Sunday, July 29, 2007
Discovery Channel has been running an ad that kind of reminded me of Acts 12.
SHARK WEEK
Today we are continuing in our series “Live for This!” in the book of Acts and we see a couple of very interesting and even
disturbing things happen in chapter 12. God is the same God now that He was back in the book of Acts and as we live for
the same things those early believers lived for, we may see God do similar things in our time to what He did back then. We
who are believers are the continuation of the story in the book of Acts. You might think that things have changed and that
God doesn’t do what He used to do. He might not be doing things exactly the same, but it might not be HIS fault. He
NEVER changes. Who does? WE DO. Let’s look at how WE need to adjust ourselves to HIM and see if He doesn’t
start to act a little more like the God spoken of in the book of Acts.
As we get started in the Word of God this morning, let’s PRAY.
Acts 11:27-12:4. READ. There are lots of people and events spoken of in these verses. One advantage to that is that
we can look back in other history sources and see that the Bible itself is accurate history. One of the more confusing
things we should take a look at is this king named Herod. As we look at the Bible and at “secular” history, there were 4
kings named Herod. The first one was Herod the Great, who was the Herod in power when Jesus was born. His son,
Herod Antipas, was the Herod who passed Jesus back to Pontius Pilate at the time of Jesus’ trial. This Herod in Acts 12
is Herod Agrippa 1, who we will see later today, was short lived. And then, in Acts 26, we see another Herod – Herod
Agrippa 2, the son of this Herod in Acts 12– before whom Paul testifies about what God has done and this Herod tells
Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.” This man’s father, though, in Acts 12, starts to harass believers
and even kills James.
This is James the brother of John – the sons of Zebedee. James and John were among the first of Jesus’ disciples. They were
also the ones who their mother, Salome, had tried to work out a deal with Jesus that these two would have really important places
in heaven. But Jesus responded to her, and obviously to THEM, too – that they would indeed drink the same cup that He
drank – they would suffer persecution and even death. Here in Acts 12, James experiences that very thing at the hands of
Herod Agrippa. It says that he was killed with the sword. That indicates that he was beheaded. It doesn’t say what he
was charged with. It doesn’t give any other information at all about his death. John never mentions it in any of his writings.
But I am sure the believers were devastated – especially the apostles. This was one of the longest following followers.
This was one of the closest 3 – it was always “Peter, James and John” were with Jesus in the most important
circumstances. I wonder why more of a big deal wasn’t made about it. Now a certain religious group claims that the
bones of James were taken to Spain where they were buried and a shrine was erected which is the 3rd most holy shrine in
that religion, but the Bible doesn’t say anything about that. At this point all we know is that Herod killed James and then he
went and got Peter because he thought the Jewish leaders would appreciate it.
It is pretty clear that the Jewish leaders must have told their concerns about Peter to Herod, because the king puts a gigantic force
of guards around him. Let’s read on and see what happened. Acts 12:5-11. READ. The main thing today is what it says
in verse 5 about prayer – the church, the believers were praying for Peter constantly and earnestly – but let’s look at these
weird happenings. Peter was not just locked in a cell somewhere by himself. There were two guards chained to him on
either side. What a snore fest that must have been – three big guys sleeping side by side, probably sitting against a wall.
And then there were two other guards outside the door guarding. Those two, it says, were actually awake – keeping the
prison.
At a certain time, an angel appears in the cell and, it says, “struck Peter on the side and raised him up.” It says in verse 9 that
Peter thought he was dreaming or having a vision of some kind, so apparently he didn’t have too much trouble with what was
going on. He stood up and the chains on his hands fell off, he got dressed and followed the angel out. None of this seemed to
alert the guards either in the cell or outside – that’s one of the nice things about when God does His God stuff. He’s bigger than
any supposed obstacles we might think are in the way. They got to what was obviously a locked iron gate which just opened in
front of them and they went out into the street. At that point the angel departed, it says. “See ya, Pete!” and he was gone.
That seems to be the wake up point for Peter. “Wait a minute – I am really standing out in the street here. What’s going on?”
Then the Lord makes it clear to Peter what IS going on. So Peter decides to get out of sight. Go back to Acts 12:5 again.
READ. Now look at Acts 12:12. READ. What do you imagine these people are praying for? Verse 5 said that prayer
was offered to God for PETER by the church. They were praying for Peter. Some of them might have been praying that
Peter would get out of jail. Others might have been praying that God would give him opportunities to preach while he was
in jail. Others might have been praying that God would kill Herod or the Jewish leaders. Others may have been praying
that Peter would die with dignity. I think we know exactly what they were praying for. They were praying for Peter’s
release. How do we know? That’s what God DID – got Peter out. Everyone was gathered at John Mark’s house – the
same guy who wrote the Gospel of Mark – and they were praying that Peter would get out of jail and not be killed like
James. They had been praying like this for several days. And suddenly, in the middle of the night, there came a knock on
the door (keep knocking). Acts 12:13,14. READ. I think this girl Rhoda – not THAT Rhoda – must have been fairly
young – maybe a teen or a little younger. She hears Peter’s voice and leaves him outside and goes to tell the older people.
Imagine that you’re Peter. You knock at the gate and pretty soon a little voice says, “Who is it?” “It’s Peter. Let me in.”
And then all you hear is footsteps running away. It says there in verse 14 that she runs in and announces, “Peter is at the
gate.”
