7/23/13

From Gary... Black and White




Many thanks to brother Walter Vogt for 
letting me use this picture!!!  

There is no doubt about this picture- there is either black or white, nothing else!!!  This stark contrast reminded me of the state we find our country in today. The political reality is that we have a government who is racist; favoring black over white and Islam over Christianity.  Not only that, it is endeavoring to further divide the understanding between those races and religions by direct intervention.  Remember President Barak Obama's comments about the Zimmerman case recently?  Frankly, I am glad that God is not like that (Acts 10:34 & following).  He does want some things of us though, and these few verses give us a glimpse into his desire...

Micah, Chapter 6

 8 He has shown you, O man, what is good.
What does Yahweh require of you, but to act justly,
to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?


Hebrews, Chapter 1
 1 God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,  2 has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds. 

Mark, Chapter 16
15 He said to them, “Go into all the world, and preach the Good News to the whole creation.   16  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who disbelieves will be condemned. 

If you follow Micah's words, you will do well.  If you acknowledge what the Hebrew writer has said, you will do even better.  And finally, to obey the words found in the second Gospel (Mark) you will do best.  These are but a few of the things God wants of you; but they are essential.  From these essentials, (which are in fact, black and white) I encourage you to follow God even more accurately.  Investigate, learn, practice.  Now, admittedly, I fall short sometimes, but when I do, I seek God's forgiveness and try again.  Simple things, basic things- very straightforward, very plain.  Black and white- and they have absolutely NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT RACE ANYONE IS!!!!!  

From Jim McGuiggan... ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT?

ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT?

“You’re kidding yourself! It’s madness to believe the world will ever be changed.” They used to say that to Jesus of Nazareth. He’d walk off smiling, healing this one and then that one or some other one, as he went. “Are you sure?” he’d ask the stunned pessimists, over his shoulder, as he was swallowed up in the crowds of needy and bewildered people.
“Even the good things that happen don’t last. Everything slips back into the gloom it was in.” They used to say that to Jesus as he was led off to a brutal death. “Are you sure about that?” he said as he hung there alongside a penitent thief whose hand he would shortly take. Then one day he rose from the dead, all glorious, never to die again.
“Hope is the empty refuge of desperate souls. Evil governments will always have the power no matter what the vulnerable would like to believe.” They used to say that to Jesus as well. “Are you sure about that?” he would say, knowing that one day soon God would make him King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
“He’s gone and he’s never coming back.” They’re still saying that about Jesus Christ who one night took bread and wine and said to his followers, “Here, all of you eat and drink; I’ll be back.” So now millions of his followers gather every Lord’s Day to eat the bread and drink the wine and when they hear people say, “He’s gone and he’s never coming back” they say, “Are you sure about that?”
Like Baptism, Holy Communion on the Lord's Day defies the world of doom and gloom and unbelief!

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

From Jim McGuiggan... A new name for God

A new name for God

In the centuries before Jesus Christ there were many names for many gods. The gods were elements and forces and passions and hungers and perplexities that were given names. There was bitter and spiteful Zeus. There was licentious Baal and his consort Asherah. There was the bloodthirsty Kali, the immoral Aphrodite and Dionysus and his drunken crew. All these and a larger host got the name of god. Then Jesus came and we saw the one true God and got his name. The name he called himself!
No Christian with a New Testament in her hand will end the story of Jesus Christ at the birth in Bethlehem. No Christian with eyes opened by the cross as the moment when the universe was reconciled to God will want to say the Story lost its way after the stable and the incarnation. The cross and the resurrection and glorification of Jesus Christ must be given their place at the heart of the Christian faith. But it would be tragic to nod at and pass by the incarnation as if it were not a blinding revelation and a moment of astonishing glory to God.
All the above were called God until Jesus Christ came with the smell of a stable on him, the love of humans in him and a cross on his back. Heinrich Heine, German-born poet and literary figure, after quoting the Homeric description of the feasting gods, says: 

"Then suddenly approached, panting, a pale Jew with drops of blood on his brow, with a crown of thorns on his head, and a great cross laid on his shoulders; and he threw the cross on the high table of the gods so that the golden cups tottered, and the gods became dumb and pale, and grew even paler till at last they melted away into vapour."

