Acts 12:20-25

Open your Bibles to Acts 12 and we will complete Acts 12 today. Our text will be Acts 12 verses 20 through 25. Are you ready to hear the Word of the Lord? Now, Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, but they came to him with one accord. And having made blastus the King's personal aid their friend, they asked for peace because their country was supplied with food by the King's country. So on a set day, Herod, Arrayed in royal apparel, set on his throne and gave an oration to them. And the people kept shouting, the voice of a God and not of a man, then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give glory to God and he was eaten by worms and died. But the Word of God grew and multiplied and Barnabas in Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry and they also took with them John whose surname was Mark. This is the Word of the Lord. Thank you for being gone. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your Word. We thank you for the gospel, the good news. Father, would you open our hearts and minds, open our ears and our eyes to hear and to see your Word today in your mercy and in your kindness, may your Word find entrance, may it mold us and shape us into the glorious image of your dear Son. We ask this for your glory and the name of Jesus, amen. All right. If you remember when we began Acts 12, I pointed out that there are four themes that we find in this chapter that create kind of a logical division of how this chapter works out. We see these four themes, persecution, intervention, judgment, and then growth in multiplication. So we looked at the persecution of the church by the state, by Herod. He had James beheaded. We saw that he arrested Peter, but then God intervened on behalf of the church and on behalf of Peter and caused a miraculous escape for Peter. Then we see the judgment of God. That's what we're going to look at today. The judgment of God falling on the head of state on King Herod and ultimately the persecution that was brought against the church leading to the growth and the multiplication of the Word of God. Herod a grip of sympathy toward Jewish customs aligned him with the Jewish leaders and the Jewish rulers who opposed Christ and his church. This resulted in the execution of James, resulted in the arrest of Peter and the persecution of the church under a grip ultimately led to the continued scattering of Christians throughout the region and throughout the empire. This caused the gospel to be preached in wider and wider regions. That's a good thing. So what we see in the history of the church, even to our own day today, is that every attempt to persecute and smother the church and the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ actually resulted in the multiplication and the growth of the church. And that is still happening today. So Acts 20 through 23, we see judgment, God's judgment. So after Peter's miraculous escape from Herod's prison, after he was unable to find Peter, when he had all the guards executed, Luke tells us that Herod left Jerusalem and he went to Cesaria and he stayed there. Cesaria was a city on the coast. It was a Roman city. It was a center where the Roman government resided there, but it was also a place where Herod had his palace in a residence there. And he would go between Jerusalem and Cesaria. So verse 20 tells us that Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. But they came to him with one accord having made blasts as the king's personal aide their friend and they asked for peace because their country was supplied with food by the king's country. So we see here in verse 20 that Herod had been very angry with the people, which doesn't sound like a big deal to us. But actually this word translated very angry indicates a state of war. In other words, Herod was so angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon that he was ready to go to war with them. Now history doesn't indicate that there was any type of military conflict or any type of war, but Luke tells us that basically Herod was fighting mad at the people of Tyre and Sidon. We do not know why. There's a lot of speculation, but it's all just speculation. The Bible doesn't tell us and really history does not tell us why Herod was angry. We just know that he was. Tyre and Sidon are both cities along the Mediterranean coast. The country of Tyre and Sidon, so you realize it's not like it is today. These were almost like city states and they ruled regions. Well Tyre and Sidon were cities on the coast of the Mediterranean about 20 miles apart from one another. There was just a small strip of land that was kind of the region there in modern day Lebanon is where these cities existed. In both of these were very ancient merchant cities, cities of great wealth in ancient times they were cities of great power. I could tell you all kinds of interesting history about Tyre and Sidon, but I won't do that today. But if you come to my history class you'll learn all about it. Some really fascinating history there. In the days of Herod Agrippa these cities were still very wealthy. So Rome ruled the world. Rome was the power, but Tyre and Sidon were both cities that still had great wealth. In the days of Herod Agrippa who is the Herod we're talking about here, not Herod the Great, but the grandson of Herod the Great, these cities were still very rich and very opulent. They were also very dependent upon Agrippa because he ruled the region of Judea and Galilee. And so you can go look at a map when you get home today, but Galilee is in the northern region of Israel and just above Galilee on the coast is Tyre and Sidon. So Galilee kind of is the border where Lebanon begins. And so those cities were dependent on the grain grown, the olives grown, the oil produced in Judea and Galilee. So they got their food from Israel, from the Jews. In the year old Testament when you see David is getting ready to build the temple, are preparing it for his son Solomon to build it. When Solomon gets all of the supplies the treaties had been made and the cedars of Lebanon came from craftsmen and Tyre and Sidon. They were floated down the sea and then brought over to Jerusalem and in exchange