THE KING & THE WORM

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on December 14, 2022 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: December 14, 2022 from Acts 12:20-24

Theme: Our mighty God is able to humble all human opposition to the spread of His gospel.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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The story of the Book of Acts is a story of the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world. And so; when we come to the story that we find at the end of Chapter 12, we might think that it’s nothing more than a very interesting piece of history … a kind of interruption to the story’s flow … but not really important to the theme of the whole story itself But that would b a mistake. In reality, the Holy Spirit included it where He did in order to teach us a principle that is vital to the plan of God for the spread of His gospel around the world.

It’s the story of the death of King Herod Agrippa I. Acts 12:20-23 tells us;

Now Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; but they came to him with one accord, and having made Blastus the king’s personal aide their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food by the king’s country. So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died (Acts 12:20-23).

It’s a strange and unpleasant story. Yet the true significance of it is shown in the last verse—in verse 24;

But the word of God grew and multiplied (v. 24).

The word “But” is very significant. It shows us that, in spite of the life and conduct and opposition of this ungodly king, the gospel nevertheless went forward. And when we’re told that it “multiplied”, what we’re being told is that more and more people believed and were transformed by the gospel; and that the church itself grew in numbers and in strength.

And so; when seen in the larger context of Chapter 12, this story serves a very important service to us in our understanding of the whole flow of the story of the spread of the gospel. It shows us—in a very grotesque way—that our mighty God is able to humble all human opposition to the spread of His gospel. Kings and tyrants may oppose it. They may even extend great human effort in trying to stop it and silence it. But in the end, God is able to humble them dreadfully, and insure that His message goes forth to do whatever He intends for it to do.

* * * * * * * * * *

Consider what happened before this story—in Acts 12:1-19. We’re told in verse 1 that, about the time that the gospel was beginning to spread out dramatically into the Gentile world, “Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church”. He murdered the apostle James—the brother of the apostle John. And then, seeing that this gave him some political advantage, he proceeded to arrest Peter. His plan was to put Peter to death too. After all, what better way to silence the gospel than to publicly execute its foremost preacher?

And this chapter goes on to show how God had thwarted Herod’s wicked plan. An angel of the Lord came into the prison and released Peter before Herod could execute him. Peter went on to preach the gospel wherever it was that God then sent him. And as verses 18-19 tell us;

Then, as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter. But when Herod had searched for him and not found him, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death (vv. 18-19a).

Herod’s murderous plan—born of his wicked desire to harass the church and terminate its mission in the world—was being frustrated. He was furious. We’re told that, from there—in Jerusalem—the enraged king went down from Judea to the coastal city of Caesarea and stayed there.

We might think that that’s the end of the story. But we’d be wrong. He was still a murderous, wicked, unrepentant opponent to the gospel whose heart was intent on stopping this message from spreading—in spite of the fact that he was obviously trying to fight against God’s plan to spread the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. And so, God used this rebellious king as an object lesson to the rest of the world.

God Himself says in Psalm 2;

Why do the nations rage,
And the people plot a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,

“Let us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”

He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.

Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure:

“Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion” (Psalm 2:1-6).

God’s saving message of the gospel of Jesus Christ will go forward, people’s lives will be transformed, and Jesus Christ will reign from one end of the earth to the other. And any earthy king that stands in the way can very easily be brought to humility by God Himself.

Even a little worm or two is enough to do the job.

* * * * * * * * * *

The story of how God did this begins in verse 20. We’re told;

Now Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon (v. 20a) …

Just what it might have been that they did to anger him isn’t told. But it may not have required that they did much at all. He had gone to Caesarea in a very sour frame of mind. He had been thwarted in his plans to stop the spread of the gospel—had been mocked, as it were, by God Himself—and he was already in a bitter mood. His bitterness presented a serious situation, however, to the people of these coastal cities north of Israel. They took action to try to soothe the king’s anger. We’re told;

but they came to him with one accord, and having made Blastus the king’s personal aide their friend, they asked for peace … (v. 20b).

