Acts 12 The Pride of Herod

Sitting in the doctor’s office, a mother was trying to entertain her four year old daughter.

 She found a Bible story book with pictures in it.

Flipping through the book, the mother would point to a picture and ask the little girl if she knew what story that was.

 Imagine the mother’s delight as her daughter identified Noah and the Ark, Moses and bulrushes, and the three Hebrew children.

 The mother noticed that two elderly women were closely watching them.

Swelling with pride, the mother turned to the very first story of the Bible and pointed to the picture.

Honey, the mother said, who is this?

 With a thoughtful frown on her face, her daughter replied, I don’t have any idea who that woman is but that man is George of the Jungle!

 So much for pride!

How many times do our children bring us down to size?

You can become prideful all you want but little ones have a knack for bringing you down a few notches.

In our story today the text focuses in on King Herod.

Last week we looked at the power of prayer.  The early Church prayed fervently for the release of Peter. 

Peter was released from prison and Herod in his cruelty has the prison guards executed.

This is the same prideful Herod that had James the brother of John executed and had Peter arrested probably planning on killing him.

In our passage today we see God’s divine judgment come upon Herod.

Herod will now face punishment in this world for his insolence and pride.

Acts 12: 19-24

19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there a while. 20 He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. Having secured the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king's country for their food supply.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.

Herod was ruler over a large area granted to him by the Romans but he did not rule over Tyre or Sidon.

Tyre and Sidon were located to the North of Herod’s region and were on the sea coast. 

Tyre would remain a very important sea coast trading city and there would actually be a battle fought for Tyre between the Crusaders and the Muslims in the Middle Ages.

In our passage today – Herod Agrippa the 1^st had reached his zenith of power

I told you last week that this is Herod Agrippa the 1^st the Grandson of King Herod the Great who tried to have the infant Christ killed.

It shows that Herod had reached such a powerful state that even self governed areas adjacent to his area of rule had to deal with him.

Most scholars believe that there was a trade war that developed between Tyre and Sidon and Herod.

Judea was the bread basket for Tyre and Sidon and they needed Herod to be happy with them.

The Greek of the text tells us that Herod was furious with these regions.

They had made him very angry.

Tyre and Sidon were trade ports and could have made trouble for Herod.

They were so terrified with Herod that they sent a trusted servant of Herod’s to talk to Herod and win his support.

The residents of Tyre and Sidon were so desparate to appease Herod that they would tell him about anything to win him over.

They surely didn’t want  Herod to cut off their food supply.

Herod met with them and wearing his royal robes and certainly with pomp and circumstance gives and address to them.

They shout that Herod’s voice is the voice of a god.

Now we may think that is weird but the ancient world it was not uncommon to claim that a ruler was a god or the very son of a god.

Augustus Caesar was called the son of the gods. 

Nero, Caligula, and Domitian were all proclaimed to be gods by the Romans.

What got Herod into trouble was that he did not give God the glory.

Josephus the Jewish Historian gives an account of this happening in his History of the Jews.

Josephus tells us that this meeting with Herod happened at Olympic style games held in honor or Caesar.

The entire amphitheater at Caesarea was filled with people to hear Herod speak.

As Josephus reports it,

"clad in a garment woven completely of silver so that its texture was indeed wondrous, he entered the theatre at daybreak. There the silver, illumined by the touch of the first rays of the sun, was wondrously radiant and by its glitter inspired fear and awe in those who gazed intently upon it"

The stadium seats faced to the West, so the Sun rose up behind them in the stadium and the sun would cause Herod’s silver garments to glisten in the sunlight.

Herod would look glorious to the people, but Herod was not a glorious person- he was decadent and evil.

He was set against the cause of Christ and God struck him down.

Rulers of the world be warned – God is ruler over all and He will not share his rule with anyone.

Only to God should praise and glory be given. 

This morning I would like to take some time and learn some lessons from this story in ACTS.

