Subscription Lists
Word from Scotland
by Sandy Shaw
As we leave Acts 11 and move into Acts 12, from one angle everything appears to be so wonderful, but not so, as we read on.
Back in Jerusalem King Herod unleashes another wave of persecution. After a lull - following a time of peace, Herod had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. That must have caused a shudder to run through the Jerusalem fellowship.
So often in the life and ministry of Jesus, we read of Peter James and John. These three seemed to be closer to Jesus than some of the others among the twelve. These three had been present on some of the most awesome occasions - on The Mount when Jesus was transfigured - in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus was praying - Peter James and John - three of the leading men in Jerusalem - and now the brother of John, James, is killed.
When Herod saw that the slaying of James pleased the Jews, (James was a Jew), Herod decided to go and do some more persecuting, and he arrested and imprisoned Peter. What for? Why did Herod do this? And why did God permit it?
It was the Feast of The Passover, probably two or three years following the Passover when Jesus was crucified. Peter was put in a highly secure part of the prison - the top security wing of that Jerusalem jail.
This was the man who knew James so well. This is the man who had been commissioned by Jesus to care for the lambs and feed the sheep. This was the man who on the day of Pentecost emerged as the leader of The Church of Jesus Christ seeing some 3000 people come to faith in Jesus and be 'born again', setting the pattern for all time. This is the man who has been used over these past weeks and months in Lydda, Joppa and Caesarea, and giving a full explanation of how Jesus was moving among the Gentiles to the other leaders in Jerusalem.
Herod's intention was to please some more Jews - or to please the Jews some more - by having Peter killed like James - but he wouldn't dare have this done during the Passover Festival.
You can hear what was being said amongst the leaders of the Jews and Herod - "We can't do this during the Feast - during the religious festival - we'll wait until it is past. Once it is over we'll deal with Peter."
Peter's life is under threat. He is around 35 or 36 years old - a powerful leader - filled with the Holy Spirit - and capable of ministering in the power of the Holy Spirit. (One interesting aside - that word "Passover" there - is badly translated in the King James Version of the Bible as "Easter". That is where the word comes from. Easter is not a good word. It means the 'goddess of the spring' or 'the goddess of the dawn', and many are totally unaware of the occult significance of this word.)
The word we use when it comes to speaking about The Christian Faith are most important. Be careful as to which words flow from your mouth. Remember, we will be answerable one day for every word we speak, preach, teach and write - Jesus made that clear.
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
Receive the newest devotional each week in your inbox by joining the "Word from Scotland" subscription list. Enter your email address below, click "Go!" and we will send you a confirmation email. Follow the instructions in the email to confirm your addition to this list.