All Herod’s power was really … nothing at all
Ever since Pentecost, the church has been oppressed in some place and in some measure. In fact, it is said that in the 20th century more Christians have died for their faith than in the previous 19 centuries combined. Acts 12 gives us insight into the persecuted church.
The church is to expect oppression
“Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also” (Acts 12:2f).
After the apostle Paul was converted, the church enjoyed a measure of rest from persecution. But in Acts 12, the political climate of the day changed, and trouble and persecution once again fell on the church. It all happened when Herod, seeking political advantage, killed James and because he saw it pleased the Jews, arrested Peter, without doubt intending to kill him, too.
This Herod Agrippa came from a long line of vile, malicious despots. His grandfather was Herod the Great who murdered the children in and around Bethlehem after the birth of Christ. His uncle was Herod Antipas who beheaded John the Baptist. Herod Agrippa wanted Peter kept securely in prison during the Passover week because he fully intended to gain more political advantage by bringing him to trial and putting him to death before the Jews. Herod was also worried. He knew well that the powerful Roman rule had a disturbing history of not being able to restrain the followers of Jesus; so Herod had sixteen soldiers assigned to guard Peter, four at a time, with two chained to Peter—one on each side—and two watching at the door. This was maximum security in that day. How could anyone hope to escape?
Oppression drives the church to prayer
“…but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him” (Acts 12:5).
Peter knew what had happened to James, and he could only imagine a similar fate awaiting him in the morning. Yet, in spite of this, we find Peter sleeping between the two soldiers! How could he possibly sleep? It might be said that he was probably exhausted, but there is more to it than that. We read, “So Peter was kept in prison, but prayer was made without ceasing by the church,” meaning that their prayers were earnest and fervent. When was the last time I prayed with such intensity and urgency for other believers?
In a very real sense, the church was restricted to prayer—it was all they could do. They could not make phone calls to their senators or congressmen, and they could not organize any kind of protest campaigns. We don’t know what they asked God for or what they may have believed would happen, but we do know God acted!
God’s deliverance far exceeds physical safety
“And when Peter was come to himself, he said, ‘Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent His angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of
Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews’” (Acts 12:11).
We perhaps associate God’s faithfulness with preventing any physical harm from coming to us, and we do indeed have accounts of times when God protected his servants from physical harm, as in the case of Daniel who spent an entire night with hungry lions and came out the next morning without a scratch.
But we also have many accounts of God’s servants who were not spared, such as John the Baptist, James, and those believers in Hebrews 11:36-38. The faithfulness of God goes far beyond preventing bad things from happening to us. He has promised to be with us (Heb. 13:5) and to supply His grace for whatever need we have (2 Cor. 12:9).
It is wonderfully obvious that all of Herod’s power was really nothing at all. Peter’s chains just fell off his wrists at the nudge of the angel. If the guards were awake, they never heard a noise, saw the light, or noticed anything unusual happening. The final iron gate opened by itself and Peter walked into the city a free man.
It is significant that Peter didn’t know that God had sent His angel to set him free until he had gone through the iron gate and down the first street. The same kind of thing happened to the church, gathered to spend the night praying for Peter. The application to us is that, like Peter and like the church, we aren’t always aware that God is presently doing great things for us. We may not become conscious of what He has done for us until hours, days, weeks, months, or even years later. Sometimes, we are so taken up with the immediate crisis before us that we fail to recognize the hand of God at work in our lives and in our situation.
God removes oppression to His Word in His time
“He was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost” (Acts 12:23).
It was undoubtedly a blow to King Herod that Peter had escaped. Herod couldn’t or wouldn’t entertain the thought of a sovereign God who rules in the affairs of men. This is the weakness of godless, unbelieving rulers. There is a trail of dead and dying despots and world rulers who have made the same error in judgment.
Being upset and angry, Herod went down to Caesarea to nurse his wounds. While there, Herod appeared before ambassadors of Tyre and Sidon to make a speech. This wasn’t the first time or the last time that people ascribed more glory to earthly rulers than they should. They said, “It is the voice of a god, and not man,” and it was not the first or the last time that foolish earthly rulers received that glory without humbly directing the people’s praise and worship to God. But it was the last time Herod did it.
What follows depicts the end of all earthly rulers who reject the rule of almighty God and resist the advance of the gospel of Christ. For Herod, the end came quickly and was agonizingly painful. He was eaten of worms and died. Does the world contain us, or do we transcend the world through the One who loved us and gave Himself for us?
God’s Word thrives in the soil of oppression
In sharp contrast with the horrible finish of Herod, Luke, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, follows up his account with these words: “But the Word of God grew and multiplied” (Acts 12:24). This is the only possible outcome for the Word of God.
Should you ever wonder if investing your life for the spread of the Word and the gospel is worth whatever sacrifice you are called on to make and whatever suffering and persecution by men you are called on to bear, remember this passage! Herod only reigned about seven years and had his moment in the spotlight. There have been tyrants that have ruled for shorter periods and tyrants that have ruled for longer periods, but in the end, the worm has found them all.
On the other hand, the Word of God keeps growing and multiplying in the hearts of men and women, and the end result is eternal life. Herod’s grandfather, Herod the Great, opposed the plan of God to send His Son Jesus Christ to die for sinners; and Herod Agrippa opposed God’s plan to send His church to declare the gospel message to all the peoples of the world, but in spite of them and thousands of wicked men like them, the Word of God is prevailing and the gospel is being preached.