Online Resource Library
Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPulpit Commentary - Acts 12:1 - 12:25
(Show All Books | Show All Chapters)
This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
Put for stretched, A.V.; afflict for vex, A.V. The phrase, About that time, as in Act_19:23, points to what had just before been related (Meyer). The interposition of the narrative in this chapter between Act_11:20 and Act_12:25 evidently implies that the bulk or rather the chief of the events narrated happened in the interval. Which of the events was the chief in the mind of the narrator with reference to his general narrative, and what are the coincidences which he wished to note, it is not easy to say with certainty. The narrative in this chapter doubtless overlaps at both ends the embassy of Paul and Barnabas, but perhaps the object was to show the harassed state of the Church from famine and persecution at the time that Paul and Barnabas were at Jerusalem. Herod the king here mentioned is Herod Agrippa I., grandson of Herod the Great, and son of Aristobulus and Bernice. During the reign of Tiberius he resided at Rome, in alternate favor and disgrace, sometimes banished, sometimes a prisoner, sometimes a guest at the imperial court. He was a great friend of Caius Caesar Caligula, and, on his succeeding to the empire on the death of Tiberius, was promoted by him to the tetrarchy of Herod Philip, with the title of king. He was further advanced three years afterwards to the tetrarchy of Herod Antipas; and, on the accession of Claudius to the throne, Judaea and Samaria were added to his dominions, which now comprised the whole kingdom of his grandfather, Herod the Great. Agrippa, in spite of his close intimacy with Drusus, Caligula, Claudius, and other Roman magnates, was "exactly careful in the observance of the laws of his country, not allowing a day to pass without its appointed sacrifice;" and he had given proof of his strong Jewish feeling by interposing his whole influence with Caligula to prevent his statue being placed in the holy of holies. This spirit accounts for his enmity against the Church. He was a man of very expensive and luxurious habits, but not without some great qualities.
Act_12:2
James, the son of Zebedee, or James the Elder, to whom, with his brother John, our Lord gave the surname of Boanerges (which is a corruption of ùÑâÆãÆ éðÅáÀ ), sons of thunder. Nothing is recorded of him in the Acts but his presence in the upper room at Jerusalem after the Ascension (Act_1:13), and this his martyrdom, which was the fulfillment of our Lord's prediction in Mat_20:23. His being singled out by Herod for death in company with Peter is rather an indication of his zeal and activity in the Lord's service, though we know nothing of his work. Eusebius relates an anecdote of his martyrdom, extracted from the lost work of Clement of Alexandria, called the Ὑποτυτώσεις (or in Latin Adumbrationes), which Clement professed to have received by tradition from his predecessors, to the effect that the informer who accused James was so struck with his constancy in confessing Christ before the judge, that he came forward and confessed himself a Christian too. The two were then led off to execution together; and on the way the informer asked James's forgiveness. After a moment's hesitation, James said to him, "Peace be unto thee," and kissed him. They were then both beheaded ('Eccl. Hist.,' 2. 9.). As Clement flourished about A.D. 190, the tradition need not have passed through more than three persons. It has been thought strange that Luke relates the death of a chief apostle with such brevity. But it did not bear on the main object of his work. Lightfoot mentions a fanciful story related by Rabauus Maurus, that about this time the apostles composed the Apostles' Creed, each contributing one clause, and that the clause contributed by James the brother of John was, "And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord."
Act_12:3
When for because, A.V.; that it pleased for it pleased, A.V.; proceeded for proceeded further, A.V.; seize for take, A.V.; and those for then, A.V. He proceeded to seize ( προσέθετο συλλαβεῖν ) is a Hebraism. This trait of his pleasing the Jews is in exact accordance with Josephus's description of him, as τῷ βιοῦν ἐν αὐφημίᾳ χαίρων , loving popularity, and as being very kind and sympathizing with the Jewish people, and liking to live much at Jerusalem ('Ant. Jud.'19. 7.3). The days of unleavened bread; i.e. as expressed by Luk_22:1, "The Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover." It lasted seven days (Exo_12:15-18), from the 14th to the 21st of Nisan, or Abib (Exo_12:18-20; Lev_23:1-44. 5, 6; Deu_16:1-4), the Passover being eaten on the night of the 14th.
Act_12:4
Taken for apprehended, A.V.; guard for keep, A.V.; the Passover for Easter, A.V. Four quaternions; i.e. four bands of four soldiers each, which were on guard in succession through the four watches of the night—one quaternion for each watch. The Passover. This is a decided improve-merit, as the use of the word "Easter" implies that the Christian feast is here meant. But perhaps" Feast of the Passover" would have been better, as showing that the whole seven days are intended. This is, perhaps, the meaning of τὸ πάσχα in Joh_18:28, and certainly is its meaning here. We have another characteristic trait of the religion of Agrippa, and of his sympathy with the feelings of the Jews about the Law, that he would not allow a trial on a capital charge, or an execution, to take place during the Feast of Unleavened Bread (comp. Joh_18:8). To bring him forth to the people. Still the same desire uppermost, to propitiate the people by gifts or shows, or by blood; ἀναγαγεῖν means exactly "to bring up" (Act_9:39; Rom_10:7, etc.), either on to a stage or on some high ground, where all the people could see him condemned, which would be as good to them as an auto da fé to a Spanish mob, or a gladiatorial slaughter to a Roman audience (see Joh_18:11).
