Clash of Kings and Kingdoms

Acts 12:1-12

WATCH

LISTEN

READ

Main Idea

God’s Kingdom operates differently, but supremely.

2 Kings 6:8–17 ESV

⁸ Once when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place shall be my camp.” ⁹ But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down there.” ¹⁰ And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God told him. Thus he used to warn him, so that he saved himself there more than once or twice.

¹¹ And the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me who of us is for the king of Israel?” ¹² And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” ¹³ And he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize him.” It was told him, “Behold, he is in Dothan.” ¹⁴ So he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city.

¹⁵ When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” ¹⁶ He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” ¹⁷ Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Today’s story takes place in a small overlap with chapter 11. When we finished chapter eleven, the base of operations for the church, at least from a missionary perspective, had shifted from Jerusalem to Antioch (the capital of Syria at the time). There was significant church growth, so Barnabas was dispatched to investigate. When he saw the enormity of the task, he retrieved Saul from Tarsus and recruited him as his partner in ministry.

They ministered together for a year when they received a prophetic word from Jerusalem about a pending famine. And, when the prophecy came to pass, the church in Antioch raised funds to help their brothers and sisters in Judea and sent the care package via the dynamic duo.

It was ‘during this time’ that the focus shifted to Jerusalem one final time before we launch out with Barnabas and Saul on their first missionary journey.

Passage

Acts 12:1-12

Outline

I – King Herod

II – King Herod’s Kingdom

III – King Yahweh

IV – Yahweh’s Kingdom

I – King Herod

Acts 12:1–4 ESV

¹ About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. ² He killed James the brother of John with the sword, ³ and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. ⁴ 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.

• Herod is a dynastic name. It is called the Herodian Dynasty, so it can quickly become confusing.
• This is not the Herod who tried to kill Jesus. That was Herod the Great, his Grandad. This is not Herod Antipas, who had John the Baptist executed. That was his uncle.
• This is Herod Agrippa I.
• No stranger to strife and violence (Granddad had Dad killed, faced financial hardship in Rome).

Politically motivated through cultural means

• Grew up, educated, and made high-level connections in Rome.
• Childhood pals with Emperor Claudius.
• He had Jewish roots (Herod the Great married a Jewish woman).  He was the only descendent tied to the Hasmonean Dynasty (Judean rulers of High Priests and Kings descended from the Maccabees).
• He began his rule in Iturea and eventually gained new territories, including Judea and Samaria, uniting fractured territories that put him on par with Granddad.
• Called King of the Jews.
• He knew Jewish customs and visited the Temple often.
• He strived to win the favor of the Jews.
• From a Jewish perspective, he was the perfect person to be in power – holding the Jewish law in one hand and the authority of Rome in the other.

II – King Herod’s Kingdom

Being childhood friends with the ruling authority of Rome and being the ruler over the region made Herod Agrippa very powerful. He was a benevolent ruler to the Jews, showing compassion despite his motivations being less than noble. Though his sword would be a comfort and protection for the Jewish people, it would be an instrument of death to Christians.

Violent

Jews didn’t like Christians; therefore, Herod didn’t like Christians.

Herod acted like Saul in his pre-Damascus Road experience. He was seeking out Christians and harming them.

Among these Christians was James, the son of Zebedee… one of the two ‘Sons of Thunder.’ This is not to be confused with James, the brother of Jesus, author of the book that bears his name, and figurehead of the early church. This is John’s brother and one of the three disciples in Jesus’ inner circle. This James was subdued by Herod and executed with the sword and became the first recorded martyred Apostle. Since Herod was well-versed in Old Testament law, he knew this type of execution signified the prescribed death of an enemy of God’s people (Deut. 13) and would likely win him brownie points with the Jewish people.

And he was right. Whatever form it took, Herod saw the delight of Jewish eyes in rounding up those menacing Christians. And riding that wave of approval, he lunged for another one of their leaders, taking Peter captive.

Powerful

We are told this was happening during the feast of Unleavened Bread, which was during the time of Passover. Ironically, two of Jesus’ three closest disciples were persecuted during the same feast where he was persecuted and killed. James was killed, and Peter was on deck. This wasn’t specifically on the day of Passover, but rather, the week-long celebration of the Exodus from Egypt, when the Lord passed over the homes covered by the blood of the lamb and then led the Israelites away so swiftly the next day, they had to take unleavened bread with them to eat. This festival is a spring festival in our March/April timeframe.

