The Pride of Herod
Acts: The Mission of God • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
What if I told you that there was a sort of sinful attitude and behavior that you could be possibly participating in, that God sees on the same level as occult practices?
Would you want to know about it? Would you want it out of your life as soon as possible?
What if I told you that there was a sinful disposition that our gracious God opposes to the point that He resists those who stand in it?
Would you want to separate yourself from it? Would you want to make absolutely sure that it has no foothold in your heart?
Well there is a sin of this nature and the Bible tells us about it.
And Samuel said,
“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to listen than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has also rejected you from being king.”
Prideful rebellion is like witchcraft before the Lord.
This is how much He loathes it.
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
God opposes the prideful.
Can there be anything more devastating than being opposed by the Creator of the Universe?
Can there be anything more terrifying than having HIM as your enemy?
This morning, we see the awful sin of pride on display in a brash manner.
Herod Agrippa, the one who had James beheaded and Peter imprisoned, sets himself up like some sort of deity and receives praise like a god.
And as a result, he finds that he has God Almighty as his enemy.
And it brings him to his demise.
And after observing his foolish finish, we will make some observations for our own lives this morning regarding the issue of pride.
We will see that:
Pride provokes.
Pride plunges.
Humility heals.
Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.
But the word of God increased and multiplied.
And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark.
EXPLAINING THE TEXT
EXPLAINING THE TEXT
Agrippa has been like the new Saul of Tarsus for the church in Jerusalem.
It was Saul’s persecution, before his conversion, that scattered the church back in chapter 8.
A relative time of peace ensued at the end of Acts 9.
But as we arrived at chapter 12, the dust was kicked up again and this time it was by this puppet king, Herod Agrippa I.
After attacking the leadership of the Jerusalem church in martyring James and imprisoning Peter, we now see him in a dispute with the cities of Tyre and Sidon.
FOOD CONTROVERSY
FOOD CONTROVERSY
Herod was livid with the people of Tyre and Sidon (v. 20).
The Greek word for anger in verse 20 literally means “very angry.”
We do not know the in’s and out’s of the situation and why he was in such a heated rage over these Phoenician cities—but we do know it had something to do with food.
Luke says that they depended on food being shipped to them from Herod’s territory in Galilee.
Tyre and Sidon were free, self-governing cities, but evidently, they had some sort of trade agreement worked out to receive food from Herod’s territory.
Something has occurred that has caused Herod to shut down this exchange and the food is not flowing to southern Syria any longer.
Luke tells us that they come to the king with one accord—meaning their governing officials probably sent a delegation to have an audience with Herod and this seems to be arranged through Blastus—one of the king’s most trusted officials.
How trusted?
The word chamberlain literally means “the one in charge of the king’s bed chamber.”
This is the guy in charge of the king’s bedroom. There is no doubt Herod trusted him.
HEROD’S VISIT TO CAESAREA
HEROD’S VISIT TO CAESAREA
Now, while God’s Word is sufficient and in need of no help, pulling on some extra-biblical resources will help us fill in some blanks this morning.
In particular, we turn to the Jewish historian, Josephus.
Josephus was a contemporary of the early church and his writings tell us a lot about 1st century Judaism, as well as the history of Judea in general.
Josephus records that Agrippa went to Caesarea for a jubilee in honor of the emperor—possibly the quadrennial games—which were like the ancient Olympics.
He does not write anything about the food situation with Tyre and Sidon, the delegation or Blastus, but that doesn’t mean Luke is wrong or Josephus is wrong.
Instead, they are simply describing different aspects of the same visit.
Luke is telling us about something extra, aside from the event honoring the emperor, about Herod’s visit.
THE MOMENT OF GREAT PRIDE
THE MOMENT OF GREAT PRIDE
As we get to verses 21-22, Luke seems to be describing an incident that occurs with the people of Tyre and Sidon, as well as others present.
Herod has his royal robes on and takes his seat upon his throne delivering an oration (v. 21).
Josephus said that Herod was “clad in a robe made altogether of silver, of quite wonderful weaving.”
In verse 22, the people start shouting at him, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!”
Again, Josephus provides commentary.
He said that it was morning and as the sun rose and its rays of light hit Herod’s silver robe, the people started saying:
‘Be gracious to us! Hitherto we have reverenced you as a human being, but henceforth we confess you to be of more than mortal nature.’
There is no evidence in the Word of God or in the writings of Josephus that Herod attempted to deflect this ill-placed praise.
He was happy to receive adulation from the people as if he was a god.
Here is what Matthew Henry said about this:
Many heathen princes claimed and received Divine honours, but it was far more horrible impiety in Herod, who knew the word and worship of the living God, to accept such idolatrous honours without rebuking the blasphemy.
THE DEATH OF HEROD
THE DEATH OF HEROD
And as a result, in verse 23, Herod is struck down by the Lord.
