Surprise
Acts 12:1-25
I hope that you are not tiring with our study of acts. It is a book that has all these little stories that have been put together to tell about the early days of the church. Last week we heard about Barnabas and his work @ Antioch. How he brought Saul into the picture.
The big idea is that the Gentiles are really accepting the Good news and are converting. We considered the importance of being called Christians and we connected that to the fact that people noticed that they are not Jews and the nick name or slur of Christian plastered on theses church members.
The point to consider was whither we are recognized as Christians by what we say and do.
Last weeks scripture ended with Barnabas and Saul taking the gift of Cash to Jerusalem to help with the coming famine.
So today’s reading picks up telling us that it is in the same time frame that this part of the story happened.
We have jumped back to what is happening in Jerusalem. There is still persecution. The Jewish officials are not the ones that we hear about doing the attacks. It is the Roman Governor, perhaps responding to request from the Jewish officials, That takes up the persecution. The soldiers do a sweep and pick up some believers. Among them is James, brother of John, one of the 12. In fact he is one of the top three, Peter, James and John….One of the inner circle leaders.
We have caught one of the big fish!
The best way to defeat an army is to kill the leader. James is beheaded. We don’t know if there was other torcher…I is very easy to assume so as this is a horrible culture to be involved with, especially if you are perceived to be against Herod….
Man that Herod has been around a long time hasn’t he. Started before Jesus birth…On wait, he died right, then the family came back to Israel.
It seems like when we look at these early scripture days we have more Heords than you can keep straight.
There are 4 “Herods” that we hear about in the NT.
The first one we read bout in the Gospel of Matthew, “Herod the Great” who was the ruler of Jerusalem when the Magi came calling for the “King of the Jews.” He was the one that ordered the killing of babies in Bethlehem in order to kill the competition.
Next was Herod Antipas. Luke and Mark tell us about him. He is the Herod that beheaded John the Baptist. And he is also the one that judged Jesus.
The third was Herod Agrippa (one I) I. He is the Herod in our story today that kills James and wants to kill Peter.
The forth that is Herod Agrippa II, Peter will be tried later in the book of Acts (25)
So Herod Agrippa I, holds an execution and is just tickled with the reviews for the show he puts on. The Jews loved it and you know how hard they are to please.
To improve his popularity ratings, he looks for the star of his next execution day and goes after Peter, the known head of the sect. If he can keep the Jews happy in Jerusalem he will look really good to the Roman management.
In their sweep he gets his hands on Peter, but it is during the feast of Un-Leavened bread, the beginning of the week of Passover. Not a good time to hold an execution. You see not all the Jews were as excited or happy about the attacks on theses Jews and so he needed a balance or at least show some sensitivity to the Jewish festival.
He puts Peter in Prison, but I think that he must know Peter’s history of getting out of locked jails. So he orders maximum security. Not just a lockup in a secure jail but this one prisoner has the added precaution of having 4 squads of 4 Soldiers to watch him 24 hours a day. Four shifts of 6 hours. Plus the normal jail security of outer and inner guards.
Peter is not going any were, even if someone storms the prison to take him out. When the pass over ends the next big show will be put on.
Peter safely locked away the story moves to what other believers in town are doing. They are gathered in one place praying. We don’t know if it was out loud, sitting in a chair, lying on the floor.
-Three ministers were talking about prayer in general and the appropriate and effective positions for prayer. As they were talking, a telephone repairman was working on the phone system in the background.
One minister shared that he felt the key was in the hands. He always held his hands together and pointed them upward as a form of symbolic worship. The second suggested that real prayer was conducted on your knees. The third suggested that they both had it wrong--the only position worth its salt was to pray while stretched out flat on your face.
By this time the phone man couldn’t stay out of the conversation any longer. He interjected, "I found that the most powerful prayer I ever made was while I was dangling upside down by my heels from a power pole, suspended forty feet above the ground."
The description in our scripture is, they are “earnestly praying to God.” I think that can be like hanging upside down. James is Gone and Peter is in custody.
When was the last time you earnestly prayed for anything?
Was it in your childhood, or as an adult…..Job, health, family, friend…LIFE and DEATH situation?
Is there a reason that you stopped….thought that there was no answer from God…did you actually expect an answer from God.
This group was praying for Peter. It is the evening before his execution, time is running out.
What do you think their prayers were. Lord, send an angel to let him out….that would have been a stretch perhaps even a testing of God…all those guards.
Lord, let him get free some how…
Lord let him get a good nights rest….
Lord let the sword be sharp and the executioner’s skill be good.
Don’t let him suffer…
Maybe it was a mix of all kinds of things. Hope, guidance, courage, love who knows what they prayed and what they expected to happen.
Let me read this next piece, “The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up.
How much sleep would you get if in the morning you are going to a quick trial and execution?
I have trouble sleeping when I have a stressful morning planned. I have trouble sleeping Saturday night because of Church the next morning and not a one of you had ever threatened to hurt me much less kill me.
How comfortable can you be secured by chains. Some scholars indicate that he was actually physically chained to each guard and they are separated far enough that he can’t reach for one without the other knowing.
This is maximum security with Guards at the inner doors and the outer doors.
Peter’s friend was killed just days ago. The security on him clearly says that he is not leaving under his own power anytime soon. It is obvious that he is next. Why is he not praying for himself?