In the ancient Middle East when someone would ask the name of God the multitudes would chant "Baal, Baal". In the worst forms of Hindu religion when people asked the name of God hoarse devotees would cry out "Kali" and when you asked a school boy in ancient Greece who the supreme God was he’d quickly tell you "Zeus".
And when Joseph asked what they would call Mary’s baby who would be Immanuel the angel said, "Call his name Jesus because..." (Matthew 1:21)

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Jim McGuiggan... THE CRUX OF THE MATTER

THE CRUX OF THE MATTER

There were those who would apologize for the preaching of the cross but Paul wasn’t one of them. 
He said “We Preach Christ crucified”—we don’t whisper it. “We preach Christ crucified,” said J.H. Jowett “we don’t timidly submit it for subdued discussion in the academic grove; we don’t offer it to the hands of exclusive circles—we preach it, we stand out like the town-crier in the public way, and we proclaim it to the common and indiscriminate crowd.”
Lothar Coenen reminds us that in classical times, the kerux (the preacher), was the person who was commissioned by his ruler or the state to call out some item of news to the public with a distinct, clear voice. Despite some differences in function and self-understanding, that’s what the early church did. They stood out in public and with loud voices so that everyone could hear they preached about a crucified Christ and thought they were saving the world (1 Corinthians 1:21)! 
The Cross and Our Changed Lives
“We preach Christ crucified,” he said—we don’t preach our own commitment or holy lives. In 2 Corinthians 4:5, in the face of those who loved the limelight, he said “we proclaim not ourselves; we proclaim Christ Jesus as Lord.” And why not, since he is the Lord and Savior! Our changed lives are no substitute for the life and death of Jesus Christ so we mustn’t offer our moral and spiritual attainment as a necessary proof of the cross. It isn’t our transformed lives that make the cross the moral and spiritual center of the universe. It’s the cross that creates our transformed lives as a witness to the true moral and spiritual center of the universe—Jesus Christ and him crucified.
But to the degree that we have experienced it, we shouldn’t hesitate to thank God for and speak of the way he has changed our lives. This transformation is part of the proof of the truth of the gospel because it makes Christ’s cosmic victory concrete in local places. But it can’t stand alone and it must not be made a substitute for or a topic that hides the cross events themselves. What transforms us and shapes our lives is the cross. In a very real sense our lives don’t validate the gospel but the gospel makes sense of our lives. 
It’s true that we need more than words about the cross if we’re to make the whole gospel known all around us. Along with the message and Bible study we must have discipleship and outreach because this too is an aspect of the redeeming work of Christ. But it is the Christ himself that we speak and sing and pray and live. If we hide him behind our fine lives and gentle ways and lovely marriages and families we are obscuring the gospel by which the world and we are saved.
                  We preach CHRIST...and we preach him CRUCIFIED