Luke says that immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.
Now, this is a place that many have accused the Bible of a discrepancy because Josephus’ writings say that Herod had a “stab of pain to the heart” and then he was “gripped in his stomach by an ache that he felt everywhere at once and that was intense from the start.”
This seems to indicate that Herod died not long after this, but that it did not happen on the spot.
But in reality, this is not a discrepancy and it is easily reconciled.
Luke tells us that God sent the angel to strike Herod in the moment with the illness that would kill him, but Luke doesn’t say when he actually died and breathed his last.
In the years the followed, many have speculated that Herod Agrippa died of appendicitis.
I had appendicitis in 2011. My entire torso hurt for a couple of days and then I went to the hospital and found out my appendix had ruptured within me.
After it was removed, I was in the hospital for a week.
Without the help of modern medicine, it is easy to see how this could have been the cause of Herod’s death according to Josephus’ description, as well as Luke’s.
Luke also says he was “eaten by worms and died.”
This was actually a common phrase used in the Greco-Roman world to describe the death of horrible people and it is not necessarily meant to be taken literally.
Here is David Peterson on this:
The Acts of the Apostles 3. Divine Judgment on Herod Agrippa I (12:20–23)
We are not necessarily meant to think of an angelic appearance, as in vv. 7–11, but rather that the affliction was sent by God as a punishment. The particular manner of his death (he was eaten by worms and died) is frequently mentioned by ancient writers, ‘especially as having been endured by people who were considered to have richly deserved it’
In the same vein, Eckhardt Schnabel:
Luke describes Agrippa’s death as the result of being eaten by worms, a Greek expression that is not a medical technical term...
Eckhardt Schnabel
THE GOSPEL ADVANCES
THE GOSPEL ADVANCES
And after Herod dies, despite his best efforts, the Gospel is still standing.
The Word of God increases and multiples (v. 24).
The implication is that this increase is in Judea.
Furthermore, Barnabas and Saul, having taken the money to the church in Jerusalem, return to Antioch, preparing to take the Gospel to the rest of the Empire.
So not only is the Gospel advancing in Judea—it is going to the end of the earth, just as Jesus promised in Acts 1:8.
PRIDE PROVOKES
PRIDE PROVOKES
Understanding the passage, let’s take some time to dive further into the issue that saw Herod struck down in the first place—the issue of pride.
We are going to make three observations on the subject from the passage and the first one is this:
1. Pride provokes (v. 22).
1. Pride provokes (v. 22).
In verse 22, Herod sets himself up like a god. He makes no effort to deflect the unnatural exaltation of the people.
Compare this with Peter back at Cornelius’ house:
When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.”
Or compare it with Paul and Barnabas in Lystra in Acts 14 when the people start worshipping them like they are Greek gods.
And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.
Herod, on the other hand, was like Ithobal III, the King of Tyre in Ezekiel 28.
Listen to Ezekiel’s prophecy regarding him:
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord God:
“Because your heart is proud,
and you have said, ‘I am a god,
I sit in the seat of the gods,
in the heart of the seas,’
yet you are but a man, and no god,
though you make your heart like the heart of a god—
you are indeed wiser than Daniel;
no secret is hidden from you;
by your wisdom and your understanding
you have made wealth for yourself,
and have gathered gold and silver
into your treasuries;
by your great wisdom in your trade
you have increased your wealth,
and your heart has become proud in your wealth—
therefore thus says the Lord God:
Because you make your heart
like the heart of a god,
therefore, behold, I will bring foreigners upon you,
the most ruthless of the nations;
and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom
and defile your splendor.
They shall thrust you down into the pit,
and you shall die the death of the slain
in the heart of the seas.
Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’
in the presence of those who kill you,
though you are but a man, and no god,
in the hands of those who slay you?
And because of this—much like with Herod, God’s wrath is provoked:
You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
by the hand of foreigners;
for I have spoken, declares the Lord God.”
PRIDE IS UNIQUE
PRIDE IS UNIQUE
See, pride is a unique sin.
It is not a sin that seeks to lure you away from God to worship false gods.
Instead, it is a sin that cheers you on to challenge God Himself.
Pride comes for God’s throne and says, “I should sit there. I should call the shots.”
It is the sin that laid in the heart of the very first sin against God in the case of Adam and Eve.
When Satan tempted Eve, he temped her with the possibility of being like God.
For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
“Come on—this rebellion won’t kill you. It will give you God’s chair. Take it.”
And we can say this is what lies at the heart of every sin ever since.
It is PRIDE that says, “I get to do what I want to do when I want to do it. “
It is PRIDE that says, “I should get to have what I want to have when I want to have it.”
It is PRIDE that says, “I should get to be who I want to be when I want to be.”
And this PRIDE, which is a direct challenge to God’s crown and authority and position, draws His ire and indignation.
