The Lord Jesus vs. King Herod

Acts chapter 11 verse 27 today. I covered, we're going to read those a few verses at the end of

Acts 11:27

chapter 11 again and we'll go to chapter 12 verse 25. Acts 11 27 to 12 25. I'll give you a moment

to find your place in scripture. It's okay. It's totally fine.

I'm sure Jesus had a lot more distractions so this is, it's totally fine for kids to be in the

service and we want kids to be here because that means the parents are here and we want the kids

to be here too because we want them to see their parents worship the Lord, see other adults worship

the Lord and come to know the Lord Jesus themselves. Acts 11 27 to 12 25. Let me pray for the reading

and preaching of God's word. Heavenly Father,

we confess that it is easy to be

be carried away by the course of this world with its own priorities, desires, fears.

But Lord, we want to be a people because we are citizens of another kingdom

because we have a heavenly citizenship. We want to be governed by a different charter.

We want to be governed by you,

our King, our Lord.

So we ask that you will now address us as your subjects, your people.

We in us

from our dependencies in this world,

from sinful fleshly attachments,

and make us dependent wholly on you.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Acts 11, starting in verse 27.

Now in these days,

prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch,

and one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world.

This took place in the days of Claudius.

So the disciples determined

everyone according to his ability to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.

And they did so,

sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

About that time,

Herod the King laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church.

He killed James,

the brother of John, with the sword.

And when he saw that it pleased the Jews,

he proceeded to arrest Peter also.

This was during the days of unleavened bread.

And when he had seized him,

he put him in prison,

delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him,

intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people.

So Peter was kept in prison,

but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

Now when Herod was about to bring him out,

on that very night,

Peter was sleeping between two soldiers,

bound with two chains.

And centuries before the door were guarding the prison.

And behold,

an angel of the Lord stood next to him,

and a light shone in the cell.

He struck Peter on the side and woke him,

saying,

Get up quickly.

And the chains fell off his hands.

And the angel said to him,

Dress yourself and put on your sandals.

And he did so.

And he said to him,

Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.

And he went out and followed him.

He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real,

but thought he was seeing a vision.

When they had passed the first and the second guard,

they came to the iron gate leading into the city.

It opened for them of its own accord.

And they went out and went along one street,

and immediately the angel left him.

When Peter came to himself, he said,

Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel

and rescued me from the hand of Herod

and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.

When he realized this,

he went to the house of Mary.

The mother of John, whose other name was Mark,

where many were gathered together and were praying.

And when he knocked at the door of the gateway,

a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer.

Recognizing Peter's voice,

in her joy she did not open the gate,

but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate.

They said to her,

You are out of your mind.

But she kept insisting that it was so,

and they kept saying,

It is his angel.

But Peter continued knocking,

and when they opened,

they saw him and were amazed.

But motioning to them with his hand to be silent,

he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of prison.

And he said,

Tell all these things to James and to the brothers.

Then he departed and went to another place.

Now, when day came,

there was no little disturbance among the soldiers

over what had become of Peter.

And after Herod searched for him and did not find him,

he examined the sentries

in order that they should be put to death.

Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea

and spent time there.

Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon.

And they came to him with one accord,

and having persuaded Blastus, the king's chamberlain,

they asked for peace,

because their country depended on the king's country for food.

On an appointed day,

Herod put on his royal robes,

took his seat upon the throne,

and delivered an oration to them.

And the people were shouting,

The voice of a God and not of a man.

Immediately,

an angel of the Lord struck him down,

because he did not give God the glory.

And he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

But the word of God increased and multiplied.

And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem

when they had completed their service,

bringing with them John,

whose other name was Mark.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

We live in a culture where matters of spirituality

and religion have been relegated to

the realm of kind of private, personal opinion,

rather than the public realm of facts.

So evangelism and proselytization

is almost kind of a bad word in our culture.

They say,

Don't try to impose your beliefs on others.

Not only that,

but because we live in a world where our enemy,

Satan, is at large,

there's a general opposition,

spiritual opposition,

to proclaiming the name of Jesus.

People are free to share their opinions

about a wide range of controversial topics,

but speaking of Jesus

is considered offensive,

intrusive.

For these reasons and more,

there is a social and relational risk

whenever we share the good news of Jesus Christ.

And sometimes there is more than mere risk.

Sometimes there's actual cost.

You can lose friends.

Your relationship with your neighbor can grow cold.