It is kind of comical how things happen from there. What have these people been praying for? Peter’s release. They can hear
the knock at the door and the girl comes running back in saying that Peter is at the gate. And they ARGUE with her. “You’re
crazy!” “Quit goofing around!” “Stop playing and go answer the door.” Some even tell her, Peter must be dead and (not
having a very good knowledge of who angels are) he has become an angel. That’s another reason I think she might be a
younger person. Oh, you poor thing, his angel is out there trying to help us feel better. She keeps saying, it’s Peter. And
they keep saying, “No, it’s not.” “Yes it is.” “No it’s not.” “Is.” “Isn’t.” On and on and the whole time, Peter is still out
there knocking. Finally, someone else goes and sees who is knocking. Look at verse 16. Acts 12:16. READ. We don’t
know what anyone said to Rhoda. But Luke tells us that they were astonished. They were dumbfounded. There was
Peter.
Why do you think they were astonished? Hadn’t they been praying for Peter to be released? Had they been doubting that God
would do it? Look at James 1:5-8. READ. I don’t think they were doubting when they asked God to let Peter out – God
did it. James says that God won’t do it if the person doubts. It seems like they either weren’t expecting God to answer
that quickly or that dramatically or that specifically.
We can learn something from this. Are we demanding that God work according to OUR rules and OUR understanding? If so, we
may miss when He answers our prayers. What are you praying for? Is it something big? Is it something only God could
do? Pray for big things and watch how God answers. We can and should pray and be thankful for daily food and
provision from God, but we should also step out in faith and ask God for things that are obvious that only HE could do.
These people prayed for Peter to be released. It was a pretty much forgone conclusion that Peter would be dead, seeing
what happened to James. But they prayed and prayed big. And our great big God answered their prayers. And even
though I think they prayed believing, they were still astonished when the answer to their prayers was standing at the door.
We can experience those kinds of answers to prayer. God is still the same God He has always been. Put Him to the test –
give Him some hard stuff to do. I think our prayers are often too SMALL. Or our expectations of how God will answer
may be according to our own understanding. Put Proverbs 3:5,6 into practice in your prayer life, too. “Trust in the Lord
with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your
paths.” That’s not just a catchy slogan. It is God’s Word and God’s way. Do things God’s way. Give up your
expectations of how He “ought” to answer prayers and watch and see how He actually DOES.
Finally Peter gets in the house and tells everyone what happened to him and how God sent an angel to get him out of jail.
Apparently this group gathered at John Mark’s mother’s house didn’t include the apostles because Peter tells them to go tell the
apostles about what happened. And the first one he mentions is James. We know from verse 2 that James the brother of
John was killed by Herod. So this has to be a different James. There was another disciple named James who was one of
the 12. But most scholars don’t think that is the James being talked about here. They think it is likely the brother of the
Lord Jesus, the James who wrote the book of James. He had become a believer after the resurrection and now, maybe as
long as two or three years later, he was one of the leaders of the church. He had been listening to his Brother, even though
he hadn’t believed while Jesus was walking the earth. That should be encouraging for those of us who have family who
haven’t yet believed. They are listening. They are watching. They are seeing your life and your faith. It is an
encouragement to all of us to live out what we say we believe. Actually that is what the book of James is about – live out
what you say you believe. James knew the impact that it had on him. Examine your life and how you react to
circumstances and interact with others. Always be aware that if people know you are a believer, they will be analyzing
what you say with what you do. Give them a lot to think about! Live a life that is fully devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ
and, as it says in 1 Peter 3:15 – “always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in you.” If you’re living out what
you claim, people will literally come and ASK you to explain it to them. How about THAT for a witnessing tool?
Look at Acts 12:18,19. READ. Those poor soldiers didn’t know what was coming when they were assigned to guard
Peter, this fisherman/preacher. The person to blame here for the demise of these soldiers is NOT the Lord, it is Herod.
His pride and ruthlessness was the cause of the death of these men. Truthfully, he probably blamed the commanders for
the loss of Peter, but didn’t extend his blame to the commander in chief – himself. If he had been honest, looking at the
evidence – the soldiers chained to Peter were probably still fastened to the chains and the shackles that were on Peter
were not unlocked – he would have seen that something unexplainable had happened. But Herod’s true character came
through. But God dealt with him.
Acts 12:20-24. READ. I laugh sometimes when people say the Bible is boring. Can you imagine being in that crowd
cheering this self-absorbed, pompous ruler – calling him a god and not a man – and then watching as he literally is
consumed before your eyes? I’m glad God doesn’t give us the video version of these things. Special effects are one thing,
but seeing it in real life had to have been terrifying. But it probably got the attention of these people. Maybe Herod wasn’t
quite as powerful as we were proclaiming. Maybe there is a REAL God we ought to be shouting about. It doesn’t tell us
their reaction. It does tell us that the Word of God grew and multiplied – and we have to infer that it means BECAUSE of
this.
As we have seen today, God is able to work amazingly in difficult times. Times are not difficult in God’s eyes. God is bigger and
greater than any issue or circumstance we find ourselves in. He sees the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10) – in fact
beginning and end are nothing to the Lord. He is at both right now, at the same time. THAT is why we can trust Him with our
lives and our circumstances. THAT is why we can lean on HIS understanding and not our own. It is easy to understand things,
even difficult things, when you see the whole thing at the same time. THAT is why we can pray to Him and pray big things.
He knows what He wants to do and how He will do it. I encourage all of us to pray believing, without any doubting and to
watch for God at work.