1)    One of the major problems facing the Church is Pride

Prideful people and Prideful leaders

In this age of superpastors, super preachers, mega churches we have to be very very careful.

People are more and more being lead by personalities and not Scripture.

A preacher like Joel Osteen, or TD Jakes to teach heresy and go unchallenged by thousands because of either their appearance, personality, or delivery of their sermons.

The Apostle Paul spoke about how he was weak in speech – The Apostle Paul would not have been a super minister by today’s standards

But what Paul spoke was powerful because it was truth.

Listen to the words of Paul that he shared with the Corinthian Church

1 Corinthians 2: 1-5

1 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

Paul was not the best public speaker in the world.  He did not come with fancy preaching methods.

Paul came with one thing that made his preaching powerful.

It was Jesus Christ and Jesus Crucified.

How do you know if a preacher is doing things right- there is humility and they preach the truth of God’s word.

They preach that Christ is crucified for us. 

That is powerful – the wisdom of God must be on display not the latest fad or psychobabble from the pulpit.

We must know our place in the universe and be humbled before the mighty hand of God.

It is God’s word and God’s will that matters not how the speaker looks or how good the sermon delivery was.

The major question we should ask – Is truth being taught and is God given the glory?

We are seeing an unprecedented decline in churches today.

About 4,000 churches shut their doors each year.

53,000 church members walk out of church every week.

2.7 million Professing Christians who used to be faithful to church are inactive today.

 In 1900 there were 27 churches for every 10,000 people, in 2000 there were 11.

 And, 50 percent of churches in America have not seen any new members in over two years!

Why is this so?  Some of it is the hypocrisy, pride, and laziness of the churches today.

I believe that pride is at the very heart of this dilemma.

Pride that exalts us over the truth of God’s word.

How many times do you hear Christians say – Well I think this is what is right – or they may say this is my opinion and then go on to say the most unbiblical heretical things you can say.

Christians can justify just about anything and do just about anything contrary to the Bible and that attitude stems from Pride

Pridefulness is the opposite of humility and submitting to God’s word.

And if you agree that pride is at the root of the issues of power and control struggles in church, then statistics would agree with me.

Pride and a false sense of self has no place in the Church or in any area of leadership.

Today I want to take a few examples from Herod that we can learn from:

Herod’s story is really a sad and tragic story.

1)   A Man Full of Potential:

Herod had great potential for good

Because of Herod’s station in life he could have made a difference but he chose not to.

People were Counting on Him: Herod was a leader.

As a leader not only were people watching him, but people were counting on him.

Counting on him to make a difference.

Counting on him to be different.

Proverbs 16:10 says

 “A divine sentence is in the lips of the king: his mouth transgresseth not in judgment.”

Rulers have a grave responsibility to speak truth and in this proverb provide justice.

In the mouth of the King should be the truth of God.  That is what is expected of every ruler of this earth.

Herod squanders this opportunity – he doesn’t speak truth but take the praise of the people in a perverse and false way.

And not only are people watching you, but they are counting on you.

 Counting on you to make a difference by being different.

The unsaved are counting you for hope.

 This world has seen average Christianity too many times.

They have seen those

 “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away” –II Tim. 3:5.

Paul says turn away from those people.

Today if you are a new Christian or you are contemplating Christianity – My advice to you would be this – stay away from lukewarm Christians.

Stay away from people that claim to be Christians but live a life like the world.

Don’t learn bad habits from them.

We that are mature Christians need to heed the same warning of Paul in 2 Timothy 3- only spend your time around Christians that do not deny the power of this Christian life.

Those that come to church on Sunday, singing there is Power in the Blood only to live like HADES the rest of the week are the ones to be avoided.

Those that rejoice about being forgiven, yet remain unforgiving.

 Those that celebrate the fact that they have been shown mercy and grace, yet give none out.

 Those that have been saved from sin yet use their salvation s a license to continue to wallow in its ugliness.