In the book of Acts,

we see a gradual escalation

of the costs that the early Christians

had to bear for bearing witness to Jesus.

In Acts chapter 4, verse 21,

Acts 4:21

they were arrested,

and then they were tried,

but with a warning,

they were released.

In Acts chapter 5, verse 40,

Acts 5:40

they were again arrested and imprisoned,

put on trial,

charged not to speak in Jesus' name,

but this time they were beaten

and then released.

And then in Acts 7,

we had the first martyr.

Stephen was killed

for bearing witness to Jesus' name.

And then now here in Acts 12, 1 to 2,

the stake is raised even higher,

where the punishment,

at least with Stephen's death,

the martyrdom was caused by mob violence, right?

They did have the approval

of the Jewish authorities,

but the Jewish authorities

didn't have the legal,

political right

to mete out, you know,

capital sentences.

And so it was a mob action, really.

But here now,

person with the authority

to execute people,

King Herod,

is now persecuting Christians,

and he kills Apostle James.

So in the book of Acts,

we're seeing that increasingly,

it's increasingly costly

to be a follower

and witness of Jesus.

And that raises a question for us,

when the cost is high,

how do we find the courage

to bear witness to Jesus?

This passage teaches us

that we can proclaim the gospel

with confidence

because God is with us

and His word is unstoppable.

There's a reason why

I read the passage

starting in chapter 11,

verse 27,

instead of beginning

in chapter 12,

because this whole passage

has a roughly chiastic structure.

And by chiasm,

I mean that it has

matching elements

on each side,

each half of the passage,

beginning and the end match,

and then the next two elements

close to each other match

until it gets to the middle element,

which stands by itself.

And so you can kind of see that

in the slide

that I prepared for you.

So at first,

God speaks through His prophet

and provides for His people.

In the end,

at the end of the passage,

Herod does not speak for God

and does not provide

for His people.

You see that Herod kills James,

but then at the end,

Herod ends up killing

his own men.

Herod puts Peter in prison,

but then the Lord

rescues Peter from prison.

The church prays for Peter,

and then church is praying

for Peter again,

and then those two accounts

of the church in prayer

kind of envelops

the miraculous deliverance

of Peter from prison.

I'm going to roughly

follow that structure,

but I'll also use this outline

to talk first of how,

why we can have confidence

to proclaim the gospel,

and that's because God has

the power to provide for us,

and second,

because God has the power

of life and death,

and thirdly,

because God has the power

to deliver us.

And that's why we can have

the confidence

to proclaim the gospel.

So let's first look at

how God provides for us.

I'll be brief on my comments here

because I already preached

on this last week,

11, 27 to 30,

but we see God speak

through His prophet Agabus

to warn them ahead of time

of a coming famine

so that the church

can be prepared

and they can have food,

so that the church in Antioch,

which is better off,

is alerted to this famine

that's coming,

and then they're able

to send relief

to the poorer believers

in Jerusalem.

Now, in contrast,

look at what happens

in verse 20.

Now, Herod was angry

with the people

of Tyre and Sidon,

and they came to him

with one accord.

And having persuaded Blastus,

the king's chamberlain,

they asked for peace

because their country

depended on the king's country

for food.

The Herod here

that's in view

is not Herod I,

popularly known

as Herod the Great,

who is responsible

for the massacre

of the innocents

at the time

of Jesus' birth.

That's accounted

in Matthew 2.

And he's also not

Herod Antipas,

who was the son

of Herod the Great.

He was the Tetrarch

of Galilee.

The Herod that you encounter

through most of the Gospels

is Herod Antipas.

But this Herod

is a different Herod.

It's confusing

why they're all named Herod.

But this one

is Herod Agrippa I.

He is the grandson

of Herod the Great

and a nephew

of Herod Antipas.

This Herod was angry

with the people

of Tyre and Sidon.

We don't know why,

but there was

some kind of dispute,

a conflict,

between the citizens

of Tyre and Sidon

and Herod.

And because of this

loss of peace

between them,

Herod was angry,

and it seems like

he deprived

the people

of Tyre and Sidon

of the food

they usually depended on

from his country.

So he cut off

probably some trade supplies

or maybe he's

imposing an embargo

on them.

They're not getting

the food that they need.

And so this is

in sharp contrast

from the way

God provides

for his people

that we saw earlier

in chapter 11.

God,

who knows all the things,

past, present,

and future,

prepares his people

for even the famine

that's coming

in the future

so that they might

have food,

they might never know,

lack.

