Life Lessons From the Gospels
When Death Is Near
 
Monday August 31, 2009

 1It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 4After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
 5So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
6The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.
8Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. 9Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.
11Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.”
12When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”
15″You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”
16But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the brothers about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.
18In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. (Acts 12:1-19)

Reflection
Today, those living in America will probably not experience the persecution we see here in this passage.  However, the difficulties that Peter went through are ones that men and women of God go through no matter what location or time in history.
 
First, the opposition, v. 3.
Believers will face opposition. It is not stated directly in the text that Peter was facing his execution, but as James was executed, and it pleased the Jews, it was Herod’s intention to do the same to Peter.  King Herod sought the approval and applause of men.  He thrived on that and did whatever would boost his approval rating. That would mean executing believers.

None of us here in the states can imagine what it would be like to have our worship leader put to death, and for us to be thrown in prison moments later, awaiting our own execution. We can understand what it is like to live out a faith that most do not accept.  We can understand what it is like to live in a culture that embraces values so different than the ones of the Kingdom.
 
Second, silence from God and loneliness, v. 4.
 From the time during the Feast of Unleavened Bread till after the Passover, it would be at least a week.  The time during the feast is not specified and the time after the Passover is not, but this time of at least a week in prison Peter would be by himself. What would that be like?  Living for God and then being thrown in jail.  Is God really in charge? Is this whole Christianity thing real? What did I get myself into? In addition to doubts about God in times of difficulty, what about going through those tough times by ourselves? So often, it seems like we are abandoned and forgotten by the church when we are going through the hardest times in our faith alone. As we shall see later, Peter was not abandoned by God nor by the church, but these moments can be very challenging.

Some of us today feel like we are in solitary confinement, abandoned by God, forgotten by the church. It is in these moments when we need God the most.

Father, it seems sometimes like You are far off.  It can seem like that especially when we’re going through totally impossible situations that bring us close to the smell of our own execution. That execution can be our physical one, or for some of us, we’re dying inside, in our soul. Out of the depths of that, we really need You, Yet, You remain silent. Not only do You seem silent, but Your church, the body of Christ is far off as well, or so it seems.  We are alone, in every sense of the word. Grant us, I pray the spiritual sight to see past the physical realities that discourage our hearts and depress our souls.