Give glory to God Alone
Acts 12:12-24 (Pastor Heo)
12:12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!” 15 “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.” 16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.
17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the brothers about this,” he said, and then he left for another place. 18 In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. 20 Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there a while. He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. Having secured the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply. 21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” 23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. 24 But the word of God continued to increase and spread.
Chp 12 began with Herod killing James – a very important leader of the church, and ended with Herod being killed by the Lord.
- It began with the persecution of the church,
- but ended with the growth of the church.
Herod was hated / despised by the Jewish people. When he killed James, the leaders of the Jewish synagogues liked him more. So he wanted to kill Peter as well – but because it was the Passover season, he couldn’t execute him immediately. So he put him in jail. Herod wanted to kill Peter to garnish the support of the people and solidify his position.
We can see that it should be impossible for Peter to escape.
- He was guarded by 4 squads of guards.
- The hours of the night were divided into sections of 3 hours each, and one squad guarded each time.
- At that time, usually prisoners would be chained by one hand to one of the guards. But Peter was chained with BOTH hands to two different soldiers.
- At the same time, two more soldiers kept watch at the door.
- They were on duty for 3 hours and then the guard rotated. It was like this 24 hours per day.
- During this time, according to Roman Law, if a prisoner escaped his guards, the guards had to receive the same penalty that the prisoner should have.
So, after his escape, of course, there was a great commotion. They did their best to find Peter but could not find him.
These 16 soldiers therefore, were sentenced to death. Instead of Peter, 16 soldiers were executed.
v. 18-19
“18 In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. 20 Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there a while.”
(Herod’s house was in Caesarea)
After Peter’s release from prison, he followed the angel of the Lord – who opened all the locks and gates, the angel disappeared. So it was up to Peter to trust in the Lord and use his common sense in taking the next step. Immediately, he went to the house of Mary (a memorial place for the early church). This was the house that:
- Jesus had his Last Supper –
- and after his resurrection, the first 120 believers had their meeting here to pray and receive the Holy Spirit.
Here was also John Mark – he wrote the Gospel of Mark, and he was nephew of Barnabas, and he was very important to the ministry of Peter (who later called him “son”).
When Peter arrived at that house, they were praying.
v. 5 “…the church was earnestly praying to God for him.”
v. 12 “12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.”
They were praying for his courage, release from prison, etc. These prayers were especially focused for Peter’s deliverance.
“Oh God, you can, we believe, you are Creator and Sovereign God, long ago, you delivered David from Saul, Daniel from the lion’s den, the three friends from the fury of fire, also this Peter from the Sanhedrin. So, now also, one more time, deliver Peter from the hand of Herod!” They prayed earnestly and fervently.
Their prayers were answered as they requested.
But what is interesting is:
When it happened, they did NOT believe what they HAD believed while they were praying.
v. 12-15
“12:12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!” 15 “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting [repeatedly] that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.””
The prayers of many believers were answered, but they did not believe. Only Rhoda (“rose”) believed. “Our prayer is answered!” but they said, “It must be his angel…” (This means, they PRAYED “you can!” but they THOUGHT “he’s already executed”). At that time, they thought that guardian angels could appear as a person who had died and act as him temporarily.
Sometimes, even among us as Christians, we struggle with doubt. From the gospels: “A man whose son was demon possessed came to Jesus and asked, ‘Help us!’ Jesus said, ‘Everything is possible for him who believes.’ He exclaimed, ‘I DO believe! Help me overcome my unbelief!'”
Yes, we also BELIEVE that God is Creator, he is alive, nothing is impossible with God. But, practically, realistically, we are mixed with faith and doubt, belief and unbelief. But God is so good. He graciously honors even weak faith. But how much more would God do if we would trust him FULLY from our deep hearts.
Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths.”
Jesus
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me.”
Actually, this is something we need to continually pray for – to grow in trusting the Lord. (This also is a gift from God.)
But strange picture here, yes? Nobody actually opened the door for him, so Peter continued knocking.
v. 12-15
“12:12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!” 15 “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.””
v. 16-17
“12:16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. [*note] 17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the brothers about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.”
- Please pray and TRUST – and when your prayer comes to fruition, do NOT be astonished! But thank God for it~
Whenever we pray, we must trust that we will get an answer, and when we do – do not be surprised but give thanks to God.
