Read Acts
12:1-4
1 It was about this
time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to
persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the
sword. 3 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. 4
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.
The relationship
between the Jews and the Roman Empire they lived within is not entirely
straightforward! On the whole, until around AD 66-70 when things went badly
downhill, the Jewish faith was tolerated within the Empire – albeit seen as
odd. In 37 BC the Romans even appointed a half-Jewish leader over Judea (and
surrounding regions) in the hope that the Jews would be more compliant with his
leadership. This was Herod the Great, the diplomatically brilliant but
personally insane Herod of the nativity story.[1]
Following his death, the region was split into three areas and his three sons
ruled one each. The son who ruled Judea, where Jerusalem was, didn’t last long
and was replaced by Roman governors including Pontius Pilate of Jesus’
crucifixion account. The second son – Antipas – ruled over the northern part,
including Galilee, and was the Herod who had John the Baptist killed. He was
then involved in Jesus’ trial.[2]
A third son, Philip, was the most humane.
The Herod we meet here
is Herod Agrippa I, in contrast to Herod Agrippa II who we meet in chapters 25
and 26. He is the grandson of Herod the Great and the son of Aristobulus, who
was a half-brother of Herod Antipas.[3]
The Herod family was
trusted by the Roman Empire but disliked by the Jews due to their Roman
upbringing. They were charged with keeping the peace. These two factors
explain, in part, Herod’s behaviour here. In killing James he is able to both
lend himself to his Jewish critics and demonstrate to his Roman leaders his
intolerance of those threatening the status quo.[4]
Killing James first perhaps demonstrates a reticence to go straight to the top.
Spurred on by “the Jews” approval, however, he arrests Peter and places him in
jail…
- Luke is such a brilliantly concise reader that, in his brevity, it is easy to gloss over the devastating impact James’ death must have had on the church community. Reread these verses and try to imagine how you would have felt if you had been part of the church at that time. How do you think you would have responded?
If you have a bit longer :-)
History repeats itself
and sadly today there are many leaders as ruthless as the Herod family. Spend
some time praying for those you know of and the people who suffer under their
rule. In particular, please pray into the situations in…
- North Korea, where Kim Jong-un is the current leader having taken over after the death of his father Kim Jong-il. Open Doors estimates that over 25% of Christians in North Korea are languishing in labour camps due to their refusal to worship the founder Kim Il-Sung’s cult.[5]
- Syria, where Bashar al-Assad is the current ruler having succeeded his oppressive father in 2000. Bashar started his rule with an agenda of reform and openness. Those around him, however, reacted badly to this and recently he has led a violent oppression against those protesting his rule. It is currently a complex situation in Syria – which Jimmy helpfully shed some light on at a recent International Prayer Breakfast (just one reason why you should think about coming along!). What is clear, however, is that the situation needs prayer.
- Burma, here is an update from Open Doors: “Burma transitioned to a new, semi-civilian government in March, stirring hopes for significant change, including the re-admission of Aung San Suu Kyi into the political arena. A new Human Rights Commission was established in September, with minorities represented on it. It remains to be seen how independently it will operate. However, pressure on Christians from society and the military appears unchanged. There were several reports of the army harassing Christians of the Kachin tribe. In November a bomb killed 7 children and 3 Kachin people at an orphanage run by Christians.”[6]
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