Acts
12
It was persecution that spread the
church out from Jerusalem. After Stephen
was stoned to death the persecution increased to such a degree that “all except the apostles were scattered
throughout Judea and Samaria” (Acts 8:1).
Some time passed and Saul was converted on his way to Damascus and “the church throughout Judea, Galilee and
Samaria enjoyed a time of peace” (Acts 9:31).
The church continued to grow in numbers and faith and strength.
The beginning of Acts 12 tells us that
King Herod decided to initiate an action against the church. He arrested some of the believers and was
planning to persecute them. He executed
James, the son of Zebedee. We’re not
told why he made such a decision in the first place but we find out in verse 3
that his actions met with the approval of the Jews. Herod, the consummate politician, saw an
opportunity to gain support among the religious leaders of the people and
proceeded to arrest Peter. He was
planning a public trial for Peter and then most likely a very public execution
as well. His plan was foiled by the
miraculous deliverance of Peter from the prison by an angel.
In spite of Peter’s escape, Herod was
riding a wave of popularity in Jerusalem.
He traveled north to Caesarea where he had to handle some more political
problems. The people of Tyre and Sidon
had been in conflict with Herod and that had to be settled. It seems the people had a change of heart
because they were dependent on Herod’s government dole (Acts 12:20). They decided they needed to curry Herod’s
favor. This is what we read…
“On
the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and
delivered a public address to the people.
They shouted, ‘This is the voice of a god, not of a man’ (Acts 12 21,
22).
Oh how that must have been music in
Herod’s ears! He was really on a roll! Things were going very well back home in
Jerusalem and now he’d won a great triumph in the northern cities. He was really something else! His future looked bright. He would crush the church and be recognized
as a god! But then things changed drastically…
“Immediately,
because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down,
and he was eaten by worms and died” (Acts 12:23).
That’s usually where teachers stop and
teach a lesson. It’s a good point and
one we should take to heart. God will
not tolerate men who think they are gods.
Pride kills. But I want to move
on to the next verse…
“But
the word of God continued to increase and spread” (Acts 12:24).
A mighty king sought power by
persecuting the Church of Christ. He met
with some success and decided to press his advantage against the Church. He had all the power. He had all the authority of Rome behind
him. The Christians may have thought
things couldn’t get much worse. Perhaps they
were fearfully expecting to hear the heavy footfalls of Herod’s soldiers at any
time. A man on top of the world was
eaten by little worms and died.
The Church has faced persecution and
trials throughout history. Much of the
Church is still persecuted today. And
our own “Christian nation” is moving away from Christian principles so fast
that things might begin to look pretty dark to some of us. But here is the message of the passage as I
read it today: In this election year and
in this campaign season we might hear a number of fearful voices raised against
one candidate or another. We might hear
a number of popular voices worrying about the future of Christianity in
America. The lesson of Herod is that no man, no government, no false god can ever
stop the increase of God’s word, God’s Church, or God’s kingdom. Rise up, O Church of God!
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