Commentary on Acts 12:1-5

By Bob Myhan

¹Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. 

Instead of detailing the journey of Barnabas and Saul delivering the benevolence to the elders of the churches in Judea, Luke chooses to cover another event in the life of Peter—his arrest by Herod.

Luke most likely refers to the time of the prophecy rather than the time of the famine as Josephus places the death of Herod before the famine. This Herod is Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great; both nephew and brother-in-law of Herod Antipas, who had John the Baptist beheaded. Finally, he was father of Agrippa II, in whose presence Paul later preaches.

Prior to this time, the persecution of saints had been initiated by the religious authorities, the Jews. Now the civil authorities get into the act.

²Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

It should be remembered that there were two apostles with this name just as there were two apostles named Judas. The other James was known as “James the less” or “James the small.” James the brother of John was the first of the apostles to die for the cause. There was also James the Lord’s half-brother who wrote the epistle that bears his name and was also a prominent member of the congregation at Jerusalem. Those who were executed by sword were either pierced through or beheaded. At least it was quick and merciful as compared to crucifixion.

³And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread.

“Jews” almost always refers to the ruling class—the chief priests and others who made up the Sanhedrin. They had settled down after Saul was sent to Tarsus to escape a planned attempt on his life (9:26-31) but were pleased that the disciples were now being persecuted by Herod.

We are told that this execution of James and seizure of Peter occurred “during the Days of Unleavened Bread,” which would be around the fourteenth anniversary of the Lord’s crucifixion.

⁴So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.

The KJV erroneously translates the Greek, “pascha,” as Easter. This is an anachronism for Easter was not celebrated until the fourth century and is of human rather than divine origin. But Passover dates back to the time of Moses; a memorial to the “passing over” of the houses of the Hebrews the night all of the firstborn of Egypt were slain. Luke uses “Passover” to refer to the entire weeklong Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Each of the four squads consisted of four soldiers; hence, sixteen soldiers were set to guard Peter. The probable reason for this precaution is that Peter and the other eleven had been jailed before but had escaped through what would have appeared to the authorities as mysterious circumstances.

Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison. But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, "Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life."  (Acts 5:17-20)

⁵Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.

There are eight Days of Unleavened Bread counting Passover itself. Not wanting to offend the Jews by killing Peter during the holy festivities, Herod was waiting to kill him afterward.

We also see here that the church in Jerusalem still continues steadfastly in prayer. Particularly, they are praying for Peter. There was no more need to pray for James inasmuch as he had gone on to his reward. In the language of Paul, he was now “absent from the body and ... present with the Lord.” (2 Cor. 5:8)

(To be continued)

The Demand for Water Baptism (Part 1)

By Bob Myhan and Steve Tidwell

People do not have difficulty understanding that there is a need for faith, repentance and confession of faith on the part of the alien sinner in seeking salvation. The necessity for baptism in water, however, is a stumbling block. The reason for this is they do not understand the difference between a positive command and a moral command.

C. C. Crawford explains as follows.

“A moral Command of God requires that a thing be done because it is right in respect to the very nature of things. The Decalogue is a code of moral law; to identify it as such one needs only to follow the principle of universalization, namely, that a man, in contemplating a certain action, by asking himself what the effect would be if every person would do the same thing under the same circumstances, can surely see for himself whether his contemplated action is right and good or wrong and bad. Tested by this principle, it becomes obvious that idolatry … false swearing … disrespect for parents, murder, adultery, theft, false witness … covetousness, etc., if universalized would destroy social order, and in all likelihood the human race itself.... The only exception is the law of the Jewish Sabbath: this was a positive institution.”

“A positive command, in Scripture, requires a thing to be done because Divine authority orders it. The chief characteristic of this kind of command is that there is no necessary logical connection between the thing commanded and the end in view. The primary purpose of such a command is simply that God has ordained it, for a specific purpose; and He is to be obeyed if the divine purpose is to be actualized. Unbelief will ask why and wherefore, when confronted with a positive command, but faith obeys without asking questions.... One who obeys a positive command does so solely out of faith in God and love for God; the obedience is a manifestation of the faith and love which motivate it. Positive commands are designed to prove the faith of the professing believer.... There are three degrees, we might well say, in obedience to a positive command in attaining the supreme [ultimate] manifestation of faith: (1) To obey when one can see clearly that there is no logical connection between the thing commanded and the end in view; (2) to obey a divine command when one can see clearly that the thing commanded cannot do any good in itself; (3) to obey when one can see clear1y that the thing commanded is in itself wrong, that is, in relation to the structure of the moral life.” [Genesis, Volume 1, p. 443-444. Joplin, MO: College Press, 1966].

Thus, “positive law” simply means something God commands that is unrelated to what might be called “moral law.” It may be easier to understand if we look at an example. Having promised him that he would be the father of a great nation (Gen. 12:1-3) and that Isaac would be the seed of promise (Gen. 21:12), God commanded Abraham to offer up Isaac as a burnt sacrifice (Gen. 22:1-2).

This was not only against human nature; it was also against moral law. But there is a reason for everything God does and everything God asks man to do. On this occasion God was testing the faith of Abraham. And his faith was strong! He did not hesitate to do what God commanded him.

Another example of a positive command is the Lord's Supper. It does not satisfy physical hunger and it is not in response to any moral need. But it is commanded by God. It is a covenant meal (Matt. 26:28), a unity meal (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 11:21), a memorial meal (1 Cor. 11:23-25), a communion meal (1 Cor. 10:16) and a proclamation meal (1 Cor. 11:26).

Thus, there is more to serving God that just being a good, moral person. One must also obey the positive commands of God. The Bible is clear about this. Some very good moral people are not acceptable to God because they do not obey His positive commands. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). One might ask himself, "What does God want me to do?" Or "How does God want me to express my faith?" The only way we can know the answer to those questions is to look into the inspired word of God.

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue (2 Peter 1:3).

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Rom. 10:17)

The command to be baptized in water (Acts 2:38; 10:47-48; 22:16) is, also, a positive command, rather than a moral one.

The question then becomes whether the command to be baptized in water is given to alien sinners or to kingdom citizens. If to kingdom citizens – those who have already been saved from past, alien sins – then those who have been saved must be baptized in order to remain in a proper relationship with God as faithful citizens in His kingdom. If, on the other hand, the command to be baptized in water is given to alien sinners – as a condition of entrance into the kingdom of God - then they must obey the command in order to become kingdom citizens and are not kingdom citizens until they obey the command.

(To be continued)