PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
Acts 12:1–5 (NIV)
It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
CONSIDER THIS
Today we delve deeper into the “under” story. Yes, it is going from bad to worse. It’s why we have to constantly keep the “over” story in sight. This is how the gospel moves from here to the ends of the earth. Today our first so-called “king” comes onto the stage of church history. As our Acts Journal aptly references (citing Jedi master Ben Witherington III) on page 112: “This king was Herod Agrippa I, not Herod Antipas of the Gospels. This Herod was actually ethnically Jewish and held more traditional Jewish values and observed many of the religious demands of the Jewish faith.”
Herod likely issued a dragnet-style arrest warrant for anyone speaking the name of Jesus and they hauled in a big catch of garden-variety witnesses, save one. Picture the look on their faces when they realized they had the apostle James. Yes, this is James, not James the brother of Jesus, but James the brother of John. Yes, they had a trophy bass—one of the original Sons of Thunder. The text tells us Herod arrested them because “he intended to persecute them.” Can I offer a synonym for the term, “persecute,” today? Torture. There’s no other way to say it because there is no other way to see it at this point. We are way past “rough them up and give them a tongue lashing.” See for yourself:
He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
Can you fathom the blow this must have been to the church? They executed James! I wish this year, on All Saints Sunday, we would find a way to viscerally remember our martyrs—ancient and present. This is disciple #3. Now, Herod will go for disciple #1.
When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also.
To add insult to injury, he did it during the Passover.
They locked Peter up in a dungeon, and if that weren’t enough they posted four squads of four soldiers each to guard him. Do the math. That’s sixteen armed guards. We will read tomorrow that Peter was actually chained to two of the guards at all times—even in his sleep. Keep in mind, no one had taken any hostages, blown up any buildings, strapped on any suicide vests, or set off any roadside bombs. This punishment came in response to their preaching, teaching, and healing in the name of Jesus Christ. These were men and women of indefatigable peace and they were being treated like the most dangerous criminals on the face of the planet.
Clearly, this level of incarceration is not in response to the threat of Peter. There’s only one way to explain it. This kind of persecution comes in response to the threat of the power of God in the person of Jesus. Persecution is the enemy’s best strategy to defeat God. It never works, yet they never stop trying. I can imagine James, just prior to his death by sword when being asked for any last words, saying to Satan through his tormentors, “Are you ready for the Thunder?!”
Are we grasping the gravity of this? This is one of the worst days of the early church so far—disciple #3 was slain with disciple #1 on death row. In keeping with the post a few days back, I’m sure Peter was remembering the time when Jesus said:
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:10–12)
Today’s text has taken us deeper into the “under” story, the part of the story we would rather not go through. Remember, we don’t get the “over” story without the “under” story. And we don’t get the “front” story without the “back” story. And speaking of the “back” story, did you catch how today’s text ended?
So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
Stay tuned.
THE PRAYER OF TRANSFORMATION
Lord Jesus, I am your witness.
I receive your righteousness and release my sinfulness.
I receive your wholeness and release my brokenness.
I receive your fullness and release my emptiness.
I receive your peace and release my anxiety.
I receive your joy and release my despair.
I receive your healing and release my sickness.
I receive your love and release my selfishness.
Come Holy Spirit transform my heart, mind, soul, and strength so that my consecration becomes your demonstration; that our lives become your sanctuary. For the glory of God our Father, amen.
THE QUESTION
Have you begun to try and think through the over, under, front, and back stories of your life? It’s a good exercise for your journaling. Let’s posit Acts 1:8 as the over story. What has been the underlying pain, difficulty, or even travail you have suffered and endured? How has this unfolded in the “front” story of the visible movement of God’s kingdom in and through your life? What about the more hidden and secret “back” story, in the house of prayer that is becoming your life?
THE HYMN
Today we will sing “Lead On, O King Eternal.” It is hymn 478 in our Seedbed hymnal, Our Great Redeemer’s Praise.
For the Awakening,
J. D. Walt
Sower-in-Chief
seedbed.com
Subscribe to get this in your inbox daily and please share this link with friends.
4 Responses
Amen.
Sixteen guards guarding Peter as if he was Spartacus. Herod wasn’t so much afraid of Peter, but of the power that Peter represented; the mercy, grace, and love of Chirst.
Why did they fear that?
The hidden story of spiritual warfare.
They were of the devil (forgive them, for they know what the do) and the devil feared Peter because Chirst was in Peter and Peter was in Chrsit.
Satan may have had a hand in capturing Peter, but he couldn’t keep him there, not even locked in a dungeon with two guards chained to him and fourteen surrounding him.
Why?
God’s mission for Peter wasn’t finished. When God intervenes, there is nothing, visible or invsible that can separate the action of His love.
Staying 💪’n Christ
Ephesians 6:10
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
I’m seeing in this particular part of the Grand Narrative another perfect set-up for Jesus to demonstrate His sovereign power over the forces of evil and darkness. I try to view this dilemma through the eyes of a believer at that time, who without the benefit of knowing how this would turn out, was in deep prayer for God to intervene. Certainly the believers then would have grasped the similarities between Jesus’s arrest and John’s in that both occurred during Passover when Jerusalem was filled with devout Jews from all over. I can’t help but see how the Church in America seems to be in a similar spiritual set-up to occur. At this point of obvious decline in influence and growth, it presents the perfect opportunity for Jesus to once again demonstrate His power over Satan and his hoard of demons. Remember, it’s always the darkest just prior to the dawning of first light.
Darkness and evil offer nothing to celebrate. Celebrate people who demonstrated hope and purity even under extreme persecution. November 1 is All Saints Day.
To follow Jesus viscerally,
Not just with outward words
But internally
With all your heart,
Is to scripturally
Align with God
And the leading of His Spirit.
To viscerally
Experience Christ
Allow yourself to be
Deeply and continually aware
Of His presence and power.