Pride is a sin that will put the soul upon the worst of sins. Pride is a gilded misery, a secret poison, a hidden plague. It is the engineer of deceit, the mother of hypocrisy, the parent of mercy, the moth of holiness, the blinder of hearts, the turner of medicines into maladies and remedies into diseases.
Thomas Brooks
THE WARNINGS OF GOD’S WRATH
THE WARNINGS OF GOD’S WRATH
And the breadth of the Bible’s teachings reveal that this is true.
Rise up, O judge of the earth;
repay to the proud what they deserve!
God warned proud Babylon through the mouth of Jeremiah and said:
“Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. Encamp around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done. For she has proudly defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares, and all her soldiers shall be destroyed on that day, declares the Lord.
“Behold, I am against you, O proud one,
declares the Lord God of hosts,
for your day has come,
the time when I will punish you.
He did the same as He admonished the privileged and prideful of Israel through Amos:
The Lord God has sworn by himself, declares the Lord, the God of hosts:
“I abhor the pride of Jacob
and hate his strongholds,
and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.”
In the New Testament, as Paul is talking about God’s wrath being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness, he says that God has given the idolatrous up to their sins.
He has given them over to a debased mind. Listen to what the Apostle says:
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
Notice that haughtiness—pride—and boastfulness are listed right alongside a sin such as murder.
Similarly, in 2 Timothy 3, as Paul describes the sins that will committed in the last days, he says:
For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
Lovers of self. Proud. Arrogant.
These are hallmarks of a perishing world that has provoked the wrath of God in the last age of the earth.
PRIDE PLUNGES (v. 23)
PRIDE PLUNGES (v. 23)
So understanding how God abhors arrogance and pride, we understand why God struck down Herod in v. 23.
Pride provokes the wrath of God, therefore, pride is plunged down into punishment.
2. Pride plunges (v. 23).
2. Pride plunges (v. 23).
In Matthew 23:12, Jesus gives us what I will call a universal principle.
It is universal to the whole of Scripture.
It is universal to the way the world works.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
If you exalt yourself, you will be humbled—if not now, later.
If not in this life, then in judgment.
We see it here in Herod.
He exalts himself and he is struck down.
No only that, but as he dies, the Gospel he tried to stop is continuing to advance.
He becomes tragic tale while the Gospel continues to triumph in v. 24-25.
Herod is not the only one who experiences this in the Scriptures.
We see it in the case of Nebuchadnezzar who stood before Babylon and said, “Look what I have done!”
and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”
He exalted himself and what happened? God brought him low.
Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.
We see it in the case of Uzziah, who was a good king that had the end of his reign spoiled by pride:
But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.
God’s book of wisdom, the Proverbs, are filled with warnings that those who are prideful will be brought low.
When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with the humble is wisdom.
The Lord tears down the house of the proud
but maintains the widow’s boundaries.
Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty,
but humility comes before honor.
One’s pride will bring him low,
but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.
The prophet Isaiah was particularly clear about how God will humble the proud:
For the Lord of hosts has a day
against all that is proud and lofty,
against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;
And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled,
and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low,
and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
Man is humbled, and each one is brought low,
and the eyes of the haughty are brought low.
The clear rhythm of Scripture is that those who lift themselves up will be laid to the ground by the Lord.
Whether it is Pharaoh being humbled by the plagues and ultimately the waters of the Red Sea...
Or it is Jonah pridefully running and then being cast into the depths of the sea and then the belly of the fish....
Or Peter catching Jesus’ eyes after he did what he swore he would never do—deny Christ not once, not twice, but three times...
The Lord humbles the proud.
He humbles believers who are proud.
He humbles unbelievers who are proud.
There is no neck that stretches itself out against the King of Heaven that will remain lifted.
Whether it is in repentance or recompense, the self-exalted will be soundly humbled.
The more lofty a man’s thoughts be, the more base shall the means of his humiliation be.
Josias Shute
ARE YOU PRIDEFUL?
ARE YOU PRIDEFUL?
After hearing all of that, you would be a fool to not be concerned about the issue of pride.
God opposes the proud.
God levels the proud.
God’s sights are on the proud man and God doesn’t miss.
So are you proud?
If you say, “Absolutely not!” Well—that might not be a good sign.
Jonathan Edwards said pride is complex.
It is like an onion. You get off one layer and find that there is another one.
So how prideful are we?
Well let me ask you this:
How easily angered are you?
How much does someone have to disagree with you before your hackles are up?
How easily offended are you?
How much does someone have to say to you to cross you?
Does it take very little for you to feel like someone has lanced you?
See, we mostly think of those who go around offending people as prideful—and often, that is the case.
They are self-centered and and narrowly-focused on their own desires and they don’t care who gets hurt in the process as they go about fulfilling them.
But we have to recognize that it is just as prideful to be constantly offended by others.