for all of that lumber and all of those craftsmen you'll read where the Jews paid the tyrians and the Sidonians with grain, with food because they needed food and they couldn't produce their own food. So there was this long standing relationship. And so Tyre and Sidon were dependent on Herod Agrippa to provide them with wheat and oil and other staples for the people of these cities. The people having befriended the king's personal aid whose name was Blastus was able to gain an audience with the king in an attempt to appease him and regain his favor. They knew as well as Herod that they were dependent upon the king for their survival. He could and perhaps he likely did in his anger make life difficult for the people of these cities and the people of this region by withholding from them the vital provisions that they needed. Luke indicates that the requests for peace were ongoing. So when it says they kept asking the picture we have here is they were continuously coming to Herod and asking, going to Blastus and saying, can you get the king to relax his anger? Can you get the king to restore the provisions that we've traditionally been able to obtain from you? The great wealth of Tyre and Sidon no doubt enabled them to bribe the king's servant and the king's servant in turn worked on behalf of Tyre and Sidon. The people wanted peace with Agrippa because they wanted to be able to continue their lifestyle. If you don't have food, you don't have basic provisions, it's kind of hard to do that. It wasn't that they just wanted to be able to make bread and have oil. They lived a very luxurious and a very wicked lifestyle. And without food and provision they could not maintain that. They couldn't entertain their business partners. They couldn't keep open the temples and the brothels and all the things that they were known for, their luxurious wealth and all of that. When you don't have food, when you don't have basic necessities, all those luxuries go away. The people of Tyre and Sidon understood that and their luxuries were in large part what enriched them because people came there from all over to take advantage of those things. So their true need as is our own was true peace and the true food that comes from the true king of kings, the Lord Jesus. They wanted peace and they wanted food but what they wanted really is not what they needed. Jesus admonished his disciples concerning this very thing in John 627. Jesus said, do not labor for the food which perishes but for the food which endures to everlasting life which the son of man will give you because God the Father has set his seal on him and in John 1427 Jesus promised us peace, a peace that cannot be found in this world. Jesus said, peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives to I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled. Let it neither be afraid. Jesus said, I have peace there is peace with me there is no reason for you to be afraid. What the Torinians and the Sidonians wanted from Herod a gripper was not a lasting peace or an everlasting food but only that which would perish on the whim of an evil king it would not matter if that king was a gripper or if it was any other king only the peace from the Prince of Peace only the bread from the bread of heaven come down from heaven will truly guard our hearts and truly sustain us to eternal life. The Torinians and the Sidonians kept on requesting and seeking peace and provision from a gripper and continuously they saw those things because they knew their need they felt their need but they felt an outward need like the solution they thought or they saw it. What they thought was a solution what they saw as a solution was really just putting a band-aid on the real problem it was carnal it was temporal the true need they had the true need we all have and the solution is spiritual and it is eternal. Tyre Satan in our world today it is interesting that Luke brings up Tyre inside the the the the the the the the the the the the people of that region ironically Jesus went to the regions of Tyre and Sidon and he ministered there we see this in Matthew chapter 15 and Matthew 15 verses 21 through 28 we have the account of Jesus in counter with the Syrophonician or the Canaanite woman this is the woman who asked Jesus to to heal her daughter and he said I didn't come for you Canaanites I came for the House of Israel only this is where Jesus calls her basically a dog it was there he ministered to that Canaanite woman who demonstrated such great humility and faith God sent his son to minister to the people of Tyre and Sidon and even though in his own words he was sent only to the law sheep of the house of Israel yet in her faith and in her humility she persisted in Jesus granted her wish it's interesting that Luke brings these cities of Tyre and Sidon into his narrative here Ezekiel 28 is largely a pronunciation of judgment against the King of Tyre there is a link between the King of Tyre and Satan himself Satan fell due to pride when you read Ezekiel 28 you see that Tyre and the King of Tyre was full of pride same sin that caused Satan to fall Tyre was full of pride and so God compares Satan the father of sinful pride with this city's king that was also puffed up with wicked pride pride was also the sin of heradagrippa and he embraced that sin for himself and pride is still a sin that many fall prey to today as they buy the lie of the wicked one they pursue maimun and self promotion and self enrichment even in the name of God instead of serving and obeying God and trusting him as their provider as those in Christ we know better than to pursue that so let's so we are called to walk by faith and not by side the need that Tyre and Sidon had is the same need we have today we need peace with the King of Kings we need the food that endures to everlasting life which comes only from the son of man the Lord Jesus Christ yet in pride we seek the riches and the resources of this world to give us what we falsely believe will bring us real peace and lasting provision the world in all of its maimun cannot provide that true peace true prosperity of soul is found only in the Lord Jesus as it was with the first man Adam men today fall prey