Word Live: The Church Invincible
In what ways is it difficult to be a Christian today? Be honest with God about the things you find hard and ask for his strength.
Bible passage
Acts 12:19b–25
19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.
Herod’s death
Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. 20 He had been quarrelling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply.
21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22 They shouted, ‘This is the voice of a god, not of a man.’ 23 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.
24 But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.
Barnabas and Saul sent off
25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.
Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Explore
When we hear reports of falling church attendance, it’s easy to feel disheartened. Will Christianity fizzle out? Will the Church survive?
The early church probably struggled with such fears too, for they faced serious problems. We’ve already learnt how King Herod Agrippa persecuted church leaders: he’d killed James, and Peter had to flee Jerusalem because of him (v 17). With their leadership depleted and a powerful enemy opposing them, things must have seemed pretty hopeless for these first Christians.
However, Herod was to meet his match. His gruesome end is described not only in the Bible but by a Jewish historian of the time, Josephus. He said Herod addressed the crowd in stunning silver robes that sparkled in the sun. This is why the awestruck people called him a god (v 22). But Herod was no god, despite his inflated ego, and the Lord struck him down (v 23). This persecutor who had once seemed so powerful was suddenly no more, whereas the Church, despite all it had suffered, continued to grow (v 24). Let this offer us hope for the Church and encourage us not to give up on it, or on sharing the Christian message. Things may, at times, seem bleak, but God is at work and he will overcome.
Author
Caroline Fletcher
Respond
Thank God for any signs of hope and growth you have seen in your church and in your own lives.
Deeper Bible study
Open today’s newspaper or tune into a news channel, write down the names of ten prominent national and world leaders and pray for them.
Foiled in his policy against the church in Jerusalem, Herod goes north from Judea to Caesarea. His ensuing hubris and eventual demise are attested not only by Luke but also by the Roman historian Josephus. The tyrant’s error is to believe the words of flattery bestowed on him, whether by the public audience, as in Josephus, or diplomats from Tyre and Sidon, as in Acts. Herod receives the response ‘This is the voice of a god, not of a man’ (v 22) when he makes a speech, and he basks in the associated glory. Crucially, he doesn’t act like Peter who, when Cornelius attempts to worship him, insists that he is merely a man.1 God’s response is immediate. Herod suffers a painful and lingering death.
Attributing deity to a figure of authority is not something we are prone to do within Western society. Yet unquestioning loyalty, fawning approval and sacrificial commitment are not unknown, both within church circles and in the wider world of politics, commerce and entertainment – especially when there is an anticipated payback. This attitude is misplaced and therefore worthless on the part of those who offer it: paybacks often don’t materialise. On the other hand, it encourages the recipient to believe in an inappropriate glorious identity. God, and God alone, deserves our praise, our worship and our service.
Our study ends with the encouraging news that, despite the ups and downs in the world around, the Word of God not only spreads but flourishes. Barnabas and Saul set out again from Jerusalem, this time with a new trainee. The next chapter of the history of the young church is about to unfold.
Pray for the leaders of your church and the church worldwide. May they be an inspiration, a model of delegated servant leadership to the secular world of power.
Author
Brian Radcliffe
