(cf. 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. In this passage we come on the first mention of the man who was the real leader of the Christian Church in Jerusalem. A mother. Yet there was no such requirement as imposition of hands in order to be the medium of it. And yet he had in his possession that famous Graeco-Latin Uncial (D) which he presented to the University of Cambridge in 1581, which MS. supports the Alexandrian. The believers prayed for guidance in making decisions (Acts 1:1526) 2. There was to be a testimony to an the nations. And so it was. Hence the great importance of discipline. Not on the other hand that there ought to be a spirit of suspicion or distrust in the church or any Christian. This is just a vision, it's not really happening." Ha csak nem kritek kln, nem viszlek titeket msok ltal annyira kedvelt s elcspelt macskakves tra, ahol ti lenntek az ezredikek, akik ilyen fotval bszklkednek. The governor at that time, Herod Agrippa I (a grandson of Herod the Great), knew it was not wise to let the Jews become too excited. They were in the church already. This was all happening during the days of Unleavened Bread, right after Passover (v. 3), around the same time Jesus was Crucified a decade or so previous. WebVerse 12. Quite right: only the true text delivers from the need of wresting the force of a word, and is as simply as possible Greeks, not Grecians, and means Gentiles without the smallest difficulty or discussion. For hence the Lord called him to a new sphere a task which, to a Jewish mind, was beyond measure strange. Herod accepted the praise as if he was God, and was punished for it (20-23). 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. Unquestionably it was. This is the brother of our Lord. I am, exist. But there was another reason too. ". was from Jesus. 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. And these people depended upon Palestine for their food supplies, and so they were pretty much a vassal to Palestine at this time. ., 2:11:6; Bruce, "Chronological Questions . To regard him as unawakened at that time is to mistake a great deal of the teaching of the chapter. James the half brother of Jesus did not believe the claims of Jesus during His lifetime. I've never really tried it, but I can imagine it would be difficult to run in a robe. And when they understood the bearing of that which God had wrought here below that it judged man; that it gave no countenance to the religiousness in which they boasted; that it showed most convincingly, and so much the more bitterly because convincingly, what God all through His testimony with them had expressly intimated, by the prophets as well as in the types of the law itself, that He had deeper purposes; that nothing on earth could satisfy Him; that it was in His mind, on the proved ruin of Israel, to bring in heaven and its things for a heavenly people even while here below: now that this was made manifest, above all, in the testimony that Stephen had rendered to the very man that they had rejected and crucified, seen in glory at the right hand of God, it was unbearable. It was wrought not by those that had previously been always the great spiritual witnesses; for we hear of none ministering but the apostles, and indeed not even of all the apostles speaking, though it may be that they did. 256, 257). . ". Stephen prayed as he was being stoned (Acts 7:5560), 5. "And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man." 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 There now broke out upon the Church, and especially upon its leaders, a new wave of persecution instigated by King Herod. Szeretek a termszetes fnyekkel fotzni, de ha nincs ms megolds, marad TovbbEskv fotzsa Sopronban Egy fergetes buli a hatr mellett, Itt az l plda mirt nem kell ktsgbe esni ha szeszlyes az idjrs.Tbbek kztt azrt sem mert olyan fotid lesznek ami msoknak nincsen. The Spread of the Gospel in Jerusalem (Acts 1-7), B. "When Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple." That the mode of interpretation alluded to involves a deviation from the obvious meaning of the New Testament phraseology is not, indeed, sufficient reason for at once rejecting it; but it does warrant us in requiring that the necessity for such deviation shall be clearly made out. This was probably about the fifth or sixth year of the reign of Claudius, not far from 47 ad. 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. On the greatest occasions, when the Holy Ghost was given, we have no ground to believe that hands were laid on any. The persecution of the Jerusalem church 12:1-24. Correct, good students! In fact, it is thought by some that the upper room was actually in the house of Mary the mother of Mark. Finally, and in few words (for I do not intend to say more on Acts 12:1-25 tonight), we have the completing of this second part of our narrative in this chapter. Prayer to God for him was earnestly offered by the Church. 