Acts 12:19b-12:25
This week we finish discussing Chapter 12 of Acts and then take communion together. Following this, we have a time of sharing together. If you are relatively new to our church, I should explain this. We truly believe what the Bible says – that God empowers all believers. He gives all believers spiritual gifts. And He uses all of us to teach one another, encourage one another, and pray for one another. Once a month, we take communion together and then have an “open mike” time. During these times, feel free to share whatever God has been teaching you in the past month. Or it may be something that strikes you even while others are sharing. If you have a “good word,” please share it. We believe that God supernaturally empowers these times. Don’t feel intimidated. Don’t feel that you think something is not appropriate if it is coming from “you” instead of somehow from “God.” This is how God works. If it brings Him glory, it is truly from Him.
I want to go back briefly to the beginning of Acts 12.
It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. – Acts 12:1-3
If you were here last week, you should remember Herod. We talked about how there are multiple Herod’s in the Bible, and it can get confusing. This is Herod Agrippa I, a grandson of Herod the Great, and father of Herod Agrippa II, seen later in Acts. Last week we talked about how Luke is so brief with his words describing such a horrific event. Paul described James and John, called by Jesus the “Sons of Thunder” and Simon, called by Jesus “The Rock,” or Peter, the three “pillars” of the faith. King Herod was a man swayed by popular opinion. He had a Jewish mother and non-Jewish father, and in part because of this, he was very eager to be viewed as a “whole” Jew and be loved by them. When he saw something pleased the Jews, he would do more of the same. And so he killed James and had Peter imprisoned, intending to have him killed as well. But God intervened. He sent angel who miraculously released Peter from prison. Herod blamed the guards and had them executed. We can now pick up the story with Herod.
Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there a while. He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. Having secured the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king's country for their food supply. – Acts 12:19b-20
The lands of Tyre and Sidon were in the Roman empire, just like Caesarea, but were probably not under Herod’s domain. When it says people from Tyre and Sidon secured the support of Blastus, it may mean they bribed him. They wanted peace, it says, because Herod had the ability to withhold needed food from them. Without peace, they could have something much like famine. In many ways Herod had godlike power over them.
On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. – Acts 12:21-23
You can almost imagine God saying, “This is the death of a man, not of a god.” The Jews here, en masse, are violating one of the most important commandments: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Honestly, they were lucky God didn’t strike down the whole group of them. But Herod took it the furthest. He was Jewish. He knew enough of the Law to know better. But I’m sure it felt great. Here, at last, he was, getting what he had always wanted, the adoration of his people.
Let’s look at the passage again.
On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. – Acts 12:21-23
Does this remind any of you of a scene yet to come? It does for me. I think one can argue that Herod came closer than anyone so far to fulfilling the picture of the antichrist that is to come. The Bible says that a day will come when, once again, people will shout, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man!” But on that day, he will not be struck down, but will live. He will stand at the rebuilt Temple, and receive worship. And it won’t just be Jews who will be deceived and join in. It will be many who call themselves Christian. And my guess is that it will include people from all religions and faiths. The whole world will seem to bow down before him. On that day, if we are still here, we will know that the End of Days is here.
Josephus has written a parallel account of the death of Herod. (Antiquities 19.8.2. 343-361) Imagine you are there. The picture on the screen is almost certainly the exact place where this happened. It is known that this theater was built by Herod the Great, the grandfather of Herod Agrippa I, and it was the theater at that time in Caesarea. It is one of the best-preserved Roman theaters in the world. Near the seashore, it has spent most of the years between then and now covered by sand. Imagine you are there. It is still new and crack-free.