Act_12:5
The prison for prison, A.V.; earnestly for without ceasing, A.V. ( ἐκτενὴς , or as in the R.T. ἐκτενῶς , has the sense of intensity rather than duration; see Luk_22:14, T.R.; 1Pe_1:22; 1Pe_4:8). As the last of the days of unleavened bread approached, the prayers of the Church would be more and more intense in their earnestness. We have but to read the preceding chapters to judge how precious to the Church the life of Peter must have been.
Act_12:6
Was about to bring for would have brought, A.V.; guards for the keepers, A.V. What a picture we have here! The dungeon; the double chain fastening the prisoner to two soldiers; the other two soldiers of the quaternion keeping watch at the first and second ward, or station; the iron gate securely fastened; the population of the great city expecting with the morning light to be gratified with the blood of the victim of their bigotry; the king having made his arrangements for the imposing spectacle which was to ingratiate him with his people and obtain the applause he so dearly loved; and then the servant of Jesus Christ sleeping calmly under the shadow of God's wings; and, a little way off, the Church keeping her solemn watch and pouring forth her intensest prayers through the silence of the night! And the issue, the triumph of the few and the weak over all the power of the many and the strong.
Act_12:7
An angel for the angel, A.V. (see note on Act_5:19); stood by him for came upon him, A.V. (comp. Luk_2:9); cell for prison, A.V.; awoke him for raised him up, A.V. ( ἤγειρεν αὐτὸν ); rise for arise, A.V. Cell. The word οἴκημα , a dwelling, was used by the Athenians as an euphemism for a prison. It only occurs here in the New Testament, though it is a common Greek word. His chains fell off from his hands, showing that each hand bad been chained to a soldier. The loosening of the chains would enable him to rise without necessarily awakening the soldiers to whom he was fastened, and who would feel no difference in the chain which was attached to them.
Act_12:8
He did so for so he did, A.V. Thy garment ( ἱμάτιον ); especially the outer garment, which was worn over the χιτὼν , or tunic (see Mat_9:20, Mat_9:21; Mat_14:36; Mat_23:1-39. 5, etc.). The girding, therefore, applied to the inner garments, and περιβαλοῦ to the cloak which went over them.
Act_12:9
Followed for followed him, A.V. and T.R.; he wist for wist, A.V.
Act_12:10
And when for when, A.V.; into for unto, A.V.; its for his, A.V.; straightway for forthwith, A.V. The first and the second ward. The φυλακή , here rendered "ward," may mean either the station where the guard was posted or the guard itself. One street; ῥυμή , as in Act_9:11, note. Departed; ἀπέστη , in contrast to ἐπέστη , rendered "stood by" in Act_9:7.
Act_12:11
Truth for surety, A.V.; sent forth for sent, A.V.; delivered for hath delivered, A.V. Peter's recognition of the Lord's hand in sending his angel is exactly echoed in the Collect for Michaelmas Day, "Grant that as thy holy angels always do thee service in heaven, so by thy appointment they may succor and defend us on earth."
Act_12:12
And were praying for praying, A.V. When he had considered; better, with Meyer and Alford, when he perceived it, viz. the truth of his deliverance. Mary the mother of John was aunt to Barnabas (Col_4:10). If Paul and Barnabas were not in her house at the time (which there is no evidence that they were), it is likely that all the particulars of Peter's escape may have been communicated to Paul by John Mark, and by him repeated to Luke. That they went to the house of Mary before their return seems certain from their taking Mark with them to Antioch (verse 25), possibly to deliver him from the danger Christians were in at Jerusalem at this time.
Act_12:13
When he for as Peter, A.V. and T.R.; maid for damsel, A.V.; to answer for to hearken, A.V. ( ὑπακοῦσαι ). The door of the gate (see Act_10:17, note). To hearken or listen seems the best rendering. It is the phrase proper to a doorkeeper, whoso business it is to go to the door and listen when any one knocks, and find out what their business is before opening the door. This is the primary sense of the word; that of answering after listening is a secondary sense. At a time of such alarm to Christians a knock at the door in the dead of the night would carry terror with it, and careful listening to ascertain whether there was more than one person, and then to ask who was there and what was his business, was the natural course.
Act_12:14
Joy for gladness, A.V.; that for how, A.V. When she knew Peter's voice. This evidence of Peter's intimacy with the family of Mary is in remarkable agreement with 1Pe_5:13, "Greet Marcus my son."
Act_12:15
Confidently for constantly, A.V. (for the same use of διΐσχυρίζομαι , see Luk_22:59); and they said for then said they, A.V. It is his angel; meaning probably his guardian angel (Mat_18:10). But the expression is obscure, and we do not know exactly the nature of the belief on which it was grounded. They must have thought that perhaps Peter had been put to death in prison that very night, and that his angel, speaking with his voice, was sent to announce it to the Church. The narrative is a striking instance how "slow of heart to believe" are even the most devout. They were praying very earnestly for Peter's life; their prayer was granted; and yet the announcement of it only draws out the answer, "Thou art mad!" and then, as an alternative, the explanation, "It is his angel!"
Act_12:16
Opened for opened the door, A.V.; they … and for and … they, A.V.; amazed for astonished, A.V. (see Act_8:9, note).
