Herod Kills James
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
There had come a time of comparative peace after the persecution which arose about Stephen, had subsided. Not long, however, could Satan fold his hands with the work of the Lord Jesus going forward with leaps and bounds. An unabated and even a growing hatred toward the Church possessed the Jews; but they felt themselves unable to cope with the mighty manifestations of the Spirit of God. Every time they stretched forth their hands against the disciples, they were embarrassed by some overwhelming display of their own perfidy and of God's power.
Herod, the wicked and wily Tetrarch, was in the ascendency with authority over the Jews. His chief objective was to please them, and thus to gain prestige as their ruler. He quickly discerned the antagonism which welled up in the hearts of the Jews toward the Christians, and he, therefore, stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the Church.
I. HEROD VEXES THE CHURCH (Acts 12:1)
This movement on the part of Herod need not cause surprise. The Lord gave warning to the disciples before He went away, saying, "If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of His household?" If they have hated Me, they will hate you. "If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you." He taught His disciples that "The servant is not greater than his Lord." He gave them warning, "In the world ye shall have tribulation."
We who live in the twentieth century need not think that the days of persecution are forever passed. The Holy Spirit, through Paul, wrote, "Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake." The truth is, that, if any man lives godly in Christ Jesus, he shall suffer persecution. The persecution may not always be of the virulent type; but it is just as real, and just as marked.
II. HEROD KILLED JAMES (Acts 12:2)
We are almost startled with the simple statement of verse two, "And he killed James the brother of John with the sword."
The fact that James was beheaded, thus suffering a death usually accorded religious fanatics, who had committed treason against the faith is in accord with the tyranny of Herod. James was the son of Zebedee, who, with his brother John was mending their nets, when the Lord called them, saying, "Follow Me." James was the elder of the two, and proved a faithful Apostle. We are not surprised that against such an one, who was numbered with the Twelve, Herod should lift up his hand. That which startles us is that so small a place in the record in Acts, should be given to his death by the Holy Spirit. However, we cannot but feel that there is a special significance in this very brevity.
Death, to the Christian, by no means suggested a cessation of existence. The Apostles had lived with their Lord, passing through the period of His death, and into the experience of viewing His resurrection. To them, death meant no more than the glorious entrance into a larger life. James was dead, to be sure; and he had been ignominiously killed, but he was with Christ.
In addition to this the disciples of that day lived under the momentary expectation of the Return of the Lord Jesus. They felt that, at any moment, the dead in Christ might come back with their Lord. For this cause they sorrowed not, even as others who had no hope.
The death of James did not cause the other Apostles to a cessation of services; they quickly filled up the ranks and pressed on their God-sent way.
We remember how Charles L. Helmick left Parsons, Kansas, in the days of our youth, to go to Africa. He labored faithfully for six or eight months, and then succumbed to the African fever. He went to be with the Lord. His friends in the West were greatly shocked that such a splendid man should have sacrificed his life, and seemingly wasted it, in behalf of the black men of a faraway clime. However, after Helmick was dead, they found written on one of the blank pages of his Bible these words; "Though every step be over the grave of a missionary, yet, the command of our Lord to preach the Gospel to every creature, must be obeyed."
It was so when John the Baptist died. The Lord did not withdraw from service, because Herod had beheaded John. He merely pressed on.
In the far-flung battlefield, when one falls, another takes his place. So it was with James. He died in the harness, and the brethren stopped not to mourn, and bewail his departure. They quickly filled in the ranks and pressed on, carrying the Glad Tidings of redemption with increased courage.
III. HEROD APPLAUDED BY THE JEWS (Acts 12:3)
The Jews themselves were afraid to lay hold of the saints; they, however, were greatly pleased when Herod did so.
In the life and ministry of our Lord, we remember how they went about to kill Him. However, a certain fear held them back. They needed a leader. It was not until Judas came forward and offered to deliver the Lord, bargaining for thirty pieces of silver, that the Jews were ready to launch into their attack. They were vassals of an evil power, led on by the cries of another.
We remember several years ago, in Salisbury, North Carolina, how the jail was stormed by a wild mob of white people, and four negroes were taken out, carried to the suburbs of the city, and hanged on a tree. From our back door, we saw the storming of the jail. We do not believe the crowd ever would have done what they did, had it not have been inflamed by a leader. A man who acted like a veritable maniac jumped up on a box and, waving his hands in the air, he cried to the assembling mob, "Come on; we must protect our white women." He was the one who led the way; the others followed after.
Herod was the one who vexed the Church, and killed James. The Jews were the ones who followed after.
Satan is back of every mad march against the Truth. It is he who cries, "On to the fray." In our travels, as a missionary, we have seen numerous onslaughts against the Christians; we have had our church building stormed; we have been surrounded by a mob, and in it all we noted that the mob always seemed to be driven by some power of evil.
