• The Explore the Bible lesson for May 29 focuses on Acts 12:1-10.
Too Many Herods: Acts 12:1-5
The Herodian dynasty spanned a century and half, from 47 B.C. to 100 A.D. During that time, a member of the dynasty ruled over some or all of the lands once known as the kingdom of Israel. This dynasty coincided with the rise of the Roman Empire. The Herodian rulers attempted to walk a tightrope, seeking to prove their allegiance to Rome while desiring to be perceived by the Jewish people as their legitimate rulers. Those two themes lie underneath all the actions of the Herods who appear in the Gospels and Acts.
Herod the Great rebuilt the Jerusalem Temple into one of the most beautiful structures of the ancient world (and whose outer walls still stand), as well as the fortresses of Masada and Herodium, the city of Caesarea Maritima and a series of magnificent palaces for himself. He deftly switched allegiances from Marc Antony and Cleopatra to Augustus during the course of the Roman civil war, and so secured his place as client king of Judea. In the Matthew’s Gospel, this Herod hosts the magi and seeks to destroy the infant Jesus.
Herod Antipas, Herod the Great’s son, ordered the death of John the Baptist—a popular preacher/prophet who sharply criticized him. Herod Antipas questioned Jesus and then sent him to the Roman governor Pilate for trial.
Herod Agrippa, Herod the Great’s grandson and nephew of Herod Antipas, features prominently in Acts 12. Herod Agrippa was born Marcus Julius Agrippa and raised in Rome. (How’s that for proving your allegiance?) Agrippa displayed the same skill as his grandfather at picking sides and picking battles. He was a close friend of the Emperor Claudius. Whereas Herod the Great’s children had ruled only a quarter of the kingdom after his death, Agrippa managed to become the sole client king over Judea. He opposed the Emperor Caligula’s plan to place an image of himself in the Jerusalem Temple, which must have earned him major points with the Jewish people. The Jewish Encyclopedia describes him both as one who “honored the Law,” but also “made many considerable concessions to heathen manners and customs.” So it goes with the Herods.
The previous incidents in Acts of persecution of the early church, and of the apostles in particular, happened at the instigation of the Sanhedrin. Acts 12 does not record the motivation of Herod Agrippa for arresting members of the church and persecuting them, but it is never hard to discover the motivations of the Herods. The former leader of this group had been crucified as a revolutionary and a blasphemer a decade or so before, an act which (1) proved allegiance to Rome and (2) curried the favor of the Jewish religious leaders. As in several other places in the Gospels, and especially throughout the Gospel of John, we mentally should translate “the Jews” and “the Jewish people” (Acts 12:3, 12:11) as “the Jewish leaders and those following their agenda.” With a few notable exceptions (the Ethiopian, Cornelius, those in Antioch), all of the early church at this time were Jews. All of this had happened at Passover, when a large crowd would be present, so Herod Agrippa puts on a repeat performance for everyone to get the two-edged message: (1) Don’t mess with Rome; (2) Good old Herod’s on our side. The apostle James, brother of John, is the first of the Twelve to suffer martyrdom. By all appearances, Peter is next.
Kicked by an Angel: Acts 12:6-10
The Holy Spirit has been busy throughout Acts, empowering preaching, inspiring the community of the disciples to live as an extended family of faith, healing, and leading disciples in a variety of ways. Here the Spirit organizes a prison break. I long have been curious as to why the angel of the Lord felt it necessary to strike Peter to wake him up. Maybe Peter was a heavy sleeper. This is not the first story in Scripture to raise that possibility. Peter, James and John’s dozing in the Garden of Gethsemane has that distinction. The angel does have to walk Peter through the process of getting dressed in specific detail. The curious methods of a surly angel aside, though, the image undeniably is dramatic. In the most secure place the powers-that-be could hold Peter, chained between two Roman soldiers and with more standing guard, God reveals himself as the Power that Is. The will of kings, the strength of soldiers, walls, chains and iron gates are not enough to stop God’s purposes. The repeat performance Herod had attempted to echo Jesus’ death is upstaged by God’s repeat performance, which echoes Jesus’ resurrection.
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Situational Comedy: Acts 12:11-17
After the drama of James’ death, Peter’s awaiting execution and his amazing deliverance is a comedy of errors that could not have been scripted any better than what happened. The Jerusalem church, gathered in one of their members’ homes, is praying earnestly to God for the deliverance of a man standing at their door. The servant who knows he is there is so excited to share the news, she leaves a fugitive from justice standing on the front step. Peter has to keep knocking as Rhoda and the church argue about whether she is crazy or not. Breaking out of jail was a lot easier than getting into prayer meeting!
When Peter finally enters and explains, he leaves them instructions to tell James, Jesus’ half-brother (Mark 6:3), and then heads for a safer location. From this point, James serves as the de facto leader of the Jerusalem church.
The World’s One Trick: Acts 12:18-19
The sad epilogue to Peter’s rescue is the execution of the guards responsible for guarding Peter. Herod’s order of execution reveals a confession of impotence in the face of the work of God. The powers of this world only have one trick—death and destruction. Herod’s plan to inflict death on Peter was subverted by God, and his only recourse is to inflict death on someone else. Of course, that was not his only option. He could have seen the hand of God at work and humbled himself in response to it. The rest of Acts 12 records Herod’s embrace of blasphemy and his death as a result.
Luke does not ask and therefore does not answer the question that occurs to us: Why save Peter but not James? That question is simply a specific way of asking why evil occurs in the first place. Scripture does not give an easy answer to that question, but over and over gives us the unqualified answer that God stands opposed to evil and the powers of the this world. Standing opposite the world whose one trick is to destroy is the God who raised Jesus from the dead, who sent his Spirit to empower a people to proclaim that good news and to be the foretaste of a kingdom without end. His kingdom is the kingdom of life, peace, healing, salvation and freedom. The rest of Acts records the spread of this good news and the growth of the communities of those who live by it. Let us commit ourselves to continuing to be his witnesses.
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