Act_12:17
Brought him forth for brought him, A.V.; tell for go show, A.V.; to for into, A.V. Beckoning, etc.; κατασείσας τῇ χειρὶ (see Act_13:16; Act_19:33; Act_21:40). It is the action of one having something to say and bespeaking silence while he says it. Unto James. This, of course, is the same James as is mentioned in Gal_1:19 as "the Lord's brother," and who, in Gal_2:9, Gal_2:12, and Act_15:12 and Act_21:18, as well as here, appears as occupying a peculiar place in the Church at Jerusalem, viz. as all antiquity testifies, as Bishop of Jerusalem. So Hegesippus, quoted by Eusebius ('Eccl. Hist.,' 2.23), "James the Lord's brother, called by universal consent the Just, received the government of the Church together with the apostles;" and in Act_2:1 he quotes Clement of Alexandria as saying that, after the Ascension, Peter, James, and John selected James the Just, the Lord's brother, to be the first Bishop of Jerusalem. And Eusebius gives it as the general testimony of antiquity that James the Just, the Lord's brother, was the first who sat on the episcopal throne of Jerusalem. But who he was exactly is a point much controverted. The three hypotheses are:
1. That he was the son of Alphaeus or Clopas and Mary, sister to the blessed Virgin, and therefore our Lord's cousin german, and called his brother by a common Hebrew idiom. According to this theory he was one of the twelve (Luk_6:15), as he appears to be in Gal_1:19, though this is not certain (see Bishop Lightfoot, in loc.).
2. That he was the son of Joseph by his first wife, and so stepbrother to the Lord, which is Eusebius's explanation ('Eccl. Hist.,' Ecc_2:1).
3. That he was in the full sense the Lord's brother, being the son of Joseph and Mary. This is the opinion of Alford (in lee.), fully argued in the 'Proleg. to the Epistle of James,' and of Meyer, Credner, and many German commentators. According to these two last hypotheses, he was not one of the twelve. "The apostolic constitutions distinguish between James the son of Alphaeus, the apostle, and James the brother of the Lord, ὁ ἐπίσκοπος " (Meyer). It may be added that Act_1:14 separates the brethren of the Lord from the apostles, who are enumerated in the preceding verses. The hypothesis which identifies James the Lord's brother with James the son of Alphaeus or Clopas and Mary is well argued in Smith's 'Dictionary of the Bible,' art. "James" (see also the able Introduction to the Epistle of James in the 'Speaker's Commentary'). It seems impossible to come to a certain conclusion. The weakest point in the hypothesis which identifies James the Lord's brother with the son of Alphaeus is that it fails to account for the distinction clearly made between the Lord's brothers and the apostles in such passages as Joh_2:12; Joh_7:3, Joh_7:5, Joh_7:10; Act_1:13; Mat_12:46, Mat_12:49; 1Co_9:5. For the effect of these passages is scarcely neutralized by Gal_1:19. But then, on the other hand, the hypothesis that the Lord's brethren, including James and Joses, were the children of Joseph and Mary, seems to be flatly contradicted by the mention of Mary the wife of Clopas as being "the mother of James and Jests" (Mar_15:40; Joh_19:25). He went to another place. Whether Luke was not informed what the place was, or whether there was some reason why he did not mention it, we cannot tell. The Venerable Bode ('Prolog. in Expos. in Act. Apost.'), Baronius, and other authorities of the Church of Rome, say he went to Rome, and commenced his episcopate of Rome at this time Dr Lightfoot thinks it more probable that he went to Antioch. Some guess Caesarea; but there is no clue really.
Act_12:19
Guards for keepers, A.V.; tarried there for there abode, A.V.
Act_12:20
Now he for and Herod, A.V. and T.R.; and for but, A.V.; they asked for for desired, A.V.; fed from for nourished by, A.V. Highly displeased ( θυμομαχῶν ); only here in the New Testament, but used by Polybius, as well as the kindred word ψυχομαχεῖν , in the sense of having a hostile spirit against any one, maintaining a strong resentment. It describes a state of feeling which may exist before war, during war, and after war when only a hollow peace has been made. Tyro and Sidon at this time were semi-independent cities under the Roman supremacy. The occasion of Herod's displeasure is not known. Chamberlain; literally, the officer over his bedchamber—his chief groom of the chambers—an office which would give him easy access to the king's private ear. Was fed. This commerce, by which Palestine supplied Tyro and Sidon with wheat in return for timber, was as old as the time of Solomon at least (1Ki_5:9, 1Ki_5:11); see too Eze_27:17, and the decree of Caligula, in which he speaks of the large exportation of corn to Sidon from the Jewish harbor of Joppa ('Ant. Jud.,' 14. 10.6).
Act_12:21
Arrayed himself for arrayed, A.V.; and sat for sat, A.V. and T.R.; on the throne for upon his throne, A.V. On the throne. Βῆμα does not mean "the king's throne," and is nowhere so rendered in the A.V. but here. It means any raised stage or platform upon which a judge, or an orator, or any one wishing to address an assembly, stands. Here it means a high platform in the theatre at Caesarea, from whence the king, raised above the rest of the audience, could both see the games and make his speech to the people.
Act_12:22
Shouted for gave a shout, A.V.; the voice for it is the voice, A.V.
Act_12:23
An angel for the angel, A.V. (Act_5:19, note).