“We preach Christ crucified”—we don’t preach the crucifixion of Christ. It isn’t the crucifixion that gives glory to Christ but Christ that gives meaning and glory to the crucifixion. It isn’t a deed we proclaim but a person who embraced and accomplished the deed we call the crucifixion. It isn’t the bare act of dying we proclaim but the person who accomplished the dying. It isn’t the bare act of dying we proclaim but the meaning and purpose and effects of that act of dying.
Nevertheless, it is Christ crucified that we preach. While in John 10:18 Jesus insisted that no one robbed him of his life and that he chose to follow the will of his Father by laying it down, he was still seized and killed.
This was no death of old age or “natural causes”. It would be a tragedy to underestimate how much is revealed in the incarnation but it would also be a calamity to short-circuit the meaning of the incarnation but it would also be a calamity to short-circuit the meaning of the incarnation by avoiding the cross. Luther raged against the theologians of glory who wanted all the sweetness and light of logic but exorcised the cross. 
To reject the cross as the critical point of the revelation and work of God is to create a god in our own image. Whatever else the cross says, it says that God will not be boxed-in; he will reveal himself as he is and not as we determine he can or cannot be. The united witness of the whole biblical corpus is to be given its place but the cross is the peak from which everything is to be surveyed and understood.
The crucifixion wasn’t merely a way of dying it was a kind of dying; it was violent death at the hands of transgressors. It was humanity conspiring to do away with the unique Son of God and by doing so revealing unfathomed depths to our sin. On the other hand it was the supreme act of obedience in the life of a holy Son that crowned and completed his self-offering to his Holy Father as humanity’s redeeming representative (Philippians 2:8).
His death was more than something he and his Father agreed would take place, it was a purposed attack on the satanic kingdom. Revelation 12:11 in an outburst of joyful praise tells us the followers of Christ overcame Satan “by the blood of the Lamb”. Not by his pitying love, not by his warm affection, not by his tolerance and bravery, not by his sweet words and true teaching, but by his blood! All these other things must be taken up into that death or that death doesn't deal with the world's destructive sinfulness. But all these things must be taken up into his death because his death was the crowning moment of his life; it was the point at which he offered all that he was and did and meant to do on our behalf. It was there he willingly shared with his sinful human family the worst that the world-spirit could do--death! 
However it's to be spelled out, the death of Christ is the judgment of God against the sin of a whole humanity. Jesus’ death was not so much his getting what we deserved, as it is the Holy Father getting what he deserved. What Christ ceaselessly offered his Holy Father in his daily living is brought to focus in a cross that consummated his holy obedient life. In the cross we see God getting what he deserved; what humans should always give and have given him. Finally and completely a human gave to God, as an obedient child, what the Holy Father was worthy of.
His wasn’t only a death that spoke the judgment of God against sin and offered to God his holy due, it was tasted “for” (on behalf of) every person (Hebrews 2:9). It was as Scots theologian P.T. Forsyth said, for every person, from every person, as every person and, because he was always alone except for Him who never left him; it was apart from every person. He died alone in a sense in which it wasn’t possible for anyone else to die alone.
We make much of his death. How could we do otherwise? We speak of its glory, its power, its love and heroism—all true but in a very real sense it was “just another death”. Though we now know differently, at that time and for so many on that day the crucifixion was nothing they hadn’t seen or heard of before; it was back to the daily grind once the initial hubbub died away. “He tasted the average man’s death, not the hero’s alone but the death of the little man. He tasted death from a generation of vipers. It was death by sickly candlelight in a little house in a back street among miles of them. It was death made cheap, death for the million.
It was that cheap and ordinary death that the church proclaimed because for all its ordinariness it was the most momentous event in human history. 
                         Glory in a Public Lynching
Of all the things Paul could have boasted in who would have thought, in light of his early years, that he would ever have said this? “But no boasting for me, none, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me and I crucified to the world.” (Galatians 6:14,Moffatt) He’d seen and heard a lot. He’d seen many fabulous temples such as those of Artemis and Aphrodite, magnificent Greek sculpture, Roman legions and endless miles of Roman roads. He’d been to famous place like Thermopylae where 300 Spartans galvanized the Greek world into war that shook the kingdom of mighty Xerxes to fragments. He was well acquainted with Herod the Great’s astonishing temples and shrines and fortresses. He had heard Greek orators, knew about the great philosophers and poets and perhaps could have been the class valedictorian under Gamaliel. He’d even been to heaven! The great Moses only went up a mountain and heard things he could repeat but Paul went into heaven itself and heard things too wonderful to repeat. He know his heritage and the glory that had been the Maccabean era when a little army the size of a postage stamp drove Antiochus IV out of his mind, but none of that captured his imagination or sent him careering all over the creation. If it had all been pieced together in one sequence and filmed in Technicolor it wouldn’t have made any different. “No boasting for me, none, except…”
There was an exception. Not only would he boast in that, no one could get him to stop his boasting in it. And what was it he strode half way across the world bragging about? What is it that set him on fire that he cared so little about his life that he left pints of his blood on the outskirts of every town in Asia Minor? Well? What was it?
A public lynching on a public gallows!
This Paul said he would brag on. This and nothing else! In light of the shame that was attached to death on a cross the irony in it is so thick you could cut it with a knife and spread it like butter on toast.
                   The Enduring Power of the Cross
The cross of Christ isn’t an apology! And we aren’t’ to talk about it as though we were continually apologizing. We aren’t to talk about it as if we wanted people to “pity poor Jesus for what we did to him.”  The cross can speak for itself and has been doing that for millennia and it has been burying false gods and half-gods everywhere it was truly seen.
Heinrich Heine, German-born poet and literary figure, after quoting the Homeric description of the feasting gods, says: “Then suddenly approached, panting, a pale Jew with drops of blood on his brow, with a crown of thorns on his head, and a great cross laid on his shoulders: and he threw the cross on the high table of the gods so that the golden cups tottered and the gods become dumb and pale, and grew even paler till at last they melted away into vapor.”
          Apologize for that?
          I love it that every Sunday millions across the planet, in the Lord's Supper, "proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." 
1 Corinthians 11:26
[I borrowed from a little book of mine called THE DRAGON SLAYER. If you'd like to purchse it I know someone who'd be pleased to sell you one. Write her at: weaverbethann@gmail.com]

©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.

