Sorry, There’s Only Room for One God
Acts 12:18-24
Dr. Larry Thorson
Each week we’ve been looking at a different ordinary person in the Bible and their extraordinary experiences with God. We have seen that God is no respecter of a person’s background or pedigree. If you desire to give your life over whole heartedly to Jesus Christ you too can be used in an extraordinary way by God.
Instead of looking at ordinary people, today in our series “Ordinary People with Extraordinary Experiences” we’re going to look at a guy who was born extraordinary and of course had an extraordinary experience but… not one that any of us would covet.
Before we take a closer look at these verses I want to
distinguish an extraordinary person from an ordinary person. I’m an ordinary person. My father was an
American of 100% Norwegian heritage. My
mother’s father immigrate here from the
Our character today, Herod Agrippa I, on the other hand was
the grandson of Herod the Great. He grew
up in the palace at
You see ordinary guys like me didn’t grow up with guys that would own kingdoms. Guys like me grew up with guys whose dads worked at bottle cap companies. They were machinists, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, laborers. The extraordinary people are the people born with access to power. They’re not any worse or better than ordinary people it’s just that they have friends who give them access to high places. They have power. Sometimes that power makes them feel invincible; it makes them feel like a god.
Power is dangerous when having the power to control people starts
to feel good. Whatever feels good we tend
to crave more of it. It becomes addictive
causing us to seek more and more of it. Al-Qaida
for example can disrupt the rebuilding of
Herod Agrippa had control over
Jewish Christians were seen as a disruptive minority for him just as a wife is sometimes seen as a disruptive minority to an abusive man. In his drive for power he couldn’t see what political power a minority like the Jewish Christians could give him. More than that, if he killed a Christian or two it energized the majority Jews. That’s why we read in Acts 12:1-3 “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 pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also.” He killed and persecuted Christians to win the hearts of the Jews and thereby make them dependent on him. Power is intoxicating.
Let’s read in Acts 12:20a
“Now Herod was angry with the people of
We read in Acts 12:20b “So they came to him in a body; and after winning over Blastus, the
king’s chamberlain, they asked for a reconciliation, because their country
depended on the king’s country for food.”
Herod controlled
the region’s resources. The people of
21”On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat on
the platform, and delivered a public address to them.”
You’ve got to picture these royal
robes. It was a garment woven completely
of silver and he would time his entrance into the theater at daybreak so that
the sun would radiate off the silver and its glitter would inspire fear and awe
in those who saw him.
22The people kept shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a
mortal!” This is what
Herod lived for. This is what he
replaced his Playboy lifestyle for.
Instead of seducing powerless women and conquering them he seduced whole
groups of ordinary people and made them dependent on him. That’s what abusers do. In their own mind they become god to the
subjects they think they own.
23And immediately, because he had not given the glory to God, an
angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
What a way to go. In that part of the world they have
intestinal roundworms which grow as long as ten to sixteen inches and feed on
the nutrient fluids in the intestines. Bunches of these worms can obstruct the
intestines and kill a person.
Herod, in his prime, lost sight of
who he really was. Every abuser loses
sight of who they are, a sinner at the mercy of God. I consider myself an ordinary man from an
ordinary background. But three months
ago I accepted the call as your senior pastor.
I was treated with great respect and hailed as the great hope for the
future of this church. Everywhere I went
in this church I kept hearing “we’ve held up making a decision until you got here.” Wow, what power. For 20 minutes every week you sit there and
let me play like I’m the center of attention.
“Look at me, I’m the senior pastor.”
I even have a prime parking space with that title. That power is intoxicating. The more I can keep you dependent on me the
more power you will give to me and the more intoxicating that power will become. It’s addicting. That addiction to power is why there’s so
much abuse in this world.
Great pastors in my opinion are
not the great pulpiteers who can razzle and dazzle you with their verbal
oratory but keep people dependent on them.
I have watched large churches collapse when the great pulpiteer moved on
or retired. Great pastors are ones who
help people become dependent only on God and who teach in practice that they can
be fully empowered to do the work of God.
If the pastor can preach well that’s just an added bonus.
The way that we will do ministry
in this church during my time here is that there will be one God and only one
God worshipped, and I’m not him. He has
a son named Jesus Christ who never sinned but died for our sins. What that means is that I pledge to do my
best to equip you to do the work of running this church and reaching new people
for Christ. I don’t do church budgets on
my own. I don’t micromanage staff or
committees. I don’t maintain this
facility. Trust me, you wouldn’t want me
to. Instead I teach, coach and encourage
so that you’re less dependent on me and more dependent on God.
Secondly, I hope not to tear you
down to become like me. We don’t need
more me’s. Sometimes I’ll have hard,
prophetic messages that the Lord will want me to deliver to you but I suspect
I’ll be in there confessing with you.
