Acts Chapter 12

Herod Harasses the Church/James t he Apostle is Martyred

For several years after the conversion of Saul the church enjoyed some peace. Freedom from the persecutions allowed the church to grow. The disciples took the gospel to many places and won multitudes of Jews and Gentiles to Christ. The time of peace has now come to a close. Persecution will again raise its ugly head in the form one Herod Agrippa who was the most powerful ruler in the region. This is not the same Herod who slaughtered the infants in Bethlehem (Matt. 2:13-16), nor the same Herod who killed John the Baptist after John rebuked him for marrying his brother’s wife (Mark 6:14-29). Rather, Agrippa was the grandson of the first Herod (Herod the great) and the nephew of the second Herod (Herod Antipas). Agrippa was a skilled politician who made himself one of Caesar’s favorite .Caesar in turn granted him territory just as large as his grandfather’s, including the entire land of Palestine. While he pursued good relations with Rome he also sought the good favor of the Jewish leaders.

The time came when Herod decided to suppress the church. Herod might have unleashed a mass persecution, but instead he arrested one man, James the brother of John. James and John belonged to Jesus’ inner circle (Matt 17:1-17; 26:36-37; Mark 5:35-36; John 21:20; 19:25-27) which also included Peter. Herod’s arrest of James was an attempt to cripple the church, by striking down a leading figure. James was killed with “the sword” which implies like John the Baptist he was beheaded. Killing James the leader of the Jerusalem church would hopefully bring the others to a voice of silence. Delighted, the Jewish leaders loudly praised Herod for moving against the church. Getting their approval was what he (Herod) wanted, now he would step up his persecution by going after Peter a leader and the most vocal of the Apostles. Herod will deal with Peter at the opportune time.

Peter was arrested during the Passover (The day of unleavened bread which is a week long feast directly following Passover). This was a strategic move because there would be more Jews in the city than usual and now Herod could impress the most people. Peter was not killed on the spot because Herod wanted to wait until the end of the feast and then bring Peter before the people. He wanted to make a public spectacle out of Peter’s trial and execution. Peter being a high profile prisoner was delivered to four squads of soldiers and bounded with chains. All in all, sixteen soldiers guarded Peter. The church prayed fervently and without ceasing for the deliverance of Peter. It had been hard enough to lose Stephen and then James, but to lose their chief Apostle would have been devastating. The prayers of saints reached the ears of our Lord. Security at the prison was tight, escape seemed impossible (with God nothing is impossible) because Peter was sleeping between two soldiers chained to both of them, with a guard outside his cell. Every exit around the prison was guarded, and a large locked gate on the outside. But all of Herod’s measures were useless against God.

In the middle of the night, an angel of the Lord appeared to Peter (no one else heard a thing) and touch him and commanded him to rise and put on his cloak. It is interesting that Peter was sleeping like a baby. His ability to find rest on the night before his execution shows that he became a man of great courage and faith. Although the angel was instructing Peter and with the light in his cell, Peter is still half asleep thinking he is seeing a vision. After leading Peter out of the prison and through the front gate (which opened by itself), the angel departed. Peter finally come to his senses and realize that God has just delivered him from the hands of Herod. After his deliverance from prison by the angel of God Peter goes to the house of Mary where all are in prayer. Luke here mentions John Mark whom Saul/Paul identifies as the cousin of Barnabas (Col.4:10). This John Mark is the author of the Gospel of Mark. Like Saul/Paul John is his Jewish name and Mark is Greek name. Many scholars believe that this is the house where the 120 disciples received the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-12). When Peter knocked on the door, a young women named Rhoda came to the door. Hearing the voice of Peter she was so overcome with joy that she never opened the door and left Peter outside, rushing back to tell the others that Peter was knocking at the door. The disciples did not believe her. Believing that the young Rhoda was mad, they tried to convince her it was Peter’s angel.

As Peter stood outside still knocking, someone at last beside Rhoda heard him. The disciples were amazed that Peter stood before them. They probably wanted to shout, but Peter motioned to keep quiet for fear they might awaken their neighbors and betray his presence. Peter began to tell them how the Lord delivered him from the hands of Herod. He wanted them to go quickly and report to James and other believers the series of events that just took place. This James is the brother of Jesus and the author of the Book of James. He assumed leadership of the Jerusalem church. Peter left the house of John Mark and went to another place which the Bible does not name. The following morning, the guards made an awesome discovery. The prisoner is gone. The guards are in a panic because they know what the dire consequences will be. Everyone would be punished which in turn meant death.

Herod is furious that his prized prisoner has escaped. After questioning the people involved he orders their executions. After this miraculous event, Herod leaves and goes down to Caesarea where he lives. Tyre and Sidon were coastal cities that were free and self-governing but economically dependent on Judea. We don’t know why Herod was displeased with them, but we see representatives from those cities trying to appease him through an intermediary named Blastus. Herod knew that when the people shouted out that he was the voice of a god and not a man, he should have refused such praised. He should have given God the glory, for his abilities as a ruler and an orator. Dressed in all his fine royal apparel and sitting upon his throne he accepted the title “god”. The angel of the lord struck him a deadly disease. Herod was literally eaten alive from the inside out by maggots or worms. After the death of Herod the church again enjoyed a time of peace. The church and the word of God continued to grow.

