In my reading through the New Testament I came to Acts 12. In the beginning of the chapter it tells how King Herod had the apostle James arrested and killed. Seeing how much this pleased the Jewish leaders, he also had Peter arrested with the intention of killing him as well. The night before Peter was supposed to be brought to trial he was rescued by an angel who freed him from prison. It ended up that Herod died shortly after while Peter lived another 20 years.
As I finished my reading there are two questions that I have about Acts 12. First, why did God allow James to be killed first, of all the Apostles? Now it’s not that the other apostles weren’t important but James was one of the ‘Big Three’, the inner circle of Jesus that included his brother John and Peter. It would seem to me that James, with all of his intimate knowledge of Jesus (at the transfiguration, seeing Jairus’ daughter raised to life, being the closest to Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, etc.) would have been one of the last of the disciples to die. (Interestingly his brother John was the last one to die, somewhere about 100 AD, or about 55 years after James died.)
The second question I have is why God allowed James to be killed by Herod but not Peter? The difference between James and Peter is evident to anyone who reads Acts 12. Both apostles were arrested by Herod - James is killed while Peter is miraculously rescued. Why? Did God love Peter more or James less? No. The answer lies in the sovereignty of God. God’s will for the Big Three was different for each of them. James was killed by the sword rather early (45 AD), Peter was crucified later in Rome (64 AD) and John, the only disciple who didn’t meet a violent end, died in Ephesus (100 AD). Three different deaths in three different cities in three different parts of the Roman Empire.
In Isaiah 55:8,9 we read - “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are My ways your ways’, declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts that your thoughts.’” The bottom line is that only God knows why He allowed events to happen the way they did in Acts 12 and only He knows why things happen in our world. Two people get cancer - one is cured the other one dies. Two people are in an accident - one survives, the other one dies. Two people give birth - one child is born healthy, one child is not. The fact that some people suffer more misfortune in life or die earlier than others does not always indicate divine displeasure or judgment. It just means that God’s will for each person is different. Someday, when all is said and done, we will discover how everything fits together - for the glory of God and the accomplishment of His will on earth.
Lord, help me to embrace Your plan for my life and for those I love. Also help me not to be angry or bitter when Your plans are different from what I had planned. Help me to learn that, in all of life, Father knows best! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
As I finished my reading there are two questions that I have about Acts 12. First, why did God allow James to be killed first, of all the Apostles? Now it’s not that the other apostles weren’t important but James was one of the ‘Big Three’, the inner circle of Jesus that included his brother John and Peter. It would seem to me that James, with all of his intimate knowledge of Jesus (at the transfiguration, seeing Jairus’ daughter raised to life, being the closest to Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, etc.) would have been one of the last of the disciples to die. (Interestingly his brother John was the last one to die, somewhere about 100 AD, or about 55 years after James died.)
The second question I have is why God allowed James to be killed by Herod but not Peter? The difference between James and Peter is evident to anyone who reads Acts 12. Both apostles were arrested by Herod - James is killed while Peter is miraculously rescued. Why? Did God love Peter more or James less? No. The answer lies in the sovereignty of God. God’s will for the Big Three was different for each of them. James was killed by the sword rather early (45 AD), Peter was crucified later in Rome (64 AD) and John, the only disciple who didn’t meet a violent end, died in Ephesus (100 AD). Three different deaths in three different cities in three different parts of the Roman Empire.
In Isaiah 55:8,9 we read - “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are My ways your ways’, declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts that your thoughts.’” The bottom line is that only God knows why He allowed events to happen the way they did in Acts 12 and only He knows why things happen in our world. Two people get cancer - one is cured the other one dies. Two people are in an accident - one survives, the other one dies. Two people give birth - one child is born healthy, one child is not. The fact that some people suffer more misfortune in life or die earlier than others does not always indicate divine displeasure or judgment. It just means that God’s will for each person is different. Someday, when all is said and done, we will discover how everything fits together - for the glory of God and the accomplishment of His will on earth.
Lord, help me to embrace Your plan for my life and for those I love. Also help me not to be angry or bitter when Your plans are different from what I had planned. Help me to learn that, in all of life, Father knows best! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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