There a large number had assembled together and were praying. Herod would not condemn him till the passover was over, some think, for fear lest he should have such an interest among the people that they should demand the release of him, according to the custom of the feast: or, after the hurry of the feast was over, and the town was empty, he would entertain them with Peter's public trial and execution. Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Plural. And because this was translated by the King James translators in 1600 and by this time this pagan celebration of Ashtar had invaded the church and was changed slightly to Easter instead of Ashtar. Jerusalem passes as the center of the church's activity and now moves to Antioch, and all of the missionary activity in taking the Gospel into all of the world centers out of the church in Antioch. The angel had to do with providential circumstances, but the Spirit with that which directly deals with spiritual need and blessing. There was more work for him to do. On believing they were baptized, as we are told in Acts 8:1-40; but they received the Holy Ghost after an interval, through the action of the apostles. And as there was reality at least in their feeling, they made suitable lamentation. WebVerse Acts 12:1. They were in the church already. Then we find Simon struck not so much by an individual's endowment with miraculous power, as by the fact that others received it by the apostles' laying on of hands. 302, 303). If Christ were the object of our souls, we should bow as one did called of God with incomparably better tokens of the Lord's favour than any other, this blessed man, Saul of Tarsus. Note, Blood to the blood-thirsty does but make them more so, and the way of persecution, as of other sins, is downhill; when men are in it, they cannot easily stop themselves; when they are in they find they must on. We are now arrived at a turning-point in the history, not merely of the church, but of the unfolding of the truth of God, and the manifestation of His ways. stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church; Beza's ancient copy adds, "in Judea": it seems to be the church at Jerusalem; perhaps some of the principal members of them; and so the Ethiopic version renders it, the rulers of the house of God. There was at this time some quarrel between Herod and the people of Tyre and Sidon, for whom the quarrel was a serious matter. It is not merely that the absence of it operates injuriously upon the tone and standard of piety within the Church; it affects the claims of the society as such to be a legitimate member of the visible Church Catholic. So when we see that the enemies of godliness, being full of fury, do not commit horrible slaughters, that they may mix and imbrue all things with blood, let us know that we need not thank their moderation and clemency for this; but because, when the Lord doth spare his sheep, he doth not suffer them to do so much hurt as they would. Azeskvi fotzst, eskvi szolgltatk munkjt rendszerint a felszn alapjn tlik meg, de elmeslem a valsgot megmutatni mindenfle kdsts nlkl. Herod the king This was Herod Agrippa, the son of Aristobulus, and grandson of Herod the Great; he was nephew to Herod Antipas, who beheaded John they Baptist, and brother to Herodias. It is granted that man sees difficulty in this: there is what he cannot reconcile; but be assured that the great point is, first, to believe. These chains have fallen off; I'm walking past these guards. What I am suggesting is that Acts 12 illustrates not profound unbelief in prayer, but the churchs early experience of a truth later enunciated by Paul: God is able to He was the father of Salome (see G4539) . "About that time was A.D. 44, as Herods death occurred in this year" (Boles 187). And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. Fergeteges lagzi volt tnyleg, a kemny mag is aktvan tncolt, gondoskodtak a j hangulatrl. There was special exposure to this evil which called for so much the greater guard against it at Samaria. Surely it was true of all who really believed and knew His glory. In due time follows the further development of the truth as to Christ in testimony. Akkor j helyen jrsz, csak kattints a weboldalra s nzz krbe. was from Jesus. And I don't think the prayers of the church were the deciding factor, because as we noted, the prayers obviously were not prayers of faith.I believe the deciding factor was just the purpose of God, the sovereignty of God. It was of the greatest importance that unity should be kept up practically, not merely that there should be proclaimed the truth that there is unity, but that there should be the maintenance of it in practice. Now don't try to figure out an answer, because we don't know.The ways of God are beyond our finding out. If he must have meant something more than this; if his own faith and his own sanctity were living and real, the effect of the Holy Spirit's operation; then, inasmuch as he makes no distinction as regards this point between himself and those whom he addresses, we must suppose that he looked upon them also as real saints and believers. Thus we see God had allowed things apparently to take their course. A Christian society which should openly profess to dispense with discipline, and tolerate on principle open and notorious evil doers [or still worse heretics, Antichrists, or their abettors] within its pale, would thereby renounce its title to one of the essential attributes of the Church; it would sever all ostensible connection