Acts 12:20-25

July 28, 2002  

God’s Power in the World and in His Word

Defining political and economic systems is not always an easy thing. One humorist summed up the various political methods this way:

Communism: You have two cows.  The government takes both of them and gives you part of the milk.

Socialism:      You have two cows. The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.

Fascism:        You have two cows. The government takes both cows and sells you the milk.

Nazism:         You have two cows. The government takes both cows and shoots you.

Bureaucracy: You have two cows. The government takes both of them, shoots one, milks the other, then      pours the milk down the drain.    

Capitalism:     You have two cows. You sell one of them and buy a bull.

Democracy:    Everyone has two cows, then a vote is taken, and whatever the majority decides to do, you must do.

The common thread in most critiques of political systems focuses on the power government possess, especially when that power is used in a fashion deemed illegitimate. This improper use of power stems from a refusal to acknowledge that all government is under the control of an omnipotent God, that government is but servant of God. This is seen through Herod’s family tree. It probably is not so much a genetic flaw in that family, as it is an evidence of the fall in the human family. Let’s take a look at how the Herod’s of the New Testament misused their God-given authority.

• Herod the Great was so barbarous that he executed one of his wives, her mother, and three of his sons – all for the fear that they would wrest power from him. His paranoia drove him to drown one young son in palace swimming pool. Shortly before Herod’s death, he imprisoned prominent Jewish leaders for he knew no one would mourn his death, so he ordered the murder of the leaders so tears would be shed when news was announced that he died. We know his most infamous atrocity: the slaughter of the boys of Bethlehem in response to the inquiry of the magi.
• Herod Archelaus was one son that Herod the Great permitted to live and in the ten years he reigned, he showed that he was far more twisted than his father. He is only mentioned in Matthew 2:22 as ruling over Judea, which resulted in Joseph and Mary, upon returning from Egypt after the slaughter of the infants, going to Galilee. The Jews eventually rebelled against Archelaus’ wickedness, complained to the emperor who removed him from office.
• Herod Antipas, another son of Herod the Great, reined during Jesus’ life. It was this Herod who wooed his brother’s wife, thus attracting scathing invectives from John the Baptist. Once again, when the king perceived his authority was challenged, he responded as one who is insecure, as he cowed to Herodias’ demand for John’s head to be delivered to her on a platter. Herod Antipas makes another cameo appearance at the conclusion of Jesus’ life, as he was ruler of Galilee; he was invited to rule at Jesus’ trial.
• Herod Agrippa I appears in Acts 12. This is the grandson of Herod the Great, who ruled from AD 37 to 44. After his father was murdered by his grandfather while Agrippa was a young boy, he was whisked away from Palestine to avoid being the next murder victim. Agrippa was taken to Rome and, given his aristocratic roots, was educated with the Roman elite. His schoolmates, Gaius and Claudius, were destined to become emperors, a friendship that would guarantee Herod the power only his grandfather had held.

Like his grandfather, Herod Agrippa was half-Jew and half-Idumean. The Jews disliked this half-breed and many in Rome distrusted him as a Jew. Yet contemporary accounts of Herod define him as the consummate politician. When in Rome, he did what the Romans do. But in Israel, he played the pious Jew. His political intuition is seen in v3. After killing James, the brother of John, he numbers in the polls rose, so he arrested Peter. But he waited for that execution as it was forbidden to dispatch with even the worst criminal during the holy week.

We will see his political brinkmanship again in our passage in a few moments.

• Herod Agrippa II, is the fifth and final Herod we read about in the New Testament. The son of Herod in Acts 12 is mentioned in Acts 25-26. As he was only 17 when his father died, Emperor Claudius was persuaded not to give him his father’s kingdom owing to his youth. In time, however, Agrippa II came into power and ruled from AD 50-100. Paul’s trial before Herod Agrippa II some years later shows the same love of pageantry which extols self over others.

Turn then to Acts 12:20-25 as we see the horrific conclusion of Herod Agrippa I and from this learn valuable lessons for those of us who, while never reigning as kings, will be instructed as to God’s power in the world and in his Word. READ Acts 12:20-25

Power of the state is derived from God

Herod believed he was in charge and others must cower before him.

Our passage opens with an incident with which we have little knowledge. For some reason Herod’s fury against the coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon was great. While those cities were not part of his protectorate, he did have sufficient leverage to make them acquiesce to his demands. Herod’s domain covered the wheat producing regions of Galilee thus controlling the grain supply to the coast. He did not make open war on the cities, but like tightening a vice, he turned the screws of public policy to evidence his displeasure. He used his office until all would acknowledge his supremacy.

