sword, he probably means that Herod had James beheaded. And so, if Stephen is the first Christian to be martyred, James is the first Apostle to be martyred.

And when Herod saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. And Luke tells us that this took place at the time of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In other words, it took place at the time of the Passover, which was the same time of the year when the Lord Jesus was crucified. And you can see in verse 4 that he intended to keep Peter in prison until the feast was over and then he would make Peter stand trial. And we can take it for granted that his intention was to do to Peter what he had already done to James and to have him executed.

Luke tells us that Peter was guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. So, sixteen soldiers were assigned to guard this one man. It’s unlikely that all sixteen were on duty at the same time. Probably the squads took turns to guard the prisoner. But nevertheless, it’s a lot of men and presumably it was to make certain that Peter wouldn’t be able to escape.

And look at verse 5, where it says that Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. Luke doesn’t say what they prayed for, but their surprise when Peter turned up at their door later on suggests that they hadn’t been praying for that. And so, perhaps they were praying that Peter would not been overwhelmed by the trial he was undergoing and that he would have the strength of the Lord to stand firm in the faith and to continue to bear witness boldly to the good news about the Lord Jesus. That’s what Peter did before when he was arrested and whenever he stood trial. He took every opportunity he could to proclaim the good news of Christ who died but who was raised and who is seated at God’s right hand as Saviour and Lord. And so, perhaps they were praying for the Lord to enable Peter to testify to the truth of Christ once again even in the face of opposition from Herod.

And Luke tells us that on the night before the trial, Peter was doing what? He was sleeping. Isn’t that wonderful? We sometimes wonder how we would respond to persecution if we had to face what our fellow believers have to face who are persecuted for their faith. But the wonderful thing is that the Lord gives his people the help they need. He’s the Good Shepherd of his sheep who promises to be with us in the darkest hour. He will not abandon his people the way the hired hand abandons the sheep. Instead he remains with his people and he fills his suffering people with a sense of peace and that all will be well.

And so, when we read about Peter sleeping here, we mustn’t think it was because Peter was a super-saint. Peter was just like you and me. He was only a man and he was weak. And his ability to sleep soundly in prison was due to the faithfulness of his Saviour and Shepherd, who relieved his fears and took away his sorrows and who does the same for his people today. And we receive his help by trusting in his infinite goodness and mercy.

And so, Peter slept that night between two soldiers, who were bound to him with chains. And then the other two soldiers in this squad stood on guard at the entrance to the prison. And that’s when an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. Luke doesn’t tell us about the guards, but presumably the angel ensured that they were asleep and unable to do anything to prevent him from rescuing Peter. And the angel poked Peter’s side to waken him and then he hold Peter to get up and to get dressed and to follow him. And as soon as Peter stood up, the chains fell off his wrists. And they passed one guard and then another and then they came to an iron gate and it opened for them all by itself. And they went out of the prison and into the city and down a street. And that’s when the angel left Peter.

Until this point, Peter believed he was seeing another vision from the Lord. But now he realised that it wasn’t a vision or a dream, but it was real and that the Lord had sent an angel to rescue him.

And in verse 12 Luke tells us that when this dawned on Peter, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, which is where many had gathered for prayer. And we have this funny scene when he knocked on the door. The servant girl, who answered his knock, was so happy to see him, that she ran back inside to tell the others the good news, without first letting poor Peter in, who was still standing at the door, knocking to get inside. And the believers inside didn’t believe the girl’s story. It was the same at the time of the resurrection when the women went to tell the disciples that they had seen an angel at the Lord’s tomb who told them that the Lord was alive. But the disciples did not believe their words. The same was happening again. But when the people went to the door they discovered that it was true and they were astonished, because the Lord had done more than they imagined by rescuing Peter from Herod’s grip.

And afterwards we read that Peter left for another place, presumably to stay out of Herod’s way.

