When Your Life Means Someone Else's Death

Text: Acts 12:1-19

It is certainly good to be with all of you this first day of the week in praise and celebration of our heavenly Father and His Glorious Son Jesus Christ! “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalms 118:24) How glad we can be that despite what we see happening in our world, there is a God who is the Lord of every second we live on this earth and will work out His will for our greater good.

Please turn in your Bibles to a thrilling chapter of such a time when God showed the world how He can work out things better than we might believe. Acts 12:1-19 and please read with me…
In John 15:13 Jesus stated a truth that goes beyond religion and simply applies in all areas of man’s existence. ‘Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.’ Most of us agree with this. That basically we would call it love if we heard or even accomplished a feat that put one’s own life in harm’s way in order to save another’s! Rarely would we call it love if we attempted to save our own necks but left someone we could have saved to die!

Picking up with our text of Acts 12 we have to do some background here. Roughly this is only 11,12 years after the death of Jesus, so this is still pretty fresh in the minds of Jerusalem, both opponents and friends. Now, the church began in a mighty fashion just the decade prior and became the movement that had to be dealt with. When it started being dealt with, Christianity grew like wildfire throughout the Gentile world. Even the church’s greatest enemy became her greatest friend in Saul of Tarsus. By the time of chapter 12 though not only was the church under fire from the Jews but a great famine had come to Judea and the Gentile Christians were sending relief to the Jewish church through Barnabas & Saul (11:27-30)

Notice now vs.1,2-
‘about that time’- so during this time of famine and famine relief- Herod goes after the church!
Now up to this point all persecution of the church had come religiously! Basically it was the other religion hurting Christians! (See ch.4- Peter & John before the council, ch.5- the apostles, ch.6,7- Stephen before the council, ch.8- Saul wreaking havoc) Now, another enemy rises: this time the persecution is from civil rulers.
For the first time the hand of Rome will strike at the heart of the church! What is also interesting here is the fact that usually the apostles had been left alone in the persecution. After they were arrested in ch.5 remember Gamaliel had told his fellow Jews that ‘to keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them.’ (5:38,39)
Even when Saul was killing the church, the apostles amazingly had been left alone in Jerusalem preaching, teaching and performing miracles.
Things ominously changed here!
And we learn a lot in this chapter about faith, prayer & the will of God.
One of the first things we learn is that we don’t always receive the exact thing we might be praying for!
We are not told but it certainly must be true that if earnest prayer was made for Peter, that people must have been praying for James! But we are introduced to this chapter by one of the most horrifying acts:
the murder of the first apostle: James! (Aside: what is interesting is that such a momentous act in the history of the church and Luke only used 7 Greek words to explain it- 10,11 words in our English versions)
One of the great mysteries of the Bible will always be why James was killed?
Why was he the first to die and his brother John the last to die?
Why did he die and Peter didn't?
We learn that sometimes things go contrary than the way we would like them to! We also know a couple of other things:

James would remember what Jesus said to him just 11,12 years earlier in Matthew 20:22,23- he was now being baptized with his baptism.

James could know that as Jesus stood in interest of Stephen’s death, he was standing in interest of his!<.li>
When his head was put on the block or perhaps that sword was about to go through his body- his eyes were opened in the fact that through his death he would be triumphant and bring Jesus’ name great glory!
The second thing we learn from vs.3-5 is how churches despite not always getting their desired result need to still be active in prayer!
We find out what Herod’s real motive is behind all this aggression: popularity with the Jews! There was no motive for right and wrong or guilty vs. the innocent! When he saw his popularity rise he decided to go after the Jews #1 enemy: Peter.
Look even at the time: the feast of Unleavened Bread or Passover. What better thing to do than at the time of their most important feast to take their most influential opponent! Notice that Herod is going to do all that he can do to please the Jews. 16 soldiers he uses to keep Peter under his eye! Herod is going to make a public example of Peter. But, what we learn is that no matter how bleak the circumstances are no military strength is a match for the power of a praying people on their knees before their Loving and caring Father. James 5:16

Here’s a question: what did they pray for?

His release?
That’s usually what we think of but just logically think this through. When Peter was released they didn’t believe it. Now maybe they prayed not expecting an answer but then why would God answer a prayer people didn’t believe in? James 1:6- let him ask in faith, with no doubting! Perhaps with what they had already seen with James and how he was not delivered out of the lion’s mouth but instead faced death in faith of Christ.

Could they have been praying that Peter remain faithful in his hour of death?
No matter what happens, whatever the Lord’s will is that Peter will remain faithful.
Whatever it is, churches need to focus on the power that their prayers possess! We are told in Revelation that the prayers of the saints go up to God like incense! (Rev. 5:8, 8:3)

The third thing we learn from vs.6-11 is there are no obstacles for God to accomplish His will! Whatever we can say about this chapter is that God’s will was for James to rest from his labours but Peter was needed to continue and nothing Herod could do in all his pride could stop God.
Amazingly we find Peter facing execution in just a few moments being able to sleep. What does that tell us about Peter?
He had surrendered all to Jesus. James had just died by the sword but Peter can snooze away. Peter had no reason to expect anything different and here he is resting before his fiery trial. Peter is living out the Psalmist’s motto:
Psa.23:4- yea though I walk… Psa.4:8- In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Just set up the situation in your mind: there is a guard chained on each side of him- two other guards at the doors, the gate is locked, 12 more soldiers will take turns, a mad man is on the throne who wants every one of you dead and the people he wants to please will only be pleased by your public execution (vs.11). How in the world could you sleep?
Peter knows as Paul would find out that to ‘live is Christ but to die is gain’ (Phil.1:21)

What seems impossible with man however is always possible with God! (Mark 10:27) Amazingly the angel comes and has to jolt Peter out of his slumber and the two of them quickly leave and Peter sees this as not a dream but the Lord’s will to rescue him from that pride filled king Herod!