Last week we saw how he held life and death in his hands. He had James executed by the sword and because it pleased the Jews and increased his standing in the polls, he had Peter arrested. Peter’s subsequent escape would seemingly challenge that authority, yet a tyrant is not to be denied. If the despot could not kill Peter, his thirst for blood is satisfied with the death of the soldiers who guarded the apostle.

As long as all understood that Herod was in charge, all would go well. The death of a few soldiers would be enough to satisfy and the civic leaders of Tyre and Sidon suing for peace would meet with success as long as everyone knew who was in charge.

The appointed day (v21) which Luke described is collaborated by Josephus. The occasion for this gathering may well have been a few months after Peter’s escape, in August of AD 44, during a celebration of Agrippa’s boyhood friend, the Roman Emperor Claudius. During the games Herod met with a delegation from this city to end the strife that existed between them.

Josephus writes “there came together to it a large number of the provincial officials and others of distinguished position. On the second day of the shows Agrippa put on a robe made of silver throughout, of altogether wonderful weaving, and entered the theatre at break of day.”

The seats in that stadium, which I believe still stands, face west, so that in the early morning the sun would rise from behind them and hit Herod, causing a reflection.

“Then the silver shone and glittered wonderfully as the sun’s first rays fell on it, and its resplendence inspired a sort of fear and trembling in those who gazed on it. Immediately his flatterers called out from various directions, using language which boded him no good, for they addressed him as a god, and invoked him with the cry, “Be gracious unto us! Hitherto we have reverenced you as a man, but henceforth we acknowledge you to be of more than mortal nature.” He did not rebuke them, nor did he repudiate their impious flattery. ... At the same time he was seized by a sever pain in his belly, which began with a most violent attack...he was carried quickly into the palace...and when he had suffered continuously for five days from the pain in his belly, he died, in the fifty-fourth year of his age and the seventh of his reign (Antiquities 29.8.2)

In the ancient world to say that a person was “eaten by worms” was a common idiom to describe a horrible and painful death reserved for those who deserved such an unpleasant end. Ancient writers used this phrase for Antiochus Ephiphanes who profaned the Temple, Herod the Great, and Judas Iscariot, among others.

Yet it as relatively common in this part of the world for people to have intestinal worms, ten to sixteen inches in length that would form a tight ball and cause acute intestinal obstruction.

The same angel which rescued Peter now struck down Agrippa for the simple reason that as this crowd rendered to Caesar what belonged only to God, Herod relished the adulation, refused to give God glory, congratulated himself what God had graciously given him and for grasping for more than any man can ever have.

We must not forget that all authority is derived from God

The response by the crowd, saying: “a voice of a god and not a man” was sycophancy geared to ensure Herod’s good graces toward those with whom he was once angry. The problem came not just in their idolatrous statement, but in Herod’s acceptance of such a divine honor.

God’s wrath against Herod is quick and final as he takes for himself what belongs only to God. What happens here is then a solemn warning for each of us against our pride, our idolatrous worship of self, demanding others to assuage our anger by giving us inappropriate praise.

Herod wanted all to know he was supreme, that he held the lives of his subjects in his hands. If it takes spilling innocent blood to make this point, then it will be done. If a creating a spectacle of pomp and glory to let others know he is in control that is just fine. He wanted the people of Tyre and Sidon to know beyond a doubt that they were not just begging food from a tenant farmer, but that he held sway over their food more as a god than a farmer.

This deified form of leadership is what Jesus warned against in Luke 22:24ff.

"The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors (that's exactly what Herod was exalting about himself--"You are dependent on me!"). But not so with you; rather let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves."

True authority comes not with the demand of compliance, but in response to service. It does not come because we manipulate those around us to fear us, but only as we fear God and serve those around us out of love.

Earlier we read from Romans 13, a chapter which seems to give tyrants like Herod free reign to trample those of us who lack power. But the reason for our subjection to governing authorities stems not from a desire to protect the status quo or out or our fear of other people, but from our proper fear of God. Those in authority are there by the hand of God.

Whether king or president, governor or even local bureaucratic council member acknowledges that or not, such is the case. Paul goes on to call those in authority “God’s servants” (v4) that is, his ministers or deacons. They serve neither their own whims nor even the desires of the people, but ultimately, God’s desires.

We must not forget that God alone deserves our worship

Years earlier, after Peter and John were released from the grip of Agrippa’s Uncle Antipas, the church gathered to rejoice in prayer. In Acts 4 their prayer incorporated the truths of Psalm 2, a powerful reminder to all those in authority, be they kings or parents, that they can not shake off the authority that comes from God alone.