But here,

Herod,

in chapter 12,

verse 20,

is not only blissfully

unaware of the famine

that is coming,

even now,

before the famine,

he intentionally

deprives his people,

people who are

dependent on him,

of food.

The resulting scarcity

of food

was unbearable

for the people

of Tyre and Sidon,

and so they send

a delegation

to persuade Herod.

And they recruit

Blastus,

Herod's chamberlain.

Chamberlain is the person

who is in charge

of the king's bedchambers,

so that means

he is not only

trusted,

really,

Herod probably

trusted him

with his life,

but also he had

direct access to Herod.

So he's a really

good person to have

as your advocate,

and so they get him

on their side,

and in order to try

to plead with Herod

to provide food

for them again.

It seems that

their appeal

successfully

mollified Herod

because it says

in verse 21

that on an appointed day,

Herod put on

his royal robes,

took his seat

upon the throne,

and delivered

an oration to them.

So it seems like

given the crowd's

flattering response

to him as he's speaking,

it was likely

that he was making

a public announcement

of the settlement

that they had reached.

And he was likely

exalting himself

as this generous patron

of the people

of Tyre and Sidon.

And the people

in the audience

knew that Herod

was a petulant ruler,

self-absorbed,

and easily offended,

and so they indulged him

with flattery

in verse 22.

They were shouting,

the voice of a God

and not of a man.

This too forms

a contrast

with what we saw

the account

in chapter 11,

27 to 30,

their prophet Agabus.

It says in chapter 11,

verse 28,

spoke by the Spirit.

Later,

in chapter 21,

verse 11 again,

it says,

Agabus says,

thus says the Holy Spirit.

Agabus is a true prophet

who faithfully relays

only what God really says.

He does not speak for himself.

He is a servant.

He is a humble herald,

a mere messenger

of what God has to say.

Herod, on the other hand,

is a claim to be

something more than that.

People flatter his ego

by saying that his voice

is divine,

not human.

And at this point,

Herod should have been alarmed

by such blasphemous praise.

He should have vigorously

denied the claim

and insisted that

he is only a man.

If you remember in Acts 10,

when Peter first encounters Cornelius,

remember,

Cornelius falls to the ground

and starts worshiping Peter

because he doesn't know any better.

And then Peter stops Cornelius

and says,

Stand up,

I too am a man.

That's what Herod should have said.

He should have hushed the crowd

saying,

I am only a man,

but Herod doesn't do that.

God's swift judgment of Herod

shows us that in fact,

Herod relished

the crowd's

blasphemous praise.

He is basking in his undeserved glory.

And in the heart,

in the heart of hearts

of all every sinner,

there's a desire to be God,

to receive,

steal his glory for themselves.

And so it says in verse 23,

Immediately an angel of the Lord

struck him down

because he did not give God the glory.

And he was eaten by worms

and breathed his last.

Eaten by worms is a phrase,

it's not a technical,

medical description,

but it does seem to suggest

some kind of parasite

that kills him.

And this account is actually,

there's a fascinating corroboration

of this account

in another ancient source.

There's a Roman Jewish historian

named Josephus

who was a contemporary

of Herod Agrippa.

And he writes

in his historical work,

Antiquities,

of this account.

And this is what he says

in that account.

He says,

Herod put on a garment

made wholly of silver,

of a truly wonderful texture,

and came into 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

that 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 shortly afterward,

a severe pain arose

in his belly,

striking with the 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.

It's a fascinating,

corroborating historical account.

Herod,

despite his pretensions,

despite his receiving

that glory

that he didn't deserve,

is not God,

and so God puts him

in his place

by reminding him

of his mortality.

English pastor,

20th century English

Pastor John Stott

comments on this passage

this way.

He says,

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.

And isn't this true?

Throughout history,

many have tried

to persecute the church,

many have tried

to stamp out the gospel,

but the gospel,

still proclaimed

all throughout the world.

The church still stands

all throughout the world

while those empires

have fallen.

This is,

and even though

the people of Tyre and Sidon

had hoped that Herod

would be able

to provide for them,

he actually ends up

not being able

to provide for them

despite the plans

that he had made

to do so

because he dies

prematurely.

This is precisely why

in Psalm 146,

we are enjoined

not to put our trust

in earthly rulers.

It says,

Put not your trust

in princes,

in a son of man

in whom there is

no salvation.

When his breath departs,

he returns to the earth.

