There are some things that seem unstoppable. No matter what strategies are adopted to try and prevent them, they don’t succeed.
In God’s world, only what God purposes and decrees is unstoppable. According to Scripture, if God wants to turn back the sunlight ten steps, he has no problem doing it (Isaiah 38:8).
And if God wants his word to go out, it will go out. In today’s passage, this is the thing not negotiable. The word of the Lord will go out and will not return void, but will achieve the purpose for which he sent it.
Many things we read in Acts are negotiable, and unpredictable. That is why the story of Acts is so exciting.
It is just so in today’s passage. One Apostle is killed, another Apostle escapes. Being an apostle doesn’t necessarily protect you. A king kills, and is killed. Being a king doesn’t protect you. An angel kills, and sets free. A famine comes, and goes again. God’s people pray, and yet don’t believe the answer to their prayer that comes knocking at the door. There are surprises, shocks, high highs and low lows. And God’s people, like the rest of God’s world, are on the roller coaster ride that is called ‘life’. And yet, even in the midst of the shocks and twists and turns , even here there is a not negotiable, the thing that they can bank on as happening for sure. Acts 12:24:
But the word of God continued to increase and spread. (NIV)
So far, we’ve seen the gospel go to Jerusalem, all Judea and Samaria. And the main men on the ground have been Peter and Paul. But as important as Peter and Paul are, they are not as important as another character: ‘the Word’. ‘The Word’ is a character in Luke’s story of the Acts. ‘The Word’ is a great conquering force that takes vast tracts of land. ‘The Word’ so far has taken Jerusalem, all Judea and Samaria. And behind ‘the Word’ stands the Risen Jesus Christ. He is both the content of the Word and the sender of the Word. Jesus sends out the Word by his Spirit. And he uses whomever he likes. It’s been mainly Peter, up until now. Some others, like Stephen and Phillip, had a chapter. John’s been there by Peter’s side. But they are not the main driving force, behind which everyone runs to catch up. That is ‘the Word’.
We see this in chapter 11 verses 19-21:
Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. 20 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. (NIV)
The message travels to modern day Lebanon and Syria, but not through Peter or Paul. The word comes there through unnamed, anonymous Greek speaking Christians, who, without any authorization from Jerusalem, started speaking to non-Jews, something the other Christians from Jerusalem weren’t doing. They were doing something a bit edgy, and without authority from Jerusalem. But they didn’t need authority from Jerusalem. Their authority was the Lord, whose hand was with them.
You don’t have to have a big name to do big things for God. You don’t have to have a piece of paper from the boffins in head office to talk about Jesus and have the Lord’s hand with you. Look at these men. We don’t know who they were. Their identities have been forgotten by church history. No churches bear their names. But their work isn’t forgotten. That will last into eternity. Yet these average, everyday, unnamed Christians talked about Jesus to those who’d never heard when no-one else had ever talked to them. And they founded the great missionary church of Antioch. Because it wasn’t them that did it. It was the word. And they were just servants of the word.
Your name probably won’t make church history, either. Neither will mine. Our names more than likely will sink into oblivion. But that doesn’t matter. We can be like these anonymous Christians. We can speak what we know to who we know, and God can and will do amazing things.
Now, when a business is going bankrupt, they send in the liquidator to sack people. When you need a spy, you send in 007. When the place is filthy, you send in How Clean is My House. And when you need some encouragement to be done, who do you send?
You send the Son of Encouragement. You send Joseph, a Levite and a Jew from Cyprus, whom the Apostles nicknamed Barnabas, meaning ‘Son of Encouragement’. That’s what the Jerusalem church did when they heard about Antioch. And true to his name, in verse 23 we read:
When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he [Barnabas] was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. (NIV)
Don’t we all need a bit of a Barnabas around us? Don’t we need someone who’s not a grumpy sourpuss, who sucks all the happiness out of life. Don’t we need a bit of encouragement. Someone who is other person-centred, and concerned for others, about how they can keep going as Christians, and not just self-focussed. The word of God says this to us:
1 Thessalonians 5:11: Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. (NIV)
Hebrews 10:25: Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-- and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (NIV)
Barnabas takes initiative, and acts. And each of us needs a bit of Barnabas about us. We need to think about how we can encourage others.
