Death and Escape - The Book of Acts

In this Bible Story, we witness the tragic yet noble death of James. He would be the first apostle to become a martyr, and he would not be the last. As persecution of the church increases, so does the risk of imprisonment. Yet death is no match for Jesus, nor is it a threat to those who believe in him. This story is inspired by Acts 12. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is Acts 12:7 from the King James Version.

Episode 227: As men and women ran from burning buildings to escape death, they were captured by King Herod and imprisoned. These Christians were the only thing standing between him and power. James, one of the Lord’s twelve disciples, remained in the city preaching about the restoration that Jesus brings. While he was preaching, Herod sent guards to kill him where he stood. A public death sent a message from Herod that he is King, not Jesus. But this persecution could not stop Jesus or His followers. Even when Peter was captured and imprisoned, God made a way for him to escape death.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray and behold. The Angel of the Lord
came upon him, and a light shined in the prison,
and he smote Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, arise,
Arise up quickly, and his chains fell off from his hands.
Acts twelve seventeen. Through the mighty name of Jesus, I

(00:26):
declare that the works of hell will not prevail against
the works of Jesus. When others seek to use their
influence to terrify and intimidate my purpose, I will all
the more boldly declare the mighty works of Jesus. Like
James An acte twelve, I will hold my ground and

(00:50):
speak up even when the sword of unjust abuse pierces
my life. When I find myself in the chains of despair,
I will pray and meditate on your words, Jesus. I
will meditate on the truths found in Acts twelve that
show me that through your power you will send supernatural

(01:12):
deliverance my way in order to set me up and
send me off into the next season of opportunity, free
from the chains of man and free from their limiting
beliefs about me. Thank you Jesus, that even in the
face of death you always provide a way of escape

(01:37):
in Jesus' name. Amen, Thank you for praying with us today.
Continue your time with God by listening to today's Bible story,
brought to you by Bible in a Year dot com.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
Death and Escape. In our last story, Saul and Barnabas
teamed up to advance the Gospel and Antioch. Saul was
still learning about what it truly meant to walk with Jesus,
and Barnabas acted as a brilliant mentor and friend. Now
we witness the tragic end to one of Jesus's chosen twelve.

(02:20):
Violence against the Church increases and the gates of Hell
threatened to overcome the work of Jesus to no avail.
Inspired by the Book of Acts.

Speaker 3 (02:32):
Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible
in a Year podcast. But before we began, I want
to let you know about a unique ebook that's yours
to download absolutely free today. Is called Breaking Free from Stress,
and my prayer is that it will help you conquer
the daily task and pressures and burdens that bring stress

(02:52):
in your life. Download your free copy of Breaking Free
from Stress today by visiting Jack Graham dot Org's stress.
That's Jack Graham dot org S stress. In our previous episode,
we heard about the spread of the Gospel, with more
non Jews turning to Christ because of the faithful witness

(03:13):
of believers who had scattered throughout the Roman world. We
also learned how Barnabas and Saul began to work together
to disciple new believers in Antiochs so that they would
remain firm and strong in their faith. Today we'll hear
of more persecution and another faithful servant who dies because
of his faith. The enemy of the Gospel, Satan himself,

(03:33):
is pulling out all the stops to keep the name
of Jesus from being proclaimed. But through it all God
strengthens his church and makes his name known because the
work of Jesus Christ and the witness of the Gospel
is unstoppable. Let's hear now the reading from the Book
of Acts.

Speaker 2 (03:52):
Herod watched his homes burned in the distance. Pires of
flames pierced the cold, dark night. Herod's cruel smirk was
illuminated by the light of burning houses. As men and
women ran out of the burning buildings to escape death,
they were captured by Herod's guards and thrown into prison.
He was sick of Jesus's name, continuing to challenge his power.

(04:14):
The keepers of his words were the only things standing
between him and control. He needed them to die. He
needed the city streets to run red with the blood
of Christians, so that all would know that Herod was king,
not Jesus. James gazed upon the ruin. Screams of his
brothers and sisters rang like bells throughout the city. His

(04:37):
heart broke for them. The next morning, James stood boldly
in front of the palace, declaring that there is healing
in the name of Jesus. He focused on the restoring
work of Christ. How even in the most brutal of circumstances,
the name of Jesus would live on and save. As
James preached, he could see Herod's guards standing at a distance.