And the passage ends as it began with Luke telling us about Herod and how he made a thorough search for Peter, but could not find him. And then he cross-examined, or he interrogated, the guards and had them executed, which is what happend to guards in those days whenever a prisoner escaped. And then Luke tells us of the time when Herod went to Caesarea and a delegation from Tyre and Sidon came to him because of some dispute. And on the appointed day, Herod appeared before them wearing his royal robes. Josephus, an ancient historian, tells us that his garment was made wholly of silver so that it reflected the sunlight and ‘it shone out after a surprising manner’ and ‘and was so resplendent as to spread a horror over those that looked intently upon him.’ And he sat on his throne and addressed the people. And afterwards, the people shouted — or his flatterers shouted, as Josephus calls them — that they had heard, not the voice of a man, but the voice of a god. And Josephus says in his account of this event that the king did not rebuke them or reject their impious flattery. So, he didn’t tell them off for saying such blasphemous things about himself. And, as Luke tells, because he did not praise God — because he did not praise the one, true and living God — an angel of the Lord struck him down with an illness so that he was eaten by worms and he died. Josephus tells us that he was in agony for five days before he died. And the reason he died like this was because he did not give glory to God.

And so, the passage begins and ends with Herod: how he began to persecute the church of Jesus Christ and how an angel of the Lord struck him down so that he died.

And in the little postscript at the end, Luke tells us that the word of God continued to increase and spread. He means that the church continued to increase and spread through the preaching of the word of God about Jesus Christ.

And then he mentions Barnabas and Saul — or Paul as he’s better known now — and how they finished their mission to bring money from the believers in Antioch to the believers in Jerusalem. And having finished that mission, they returned home, where they would soon be sent on another kind of mission to preach the good news of the gospel into other parts of the Roman Empire.

Application 1

We can’t read this passage without noticing how the believers gathered together for united prayer. Look again at verse 5 where Luke tells us that Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. And look again at verse 12, where Luke tells us that Peter went to Mary’s house, where many people had gathered and were praying. Whenenver the church was under attack, the members of the church joined together for united prayer.

And here’s the thing: the church of Jesus Christ on earth is always under attack. It’s always under attack, because there are really only two kingdoms in the world: there’s the kingdom of God which is ruled over by Christ our King from heaven; and there’s the kingdom of satan, who is continually opposed to God’s kingdom on earth. It began in the Garden of Eden, when satan tempted first Eve and then Adam to disobey the Lord. And his opposition to the kingdom of God and to Christ’s people on the earth has continued down through the generations and right up to the present time and it will continue until Christ comes again and puts an end to satan’s opposition once and for all.

And his opposition takes several forms. For instance, he opposes the church through persecution, which we see in this chapter, with Herod arresting believers and putting them to death. And recently we had a representative from Open Doors at the church for the PW service and he spoke about smash and squeeze. So, some believers are smashed: they face physical persecution so that they’re beaten and arrested and executed. Others are squeezed, which means they suffer discrimination and they’re treated unfairly. And so, right now across the world, believers are being smashed or they are being squeezed because of their faith in Christ.

But there’s another method which satan will use against the Lord’s people. He tries to destroy our faith by leading us astray with the worries of this life and with the deceitfulness of wealth and with the desire for other things. Or he tries to undermine our faith through false teaching and he convinces us to believe lies instead of the truth which saves.

The church is always under attack and we always face opposition. And since that’s the case, then the church today should follow the example of the early church and we should join together for united prayer.

And so, let me make an appeal to you once again to come to the midweek prayer meeting so that you’re able to join together with your fellow believers to support one another in prayer and to pray that satan’s kingdom will be destroyed; and that the kingdom of God will advance throughout the world through the reading and preaching of God’s word; and that Christ’s people around the world and here in Immanuel will receive the strength of the Lord to stand firm in the faith and to persevere in it until Christ comes or calls us.

The Presbytery recently sent out to every Kirk Session a list of ideas for encouraging corporate prayer which other congregations have used and which we might want to use. And it’s a long list, which, it seems to me, only bears witness to the fact that the prayer life of our congregations is pretty poor. If our prayer life was better, we wouldn’t be trying all these new ways to encourage it. And I’m reminded of a member of the Linkage Commission who often asked the same question whenever vacant congregations came to the Commission to seek leave to call. In their application, each congregations listed all their organisations and activities. And many of them were busy congregations and their weekly schedule was packed. And this man would often ask the same question: ‘What about your prayer meeting? Where is it?’

We can get so busy in our churches that we neglect to do this one thing which we see the early church doing, which is that they met together for united prayer. And yet it’s such a blessing to those who come to spend time together in the presence of God, confessing our weakness and our inability; and seeking his help for ourselves and for our fellow believers around the world; and pleading with him to build his church and to extend his kingdom throughout the world. It’s a blessing which so many people know nothing about because they do not come.