After depositing the famine relief money with the elders at Jerusalem (11:27-30), Barnabas and Saul returned to Antioch. They took with them John Mark (13:5).

Questions/Answers?
Why was the Roman soldiers executed?
Under Roman law, if guards allowed their prisoners to escape they were subject to death. (See also Acts.16:16-34).

What is a damsel?
In the Hebrew it is the word “naarah” which implies a female child servant (Strong's 5291). In the Greek the word is “paidiske” which means female slave or servant (Strong's 3814)

Reference:
Strong, J. (1990). The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Nashville, TN: Nelson

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Acts Chapter 2

The Holy Spirit and the Day of Pentecost

Held 50 days after Passover (Lev.23:15-21), Pentecost was also called the feast of weeks and feast of harvests. It is one of the major annual feast (Deuteronomy 16:16), a festival of Thanksgiving for the harvest crops. Jesus was crucified at the Passover, and he ascended to heaven 40 days after his resurrection. The Holy Spirit came 50 days after his resurrection, 10 days after his ascension. The term “fully come” implies the arriving of a period or point of time. As the believers were assembled in the upper room suddenly God gives signs of sound and sight. Their divine origin and supernatural character is clear. Both of these events were attention getters. The miracles were to communicate and convince the people by signs and wonders that what they were witnessing was of God. It is important at this point for us to understand that only the twelve spoke in tongues (known languages). This is confined by the Holy Scriptures. In chapter one verse 11 the Apostles are referred to as “ye men of Galilee” by the angels, again in verse 7 of this chapter the Apostles are referred to as speaking Galileans, but most important it is these twelve Galileans that Jesus selected to carry the gospel message to the world. What better place and time than on the day of Pentecost, where there would be hundred of thousands of Jews and Proselytes in attendance to hear the gospel message. Remember, they were told to start in Jerusalem.

The Jews and Proselytes from these difference nations were people from the dispersion vss.9-12 (James 1:1; 1 Peter.1:1). The Apostles literally spoke in other languages that the people present fully understood what they were saying (vss.6-7). This was not some form of gibberish that is spoken in some churches today. Paul said that tongues would cease (1.cor.13:8). This speaking was known languages, a miraculous attention getter. These signs were so supernatural; the people accused them of being drunk. Seizing the moment in the midst of the crowd’s bewilderment and confusion, Peter stands up with the eleven to address the crowd. Being filled with the Spirit (vs.4) Peter addresses the crowd with a formal address by addressing his brethren as men of “Judea” and “men of Israel”. Peter’s sermon will explain the events of Pentecost as God’s saving events. Peter addresses the statement of vs.13, in that they were not drunk because it was of the third hour of the day (9am), and that they did not drink at the first morning service.

Peter informed the crowd that what they had witnessed was a demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit prophesied by the prophet Joel in the scriptures (Joel 2:28-32). The disciples of Jesus, inspired by the Holy Spirit, had dreamed dreams and seen visions, and they could not help prophesying. Visions and dreams was God’s means of communication with those whom He called for His service (10:1-3; 10:9-17; 21:9). At the death of Christ, the day had suddenly become night, an earthquake had struck Jerusalem, the veil in the temple had been rent in two, and the graves had given up their dead (Matt.27:51-53). Peter told them that this Jesus, who had demonstrated that God approved Him by miracles and wonders, had been arrested and convicted by the very same people whom He was preaching to, and they caused Him to be crucified by the hands of the wicked gentiles (Roman authority). They killed their own Messiah. But God raised Jesus from the dead, as King David himself had prophesied. What read like a statement by David about himself (psalm.16:8-11) Peter interpreted as David’s description of what would happen to the messiah. Peter told the crowd that David could not have been talking of himself, because David had died and been buried and his tomb was visible to them in Jerusalem. It was He (Jesus) whom God raised up to sit at God’s right hand in glory, and God would not let His soul rest in hell. Peter closed his sermon out by proclaiming that the Person, whom they crucified, was designated by God as their lord and Messiah. Peter’s words had convinced them of the truth of what he had said and also convicted them of their sins. The people response was quick and immediate. They asked the most compelling question in Christendom “what should we do”. They wanted to be told how to amend their lives and become acceptable to God, they wanted to know how they could be saved.

Peter informed them the only way, was for them to repent of what they had done, and to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. They would receive a double gift: their sins would be forgiven, and they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Three thousand were converted on the day of Pentecost as a result of Peter’s sermon. As they took their place as new member of the emerging church, the pattern of organization of the believing community began to gradually to take shape. The kingdom church that Christ spoke of in the gospel account was now a reality. The church was a place of fellowship where members shared a common meal as often as they could and where, as part of the worship, they ate bread and drank wine ceremoniously in remembrance of their Lord’s death. They did not break with the Jewish past, they still worshiped in the temple, but they also met in people's homes that they might gain more insight into the Apostles’ doctrine. As the church unfolds, new converts were added daily.

Questions/Answers: 1. What is a Proselyte?
A Gentile who converted to Judaism.

2. What is another name for the Holy Spirit?
The Comforter (see John.14:16, 26).

3. What does the word church means?
The New Testament was written in Greek. The Greek word is “Ekklesia” which means “a called out assembly of people”. It is sometimes called an assembly or congregation (see acts.1:4; 11:26; 15:25).

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