MONDAY 24 May 2021 “Mentor moments”

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Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,

Common sense, clear thinking, especially when crazy things are happening around you, is vitally important, isn’t it? Are you a person known to be caught up in the craziness or one who thinks wisely and clearly in the midst of the storm? Who helped you learn how to stand with wisdom in the storm and who are you teaching this critical skill to, my friends?

Yesterday I left us standing on a dark street in Jerusalem, 2000 years ago. The apostle Peter was knocking on the outer door to a home. Peter had just been miraculously rescued from king Herod’s prison by an angel! A prayer meeting was happening inside that home and a group of these praying, followers of Jesus, were opening the door, having been told by a servant girl that Peter was miraculously at the door. When they saw Peter they were astonished, speechless. It was not possible! No one just walks out of Herod’s prison, especially if they’ve been chained to guards as Peter had been! But their prayers had been answered and Peter was freed by an angel of God…and now here Peter stood right before their eyes!!

But Peter knew there would be a search as soon as those guards woke up and found Peter gone, so Luke tells us in Acts 12:17 “Peter motioned for them to be quiet and he described how the Lord had led him out of the prison. ‘Tell James and the brothers about this,’ Peter said, and then he left for another place.” I imagine Peter spoke fairly quickly and in a low voice so as to not attract any attention. Notice he said ‘tell James and the brothers about this.” Perhaps you are thinking this suggests Peter did not know about Herod’s execution of James the brother of John.

That is possible, but I think the better explanation is that Peter is referring here to James the 1/2 brother of Jesus, who did not believe at all in Jesus during His earthly lifetime, but James was in that room with his mother Mary after Jesus’ ascension. (Acts 1:14) He became a passionate follower of Jesus, in fact, he was evidently invited by the apostles to join the leadership of the Jerusalem church, and James eventually wrote one of the books of the New Testament which bears his name.

In Acts 15 we see James in his important leadership role, helping the apostles wrestle with the evidence that Gentiles were trusting in Jesus for salvation by faith in Christ alone, without joining in Judaism traditions like circumcision. So here in this dark street, outside Mary’s home where the prayer meeting is taking place, Peter, miraculously rescued by an angel of God, helps us see how the Jesus movement is moving forward without Jesus physically present, and with both Stephen and now James, John’s brother, killed. We don’t know where Peter went that night. I’ve often wondered if perhaps he walked to Bethany, only two or three miles from Jerusalem, and stayed with Lazarus, Mary and Martha for a while? He knew them well, as Jesus often stopped there with His disciples. If Peter did go there, can you imagine the story of rescue he had to tell them?

Luke tells us “In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter in prison. 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! Then Herod went to Caesarea and stayed there a while.” (Acts 12:18) Ruthless power ruled in Jerusalem and the Roman empire in those days. Being a follower of Jesus carried great personal risk. It is like that in some parts of our world today. What about where you live? How strongly are politicians or military leaders or highly influential leaders in all segments of your society, trying to push God out by intimidating followers of Jesus? So how are you living true to your convictions in your part of the world?

In the verses which follow in Acts 12 Dr. Luke describes king Herod’s death in a gruesome way. “…an angel of the Lord struck Herod down and was eaten by worms and died.” (Acts 12:23) Because Luke was a physician, I imagine this was most interesting to him. I find his choice of words and the order of the words fascinating. I don’t understand what the angel of the Lord did to Herod. Was it a heart attack, an aneurysm, a blood clot? But I take note that Luke says “he was eaten by worms and died.” It would make more sense to me if Dr. Luke had written “he died and was eaten by worms.” We’ve all seen carcasses of dead animals along the roadside being eaten by worms and other little animals…because the carcass is dead and decaying. But Luke says the worms ate him first and then he died! Why would he give us such a detail?

I think it was intended to encourage the followers of Jesus who were experiencing such terrible persecution, that God was watching and fully aware of all that was happening. Also, that those seeking to destroy the Jesus movement would be held accountable to God Himself! That’s why Luke then summarizes the situation with this statement: “But the word of God continued to spread.” (Acts 12:24) Jesus had promised He would build His church and the opposition would NOT prevail…and He was proving it with Peter’s rescue from prison and Herod’s gruesome death.

And then what, you might ask. Luke answers that question: “When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.” (Acts 12:25) Please notice the order of Barnabas and Saul. Barnabas was the leader, Saul, even though far more educated, was the follower as Barnabas was helping Saul find his ‘fit’ within this Jesus movement. Even though it had been years, some people were still suspicious of Saul the former Pharisee and persecutor of Christians.

When Luke says they returned from Jerusalem, what does he mean? They returned TO Antioch, from where they had come, bringing the large financial gift for the Jerusalem followers of Jesus who were suffering greatly in a huge famine which had skyrocketed food prices and both people and animals were starving.

Finally, do you notice Barnabas and Saul invited someone to accompany them? John also called Mark! We met him a few verses ago in Acts 12:12. It was in his mother’s home the prayer meeting was being held when Peter showed up at the door, freed from prison! Many Bible scholars believe Mary and Barnabas may have been brother and sister, thus making Mark Barnabas’ nephew. We don’t know exactly how old Mark would have been at this time, probably in his early twenties. This was a rare privilege to travel with Barnabas and Saul to Antioch to see the spiritual movement in this great city. Friends, this was a very strategic moment, for this Mark also later traveled with Peter, and is the author of the second book of the New Testament, the Gospel of Mark.

I’d like us to ponder that today… you’ve had such moments in your life when an adult took an interest in you and it impacted your life didn’t it?! Was it maybe a coach and you were a young athlete playing on his/her team? Was it a teacher or administrator in your school? Was it an extended family member, an uncle or aunt or grandparent? Was it a Pastor or employer? And what difference did it make in your life my friends?

And this closing question: what young person are you intentionally influencing with your love, your advice, your wisdom and most of all, your relationship with Jesus? For Mark, this invitation changed his life! What he saw in Antioch, and what he then experienced as Barnabas and Saul invited him to join them as they took their first journey… it changed him forever!

Take some time right now to pray for the young people your life is touching and ask God to show you… are there a few special young people that God wants you to give special attention to? And is it especially your relationship with Jesus that God wants you to use to influence them?

Today’s Scripture is Acts 12:16-25.

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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 262.441.8785
“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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