Do some of our prayers for help - cries for rescue - go unanswered by God? Acts 12:1-17

Transcription

1 John Patton was a RESCUE missionary in the New Hebrides Islands. One night hostile natives surrounded the mission station, intent o n burning out the Patons a n d killing them. Paton and his wife p r a y e d during that terror-filled night that God would deliver them. When daylight came they were amazed to see their attackers leave. A year later, the chief of the tribe was converted to Christ. Remembering what had happened, Paton asked the chief what had kept him from burning down the house and killing them. The chief replied in surprise, "Who were all those men with you there?" Paton knew no men were present--but the chief said he was afraid to attack because he had seen hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords circling the mission station. (Today in the Word, MBI, October, 1991, p. 18) I m sure we all wish God would deliver in such a spectacular way every time we faced trouble or danger - but He does not. I ve heard this true story from John Paton before, but I ve not heard many similar stories from John Paton. Even for him, this was not the way God always chose to work. Oswald Chambers, in Run Today s Race, reminds us, Faith for my deliverance is not faith in God. Faith means, whether I am visibly delivered or not, I will stick to my belief that God is love. There are some things only learned in a fiery furnace. Do some of our prayers for help - cries for rescue - go unanswered by God? Acts 12: 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 pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast 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. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. 6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists. 8 Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. Rescue Taking Strides - Repeated Acts December 30 - January 5, 14

2 "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. 11 Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating." 1) 2) Why didn t God rescue James like He rescued Peter? Did God always rescue Peter in a dramatic way? (See Acts 4:21-22; 5:19-20; John 21:18-19) We tend to judge the power of prayer and the plan of God based on the outcome we experience. What do the outcomes of James and Peter teach us about God s ability? Can we conclude anything about the way God works His plan? What can we conclude about whether He hears and answers prayers? Is there anything we can learn about our attitude toward prayer and the plans of God? 3) Believers were praying for Peter s release but doubted Rhoda s story that Peter was standing outside. Why? How do we see our own attitudes toward prayer in this? What should be different in the way we pray?

3 4) Read the rest of the story (Acts 12:18-24). How did God turn the tables? Can you share an experience where the opposite of what was expected happened? Did you see the hand of God in this? 5) In prison, Paul was facing the possibility of death when he wrote Philippians 1:18b-26. Read this. Paul was confident of deliverance, but did that mean release from prison? Since he didn t know whether it would be life or death, what does deliverance mean? Notice the connection between deliverance and prayer again. Explain this. If Paul had been executed then, would those prayers not have been answered would there have been no rescue? Normally we think of rescue as what it will bring me. Was that what it meant for Paul? 6) So when we cry to God for rescue, what should we mean? What do we trust Him to do? And if we truly share the life of Jesus, what is our reason for wanting rescue? The saints in Jerusalem not only suffered as a result of the famine, they also suffered because Jewish and Roman governmental opposition against them intensified as time passed. Luke recorded the events in this section to illustrate God's supernatural protection and blessing of the church, even though the Christians suffered increased persecution, and Israel's continued rejection of her Messiah "Herod the king" was Herod Agrippa I whom the Roman emperor Gaius appointed king over Palestine in A.D. 37. When Claudius succeeded Gaius as emperor, he added Judea and Samaria to Agrippa's territories so that Agrippa governed all that his grandfather, Herod the Great, had ruled. Agrippa ruled Judea for three years, A.D (cf. v. 23), and moved his headquarters to Jerusalem. Herod Agrippa I had Jewish blood in his veins and consistently sought to maintain favor with and the support of the Jews over whom he ruled, which he did effectively. Josephus referred to Agrippa positively as "a person that deserved the greatest admiration" (Flavius Josephus, Against Apion, 1:9). As the Christian Jews became increasingly offensive to their racial brethren (cf. 11:18), Herod took advantage of an opportunity to please his subjects by mistreating some believers and by executing the Apostle James, the brother of John (cf. Matt 20:23). This is the only apostle's death

