The Book of Acts Chapter 12
Originally posted
General Comment: The Herod mentioned in vs.1 is Herod Agrippa I, the
grandson of Herod the Great. He was the nephew of Herod Antipas,
Tetrarch of Galilee, Perea and Samaria during Jesus' ministry (LK 23:6-12), the Herod who had John the
Baptist executed (MK 6:14-29). After
Agrippa arranged to have his uncle exiled, he quickly maneuvered himself into
the good graces of the Emperor Claudius, and in 41 CE was given the kingship of
Judea and all the territories comprising his grandfather's (Herod the
Great) realm. He was, according to the Jewish historian Josephus, very
popular with the Jews because of his zealous adherence to Jewish religious
piety. Josephus also points out that his reign was marked by violence and an
insatiable pursuit of wealth.
Acts Chapter 12:1-5 The
Death of the Apostle James and the Imprisonment of Peter
Luke
writes of a new round of persecution in Judea, instigated by Herod Agrippa
I. From what we know of this Herod the motive for having the Apostle James
(Zebedee) executed and Peter imprisoned during the Passover of 44 CE was
in keeping with his devoted practice of Jewish piety. According to the
Mishnah, beheading was the prescribed method of execution for an apostate Jew,
one who has abandoned his religion. Agrippa would have had strong
ties to the Temple leadership, particularly the Sadducees. His actions may reflect
his wish to support their outspoken objections to the Christian movement as
demonstrated in the case of Stephen.
Luke
sets the stage for the following passage concerning Peter's miraculous escape
from prison. Four squads of soldiers are assigned to guard Peter until after
Passover when Herod will "bring him out to the people," to
execute him.
Acts Chapter 12:6-19 Peter's
Miraculous Deliverance
Luke
writes of several miraculous escapes in Acts. In 5:17-21. The Apostles are freed from the palace jail by
the angel and told to return to the Temple and continue their
interrupted preaching. In the current passage the substantial guard
reflects the authorities' concern of a repeat. As in the previous escape the
angel facilitates each step. The two guards between whom Peter slept do not
awake when the bright light of the angel shines in the cell; Peter arises and
his chains fall off; he passes two more guards without incident; the iron
prison gates leading to the city open on their own. All the while Peter remains
in a visionary trance until he finds himself alone in the lane. He makes
his way, unnoticed, to a place where many have gathered in prayer for
him. When he arrives at the gate the maid who hears his call is
so overcome with joy she leaves him there and runs to let everyone know it
is Peter. Meanwhile he has been left standing outside knocking
to get somebody's attention. When he is finally reunited with the others
he relates all that has happened and tells them to go to James (the
brother of Jesus) and the believers.
On
the following day, when Herod learned of Peter's "escape," he
personally searched for Peter and interrogated the guards. In standard Roman
fashion in the case of the escape of a condemned prisoner, the guards were
executed in Peter's place. Meanwhile, Peter left the city and "went
down" from Judea to Caesarea to stay (Caesarea is actually northwest of
Jerusalem. We would typically say we are going "up" north but
Jerusalem is in the highlands and Caesarea is on the coastal plain, hence
"going down").
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Note:
The
introduction of James is important to our understanding of the shifting nature
of the Jerusalem Church. James is not an Apostle, but now he is the leader of
Jewish Christianity headquartered in Jerusalem. We are reading here the
official transfer of spiritual and temporal authority for the
Jerusalem Church from Peter to James, from the Apostolate to the Elders,
an event which may reflect a much earlier understanding.
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Acts Chapter 12:20-25 The
Death of Herod Agrippa I
Luke
records the death of Agrippa in the context of a dispute with Tyre and
Sidon, two coastal cities of the Province of Phoenicia. We are not told the
reason for this dispute but since the concern is expressed in terms of
maintaining the cities' food supply the cause may have been Herod's exacting of
exorbitant taxes or tribute, (an enforced contribution to a
sovereign). At a meeting in Caesarea meant to reach a reconciliation
Herod acted the vain and pompous King he was, dressed in royal garb and seated
on a throne, it being elevated on a high platform. As he addressed the
cities' citizens who had gathered, people shouted "the voice of a god
and not a mortal." While Herod reveled in the warm glow of a
swelled ego, having laid aside the humility of Jewish piety which would have
deflected such adoration and redirected it to God, the angel struck him
down, to which Luke adds the ignominy of being eaten by worms. No doubt
Luke would expect us to draw the connection between Herod's fate and that
of the firstborn of Egypt who were "tapped" by God's angel of
death.
With
Herod's death the persecution of the Church was short lived. His teenaged
son did not inherit the throne and the Judean territory was retuned to direct
Roman rule. In the relative calm the "word of God" advanced -
continued to spread to other locations, and attracted many more believers. In
the meantime, Saul and Barnabas, having completed a year of success in Antioch,
returned to Jerusalem bringing John Mark, son of Mary of Jerusalem, with
them. We will meet him again later in connection with Saul and Barnabas.
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Note:
Herod
Agrippa died in Caesarea at age 54, just after the Passover
of 44 CE after experiencing severe chest and stomach pain. Josephus
reports that as he entered a stadium the sunlight shone on the gold and silver
adornments of his robe, which occasioned the acclaim of the people. Other
accounts indicate he was assassinated by the Romans because of his growing
power and Rome's fear of a possible rebellion of several eastern provinces
under Agrippa's influence. The favorite method of assassination was poisoning
and the symptoms would be similar to those reported elsewhere. Whatever the
medical cause of his death, the community attributes the event to divine
intervention.
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