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. It is thought that her house was pretty much the headquarters of the church in Jerusalem. When they would gird themselves, and the purpose of it is they would wear these long robes kind of things. Philip is told by the angel of the Lord to arise and go towards the south towards "Gaza, which is desert." But he was intending to bring him forth for judgment and, of course, for execution at the end of the Passover period. His spite was at the church, and, with regard to those he gave trouble to, it was not upon any other account, but because they belonged to the church, and so belonged to Christ. Peter had not long learnt it himself. Thus we must carefully remember that the gospel brings more than conversion to God. Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. The promise was not merely to them and to their children, but to all "afar off, as many as the Lord their God should call." To gather together, assemble. In the New Testament he is called Philip and is mentioned in Luke 3:1. He imprisoned Peter, of whom he had heard most, as making the greatest figure among the apostles and whom therefore he would be proud of the honour of taking off. A believer would have wondered more at the grace of God, and bowed in adoration before Him. He was one of those sons of Zebedee whom Christ told that they should drink of the cup that he was to drink of, and be baptized with the baptism that he was to be baptized with,Matthew 20:23. But the moment I have accomplished that purpose of God and plan for my life, then God's going to take me home.In the book of Revelation, chapter 11, we read concerning the two witnesses that come to bare witness during the tribulation period upon the earth. The same event doomed secular Israel. Conscience would have been searched by the truth of God; and the heart would have been filled with praise at the grace of God. "To all this, however, it will be replied, that the nature of a visible church, which we know must in all cases be a body of mixed character, as well as the actual state of several of the churches to whom St. Paul addressed his epistles, forbid the supposition that, in terming them communities of saints and believers, he could have used these words in their highest signification. They're all inside praying, "Oh God, help Peter! But to believe is the secret of real growth in the revealed wisdom of God. Although most of the Jews in the Jerusalem church still held to former beliefs and customs, James was not a slave to the law. 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. Why should there be unwillingness to meet and submit to others when it is a question of reception? It was no longer a question of Jerusalem only even for Peter, but without being called to the same largeness of work practically as the apostle Paul, he nevertheless passes throughout "all quarters" of Palestine, and comes down to the saints at Lydda, and is seen by those of Saron. Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church ( Acts 12:1 ). Then we find that if the church at Jerusalem had become impoverished, the Gentiles minister of their carnal things to them. First of all, the apostles and the disciples themselves received it as they were waiting. This scene does show the stranger discovering the predicted Messiah in Jesus of Nazareth the Messiah suffering, no doubt, but accomplishing atonement. Herod the king; not Herod the great that slew the infants at Bethlehem, nor Herod Antipas that beheaded John, but Herod Agrippa; and so the Syriac version adds here, "who is surnamed Agrippa"; he was a grandson of Herod the great, and the son of Aristobulus: this prince. Gird yourself means to tie your skirt on up. 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. Nevertheless, being a good man and full of the Holy Ghost, he seeks out and takes Saul to the apostles when others stood aloof, and declared unto them "how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus; and he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem." He was ruler of Judaea, Samaria and Idumaea. He said, "He's beside Himself" and they came down to rescue Him. "All that dwelt in Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord." And he began to take a very strong role of leadership in the early church. Way, more, had these been Presbyterians, all under the same government, the phraseology would not have been even the church of Judea, and the church of Galilee, and the church of Samaria, but all these would have been in one church, and even then but a small part of a church. Power was what struck Simon's mind himself a devotee of power, who in times past had sunk indeed low, even to the enemy of God and man in order from any source to be the vessel of a power beyond man. 