4 that the New Testament recorded. James was the second Christian martyr whom Luke identified (cf. 7:54-60). Persecution of the Christians now swung from religious to include political motivation. 3 - The Feast of Unleavened Bread was a seven-day celebration that began on the day after Passover each spring. This was one of the three yearly feasts in Jerusalem that the Mosaic Law required all Jewish males to attend. As on the day of Pentecost (ch. 2), the city would have been swarming with patriotic Jews when Herod made his grandstand political move of arresting Peter. These Jews knew Peter as the leading apostle among the Christians and as a Jew who fraternized with Gentiles (ch. 10). This was the third arrest of Peter that Luke recorded (cf. 4:3; 5:18). Note that this persecution of the Christians did not arise from anything they had done but simply because Herod wanted to gain popularity with the Jews. 4 - Four squads of soldiers four soldiers made up each squad guarded Peter in six-hour shifts so he would not escape as he had done previously (5:19-24). Evidently two of the soldiers on each shift chained themselves to Peter and the other two guarded his cell door (vv. 6, 10). "Passover" was the popular term for the continuous eight-day combined Passover and Unleavened Bread festival. 5 - His captors probably imprisoned Peter in the Roman fortress of Antonia. It stood against the north wall of the temple enclosure and on the western end of this wall. Prisons are no match for prayers, however, as everyone was to learn. The Christians prayed fervently about Peter's fate believing that God could effect his release again. 6 - The night before Peter's trial and probable execution he lay sound asleep in his cell. How could he sleep soundly when God had allowed James to die? Peter, of course, had a record of sleeping when he should have been praying (cf. Matt 26:36-46). He had no problem with insomnia. Nevertheless on this occasion God may have wanted him to sleep. Perhaps he did not fear for his life because Jesus had implied that he would live to an old age (John 21:18). Normally the Romans chained a prisoner by his right hand to his guard's left hand, but each of Peter's hands was chained to a guard on either side of him. Herod wanted to make sure Peter did not get away. 7 - Again an angel of the Lord (Gr. angelos kyriou) visited Peter in prison (5:19; cf. 8:26; 12:23). A light also illuminated his cell (cf. 9:3). The angel instructed him to get up quickly, and when he did his chains fell from his hands. Peter's guards slept through the whole event. Thomas Watson, the Puritan preacher, reportedly said, "The angel fetched Peter out of prison, but it was prayer that fetched the angel." The angel coached Peter as a parent to get dressed and to follow him out of the prison. Peter was so groggy that he did not know that he was really being set free. He thought he might be having another vision (10:10, cf. 9:10) God was orchestrating Peter's release (cf. 5:18-20; 16:23-29). Once outside the prison and left alone by his angelic guide Peter realized that his release was genuine. God did here for Peter what He had done for the Israelites in leading them out of their Egyptian prison in the Exodus. God's enemies can never frustrate His plans (Matt 16:18) Peter went directly to a home where he may have known that Christians would be praying for him. This was the house of Mary the mother of John (Jewish name) Mark (Greek name). John Mark was the man who accompanied Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey (13:5). He was Barnabas' cousin (Col 4:10) who travelled with Barnabas to Cyprus when Paul chose Silas as his companion for his second missionary journey (15:37-39). Mark later accompanied Paul again (Col 4:10; Phile 24), as well as Peter (1 Pet 5:13). According to early church tradi-

5 tion he wrote the Gospel that bears his name, served as Peter's interpreter in Rome, and founded the church in Alexandria, Egypt This amusing incident is very true to life. Rhoda's (Rosebud's) joy at finding Peter at the gate, which admitted people from the street into a courtyard, overpowered her common sense. Instead of letting him in, she ran inside the house and announced his arrival. The believers could not believe that God had answered their prayers so directly and dramatically. Peter meanwhile stood outside still trying to get in. Finally they let him in hardly able to believe that it really was Peter. Evidently the Christians thought Peter's guardian angel, or an angel sent to guard him, had appeared (v. 15; Dan 10:21; Matt 18:10). Another explanation is that we should understand "angel" as a reference to a human messenger that Peter had sent. A third possibility is that the Christians thought that Herod had killed Peter and that the apostle's spirit had come to visit them The James Luke mentioned here was the half brother of Jesus (cf. 15:13; 21:18; Gal 1:19; 2:9, 12; James 1:1). He became the foremost leader of the Jerusalem church after Peter's departure. Peter proceeded to disappear from Jerusalem. Scripture does not tell us where he went immediately. Probably he left Judea (cf. 1Cor 9:5). Many other believers in Jerusalem were not present in Mary's house that night. Peter wanted to be sure they learned of his release, too. Corinth and Rome are two places that Peter evidently visited (1Cor 1:12; 9:5; 1 Pet 5:13), and various church fathers wrote that he ministered throughout the Jewish Diaspora. Peter also may have been in Antioch (Gal 2:11-21), and he was in Jerusalem again for the Jerusalem Council (15:7-11, 14), though perhaps only as a visitor. One thing we can do to train ourselves to remember, is to memorize a part of what our Father has said to us. The Holy Spirit can use this to change our thinking so that our heads are more like Jesus. This week, memorize Philippians 1:21.