Summary retelling of Acts 12:1-5
King
Herod decided to arrest James in a blatant attempt to persecute the
church. James – the brother of John –
was killed by the sword, which is likely a way of saying that he was
beheaded. He is the first of Jesus’
disciples to die (except for Judas, who killed himself). Herod’s reputation increased with James’
beheading, so Herod arrests Peter and plans to kill him, too. Herod handed him over to four squads of
soldiers (that’s plenty, in case you were wondering). Herod planned to kill him after the Holy Festival
passed. In spite of his arrest, the
church prayed for Peter.
Thoughts for Today
First Thought:
This
section of text is absolutely going to challenge you if you are willing to be
challenged by it for the next few days.
First, let’s make sure we understand what is going on here. Herod’s popularity was waning, and he needed
a way to boost it. Herod knew that the
Christians were not popular among the Jews by this point, so he has James
arrested and killed. James didn’t do
anything wrong. He was just arrested and
killed for no reason other than a popularity boost. This isn’t too much unlike why Jesus died,
really. In the end, there is no point to
James’ death. He hadn’t done anything
wrong. He was the victim of human
self-centeredness.
Do
you find yourself getting upset by the pointlessness of James’ death? Do you think James minded giving up his life
knowing that he was being killed for the faith?
Does this challenge you at all?
Second Thought:
The
Jews applaud Herod’s action. This shows
us that they really were beginning to hate the Christian movement within Jerusalem. Whether it was because the people were tired
of the debating or because they were afraid that the Christians were “stealing
from their members” or simply convinced that followers of Jesus were wrong – we
don’t know why the Jews began hating the Christians enough to want to see their
leaders dead. But the reality is that
when James was executed, Herod’s popularity increased. So, Herod grabs Peter and plans on doing it
again. Herod is willing to sacrifice
life for temporal popularity.
What
does this story demonstrate to you about humanity’s ability to think only of
themselves – or think of themselves first?
Does this passage say anything about how human leadership truly views
their subjects?
Third Thought:
The
believer’s response is significant. They
pray. It is really a simple
response. They don’t attempt to break
Peter out. The humble themselves to God’s
will and let God be in control. These
verses are a great testimony to how the believer is truly changed. When things were going south for Herod, he
took matters into his own hands and started using people to his own
advantage. When a believer experiences
things going south, they humble themselves in prayer and let God be in control.
Do
you think we as modern Christians are very good at letting God be in
control? How can we get better at it?
Passage for Tomorrow: Acts 12:6-9
2 comments:
Did the Jews not like the disciples and their followers because they continued to follow Jesus' words (I don't know how to word that)?
That's really the point that we honestly don't know. I am absolutely sure that the "religious elite" and the religious leaders didn't like the followers of Jesus because the were continuing to follow in Jesus' steps and Jesus' teaching. Of course, those would be stretching Judaism so much that they would make the Jews uncomfortable.
But there is also the dynamic that now the Christians are associating with Gentiles - there's a huge cleanliness/ritual purity issue there.
And then there is the fact that the Christians are making converts ... nobody likes it when part of one person's followers become followers of someone else.
There are so many reasons, that it is really hard to pin down any one particular reason.
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