Bible Study: Acts 11-12

After Peter’s retelling of his interaction with the centurion Cornelius, chapter 11 shifts to remind us how far and wide the apostles are now traveling to preach, teach, and heal. Remember that after Stephen was executed, the infamous Saul began a persecution that caused the apostles to scatter for their safety (8:1). Now we have an update about where they traveled. They are beyond the boundaries of Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, deep into foreign territory. While they begin their ministry among other Jews (11:19), after spending a year in Antioch, a community is established which is called “Christian”, probably indicating that it is far enough removed from Jewish identity--perhaps because of distance, maybe because of practice—that this group of believers needs its own name.[1]


Chapter 12 describes a miraculous rescue from prison. Note that the Herod in this story is the grandson of the Herod who reigned when Jesus was born. Herod the Great was a powerful ruler of the Roman Empire who facilitated important and impressive architectural feats, including developing the city of Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast (the location in his territory nearest to Rome) into an important trade city. He even had a freshwater swimming pool at his palace on the harbor, fed by water from Mt. Carmel, 8 miles away. Herod the Great ruled when Jesus was born. His son, Herod Antipas, was involved with the deaths of John the Baptizer and Jesus.

This Herod, more commonly known as Agrippa I, ruled only a short time. While he is remembered in Jewish history as a “fair, generous, and religious observant Jewish ruler,”[2] in this scene he beheads James, the brother of John (those fishermen sons of Zebedee) and arrests Peter, presumably for the same fate. When Peter is not in prison the following day, he puts to death the guards who failed to retain him. The use of the name “Herod” here, the beheading of James, and the timing of the arrest to be at Passover, are intended to make parallels with Jesus’ and John’s stories. His willingness to kill people also aligns him with his family. Interestingly, extra-biblical sources confirm this sudden death of Herod Agrippa, after having been acclaimed as a god by crowds in Caesarea.[3]

The second James in this story (v. 17) is thought to be the brother of Jesus; he will appear again later in Acts. While the repeating of some names is confusing, it serves to tie these stories closely with the stories of Jesus.

Guiding questions:
1.     What is God doing?
2.     What are the people doing?
3.     What do we learn about being church?



[1] Jewish Annotated New Testament. NY: Oxford University Press, 2009. 221
[2] Ibid, 222
[3] Ibid, 222

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sermon: Daniel 7-8 August 11, 2019

Image
Daniel is different from other prophetic books— less messenger and more fortune teller, predicting future events based on the visions from God. In the first half, Daniel interpreted dreams of the king; now he is having the dreams himself, and we’ve jumped ahead about 500 years. The visions point to a time when four kingdoms will rise, then be overthrown: Babylonia, Media, Persia, and Greece— but  then God will enter history and establish God’s kingdom forever.  This is what makes Daniel apocalyptic literature, stories about the end times: the world as we know it will be completely destroyed, and God will usher in a new reality through “spectacular divine intervention”. Why is apocalyptic literature in the Bible so confusing, and so intriguing?   It seems to be a secret code, describing events we can’t decipher. I mean, life is pretty good for us, white, middle-class Christians living in the US--we don’t need our reality replaced.   But
Read more

Gospel of Matthew, chapters 14 & 15

Image
Background:  These chapters include several large segments of story: we learn that John the Baptizer has been killed, and how and why; there are two stories of thousands of people being fed by Jesus; Jesus walks on the water in a storm (and Peter tries); Jesus is challenged by the Pharisees and scribes about keeping tradition; and Jesus learns a lesson about God’s grace when he meets a mother whose daughter needs healing.  While these stories may seem like unrelated episodes, there are some common themes.  We see abundance , in the feeding and healing of so many people, Gentiles and Jews alike. God’s grace goes everywhere, spilling out past the borders to include all creation.  Jesus goes places that are hard to get to , like walking on water during a storm, spending time in the wilderness and remote areas, and crossing borders and seas to get to “the other side”. This perseverance is increasing as he seems to learn and focus more on how God’s grace is made real and less on what other
Read more

Gospel of Matthew, chapters 10-11

Image
Background:            In these chapters Jesus gives instructions to the Twelve and sends them out. Honestly, it doesn’t sound like a job one would desire, and if we are expected to be disciples (ones who  learn) or apostles (ones who are sent out), where would we start? Healing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing lepers, and casting out demons are not in the average America Christian’s wheelhouse. And he warns that it won’t be easy work– people won’t like what they have to say, they’ll have to rely on the hospitality of strangers to be fed and housed. And at the end of chapter 11, Jesus says this yoke is easy, the burden light!  Some things to notice:  There are 12 disciples, matching the 12 Tribes of Israel  They are sent only to the Jews, not to Gentiles, yet  John is likened to Elijah, the prophet who was the forerunner of the Messiah. Elijah was taken up in a whirlwind by God (2 Kings 2:1-12) and is still awaited, since he didn’t die. At a Passover Seder, an empty chair and plac
Read more