Articles
They Died - Acts 12
They Died - Acts 12
As we read through Acts we encounter the great enemy of mankind - death. (Cp. 1Cor. 15:26). James was arrested by the ungodly Herod and summarily put to death (Acts 12:2). Seeing that it made the unbelieving Jewish leaders happy, he proceeded to have Peter arrested and planned his death (vs. 3-4). When the angel of the Lord delivered Peter from prison, the Roman guards who were in charge of guarding him were put to death (vs. 19). Then Herod became puffed up with the adulations of men and refused to give the glory unto God. For this, he was struck down by an angel of the Lord, was eaten by worms, and breathed his last” (vs. 23).
They all died differently, but they all died. It is appointed unto man once to die and then the judgment (Heb. 9:27). We look at the earthly circumstances and feel sorry for James, are perplexed about the guards, and feel we understand why Herod was struck down. In the end, it doesn’t really matter. What matters more than the dying is the life that was lived up to that point. Out of all of these, my opinion is that only James was prepared. I do not have enough information to sit in judgment on what God will do with the guards. I think I know what God will do with Herod. What I am confident of is that God will judge them ALL and He will do so fairly and justly.
I picture the guards as they left home on that final day. They would have arrived at work to find that their duty assignment was to guard some lowly peasant fisherman Jew who had made some sort of trouble. There was no threat of him escaping or of any attempt by friends / acquaintances trying to release him. Easy night. They had no idea this would be their last night alive.
Awaking to find Peter gone, they made “no little disturbance” (vs. 18). They, being Roman soldiers, would have known that to let the person escape who you are in charge of guarding, you then suffered whatever penalty was his.
Is this my last day? Is this an easy day with little consequences of my actions? Or is this THE DAY? Read again the parable of the foolish virgins (Matt. 251-12) and the parable of the talents. Jesus made the application of these parables saying: "Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour” (Matt. 25:13). Recognize the solemnity of Peter’s statement that the ‘day of the Lord will come as a thief ’ (2 Peter 3:10). Are you ready?
Hugh DeLong