The fourth thing we can learn from vs.12-16 is how churches need to pray expecting a result from God! Peter comes to the home of a Mary and knocks and no one wants to open the door for him. There is just no way that Peter could be there. Come on didn’t you see the way the guards were so closely bound to him?
We’re talking about King Herod here. He wouldn’t let Peter out! They finally say it’s Peter’s angel but not Peter. I don’t know about you, but wouldn’t seeing Peter’s angel be more of a stretch than seeing Peter?
Not once do they even come up with the thought that their great and wonderful God has worked wonders on His people’s behalf. They had faith enough to pray but had unbelief in the above and beyond our imagination work of God. We must never limit God in our thinking, for He’ll still work we’ll just miss out on it. Ephesians 3:20,21
To Peter’s credit he kept on knocking until someone finally opened the door. We should always remember this in our prayers to God:
if God could raise the dead…Is anything too hard for the Lord? (Genesis 18:14)
While the church saw Herod as having the power over them they needed to see the Lord as having power over everything!

The real reason I wanted to speak this week on this text though is what occurs in the next three verses! The title of this morning’s lesson in when your life means someone else’s death! As we said earlier it seems to us much more honourable and much more loving if it’s reversed:
my death results in someone else’s life. That is the essence of Jesus! 1 John 4:9. He died so we might live. That was the feeling of Paul: Romans 9:1-3. That’s the feeling of most of us.

Vs.17- Peter tells them to tell James- this is not the apostle but more than likely the brother of Jesus who becomes a great fixture in the church at Jerusalem- that this was the Lord’s will and then Peter goes off to another city. Look what happens on the other side:
Vs.18,19- the soldiers first of all wake up and begin to talk about what happened. Could you imagine being these guys and what was going through their minds?
It was so disturbing that the old pride filled king himself got involved and when he couldn’t find Peter he questioned the soldiers. One by one they all would have said:
he was chained right here and we don’t know what happened to him. Now, there are only two options:

the soldiers let Peter go which meant death.

The soldiers are telling the truth and therefore a miracle of God had to have taken place.
Herod refused to believe in a miracle of God and instead killed 16 innocent men just to placate the Jews and save himself from embarrassment. Then he leaves town. This one line has been on my mind all week:
16 men put to death. It’s funny that all the commentaries I looked through rarely commented on the morality of this act. One tried to answer it by saying they got what they deserved in a round a bout way.

Now, here is what has been on my mind:
when Paul & Silas were about to be set free from a Philippian jail in Acts 16 they would not leave so the jailer would not have to die. Peter however leaves the jail to save his life and as a result 16 innocent men died.
What would Peter say if he ever came across one of their widows or fatherless children?
Seeing that soldiers can be converted, they certainly could not be considered as unworthy of God’s love or grace.
My question that has not let me go is after knowing what Peter now knew, would he do it all over again?
It’s one thing to die with people, isn’t it quite another that because you are still breathing, 16 others are not?
I mean how wonderful to know that you have brought life to the souls of men and women, but what if you bring death?
How do you justify or glorify God in that manner?

Well there are a few things we just want to remind ourselves of:

It was God’s will for Peter to escape! The angel called Peter to follow him. It is so sad to hear the many stories of people who will actually refuse God’s will because it might hurt someone else! For instance, Don Bone of EEM (Eastern European Missions) tells of a contact they have to write curriculum for public schools but he himself will not be baptized because the moment he joins the church he will be seen as promoting his own religion, which will not be allowed. No matter what we might believe will happen in the affairs of men, God’s will must be followed for any life to take place.

It was Herod’s actions and not Peter’s that put those men to death! Herod could have chosen to believe the evidence, he could have chosen to empty his pride and humble himself, he could have chosen to not be a glory seeker but he refused and these men suffered for that. They did not suffer because God worked wonderfully in Peter’s life, but because Herod shut God out of his! If becoming a Christian or behaving godly has a negative impact on someone else’s life we must remember to look at the root of the negativity:
it will never be the result of good being done, but evil!

God still rules in the affairs of men! God would still be with these men in their trial if called upon and certainly God was not letting Herod go! (vs.22,23) His pride ended in a great fall.
Over all this chapter is mainly about that:
the pride of man versus the will of God! The man who thinks he has become god- can do whatever he wants when he wants- will one day meet the true and living God and what will he say or do?

But for us, let us remember that the way things work out at times is not always in a nice neat package, but God’s will will be done and may you and I always hear his voice and when it calls to follow him- we will!
There is a story in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs of the different persecutions that followed this under Rome’s heavy hand and one particular case has always stuck with me. A woman named Felicitatis was a Roman who had seven sons and she displayed marvellous Christian character she lived about 60 years after the apostle John. Her sons’ names were Januarius, Felix, Philip, Silvanus, Alexander, Vitalis and Martial. Because of her life with Christ she had to watch her oldest son scourged and pressed to death between weights. Then the next two were beaten with clubs. Her fourth was thrown from a great height. The youngest three killed with the sword. What was their crime? Their mother was a Christian!1 My friends, the truth remains that at times the life of following Jesus does not always bring pleasantries on earth. But when he calls us to follow him we must trust that the God who gives life is fair and kind and will in the end only do what is right.

1. William Byron Forbush ed., Fox’s Book of Martyrs (Universal Book and Bible House, Philadelphia, PA, 1926) p.9

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