Someone has called the prayer meeting the engine of a church because it’s where the church gets the power it needs for its work and witness. Now, that’s not strictly accurate, because we get the power we need from the Lord our God. But at the prayer meeting we call on him to work powerfully in us and through us. And when the church around the world is under attack from the evil one, and when the church’s witness is weak, as it is in our day, then the best thing we can do is to gather together for united prayer and to call down God’s power on the earth. And who knows what God will do in answer to our prayers? As I said earlier, it’s unlikely the believers in Acts 12 were praying for Peter’s release, otherwise they wouldn’t have been so surprised when he appeared at their door. And yet God did surprise them by doing more than they imagined. And who knows what the Lord will not do in our day if only we join together and appeal to him in united prayer.

Application 2

But let’s also notice from this passage the great power of Christ our King.

The passage begins and ends with King Herod. At the beginning of the passage, he arrested some of the believers and he put James to death. Then he arrested Peter. And at the end of the passage, he sat on his throne and impressed the delegation from Tyre and Sidon. He impressed them so much that they claimed he was a god and not a man. It seemed to them that he was a mighty and important and impressive man. He was a king after all and he could decide who will live and who will die.

And the world is full of mighty and important and impressive people. The world is full of kings and queens and presidents and prime ministers and rulers. What they decide to do can affect thousands of people and some of them have the power of life and death over their people.

But they are nothing compared to Christ our King who is the King of kings and Lord of lords and who lives and reigns, not on an earthly throne, like Herod’s throne, but on a heavenly throne. Christ our king who died for us was raised from the dead and he was exalted to heaven and enthroned, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every title that can be given in this age and in the age to come. He rules over all and he can do all things. On this occasion, he was able to give the word and send an angel to rescue Peter from prison. And then he was able to send another angel to strike Herod down with an illness that led to death. And in the chapters which follow we’ll see how Christ our King will send Paul throughout the Roman Empire to, in a sense, conquer it through the preaching of the gospel, so that many people gave up their wicked ways and yielded their lives to Christ the King to live for him and for his glory in this world.

Christ the King demonstrates his great power in one way by rescuing Peter. He shows it in another way by striking Herod down. He’ll show it in yet another way by conquering the unbelief of his chosen people and by enabling them to believe the good news of salvation through the foolishness of preaching.

What we need in our day is a true faith in the power of Christ our King. People are always talking about the chaos in the world around us and we worry about what will become of us. And people are always talking about the way society has changed; and people aren’t interested in the gospel any more; and they’re becoming more and more godless and pagan; and secularism is rampant; and the church is too weak to combat it; and what worked in the past won’t work now; and preaching, for instance, is a waste of time, because who will listen to a preacher in this day and age? And who would ever dream to come to church today?

People are always talking about the problems we face, when what we should be talking about is the greatness of our God and the mighty power of Christ our King who is able to do more than we can ask or imagine; and who was able to conquer the pagan Roman Empire through the foolishness and weakness of preaching the gospel.

And Christ our King is the same, yesterday, today and forever. He does not change. He cannot change. And what he was able to do in the days of Peter and Paul, he’s able to do today if it’s his will. He’s able to use the foolishness of preaching to conquer whole nations and to take sinners, whose lives are broken, and he’s able to restore them to what they were meant to be by his Spirit. What we need in our day is a true faith in the power of Christ our King who once conquered the Roman Empire.

Application 3

And in case any one is wondering about James and wondering what didn’t Christ the King rescue James, who was put to death by Herod, then we only need to remember the words of the Apostle Paul who said about death that, for believers, to die is gain. To die is gain. Death is gain for believers, because for believers, death is not the end, but it’s the doorway into the presence of God to await the resurrection of our bodies. And to be in the presence of God is better than anything else we can imagine, because it’s where we get to gaze on the beauty of the Lord; and it’s where we’re filled with never-ending joy and happiness. And, it’s not so much that Herod took James’s life, but that the Lord took James to himself. And isn’t that what we all want? To be in the presence of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and to see God and his glory for ever? And there we’ll worship him and give thanks to him because didn’t he save us? Didn’t he save us by coming to earth as one of us to pay for our sins with his life and to make peace for us with God? And didn’t he conquer our unbelief by enabling us to believe the good news? And hasn’t he given us his Spirit to renew us in God’s image and to enable us to love God and to love one another? And so, when we get to glory, we’ll be able to join together with our fellow believers for united thanksgiving and praise for ever and for ever.