to the lie that drives them to seek temporal worldly provision and peace and power the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes the pride of life all lead to death men seek to have and to hold wealth to buy and sell and gather in for their own false security and enrichment in order to secure fleeting pleasure fleeting power and fleeting peace Jesus warned against such pursuits this was the lifestyle of the rich and famous in all there want to be that inhabited the cities of Tyre and Sidon then and much of our world today struggling with the same sin they had by their long reputation as the richest and most luxurious of cities become the servants of maimun with all its trappings and these cities of old epitomize what is presently plaguing our world where maimun has become the God of so many the wickedness of these cities born out of their service to maimun as well as well known just as wickedness driven by profit as well known today that wickedness proliferates across the globe even into our own homes and into our own families and Jesus warns us against falling prey to such temptation and wickedness Jesus addressed this in Matthew chapter 6 verse 193 24 Jesus said do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth were moth and rust destroying were thieves break in and steal but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven were neither moth nor rust destroys and were thieves do not break in and steal for where your treasure is there your heart will be also no one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other you cannot serve God and maimun so where is your treasure where is your heart be careful for it's easy to justify such pursuits hear me money is not evil having money is not evil having lots of money is not evil what's evil is when money has you and you don't have to have a lot of money for money to have you money is not evil but the love of money is the root of all evil Paul writes in 1 Timothy 16 we we miss read that and miss quote that very often to say well you know money is the root of all evil no actually that's not true the love of money is the root of all evil we have theologies in the church today that pressure you to pursue worldly riches and worldly success the size of your bank account and home the brand of your car and clothes have all become indicators of what the world calls success this was the culture of tire inside it is not the culture of the church this is the culture many in the world worship today as maimun has become their God as believers we are called not only to a better way we're called to a living way we're called to serve God to obey all that God has commanded we're called to be discipling the nations and establishing the kingdom harrid agrippa lived and acted like a god but he was not he was not a god in verse 21 and 22 Luke goes on it says so on a set day harrid arrayed and royal apparel set on his throne and gave an oration to them the people kept shouting the voice of a god and not of a man Josephus the Roman or the Jewish historian who though he was Jewish adopted the name of the Roman Emperor Titus Flavius Josephus Flavius was the family name of Titus and Titus adopted Josephus like a son after Josephus had been captured in the revolt against the Romans by God's grace his life was spared and he actually became a historian trying to help the Jews not be destroyed by the Romans but he was unsuccessful in that endeavor but he wrote a history of the Jews it's a fascinating history you should read it some time called antiquities antiquities of the Jews his writings are compiled and in his writings of the antiquities of the Jews in book 19 and chapter 8 in other places he gives a very detailed account of what happened that day Luke gives a very thumbnail sketch because Luke's not wasting his time and energy talking a lot about harrid but he wants us to know what happened to harrid because he's already told his harrid had James beheaded and he was trying to murder Peter so what happened to this guy well he got what he deserved there's no doubt about that and the account of Josephus in the antiquities of the Jews coincides with the Luke's account in Acts chapter 12 and according to Luke and Josephus a grip was in Cessaria on a day appointed a day of celebration this may have been the birthday of Caligula it could have been any number of occasions but it was an official holiday we'll say that and on this official holiday on this appointed day harrid is on his throne and he's going to address the people he sits on his throne arrayed in royal Josephus gives a very detailed description of that royal apparel and evidently the royal apparel harrid had arrayed himself in that day was a garment made of pure silver and when harrid comes before the people in this arena amphitheater wherever it was and sits on his throne in the morning sunlight the sun reflecting off of this pure silver garment created an unearthly light and glow the sun illuminated the silver garment Josephus tells us that it created horror in the people because they in that moment believed that harrid was not a man they believed he was a god and they became fearful of him it was his silver garment shining in the sun that made them think according to Josephus that this man was actually a god until they started shouting loop tells us this the voice of a god and not of a man the voice of a god and not of a man and upon a gripper receiving these shouts declaring him to be a god he failed to correct the people he failed to rebuke the people and because he failed refused to humble himself he experienced the judgment of the true god the most high god and the pride found in Satan the pride found in Tyre and Sidon and their kings was the pride found inherited grip of that morning and that pride resulted in a self inflicted divine judgment upon him verse 23 then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give glory to God and he was eaten by worms and died I will spare you the details of his death but you can go through Josephus' writings and Josephus gives quite a lot of detail about harrid's physical problems leading up to this and it is it's gruesome it's gruesome and as it is described it is