 Those that recognize a Lord that promises to never leave nor forsake them yet they take that faithfulness and are more faithful to their jobs,

hobbies and relationships than to honoring their Lord.

And those that appreciate a Heavenly Father that created them to be the object and expression of His love and walk away becoming more obsessed with Hollywood then their Lord.

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” –I Pet 2:9

The unsaved are still watching and counting on that man, woman, boy or girl that will be different and make a difference.

As we look at the leaders in our country and our churches, no wonder we are in such a mess.

Our leaders are lying, stealing, cheating, embezzling, immorality, gossiping, backstabbing, molesting children, committing adultery and living in sin with lives in leadership marked with hypocrisy.

Again, no wonder our country and churches have no power and are in such a state of turmoil.

Herod was a man full of potential.

We today are full of much greater potential.  If you are a child of God – your potential is God working in you.

You can be a light to the world – a city a set up on a hill.

Are you reaching your potential today as a Christian?

2)   A man full of Pride

Herod was a man full of false pride

This is most obvious in our story. 

A young lady in a church came to her minister and told him

Preacher, I have a besetting sin, and I want your help.

 I come to church on Sunday and can’t help thinking I’m the prettiest girl in the congregation.

I know I ought not think that, but I can’t help it. I want you to help me with it."

The preacher replied, "Mary, don’t worry about it. In your case it’s not a sin. It’s just a horrible mistake."

Many of us deal with false pride in our lives.

We need to remember that we are sinners that have been forgiven.

 We stand before God in the same condition.

There Herod stood dressed up, looking pretty, shinning in the sun, speaking with perfect acoustics in the coliseum with his silver tongue. Wow, what a sight that must have been!

James 4:10 tells us to Humble yourself in the presence of the Lord and he will exalt you.

I don’t have to exalt myself because it is God that will exalt me.

I don’t have to toot my own horn about how good I am because God will reward our good works.

We are not here to please man but to please God. 

The true Christian is one that humbles themselves and allows God to exalt them.

3)   A man full of People

Herod had many people that were in his circle of influence.

According to Josephus he had a whole stadium full of people

He had his Circle of Influence: They say that ninety percent are followers and only ten percent leaders.

An easy statistic to believe when you hear of how many scams folks buy into, rumors people believe,

cults people sell out for and personalities followed.

Herod was part of the ten percent eager to lead and the crowd he faced that day represented the ninety percent willing to follow.

And while Herod had a circle of influence, you have one as well.

You may not have thousands of “friends” on Facebook or a coliseum full of people,

 however everyone has someone that will follow. Herod should have harnessed his influence to bring honor to God,

something we, as believers, should be actively engaged in.

The Apostle Paul said for those in his circle of influence to

“Be followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” –I Cor. 1:11

The people, Herod’s circle of influence, chanted saying “it is the voice of a god, and not of a man.” (vs. 22)

• He had his Influence in a Circle: Instead of Herod leading people to Christ, being different to make a difference, he led them astray.

The problem? He had his influence in a circle.

It was all about horizontal relationships: his people and himself and did not include the vertical relationship:

His Lord.

Oh how we get into trouble when we are so wrapped up in our own little world that we neglect our Father and His will.

Even when we perceive we are doing good works,

 like the church of Ephesus, we get so busy doing the Lord’s work that we forget why we are doing the Lord’s work.

 You see, Herod was not in trouble for what he did,

he got into trouble for what he did not do!

Herod did not incite the people to call him a god, but “because he gave not God the glory” (vs. 23a) he led the people astray.

We too can get going and forget the obvious.

Our primary purpose as Christians is to serve God and bring Him Glory.

Everything we do is about bringing glory to God.

So many times we get questions from friends and they many times will say, Is it okay if I do so and so?

Would it be a sin if I went to this place of did this thing?

What if you asked this question before you made any decision?

What if you asked – DOES THIS BRING GLORY TO GOD?