between itself and the true Church [or rather Christ and His sacrifice: see1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13 ], of which sanctity is an inseparable property; in short, it would unchurch itself. Continually he tried to encourage his fellow Jews to be more tolerant of others (Acts 15:13,Acts 15:19). The latter is, unquestionably, the ground which he takes" (pp. For according to the Roman law, if you were guarding a prisoner and he escaped from you, then you received the sentence that would have been given to the prisoner. A zene vegyes felhozatal volt egy kivl Dj-vel. During that time no trial or execution could be carried out and that is why Herod purposed to defer Peter's execution until the week was finished. What a revolution this word caused in that mighty heart! And so he did ( Acts 12:4-8 ). Of course, they were seeking to flatter him in order that they might gain his favor and his help. TovbbEskvi fotzs Eskv szervezs, Volt szerencsm Tibi es Szandra fergeteges eskvjn rszt venni. "And he arose and went." 12 rakor kezdtnk egy kis kreatv fotval. It was the fact. In verse five we read that prayer was made: To God - the aim. De ezen a napon Balatonfred adott otthont az ifj pr letnek legszebb TovbbEskvi fotzs Veszprm Egy ess nap sem ronthatja el az eskv napjt, Ez a story egy forr nyri napjt mutatja be egy fiatal prnak, olvasd el, nzd meg a kpeket s taln merthetsz magadnak j tletet az eskvdre. A nsznp 80%-a szerintem lyukasra tncolta a cipjt, gy legalbb lemozogtk a vacsort. He struck Peter's side and wakened him and said, "Rise quickly." But the Lord said unto him, "Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel. Nincsenek jl bevlt helyszneim, helyette keresem az jabb helyeket, gy biztosan egyedi fnykpeitek lesznek. And we hear almost daily of the tensions that exists with the Israeli occupation forces and the people of Sidon and Tyre today. Egy kedves bartom eskvjn ktttem ki Gyr vrosban.Bemutatnk pr fott a lakodalom rszleteibl. 3. "Nor is there any weight in the objection that many of these primitive Churches were very defective in doctrine or in, practice, or in both; that St. Paul speaks of the Corinthians as being, on account of their divisions, 'carnal,' and not 'spiritual,' as 'babes in Christ,' and sharply reproves them for their laxity of discipline in the case of the incestuous person, and their want of discipline in the celebration of the Lord's Supper. The church at Antioch fasted and prayed before sending out Barnabas and Paul (Acts 13:13; and note 14:23), 12. For all that God took precaution to bind up together the work at Samaria with that which He had wrought at Jerusalem. It says Easter there, and that's a King James translation. And although its character had to be yet more brought out by another and far greater witness of divine things who was still in the blindness of Jewish unbelief at this very moment himself taking his own miserable part, though with a good natural conscience, in the death of Stephen, all told powerfully upon the Jews, but lacerated their feelings to the utmost. But not so in the ministry of the word or testimony of the Lord. Warren W. Wiersbe noted, This is certainly a good lesson for the church today. Thus, although the others no doubt had the same Saviour taught them by the Holy Ghost, still there was not in every case the same measure of entrance or appreciation. He handed him over to four squads of soldiers to guard, for he wished to bring him before the people after the Passover Feast. How could its reality be doubted? Power of Prayer (Acts 12:1-12) Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. Man, Israel, not merely Saul, was altogether blinded: the flesh never knows God. My object, of course, is simply to give a sketch of the important book now before us, endeavouring to connect (as, indeed, evidently the chapter does connect) what was coming with what was past. That one name, through faith in it, what could it not accomplish? If God had given them the Holy Ghost, as was manifest in sensible results, it was very evident that they must have by God's grace had repentance unto life. He had a conviction that this was the instrument the Lord would use for good. The profound moral work of God proceeded in that converted heart. But the Risen Christ made a special appearance to James ( 1 Corinthians 15:7). Nevertheless "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh;" and he who loves to present the Lord in the depth of His personal grace, and the height of His glory, has surely a spiritual fitness for the expression of the heart's joy in that which faith has created within. Little did the great apostle of the circumcision anticipate what was before him as he tarried many days in Joppa with one Simon a tanner. Thus we find the utmost simplicity and quietness. It was the Lord undoubtedly, and the Lord declared He was Jesus, and Jesus was Jehovah. . But for himself and his household, what could he do but pray till the rich blessing came? Now go back to verse Acts 12:5 where it says, "But prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for Peter." Undoubtedly they could not have believed the gospel, had there not been the quickening operation of the Holy Ghost; but we must distinguish between the Holy Ghost giving life and the Holy Ghost Himself given. And they "made great lamentation over him." I have already touched upon the practical effects, and therefore will not enlarge on these now. This brought the question to a simple issue; but here again, let it be noticed that the gift of the Holy Ghost belongs to those that believe. Philip goes down, then, preaching Christ; "and the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did." 0UR hearts are thrilled by the remarkable deliverance of Peter from prison, recorded in Acts. In this passage we come on the first mention of the man who was the real leader of the Christian Church in Jerusalem. But for some reason, God did not see fit to deliver James, but allowed James to fall prey to Herod's sword. "The Church of Christ was not properly in existence before the day of Pentecost; much less did she, before that era, go forth on her mission to evangelize* the world. WebActs)12which"gives"you"asnapshotinto"the"prayer"life"of"the" church.Butdontturn$there$yet.