From Mark Copeland... Barnabas And Saul On Cyprus (Acts 13:4-12)


                          "THE BOOK OF ACTS"

                 Barnabas And Saul On Cyprus (13:4-12)

INTRODUCTION

1. Previously we studied "The Call Of Barnabas And Saul", two men who
   were...
   a. Working with the church at Antioch with other prophets and teachers
      - Ac 13:1
   b. Separated by the Holy Spirit for the work to which He had called
      them - Ac 13:2
   c. Sent out by the church with fasting, prayers, and laying on of
      hands - Ac 13:3

2. Thus "sent out by the Holy Spirit" (Ac 13:4), they began their
   missionary journey...
   a. First to Seleucia, a port city on the Mediterranean coast, 16 miles
      away
   b. Then sailing to Cyprus, an island 130 miles southwest of Seleucia

[Upon their arrival at Cyprus, Barnabas and Saul began their preaching
ministry.  We begin our study with a few observations about...]

I. THE ISLAND OF CYPRUS

   A. GEOGRAPHICAL FACTS...
      1. 43 miles S of Asia Minor, 76 miles W of Syria - ABD
      2. The third largest island of the Mediterranean, after Sicily
         and Sardinia
      3. Maximum length E-W is 138 miles; maximum width N-S is 60 miles
      4. An area of 3584 square miles

   B. BIBLICAL FACTS...
      1. Barnabas himself was from Cyprus - Ac 4:36
      2. The gospel had previously been preached in Cyprus - Ac 11:19
      3. The church in Antioch of Syria had been started by men from
         Cyprus - Ac 11:20
      4. Barnabas and John Mark would later return to Cyprus - Ac 15:39

[It is interesting the Spirit sent Barnabas and Paul to Cyprus, a place
well-known by Barnabas (Perhaps a principle to be gleaned regarding
missionary efforts?).  We next read of their preaching in...]

II. THE SYNAGOGUES AT SALAMIS

   A. BARNABAS AND SAUL PREACH THE WORD...
      1. In the synagogues of the Jews - Ac 13:5
      2. As Jews, Barnabas and Saul would have access
      3. Being from Cyprus, Barnabas may have been well-known
      4. Starting at Jewish synagogues became Paul's pattern - Ac 17:1-2;
         cf. Ro 1:16

   B. ACCOMPANIED BY JOHN MARK...
      1. As their assistant - Ac 13:5
      2. Whose mother Mary had a home in Jerusalem - Ac 12:12
      3. He had accompanied Barnabas and Saul back to Antioch - Ac 12:25
      4. He was the cousin of Barnabas - Col 4:10

[We will have opportunity to consider a sermon Paul preached in a
synagogue in our next study.  But as we continue with Barnabas and
Saul's ministry on the island of Cyprus, we read about...] 

III. THE PROPHET AND PROCONSUL AT PAPHOS

   A. A FALSE PROPHET CONFRONTED...
      1. A Jew whose surname was Bar-Jesus - Ac 13:6-8
         a. Who was also called Elymas the sorcerer
         b. Who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus
         c. Who sought to prevent Sergius Paulus from hearing the gospel
      2. Whom Saul (also called Paul) miraculously blinded - Ac 13:9-11
         a. Being filled with the Holy Spirit
            1) Paul was not acting on his own initiative
            2) He was moved by the Holy Spirit (i.e., inspired)
         b. Able to see Elymas for what he truly was:
            1) Full of deceit and fraud
            2) A son of the devil and enemy of righteousness
            3) Seeking to pervert the ways of the Lord
         c. Blinding Elymas by a mist and a darkness
            1) The hand (judgment) of the Lord was upon him
            2) But only for a time (perhaps as an act of mercy?)
      3. Should we emulate Paul's manner?  (Not unless we are similarly
         inspired!) - cf. 2Ti 2:24-26