(04:58):
On the other end, were sc bowling Jews, awaiting his demise.
James stepped forward and looked them in the eye. He
did not call for them to be damned. He did
not ask for fire to be called down from heaven.
He simply proclaimed the love of God. Then, before the
entire city, Herod's guards walked up to James and shoved
a blade into his stomach. The Herodian soldiers left James

(05:22):
to bleed in the city streets. James gasped for air,
unable to catch any oxygen as blood filled his lungs.
The corners of his eyes began to darken, and James
remembered the words of Jesus years ago. Are you prepared
to drink the cup that I am about to drink? James,
still writhing in pain, gave a brief smile. Jesus had

(05:44):
asked if James was willing to die for the sake
of others. Back then, James did not understand what he meant.
But now, as his blood ran like a river through
the cobblestones, James understood. He closed his eyes, praying for
God to embrace him, and in that moment moment, James
exhaled his last breath on earth and inhaled into eternity.

(06:06):
The persecution of Herod did not cease. There were hysteria
in the streets, and flames led up the night for weeks.
Peter was brought to the ground by several of Herod's guards.
They struggled on the ash and stone, but Peter was
eventually brought back to prison. Four squads of soldiers were
responsible for watching him since the last time he had escaped,
so Peter sat in the cold, wet cell. The only

(06:29):
sound was the constant drip of water, echoing in the
silent whispers of Peter's prayers to God. The sun had
set and it was about time for Peter to be
taken before Herod. For days now, the two guards had
come into his cell to beat him. Peter sat in
the corner of his cell. His cheeks were split open
by clubs and his ribs were cracked under the large

(06:50):
fists of drunken soldiers. Yet Peter continued to pray for deliverance,
and only hours before he was to appear before Herod
to be judged, he heard the sound of chains cracking.
Peter looked down to see his chains had been removed.
He looked up and saw a light shining through the cell.

(07:11):
It was an angel of the Lord. Arise. The angel said,
be quick and dress yourself, wrap your cloak around you,
and follow me. Peter did not ask questions. He draped
his hood over his head and moved through the prison halls.
It was damp and dark, but the light of the
angel lit Peter's path so he would not stumble. As

(07:31):
Peter followed, the angel passed the second guard, he could
not help but wonder if he was dreaming. However, Peter
was quickly proven wrong. As he stood at the large
iron gate that separated the prison from the outside. He
looked down at the locks on the gate, and they
were left wide open. Peter walked right through and went
to visit Mary and John. Weeks later, Herod sat upon

(07:52):
his throne, listening to the forced praises of his servants.
He had them sing before him with words of worship.
The voice voice of a god. They sang, the voice
of a God and not a man. Harod settled into
his throne as he drifted away to the sweet voices
of his servants, but he was eventually struck down because
there would be no robbing God of his glory. Eventually,

(08:15):
Barnabas returned to Jerusalem with Saul. So the word of
God increased and multiplied, and the gates of Hell could
not prevail against the work of Jesus.

Speaker 3 (08:29):
As today Scripture on Foals, we find Herod turning up
the heat on the followers of Jesus. He was determined
to stop the church from growing anymore, and had begun
to lay hands on the disciples, not just threatening them
but bringing violence upon them. Among his first victims was
one of Jesus's own apostles, James, the brother of John,

(08:50):
was put to death by the sword. What Herod did
not understand was that even in the act of killing James,
Herod was giving him an even greater reward. This faithful
servant of Jesus was welcomed into the arms of the
Savior because he had fought the good fight of faith
and died then as a martyr. When a believer dies,

(09:11):
the Christian goes straight into the presence of the Lord.
For the Bible says, to be absent from the body
is to be present with the Lord. But of course
those who are left behind, family, friends, loved ones, we grieve.
And that's what happened when James died. The believers who
knew and loved James saw this as a tragic loss,
and it was in so many ways. But they could