On that very day,

his plans perish.

Herod made plans

to supply food

for Tyre and Sidon,

but his plans

were all for naught

because his plans

perished

the very day he died

when his breath departed.

Where is your trust?

Is your trust

in mortal man

or in the immortal God?

We can easily look

to people with power

in the world

to provide for us,

to look out for us,

to protect us.

We can look to our bosses

or employers.

We can look to politicians.

We can look to our spouses even.

Some people even look

to celebrities

who appear to represent us.

But our trust

must ultimately rest

on God,

not on man.

Why do we act like orphans

begging for food

from strangers

when we have

a Heavenly Father

who provides for us?

If your ultimate trust

is in man,

you will always be insecure.

You will find yourself

flattering people

whom you perceive

to have power over you

because you want

to be on their good side.

You will be unable

ultimately to stand up

to them with God's truth

because you are

their servant,

not God's servant.

Herod was a king

and therefore he did have

a lot of power

and authority.

But the Christians

back then understood

that even Herod

could do nothing

outside of God's authority

and power.

God's servant

and so they were able

to proclaim the gospel

with confidence

because their ultimate trust

was in God

and not in man.

And let's look at

another contrast,

chapter 12,

verses 1 to 3

and chapter 12,

verses 18 to 19.

In verses 1 to 3,

Herod kills

Apostle James,

the one of the twelve,

the brother of John.

He says,

About that time,

Herod the king

laid violent hands

on some who belonged

to the church.

He killed James,

the brother of John,

with the sword

and when he saw

that it pleased the Jews,

he proceeded to arrest

Peter also.

This was during the days

of unleavened bread.

Killed with the sword

likely means that

James was beheaded,

which was the customary way

of executing

with the sword

at the time.

And when Herod saw

that this pleased the Jews,

he was eager

to please his constituency

and so during

the high Jewish feast

of Passover,

the feast of unleavened bread,

he persecutes the church

as a way of

doing a favor

to the Jews.

The death of Apostle James

shows us that

God at times

not only allows

his saints to suffer,

he also at times

allows them to be killed.

The ultimate suffering.

But this is not because

God is powerless

to deliver his saints.

As God's dramatic

rescue of Peter shows,

he is more than capable

of rescuing

anyone he wishes.

The question is not

whether or not

he is able,

the question is

whether he is willing.

It may, in fact,

be God's will

that we suffer

and die for him.

Revelation chapter 6,

Revelation 6:11

verse 11,

tells us that

the end of the world

as we know it

will not come

until,

quote,

until the number

of their fellow servants

and their brothers

should be complete,

who were to be killed

as they themselves

had been.

God has ordained

that a specific,

although to us

unknown,

number of Christian

martyrs

must be filled up

before the arrival

of the new heavens

and the earth.

That's why

the second century

Christian minister,

Tertullian,

apologist Tertullian,

put it this way,

the blood of the martyrs

is the seed

of the church.

This is because

God has called us

Christians

to follow

in the footsteps

of Jesus

because our Savior,

our King,

our Lord

died for us.

He suffered

and died.

1 Peter chapter 2,

1 Peter 2:21

verse 21,

for to this

you have been called

because Christ

also suffered

for you,

leaving you

an example

so that you

might follow

in His steps.

It's not a coincidence

that James

is killed

during the Feast

of Unleavened Bread.

Remember,

who else was killed

during the Feast

of Unleavened Bread?

Jesus was killed

during the Feast

of Unleavened Bread.

Jesus,

the ultimate Passover lamb,

who died

for our sake

to receive the penalty

for our sins

and to grant us

full remission

of our sins

so that we

who deserved

eternal death

and condemnation

might be saved

because of Him

and have eternal life.

Jesus died

on Passover,

during the Feast

of the Passover.

And then He was raised

from the dead

to prove

that His sacrifice

on our behalf

had been accepted

by the Father,

that our sins

had been atoned for,

that we have

resurrection life

guaranteed to us

in Jesus.

And if you want

to participate

in that victorious

resurrection,

you must go

through the path

of suffering,

through the path

of discipleship.

Every Christian

thereafter

is called by God

to follow

in the footsteps

of a suffering Savior.

remember what Jesus

said,

if anyone

would come

after me,

he must

pick up his cross.

He must deny himself,

take up his cross

and follow me.

Jesus didn't say,

take up

his scepter

and follow me.

He said,

take up his cross

and follow me.

the cross entails

suffering.