In what seems an excessive show of force, Peter was taken to prison by four squads consisting of four soldiers each. This prison isn’t named but was likely in the Tower of Antonia, a military garrison constructed by Herod the Great (this Herod’s grand-daddy) and was located next to the Temple Mount.

Sixteen men were assigned to one. This is a lot of manpower dedicated to an ex-fisherman. It wasn’t uncommon to have a prisoner chained to a soldier. We will see that with Paul later on in the book. These four squads would rotate 3-hour shifts, covering the entirety of the 12-hour night shift, meaning there were at least four soldiers on duty at all times. The most likely reason for this is that Peter’s Rabbi had a miraculous escape from his grave in the presence of Roman soldiers, and Peter himself had already sprung from prison. Herod had just reeled in Jesus’ right-hand man and was, under no circumstances, going to let him off the hook.

As we saw with Jesus, it was bad form in the eyes of the Jews to hold executions on the Passover, so Herod had Peter thrown into a holding cell, ready to retrieve and slaughter as soon as it was a more favorable time.

So, we see the first King and the nature of his kingdom. Though Herod is favorable to the Jewish people, he opposes the God of the Jews because he is opposed to His Son and followers. He doesn’t hesitate to use violence to get the job done and pander to his subjects. He wields a bloody sword and holds considerable authority and military might. By earthly standards, he is a force to be reckoned with and a worthy opponent to opposing kings.

This is the first king and kingdom. Now, let’s see the rival.

III – King Yahweh

Acts 12:5–12 ESV

⁵ So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

⁶ Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. ⁷ 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. ⁸ 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.” ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ 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. ¹¹ 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.”

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.

Enter King number two… Yahweh, the King of the Universe, and even though we don’t see Him in the narrative, we see His weapons, army, and authority on full display.

Yahweh’s weapons

Herod wields a sword. On the other hand, Yahweh wields a host of different weapons, one of which is the prayers of His people. How many times have we seen the power of prayer so far in Acts? And yet, as we look at Herod’s power and authority, how quickly can we see his authority as superior? One Apostle is dead. The other is facing imminent execution. The enemy is powerful. The enemy wields too much earthly power for us to overcome. It’s true, isn’t it?

Part of our issue is that we want a physical kingdom with a tangible King on a physical throne who displays real and awe-inspiring authority and judgment. We want physical weapons that we can hold in our hands to fight with. We want to visibly see strength, security, and success. If we are honest with ourselves, what we really want is what the Apostles mistakenly thought Jesus came to do: overthrow Rome, sword in hand, and reign over the kingdom of Israel from Jerusalem.

It is much harder to fight spiritual battles with weapons that don’t inherently satisfy us with confidence and security. We know in our mind that physical things are temporary and spiritual things are eternal… that the Kingdom Jesus brought isn’t of this world… but we struggle with a reality we cannot see.

Today, we need to solidify in our hearts and minds the truth that God’s Kingdom operates differently but supremely.

Yahweh’s army

With Peter now in prison awaiting his execution, we see God deploy one of his soldiers. An angel appeared in the jail cell. Peter was so fast asleep that the angel had to hit him awake and tell him to high-tail it out of there.

In scripture, angels have varying tasks. Some are God’s messengers, like the ones who announced Christ’s birth to the shepherds. Others are agents of God’s wrath, like the ones seen in Revelation, and others are warriors in a hierarchy, such as Michael being the Archangel.

This angel is both a messenger and warrior, at least in a search and rescue capacity. He comes bearing good news of a jailbreak and helps lead Peter safely out.

After getting an angelic elbow in his side, Peter is instructed to put on his cloak and shoes and follow the angel away from the guards. And as we read the story, we can see why Peter thought this was a vision, especially after his previous vision of an expanded buffet on a rooftop in Joppa.

The entire rescue operation was miraculous, though Peter still had to participate.

• First, the angel appeared in a burst of light in a locked jail cell, which was also likely populated with other prisoners.
• Then, there is the reality that this did not disturb anyone else in the room (or Peter initially, for that matter). It was as if they were invisible.
• Next, the chains that tethered Peter to each Roman soldier simply fell off. The clatter of the chains didn’t seem to alarm the soldiers. It’s highly unlikely that they had fallen asleep since that was grounds for execution, but even if they were, that should have easily woken them up.
• Once Peter was freed, they walked past the first set of guards, then the second pair guarding the prison’s entry gate.
• Now that they made it past the guards, they still had to open the iron gate itself, which would seem impossible, but like the chains around Peter’s wrists, the door opened its metal arms to release them.
• And now that the mission was completed, the angel wasted no time returning to headquarters.

