JERUSALEM FINALLY REJECTS THE APOSTLES, KINGSHIP CEASES IN ISRAEL, AND THE WORD OF GOD GOES ON MULTIPLYING (12:1-24). The new centre for world evangelisation having been set up (unknowingly at the time) at Antioch, Luke wants us to know that the old will now be dispensed with. The message of chapte... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Now about that time Herod the king put forth his hands to afflict certain of the church.' Note Luke's description of him as ‘the king'. It was, of course strictly correct, but here it draws out that Israel now have a king. Herod Agrippa was a lover of Jerusalem, and ‘about that time', around the t... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.' To the horror of all Christians James, the brother of John, one of the select three of Peter, James and John, was put to death by being beheaded with a sword. In Jewish law death by the sword was the penalty for murder or apostasy (m. Sanhed... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. And those were the days of unleavened bread.' In some way the king took on board the fact that he had pleased the Jews, possibly through the expressed approval of the Sanhedrin who informed him how delighted the people were... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when he had taken him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him forth to the people. So Peter was taken and imprisoned, probably in the Castle Antonia, and he was placed under a secure guard of four squads o... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Peter therefore was kept in the prison. But prayer was made earnestly by the church to God for him.' He was right to be worried, but wrong to think that he could do anything against it. Here we have one of those sublime contrasts that so often appear in the Scriptures. On the one hand Peter was kep... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when Herod was about to bring him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards before the door kept the prison. And behold, an angel (or ‘messenger') of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the cell, and he smote Peter on the side, and... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the angel said to him, “Gird yourself, and bind on your sandals.” And he did so. And he says to him, “Throw your robe about you, and follow me.” We must presume that Peter was heavy with sleep, such was the clarity of his conscience, so that the angel had to urgently prod him into action. He b... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And he went out, and followed, and he did not know that what was done by the angel was true, but thought he saw a vision.' Peter did as he was bid as though in a dream. He went out and followed the angel, totally unconvinced that it was really happening. He knew that it could not be true. Soon he... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when they were past the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city; which opened to them of its own accord, and they went out, and passed on through one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.' If it was a dream it was a good dream. Out they we... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when Peter was come to himself, he said, “Now I know of a truth, that the Lord has sent forth his angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.” ' Once Peter had gathered his wits, he could only marvel and say, “God has sent His messen... [ Continue Reading ]
‘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 and were praying.' And once he had thought everything through (as far as he could) he sought out the house of the mother of John (Yohen - Hebrew) Mark (Ma... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when he knocked at the door of the gate, a maid came to answer, named Rhoda, and when she knew Peter's voice, she did not open the gate for joy, but ran in, and told that Peter stood before the gate.' The prison gate had swung open of its own accord. It would be a little more difficult getting... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they said to her, “You are mad.” But she confidently affirmed that it was even so. And they said, “It is his angel.” ' Then, while Peter continued knocking, they first told her that she was mad, and then, when she continued to affirm that it was true, began a discussion as to what it could be t... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But Peter continued knocking, and when they had opened, they saw him, and were amazed.' Peter, however, continued knocking, and when eventually they opened the gate they were amazed. This part of the story may only have been recounted in such detail because it was amusing, but the idea of the Lord... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But he, beckoning to them with the hand to hold their peace, declared to them how the Lord had brought him forth out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to James, and to the brethren.” ' Then Peter beckoned to them to be quiet for a few moments, and recounted how the Lord had brought hi... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter.' We could put it another way. A bombshell had been dropped among his guards. They must have been appalled. They just could not comprehend what had happened. Here they all were, safely in place, but Pet... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the guards, and commanded that they should be put to death (literally ‘led away'). And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and stayed there.' Herod was of course displeased. He was being made to look a complete fool. ‘He sought fo... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Now he was highly displeased with those of Tyre and Sidon, and they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was fed from the king's country.' The king had played fast and loose with God, and now God woul... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And on a set day Herod arrayed himself in royal apparel, and sat on the throne, and made an oration to them.' The day came for the royal triumph. On the set day Herod clothed himself regally and sat on his throne and made a great speech to them. The purpose was to make an impression and bring glor... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the people shouted, saying, “The voice of a god, and not of a man.” ' In response to his great show of self-aggrandisement the people responded in a way that could only please him. They cried out flatteringly, “The voice of a god, and not of a man.” He was not the first king to be ready to acc... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And immediately an angel of the Lord smote him, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten of worms, and gave up his breath.' Immediately the angel of the Lord smote him so that he died, because he did not give God the glory, and the result was that he was eaten by worms and breathed h... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But the word of God grew and multiplied.' And in contrast to the end of the pretender, and in spite of what man could do, ‘the word of God grew and multiplied.' The word of God marched on in triumph, sweeping all before it. Nothing could hold it back as what follows will now reveal. We may perhaps... [ Continue Reading ]
THE CALL TO EVANGELISE ASIA MINOR (12:25-13:3). ‘And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministration, taking with them John whose surname was Mark.' Accepting the text as here (with A and p74) Barnabas and Saul had come to Jerusalem and had ministered to the t... [ Continue Reading ]