How can he sleep….is it the prayers of the church, is if the hand of God on him calming him?
The guards are not supposed to be asleep however it seems that they are also out like a light.
An angel appears, and it says that light shone in the cell. I guess it was something like one of those LED things people have on their key chins to find the locks n their cars or house doors. You know not too bright, just a little help…
I don’t believe that at all. I also don’t believe that it was like a torch on the wall that gives a warm glow. I believe that it was more like bright sunlight and the place had not seen that much light for years. It was the kind of light the might wake people up.
But Peter is still sawing logs and the angel strikes him in the side. And wakes him up, Would that wake up fast or slow. Do you jump or shout something. It is like a loud alarm clack that you jump up to turn off.
"Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.
Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him.”
I think something is missing, Where is the shh, be quiet. We have quick Get up….
I am not sure that there is any problem of accidentally waking up these guards.
Then the chains fall off, there had to be some noise right. No response from the guards inside or outside the cell. Noise in a jail is a big problem all the solid walls echo. The hard floors seem to amplify every thing solid that lands on them.
Peter has had visions before that seemed so real. Sheets coming out of the sky with animals, voices form God. But this one just seemed so real. Well when you are having a good dream you may as well go along with it.
He follows the angel out of the prison, past the guards, doors opening and closing by them selves. It was so cool.
Suddenly, I think it got dark. When and angel left, the light went away and his eyes had to adjust to the dark. Then he realizes it was not a vision or a dream he is really outside.
“Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating."” Being only a block away from the prison I doubt he shouted out loud.
He heads off to Mary’s home. That is where the group is gathered praying. He goes to the gate and knocks and the servant Girl goes out to find out who it is.
“When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!"
Can you see the scene in your mind? Half asleep she goes out and recognizes Peter’s voice. The realization wakes her up, but she leaves him in the street at risk of someone seeing him. She runs off to tell the group and they accuse her of being crazy.
"You’re out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel."
The scripture tells us that Peter was the subject of their prayers.
Do you think they expected an answer? If so then they did not pray for his release or else they would not be surprised that he was at the gate. It they believed in prayer they would have at least gone to check don’t you think? So what were they praying for?
Was it for a painless death, with no suffering?
Or is it just simpler, they also just didn’t really believe in prayer. I say also because it appears that most people today don’t really believe in prayer. Even Christians that go to church every week seem to have doubts.
I will venture to add that is no less true for people in our church. Do we really believe that our prayers will have any affect.
Will God Respond to our prayers, earnest prayers, doubting prayers?
If not why do we pray? Perhaps, some of us don’t.
A lot of people believe that we are living through a plan created by God. Everything happens for a reason and we are just along for the ride…the things we think are free will are all mapped and planned and we have no choices when you look at the details.
Here is a problem with my simplified statement of thought. That means the God pre choose people to be saved and no one really makes a personal choice. Maybe a another way to say it, that God choose who will not be saved and condemned them to hell from the beginning of time.
It further means that prayer and worship and helping people have absolutely no value in this world. I have a trouble with a God that might for what ever reason exclude me or my children or friends from his plan.
However, doubting whither prayers are answered is a much more common problem. It does not mean there is no hope; it only means we don’t understand God fully.
I am willing to guess that this same group held a prayer vigil for James and it did not come out as they had hoped and prayed.
It would be pretty easy to say the words in prayer but be discouraged that your request will be answered. It would be easy to ask God to provide a swift death instead of prolonged life. The idea that Peter would join James and others in the presence of God was more comforting than the idea of a long imprisonment and abuse.
Finally, they go to the door and check it out and were astonished…..Typically when you see the word astonished in the NT it is because the people were wrong and suddenly truth is apparent.
Peter quietness them down and tells the story of how the Lord got him out of the impossible situation.
He tells them to tell James and the brothers what happened and he heads out of town. We will not hear from Luke about Peter except for an appearance at one brief time later I Acts.
"Tell James and the brothers about this," he said, and then he left for another place.
Have you ever had an answer to prayer and felt surprised?
I know some real prayer warriors, I get an email from a lady that prays for pastors every Sunday morning. She came one Sunday to speak in my place a couple of years ago.
She and several others in her ministry lift up pastors and churches by name every week. They pray for all 1000 churches in our conference of at least one week every year.
Here is this morning’s prayer:
Lord strengthen my pastors for the day ahead. I pray Your beauty be all around my pastors. You made this day so that we might praise You and give You our full attention. Let all attention be towards Your mighty works. I pray for those in the congregations that are on vacation. God I pray they didn’t leave you here at home . Make ’em go to church Lord! Wherever they are.
Holy Spirit anoint my pastors to preach with boldness and courage. I pray against distractions which will attempt to turn the focus from You, if even for a moment. I speak to any discouragement of the week and claim that it is sent out now, replaced by the hopeful anticipation of beautiful worship of You Lord.
Grant my pastors a spirit of beautiful prayer this morning, that they draw near to you as they study and pray.
In Jesus beautiful name, Amen
Do you think they expect something to happen? Would they offer prayers every day for churches across the conference and every Sunday for pastors if they thought they sere going into the air for nothing?
I can assure you they do have expectations. They believe in prayer as a powerful connection to God. They expect results and look forward to al that God will do.
How about us? We have a prayer service on Sunday afternoons with a faithful few that have some expectation of God moving.