IF GO TO THIS PLACE – DO THIS THING, SAY THIS THING TO A BUDDY, TELL THIS JOKE – WILL IT BRING GLORY TO GOD?

4)   A Man Full of Worms (vs. 23):

Anna Grace has a new word that she has learned when she thinks something is dirty – she says Gross

Well this part of the story is what you would call gross or nasty – or just disgusting.

Theologians and scientists have speculated, and I do not disagree,

 that what Herod suffered with was what is called the Guinea Worm, indigenous to this area of Palestine

The Guinea Worm, when fully mature and ready to lay eggs,

seeks water outside the body and heads for the nearest skin exit on the body (hands, feet, stomach, legs, arms, neck…).

Then a boil forms on the surface of the skin and when this boil is exposed to water, out comes the worm, as long as three feet.

That may sound gross but that is probably what happened to Herod.

Now people might have looked at this event as something natural.

People of Herod’s day would have said this is unfortunate, or this was really strange but was not outside what we would call the physical world.

But we know that this event was supernatural.

An Angel of the Lord struck him – so in the spiritual dimension we see and Angel of the Lord strike him but in the physical world we see a man with a terrible physical ailment.

The worms may have looked natural to the outside world – it appeared that Herod had a medical condition.

But in reality it was Divine judgment against him because of his pride.

A man was putting a tin roof on his barn when all of a sudden he slipped and began to slide down the roof.

He cried out to God to save him.

No sooner had he got the words out of his mouth, a nail caught his pants and stopped him. When he stopped, he said, “Never mind, God. I took care of it.”

The problem isn’t that God doesn’t act in our world anymore. The problem is we’re not looking for God to act in our world.

I believe that God is still active and is in control of creation.

God struck Herod down for his PRIDE.

Now this is in the New Testament – we read of God’s judgment in the OT and we think that God has changed.

But so far in Acts we see that Ananias  and Saphirra were struck dead for lying and Herod was struck for PRIDE

We should be reminded that we serve a powerful God – a God that is a consuming fire and there is no place for sacrilidge or a flippant attitude toward God.

There is no place in the life of a Christian for things that belittle God and poke fun at Christianity.

Television shows like South Park and the Family Guy have no place in the life of a Christian because of their attitudes and sacrilege.

So many times we forget that God is our powerful Creator and we forget the pain and anguish of Jesus on the cross for us.

WE forget these things and take on the flippant attitude of the world.

Our faith is serious business and we should constantly be on guard to honor God in all we do.

When God commands something He means it and we would be foolish to think that God would not punish us for disobedience to Him.

5)   A God who will Always Receive Full Glory (vs. 24):

 There is a thing called free will.

God did not create a utopia full of robots that blindly submit and obey.

No, you are free to do as you will, or as He wills, it is up to you.

Yet let me warn you, while it may seem like the evil are prevailing,

 like the Herod’s are shinning and the Devil is winning, there is coming a day where every wrong will be made right,

“For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” –Rom. 14:11

Herod learned this lesson the hard way.

 Please be sure your knee is bowing and your tongue confessing now in worship as opposed to then in judgment.

“longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” –II Pet. 3:9

God wants you to repent – God wants you to be with Him for eternity but God will allow you to choose.

God is not going to force your hand because that would not be love –

God wants you to unlock the door of your heart by faith. 

Some of you might have heard of the late Malcolm Muggeridge.

 He was a British journalist and a noted atheist for many years of his life.

But in his sin, in the very midst of about to commit yet another vile act of wickedness, he came face to face with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He repented and turned to Christ.

 At the end of his life, Muggeridge said:

"All I have cared about is the living presence of Christ; the life He lived, and the death He died; and the unique salvation He offers to a distracted world today."

Today I hope you are not distracted by things that really don’t matter. 

I pray that you heed the lesson of Herod and Humble yourself before God-

Realize that what is really important is the Living presence of Christ in your life

The Life He lived

The Death He died

And the Salvation that he offers you today.

Be Humble enough to know that you need that salvation today.