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NOTES for Act 12:21-23

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21 And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.
22 And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.
23 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.
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The story of Herod's death was understood by his contemporaries as God's punishment for the life this man led and for the manner of rule he practiced. A petty, cowardly tyrant and libertine, a sensualist who did not control himself, Herod, as often happens with such people, was a lover of beautiful theatrical effects.

He had little real power: unlike Herod the Great, the very one on whose conscience lay the blood of the infants of Bethlehem, his successor Herod the Tetrarch, or as the Synodal translation of the New Testament books calls him, the quarter-ruler, possessed only Galilee, remaining, of course, a vassal of Rome. Formally he, like Herod the Great, had the status of a Roman ally, but in practice this status was merely a form of honorary vassalage. Despite all this, Herod imagined himself a real and strong ruler, fearing most of all, however, that someone might overthrow him from the throne.

Apparently these complexes and fears eventually led to the mental illness known to psychiatrists as "Caesar madness," a peculiar form of insanity in which mania for greatness is overlaid with persecution mania. The name of the illness is not accidental: it became an occupational disease of rulers; many rulers of all times and peoples suffered from it. Herod was no exception, and those around him could in no way feel safe because of it: Herod hated and feared even the people closest to him, including his wife and son.

At the same time his pathological self-importance grew: at the end of his life he truly considered himself a god, staging before his subjects something like the scenes that some Roman emperors, such as Nero, so enjoyed. In such scenes he appeared in the image of a pagan deity. His death was agonizing: he died of an unidentified disease from which his body literally rotted. Such a death was understood by his believing contemporaries as punishment from God for all the crimes and sacrileges Herod had committed in life. And this is no surprise: every sin asserted as the norm of life, and Herod's life was precisely an assertion of sin as the norm, is a challenge to God. A challenge to which God cannot fail to respond.

Other notes

 
For Act 12:1-25
1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)
4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
6 And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.
7 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.
8 And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.
9 And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.
10 When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.
11 And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.
12 And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.
13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda.
14 And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate.
15 And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.
16 But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.
17 But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place.
18 Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter.
19 And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode.
20 And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king's country.
21 And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.
22 And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.
23 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.
24 But the word of God grew and multiplied.
25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.
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For all the incredible nature of Peter’s miraculous release from prison, this is a very typical story. This is exactly how everything...  Read more

For all the incredible nature of Peter’s miraculous release from prison, this is a very typical story. This is exactly how things happen in life. The circumstances are terrible, there is no hope, the sword has already been raised over one’s head—and God works a miracle that the person themselves would not have dared to hope for. The heart contracts at the experience of God’s real nearness, and it is difficult to believe that something so incredible has happened. Luke dwells on this story not for the sake of the miracle itself, because there are more than enough miracles in the life of the Church. Here, however, we see what it means to belong to God. The Lord Jesus told His disciples that not one hair would fall from their heads merely through some bloody accident of circumstances—and this is confirmed in practice.

There is one more aspect of this account that is important from a practical point of view. Peter’s miraculous rescue from Herod’s hands is not determined by what kind of person Herod is. Moreover, it is not even connected with who Peter is. Everything depends on who the God to whom Peter belongs is. This applies equally to everyone who dedicates their life to this God.

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For Act 12:1-25
1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)
4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
6 And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.
7 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.
8 And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.
9 And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.
10 When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.
11 And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.
12 And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying.
13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda.
14 And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate.
15 And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.
16 But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.
17 But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place.
18 Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter.
19 And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode.
20 And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king's country.
21 And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.
22 And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.
23 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.
24 But the word of God grew and multiplied.
25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.
Hide
Today's reading gives us the chance to see the Kingdom from a new and somewhat unexpected side. It concerns...  Read more

Today's reading gives us the chance to see the Kingdom from a new and somewhat unexpected side. It concerns the incident with Peter (vv. 6-11). At first glance it may seem that the miracle that happened to Peter is not very different from the miracles we read about in the Gospel. Yet there is one important difference.

Of course, appearances of angels are quite well known to the authors of the biblical books; references to them occur in both the Old and New Testaments. But earlier every appearance of an angel was regarded as an event that was, to a certain degree, mystical.

Here a clarification is needed: strictly speaking, the Bible knows nothing mystical at all. Mysticism assumes that we live in an originally divided world whose different regions do not intersect with one another at all, or almost not at all. The Bible, however, from its first pages describes the world as one, and any division in it, from the viewpoint of the authors of the biblical books, is the consequence of evil and sin that entered the world. Such division cannot be absolute, and therefore a person who has normal, full relations with God sees the world not as divided, but as God conceived and created it: whole. In such a world God is always near, and one can meet an angel simply while sitting at the entrance to one's own tent, as Abraham did. Yet for the authors of the Old Testament books the Kingdom was still the reality of "the age to come"; its time had not yet arrived. Jesus constantly reminds people that it is near throughout His earthly ministry, revealing it to those ready to see. Still, before Pentecost the Kingdom remained limited in space and time; it was bound to the person of Jesus Himself and moved over the earth together with Him.

Now everything is different: the Kingdom enters the world, no longer limited by any boundaries. It can open anywhere and at any time; it is always near, and what earlier was only partly revealed in a vision now becomes part of the reality in which we live. Earlier, to see the Kingdom one had to look into the future; now one needs only to enter the Kingdom for it to remain always near. The Kingdom becomes the reality of our world. Of course, far from everyone in the world notices it, but it does not become less real because of that. The age to come has become the present age. The Kingdom enters the world.

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