Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Do you like to be surprised? I mean the kind of surprise that leaves you almost breathless? Perhaps you like to plan such unexpected, shocking surprises for other people. Join me today in Jerusalem, in the first century, for one of those surprising moments with the apostle Peter.
You may recall yesterday we watched as Peter was shocked by an angel’s visit while Peter was chained in a dungeon in Jerusalem. King Herod had arrested Peter and planned to execute him after the Passover festival. Why? What crime had Peter committed which was so grievous, so horrific that it called for his execution? Peter’s crime was that he was a walking advertisement for Jesus! Could you and I be convicted of that same crime?
According to Acts 12:1-3 wicked king Herod so desperately wanted the support of the Jews in Jerusalem that were opposed to the apostles and those who were being called Christians, that Herod had arrested and executed the apostle James, the brother of John! Now Peter was next. Peter was in an inescapable dungeon, chained and guarded by four squads of four soldiers, for round the clock security. But God sent an angel who miraculously delivered Peter from that dungeon! (Acts 12:4-10)
When Peter finally realized it was not a vision, it was really happening and he was standing, a freed man, on a street corner in Jerusalem, Peter had a huge decision to make. What should he do next? Where should he go? Peter knew it would be only a matter of hours before a city-wide search would be underway, but Peter felt a strong obligation to thank those he knew had been praying for him.
Acts 12:11-14 tells us Peter rushed quickly to the home of a woman named Mary who lived in Jerusalem and evidently Peter had often met with the Christians who gathered in her home. This is a great example of what we sometimes call the ‘underground’ church which is thriving today in places where a recognized, functioning, Jesus following church is against the law. That would be true today in most Communist or predominantly Muslim countries around our world.
Peter knocked on the door with a sense of urgency, I’m sure. A voice inside asked who was at the door, without opening the door. Obviously, those gathered and praying were very cautious, maybe frightened. The person at the door recognized Peter’s voice and was so startled she ran to tell those praying, leaving Peter standing outside the locked door! Their response to her startling news is important for us to consider: “You are out of your mind’ they told her. When she insisted they said, ‘it must be his angel’.” (Acts 12:15) What does that tell us about these followers of Jesus in Jerusalem, my friends? I see three things…
First… the miraculous work of God was frequent enough, in those days, that God’s people considered, as possible, that events not explainable by normal human logic may well be God working in tangible yet miraculous ways. It begs the question for you and me… what would be required for us to consider an event as possibly God doing a miracle in our life, or our world?
Second... their first reaction was to claim the impossibility of her news even though they had been praying earnestly for God to intervene! Oh my, that’s often us, isn’t it? We claim great faith, we rally others to join us in praying for God’s intervention, but we don’t really believe anything supernatural might happen, am I right? And if something miraculous does happen, do we first look for a logical human explanation before giving God the great glory He ALONE deserves? That was happening here, as rescued Peter stood outside the locked door!
Third... their statement that ‘it must be his angel’ has given rise to the idea that maybe each follower of Jesus has an angel assigned by God to their watch care? That is unfortunate. While it is true we have many Scriptures which remind us God is watching and fully aware of everything happening in our world and in our lives; and it is also true God has a vast number of angels in His presence available for God to send to earth as His messengers at any time, and it is also true God often sends angels here, we have no Scripture evidence that we each have a ‘guardian angel’.
Peter kept knocking at the locked door, now even more urgently. Time was passing and he needed to flee for his safety. Finally, someone came and let Peter in but only long enough for Peter to quickly tell the story of his miraculous escape. Why? To encourage them that their prayers had been heard and answered miraculously by Jesus! And second, so they could spread that encouraging word to other Christians suffering persecution in and around Jerusalem! (Acts 12:16,17)
Pause. Are there things happening in your lives, my friends, which are evidence of God at work and your story would be very encouraging to others who need to know God is watching and working? Have you invited the Holy Spirit to guide you to know WHO would benefit from hearing your story? Are you thinking of how to most effectively and accurately share your story of God’s work in your life, starting with your own family? Are you giving God great glory for the great things HE is doing in your life?
Dr. Luke, the author of the book of Acts, gives us a glimpse of the terrifying times in which these people were living, with these next words: “In the morning there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. After king Herod had a thorough search made for Peter and did not find him, Herod cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.” (Acts 12:18,19) Oh my!
Did you know that type of terrorism is happening in many places in our world today? Did you also know God is doing miraculous things at all of the place today and watching us to see if WE will recognize God’s hand at work and will we give Him the great praise He deserves? Will we share the stories with others to encourage them to watch for God at work in their lives? Will we pray earnestly for the ‘underground’ church, the ‘persecuted’ church around the world? And finally, will we pursue strengthening our courageous faith so we can stand, if persecution comes to our town?
The ‘lessons learned’ will be very helpful to your further study at the link below and a great worship song will refresh your soul, and I’ll meet you here tomorrow, my friends, as we watch God intervene in Herod’s life!
Today’s Scripture: Acts 12:11-19.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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