And what was the result of Barnabas encouraging the church? The last bit of verse 24:
…and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. (NIV)
Through the encouragement of Barnabas, many more came to the Lord. The Word continued to conquer people’s hearts.
Imagine what we could do if each of us just had the courage to take the next step of sharing the news of Christ, or of living Christ’s way. May God bless us in the same way he blessed Antioch.
Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit. Barnabas was himself a prophet and a teacher (Acts 13:1). And a good man knows his limitations. Barnabas sees the needs of the Antioch church. He looks, he observes, and he says to himself. ‘I know just what this church needs. I have the man for this job. They need Paul. I have to get them Paul.’
Barnabas felt that the church in Antioch needed more than just him. So Barnabas, the good nominator, goes off to Paul’s hometown. Paul might have been doing good work in his hometown, but clearly Barnabas had more important work in Antioch for him. He gets Paul, and brings him back, for a year of ministry in Antioch.
And again, the result? Acts 11:26:
So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. (NIV)
The unnamed, anonymous men of Cyprus and Cyrene speak about Jesus, and many come to the Lord. Barnabas the encourager encourages, and many come to the Lord. Barnabas and Saul teach, and many are taught about the Lord. The word is progressing and growing, without a Jerusalem apostle anywhere near it.
What’s in a name? Antioch is the first place that followers of Jesus are called Christians. The name means ‘belonging to Christ’ or ‘those who name the name of Christ’. They are always talking about Christ. They have the bearing and countenance of those owned by Christ.
And what is the significance of this fact? Well, the two are now one. We no longer have Jews in the one corner and Gentiles in the other. Instead, they have merged together to form one single identifiable people and race. They are Christians, people of the Christ, a new identifiable social group. Jesus Christ defines them, and not their food laws or culture or loyalty to their nation. And all of this occurs under the careful tutelage of Paul and Barnabas.
But sometimes, when good work is happening, a better work calls. Sometimes the need is greater elsewhere. Paul left Tarsus with Barnabas for Antioch. Now he will leave Antioch with Barnabas for Jerusalem. Because the Antioch church got a heads up about a disaster that was coming.
Don’t we all wish we could have an Agabus? He could tell us when the planes are going to fly into the twin towers. Or when the floodwater or fire is coming, or the earthquake, or tsunami. He could let us know when to buy, or sell, because the next GFC is round the corner. Everyone’s an expert after the event, what we want is advance warning, like Agabus can give. That way, we can sell at the top of the market.
Well, the Antioch church was warned beforehand about a serious humanitarian crisis that would affect the Roman world, including Jerusalem, in AD 47.
And did Antioch church say, ‘Sell, sell’. Let’s protect our interests!’ No, they said, ‘Oh oh, what about Jerusalem. We better give them some money. The GFC – The Global Food Crisis – is just around the corner, so I better sell my shares so I can give some of my hard earned away.’
They say that the last part of a man to be converted is his wallet. How did the Antioch Christians go? Are they going to feel a unity, a commonality, with Christians in Jerusalem? They speak different languages, eat different foods, observe different days. Will the Antioch Christians feel ties thicker than blood?
The minister of my home church used to say that ‘blood is thicker than water, but the blood of Jesus is thicker still’. And this was true of the Gentile Christians in Antioch. They decide to love the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem that they do not know and have not seen. Chapter 11 verses 29 to 30:
The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul. (NIV)
Note, their giving is free, not coerced. And it is according to ability, not according to what one doesn’t have.
Friends, times are tough in Australia. But how do you feel about Christians in other countries, many of whom not having superannuation to lose and investments to devalue? But they are different in so many ways: language, food, clothing, culture. They aren’t Aussies.
But do you feel the pull of our family name, ‘Christian’? In many places, it is this name, ‘Jesus’, that gets them into all kinds of trouble.
Does the name of Jesus draw you send them help, or go to them yourself and help them, as Barnabas and Paul did? They left good ministry opportunities to do the best and help them, whether for short time or long. Maybe it should for some of us here, too.