Do we not remember when Peter said to Jesus, "Spare Thyself; pity Thyself; this shall not be unto Thee," that the Lord Jesus replied, "Get thee behind Me, Satan"?
Do we not remember when Ananias and Sapphira sold their possession, and kept back part of the price of the land that Peter said, "Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost?"
Let those who sin against Christ and against the saints consider their leader. Let them also remember that he who rallies to a crook, and follows a crook, and aids a crook, is himself a crook. He who applauds sin, and is pleased at the ravages of sin, is himself sinful.
Looking at the scene for a moment from Herod's viewpoint, we see in him a "world-pleaser." He had nothing against James, but he was willing to sacrifice James that he might gain the plaudits of the people. God pity the man who will stoop to the unholy, to the unclean, and to the abominable, in order to feather his own nest. Alas, alas, there is many a man who climbs to social, or financial success, tramping down the welfare and even the lives of others. He heeds not their cries, nor does he care for their sorrows. He thinks only of his own advancement.
It was so with Absalom. Absalom stood in the gate and kissed the men who came to his father, the kind, for judgment. He said unto them, "Oh, that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice!"
Thus it was that he did obeisance unto the populace, and thus it was that Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. What cared the much praised and beautiful Absalom for the King? He was willing to slay his father, that he, himself, might be enthroned. When Ahithophel advised Absalom to send an army to kill King David, we read, "And the saying pleased Absalom well."
It was the same spirit of pleasing the people and thereby strengthening his own hand, that caused Pilate, against his own personal convictions, to deliver Christ to the Jews to be crucified. Pilate had plainly said, "I find no fault in Him." Yea, he had gone so far as to wash his hands publicly, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just Person." And yet, because of the people, he set aside his convictions and yielded to the demands of the unjust.
It was this same spirit that led Herod, the one who preceded the Herod of today's study, to behead John. It was for his oath's sake, and because of those who sat at meat with him, that Herod ordered that John should be killed.
We come now to a solemn statement.
IV. HEROD A TYPE OF THE ANTICHRIST
There will soon arise upon this earth the greatest character born of women in the line of the first Adam, whom the world has ever known. He will come as a world monarch; he will cause every man that buys or sells to receive the mark of the beast, and the number of his name. He will lift himself up above God and above all that is worshiped.
This man of sin, this idol-shepherd, this antichrist, will be a leader. The whole world will wonder after him, and marvel of the genius of his power. They will follow in his wake and obey his voice.
One thing about this coming man of sin which the Bible notes is this same Herod trait. His effort will be to please the Jews. He will early make a league with them in order to secure the power of their wealth. He will please them and they will follow him.
The antichrist will follow the same tactics with the apostate church. In fact he will come into power as a scarlet-covered beast, full of the names of blasphemy; with the woman, the great whore, the apostate church, sitting upon him. She shall be arrayed in purple and scarlet colors, and she will be decked with gold, and stones, and pearls, as the antichrist carries her along with him, in his ravages against God.
In a later sermon, we will have more to say about Herod and the antichrist. Just now, the type is incomplete, but we could not refrain from suggesting that which our Scripture for today has begun to reveal.
V. HEROD APPREHENDS PETER (Acts 12:4-5)
When Herod saw that killing James pleased the Jews he went a step further, and placed Peter, the outstanding Apostle among the Twelve, into jail.
It is quite likely that James had been killed suddenly, for there is no word about prayer having been made for him; nor is there a word about his lingering in jail. In the case of Peter, it was different. The days of unleavened bread were on, and while Herod cared nothing for this feast of the Jews, he well knew that he would not dare to kill Peter during that period.
In passing, may we remark that it is most striking how pious some people become during the self-same Passion week. They live as they list during the year, but when the time draws near for their remembrance of those days when a wicked world slew their Lord, and when their own sins nailed Him there, they suddenly become good, and cease all violence, "until after Easter." They imagine that it would be the height of folly to sin while they are going, daily, to church to celebrate the death of the Saviour, whom their sins slew.
Thus it was that the Jews slew Christ, and kept the feast of unleavened bread, which commemorated His death at their hands.
In the arrest of Peter, therefore, Herod was compelled to deliver him to prison until after Easter. Then he intended to bring him forth to the people. That Herod expected to kill Peter, there is no doubt; but, he wanted to kill him in the way that would give him the greatest glory. He desired first to parade him before the people as the enemy of their religion, and then to do away with him.
In the apprehension of Peter, Herod had to take special precautions. Herod had heard that this mighty man had been in prison before. He knew how the angel of the Lord had come by night and opened the prison doors and brought him forth. For this cause, Peter was safeguarded between four quaternions of soldiers. He was also bound with two chains between two soldiers. In addition to this, the keepers were before the door of the prison. Herod took no chances against the powers of the great God. He, however, satisfied himself that he had Peter where even God couldn't release him.