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. (. If this took place in A.D. 46, and Herod died in A.D. 44, then the event Luke related in chapter 12 antedated the famine visit, and probably all of Acts 11:27-30, by about two years. These essential conditions of the existence of any regular society we find from the very first in being in the Church: the Apostles were the officers, and, collectively, the organ of the community; members were admitted into it by baptism; and they testified their continuance therein by participating in the sacrament of Christ's body and blood. In the midst of a storm, Paul prayed for Gods blessing (Acts 27:35), and after a storm, he prayed that God would heal a sick man (Acts 28:8). A vltozatossg varzsolja szness a vilgunkat, s ettl olyan klnleges nlam egy fotzs. We tend to like it better when we get a "yes" from heaven, but God might actually be doing The change of reading here seems to prove it was too much for the copyists of this book. WebTHE POWER OF PRAYER. Who they were the writer immediately specifies. (iv) Herod Philip the Second. To vex - To injure, to do evil to - kakosai. Veszprm is a szvem cscske, rengeteg emlk kt oda s milli lehetsget rejt egy j e-session vagy eskv fotzshoz. So far from it, as we shall find by and by inActs 10:1-48; Acts 10:1-48, the Holy Ghost was given while he was yet speaking, before they were so much as baptized. The angel had to do with providential circumstances, but the Spirit with that which directly deals with spiritual need and blessing. (a) To call (name) by a supplementary (additional, alternative) name, (b) mid: To call upon, appeal to, address. Beheading was not ordinarily used among the Jews; but, when kings gave verbal orders for private and sudden executions, this manner of death was used, as most expeditious; and it is probable that this Herod killed James, as the other Herod killed John Baptist, privately in the prison. He was murdered by his own father but he had a son called Herod Agrippa. 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. Nowhere in the New Testament does the intervention of Almighty God on behalf of his church appear any more timely and dramatic than in this chapter. Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. God knows exactly the day and the circumstances by which He's going to take me home. 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. He said to him, "Wrap your cloak round about you and follow me." Surely to shrink from their enquiries is nothing but self on our part. "In proportion to the apparent simplicity of the question, would be his surprise to hear it affirmed that he is mistaken, and that, in addressing a Christian society as a congregation of Christians, St. Paul merely regards it as a society of men professing the same faith, and participating outwardly in the same sacraments (it being immaterial to the idea whether they possess saving faith or not); a society invested with spiritual privileges, but not necessarily realizing those privileges, and that, consequently, we must lower the import of the terms, 'saints' and 'faithful in Christ Jesus,' to signify outwardly dedicated to God, and professing with the lips the doctrines of Christianity . And so this Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod the Great, began to persecute the church just to curry favor with the Jews.His son, Herod Agrippa II was the one that Paul faced in Caesarea as Paul was actually being interrogated by him in order that they might develop charges against him when he was sent to Nero. John Mark who is the author of the Gospel according to Mark. Upon an agreed day Herod put on his royal robes and seated himself on a throne and made a speech to them. God's going to do what God wants to do whether you have faith or not. From oikos; properly, residence, but usually an abode; by implication, a family. She strenuously insisted that it was so; but they kept saying, "It is his angel." what had high priest or Sanhedrim done for him? They probably believed that God would reestablish The Twelve in the resurrestion. When they opened the door and saw him they were amazed. Eskv fotzsa Sopronban Egy fergetes buli a hatr mellett, Eskvi fotzs Veszprm Egy ess nap sem ronthatja el az eskv napjt, Egy gynyr ifj pr legszebb napja kpekkel EskvI fotzs Tapolcn, Eskv fotzs Pr fontos krds eskv szervezs idejn 2. rsz. The Old Testament saints were just as safe before the work of Christ as they were afterwards, but this work put them on a ground of conscious salvation before God. Surely you cannot accuse these people of praying the prayer of faith. And Luke calleth these Grecians not but [?]. Acts 7:54-60). Those to whom they addressed themselves were really Gentiles. The first of the New Testament Herods (see Herodes G2264) is Herod the Great who reigned from about 41 B.C. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 12:5, AV) One When they were up against it, they turned to God. For whereas some make him a third cousin of Christs, who was only some one of the disciples, I do not like of that, because I am by strong reasons persuaded to think that there were no more. Herod's design was, after Easter, to bring him forth unto the people. 'Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea, and Galilee, and Samaria,' etc. When this His aim was not Christ; it was all for himself. I do not therefore comment upon these additions here: they will remain for their own real and suitable places. 