In chapter 12, Luke returns his focus to the Christians in Jerusalem. The situation of Jewish Christians in Jerusalem is serious. When Stephen was stoned, all except the Apostles were scattered. But now the attacks on the church are not merely sporadic mob violence, but organized government policy. Acts chapter 12 verses 1 to 3:
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. (NIV)
James is the first Apostle put to death. He was one of the inner 3, with Peter and his brother John. Only Peter and John had as many privileges as James.
Beyond his activities with the 12, we don’t know what James the Son of Zebedee specifically did to share the gospel after Jesus rose from the dead. It seems pretty clear he didn’t get as far as Peter or Paul or his brother John. But he bears the honour of being the first Apostle Martyr.
In our reading, Peter escapes but James is executed. And this goes to the mystery of suffering. Why is it that one Christian receives more than the average quota of suffering, and another experiences miraculous escape? In the end, we don’t know. We assume the church prayed for James, just as they prayed for Peter. And even if they didn’t, God can save.
What we have here is the paradox Paul speaks of, ‘To live is Christ and to die is gain.’ One Apostle, James, gets to go home with the Lord, which is better by far. Another apostle, Peter, has fruitful labour to complete before he is called to be faithful unto death.
Even if the church was praying for Peter, they didn’t seem to expect God to answer. The Jerusalem church might pray, but they don’t seem to be those who pray without doubt.
Verses 12 to 16 are almost comic:
12 ¶ When this had dawned on him, he [Peter] went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!" 15 "You're out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel." 16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. (NIV)
Imagine the scene:
Church: Dear God, please save Peter.
Rhoda: Hey guess what, Peter’s at the door!
Church: Rhoda, you’re nuts, and stop disturbing our praying. Dear God, please save Peter.
Rhoda: No, really, he’s at his door.
Church: Rhoda, you’re out of your mind. Please God save Peter.
Rhoda: But God did save Peter. He’s at the door!
Church: It must be his angel. Dear God, please save Peter. Hey, what’s that knocking?
Poor Rhoda, believes but doesn’t let him in. Everyone else prays but doesn’t believe.
That night the church in Jerusalem learnt, as only experience can teach, that God can do more than we ask or imagine.
Two Apostles entered prison. One Apostle leaves. And one, the Lord takes to be with himself.
Is death the punishment for wickedness and sin?
At one level, all die for their sin. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). People die because of their sin, and the one exception to that is Jesus, who died for our sins.
But is it only the wicked who are cut short before their time? The deaths of Stephen and the Apostle James say ‘No’. Or take Herod’s execution of the soldiers. In chapter 12, Peter’s escape means his guards are executed. But Paul and Silas in chapter 16 decided not to escape from the Philippian jailer, and he was saved, both from suicide and eternally, by trusting Jesus. Why does one set of guards die, and yet another live? We don’t know.
But Luke makes it very clear that the death of Herod Agrippa is for accepting the sychophantic and blasphemous idolatry he hears. Acts chapter 12 verses 21 to 24:
21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22 They shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." 23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. 24 ¶ But the word of God continued to increase and spread. (NIV)
This is the sort of story that 8 year old boys love. Awww, cool! Eating worms and guts.
Josephus similarly records that Agrippa, because he would not refuse the adulation of the crowd, was seized with violent internal pains and died 5 days later. No mention of the worms, but otherwise pretty close.
Here is judgment on one that stood in the way of the word. Herod Agrippa, the killer of James and persecutor of Peter, gets eaten by worms and dies a horrible, painful death. And the word simply tramples over his dead carcass to the next place to be conquered.
Our world is an uncertain, unstable world, a world of twists and turns, a roller coaster ride with shocks and hazards and things that go bump in the night.
We long for security, something strong and stable on which to depend. If we are going to lose battles, like Stephen and James did, we don’t want to lose the war.
And Luke’s word to us is ‘You won’t’. With Christ, your future is secure and stable. As we look at the Acts of the Apostles, what we see is the conquest of the word. The word wins. The word will always win, in the end.
The Word uses us, but doesn’t depend on us. The word rushes off to the ends of the earth, leaving us to chase after it. The word spreads with persecution. The word spreads with encouragement. The word spreads when the Apostle is executed. The word spreads when the Apostle escapes. The word spreads when the King kills. The word spreads when the King is killed.
Bottom line is: the word spreads. It is going to the end of the earth. Make sure you are on the side of the Word.
Let’s pray.