Thursday, November 19, 2015

Acts 12:20-25: Herod: Diet of Worms

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.


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[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.