When they saw Peter alive at the door, they must have been speaking so loudly and excitedly. Peter had to silence them. He explained quickly (the miracle of his rescue), gave thanks for their prayer supplication, and asked them to tell (another) James (half-brother of Jesus – author of the epistle James) what had happened, and he left for another place.
We do not know where he went. And after a brief appearance in chp 15, he is not seen any longer in this book (to make room for Paul and his ministry among the Gentiles).
Still today, there are many brothers and sisters in Christ in prison or enduring suffering and difficulties just because they are Christians – and we must pray for them.
Heb 13:3
“Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Remember those who are persecuted and mistreated as though you yourselves were suffering.” (We must pray for them as we would desire they pray for us if we were in that situation.)
Last part, Herod Agrippa (I)’s fate: this should not surprise us – because this is judgment from God. God is a righteous and just God – the judge of all judges.
v. 20-23
“12:20 Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there a while. He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. Having secured the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply. 21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” 23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise [doxa = glory (Greek)] to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.”
After killing 16 soldiers, Herod departed for Caesarea – which set up the next scene. The Jews considered Jerusalem the capital city, but the Romans made Caesarea the capital in Palestine.
There are also two other cities: Tyre and Sidon – coastal cities on the Mediterranean Sea. They were self-governing – and actually they also didn’t like Herod. But they asked for peace for the sake of their food supply.
One day, Herod delivered a public speech to them and the (over)reacted. BIG clapping. (Maybe North Korean style.) “Your voice is a voice of a god! Not a man!” Herod was so happy and received this false worship – taking this glory and worship for himself and an angel struck him down to kill him.
Remember Peter’s story: an angel pulled Peter UP, but an angel (same one?) struck Herod DOWN.
Two important lessons
1. Be careful to be humble, not proud
Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction; a haughty spirit comes before a fall.”
Proverbs 18:12 “Before his downfall, his heart was proud; but humility comes before honor.”
James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5 “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
We know that water runs to the lowest place, and also God’s mercy runs to the lowest (most humble).
Jesus: “I am meek and humble in heart. Learn from me.”
He is our model of the type of person we should be.
In the whole Bible, ONLY Jesus says this. We must learn from Jesus to be humble, and pray to be filled with this same spirit.
“Our attitude must be like Christ.”
2. Be careful to give glory to God alone (not ourselves)
Be careful, do not give glory to yourself (even the word “glory”). Sometimes we say without thinking, “Oh this is my glory!” But glory belongs to GOD alone.
1 Cor 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
Isa 47:43 “Everyone who is called by my name whom I created for my glory…”
In the Bible: to glorify and to worship are synonyms. So, if I glory myself, it means I worship me – it means I become a god to myself.
The first sentence of the Westminster Shorter Catechism: “What is the chief end of man?” “To glorify God and enjoy him forever.”
The purpose of humanity and ALL Creation is to declare the glory of God – this is the reason for everything that exists.
Psalm 119 “The heavens declare the glory of God.”
So, what is the glory of God?
We mentally agree with the statements above, but practically, HOW can I do the above?
God IS glorious and the essence of his nature, and the radiance of his splendor, and the atmosphere of his presence, the presentation of his goodness, his intrinsic qualities and attributes are glorious.
The glory of God is best seen in Jesus Christ.
Col 1:15 “Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God.”
Col 2:9 “In Christ, all the fullness of the Diety lives in bodily form.”
Heb “Jesus Christ is the radiance of God’s glory.”
Jesus Christ is the exact representation of God’s existence.
So, the best way to glorify God is to worship Christ and confess him as Lord in your life and all over the world.
Phil 2:10-11 “At the name of Jesus Christ, every knee should bow, in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
The best way to glorify God is to worship Christ and confess from our deep heart that Jesus Christ is Lord.
v. 24
“12:24 But the word of God continued to increase and spread.”
The death of James, imprisonment of Peter, other persecution had not stopped the steady expansion of the church.
The same is true today. Nothing – nobody, no government, no law, no terrible leaders, no persecution can stop God from adding to his church because church is the body of Christ.
Jesus says, “I will build my church.”
Jesus is the head of the church, and we are the body.
So, how many churches do you know in the eyes of God? ONE church. God bless His church! I am his church!
Let’s pray.
