Illus: It is obvious, from much of Paul’s writings, that he thought of the Christian life as a warfare.
He spoke of Christians as soldiers, in training, discipline, and even in having weapons.
In the Book of Acts, we can see so clearly that Christians are soldiers.
In one chapter we read that Satan empowers his soldiers to make an attack, and in the next chapter we read where God empowers his soldiers to attack Satan.
In chapter eleven, God’s people had tremendous success in waging war against Satan. Because of this success there was a reaction from Satan’ s crowd.
Acts 12:1 says, “Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.”
Some today might think they can find a church where there are no problems, but that cannot be done. As long as Satan is loose, he is going to fight Christ’s work.
Only those who have flown the white flag of surrender to him find relief from his attacks.
This was not true of the early church. They meant to fight Satan to the end. Let’s look at-
I. THE SITUATION
The early New Testament Christians paid a tremendous fight in this spiritual war. Look at-
A. A MARTYR
Look at verse 2, “And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.”
James was one of that famous trio, “Peter, James, and John.”
But regardless of who you are, if you take a stand for the Lord, the Bible tells us, “All that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”
• Acts 7 tells of the first Christian martyr of the New Testament church, Stephen.
• Acts 12 tells of the first martyr from among the twelve disciples.
In Rev. 2:10, God promises a special crown for Christian martyrs. One day they will receive the special crown for their faithfulness unto death.
WHY WOULD HEROD DO SUCH AN EVIL THING? Let’s look at-
B. A MOTIVE
Look at verse 3, “And because he saw it pleased the Jews. He proceeded further to take Peter also.”
The reason that Herod did this very evil act is because he knew it PLEASED THE PEOPLE.
Herod knew the Jews despised Christianity. In his effort to please them, he decided to use their hate for Peter.
WHY DID THOSE PEOPLE HATE PETER?
• Peter was the one who stood up against them when he had been forbidden to preach in the name of Christ.
• Peter was the one who went against their social values by socializing with the gentiles.
• However, Peter’s greatest sin, as far as they were concerned, was that he was the first to propagate the fact that the gospel was for the gentiles as well as for the Jews…
Herod did not care who he used in his climb to political power. He was constantly on the lookout for ways to please the people. He saw that everyone was excited and pleased that he had killed James.
But his evil plans fell through.
Look at verses 4-11, we read, “And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him. And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews..”
Notice, the Lord delivered Peter from that prison in such a way, that even though he was there, he thought he was just seeing a vision, that it was not really happening to him.
Illus: There have been all kinds of jail breaks, but never one like this one!
All he knew was, after it was all over, that the angel from God had delivered him from the evil plans that were being made to get rid of him.
Peter was a great servant of the Lord, but there were other servants. Look at-
II. THE SERVANTS
Look at verse 12, we read, “And when he had considered the thing. he came to the house of Mary the mother of John. whose surname was Mark. where many were gathered together praying.”
We are not told exactly how many were gathered to pray.
We do know, at this point, the church had grown from the handful of twelve disciples to thousands in this short time.
We also know that those who were congregated there, did not just claim to be filled with the Holy Ghost, the Bible states that they were filled with the Holy Ghost!
Can you imagine what it would be like to get in such a Spirit-filled group like that together today!
But when the Lord miraculously delivered Peter from the Prison it caused some problems among the servants of the Lord. LOOK AT THE CONFUSION.
Look at verses 13-16, “And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate. And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel. But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.”
Notice, they had gathered together for the purpose of praying for Peter. As a result, God’s angel broke Peter out of jail. These people just did not imagine God would answer in this way.
We have looked at THE SITUATION, and THE SERVANTS, but let us look at-
III. THE SILENCE.
Look at verse 17, we read, “But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go show these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place.”
Peter’s release must have caused a big upset.
The Bible said Peter, “beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace,”
If anyone had been observing this group at this point, they would have seen utter chaos. They were rejoicing so loudly because Peter was out of prison, yet Peter knew if they got to loud he would be put right back in prison.
Many times we Christians do not do everything as sensibly as we should.
Illus: This reminds, me of the story of the preacher who was a stickler for a perfect worship service. One Sunday morning it seemed that everything was out of order.
The adult class lesson was about abstaining from alcoholic beverages, and the teacher concluded the lesson by stating that he hoped if any of them did have any alcoholic beverages that they would take it and dump it all in the river. The song leader closed the class announcing, “Let us turn to page 97 and sing. Shall we gather at the river.
Then a rather large lady sang one of the morning specials: “I Am Climbing Jacob’s Ladder. When she got through, the song leader said, “Let’s turn to page 98. and sing. ‘It Took A Miracle.’”
Then the preacher preached from the Bible the story of the woman who was healed, and Jesus had said, “Who touched me?” The closing hymn was announced, “Search Me. O Lord.”
When Peter was suddenly released from prison, that place went berserk, and this was not the most sensible thing for them to do. Peter had to silenced them.
But not only was their chaos among God’s people their was plenty of chaos among the devil’s crowd also. Look at-
B. THE DISARRAY
In verse 18, we read, “Now as soon as it was day. there was no small stir among the soldiers. what was become of Peter.”
No one can imagine the fear of the two soldiers who had gone to sleep with Peter handcuffed between them, when they woke up the next morning and discovered he was gone. Not only were they shocked, but Peter had walked through other wards where there were other guards. No one could explain how Peter had gotten by them.
The Bible says, “...there was no small stir among the soldiers...”
They knew the punishment for letting a prisoner escape. Look at-
C. THEIR DEATH.
Look at verse 19, “And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode.”
We do not know what explanation they tried to sell to Herod, but he was not buying!
This was unforgivable for a soldier to sleep and allow a prisoner to escape. Herod, already angry, ordered them to be executed.
Herod ordered them to their death, but what he did not know was that he would also soon die.
Look what happened to this evil man Herod.
The death of the wicked is something to behold.
Look at verses 20-23, “And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king's country. And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.”
For some reason the people of Tyre and Sidon had fallen out of favor with Herod.
They depended entirely on the green fields of Galilee for their food source, and they knew they had to gain favor with Herod.
To gain this favor, they sent some residents to visit Blastus, the king’s chamberlain. I am sure that those who knew Blastus wanted to know how to gain the king’s favor.
Perhaps he told them to appeal to Herod’s tremendous ego, because this is what they did.
Illus: Josephus records that on the birthday of the king (“upon a set day”) the king held a large festival in which he wore a special robe for the occasion, which was silver and it glittered in the sunlight and was a real eye catcher.
Herod gave a speech and the crowd began to shout to him, “…It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.”
Now notice, Herod did not say this of himself. The crowd that was seeking his favor said it, but when they said it, he did not deny what they said.
God was so displeased with their trying to make a god of him, and for his not denying their claim, that (verse 23), “Immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.”
God wasted no time bringing judgment upon Herod - it fell “...immediately...”
While Herod was stopped in his tracks, the Word of God was not.
Look at verses 24-25, “But the word of God grew and multiplied. And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.”
Herod, who killed James, and who sought to kill Peter, lost his own life, and the Jews’ plans for stopping the spread of Christianity fell through.
Peter had to silence the Christians, but God Word was not silenced.
Conclusion:
I. THE SITUATION
II. THE SERVANTS.
III. THE SEARCH