excruciatingly painful and harrid would not make himself low before god that's that's what worship is the word worship means to make yourself low harrid would not worship god he thought he did by keeping Jewish customs but he was right there with the people that crucified Jesus and he was murdering his church he would not make himself low before god so an angel of the Lord struck him down at the instruction of god yes god does that all harrid grip of did culminated in this moment of judgment because he would not give glory to god the savior and the gospel that harrid a gripper rejected and persecuted judged him showing him to be nothing more than a mortal man mired in sin and death and eating the fruit of it the people that day who thought they were hearing the voice of a god soon saw that he was nothing more than a mortal man and he died an excruciating death was harrid a gripper inherently more sinful than you or me there is no difference between us and harrid a gripper in terms of our inherent sinfulness before god he may have been more evil than you or me I have no doubt that he was but the sin that separated him from god is not different than the sin that separates you or me from god as Paul writes in Romans 3 23 for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of god the difference is not the level or the severity of our sin the difference is the grace of god applied or not applied to sinners you don't have to sin to the level that harrid did to go to hell now we're close to it in terms of evil deeds and wicked behaviors people in the world think it's their evil deeds and deeds and wicked behaviors that are going to send them to hell conversely they think it's their good works and their good deeds are going to get them to heaven and neither one of those are true left to our own devices if god were to remove his hand of grace upon any one of us we are capable of doing exactly what harrid did and even worse and the only reason we don't is because of god's grace present in our lives a man or woman who humbles themselves before god is not better than one who will not but they are better off as James writes and James 4 6 but he gives more grace therefore he says god resist the proud that gives grace to the humble harrid would not humble himself therefore he did not receive grace god gives grace to the humble but pride goes before a fall proverb 6 18 Solomon writes pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall and this is what happened to harrid a grip up and this is what will ultimately happen to all who refuse to humble themselves before god harrid got what he deserved you and I in Jesus Christ will not get what we deserve praise god we instead will get exactly what we do not deserve which is his grace and his mercy remember we are not saved because we are better than others we do not earn our salvation nor do we earn the love of god it is all grace all the time it is grace that has been gifted to us the words of the apostle Paul in Romans 3 10 and 12 remind us of this Paul writes as it is written there is none righteous no not one there is none who does who understands there is none who seeks after god they have all turned aside they have together become unprofitable there is none who does good no not one how is it anyone can be saved then well here the good news and the answer to that question Romans 3 21 through 28 Paul writes again but now the righteousness of god apart from the laws revealed being witness by the law and the prophets even the righteousness of god through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe for there is no difference for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of god being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom god set forth as a propitiation by his blood and a toning sacrifice for us by his blood through faith to demonstrate his righteousness because in his forbearance god had passed over the sins that were previously committed to demonstrate at the present time his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus Christ where is boasting then it is excluded by what law of works no but by the law of faith therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law you are not I'm going to repeat that you are not saved by any work you do by any merit you are able to earn because you can't earn any merit with God you are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone Ephesians 2 4 through 9 but god who is rich and mercy because of his great love with which he loved us even when we were dead and sin and trespasses made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus for by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God not of works less than anyone should boast I didn't include it here but we could go one verse more verse 10 of Ephesians chapter 3 which says that God has prepared good works for us before hand before hand what before the creation of the world he prepared good works for us that we should walk in them not so that we can become saved but because we are saved when God saves you he gives you a new heart he gives you a new life you become a new creation and now you are able to walk in the good works that God prepared for you before hand so you are not saved by works you are saved unto works good works that God prepared the only work that saves you and me is the finished work of Christ on the cross herod a grip a rejected that good news the only merit we may trust in is the merit of Jesus Christ our only Lord and Savior we earn nothing but receive everything when we receive the gift of salvation by faith in the finished work and merit of Christ Ephesians chapter 1 verse 4 teaches us it is God who chose us in him before the foundation of the world for no other reason than it was the good pleasure of his will listen to Paul's words on the amazing grace of God Ephesians 1, 4 through 6 just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love having predestined us to adoption his sons by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will to the praise of the glory of his grace by which he made us accepted in the beloved did you catch that by which he made us accepted in the beloved you and I do nothing to become