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. Before the gospel was preached to every creature, a new nature was communicated to many a soul; but till then there was not and could not be peace. Yet his masculine good sense held to the truth, though he did not know the solid basis on which it here stands. The Spirit given to the believer was a privilege over and above faith, and supposed, therefore, their repentance unto life. This contrariety doth cause me to expound it of the Gentiles." A honlapunk hasznlatval n a tjkoztatsunkat tudomsul veszi. It was the Lord undoubtedly, and the Lord declared He was Jesus, and Jesus was Jehovah. It may be all right and in perfect keeping that one preaching the gospel should baptize; but occasion might well arise where he who preached would avoid it himself. But even this short mention of the thing is sufficient to let us know that the first preachers of the gospel were so well assured of the truth of it that they sealed it with their blood, and thereby have encouraged us, if at any time we are called to it, to resist unto blood too. With the apostles becoming more involved with matters outside Jerusalem, James the brother of Jesus was now the most prominent leader in the Jerusalem church (Acts 12:17; Acts 15:13; Galatians 1:18-19; Galatians 2:9,Galatians 2:12). he would probably, without hesitation or difficulty, reply, that a Christian Church as it appears, for example, in St. Paul's epistles is a congregation or society of faithful men or believers, whose unseen faith in Christ is visibly manifested by their profession of certain fundamental doctrines, by the administration and reception of the two sacraments, and by the exercise of discipline. Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Plural. Next we find Barnabas stirred up to another and a characteristic enterprise. He was led into no small perplexity by the reading current in his day, and, to the shame of Christendom, still tolerated as the received reading. (p. God did not clothe him with such overwhelming influence that doors were thrown open to him though the greatest of the apostles. And he goes, the Lord communicating another vision to the apostle himself, in which he sees Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him that he might receive his sight. 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. Mivel a nap gy pirtott, mintha nyrsra hztak volna minket, gy kerestk az rnykos helyeket. And Jesus said, "Are you able to be baptized with the baptism whereof I will be baptized?" it is beautiful to see how the Lord thus, even in the history of that which was unprecedented and might seem to lie outside Christian wants, provides in His blessed word for the every day difficulties we have to prove in such a day of weakness as ours. Supplicate, worship. Peter instructs them to go and tell the news to James. Therefore, I think that the apostle and the son of Alpheus were all one, whom the Jews threw down headlong from the top of the temple, whose death was so highly Commended for his singular praise of holiness. From pros and euchomai; to pray to God, i.e. A man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the queen of the Ethiopians, was returning after having gone up to Jerusalem to worship. So Peter came to the house where the prayer meeting was being held. From this family history it may be seen that Herod Agrippa of this chapter was a direct descendant of the Maccabees through his mother Mariamne. The man just now so ignorant is not the channel that God was about to use for bringing out the remarkable confession that is introduced prematurely here. Yet it becomes more than a vivid account of an isolated miracle when we probe below the surface, for this story is an echo of other stories in Luke-Acts and in Jewish Scripture. 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. 276-78.] (750) In duces et capita animadverti solet, punishment is usually inflicted on the heads and captains. They went out and proceeded along one street; and thereupon the angel left him. Those of his family who cross the pages of the New Testament are as follows. Acts 12:24-25 take us back to Acts 11:27-30. The previous gift of the Spirit without the intervention of any human hand was the most effectual stopper on the mouths of the brethren of the circumcision who were ever prone to object, and would surely have forbidden water, if God had not undeniably given them the unspeakable gift of the Spirit. Of any typical or sacrificial element, St. Paul makes no mention: the whole service, with the exception of the Lord's Supper, was manifestly homiletic or verbal. That one name, through faith in it, what could it not accomplish? Herod Agrippa I, the son of Miriam, who was a descendant of the Maccabeans. Religious persecution is invariably ruthless and blind even to the commonest feelings of humanity. And God has, in the meantime, a work for me to do, and until I have accomplished that