According to Open Doors North Korea, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan & Sudan are the top 5 places for the persecution of Christians. To openly wear a cross around your neck is an invitation to be attacked, ridiculed and abused or even killed. Just as we saw a few weeks back during a number of bombs were detonated in two Coptic Christian Churches in Egypt during their Palm Sunday services killing 44 fellow followers of Christ and injuring dozens more. The question is what do you do with this? knowing these fellow followers like us were going to Church to worship together and as they gathered were attacked. How do you find reassurance? Just as we find ourselves amongst the chaos and attempted evil how God’s hand is at work in Acts 12, where we find ourselves here is that persecution had again been brought against the followers of Jesus. In Acts 12 we meet a man called Herod a man whose grandfather was Herod the Great who had sought to have Jesus killed, this Herod was a descendant who continued to be a puppet king in the Roman Empire. Herod was a man given to political expedience. He lacked a moral and ethical compass as he soon discovered the way to keep the Jews onside was to begin the persecution of Christians again. He starts by putting James, one of the sons of Zebedee to death and he seizes Peter for the same fate as we read in verse 1-2
1 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
Herod had blood on his hands, and he noticed that the killing of James brought approval, and a measure of peace in Judea. Herod presses on with the arrest of Peter, the figurehead of the early Church, the spokesman used by God to bring many to repentance in Christ. Peter is arrested at Passover time as well, and so great is Herod’s paranoia of an uprising or something to release Peter he has the entire prison guard watch of 16 soldiers put on watch. The guard were given one simple task of ensuring Peter’s deliverance to trial after the Passover. As it is things look dark amidst the grief over James’ death, and now with news of Peter under arrest
the church’s response is they gather to pray, seeking God’s deliverance. Their prayers would be soon answered, verse 7
7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists.
God intervenes in the usual course of events and we are told the room lights up with a bright light. The angel rather rudely hits Peter on the side and tells him to get up and get dressed. The chains on his wrists falling off and the doors of the prison gates swing open. The guards chained up to him are oblivious to what’s going on as they walk out of the prison each guard at his gate. Peter and the angel walk right past them so much so that he thinks it’s all a dream right up until led into the city streets the angels departs, Peter comes to his senses with a full awareness of God’s hand comes to his mind, verse 11
11 Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating."
Having recognized God’s deliverance Peter heads straight to the home of Mary where they’d been holding the prayer meeting he knocks on the outer gate
a child named Rhoda where a servant girl answers the gate and Rhoda knew Peter’s voice. Rhoda is so excited that like any little girl would she leaves Peter waiting at the door, while she runs in to tell the others the great news of Peter’s escape. It is just like if you’ve ever had a child answer the phone taking one for those important calls, and where they put the phone down and standing right next to it, shout at the top of their voices for you to come and take it. Also notice how a 1st century houses front door wasn’t actually the front door of a house like we have here in Australia. It was separated usually by a court yard, and when those praying hear this news they can’t believe their ears. In fact they think it’s Peter’s spirit paying them a visit for them in his situation Peter was as good as dead. Peter is persistent as he keeps patiently knocking until they open the gate up and let him in. The surprise I think for us is that sometimes God answers our prayers it can be quite stunning to see God show up answering prayer far in excess of what we have prayed for. Here in Acts 12 we are shown a master class by these first disciples of how when facing difficulty or opposition our response as a church must be to pray. God is to be trusted and no matter how dark it appears. God is always working out his greater purpose rather than that of our safety it is the in the direction of his glory and the fulfilment of his plans. So at first light Peter is not found in the prison what follows is a desperate search, made with an even more intense interrogation of the prison guards, with Herod sentences these guards to death. So here’s the question why was God spared Peter but not James? It is a natural questions to ask “Why is it that someone’s prayers answered while another’s is apparently ignored?” How does God decides that one and the shortest way of answering this is that in all honesty there are simply some answers we will have to wait for. God has a plan for his church that will be kept safe until his mission is completed. What we know about God is that he is the careful shepherd of his sheep, and he will keep us safe until my and your work on earth is done here for him and not a moment before
Just as what happens next God catches up with anyone who deludes themselves into thinking they can live without acknowledging God’s rightful place in our lives forever, as we read in verse 21-22
21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22 They shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man."
The political reality for a King like Herod was that he was often in conflict with some of his towns under his control as a puppet of the Roman Empire. He was expected to deliver certain returns. And so following the settlement of a dispute between himself and Tyre & Sidon Herod moves back to Caesarea the central hub of Roman Administration. Here he addresses the crowds in his full raiment as King, an historian of the time Josephus tells us that Herod used to dress in a garment made
wholly of silver which shone brilliantly in the light. Herod was the picture perfect of resplendent royal power which wasn’t lost on the crowds either. Herod gets up to speak the crowds in good cheer shout “This is the voice of a god, not a man.” in the midst of the adulation we’re told that as he did not give the glory instead to God
an angel of the Lord strikes him down and he is overcome with worms and dies. This a sobering confrontation of the hidden hand of God. Herod was someone who was glorious on the outside and was rotting with worms on the inside which stands in contrast with the Word of God and its messengers as we read in verses 24-25
24 But the word of God continued to increase and spread. 25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.
What a wonderful reminder God rules out that life is random and prayer is the response we’re called in facing he challenge if life. The question is do we see prayer as a technology of God control? Do I treat God as the dispenser of what I want; or do I recognize how God is jealous for the affection and devotion of his people? As humility and grace are to mark us out as followers of Jesus. So when you next hear or see or feel like you are facing dark days how will you seek to take reassurance from God’s steadfast love for youwhat will you call upon or out to God?
Let’s pray…
David Hassan @ Tamworth Community Presbyterian Church 7/5/17