Act_12:24
The word of God grew and multiplied in Jerusalem and the neighborhood, in spite of Agrippa's persecution. The blood of the martyr James was the seed of the Church, and the speedy vengeance taken by God upon the persecuter doubtless gave fresh courage to his people to confess the Name of Jesus Christ. As regards the preceding account of Herod Agrippa's death, it is corroborated in the most remarkable manner by the narrative in Josephus ('Ant. Jud.,' 19. 8.2). He there tells that when he had been three years King of all Judaea (see verse 1, note) he went to Caesarea. And that on occasion of a festival celebrated "for the safety of Caesar" (some think to celebrate his return from Britain, while others, as Wieseler, think that they were the ordinary Quinquennalia, celebrated in the provinces), he exhibited games and spectacles in honor of Claudius. On the second day of these games, when a vast number of people were assembled in the theatre, Agrippa can? m, clothed in a garment wholly made of silver, which reflected the rays of the morning sun with a most dazzling and awful brilliancy. Whereupon his flatterers cried out that he was a god, and offered prayer to him. The king, he adds, did not rebuke them nor reject their impious flattery, tie was presently seized with a violent pain in his bowels, which soon became so intense that he was carried out of the theatre to his palace, and expired after five days of excruciating pain. It is curious that in the above account Josephus says that Agrippa saw an owl sitting over his head, which he recognized as a messenger ( ἄγγελον ) of evil to him. Eusebius, quoting Josephus Eccl. Hist.,' 2. 10.), leaves out the owl, anti says that Agrippa saw an angel sitting over his head, whom he recognized as the cause of his sufferings. Whiston, in a note, seeks to exonerate Eusebius from unfairness in the quotation by suggesting that the manuscript of Eusebius is in this place corrupt; but Bede quotes Josephus just as Eusebius does, unless perchance he is quoting him at second hand from Eusebius.
Act_12:25
Ministration for ministry, A.V.; talking for and took, A.V. The fact here stated of their taking John Mark with them, is very interesting in connection with verse 12. Whether or no Saul and Barnabas were in the house of Mary at the time of Peter's deliverance from prison, they evidently went there shortly before or shortly after. As regards the sequence of events related in this chapter, it is by no means necessary to suppose that Barnabas and Saul did not leave Jerusalem till after the death of Agrippa. Luke, connecting the death of Agrippa with his murder of James and his intended murder of Peter, as Eusebius and Chrysostom and others rightly say, would naturally follow up the narrative of the persecution by the narrative of the persecutor's awful death; and then go on to relate the return of the two apostles to Antioch in continuation of Act_11:30. We have no means of deciding whether, in point of fact, they returned before or after Agrippa's death. It seems most probable that they returned before, as, under the circumstances, they would not tarry at Jerusalem longer than was necessary for the fulfillment of their ministration.
I. THE WORLDLY PRINCIPLE AND PRACTICE. Not right, or truth, or justice, but sell seeking policy; to gain some selfish end without regard to the will of God or the welfare of man; the unscrupulous use of any means by which the wished-for end can be attained; the employment of craft or violence, according to circumstances; utter contempt for the rights and feelings of others; utter disregard for the happiness of individuals or communities which stand in the way; taking everything into a man's own hands;—in a word, self-will and self-seeking, as the beginning and ending of human action.
II. THE CHURCH, OR CHRISTIAN, PRINCIPLE. To do the will of God irrespective of self-will; to love all men, "specially those that are of the household of faith," and consequently to work ill to no man, however great the apparent gain may be; to suffer, rather than do, wrong; to endure evil meekly and patiently; to help and comfort others in their time of need at his own cost; to leave all in the hands of God.
III. THE RESULTS OF EACH.
1. The worldly policy ends in failure. The well-laid schemes end in disappointment; momentary successes slide into defeat anal discomfiture; expected glory turns into lasting shame.
2. The Christian practice, on the contrary, though its beginnings may be in clouds and darkness, ends in sunshine and in light. Right has a vital principle in it. It bursts out into success at last. Being linked to the will of God, it partakes of the power and life of God. Momentary shame turns into lasting glory. The cross becomes the crown. See all this exemplified in the history before us. Agrippa was the perfect type of a successful man of the world. The friend of emperors and kings; himself a prosperous king of fair character for the times, of pleasing manners, and considerable power of kingcraft, he stood high among his equals and contemporaries. His liberality and magnificence secured him a fair share of admiration and popularity among his subjects. His zeal for religious observances, his scrupulous performance of the rites and ceremonies of the Jewish Law, brought him a fair amount of respect from the priests and Pharisees of his day. And this popularity was as the breath of his nostrils. To be applauded; to be well spoken of; to be admired; to make a sensation wherever he appeared; to be on terms of friendship with Tiberius, with Drusus, with Caligula, with Claudius; to be a great man among the petty dependent kings of the neighboring countries; and to be an authority with the priests and people of the Jews;—all this was his ambition, was what he lived for. As to the means of obtaining it he was not scrupulous. By flatteries, by mean compliances, by large expenditure of money, and even by shedding innocent blood, this end of self-idolatry was to be compassed. The murder of a saint like James, the imprisonment and intended execution of an apostle like Peter, were in his eyes on a par with splendid games or magnificent largesses, as means of purchasing or retaining the good pleasure of the Jews, perhaps with the further design of strengthening his influence with Claudius by showing how he could keep a turbulent province in quiet subjection to imperial Rome. And so at last he seemed to have attained the highest pinnacle of the coveted glory when, all glittering with the silver robe, which reflected the rays of the morning sun, and seated on the bema to make his oration to the people, he was greeted with acclamations which told him he was no longer a mere mortal in their eyes, and that he spoke, not with the voice of a man, but with the voice of God. Five days of agony, and he lay amidst all his splendor a lifeless corpse. Now let us turn to the Church. We have four pictures presented to us of Church life.
1. The love of the Church of Antioch for their unseen brethren of the Church of Jerusalem. They were poor themselves, it is likely; they had dangers, and difficulties, and wants, and necessities: no doubt, at home. But no sooner do they hear of the approaching famine in Judaea than they make collections, every man according to his ability, for the relief of their fellow-Christians, and send two of their most trusted members to carry the gift from Antioch to Jerusalem. Surely a beautiful sight, that loving-cup passed from Gentile to Jew, a pledge of their unity in Jesus Christ.