The cross entails

submission,

utter,

total submission

to the will

of our Master.

The cross entails

death to self,

to our selfish ambitions,

to our dreams,

selfish desires.

It requires

death to self.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

puts it this way

in his book,

The Cost of Discipleship,

the cross is laid

on every Christian.

The first Christ

suffering which

every man must

experience is the

call to abandon

the attachments

of this world.

It is that dying

of the old man

which is the result

of his encounter

with Christ.

As we embark

upon discipleship,

we surrender

ourselves to Christ

in union with

his death.

We give over

our lives to death.

Thus it begins,

the cross is not

the terrible end

to an otherwise

God-fearing and happy

life,

but it meets us

at the beginning

of our communion

with Christ.

When Christ

calls a man,

he bids him

come and die.

This is why

Christians need

not fear death.

Why?

Because we have

already died.

We have already

died with Christ.

We have died

to ourselves

and our desires.

We have died

to the world.

We are completely

resigned to the

will of our Master.

I heard recently

that during one

of the oral exams

for pastoral candidates

within our denomination,

they had the chance

to test a candidate

from India

who was trying

to be ordained

throughout the denomination.

And one of the questions

is a question

about baptism.

What is the meaning?

What is the significance

of baptism?

What is that for you?

And usually,

you know,

you get various

theological answers,

biblical answers.

Well, it means

you participate

in Christ's death

and resurrection.

In resurrection,

you are cleansed

from your sins.

You have new life.

But this man

talked about

all of that,

but then he also

talked about

the actual experience

of getting baptized

where he's from

in India.

So if you want

to be baptized

in India,

the whole way

to the river,

you're getting mocked,

sped on,

and you're being stoned,

literally,

by your neighbors,

sometimes,

by your friends

and family members.

That's the only way

you get baptized

and say,

I'm a Christian

in that place.

That's what that

means for him.

It means,

I die to the world.

I die to myself.

I am now Christ's.

Christ's.

In the U.S.,

we enjoy

great religious freedom.

So unlike many parts

of the world

where Christians

are regularly persecuted

and killed

for their faith,

we do not need

to risk our lives

to bear witness

to Jesus.

But some of us

still fear

other forms

of persecution,

don't we?

we fear

the death

of our popularity.

We fear

the death

of our reputation.

We fear

the death

of our careers.

We fear

the death

of our friendships.

We fear

the repercussions

of proclaiming Jesus

which is increasingly

looked at

with suspicion

and even contempt.

But we must

not forget

that when Christ

calls a man

he bids him

come and die.

And it's when

we recognize

that we have

died with Christ,

it's only then

we can proclaim

the gospel

with confidence.

In some ways,

I think the lack

of persecution

has hurt

the church

in the West.

When Christianity

is dominant

in a society,

some people become

Christians in name only.

for the sake of comfort

and acceptance,

respectability.

And then people

start to aspire

to Christian leadership

for the sake of

power and prestige.

But under persecution,

there is nothing romantic

about being a Christian.

Nothing glitzy

about being a Christian

leader or a preacher

or a pastor.

Look at how

James and Peter

are treated.

The leaders of the church

are singled out

to be slaughtered.

And amidst the fire

of that kind of persecution,

only true Christians

answer the call

of Christ

to come and die.

And it's when

we recognize

that God holds

the power of life

and death

that we can proclaim

the gospel

with confidence.

Please read

verses 18 to 19

with me.

It says,

Now when they came,

there was no little

disturbance among

the soldiers

over what had become

of Peter.

And after Herod

searched for him

and did not find him,

he examined the sentries

in order that

they should be put to death.

Then he went down

from Judea to Caesarea

and spent time there.

Herod originally

wanted to put

Peter to death

with great fanfare,

with his Jewish

constituency watching.

But God thwarted

his plans

by rescuing

Peter from prison

and now Herod

is so angry

that he orders

the guards

that were supposed

to watch Peter,

he orders them

to be put to death.

Herod,

as we saw earlier,

is not only able

to save himself

from death,

but also vengefully

kills his own men.

James' death,

Peter's deliverance,

and Herod's death

all show us

that power of life

and death

ultimately lies

with the Lord.

No one

can take your life

one second

sooner than God

has ordained it.

No one.

And no one

can extend your life

one second

longer than God

has ordained it.

Every one of our days

written in the book,

we can proclaim

the gospel

with confidence

without fear

of what people

can do to us

if we recognize

that God

holds the power

of life and death.