work that God has in mind for me to do, God's going to preserve me and keep me until that day. WebActs 12 shows that Peter and James put God first in their lives, regardless of the punishment they might receive. There is this difference, no doubt, between such cases now and that of Cornelius then, that, before the mission of Peter, it would have been presumptuous for a Gentile to have pretended to salvation; now it is the fruit of unbelief for a believer to question it. . He martyred James, seized and imprisoned Peter, planning to execute him publicly after the Passover festivities. For every particular church is so, called on the supposition of its being a manifestation, more or less true, of the one holy Church the body of Christ. So meanwhile, back at the prison Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter ( Acts 12:18 ). At the same time scripture shows there might be and often was an interval after the gospel did go forth. The chains fell from his hands. So then these people succeeded in gaining the ear of Blastus, the king's chamberlain, and in due course a public session was arranged. If you don't have faith, God's not going to answer your prayers. ., 19:8:2; idem, The Wars . We know that God could have delivered James by a miracle even as He delivered Peter. The Passover Feast was on 14th Nisan; for that day and the seven following no leaven must be used and the week was called the days of unleavened bread. Did he not feel so much the more settled in Jesus as there was no other object now before his soul? And as he came into the theater, the sun reflected off of this silver cloth. We see such in the gospels. If Jesus was Jehovah, what then had his religion been? "Suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? (iii) Archelaus ( G745) . 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. It says Easter there, and that's a King James translation. 7-11). 286, 287). But now finding himself eclipsed, like a wily man, his object was to avail himself of this superior energy if it were possible. Keep me from reading into the Scriptures what I think it is saying, rather than understanding it in its correct context. As little could there be a question as to the grace exercised toward him, though the manner was not after that of man. In fact, it tells us much about prayer. There can be little doubt that, even in the apostolic age, the church of each considerable city such as Rome or Ephesus consisted, not of one congregation, but of several, who were collectively styled the church of that place; certain it is that such was the case towards the close of the first century. His was the first spirit that departed to be with Christ after the Holy Ghost was given. Historical: Records the historical spread of the Gospel (Acts 1:2). 422. Of course, they were seeking to flatter him in order that they might gain his favor and his help. Neither one nor other ever entered into the thoughts or feelings of Simon. He was made king by the Emperor Caligula, and was put in possession of all the territories formerly held by his uncle Philip and by Lysanias; viz. On this occasion they of the circumcision see that the Gentiles receive the gift of the Holy Ghost; for they hear them speak with tongues and magnify God, and they were astonished. TovbbEskvi fotzs Eskv szervezs, Volt szerencsm Tibi es Szandra fergeteges eskvjn rszt venni. And so they would gird themselves up, that is, they would take the sash and they would pull the robe up to the knees and then they would tie the sash so that the robe would then be short and they could run faster. As we advance farther in the inspired history, we find additions made to these simple elements of social fellowship; the organisation of the Christian society becomes more complex and systematic; questions of polity and order occupy no small portion of the apostolic epistles; and we have every reason to believe, if not from Scripture alone, yet from the unanimous voice of authentic history, that towards the close of the apostolic age Christianity had almost everywhere crystallised itself into a certain, definite, and well known form of ecclesiastical polity" (pp. The Martyrdom of James; Peter's Imprisonment. (2.) Accordingly, among the train of those that received the gospel and were baptized, Simon is found. The word "Grecians" does not mean "Greeks," but rather Greek-speaking Jews; to whom the gospel had been preached long before, as the cases of Stephen, for instance, and Philip clearly testify. Philip, besides being one of the seven, was an "evangelist," as we are told expressly in another part of this very book (Acts 21:8). For he appealed to Caesar when he realized that he was getting the royal run-around by Festus, a political pawn, and he appealed to Caesar. The Gentiles were sinners: why should they not dare to speak to the Gentiles? Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark. Worse, Tyre and Sidon were dependent for their food supplies on Palestine and if these supplies were cut off their case would be serious indeed.