AP

Studies in Acts

The death of Herod Agrippa Acts (Acts 12:20-13:3)

“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall,” says Proverbs 16:18. That shows us Herod’s end very clearly.

Some time after Peter’s escape, the populace of Tyre and Sidon incurred the rage of Herod. These ancient and powerful commercial cities along the Mediterranean Sea (cf. Ezekiel 27-28) had a large population, but a small surrounding territory. For that reason, they had depended for centuries on Israel for their food. Solomon sold them grain and oil in return for cedar wood needed to build the temple (1 Kings 5:8-11).

Herod threatened to impact the region by stopping the grain exports. Perhaps he had even implemented his threat. And that was at a time of widespread grain shortage (11:28). To avert a catastrophe, both cities had sent a peace delegation to Caesarea. These delegates were able to win Blastus to their side, who as the palace official of Herod exercised significant influence on him. He promised that he would do his utmost to get the king to give them an audience, so that they could make an urgent appeal to him to improve the mutual relationships and to stop the grain boycott.

Herod was willing to receive the envoys. In order to ensure that they realized that both of their city-states had to live from his largesse, he made known his conditions of peace during a mass gathering that had been organized at that same time. Emperor Claudius had returned only a few months earlier from his campaign against the Britons. According to the historian Josephus, in honour of his success, public entertainment was organized in the predominantly pagan Caesarea that drew a lot of people. Herod would address the delegates. To demonstrate his power and glory, king Herod took the stage in the great open-air theatre, in his full regalia. According to Josephus, he was wearing a mantle made of silver, of wonderful weaving, something that altered his appearance into a glittering, illuminated figure when the sun glistened on it.

When the pagan public saw and heard him, they were so impressed by him that they shouted in exultation: “The voice of a god and not a man!” From the Greek tense (imperfect), we learn that they kept it up for some time. Josephus also says that flatterers called out to him that until now they had viewed him as a mortal man, but now they perceived that he was a god. With these cries, the same show of honour was being given to him as to the emperor. And although as a part-Jew he certainly knew about the First Commandment, he did not immediately reject the show of honour but accepted it with pleasure (a contrast to Peter in 10:26 and Paul in 14:11–18).

When the murderer of the Lord’s apostle thereby seized the honour that belonged to God alone, King Jesus sent an angel who struck the arrogant ruler with a terrible and fatal disease. Most probably this was the rupture of a hydatid cyst, and is borne out by Luke’s description of the king as “eaten by worms.” Herod shrivelled up from a ruler who had been honoured as a god into a beggarly pile of human misery. This must have involved excruciating pain. According to Josephus, after five days of unbearable suffering, he breathed his last.

Verses 24-13:3 Amidst all this, and contrasted with the sad end of Herod, the church continued to grow and spread (v. 24). Barnabas and Paul returned from Jerusalem. There was probably a period after the famine prophecy during which they gathered the gifts for the Jerusalem church. So they probably did not set out for Jerusalem until after Herod Agrippa’s death (AD 44) – also for security reasons, bearing in mind what had happened to James and Peter. From Jerusalem they took with them the cousin of Barnabas, John Mark, because they considered him well-suited for the ministry of the gospel.

Later they would have a difference of opinion and they would split up because of Mark (Acts 13:5–6; 15:37–40), but shortly before his death, Paul requested Mark to come to him, because he could put him to good use (2 Timothy 4:11). We learn from Luke’s narrative how various preliminary signs of the destruction of the temple were already being fulfilled (Luke 21:5–26). The Lord Jesus had foretold in that context the coming of famines and persecutions, arrests, and imprisonments. In Acts 4–12 we saw how many of these had already been realized. “You will be hated by all for my name’s sake,” the Lord had predicted. How the Jews would have rejoiced if Peter’s head had been severed at the command of Herod. The majority of Jerusalem’s inhabitants hated his apostles and arrogantly rejected the ultimatum that they had communicated to them. As they continued to harden themselves, they were heading toward their destruction in AD 70.

The church in Antioch was blessed with prophets and teachers. Leading them was the good man Barnabas, a Levite from Cyprus and a friend of Saul (Acts 4:36–37; 9:27). Simeon was called ‘Niger’ (a Latin nickname meaning ‘black’). He was probably from Africa where Latin was spoken. Lucius was from Cyrene (modern day Libya). Lucius was a common name, so probably not the same one mentioned by Paul in Romans 16:21. Manaen is the Greek form of Hebrew Menahem (meaning ‘comforter’). He had an interesting background: he was a ‘foster-brother’ of Herod the tetrarch. This title was given to boys of the same age as royal princes, who were brought up with them at court. Herod the tetrarch, to whom Manaen was foster brother, was Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, who ruled Galilee and Peraea as tetrarch from 4 BC to AD 39. God’s grace is shown to Manaen who became a leader in the church, whereas his ‘brother’ had John the Baptist beheaded and took part in the shameful trial of our Lord. Did Luke obtain his many details about the Herodian family from this Manaen? Finally, Saul also belonged to these five.

Note that it was while the church was worshipping, fasting, and praying that the Holy Spirit made clear to them that Paul and Barnabas were to be “set apart” for the spreading of the gospel to both Gentiles and Jews.

It was about fifteen years ago by now that the Lord had called Saul/Paul in Damascus to be an apostle (Acts 9:1–19a). He was not sent out alone, however, but together with Barnabas. This was according to Jesus’ rule that they were to work in groups of at least two (cf. Luke 10:1). In the rest of the book, Luke shows what task the Spirit had in mind for them: proclaiming the gospel to Jews, Gentiles, and even their kings and the emperor (cf. Acts 9:15; 22:15; 26:16–32; 27:24).

Then they laid their hands on them. Not as a magical rite whereby they were suddenly equipped, for Barnabas and Paul already possessed the gift of the Holy Spirit. But this was a symbolic action whereby they were publicly acknowledging the heavenly calling of both brothers, and as a church were confirming its solidarity with them. On their return they would report back to the sending church (Acts 14:26-28).

Questions:

Does God in his providence still punish arrogance in people’s lifetime? If your answer is ‘yes,’ can you give examples?

How were Paul’s apostolic missions different from today’s missionary efforts?

– Alida Sewell