This is also a sign of thinking that the whole world is about you.
You think everyone is out to get you.
That every move they make is about you.
Whether you are constantly the offended or the offender, if you find that you are stomping around in your heart, swearing under your breath, assuming the worst of others and the best of yourself, your attitude and actions are revealing a heart that is proud.
You have put a massive value on yourself and when people aren’t willing to pay the price you have set, you are ready to kick them out of the store of your life, your day, your team, your family, your church—whatever.
You may be closer to a Herodian pride than you would ever want to admit.
HUMILITY HEALS
HUMILITY HEALS
So what is the remedy? How do we root out this rottenness?
The answer is found in pride’s opposition—in pride’s great enemy: Humility.
3. Humility heals.
3. Humility heals.
Going back to Jesus’ universal principle in Matthew 23, let’s not forget the other half of it:
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
The one who is humbled, will be exalted.
We should not be surprised at this. God loves humility.
He revealed this through the mouths of His prophets:
All these things my hand has made,
and so all these things came to be,
declares the Lord.
But this is the one to whom I will look:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit
and trembles at my word.
He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
He revealed this to King Solomon:
if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
The Psalms highlight great promises regarding humility:
Psalm 18:27: God saves a humble people
Psalm 25:9: God leads and teaches the humble
Psalm 147:6: God lifts up the humble
Psalm 149:4: God adorns the humble with salvation
The Proverbs also record promises for the humble:
Toward the scorners he is scornful,
but to the humble he gives favor.
The reward for humility and fear of the Lord
is riches and honor and life.
Seeing the plunge that pride brings and the healing that humility brings, who wouldn’t want humility?
The question is, “How do we get it?”
Is it something we can muster up?
Can we will ourselves to humility?
WATSON’S ADVICE
WATSON’S ADVICE
This is where I want to offer some advice from Thomas Watson.
In his Body of Divinity, Watson gives four very practical helps for humility. Four places that we should look in order to stir ourselves to repent of pride and humble ourselves before the Lord.
Watson says we should look:
INTRA NOS (WITHIN US): When you really examine yourself, what do you find?
Well you find a lot of sin. You find a lot of stuff that God is still dealing with you on.
You find a bunch of imperfections crawling around in your soul like rats and roaches.
And if you don’t think you have those things—well, look again.
JUXTA NOS (ABOUT US): Look around you and look at other Christians. What do you see?
You will likely see people with gifting you don’t have.
You will likely see people more Bible knowledge than you.
You will likely see people who serve more gladly then you or more often than you.
You may see people who give more than you.
You may see people who encourage more than you.
You may see people who pray more than you.
If we just really stop and look at the people of the church, it won’t take long to be impressed with what God has made of them and to be humbled when we see how much work He still has to do with us.
INFRA NOS (BELOW US): Look under your feet and see the dirt.
Your father Adam was made from it.
You are a son of Adam and Adam was a son of the dirt.
What is dirt? As Watson says, it is the son of nothing.
How impressed can you possibly be with yourself?
You are a Dirt-Man. You are a Dirt-Woman.
We aren’t made of gold.
We are people of the dust.
And most imporantly, SUPRA NOS (ABOVE US): Look up to Jesus.
He is exalted at the right hand of the Father.
But we must remember that as we see Him in session at God’s right hand, He got there through a pathway of humility.
In Philippians 2, Paul gives these imperatives to the church:
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Easier said than done, right?
Well Paul knows that. So he tells us where to set our minds:
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
The Son of God in the flesh did not count equality with the Father as a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself by taking the form of a servant.
And His servanthood was to be born in the likeness of men in a place where animals used the bathroom, to a pair of fairly poor parents.
And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by being obedient to the will of the Father to the point of death—even death on a Cross—suffering for sinners.
And then, He rose again and ascended to the right hand of the Father, and our humble King received the name of Lord forever:
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Whoever humbles himself, will be exalted.
If you are struggling for humility, look to Jesus.
The way of the Cross and the Person of Christ shows us the way to humility.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
Maybe you hear all of this today and you are laid out by it.
You may not be Herod shimmering in the sun, but you have been prideful enough.
You may have known it coming in and you have been trying to avoid the cold, hard facts.
Maybe you didn’t know it, but God’s Word revealed it today.
Just remember what both James and Peter tell us:
God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
Repent of the the self-exaltation and exalt Christ in your heart by bowing low before Him.
Confess your sin in ashes and ask God to to keep your heart low until the day that you are raised up with Him in glory.
O this is the way of killing this weed of pride, to break up our hearts and turn the inside outward—I mean humble and abase ourselves for our former abominations. William Gurnall
You don’t let weeds stay in a garden that you care about.
How much more should we care for the garden of our hearts?
God struck down Herod.
Don’t keep opposing Him.
Instead, strike down your pride.