$ " Peter was present, but he certainly laid no hand of his on a single soul that day before the Holy Ghost was given. I can understand difficulties in the minds of believers; and no one would wish to force or hurry the convictions of any; nor would it be of the slightest value to receive even a truth without the faith that is produced, and exercised, and cleared by the word of God. All that heard were amazed. Thus was the plot laid, and both Herod and the people long to have the feast over, that they may gratify themselves with this barbarous entertainment. Though He did see fit and purpose that Peter should be delivered from Herod's sword. Or it was to show that though the apostles were appointed to plant the gospel in the world, yet if they were taken off God could do his work without them, and would do it. So he came in like a shining god, making this speech to the people and, of course, the people began to cry, "It's the voice of a god, not of a man!" But because Easter takes place during Passover season, because Jesus was crucified at the time of the Passover, He also rose again three days later. By the Holy Ghost there is imparted all the firmness of a divine bond, and all the intimacy of a real living relationship of the nearest kind. The finger of God is clearly seen in this chapter. And Luke calleth these Grecians not but [?]. Peter and John prayed for the Samaritans (Acts 8:1417), 6. When they were up against it, they turned to God. See the notes on Matthew 2:19. But it was a thoroughly illegal trial. Was his faith nothing more than a profession of Christian doctrine? To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use the convenient, Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament, The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary, Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Nobody could have this till the gospel, and even after its publication God Himself sent specifically to the Gentiles; for He has His ways, as well as His times and seasons. And now Paul and Barnabas are returning back to Antioch, and John Mark, who is a nephew to Barnabas, is returning with them. But "as for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and dragging off men and women, committed them to prison." Nor is it that the other disciples had not the same faith. He was not only (as Herod Antipas was) tetrarch of Galilee, but had also the government of Judea committed to him by Claudius the emperor, and resided most at Jerusalem, where he was at this time. Kulturltan fotzom, nem nyomok senki arcba egy teleszkpot. Nor is there a more painful want of it than that kind of restiveness which is so ready to take offence at the smallest fear or anxiety on the part of others. But Peter just kept knocking: and so when they opened the door, they saw him, and they were astonished. Stephen prayed as he was being stoned (Acts 7:5560) 5. . There would be no particular force in giving it to Jews, for all Jews professed to be looking for Christ. Acts 12 Not on the other hand that there ought to be a spirit of suspicion or distrust in the church or any Christian. There was to be a testimony to an the nations. And all the believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomons Colonnade. We tend to like it better when we get a "yes" from heaven, but God might actually be doing It is important to distinguish between the two things one, the charge to which man appointed him; the other, the gift which the Lord conferred. III. At the passover, when the Jews came from all parts to Jerusalem to keep the feast, they irritated one another against the Christians and Christianity, and were then more violent than at other times. Settle it invariably that God is wiser than we. Saul (as he is still called) and Barnabas are made the channels of bringing the contributions to the elders not named before. but they came with one accord to him, because they had made a friend of Blastus the king's chamberlain, and they desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king's country [or by Palestine]. But she constantly affirmed that it was true. 1. Israel had the truth presented to them as it was afterwards to all. God did not clothe him with such overwhelming influence that doors were thrown open to him though the greatest of the apostles. 280-283). God has no pleasure in the death of a sinner. There is a mistake, not only in our vernacular Bible, but also in the common Greek text which is equally faulty as the authorized version. . And they said, "Yes, Lord, we are able." He was a thoroughly bad ruler and was deposed and banished. "Saul arose and was baptized, and when he had received meat he was strengthened, and remained with the disciples for some time.". He figured that they would be coming to Mary's house looking for him and so he, no doubt, went to hide out from Herod. Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, NT Apostles: Acts 12:12 Thinking about that he came to (Acts of the Apostles Ac). The tradition that they have in the Romish church, that this James had been before this in Spain, and had planted the gospel there, is altogether groundless; nor is there any certainty of it, or good authority for it. Festus did not have any charges to send with Paul, and so he had asked Herod Agrippa II, the son of this Herod Agrippa I, to hear Paul's case in order that they might develop charges against him to send to Nero when he was sent there. Warning: array_slice() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given in /var/www/html/familytimes/includes/rss/esvLookup.php on line 15, View this passage in NIV (Bible Gateway) , Acts 9:32-43Peter Used by God in Joppa to Heal Beloved Dorcas, Acts 10:1-8Cornelius on a Mission for God, Acts 10:9-22Gods Message to Peter through a Vision, Acts 10:34-48Peter Preaches to Cornelius Household, Acts 11:1-18Peters Defense to the Legalists, Acts 11:19-26Barnabas Seeks Saul to Help with Discipleship, Acts 11:27-2Antioch Believers Send Encouragement to Jerusalem, Acts 12:3-11Continual Prayer Brings Results, Acts 12:18-25Gods Judgment on King Herod, Acts 13:1-12Paul Confronts a Sorcerer at Cyprus, Acts 13:4-12Saul (Paul) Confronts a Sorcerer at Cyprus, Acts 13:13-25Paul and Barnabas Say Farewell to John Mark, Acts 13:26-41Paul Preaches the Gospel of the Resurrection, Acts 13:42-52Gentiles are Receptive to Pauls Message, Acts 14:13-20From God to Stoning Paul Still Committed to Preach, Acts 15:6-11Jerusalem CouncilDiscussion Re: Moses Law, Acts 15:12-21A Decision based on Gods Word, Acts 15:30-41A Disagreement about John Mark, Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our personsbut they are helpless against our prayers. (. It is not only that God uses one and another: this He does and we may bless Him that so He does; but the God who employs means is also above them, and He needs now only to draw out by circumstances the souls of some simple Christian men who had faith and love to seek the Gentiles without requiring the same vigorous and extraordinary means, under His mighty hand, as even the apostle did. This is why the church advanced more dramatically in Gentile territory, as the rest of Acts shows. Now, Herod Agrippa I forever enshrines his name in infamy as the one guilty of the blood of the first apostle to be martyred. But the word of God grew and multiplied. On these I need only remark how grace used them for the spread of the testimony. Luke calleth this games which was slain the brother of John, that he may distinguish him from the son of Alpheus. How could he resist the heavenly vision? Though the Spirit of the Lord catches away Philip, so full is his heart of the truth that we may be sure all that occurred confirmed it in his eyes. Nevertheless, the Lord suffered him whom he had furnished with constancy to be put to death, that by death he might get the victory as a strong and invincible champion. But the testimony of miracles is apt to act upon the flesh. Prayer for Acts 1 - Knowing Jesus 276-78.] The returning treasurer of Queen Candace was a proselyte, I suppose, from the Gentiles, living among them, not as a Gentile himself, but practically a Jew, whatever the place of his birth and residence. Summary: Acts 12 has both answered and unanswered prayers within it. Here the Lord alone gives, alone calls, alone sends forth. When Peter had recovered his faculties he said, "Now I know for sure that the Lord sent his angel and delivered me from the hand of Herod and rescued me from the fate that the people of the Jews looked forward to for me.". The exercise of discipline is the true and legitimate expression of the sanctity of a visible Church considered as a society. Correct, good students! The holy city had rejected the gospel. It was not only right, but recorded of God that we might see and profit by it. See Luke 3:1; see also an account of the Herod family, see in Clarke's note on "Matthew 2:1". Ennek a hobbinak a digitlis vilg elg nagy lehetsget nyjtott. As far as God was concerned, it was James' time to come home; it wasn't Peter's time yet. The voice that said, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" God knows exactly the day and the circumstances by which He's going to take me home. 286, 287). The church has economic diversity. Acts 12 It was no longer simply a cleaving to a God of goodness who could not deceive and would not disappoint the soul that hoped in His mercy, "but the conscious joy of knowing his sins all one, and himself distinctly put on the ground of accomplished redemption as a known present thing for his own soul in this world. Remember that verse 37 is only an imaginary conversation between him and Philip. Now Rhoda comes running in and says, "Peter's out at the gate." It was to be emphatically a witness of grace in suffering for Christ's name: "For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake." And it continues still. What a joy to be warranted to proclaim Him to others without stint, even to a soul as dark as the Ethiopian, who was then and there baptized! Undoubtedly the cruelty of this mad man was restrained and bridled by the secret power of God. They are, indeed, a sign to unbelievers, and that such is the result we find shown us by the Spirit of God in the chapter before us. WebFirst, there was unity in prayer many were