Now when Agrippa had reigned three years over all Judea he came to the city Caesarea, which was formerly called Strato's Tower; and there he exhibited spectacles in honor of Caesar, for whose well-being he'd been informed that a certain festival was being celebrated. At this festival a great number were gathered together of the principal persons of dignity of his province. On the second day of the spectacles he put on a garment made wholly of silver, of a truly wonderful texture, and came into the theater early in the morning. There the silver of his garment, being illuminated by the fresh reflection of the sun's rays, shone out in a wonderful manner, and was so resplendent as to spread awe over those that looked intently upon him. Presently his flatterers cried out, one from one place, and another from another, (though not for his good) that he was a god; and they added, "Be thou merciful to us; for although we have hitherto reverenced thee only as a man, yet shall we henceforth own thee as superior to mortal nature." Upon this the king neither rebuked them nor rejected their impious flattery. But he shortly afterward looked up and saw an owl sitting on a certain rope over his head, and immediately understood that this bird was the messenger of ill tidings, just as it had once been the messenger of good tidings to him; and fell into the deepest sorrow. A severe pain arose in his belly, striking with a most violent intensity. He therefore looked upon his friends, and said, "I, whom you call a god, am commanded presently to depart this life; while Providence thus reproves the lying words you just now said to me; and I, who was by you called immortal, am immediately to be hurried away by death. But I am bound to accept what Providence allots, as it pleases God; for we have by no means lived ill, but in a splendid and happy manner." When he had said this, his pain became violent. Accordingly he was carried into the palace, and the rumor went abroad everywhere that he would certainly die soon. The multitude sat in sackcloth, men, women and children, after the law of their country, and besought God for the king's recovery. All places were also full of mourning and lamentation. Now the king rested in a high chamber, and as he saw them below lying prostrate on the ground he could not keep himself from weeping. And when he had been quite worn out by the pain in his belly for five days, he departed this life, being in the fifty-fourth year of his age and in the seventh year of his reign. He ruled four years under Caius Caesar, three of them were over Philip's tetrarchy only, and on the fourth that of Herod was added to it; and he reigned, besides those, three years under Claudius Caesar, during which time he had Judea added to his lands, as well as Samaria and Cesarea. The revenues that he received out of them were very great, no less than twelve millions of drachmae. But he borrowed great sums from others, for he was so very liberal that his expenses exceeded his incomes, and his generosity was boundless.
A little later in this passage, Josephus says that Agrippa left behind three daughters, Bernice, Mariamme, and Drusilla, and a son, Agrippa II. Their ages, respectively, were 16, 10, and 6 for the daughters and 17 for the son. Bernice and Agrippa II are mentioned in Acts 25, and Drusilla is mentioned in Acts 24. They remain “important” people. I mention all this just to point out how much evidence there is supporting the Bible here. Any time you are challenged that the Bible is fiction, remember examples like this. Luke and Acts are filled with verifiable details.
There are some differences of emphasis in the two passages. Luke is much more careful than Josephus, who loved to give flowery praises and put dramatic details in his writing. Luke may have left out the “owl thing” because it was not verifiable. (It might, indeed, not be true.) But they both agree in the essentials: that Herod Agrippa I accepted praise of a form that said he was a god or godlike, and that God struck him down immediately afterwards.
Some of the details of Josephus’ account are amazingly timely to me. I am especially struck by how it says he was extremely generous, but he had to go into massive debt to do this. In other words, he was being generous with the money future generations would have to pay in taxes. Sounds surprisingly "current", doesn't it?
Something else that really strikes me is how the general population became extremely caught up in this event. They put on sackcloth and ashes and went into mourning, praying for God to deliver this man, who was only a man. Even during this time they viewed him as a godly man. He was popular with the people, generous (with others’ money, as we have seen). This event was headline news.
But how did you think it sat with the Christians? I don’t think they were bitter towards him, or that they wanted him to die. Forgiveness is a central theme of Christianity, perhaps the central theme. And they knew he was a bad man, a casual murderer. He had killed one of the “pillars” of the faith and tried to kill another. But I don’t think they were caught up in the events they way everyone else was. They were in the world, but not of the world. Compared to their personal relationships with Christ, compared to their fellowship with one another, growing in love and in the knowledge of their Savior, it just wasn’t that important.
And I think it should be so with us. Politics has its place, and it is important that we vote and do what we can to see people who love and fear God elected, and it is good to be involved in public policy debate, but it is secondary to Christ. When tragedy strikes, like the events at Virginia tech, we should certainly care, and pray for those who are affected, and help personally if we can, but we shouldn’t let our minds become consumed with the latest news reports and analysis. We can root for our favorite singer in American Idol, or for our favorite sporting teams, but in moderation. The same goes for movies and music groups. The one thing we should be fanatics (homothumadon) for is to know Jesus Christ and to make Him known.
But the word of God continued to increase and spread. When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark. – Acts 12:24-25
Here you see what Luke thinks is important. The word “but” tells you what is important. It makes me think of taunts little kids make. “I can do this.” “Yeah, but I can do this.” “Herod did this.” “Yeah, but God did this.”