In Psalm 2, God’s response to our futile demands for personal freedom from his Law is one of laughter. Yet this laughter is not the chortle of a congenial grandparent at the protestations of an otherwise sweet child. This is laughter at the folly of those in power who believe they possess their authority innately. The only option left open for all us who are in positions of power, (in the home, church, business or government) is to be wise. Psalm 2:11-12 tells us to serve the King with fear, kiss the Son lest he be angry with you.

Herod provides not only a lesson for us to remember that we must never so believe those who flatter us; in fact, we must be very careful not to believe our own flatter either

Most of us will never be in a position to take such glory to ourselves, and I trust that no such judgment is ever going to come upon us. Nevertheless, we do have a tendency to take praise to ourselves when it should go to God. People will say, “Aren’t you wonderful!” When that happens there is always a tendency to smile in a half-prideful, half humble ways, thinking: “Well, yes I am; thank you for noticing it.”

Oliver Cromwell, who took the British throne away from Charles I and established the Commonwealth, said to a friend, "Do not trust to the cheering, for those persons would shout as much if you and I were going to be hanged." Cromwell understood crowd psychology! (CT Vol 34, 11)

We are on dangerous ground when we forget that God alone deserves all worship. We have no talent that God has not given. We have achieved no success that God has not made possible. We can do no good of which God is not the source. We need to acknowledge the source, as the Bible teaches we should.

We also must have a proper view of those in authority

As we saw in Romans 13, all authority is derived from God and in place because of God. Where you and I have authority, we must proceed with humility. But as we look to those in authority, we must proceed with proper reverence.

It is far too common for those who profess faith in Christ with one breath curse those whom God has placed over them. We far too easily snicker or even applaud those who ridicule government officials, when Paul’s injunction to us in 1 Tim. 2 is to pray for them. Do we spend as much time praying for the health and safety of our leaders as we do disparaging their character?

Power of the Gospel is victorious because of God

While all authority is derived from God, it should come as no surprise then that God’s Word will be victorious as God so wills. This story reminds us that it is not a contest between civil authorities and Christ, but that God is sovereign over all.  In contrast to the death of a tyrant who forgot who was in control, God’s Word moves forward.

It is interesting that Luke refers to the word increasing, multiplying and not the church. With the death of James and the departure of Peter, it would have been far too easy for the church to sense terrible loss. But what is important here is not whether the church “does well” but whether God’s Word is having its effect in the lives of people, in the culture in which it is found

At the beginning of the chapter Herod is on the rampage, arresting and persecuting leaders; at the end he is himself struck down and dies. The chapter opens with James dead, Peter in prison and Herod triumphing; it closes with Herod dead, Peter free, and the word of God triumphing. Such is the power of God to overthrow hostile human plans and to establish his own in their place. Tyrants may be permitted for a time to boast and bluster, oppressing the church and hindering the spread of the gospel, but they will not last. In the end, their empire will be broken and their pride abased. (Stott, Acts 213)

Word growth is what we desire. This counteracts the trend we see today in church growth. Far too often Christians speak from the context of American pragmatism when they pronounce the worthiness of a program or a local church when they proclaim its success as a demarcation of its being blessed and used by God. I’ve heard leading authorities pontificate on the necessity of having at least 800 people in church in order to be competitive but never once mention sound teaching. 

People will unthinkingly say, “How can you criticize when so many people are involved in this church or in that ministry?” The trouble is that growth of numbers does not necessary imply growth in the Word ... and that is what God desires.

Yet at the same time we should not confuse word growth with just the accumulation of knowledge. That is not what Luke means. It is not just that the early church became more intelligent, more able to understand their world but still remain un-engaged from their world around them.

Rather Word growth will change lives, even as we see in the next verse as Barnabas and Saul return from Jerusalem having delivered the monies collected by the Gentiles in Antioch to help their fellow believers in Judea who were suffering from the affects of a famine. This verse contains an evidence of Word growth – serving others, not themselves, unlike Herod.

Having collected the offerings from Antioch, they bring the gift down to those in need. When God’s Word grows and multiplies in a church, the people give. When God’s grace grips a heart, people are generous with the wallets.

The second way in which they serve is by taking along Barnabas’ young cousin, John Mark. Their willingness to take him along not only to Antioch, but in time throughout Asia Minor, even when his presence becomes a hindrance, as we will see later, is a wonderful reminder that our lives are to be invested not just in giving our money, but our time, investing our lives in others. 

Our hope and help comes not from our connection to the proper political system, but from the God who works in and through whatever political system he deems beneficial. We must not fear when tyrants rage against God, but rather find our comfort in God’s Word growing in our lives, in our church, so that our lives and church are gripped by the power to change our world.