Third,

God has the power

to deliver us.

This is the middle section.

In verse 17,

well,

in verse 4,

we saw how Herod

put Peter in prison,

and then verse 17

forms a contrast

with that.

It says,

the Lord had brought

him out of prison.

Peter recounts

how the Lord Jesus

brought him out of prison.

And so once again,

this structure highlights

the powerlessness

of Herod on the one hand

and the power of God

on the other.

How do we access

such power from God?

The dramatic account

of Peter's deliverance

is bracketed

by the account

of church praying.

Look at verse 5.

So Peter was kept

in prison,

but earnest prayer

for him was made

to God by the church.

That verse is matched

by verse 12.

When he realized this,

he went to the house

of Mary,

the mother of John,

whose other name

was Mark,

where many were gathered

together and were praying.

The church that has power

is a church that prays.

Our power comes

not from ourselves,

but from God,

which is why

the only way we access

power is through prayer.

Whatever threats

we face in this world,

whether it's disease

or death

or the devil himself,

we must remember

that God has the power

to deliver us.

Only then can we proclaim

the gospel with confidence.

I mean,

it's almost comical

the way Peter is delivered.

Look at verse 12,

verse 6, sorry.

I mean,

the odds are totally

stacked against

Peter's deliverance,

right?

I mean,

if there were betting odds

for whether he was going

to get freed or not,

nobody would be betting

for him getting freed

from this situation.

Peter was sleeping.

He's sleeping

between two soldiers,

bound with two chains,

two D soldiers,

and centuries before the door

were guarding the prison.

So he's chained

literally to the soldiers

and he's sleeping

between them

and there are more soldiers

guarding the gates.

Even if they fell asleep,

he would not be able

to get away.

I mean,

that's the situation.

But this is no obstacle

to God Almighty

and so he sends an angel

to wake up Peter

and of course,

the guards have no idea

what's happening

and then the chains

by themselves

fall off Peter's hands.

He walks out

of the prison.

The guards are nowhere

to be seen

and then when Peter

gets out,

the door,

the iron gate

that you need the key

to open,

opens by itself.

And in this passage,

the word angel

is repeated again and again

five times

because it's trying

to show us

God's abiding presence

with Peter

in the midst

of his confinement.

An angel is God's

emissary,

messenger of God,

a representative

of God.

The presence

of the angel

represents the presence

of God himself

with Peter

and that's why

a light shines

in the cells

when the angel appears.

The God of light

in whom there is

no darkness at all

is present

with Peter.

Even in the darkness

of prison,

there is light

because God

is with him.

Even in the loneliness

of prison,

Peter has company

because God

is with him.

Even in the midst

of seemingly

certain doom,

Peter has hope

because God

is with him.

Brothers and sisters,

do you really

know,

believe,

that God

is with you?

I know some of you

are experiencing

great darkness,

loss,

grief,

sadness,

depression,

anxiety.

In the midst

of your crippling

anxiety,

do you know

that God

is with you?

Don't ever believe

the devil's lie

that God

has abandoned you.

In the midst

of your stressful work

or your stressful

relationships,

do you know

that God

is with you?

In the midst

of your grief,

suffering,

God is with you

and you are not alone.

Even in hopeless

situations like Peter's,

when everyone

around you

has given up

on you,

God has not

given up on you.

God is with you.

And he is

able to deliver you.

It appears

that even

the faithful church

wasn't expecting

to see Peter

delivered,

at least not

in such a sudden

and miraculous manner

because when the

servant girl named

Rhoda answers the door

and sees Peter,

she is so overjoyed

that she forgets

to open the door,

runs back

to report

to the rest

of the group.

Peter is at the gate.

And they're not like,

oh yes,

God has answered

our prayer.

No, that's not

their response.

Their response is,

you're out of your mind.

You're crazy.

Peter is scheduled

to be trial tomorrow.

It seems God answers

sometimes even

faithless prayers.

They think that

it is his angel.

So this is,

there's a lot of debate

around what this might mean,

but the Bible

in numerous places

attests to the existence

of guardian angels.

Psalm 91, 11 says,

for he will command

his angels concerning you

to guard you

in all your ways.

Matthew 18, 10,

Jesus says,

so see that you do not

despise one of these

little ones,

for I tell you

that in heaven

their angels

always see the face

of my Father

who is in heaven.