   B. AN INTELLIGENT PROCONSUL CONVERTED...
      1. Proconsul - the highest-ranking official in a Roman senatorial
         province
      2. Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man, wanting to hear the word of
         God - Ac 13:7
      3. He believed - Ac 13:12
         a. Seeing what was done to Elymas
         b. Astonished at the teaching of the Lord
      4. Teaching that was confirmed by miracles! - cf. Mk 16:19-20;
         He 2:3-4

CONCLUSION

1. An auspicious start for a missionary journey begun by the Spirit...
   a. The word of God proclaimed in the synagogues of Salamis
   b. The teaching of the Lord confirmed in the city of Paphos

2. Note that Luke begins using the name of Paul instead of Saul...
   a. Up to this point, Saul was called by his Hebrew name - Ac 13:1,2
   b. From this point, Paul will be called by his Roman name - Ac 13:9,13

3. Note also how Paul begins to have precedence over Barnabas...
   a. Formerly the two men were called Barnabas and Saul - Ac 13:2,7
   b. Now the two men will be called Paul and Barnabas - Ac 13:43,46,50

The precedence of Paul is seen further as Luke describes their departure
from Paphos ("when Paul and his party" - Ac 13:13).  Leaving the island
of Cyprus, they sail on to Perga in Pamphylia, where we will begin our 
next study...



Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2012

eXTReMe Tracker 

From Mark Copeland... The Call Of Barnabas And Saul (Acts 13:1-3)


                          "THE BOOK OF ACTS"

                The Call Of Barnabas And Saul (13:1-3)

INTRODUCTION

1. In Acts 1:8, Luke described the commission Jesus gave to His 
   apostles...
   a. To be witnesses to Him
   b. In Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth

2. Thus far in his historical account, Luke has described how the
   commission was fulfilled...
   a. In Jerusalem - Ac 1:1-8:3
   b. In all Judea and Samaria - Ac 8:4-12:25

3. The rest of Luke's account focuses on the ministry of the apostle
   Paul...
   a. Saul of Tarsus, former persecutor of the church, now apostle to the
      Gentiles
   b. Whose missionary journeys illustrated how the gospel was taken "to
      the end of the earth"

[His first journey began soon after returning to Antioch of Syria with
Barnabas and John Mark (Ac 12:25), with a special call by the Holy
Spirit...]

I. THE CALL OF BARNABAS AND SAUL

   A.  THE CHURCH IN ANTIOCH...
      1. Started by men from Cyprus and Cyrene, by way of Jerusalem-Ac 11:19-21
      2. Strengthened by Barnabas, then later together with Paul - Ac 11:22-26
      3. Blessed with a number of prophets and teachers - Ac 13:1
         a. Barnabas, a Levite from Cyprus - Ac 4:36
         b. Simeon called Niger ("black"), presumably a black African,
            possibly Simon of Cyrene who carried Jesus' cross - cf. 
            Lk 23:26; Mk 15:21
         c. Lucius of Cyrene, also from North Africa - cf. Ro 16:21
         d. Manaen, brought up with Herod the tetrarch (Herod Antipas, 
            who killed John the Baptist and tried Jesus) - Mt 14:1-10;
            Lk 23:7-11
         e. Saul, from Tarsus in Cilicia - Ac 11:25; 22:3 

   B. THE CALL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT...
      1. As they ministered (worshiped) to the Lord and fasted - Ac 13:2
      2. The Spirit told them to separate Barnabas and Saul for the work
         He had for them - Ac 13:2
      3. With fasting, prayer, and the laying on of hands, they are sent
         on their way - Ac 13:3

[And so Barnabas and Saul are "sent out by the Holy Spirit" (Ac 13:4). 
Our next study will follow them as they make their way to the island of
Cyprus.  But for the rest of this study, allow me to share...]