gathered together praying (12:12), any differences that might have separated people from one another were now completely lost Now Herod was highly displeased with those that were from Tyre and Sidon ( Acts 12:19-20 ): Cities that exist to the present day that have been in the news quite a bit of late as Israel has gone into southern Lebanon. [Alas! 2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. I will not pretend to say that it cost him little, but am sure it would have been a heavy trial to many a man of God to leave that which was so bright, where He had wrought powerfully in using himself for His own glory. Neither one nor other ever entered into the thoughts or feelings of Simon. Surely to shrink from their enquiries is nothing but self on our part. And, both. PRAYER POINTS When Philip died, this region was granted by the Emperor Caligula to Herod Agrippa. "Were the question put to a person of plain understanding, unacquainted with the controversies which have arisen on the subject, What, according to the Apostolic Epistles, is a Christian Church, or, how is it to be defined? And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him ( Acts 12:4 ); Now a quaternion was actually four soldiers. The doctrine of His Sonship did not in the smallest degree, of course, set aside the Messiahship. Therefore, in an effort to please them he took action against the apostles by having one of them, James, executed (12:1-2).The execution of James pleased the Jews more than Herod expected, so next time he planned to kill the leading apostle, Peter (3-5). Pray about the needs others He killed James. It is thought that her house was pretty much the headquarters of the church in Jerusalem. It was not a question of being saved in the day of judgment; nor is this the meaning of the term "salvation" in the New Testament. And every word was made good. Prayer is both the thermometer and the thermostat of the local church; for the spiritual temperature either goes up or down, depending on how Gods people pray.[1]. Ask God for your specific requests for yourself and other. A nevem Hring Attila, profi fotogrfus vagyok. The great tragedy of this particular wave of persecution was that it was not due to any man's principles, however misguided; it was due simply to Herod's bid to gain popular favour with the people. Ever since the conversion of Paul, we have heard no more of the agency of the priests in persecuting the saints at Jerusalem; perhaps that wonderful change wrought upon him, and the disappointment it gave to their design upon the Christians at Damascus, had somewhat mollified them, and brought them under the check of Gamaliel's advice--to let those men alone, and see what would be the issue; but here the storm arises from another point. However, outside of the council in Jerusalem, this is the last mention of Peter that we have in the book of Acts. But what is more to the purpose for us Gentiles, when Cornelius and his household were brought in, not only no appearance of it is visible, but positive proof to the contrary. He was delivered to four quaternions of soldiers, that is, to sixteen, who were to be a guard upon him, four at a time, that he should not make his escape, nor be rescued by his friends. Among the Gentiles we know that they were installed, as we shall see a little later, by apostolic choice. For these reasons he was popular with the people; and it was no doubt in order to achieve further popularity with the orthodox Jews that he decided to attack the Christian Church and its leaders. Clearly the Jew is meant. ., 2:11:6; Bruce, "Chronological Questions . Accordingly the rejection of the very witness of Christ, speaking by the Holy Ghost the rejection of Him to heaven becomes the turning-point; and then by the Lord from heaven is now called forth the witness of grace as well as of the glory of Christ. Or Mariam of Hebrew origin; Maria or Mariam, the name of six Christian females. Hence the great importance of discipline. The change in James may well be another great example of the power of the Cross to change the lives of men. The Church neither preaches nor teaches, but Christ sends those who evangelize the world and teach the Church. Observe, The Jews made themselves guilty of the blood of James by showing themselves well pleased with it afterwards, though they had not excited Herod to it. These gifts, at least such as were of an extraordinary sort, were the outward signs of that gift in early days; and it was of great importance that there should be a decisive palpable testimony to it. The house of Mary the mother of Mark. Observe that, although the next words are beyond a question scriptural, and so far the case differs from verse 37 referred to in the last chapter, the last clause of verse 5 and the first of verse 6 belong properly speaking to two other chapters (Acts 22:1-30, Acts 26:1-32) rather than to this. Vissza a szlvrosomba, mghozz eskv miatt. Ignyes eskv fotzs vllalok Veszprmben, mvszi s dokumentarista fotkkal tudlak titeket elkprztatni. How these elders were appointed, if indeed they were so formally, does not appear. The very essence of faith is that you do not run before God, but receive what and as He sends to you. But at the same time to my own mind it seems to be only homage to God's word to affirm positively that of which I am sure. And so we have the story of Ananias, and the ways of the Lord, not of some great apostle, nor even of Philip, but a disciple at Damascus named Ananias, to whom the Lord spoke in a vision.