Presented to TSA Corps 614 Regent Park, Toronto, 22
November 2015 and Alberni Valley Ministries, 26 June 2022 by Captain/Major Michael Ramsay
Today I
have some jokes for us:[1]
1. What
do you get if you cross a worm and a young goat?
A dirty
kid!
2. What
do you call it when worms take over the world?
Global
Worming!
3. What
do worms leave round their baths?
The scum
of the earth!
4. Why
are glow worms good to carry in your bag?
They can
lighten your load!
5. What
is the worm army called?
The
Apple Corps!
6. Why
didn't the two worms get on Noah's Ark in an apple?
Because everyone had to go on in pairs!
7. What
kind of computer does a worm have?
A
Macintosh.
8. Why
do worms have trouble getting up in the morning?
Because
the early bird catches the worm.
9. What
eats laptops?
Computer
worms.
10. How
do you make a glow worm happy?
Cut off
his tail, he'll be de-lighted!
11. Why
did the worm go to the movie?
He
enjoyed the book.
Our pericope today speaks about worms, These worms aren't
going to the movies; they are going for dinner. These worms have King Herod
Agrippa I for dinner. Herod was the King of the Jews who was persecuting
followers of Jesus, King of the Jews, Chapter 12 of our text starts with Herod
killing the Apostle James, imprisoning Peter and killing the guards who, in
Herod's eyes, let him escape. But by the end of the chapter the worm has turned
and Herod meets his demise.
Do we know who this Herod Agrippa I was - other than worm
food - and why he was tracking down suspected Christian terrorists, imprisoning
and executing them?
Herod Agrippa I was a Jew. His grandmother was a Jew, his
grandfather was known as Herod the Great and he was King of the Jews when Jesus
was born. Herod the Great was the one who killed all those newborn baby boys as
he was trying to execute Jesus, the new born King of the Jews (Matthew 2).
Herod the Great was a masterful politician. He backed the right people at the
right time and had a very successful - and ruthless - reign. Herod's kingdom
was split upon his death between his children.[2]
They didn't do such a great job, it seems. At least one of them had to be
removed from power.[3]
Herod Agrippa I, the Herod in our text today, is the
grandson of Herod the Great; he is a Jew of privilege who was born about 5-10
years after Jesus.[4] He fled or
was sent to Rome to get a formal education with other rich and privileged
people. Now Rome - of course - was the centre of the entire empire of which
Judea (ruled by Herod's family) was a small insignificant province. And one of
Herod Agrippa's classmates or one of the people he befriended when he was in
Rome was either a fellow by the name of Gaius, a.k.a. Caligula or Claudius;[5]
do we know who Caligula and Claudius each were? They would each in turn become
Emperor of the entire Roman Empire.
We just had a change of leaders in this country. What has
just happened to our former leaders, the people who were members of Harper's
cabinet? They all lost their cabinet jobs and were replaced with people chosen
by Prime Minister Trudeau. When Caligula and then Claudius became Emperor, the
same sort of thing happened; when his friend(s) became ruler of the entire
Roman world, Herod went back to his grandfather's old riding that had been
divided between his uncles and he was eventually appointed cabinet minister,
king. in charge of that whole area.
Herod Agrippa, like Herod the Great, was a skilled
politician and he was a popular one. Judah was part of the Roman Empire and the
Romans could put anyone in charge they wanted and they put Herod in charge of
Judah and Herod, we remember, was a Jew. The people accepted him as a Jew. And
even though the Romans usually used Caesarea as their de facto capital, Herod
chose to rule from Jerusalem, Judah's historic capital.[6]
Herod was a Jew; he was popular among the Jews and his success made him popular
among his Roman overseers which then provided even more chances for political
advancement. Herod was a popular leader among the Jews.
Now there was a group of people the ruling class of Jews did
not like at all. The Jewish aristocracy, especially the Sadducees in Jerusalem
where King Herod Agrippa lived, did not like these people known as Christians.
These powerful, privileged Jews thought that Christian Jews were troublemakers
and besides the Christians believed that Jesus, not Caesar was King of the
World and they believed that Jesus, not Herod was King of the Jews.[7]
Not unlike the present War on Terror, Herod thought that he
could kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, by rounding up Christian
leaders and starting to kill them off. This would get rid of this subversive
group of potential terrorists and please both his constituency of the Jews and
his bosses, the Romans. Herod kills James, one of Jesus' inner circle and when
he sees that this pleases the Jews he proceeds to lock up Peter, the apparent
leader of the entire post-resurrection Christian movement, with an aim to
execute him as well. God, however, delivers Peter from a maximum security
prison and Herod Agrippa has his guards executed in Peter's place.
This is Herod Agrippa I: he was a privileged Jew, a very
astute and popular politician who rooted out potential Christian terrorists,
and at his height of power… became a meal for worms.[8]
This is the part of the text that I want to focus on today -
the death of Herod Agrippa I. Herod had a dispute with the Phoenicians (one of
Judah's primary trading partners) and as a result, it appears that he took
economic sanctions against two of their city states - and the sanctions seemed
to work. The Phoenicians went to great lengths to get one of Herod's personal
servants to intercede for them so Herod would agree to meet them and lift the
sanctions. He wanted to do it publicly. Like modern day politicians or leaders
of superpowers, he wanted everyone to know how good he was to stop starving the
Phoenician people into submission.
This summer the Pan-Am Games were here in Toronto. In 2010,
the Olympics were in Vancouver. In 44 CE there were games in the Near East to
celebrate Emperor Claudius' triumphant return from the British campaign.[9]
Herod was there and all eyes were on this rising, important, impressive
politician as he made this magnificent speech - and then… he died - very
publicly.
