Articles
Acts 12 - The Providence of God
Acts 12 - The Providence of God
The persecution against the church began to take on a 'formal' aspect as Herod begins to persecute them. "About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church" (Acts 12:1). All of the church are God's people. God watches over, protects, and provides for His people. We are urged in times of trouble, to cast "all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you" (1Pet. 5:7). Paul instructed the brethren to 'pray for his deliverance' (Philemon 22; Phil. 1:19; Rom. 15:30-32). It is then with mixed emotions that we begin seeing the results of persecution.
Like Stephen before him, James is martyred. The question of whether God COULD have saved them is never brought up in the New Testament. It is not recorded that the disciples sat around and pondered 'why?'.
Herod, seeing that the death of James pleased the Jewish leaders, also seized Peter and kept him in prison with the purpose of executing him after the Jewish feast days of the Passover. Such would 'keep the feast days' holy and unmixed with the death of Peter. However, God intervened by sending an angel who brought Peter out of the prison and set him free.
The 'why' question now takes a different twist. It is not only 'why' did James die, but 'why did James die and Peter is released'. Since such was never addressed in the scripture, we have to admit we do not know. We do know that God COULD have saved both of them – or He COULD have allowed both to be martyred. We also know that God DIDN'T do either of those things. James died; Peter is saved.
Peter is 'saved' only to die later! Before that time, he would travel, preach, and undergo tribulations of being an apostle. During all of that time, James and Stephen are at peace! I am not convinced that their death was 'worse' than Peter's deliverance.
Whether in death or life, let our goal be to serve God. As Paul wrote: "Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil" (2Cor. 5:8-10). Rather than asking 'why', let us be busy serving the Lord by doing what we can today.
Hugh DeLong