2. The defense of the Church of Jerusalem against the tyranny of the world. The strong hand of unscrupulous power has slain one of their most valiant leaders. Another greater still is shut up in a dungeon, expecting immediate death. The whole Church is in danger of destruction. It must defend itself against its terrible foe; it must sharpen its sword; it must put on its Armour; it must prepare for the fight. And bow does it do this? Our second picture shows us. It is night. The great city is hushed in sleep; its hum has ceased. The weary are at rest. The prisoner's eyes are closed in forgetfulness, and all things are shrouded in darkness. But in one house in the city sleep has no place. Under its roof are gathered together many of the soldiers of Jesus Christ. And in that dead hour of the night they are watching unto prayer. From one and another the voice of prayer and supplication is going up to Heaven—prayer for Peter's safety; prayer for the preservation of the Church; prayer for the mighty help of the Holy Ghost; prayer for holy patience; prayer for holy courage; prayer for wisdom how to act and for strength to act; prayer for the weak in faith; prayer for the tempted and irresolute; prayer for their enemies, persecutors, and slanderers;—in short, every variety of the cry, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil!" is breaking the stillness of the night, and is the Church's preparation for battle and for victory.
3 and 4. We have in these the portraiture of two individual members of God's Church. The first, James, we see only in his death—the blessed death of a martyr of Jesus Christ; a death which tells of the life which went before, and also of the life that shall follow after and have no end. He was a son of thunder in his assaults upon the strongholds of Satan; a witness for Jesus Christ and his cross and his salvation, before the hard materialism of Roman power and the withered formalism of Jewish bigotry and hypocrisy. As we think of him, as of his saintly brother John, we think of the unworldly faith with which, leaving his father and all that he had in this world, he was obedient without delay to the calling of Jesus Christ; we think of the indignant zeal which flashed out when the Master whom he loved was rejected by the Samaritans; we think of him as persevering steadily, through ten years of opposition and contradiction from elders, and priests, and Pharisees, and Sadducees, in the one great purpose for which he lived, at the end of which, as he had long since been warned by the Lord, there was a cup of suffering to be drunk, and a baptism of blood to be baptized with. But he shrank not nor drew back. To him to live was Christ, and to die was gain. And so his end came—the end of his toil. But surely he is among those whom his brother John saw in vision half a century afterwards: "I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God,… and they lived and reigned with Christ s thousand years." Blessed in his death and glorious in his resurrection, he will shine forth with a brighter glory in the kingdom of his Father than Agrippa his murderer did in his silver robe of marvelous texture in the theatre of Caesarea. Our last portrait is that of Simon Peter, the Galilaean fisherman, called by Jesus Christ to be fisher of men. What a life was his!—gathering three thousand souls into his net at the very first haul; laying the foundations of that building which during eighteen centuries and a half has gone on growing towards those vast proportions which will at last fill the whole earth and mingle with the skies in its length, and breadth, and depth, and height; unlocking the gates of the kingdom of heaven with his keys of office for myriads and millions to enter in. What a life of toil and danger!—journeying, preaching, healing, teaching, like his Divine Master before him, with his life ever in his hand; now escaping, now returning to the scene of persecution, but always intent upon the work of Christ. Ah! surely he has fallen at last; the hand of the tyrant has found him out. He is fast in prison. He is fastened with two chains to his jailors. He is sleeping his last sleep on earth. To-morrows sun will rise upon him for the last time, and before it is noon he will have joined his brother James in the land where all things are forgotten. So thought man. So thought the Jews. So thought Agrippa. So thought Peter himself when he closed his eyes in sleep under the protection of God s wings. So had God not ordained, The night watches had advanced. The great city lay in stillness and darkness. The sons of toil and of pleasure had all left the busy thoroughfares, and the streets were a desert. But lo! the iron gate of the prison opens noiselessly upon its hinges, and two men issue forth into the open way. They walk rapidly along, and then one vanishes and only one is left. He stops for a moment's thought, and then goes to the house of Mary. Yet another moment, and he is in the midst of a praying Church, which he never thought to have seen again in the flesh; and the brethren are all around their great primate, whom they thought to have seen no more forever. It was a great surprise. But how great the joy to know that it was God's doing! Now they knew that their dangers, their sorrows, their fears, and their prayers, were all known of God. Now they knew that their lives were precious in God's sight, and that he that was for them was stronger than he that was against them. Peter's hour was not yet come; his work was not yet finished, and till it was, all the power of Herod and all the expectation of the people of the Jews would be baffled and disappointed, not a hair of his head should perish; and instead of the Church being wasted and destroyed, the Word of God should grow and multiply. It is growing and multiplying still. Peter's work is not yet finished. What he began is still going on. The overseers are still feeding the flock of Christ; and they with him, when the chief Shepherd shall appear, shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
I. ITS CONTEMPTUOUSNESS. "Herod … stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the Church" (Act_12:1). He did not stay to inquire whether these men were in the right or not. They had with them the most convincing credentials—strong evidence, miraculous power, a truth which met the necessities of the human heart and life; but all this went for nothing. From his place of power he looked down superciliously on this new "way," and with a light heart he determined to vex its adherents. How often does a high place beget an unseemly, unwholesome, injurious arrogance which, smiting others, inflicts a deathblow on itself.
