Luke had just given a marvellous description of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Antioch. The church was growing by leaps and bounds (Acts 11:21). Everything was going well. Reading that, what happens here in chapter 12 is shocking and unexpected. One of God’s chosen apostles is brutally killed and another is arrested and awaiting execution. From the chapter we learn lessons important for us as the church. We see that the church is called to pray in crisis. We see the Lord’s answer to the church’s prayers. We realise that sometimes we can be surprised when the Lord does in fact answer our prayers. Finally, we see that nothing can withstand God’s purpose to glorify his Son through his Word. Not the opposition of tyrants, the indifference or hostility of public opinion, the feebleness of the church, nor the death of his faithful ministers. The remarkable progress of the Word in the first half of Acts is traceable ultimately to the Lord’s purpose and power. That was the confidence of the church in the first century, and that must be our confidence today.
Preacher: Jim de Witte
Passage: Acts 12:1-24