Blastus was a trusted servant to the king—and the people of Tyre and Sidon sought to make him an ally in their cause. How they did so isn’t told to us. But however much it might have cost them to persuade Blastus—or even to buy his assistance—it definitely seemed worth it to them. The king was a capricious and unpredictable tyrant; and they needed to win back his favor as soon as possible,

because their country was supplied with food by the king’s country (v. 20c).

Some scholars believe that the king may have—in part—been motivated to make peace with the people of Tyre and Sidon because he wanted to secure favor with the Roman emperor. After all, it wouldn’t have been to his advantage to remain so angry that he angered Rome. But the king’s vanity was on full display in it all; and he used it as an opportunity to turn the attention to himself. Verse 21 tells us;

So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them (v. 21).

The first-century Jewish historian Josephus gives us some fascinating details about this event. He wrote:

“Now, when Agrippa had reigned three years over all Judea, he came to the city Caesarea, which was formerly called Strato’s Tower; and there he exhibited shows in honor of Caesar, upon his being informed that there was a certain festival celebrated to make vows for his safety. At which festival, a great multitude was gotten together of the principal persons, and such as were of dignity through his province. On the second day of which shows he put on a garment made wholly of silver, and of a contexture truly wonderful, and came into the theatre early in the morning; at which time the silver of his garment being illuminated by the fresh reflection of the sun’s rays upon it, shone out after a surprising manner, and was so resplendent as to spread a horror over those that looked intently upon him; and presently his flatterers cried out, one from one place, and another from another (though not for his good), that he was a god; and they added, ‘Be thou merciful to us; for although we have hitherto reverenced thee only as a man, yet shall we henceforth own thee as superior to mortal nature’” (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews. 20.8.2).

This is in full accord with what we read in verse 22;

And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!” (v. 22).

Later on in the Book of Acts—in Acts 14—we will find that Paul and his missionary partner Barnabas came to the city of Lystra. And when the people of that city heard the missionaries preach, and saw the miracles God did through them, they began to call them ‘gods’. Paul and Barnabas immediately went out of their way to tell people that they themselves were only men—and that they should only worship the one true God.

But not Herod. When the people said that he spoke as a god, he vainly embraced their worship. Verse 23 tells us;

Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died (v. 23).

Some have suggested that Agrippa died by of internal hemorrhage, or by an infectious gastric disease, or even of acute appendicitis. But the man who is telling us this story—Luke—was a physician. When he says that the king was eaten by worms, we can take it that he was eaten by worms. It was God’s justice upon a man who dared to fight against His gospel—and who would not give the glory to Him.

Think of how the Bible tells us about this. It teaches us that God—in defense of His gospel—is able to humble those who seek to fight against it and oppose it. Isaiah 40:6-8 tells us;

“All flesh is grass,
And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:6-8).

The apostle Peter himself quoted from this very passage later in life—in 1 Peter 1:22-25. And it may even be that Peter was thinking of the incident with King Herod Agrippa when he wrote these words:

Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because

“All flesh is as grass,
And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.
The grass withers,
And its flower falls away,
But the word of the Lord endures forever.”

Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you (1 Peter 1:22-25).

God stands behind His gospel—and nothing can stand against Him. As the Lord Jesus Himself said;

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away” (Matthew 24:35).

Not even a king can prevail against the preaching of His word. Not even a king can stop His gospel.

* * * * * * * * * *

And so; King Herod Agrippa I—the king who dared to fight against God—the king who sought to murder God’s messengers—the king who even dared to receive the worship of others, and did not give glory to God—died suddenly from a bad case of worms. How poetic!

And in light of this, consider carefully the words of verse 24;

But the word of God grew and multiplied (v. 24).

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; let’s never fear that ungodly tyrants will ever be able to stop the message of our Lord Jesus Christ or prevent His kingdom from spreading. God is able—whenever He wishes—to humble all human opposition to the spread of His gospel.

But it’s not that we wish ‘death by worm’ to all rulers and leaders who oppose the gospel. Let the words at the end of Psalm 2 be the appeal of our hearts:

Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him (Psalm 2:10-12).

AE