II. ITS BRUTALITY. "And he killed James … with the sword" (verse 2). What was the life of an enthusiast to him? "He commanded that the keepers should be put to death" (verse 19). What signified it to him that a few soldiers were executed? It would not spoil his meal nor disturb his slumber that, at his bidding, a few of his fellow-men had their lives cut short and that their families and friends were mourning. This was the spirit of the age, an unchristian age: it was especially the spirit of human tyranny. The ruler on his throne, too often attained by violence and cunning, was indifferent to the blood he shed, to the rights he violated, to the sorrows he caused. Such has been the history of sin in high places from the beginning until now, from one end of the earth to the other.
III. ITS MEANNESS. "Because he saw it pleased the Jews," he proceeded further (verse 3) in the same course. What a miserable reason for imprisonment and execution of subjects! Not because any crime had been committed, or any folly wrought, or any danger incurred; but because it pleased the Jews, more violence was to be done, more wrong inflicted, more grief and lamentation called forth. To such shameful depth will sin in high places stoop, "justice" prostituting its high vocation (1Pe_2:14) to win a mean and despicable popularity at the expense of innocence and truth.
IV. ITS IMPOTENCE.
1. How vain are bolts and bars to shut in a man whom God intends to be his agent among men (verses 4-10; see Act_5:19; Act_16:26)!
2. How vain are swords to slay and prison doors to confine the living truth of God! A James may be killed and a Peter imprisoned, but the chapter which narrates these incidents of human tyranny does not close without recording that "the Word of God grew and multiplied." We may learn these two lessons.
(1) We may well be contented with our humbler lot. Obscurity and comparative powerlessness are far less attractive to an ordinary eye than eminence and power. But who of us can say that a "high place" might not prove to be a "slippery place," wherein virtue and purity would fall, never to rise again; or on which some of the finer graces would be dulled and dimmed, even if some of the sadder sins were not nourished and practiced?
(2) We may well rejoice to be on the side of the Lord our Savior. His cause will meet with such checks as this chapter records; there will be times when his disciples will mourn the loss of one champion and be alarmed for the safety of another; but unhoped-for deliverance will come, God will appear for us in ways we dare not expect, and the end will be the growth and multiplying of his living and life-giving Word.—C.
Act_12:1-19, Act_12:25
The strength and weakness of Christian discipleship. These verses bring out very strikingly the fact that there is both power and weakness in us who are the followers of Christ. We see it—
I. IN APOSTOLIC FUNCTIONS. The apostles of our Lord were invested by their Divine Master with unusual powers. The Holy Ghost descended upon them and conferred great gifts on them (see Act_5:15, Act_5:16; Act_9:31-41). Peter was the chief channel through which this Divine efficacy flowed. But while he was charged to do such great things for others, he was not permitted to do anything for himself; his function of working miracles stopped when he was personally concerned; he was not at liberty to open a bolted prison door that he himself might escape. We may find a certain illustration of this strength and weakness in the case of those who have such strength to arouse the souls and stir the activities of others, but who are painfully and pitifully weak in con- trolling their own spirit.
II. IN APOSTOLIC AND ORDINARY CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE. One short verse (Act_12:2) disposes of the fate of the Apostle James. We have no graphic account, as in Stephen's case, of his martyrdom. But it is enough that we know the event. We naturally place it beside the predictive words of the Lord. And we see here how weak and yet how strong Christian discipleship can be. Weak enough
(1) to cherish a mistaken ambition (Mar_10:37);
(2) to under-estimate altogether the sufferings of its Lord—they said, We can;
(3) to under-estimate the severity of its own martyr-witness, for James and John had little thought at that time of the future that was in store for them. Strong enough to accept with cheerfulness the trying lot when called upon to endure it. We may take it, though we are not told it, that James drank without a moment's hesitation the bitter cup of sudden and violent death when Herod's sword was drawn to slay him. How frequently do we find the same thing with us now! At one hour, the weakness of serious misconception of Christian truth or of Christian life, or, it may be, serious failure to attain the spirit or illustrate the principle of Christ; at another hour, beautiful resignation to the will, or admirable exemplification of the truth, or noble devotedness to the work, of the Lord.
1. We should not judge hastily; the error or shortcoming of one period may be more than redeemed by the excellency or even heroism of another.
2. We need not be exceedingly depressed by our own failure; we should be truly penitent when really at fault, but we may hope that, further on, our Master will give us an opportunity of drinking of his cup, of having fellowship with his sufferings.
III. IN THE MATTER OF DEVOTION. "Prayer was made without ceasing of the Church unto God for Peter" (verse 5). It may be confidently concluded that the "many who were gathered together praying at Mary s house (verse 12) were asking for his deliverance. His escape, then, should have been the very thing they were expecting. If their strength had not been exercised in weakness, they would have anticipated the knock at the door, which they refused to believe was from the hand of Peter. We know how great was their astonishment that their prayers were heard and answered (verses 15, 16). Prayer is the strength of the Christian man, of the Christian Church; but when in the very act and exercise of this our privilege and power, how great is our weakness! for how unspiritual is, too often, our word! how languid our strain! how slight our hope! how faint and feeble our expectation!
IV. IN OUR RELATIONS WITH OUR FELLOWS. (Verse 25.) Barnabas and Saul returned from their ministry in Jerusalem, carrying with them the blessings of the poor whom they had relieved. But they also carried with them one, John Mark, who was to be the occasion of a bitter quarrel and a lifelong separation. While they were rejoicing in their hearts that the ties between the brethren of Antioch and Jerusalem were so happily, strengthened there stood by their side a man whose action was to cut in twain the bond which bound them in loving and active brotherhood. As fellow-members of the Church, we feel and do many things which bring out into bold relief our most Godlike affections and aspirations; but as those who worship and work side by side, we often do things which give displeasure to our Lord and should give pain to ourselves.—C.
