Tues. Aug. 12th :: Acts 12 :: One Year Later

On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and
delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, "This is the voice of
a god, not of a mere mortal." Immediately, because Herod did not give praise
to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms
and died.

(Acts 12.21-23)

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In reading this chapter today I was struck by a small detail. Early in the chapter Luke mentions that Herod put James (the disciple, brother of John) to death. This alone would be a difficult blow for the disciples to absorb, but then Luke notes the timing: “It was during the Feast of Unleavened bread.”

In other words, all this happened during the Passover, or more precisely, virtually one year exactly after Jesus was crucified. (Remember Christ was arrested on the very night of the Passover meal.)

One year exactly after the death of Jesus, the first disciple is executed by the same poser king that tried Jesus.

Side-bar:
My wife Brianna has an aunt who just a few years ago lost her husband to a car accident. To this day the family marks that day on their calendars and works hard to see to it that the aunt is not left alone on the yearly anniversary, of her husband’s death. Because as most of us know, that day (the anniversary of whatever) brings back all kinds of memories.

So James is killed and Peter is imprisoned virtually one year to the day after Christ’s death.

This alone would be enough to ruminate on. But the chapter doesn’t end there. It ends with Peter being miraculously freed from jail, and Herod—the poser king—falling over dead in his royal robes. (And in case you missed it, Luke wants us to know that not only did Herod die, but his body was subsequently eaten by worms).

So what do we make of this chapter?

It’s a lot to take in, but perhaps we should grasp this:
One year after the cross the disciples are reminded that a difficult road lies ahead. Tragedies will still befall them even though they serve a risen Savior. James is murdered. Peter is imprisoned.

Yet despite the tragedies Luke ends with a reminder that, as followers of Jesus, our King is still on the throne. In the closing scene the wannabe ruler topples off his gaudy throne and dies. Jesus died too. But the worms never got their chance with him.

Translation:
As Christ followers we should EXPECT difficulties. Despite what any TV preacher tells you, we don’t get a free pass. But rest assured, our God is on the throne, and one day even the worst of tragedies (the unfortunate anniversaries) will be remembered no more.