Now before we get into some of the details Herod's death and
what that all means for us today half a world and two millennia away, I have
some more jokes for us. This time I have some owl jokes:
1. Where would you find a list of famous owls?
In a book of Who's Hoo
2. Which Owls like drying dishes?
Teat owls
3. Why did the Owl start a franchise?
So she could have owlet stores?
4. What did the Owl dressed as Casper the friendly ghost
say?
Boo Hoo
5. What do you call an owl magician?
Hoo-dini
6. What do you call an owl with a sore throat?
A bird who doesn't give a hoot?
7. What do you call an owl wearing armour?
A knight owl
8. What is an owl's favourite subject?
Owl-gebra!
9. What happened to the Owl who fell in the well?
It got wet.
10. What is an owl's favourite kind of book?
A Hoo Dun it.
11. What does an educated owl say?
Whom
Now I did bring up the owl jokes for a reason. Luke isn't
the only historian who records Herod Agrippa's death and Acts in the Bible
isn't the only place it is mentioned. The famous Jewish historian Josephus also
relates the events surrounding Herod's death. Josephus tells us in Antiquities
Book 18, Ch. 6 v.7 of an earlier time when Herod was imprisoned by Emperor
Tiberius Caesar.[10] During his
time in custody he saw an owl sitting near him. A fellow prisoner, a German,
told Herod that this owl meant good luck and that Herod would soon not only be
free but he would also be elevated to the highest position - which he was
(compare Genesis 40). But that prophesy came with a caveat, a warning, and that
warning was that if he should ever see an owl again he would die within five
days. Josephus records that Herod saw an owl perched upon a rope above his head
five days before his death.[11]
Eusebius, the Fourth Century church historian says that this owl he saw seated
above his head was an angel.[12]
Acts 12:23 records that an angel of the Lord struck him down and he was eaten
by worms and he died.[13] Acts 12:21-24:
On the appointed
day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public
address to the people. They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a
man.” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the
Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. But the Word of God
continued to spread and flourish.
Herod was a Jew. Herod was in Jerusalem where the early
Christians gathered regularly to share the Gospel. Herod was aware of God, he
knew to give God the Glory and praise but he chose to exalt himself instead.
Herod also apparently had every
opportunity to know Jesus but instead of supporting God's mission of salvation
to the world, Herod accepted glory for himself - even to the extent of being
praised as a god. He chose to impede the work of the Lord and in this the vain
Herod failed for, Verse 24, 'the Word of God continued to spread and flourish'.
How does all of this apply to us today? I want to offer you
these two pieces of encouragement from our text today. 1) No matter how dark it
gets - In our text today, Jesus' closest followers were being killed and put in
jail - God's will, will be done. To paraphrase Major David Ivany, 'in the end
everything will be all right; so if everything isn't all right then it isn't
the end.' And 2) we cannot thwart the will of God; the only choice we have is
whether we will be a part of it, whether we benefit from it or not. Herod, as a
Jew and as ruler of Judea, he had ample opportunity to support and benefit from
the inevitable spreading of the Gospel of the proleptic Kingdom to Come.
Instead he attempted to impede God's message of Salvation by killing Jesus'
apostles. It didn't work. God's
salvation cannot be stopped. Salvation was provided for the whole world between
the cross and the empty tomb (TSA d. 6). The only question is whether we will
reject that Salvation and perish outside His Kingdom where the worms do not die
and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:48; TSA d.11) or whether we will rejoice
as we experience that glorious Salvation which is both for now (in the midst of
whatever trials and tribulations we are facing) and forever as we spend eternity
with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in His Kingdom to Come. It is my hope
that we will choose Salvation.
Let us pray.
---
[1] Most of the worm jokes were taken from Jokes4us.com: http://www.jokes4us.com/animaljokes/wormjokes.html
[2] Simon J.
Kistemaker, ‘Acts’, New Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids Michigan:
Baker Academic, 2007), 432.
[3] Paul Mumo
Kisau, 'Acts of the Apostles', Africa Bible Commentary, (Nairobi, Kenya:
Word Alive Publishers, 2010), 1348.
[4] Paul Mumo
Kisau, 'Acts of the Apostles', Africa Bible Commentary, (Nairobi, Kenya:
Word Alive Publishers, 2010), 1348.
[5] Simon J.
Kistemaker, ‘Acts’, New Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids Michigan:
Baker Academic, 2007), 432.
[6] Richard N.
Longenecker, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis
CD-ROM:Acts/Exposition of Acts/Part I. The Christian Mission to the Jewish
World (2:42-12:24)/Panel 3-Advances of the Gospel in Palestine-Syria
(9:32-12:24)/D. Divine Intervention on Behalf of the Jerusalem Church
(12:1-23)/1. The deliverance of Peter (12:1-19a), Book Version: 4.0.2
[7] Cf. William
H. William, "The Politics of Life" in ‘Acts’, Interpretation: A
Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, (Atlanta, Georgia: John Knox
Press, 1988), 115-122.
[8] N.T. Wright,
Acts for Everyone Part 2 (Louisville, Kentucky, USA: WJK, 2004), 182.
[9] R.C.H
Lenski, The Interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles. (Minneapolis,
Minnesota: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 486.
[10] Josephus, Complete
Works. Translated by William Sanford, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel
Publishing, 1960), 387.
[11] Cf. R.C.H
Lenski, The Interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles. (Minneapolis,
Minnesota: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 488.
[12] Simon J.
Kistemaker, ‘Acts’, New Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids Michigan:
Baker Academic, 2007), 446.
[13] Cf. Robert
W. Wall, ‘Acts’ The New Interpreter’s Bible 10, (Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon
Press, 2002), 181. This angel of the Lord striking Herod down would immediately
remind Luke's readers of the Angel of Death that preceded the deliverance of
God's people from Pharaoh leading into the Exodus.
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