Act_12:20-23
1. The interdependence of one nation on another: "Their country was nourished by the king's country" (Act_12:20). One land has metals in abundance; another has corn; another, cotton; another, timber, etc. It was clearly the intention of the Father of all that all peoples should live in close friendship and constant intercourse with one another. Yet the heathen idea was that the natural relation between neighboring nations was war. The motto of Christianity is "Peace;" its spirit is that of brotherhood; its counsel and fruit are active interchange of services and resources.
2. The evil of autocracy: "Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon" (Act_12:20). It may have been some slight affront he had received, and which he was determined to avenge. All responsibility rested with him, and the caprice or resentment of one single soul would have been sufficient to plunge the thousands of Tyre and Sidon—men, women, and children—into terror and distress. We may unite to thank God that the sword is being taken out of the hand of the autocrat.
3. The drawbacks to human greatness. Herod Agrippa was a man in a very fine position, and he was no doubt envied by thousands of his subjects; doubtless he often congratulated himself on the success of his subtlety. Yet he was
(1) much at the mercy of venal counselors,—probably rich presents had found their way into the treasury of Blastus before that chamberlain spoke honeyed words of peace in Herod's ear (Act_12:20);
(2) the dupe of base flatterers (Act_12:22),—he must either have been constantly engaged in weighing words and distinguishing the false from the sincere, or else he must have been continually deceived. But to read the lesson of the text we turn to—
I. THE HEIGHT TO WHICH HUMAN PRESUMPTION WILL RISE. The scene which is briefly sketched in the text (Act_12:21) has been more fully described elsewhere. It may seem incredible to those who move in humble spheres that a mortal man could ever be so inflated with a sense of his own greatness as to accept Divine honors when they were offered. History, however, fully proves that arrogance may rise even as high as this. "The spirit of self-exaggeration," "the insolent exaltation of himself," with which Channing charges Napoleon Bonaparte, is a spirit which has been exemplified in every age and nation in greater or less degree. The acquisition of honor does not satisfy but only inflames ambition, and from height to height it rises until, leaving far behind it merely unwarrantable hope, it reaches shameful arrogance and even, as here, a horrible impiety.
II. THE DEPTH TO WHICH IT MUST FALL. It ends in shame and ruin. Sometimes, as here, in terrible torture. It is noticeable that some of the worst persecutors of their race have come to a frightful end at death: witness, Herod the Great; this man, his grandson; Antiochus Epiphanes; Philip II. of Spain, etc. But where this is not the ease, the end is dishonor. God "will not give his glory to another." Pride must perish, and great must be its fall. From its high pedestal it topples down. No angel-hand is needed to secure the overthrow; its foundations are certain to be undermined, and the god who was at the summit lies, a broken and shattered idol, at the base.
III. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HEROD'S DEATH. It says to those who wonder at the delays of providence and speak of—
"Truth forever on the scaffold,
Wrong for ever on the throne,"
Wait! God will reveal himself in righteousness. Go into the sanctuary (Psa_73:17); look back on the page of history, and understand their end; and see what "the end of the Lord" is. Wait a while, and the enthroned king, enrobed in tissued silver, receiving the acclamations of the people, accepting their ascriptions of deity—behold! he lies writhing in awful agony; he passes away; he is dust of the ground. And that despised sect, smitten, suffering, degraded—behold! it rises to honor, to power, to influence; it will be enthroned on the intelligence and conscience of mankind. Herod Agrippa gave up the ghost, "but the Word of God grew and multiplied" (Act_12:24).—C.
II. THE DELIVERANCE OF PETER.
1. His imprisonment fell in the days of unleavened bread—the Passover-time; doubtless reminding him, not only of the passion and resurrection of the Savior, but of his own frailty and denial of him. Now was the prophecy of Jesus fulfilled: "Hereafter thou shalt follow me." All in the scene, the memories, the immediate prospects before Peter's mind disposed him to sad and serious thought.
2. The strong guard placed over him seems to bear witness to the respect felt for his person, the fear of his influence. The parts of the prisoner and that of the tyrant are often really reversed; he is at peace, they tremble when they have him most in their power. Behind the scene a purpose was working mightier than all human force. The persecutors intended to bring him after the Passover feast; but God intends to save him. Herod plots Peter's death, while God wills the preservation of Peter and the death of the murderer. Another view of spiritual force working to counteract physical force is given in the statement of the unceasing prayer of the Church on Peter's behalf. "God can refuse nothing to a praying Church." "One true prayer can strike down the whole power of hell; why not Herod with his sixteen soldiers?" "By the blood and prayers of Christians Herod's arm was maimed, his scepter broken, and the Roman empire brought to ruins." Peter in the prison may remind us to pray, "That it may please thee to show pity upon all prisoners and captives!" Meanwhile Peter sleeps; as a child flung into the strong arms of a father, so in the extremity of his distress he has flung himself on God, and rests. And over hint Divine love watches with all the tenderness of the parent's eye and heart.
3. The delivering angel. The angels are ministers of God to the bodies and souls of the "heirs of salvation." Whether we speak of angels, or of instruments, or providential means, the truth at bottom is the same. All agents and instruments may be considered Divine which are set in motion by the Divine power and love, and providentially meet the need of the hour. So too the shining effulgence which accompanies the angel's visit. We do not expect such phenomena now; but the light in the heart, the joy which comes of having surrendered the soul to God and of being conscious of his presence, is not less real than ever. "To the upright there ariseth light in the darkness." We may if we please allegorize what follows to our own account. "Arise quickly!" and the chains fell from his hands. For the word of the Lord no iron is too hard, no stone nor bolt too strong. There are worse prisons than those of stone.
"Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage."
It is our own fettered thoughts which cramp and. oppress the soul Again, with the Divine command, "Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals," the power to obey comes. And so again when he is bidden to cast around him his garment and to follow. A reason, attentive to the smallest details, is discovered in every call to duty and freedom. And all this passes as in a dream. So often when swift help and wondrous deliverances come by the Divine hand. "When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we wore as them that dreamed." So doubtless in the last conflict, the escape from life and all its troubles will appear as a dream to the departing soul. So swiftly on, through the first and second guard, to the iron gate leading into the city, which opens of its own accord; the street is reached, and the angel departs. The extraordinary and the marvelous lasts no longer than it is needed. We are governed and guided by constant law, which is the expression of loving and constant will. We are taught by experience to build on the constancy of law; but lest we should adore law instead of God, he appears from time to time from behind law, as will, personality, love. The knowledge left behind on Peter's mind is that God has interfered for his deliverance from the hands of his enemies. That is the lesson for us, whenever by a change of circumstances, not to be foreseen and not to be commanded by human forethought, God's ways with us give rise in retrospect and reflection to thankfulness. We see not the good hand that is leading us, the wisdom that causes all things to work together for good, before we have reached the goal and end of his purpose.
III. PETER'S REUNION WITH THE DISCIPLES.
1. Notice the coincidences of events. For his refreshment, Peter is led from the cold prison and the rough society of soldiers into that of praying brethren. And they who had been in the depth of trouble because of his supposed loss, behold the beloved brother in the midst of them—for the strengthening of their faith.
2. The struggle of faith with unbelief. Here, though they had been praying, and praying doubtless for Peter's release, when the answer comes, they find it difficult to accept and believe. How true is this to the human heart! People are not conscious that they are not quite sincere in their prayers until some event like this brings them face to face with their own thought. When Rhoda tells the simple news of joy, they reply, "Thou art mad!" Faith in the heart says, "God can work wonders if he will;" an opposite feeling says, "It is not likely that he will work them." A man may argue, "My faith in the goodness of God is shadowy, but my faith in the constancy of his laws in nature is absolute: it is the contrast of one faith with another." We cannot find a solution to this contradiction; but it does seem in the course of events as if it were solved for us by a higher light and leading.
3. The result. Peter continues knocking, till those within open, see him, and are astounded. After grasping their hands in friendship, he tells the story of his deliverance, bids them repeat it to James and the brethren, then departs to another place. So had the Lord commanded (Mat_10:13). The protection of Providence does not supersede the exercise of caution and prudence; it should rather encourage us to observe these. By removing Peter, the main pillar of the community, the Church was taught that no one man was indispensable to its existence and welfare. They were to learn to stand without him. The break of day brought a great disturbance among the soldiers. "What had become of Peter?" Herod takes prompt measures for his arrest, and betakes himself to Caesarea. So ends an episode of apostolic history. We may extract from it the following lessons:—
(1) The time of trial is the time of Divine education. Faith in the trial of fire is proved more precious than the gold which perisheth. "Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations."
(2) Brotherly love in affliction, in watching and waiting power of soul in rest and endurance; Divine power in healing and saving;—these are the fruits and energies which spring up in the soil of persecution: these the "precious pearls for which men dive in sorrow's sacred stream."
(3) The arms and defenses of the Church against its foes are—unflinching courage in witness, calm patience in suffering, unwearied urgency in prayer.—J.
Act_12:20-25
II. ITS MORAL.
1. "Because he gave not the glory to God" is the reason of the judgment. To God alone belongs honor. He is the Fountain of power, the Foundation of all stability. He who forsakes God ruins himself and causes destruction to others. God "resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
2. The moral is seen also in contrast. Those who honor God, as Barnabas and Saul, receive honor from God. The persecutor is cast down, while the persecuted flourish and the work goes on. The blood of the martyr waters the field of the Church, and the tyrant fertilizes it with his bones.—J.
I. THE SUPERINTENDING CARE OF GOD OVER HIS PEOPLE,
II. THE TOWER OF FAITH IN SUSTAINING COURAGE AND CALMNESS IN TIME OF TRIAL. Peter slept.
III. THE EFFICACY OF PRAYER,
IV. THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND THE KINGDOM OF THIS WORLD.
1. The ease of Divine victory.
2. The peaceful brotherhood over against the cruel tyranny of Herod.
3. The manifestation of the Spirit contrasted with the vain show of power and display of authority. Withdrawment of Herod to Caesarea a sign of defeat.—R.
Act_12:20-23
II. THE CERTAINTY OF DIVINE PROTECTION. He takes away the evil man. He disperses the dark cloud. Blessed are those that wait on his will.—R.
Act_12:24
I. THE TROUBLES ARE BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE.
1. Drawing the believers together.
2. Revealing the weakness of enemies.
3. Calling out faith and prayerfulness.
4. Occasioning new manifestations of Divine power on behalf of the Church.
II. THE KINGDOM OF GOD UNDER DIVINE CONTROL AND INDEPENDENT OF HUMAN AGENCY. A time of famine and persecution and mourning, but still a time of increase. The earthly rulers against the Word, but still it grows. The Church afflicted, but still speaking to the world, and its speech all the more powerful that it comes forth from the troubled depths of suffering hearts Instances. The blood of the martyrs the seed of the Church. Madagascar. When we are weak then are we strong. "Not by might, nor by power, hut by God's Spirit."—R.
Act_12:25
Act_13:3