Thursday, February 5th

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Thursday, Feb. 5

Acts12:18-23

Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death.
Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there.

Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king's chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king's country for food. On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. And the people were shouting, "The voice of a god, and not of a man!" Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

In 1966, just as the rock-n-roll band and cultural phenomenon called “The Beatles” were reaching the peak of their popularity, John Lennon was quoted as saying:

“Christianity will go; it will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that. I’m right and I’ll be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now.”

His remarks created an uproar in large portions of the U.S., particularly in the southern Bible belt, and although he later tried to soften his statement by claiming he only meant that the young people of England treated the band as if they were more important than Jesus, his remarks are still remembered as almost incredibly arrogant and self-serving.

John Lennon had nothing on Herod.

First, Herod is so enraged that Peter has escaped his prison and ruined his fun that he has the guards summarily executed. Then Luke tells us that Herod has evidently been denying food to the regions of Tyre and Sidon because he is angry with them about something. They send representatives to seek the favor of the king.

We read:

On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. And the people were shouting, "The voice of a god, and not of a man!"

One pictures Herod entering the room with great pomp and circumstance; allowing his groveling guests to bask in his kingly greatness. Then he pontificates about whatever it is kings pontificate about all the while imagining himself to be the finest orator the world has ever known. His guests fall all over themselves praising his magnificence because they are desperate and willing to do anything that might help their cause.

So they praise him as a “god.” Then Herod makes his biggest mistake; he allows them to do so without redirecting their praise to the true God.

Here’s what happens next:

Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

The Jewish historian Josephus confirms the basic outline of this story, attributing Herod’s death to “A severe pain (that) arose in his belly, striking with a most violent intensity.”

The point is that even though Herod possessed the political position and power to inflict suffering and death on those he ruled, he was not God. Just as Peter’s escape let the believers know that God had not abandoned them, so Herod’s death was a reminder that God is sovereign and will one day judge all evil.

A few years later the Apostle Paul would write:

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 
(Galatians 6:7)

In other words, a man can pretend for a while that he is God; for a time it can certainly seem like evil will go unpunished; but, make no mistake, God is God and will one day judge both the living and the dead.

Pastor Brian Coffey