Thirdly, Lord willing I will not
outlive this church. Someday I will
retire and I expect that this church will thrive without me. I have said it before and I will say it
again, I did not come here to fix a broken lamp. God has called you. God has equipped you with everything that you
need. I have come here to help you blossom
into what God desires you to become.
But power is a dangerous thing if it’s abused.
Politicians abuse it. Pastors abuse it. Husbands abuse it. Wives abuse it. Children abuse it. Good, church going, Christian people abuse
it. I have seen whole churches
abused. No one should lord power over
you. Not a husband, not a wife, not a
parent, not a pastor, not an employer.
There are rarely simple solutions
to facing an abuser like Herod Agrippa or your own spouse but the main thing is
not to suffer alone. Come and seek
help. My wife has an office in the old
conference room of the
The need for power is real. When Jesus was resurrected he said his Holy
Spirit would come upon those who followed him and loved him. In Acts 1:8 we read Jesus’ words “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you;
and you will be my witnesses in
Herod Agrippa teaches us at least
one thing. It doesn’t matter whether
you’re extraordinary or ordinary there really is only room for one God. Repent, turn to Jesus and you shall receive
more power than you will ever need.
1 Herod the king—He was the grandson of
Herod the Great and son of Aristobulus. At this time, he ruled over all his
father’s kingdoms. For 30 years prior there had been no king in
2 killed James the brother of John with the sword—James was beheaded. This James was among the original inner circle of the Twelve.
3 he saw it pleased the Jews—The motive of his killing James was to become popular with the people. he proceeded further to take Peter—Peter’s death at this point in the development of the church would have been irreparable. days of unleavened bread—during the Passover.
4 four quaternions of soldiers—i.e., 16 soldiers. Four groups of four soldiers each kept the four Roman watches. Two were with Peter in prison, and two were at the gate. intending after Easter—which should be rendered, “Passover”—to bring him forth to the people—for judgment and execution. The Jews were against putting anyone to death during the Passover.
5 prayer—Luke 22:44; Acts 26:7; 1 Pet. 4:8. was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him—This was not a public assembly, which would have been too dangerous, but small groups in private homes, one of which was Mary’s (12:12). This went on all during the seven days of Passover.
6 bound with two chains—Roman prisoners were fastened by a chain between their right hand and the soldier’s left hand. For greater security, the prisoners were often chained to two guards, one on each side (see 21:23).
9 thought he saw a vision—He really didn’t expect to be delivered from these circumstances (see also 12:11).
12 came to the house of Mary—Mary’s house was quite large and had served as a meeting place for Jerusalem Christians. Mary must also have been known for her faith and courage to allow such a meeting under threat of persecution. It was natural that Peter would go to her house. mother of John . . . Mark—She is named to distinguish her from the other Marys.
15 Thou art mad—“You are crazy” (TEV). Peter’s presence seemed too good to be true. It is his angel—They could not accept the very miracle for which they had been praying.
16 Peter continued knocking—It was dangerous for him to stand outside.
17 hold their peace—Amidst the excitement
there was probably some embarrassment for their inability to believe Rhoda’s
announcement of Peter’s presence. show these things unto James, and to the
brethren—It is unclear whether Peter is referring to James the son of
18 as soon as it was day —dawn. Peter’s release
from prison must have occurred during the fourth watch (
20 Herod was highly
displeased with them of
21 made an oration unto them—He spoke to the Tyrians and Sidonians.
22 the voice of a god—The people were deifying him.
23 the angel of the Lord smote him . . . and he was eaten of worms—Several cases of such deaths occurred in history (Judas, Herod the Great, Antiochus IV). See Josephus’s account of Herod’s death (Antiquities, 19.8.2). According to Josephus, he died of intense abdominal pains, knowing that he was stricken for accepting the people’s deification.
24 the word of God grew and multiplied—The persecution, rather than stopping Christianity, served rather to further it.
25 Barnabas and Saul
returned from
The historian Josephus, a
contemporary of the writer of Acts gave us this account of the episode: “The
king did not rebuke them nor did he reject their flattery as impious. But shortly thereafter he looked up and saw
an owl perched on a rope over his head.
At once, recognizing this as a harbinger of woes just as it had once
been of good tidings he felt a stab of pain in his heart. He was also gripped in his stomach by an ache
that he felt everywhere at once and that was intense from the start. Leaping up he said to his friends: I, who was
called immortal by you, am now under sentence of death. But I must accept my lot as God wills
it. In fact I have lived in no ordinary
fashion but in the grand style that is hailed as true bliss. Even as he was speaking these words, he was
overcome by more intense pain. They
hastened, therefore, to convey him to the palace; and the word flashed about to
everyone that he was on the very verge of death…Exhausted after five straight
days by the pain in his abdomen, he departed this life in the fifty-fourth year
of his life and the seventh of his reign (Antiq. XIX, 343-50).
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