II. SOME OBSERVATIONS

   A. THE DIVERSITY OF THE CHURCH...
      1. Note the racial, cultural and social diversity of the five
         prophets and teachers
      2. Two from North Africa, one from Cyprus, one from Cilicia, one
         from Palestine
      3. One was raised with royalty, another was wealthy, another a
         rabbi
      4. Isn't this the way churches should be? - cf. 
         Ro 10:12; Ga 3:26-28; Col 3:11
      5. Churches should reflect our oneness in Christ, not our society's
         divisions (e.g., white churches, black churches, Hispanic 
         churches); unless language differences are too great

   B. THE PRINCIPLE OF SYNERGY...
      1. Synergy:  the working together of two things to produce a result
         greater than the sum of their individual effects
      2. Two (or more) working together can accomplish more than their 
         working separately
      3. Jesus believed in the principle of synergy - Mk 6:7; Lk 10:1
      4. Barnabas believed in the principle of synergy - Ac 11:25-26
      5. The Holy Spirit believed in the principle of synergy - Ac 13:2,4
      6. We do well to support teams of two or more, not just individuals
         working alone

   C. THE PRACTICE OF FASTING...
      1. Jesus said His disciples would fast, and taught them how to fast
         - Mt 9:14-17; 6:16-18
      2. The church at Antioch fasted - Ac 13:2-3
      3. Elders were appointed with prayer and fasting - Ac 14:21-23
      4. Paul wrote of spouses fasting and prayer during periods of
         separation - 1Co 7:5  
      5. Fasting in conjunction with prayer is suitable in the life of 
         the Christian and the church

   D. THE LAYING ON OF HANDS...
      1. Used often in the appointment or dedication of service - Ac 6:6;
         13:3
      2. Indicating acceptance and approval of those who have been
         selected by the congregation - cf. Ac 6:1-6; 1Ti 5:22; He 6:2
      3. Beseeching God's blessing and protection on those who serve 
         - e.g., Ac 13:1-3
      4. "...the imposition of hands, accompanied by fasting and prayer,
         was, in this case, as in that of the seven deacons [Ac 6:6], 
         merely their formal separation to the special work to which they
         had been called. This, indeed, is sufficiently evident from the
         context.  What they did was doubtless what they had been told to
         do by the Holy Spirit.  But the Holy Spirit simply said to them,
         'Separate me Barnabas and Saul to the work to which I have 
         called them.' The fasting, prayer, and imposition of hands was,
         then, merely their separation to this work." - J. W. McGarvey, 
         Commentary on Acts, commenting on Ac 13:1-3
      5. "It was a ceremony deemed by infinite wisdom suitable to such a
         purpose; and, therefore, whenever a congregation has a similar 
         purpose to accomplish, they have, in this case, the judgments 
         and will of God, which should be their guide." - J.W. McGarvey,
         ibid.

CONCLUSION

1. Thus Barnabas and Saul are sent out on their missionary journey...
   a. Separated and sent out by the Holy Spirit Himself to the task 
      before them
   b. With fasting, prayer, and the laying on of hands by those left
      behind

2. Barnabas and Saul will return to the church of Antioch of Syria...
   a. It will serve as the point of departure for Paul's three missionary
      journeys
   b. As Saul, soon to be called Paul (Ac 13:9), does his part in 
      fulfilling the Great Commission

Thousands of years later and thousands of miles away, we benefit from
the work of those willing to go (and willing to send).  May their
example encourage us to do our part today in spreading the Gospel...




Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2012

eXTReMe Tracker 

From Mark Copeland... Herod's Harassment Of The Church (Acts 12:1-25)


                          "THE BOOK OF ACTS"

              Herod's Harassment Of The Church (12:1-25)

INTRODUCTION

1. We have seen that with Saul's conversion the persecution against the
   church diminished...
   a. The churches in Judea, Samaria, and Galilee had peace - Ac 9:31
   b. The gospel had spread as far as Antioch in Syria - Ac 11:19-21

2. But then a new persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem...
   a. Initiated by Herod Agrippa I - Ac 12:1
   b. His grandfather was Herod the Great, who massacred the babies - Mt 2:16
   c. His uncle was Herod Antipas, who beheaded John, and tried Jesus
      - Mt 14:1-14; Lk 23:8-12  
   d. His son was Herod Agrippa II, who tried the apostle Paul - Ac 25:13-26:32

[Thus it was Herod Agrippa I who harassed the church in Jerusalem at
this time.  How God and the church responded to his harassment is
instructive, so let's begin with how...]