(09:34):
take comfort in knowing that their brother was with the
Lord and rejoice, as they did when they faced imprisonment
and beatings. Rejoice because they knew that James was counted
worthy to suffer for the cause of Christ, and so
if necessary would they. Herod, on the other hand, saw
only that killing James was pleasing to the Jews, so

(09:54):
he also seized Peter and had him thrown into prison. There,
Peter was kept under clothes guard. Herod intended to bring
him out before the people after the passover, surely to
face a similar fate to James. But as Peter sat
alone in his cell, he was really not alone. He
was supported by the Church and the prayers of God's people.

(10:15):
Acts twelve five says this. So Peter was kept in prison,
but earnest prayer for him was made to God by
the Church. Some might hear this and think they prayed
because there was nothing else to do, but that would
be a misunderstanding, a huge misunderstanding of the power of prayer.
The Church prayed not as a last resort, but as

(10:37):
a powerful weapon against the enemy. Prayer is our first option,
not our last chance. This was not a desperate act
of hopeless people. It was the humble, faithful act of
God's people as they prayed for Peter. With the prayer,
they brought their request for Peter before God. Because God
was the only one who could really deliver him? And

(10:58):
did God ever come through the walls of the prison
and the chains on Peter's wrists were no match for
his power. As Peter slept between two guards the night
before Herod was about to bring him out on trial,
the Lord sent an angel who awakened Peter and told
him to get up. Peter watched as the chains fell
from his hands. The angel told him to dress himself

(11:20):
and wrap his cloak around his body. Peter followed the
angel as they walked right out of the cell. The
prison doors were opening for them. At first, Peter thought
he was having a dream or a vision, but as
they reached the street, the angel departed and Peter knew
he was not dreaming. He was free. God had answered
the prayers of his people and delivered Peter from Herod

(11:42):
and those who wanted to kill him. Peter went immediately
to see John Mark and his mother Mary, where believers
were gathered their prey. At first, they couldn't believe that
God had answered their prayer. They couldn't believe that it
was Peter actually knocking at the door, and they didn't
open the door. But finally they did. I can only
imagine the joy that they experienced together as they saw

(12:04):
the answer to their prayer, Simon Peter delivered standing right
in front of them. Today's scripture reminds us of the
mighty power of prayer, and that through prayer God may
choose to deliver us from the most dire of circumstances
that seemed totally hopeless. And yet we trust the will
of God in all of this when we pray. As

(12:26):
we just heard at the beginning of this reading, James
the Great Apostle died for the cause of the Gospel,
yet Peter was delivered. None of this really is understandable
this side of eternity, but we can trust the purposes
of God and know that He is sovereignly working all
things together for good and for the glory of his name. Herod,

(12:46):
when he discovered that Peter escape, was livid and had
the guards put to death. He was so convinced of
his own power and importance that soon people were singing
praises to him, calling him a god, and he gladly
received their prayer. Jes but God sent an angel to
strike him down because he did not glorify God. His
reign of terror was now over, and the church continued

(13:09):
to grow and multiply. This is the power of the
Gospel and the power of a praying church. Dear Lord,
we thank you for this privilege of prayer, and we
know that we can come to you about anything, for anyone,
even in the most desperate of circumstances. We pray, o God,
that you would deliver us from every enemy that we face.

(13:31):
And when we have trying times in our lives and
the lives of our loved ones and friends, may we
go to our knees first. May we find in you
our hope and our help. And as the Church of
the Lord Jesus Christ in this generation, Lord, make us
a praying church. Help us to know that you are
our strength and our help, our ever present help in
times of trouble. In Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you for

(13:56):
listening to today's Bible Iny of Year podcast. Here we Go.
I want to let you know about a unique ebook
that's yours to download absolutely free today. It's called Breaking
Free from Stress, and my prayer is that it will
help you conquer the daily task and pressures and burdens
that bring stress into your life. Download your free copy

(14:18):
of Breaking Free from Stress today by visiting jaggraham dot
org slash stress. That's jagraham dot org slash stress.