The Word of God continued to increase and spread. The important people weren’t Herod, or those under him. It was Barnabaus, Saul, John. People relatively unknown in much of the Roman world. People living for Christ, thankful for His providing a way for them to be eternally reconciled to Him. Thankful for the cross. Thankful for the cup. Thankful for the bread.
The people at that gathering in Caesarea thought they were praising a god, and said so. Yes, but let us praise the one true God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and the only one who can give eternal life.
I want to go back briefly to the beginning of Acts 12.
It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. – Acts 12:1-3
If you were here last week, you should remember Herod. We talked about how there are multiple Herod’s in the Bible, and it can get confusing. This is Herod Agrippa I, a grandson of Herod the Great, and father of Herod Agrippa II, seen later in Acts. Last week we talked about how Luke is so brief with his words describing such a horrific event. Paul described James and John, called by Jesus the “Sons of Thunder” and Simon, called by Jesus “The Rock,” or Peter, the three “pillars” of the faith. King Herod was a man swayed by popular opinion. He had a Jewish mother and non-Jewish father, and in part because of this, he was very eager to be viewed as a “whole” Jew and be loved by them. When he saw something pleased the Jews, he would do more of the same. And so he killed James and had Peter imprisoned, intending to have him killed as well. But God intervened. He sent angel who miraculously released Peter from prison. Herod blamed the guards and had them executed. We can now pick up the story with Herod.
Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there a while. He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. Having secured the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king's country for their food supply. – Acts 12:19b-20
The lands of Tyre and Sidon were in the Roman empire, just like Caesarea, but were probably not under Herod’s domain. When it says people from Tyre and Sidon secured the support of Blastus, it may mean they bribed him. They wanted peace, it says, because Herod had the ability to withhold needed food from them. Without peace, they could have something much like famine. In many ways Herod had godlike power over them.
On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. – Acts 12:21-23
You can almost imagine God saying, “This is the death of a man, not of a god.” The Jews here, en masse, are violating one of the most important commandments: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Honestly, they were lucky God didn’t strike down the whole group of them. But Herod took it the furthest. He was Jewish. He knew enough of the Law to know better. But I’m sure it felt great. Here, at last, he was, getting what he had always wanted, the adoration of his people.
Let’s look at the passage again.
On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. – Acts 12:21-23
Does this remind any of you of a scene yet to come? It does for me. I think one can argue that Herod came closer than anyone so far to fulfilling the picture of the antichrist that is to come. The Bible says that a day will come when, once again, people will shout, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man!” But on that day, he will not be struck down, but will live. He will stand at the rebuilt Temple, and receive worship. And it won’t just be Jews who will be deceived and join in. It will be many who call themselves Christian. And my guess is that it will include people from all religions and faiths. The whole world will seem to bow down before him. On that day, if we are still here, we will know that the End of Days is here.
Josephus has written a parallel account of the death of Herod. (Antiquities 19.8.2. 343-361) Imagine you are there. The picture on the screen is almost certainly the exact place where this happened. It is known that this theater was built by Herod the Great, the grandfather of Herod Agrippa I, and it was the theater at that time in Caesarea. It is one of the best-preserved Roman theaters in the world. Near the seashore, it has spent most of the years between then and now covered by sand. Imagine you are there. It is still new and crack-free.