I. HEROD KILLS JAMES

   A. JAMES, BROTHER OF JOHN...
      1. Son of Zebedee, one of Jesus' first disciples - Mk 1:19-20
      2. Together with John his brother were called "Sons of Thunder"
         - Mk 3:17
      3. Part of the inner circle of Jesus' closest disciples - cf. 
         Mk 5:37; 9:2; 13:3; 14:33

   B. THE FIRST APOSTLE TO DIE...
      1. Not counting Judas Iscariot, who died before the church began
      2. Jesus foretold James would suffer (the cup and baptism of
         suffering) - Mk 10:35-40
      3. And so Herod killed James with the sword (i.e., beheaded him) 
         - Ac 12:2
      4. Note:  James the apostle was not replaced after his death, nor
         is there any indication in the Scriptures that other apostles 
         were replaced when they died (excluding Judas Iscariot)

[Herod's harassment against the church by killing James pleased the
unbelieving Jews (Ac 12:3).  The most liked by the Jews of any of the
Herods (cf. Josephus), to further incur their favor...]

II. HEROD IMPRISONS PETER

   A. IMPRISONED BY A KING...
      1. Herod arrested Peter during the Days of Unleavened Bread, his 
         trial delayed - Ac 12:3-4
      2. Peter was therefore imprisoned, guarded by four squads of
         soldiers - Ac 12:4

   B. RELEASED BY AN ANGEL...
      1. In the meantime, the church responded with constant (fervent) 
         prayer - Ac 12:5
      2. Peter was bound by chains between two soldiers, with guards
         before the door - Ac 12:6
      3. An angel appeared, freed Peter, and led him out of the prison 
         - Ac 12:7-10
      4. Peter realized it was real, not a vision, that the Lord
         delivered him - Ac 12:11
      5. He goes to the house of Mary, mother of John Mark, where many
         were praying - Ac 12:12
      6. His arrival led to denial, then astonishment, but Peter 
         explained it all - Ac 12:13-17
      7. He gave instructions to inform James (the Lord's brother) and 
         then left - Ac 12:17   

[For some reason, the Lord saw fit to allow James to die while Peter
lived.  Peter would later die for Christ as well (as would most of the
apostles).  As for Herod, God was not done with him yet...]  

III. HEROD STRUCK BY AN ANGEL

   A. EXALTED BY MAN...
      1. Angered by Peter's escape, Herod executes the guards - Ac 12:18-19 
      2. Leaving Judea, Herod goes to Caesarea (seat of the Roman
         government) - Ac 12:19
      3. The people of Tyre and Sidon appeal to him via their friend
         Blastus, his aide - Ac 12:20
      4. Giving an oration, the people praise Herod as having the voice
         of a god - Ac 12:21-22

   B. HUMBLED BY GOD...
      1. Failing to give glory to God, Herod is immediately struck by an
         angel - Ac 12:23
      2. Luke (a physician) tells us he was eaten by worms and died - Ac 12:23
      3. Josephus says that a severe pain arose in his belly and became
         so violent that he was carried into his palace where he died 
         five days later
      4. Dr. A. Rendle Short, who was professor of surgery at Bristol
         University and wrote a book entitled The Bible and Modern 
         Medicine, stated that a great many people in Asia 'harbor 
         intestinal worms', which can form a tight ball and cause 'acute
         intestinal obstruction'. This may have been the cause of Herod's
         death. - Stott, J. R. W. (1994). The message of Acts: The 
         Spirit, the church & the world. The Bible Speaks Today.
         Leicester, England; Downers  Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

CONCLUSION

1. With the death of Herod and the end of his harassment against the
   church...
   a. "...the word of God grew and multiplied" - Ac 12:24
   b. Paul and Silas would later be able to complete their ministry and
      return to Antioch with John Mark - Ac 12:25

2. From this account of "Herod's Harassment Of The Church" we learn...
   a. How the church is to react against persecution:  pray! - e.g., 
      Ac 12:5,12; cf. Ac 4:23-31
   b. How God is able to humble governmental authorities who resist Him
      - cf. Rev 17:14

Whether it be through Divine intervention or Divine providence, Jesus as
King of kings and Lord of lords is in ultimate control (cf. Ro 13:1-4).  

As His disciples we must trust Him, even if in His wisdom it means that
some might be martyrs while others go free...


Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2012

eXTReMe Tracker