How often does man, in the sin of his heart, thus thrust himself against the Great I Am. Wicked men, today, throughout the whole world are lifting up their voices against Christ, and blaspheming the God of Heaven.
It was Pharaoh of old who said, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." Thus did Pharaoh harden his heart and stiffen his neck against the Lord.
It was Belshazzar, who brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the House of God which was at Jerusalem. It was Belshazzar, who, with his princes, his wives and his concubines, drank in them and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. Then it was that God wrote Belshazzar's doom upon the wall of the king's palace, and Daniel said unto Belshazzar, "Thou hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of Heaven: * * and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified."
It was this same spirit of defying God that brought the wrath of God against a world sunken in sin and in shame. They did not like to retain God in their knowledge; they glorified Him not as God; they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. "Wherefore God also gave them up."
In Herod placing Peter chained between two soldiers, in his ordering four quarternions of soldiers to safeguard Peter, and in his placing special guards before the prison gates; in all of this, Herod was setting himself up against God. He was contemning God; he was placing the strength of iron chains, and of iron gates, and of men, against the strength of God.
May God save this age from a like spirit, which seems ready to grasp it. People of today are humanizing God they are dragging Him down from the glory of His Deity, and making Him man, on the one hand; while, on the other, they are exalting man to the place of Deity. They are lifting man from his knees, as a worshiper of God. They are casting from man the yoke of willing servitude to the Almighty, and saying to man, "Thou art God!"
The spirit that exalts man equal to God proves fatal. The spirit of modernism, which seeks to dominate Protestantism is the spirit which debases God, denies the authority of His Word, and exalts man to headship.
VI. THE GREAT DELIVERANCE (Acts 12:6-17)
How our hearts are stirred as we behold God unsheathing His sword and stretching forth His arm, not only in behalf of Peter, but in behalf of the sanctity and power of His own great Name.
Two objectives come before us, as we see God stepping on the scene; First, the deliverance of Peter; and second, the debasement of Herod.
Far back in the Scriptures, we read how God dealt with His servant Job. Satan had cast out a challenge against Job, and in so doing had challenged God. In the experiences of Job's testings, and of his final deliverance and enlargement, God vindicated both the faith of Job, and the faithfulness of Himself.
Now, as Peter lay in prison God moved to deliver him, and in the deliverance He moved to defend the might and the power of His own holy Name.
In the death of James, Herod had thought himself a victor over God. God had permitted Herod's rashness to prevail, but now, God seemed to be saying, "Thus far hast thou gone, but thou shalt proceed no further."
1. There was the angel. He was sent from the Lord, and he came upon Peter, as an ambassage from Heaven. "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?"
2. There was the great light which shined in the prison. When Satan works, he works under cover of darkness; God works in the light. God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. Men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil, and because they are vassals of Satan.
3. There was the smiting. The angel smote Peter on the side, and raised him up. Peter was sleeping, and he needed to be awakened. Peter was lying down, and he needed to stand up. When the hand of God smites us, it smites in order to raise us that we may serve the better.
4. There were the falling chains. How quickly did they fall from Peter's hands! There was no toil; no filing; no juggling with keys. The angel merely spoke the word, and the chains fell off. When God stretches forth His hand who can hold it back?
5. There was the girding. The angel said unto Peter, "Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. * * Cast thy garment about thee." We who follow the Lord Jesus must stand girded, shod, and clothed ready to do His will.
6. There was Peter's following. As the angel went out, Peter followed. We must be ready at any moment, by day or by night, to walk hard after the Lord. Our obedience must be prompt and complete. We must not seek to tarry behind or to stay when God speaks.
7. There was the thrown-back gate. As the angel, followed by Peter, came to the iron gate that led into the city, the gate opened unto them of its own accord, and they went out. God seemed to be saying to Herod "Thou art nothing at all to stand against the power of a Living God." Without the lifting of a finger, or the speaking of a word, thy prowess and strength proves but nought.
We are constrained to add a word to the unsaved: If you are bound with the chains of sin, the Lord Jesus says to you, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me; because the Lord hath anointed Me to * * proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound."
Just one further word to troubled saints, "Fear not, Our God doth deliver."
O Jesus, Lord, the way is drear,
My heart is chill and filled with fear;
The tempter seeks my soul to slay;
All dark and gloomy is my way.
O Lord, I weep the whole night through,
My sky has lost its azure blue;
Where may I go for peace and rest?
In whom may I be fully blest?
O Lord, I turn to Thee away,
In sin I will no longer stay;
I plead Thy mercies and Thy grace,
I seek in Thee, my hiding place.
O soul, look up, for help is nigh,
Put far away thy mournful sigh?
The precious Lord has heard thy voice,
He comes to make thy heart rejoice.