Now when Agrippa had reigned three years over all Judea he came to the city Caesarea, which was formerly called Strato's Tower; and there he exhibited spectacles in honor of Caesar, for whose well-being he'd been informed that a certain festival was being celebrated. At this festival a great number were gathered together of the principal persons of dignity of his province. On the second day of the spectacles he put on a garment made wholly of silver, of a truly wonderful texture, and came into the theater early in the morning. There the silver of his garment, being illuminated by the fresh reflection of the sun's rays, shone out in a wonderful manner, and was so resplendent as to spread awe over those that looked intently upon him. Presently his flatterers cried out, one from one place, and another from another, (though not for his good) that he was a god; and they added, "Be thou merciful to us; for although we have hitherto reverenced thee only as a man, yet shall we henceforth own thee as superior to mortal nature." Upon this the king neither rebuked them nor rejected their impious flattery. But he shortly afterward looked up and saw an owl sitting on a certain rope over his head, and immediately understood that this bird was the messenger of ill tidings, just as it had once been the messenger of good tidings to him; and fell into the deepest sorrow. A severe pain arose in his belly, striking with a most violent intensity. He therefore looked upon his friends, and said, "I, whom you call a god, am commanded presently to depart this life; while Providence thus reproves the lying words you just now said to me; and I, who was by you called immortal, am immediately to be hurried away by death. But I am bound to accept what Providence allots, as it pleases God; for we have by no means lived ill, but in a splendid and happy manner." When he had said this, his pain became violent. Accordingly he was carried into the palace, and the rumor went abroad everywhere that he would certainly die soon. The multitude sat in sackcloth, men, women and children, after the law of their country, and besought God for the king's recovery. All places were also full of mourning and lamentation. Now the king rested in a high chamber, and as he saw them below lying prostrate on the ground he could not keep himself from weeping. And when he had been quite worn out by the pain in his belly for five days, he departed this life, being in the fifty-fourth year of his age and in the seventh year of his reign. He ruled four years under Caius Caesar, three of them were over Philip's tetrarchy only, and on the fourth that of Herod was added to it; and he reigned, besides those, three years under Claudius Caesar, during which time he had Judea added to his lands, as well as Samaria and Cesarea. The revenues that he received out of them were very great, no less than twelve millions of drachmae. But he borrowed great sums from others, for he was so very liberal that his expenses exceeded his incomes, and his generosity was boundless.
A little later in this passage, Josephus says that Agrippa left behind three daughters, Bernice, Mariamme, and Drusilla, and a son, Agrippa II. Their ages, respectively, were 16, 10, and 6 for the daughters and 17 for the son. Bernice and Agrippa II are mentioned in Acts 25, and Drusilla is mentioned in Acts 24. They remain “important” people. I mention all this just to point out how much evidence there is supporting the Bible here. Any time you are challenged that the Bible is fiction, remember examples like this. Luke and Acts are filled with verifiable details.
There are some differences of emphasis in the two passages. Luke is much more careful than Josephus, who loved to give flowery praises and put dramatic details in his writing. Luke may have left out the “owl thing” because it was not verifiable. (It might, indeed, not be true.) But they both agree in the essentials: that Herod Agrippa I accepted praise of a form that said he was a god or godlike, and that God struck him down immediately afterwards.
Some of the details of Josephus’ account are amazingly timely to me. I am especially struck by how it says he was extremely generous, but he had to go into massive debt to do this. In other words, he was being generous with the money future generations would have to pay in taxes. Sounds surprisingly "current", doesn't it?
Something else that really strikes me is how the general population became extremely caught up in this event. They put on sackcloth and ashes and went into mourning, praying for God to deliver this man, who was only a man. Even during this time they viewed him as a godly man. He was popular with the people, generous (with others’ money, as we have seen). This event was headline news.
But how did you think it sat with the Christians? I don’t think they were bitter towards him, or that they wanted him to die. Forgiveness is a central theme of Christianity, perhaps the central theme. And they knew he was a bad man, a casual murderer. He had killed one of the “pillars” of the faith and tried to kill another. But I don’t think they were caught up in the events they way everyone else was. They were in the world, but not of the world. Compared to their personal relationships with Christ, compared to their fellowship with one another, growing in love and in the knowledge of their Savior, it just wasn’t that important.
And I think it should be so with us. Politics has its place, and it is important that we vote and do what we can to see people who love and fear God elected, and it is good to be involved in public policy debate, but it is secondary to Christ. When tragedy strikes, like the events at Virginia tech, we should certainly care, and pray for those who are affected, and help personally if we can, but we shouldn’t let our minds become consumed with the latest news reports and analysis. We can root for our favorite singer in American Idol, or for our favorite sporting teams, but in moderation. The same goes for movies and music groups. The one thing we should be fanatics (homothumadon) for is to know Jesus Christ and to make Him known.
But the word of God continued to increase and spread. When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark. – Acts 12:24-25
Here you see what Luke thinks is important. The word “but” tells you what is important. It makes me think of taunts little kids make. “I can do this.” “Yeah, but I can do this.” “Herod did this.” “Yeah, but God did this.”
The Word of God continued to increase and spread. The important people weren’t Herod, or those under him. It was Barnabaus, Saul, John. People relatively unknown in much of the Roman world. People living for Christ, thankful for His providing a way for them to be eternally reconciled to Him. Thankful for the cross. Thankful for the cup. Thankful for the bread.
The people at that gathering in Caesarea thought they were praising a god, and said so. Yes, but let us praise the one true God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and the only one who can give eternal life.
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