God’s Kingdom operates differently, but supremely. Herod’s warriors cannot begin to compare with God’s angelic warriors. They didn’t even know what happened! Four guards were utterly unaware that Peter had been rescued from underneath them.

As a result, assuming Peter had come to his senses and realized this wasn’t a vision, he praised God for His sovereign grace. And after a brief time of praise, he realized he probably should get off the streets, so he decided to go to Mary’s house – the mother of John Mark (the one who wrote the gospel of Mark and whom we will learn more about in the coming weeks) where the praying church was gathered.

These are the events of the story. But, before we leave here today, I want to conclude with some thoughts on Yahweh’s Kingdom and define some takeaways for us this week.

 IV- Yahweh’s Kingdom

As opposed to Herod’s kingdom, which was violent and powerful through the sword, God’s kingdom stands magnificently apart in several ways. My prayer for us today is that God would open our eyes to the reality of His Kingdom, and like the men with Elisha, we would be encouraged and strengthened by what is revealed to us.

Yahweh’s authority

First is the authority of the King in his kingdom. Herod was undoubtedly powerful, but he was still like a single matchstick compared to God, who is a consuming fire. Herod had the power to throw Peter into prison. God had the power to release him. Herod had limited authority over death, but God has the power of life and death. Herod had the power to capture, but God has the power to free the captives. Like his pal Pilate, Herod only had delegated authority from the God who holds it all.

Where are you placing your trust? Your hope? Your security? Are they placed in what you see around you or in the unfailing hands of the Sovereign King?

Prayer

Herod put his trust in his sword and the swords of his soldiers while God wields the power of His praying people.

The purpose of verse five is that it precedes the rest of the story… meaning that God moved on behalf of His praying people. This is one of the clearest examples of cause and effect concerning prayer. James tells us that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Why is it, then, that we neglect it so often? When God stirs your heart to pray, realize He is using you in that moment. These are the times when prayer isn’t about us but about God and His plan. If we took the time to seek out the true nature of prayer, we would be on our knees way more often.

Light

God’s kingdom is a kingdom of light and life instead of violence, death, and darkness. When the angel arrives in the jail cell, he comes robbed in light.

Light is revealing. It exposes. It guides. Our Lord Jesus is described as the light of the world… revealing and exposing sin to guide us away from that and toward God, who cleanses us from that filth. Light is also a symbol of truth. Jesus came to bring the truth of our current fallen state alongside the truth of His redemption. Are you walking in that light, or are you still clinging to certain dark corners of your previous self?

Peace

There is no question that Peter knew what was coming, and yet, when the angel arrived, he had to kick him awake. Even though his close friend and co-worker were martyred just days earlier, Peter was entirely at rest in God’s sovereignty, sleeping as peacefully and deeply as Jesus slept in the boat amidst the raging storm.

Jesus is the Prince of Peace. His Kingdom rule should inspire peace in our hearts. The Spirit within us produces the fruit of peace in our hearts. We should not have newspaper faith, look at the main headlines, and be tempted to fret at what we see. Jesus is on the throne, and He reigns in complete sovereignty. We would do well to follow Peter’s example here and rest soundly in the peace available to all Christians, despite what trials we are currently facing.

Freedom

Jesus came to set the captives free. In this instance, this was freedom from a physical prison and rescue from physical threats. God is able to free you from any circumstance you are facing.

Maybe for you, that means freedom from prolonged family strife. God is able. Perhaps it’s a physical ailment or a living situation. God is able. Or maybe it’s a spiritual issue. Perhaps it’s an addiction, lust, desire, inclination, or a love for worldly things. Whatever your case may be, you are never outside God’s reach and ability to save.

Purpose

Why? Because you were bought with a price, created as God’s unique handiwork for a particular purpose, and nothing will thwart that plan. Peter still had a job to do, so God freed him to do it.

Jesus purchased you with His blood, just like He purchased Peter. If you have been purchased, do you know why? Jesus doesn’t make poor investments. You have a purpose on this earth and a job to do. Are you doing it?

God’s Kingdom operates differently, but supremely. God’s authority isn’t always going to play out like we think it should. His light will sanctify us in ways we never thought it would. And God will use us in ways we never dreamed He could.