accepted by God he did everything he gave everything and he gave you a new heart to trust him and to live to his glory even though we fall short of that glory on a regular basis again it is not our ability to attain to his glory that saves us but his grace freely given to us those he has chosen in him for his glory here at a gripper refused to humble himself under the mighty hand of God he refused to obey God's command to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ do you realize the great commission we read today in one of our Bible readings is not a suggestion it's a command you're not commanded by Jesus to go suggest that people believe in him you are commanded by Jesus to go and to command people believe in him say wow Pastor Jeff that sounds kind of arrogant I don't think God's like that oh really read your Bible read it carefully you are commanded to command men to believe because if they do not believe they will perish God makes us accepted in him God commands us to trust in Jesus to humble ourselves under his mighty hand to obey his commands here at refused to do that here at a gripper died a horrible death don't be like here at a gripper humble yourself and receive the grace of God we need more grace the result of humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God will be more grace God resist the proud gives more grace to the humble if there's anything the church needs right now anything our nation needs right now it is more grace we need more grace to faithfully obey God's word to faithfully walk in God's spirit we need more grace to repent of our apathy and our unbelief and our inaction and our fear we need men of God manning pulpits of this nation who are not afraid to speak the truth men who will call out sin men who will call other men to repentance men who will speak as the oracles of God in the fear of the Lord we pray for revival and reformation each week I hope you pray for it daily but what do we think that that's going to look like when it comes? I don't think we really understand what we're praying for what do you think that will cost us it cost the apostle James his head at the hands of her at a gripper it almost cost Peter his life then he was arrested by a gripper but God intervened and turned him loose but ultimately it did cost Peter his life when he was crucified for his Lord for preaching and teaching the truth even though he knew it would cost him his life every one of the twelve apostles died saved John the beloved and church history and church tradition tells us they tried over and over and over to kill him but they could not even boiling him in oil he would not die so finally the Romans just put him on an island by himself and said stay here and he still wrote the book of Revelation and he still is touching lives today men and women across history have paid a price for the gospel to go forth and do its powerful work we are living on the borrowed time of that investment now if we do not begin to reinvest soon our time will run out with or without us though now or later God has a plan and he has promised that his church is victorious the gates of hell will not prevail against the church what will happen in our lifetime in our time of visitation we don't know but we're living in times right now where we need to pay the price to see the grace of God come verse 24 and 25 show us growth and multiplication Luke writes but the word of God grew and multiplied and Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry and they took with them John whose surname was marked the end of chapter 12 and Acts begin as a transition to a new narrative that Luke will give us we're going to leave Peter and the Jerusalem church we're going to move to Antioch when we start chapter 13 and we're going to see God send out missionaries to the world to preach the gospel without fail in the history of the church persecution produces growth and multiplication it's hard to explain but we have seen it time and time again truly in God's providence the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church we want the word of God to grow and multiply but do we want to pay the cost required to see that happen we all want revival as long as it does not cost us well here's the facts revival and reformation will always come at a cost or it will not come at all period the question is are we willing to pay the price my encouragement to you is that you be willing to pay the price to see the gospel grow and multiply to see his kingdom come his will be done on earth in this very city in your very family among your neighbors among your friends in your own heart to see his kingdom come his will be done on earth in you as it isn't heaven and the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit and men let us prepare to come to the Lord's table men here's your church there are two modern proverbs or quotes that are applicable applicable to our day one is desperate times calls for desperate measures and the other is hard times create strong men strong men create good times good times create weak men and weak men create hard times strong men have given us the good times we are living in now the word of God has grown and multiplied exponentially and we are eating the good fruit of it and if we continue on this track we will eat all the fruit and have nothing left for our future at present we seem to have plenty of weak men in our good times and those weak men seem to be giving us if not the potential for hard times the question is this how hard will the times get before strong men rise up you cannot know the answer to that question so don't try to figure it out what we do know is this we desperately need strong men and strong women to rise up for strong families for a strong church for a strong nation so strong men and strong women rise up do not stay silent and do not stay still speak up and step up for the glory of his name and for his gospel they men let's sing our thanks to God the Lord bless you and keep you the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace the Lord be with you

Acts 12:20–25 Matthew 15 · chapter mention Matthew 15:21–28 Acts 12 · chapter mention Ephesians 3 · chapter mention Ephesians 1:4