Similarly,

Hebrews 1, 14 says

that angels

angels are all

ministering spirits

sent out to serve

for the sake of those

who are to inherit salvation.

Angels do our bidding.

They serve us.

They minister to us.

They guard us.

God uses them in that way.

And because of this,

some believers back then

believed that an angel

could take on the appearance

of the person

that he is guarding,

almost like a stunt double.

And so they're like,

well, you must be seeing

Peter's angel.

It can't be Peter.

But Peter, it was.

He was very much alive.

And he shows up

and he comes in

to show these believers

that God is able

to do far more abundantly

than all that they ask for.

No matter how dire

your circumstances are,

no matter how impossible

or remote your deliverance

might seem

in whatever you're suffering,

whatever you're going through,

trust in God

for whom nothing is impossible.

To summarize

what we've talked about so far,

we can proclaim the gospel

with confidence

because God has the power

to provide for us,

because God has the power

of life and death,

and because God has the power

to deliver us.

That's why we can proclaim

the gospel with confidence

because God is with us

and His word

is unstoppable.

That's what we see

at the end of this passage

in verses 24 to 25.

Herod's blasphemous words

came to an abrupt halt

in verse 23.

But then in verse 24,

he says in contrast,

but the word of God,

the word of the true God,

increased and multiplied.

No matter how many Christians

are killed,

no matter how many Christian villages

and Bibles are burned,

no matter how many Christians

are vilified,

how much the faith

is trampled upon

by the world and the culture,

the word of God

is unstoppable.

It will endure forever.

It will outlast

every single person

in the world.

And this truth

should give us

the confidence

to proclaim the gospel

in spite of opposition.

And in this passage,

we also see

the gospel baton

being passed on

from one generation

to the next.

First, we see

the appointment

of the elders.

The leadership

of the twelve apostles

in the Jerusalem church

appears to have passed on

to the leadership

of the elders

because in chapter 11,

verse 30,

it says that the church

in Antioch

sent the collection

that they made

on behalf of the saints

in Jerusalem

to the elders,

not to the apostles.

Second,

Apostle James

is killed

and the apostle Peter

leaves Jerusalem,

which is significant

in the history

of the church,

to flee from those

who are trying to kill him

so that he can minister

elsewhere.

And then we see

other people

rising up

to take their place.

Peter says in verse

17,

tell these things

to James

and to the brothers

and then he departed

and went to another place.

This James

is obviously not

the James

that we were just told

in verse 2

was killed.

This is a different James.

This is James,

likely the brother

of Jesus,

mentioned in

1 Corinthians 15,

7,

Galatians 2, 9,

whom we will encounter

again later in Acts 15

where he emerges

as the new leader

of the church

in Jerusalem

in Peter's place.

Similarly,

starting in chapter 13,

the focus of Acts

shifts entirely

from the account

of Peter

and his ministry

to the account

of Paul

and his ministry.

There's a shift,

a transition

taking place

in the history

of the church.

Though James

is killed

and Peter

must flee,

James,

Paul,

and Barnabas

pick up

and continue

to carry the torch.

and then third,

the church

is seen gathering

at the house

of Mary

in verse 12

and it says

at the end

in verse 25

that her son

John,

whose other name

was Mark,

now begins

to accompany

Paul and Barnabas

in their missionary

journeys.

This is the one

we know as Mark,

the author

of the gospel

of Mark,

who was Barnabas'

cousin according

to Colossians 4, 10.

This transfer,

this passing

of the torch

has happened

in the church

generation

after generation

and today

we carry

this torch.

It is our

responsibility

to shine

the light

of Christ

and carry

the fire

of the gospel

to the world.

We too

will face

opposition,

we too

will face

persecution

though here

perhaps in

much milder

ways than

our brothers

and sisters

elsewhere.

Even when

circumstances

are dire

and adverse,

even when

darkness

envelops us

and hope

seems dim,

we can proclaim

the gospel

with confidence

because God

is with us

and His word

is unstoppable.

Let me pray

for us.

God,

give us

unshakable

confidence

in Your word.

Give us

unwavering

faith

in You,

our Savior,

that You

will never

abandon us,

that You

are able

to deliver us,

that our life

is not in the

hands of any

tyrant,

that our lives

are not in our

hands,

but they

are in

Yours.

Lord,

embolden us

to bear

witness to

Jesus,

wherever we

are,

for the

glory of Your

name,

so that

more might

be saved.

Amen.

In Jesus' name

we pray.

Amen.

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