Acts 12 - The Glory is His Alone!

The first few verses of this chapter does a great job of highlighting the difference between the faithfulness of Christ’s followers (that we all should hope to display) and the rest of the world. The rest of the world, in this case King Herod and the Jews, rejoice in pleasing other people and trying to control what they think is best. My 2 year old loves doing things to see if she can get a reaction. When she gets a reaction she loves continuing to do whatever it is that she did, and that is sort of how I see Herod here, except he isn’t throwing a toy or licking someone, he is killing people. James was killed and it pleased the Jews, it got a reaction, so then he goes after Peter. I would love to be able to say I don’t worry about what others think and I don’t try to do things to please people, but that is far from truth. The Jews, once again, are trying to wipe out this new church because it is threatening them, so they rejoice in the murder of people. It’s hard for me to fathom and it is appalling that they were so against another church that they would rejoice in the murder of the disciples, and I’m just a lowly human who also has a sinful mind. I can’ t imagine what God thinks. The church was earnestly praying on behalf of Peter, and God answers in a big way.

The story about Peter’s escape leaves so many questions in my mind. What did the angel look like? Did the chains literally break open and fall off or how did he get out of them? Did the angel put the guards in a comatose-like sleep so they didn’t wake up? How did they walk right past the guard posts? Did they have to say “open sesame” before the gate swung open? How did all of this happen? The reality, the answers to those questions don’t matter. What I hear and see in this passage is his response to the following questions:

Does God know and care about every detail of our lives? Yes

Does God take care of His children? Yes
Can God do things that are impossible in man’s eyes? Yes  
Is God in control when it seems like everything is spiraling away from us? Yes

Peter had to have been wondering if this was the end for him, not wondering if he was going to die for the cause of Christ because Jesus had given him the head’s up about that, but wondering if tomorrow was the day he would be with Jesus once again. There had to be fear in his heart but I am sure there was an incredible peace as well, knowing that He was in God’s hand and that, as Paul would write later on, to live is Christ and to die is gain. I wouldn’t have blamed Peter for praying for a way out, and I have to believe based on his response to the angel (no questions, no hesitation) that he believed God would rescue him some way, somehow, and he did. Peter knew better than most people in the world ever experience what it means for God to protect and provide, and I am sure that brought him incredible joy. That is the kind of joy that I want to experience as well, but one of the glaring differences (there are many) between Peter and myself is that he was preaching the Word of God in the midst of persecution and in the face of death. I, however, seem to only speak when “I’m ready” or when “it’s the right time”. If I want the joy of God’s protection and provision I need to be in a situation where I need protection and provision, a location I don’t journey to very often.

The believers were astounded when they saw Peter. I like the word astounded there, and some other translations use the word astonished. I think it’s easy to assume they were surprised, or taken by surprise, when they saw Peter, but I don’t believe that to be the case. These people were faithful people who trusted in a faithful God, so I don’t think they were taken by surprise when Peter showed up at their door. Instead, they were astonished, they were captivated in a state of awe at what God had done, how God had delivered Peter to them safely once again. I would have loved to observe the level of faith that would have had to have been present among this group of believers. They are seeing their brothers persecuted and put in jail, and yet they continue to pray and God continues to deliver them. That would do nothing but fuel the faith of the believers, and I’ve experienced that in my own life as well. As God has filled me up when I had nothing left, my faith in Him has grown. When He has shown up in incredible ways that were far greater than what I had been praying for Him to do, my faith in Him has grown. As He has kept promise after promise after promise that He has made, my faith has grown. Glory be to Him alone!

The final passage in Acts 12 again shows the authority and control that God has, and it also is a good reminder of what can and ultimately will happen to those that defy Him. More often in the Old Testament, but also some in the New Testament, we see a picture into the judgment of God, and it’s not a pretty picture. Herod, first of all, persecuted and killed Christians, so God’s view of him was obviously not real high. Then, when peace was made and good things began to happen, Herod was quick to take all the credit, and I think I can relate to God’s frustration in that. When someone around me, especially when they call themselves a Christ-follower, is constantly sinning or doing things wrong, my view of them goes down. And it is even worse when something good happens and they take the credit for it, which they didn’t deserve. My opinion of them and view of them goes big time and the sinful side of me wishes I could strike them down and send the worms their way! And that’s how I believe God was in this situation. Herod had done a lot of cruel things, but he had a chance to redeem himself a little bit and give glory to where it belonged, and he didn’t. God had enough and struck him down. For me, there is a warning in there that I need to make sure all glory goes to God all the time. Not just to avoid worms, but because that is where the glory truly belongs! I am nothing without Him, I am worthless without Him, I have no gifts or talents except for what He has given me. Anything that I do well is from Him and for Him and to Him, so He needs to be the one to get the glory, not me. That’s not always easy though.