When a new CEO arrives, it’s not uncommon for the upper management to be nervous. What will the company look like under new leadership? What will be important? What will be put by the wayside? When people change, priorities change.
In Acts 12–13, we see a multitude of people. James the brother of John, Peter, another Herod, Paul, and Barnabas all play major roles. However, Luke also mentions much lesser-known individuals: Rhoda of Jerusalem; Mary, the mother of John Mark; Blastus, the king’s butler; Simeon, called Niger; Lucius of Cyrene, Manaean (the childhood friend of an earlier Herod); Bar-Jesus, the sorcerer (also called Elymas); and Sergius Paulus, a proconsul in Paphos. One of Luke’s reasons for giving these names is to show where he received his information so readers may have “certainty” of what they had heard (Luke 1:1–4). Another reason is in what is arguably one of the most important verses in Acts: “But the word of God flourished and multiplied” (Acts 12:24, CSB).
The section begins with a brief but sad account of the death of James. Herod Agrippa I, grandson of King Herod who tried to kill Jesus as an infant, put James to death with hopes of killing Peter too, just after the Passover. In answer to the fervent prayers of the Church, the Lord miraculously rescued Peter in such a way that was hard for both him and his fellow Christians to believe. Luke then briefly describes the gruesome death of Herod and turns to Paul and Barnabas, whom the Lord raised up as missionaries in chapter 13. Luke gives a basic account of their travels, highlighting two stories: (1) Paul’s confrontation with a sorcerer and (2) Paul’s message. If these two stories seem like déjà vu, it’s not a coincidence. Paul’s encounter sounds like Peter’s confrontation with Simon the sorcerer (8:9–23), and Paul’s message sounds strikingly like earlier summaries of the gospel. Compare, for one small example, Paul’s point in Acts 13:35–37 with Peter’s point in Acts 2:27–32.
The point of these similarities is to show how the Word continued to spread. People change. James proclaimed the Word and died. But Herod, the opponent of the Word, also died. The Lord chose to save Peter, but then He used Paul to spread the same message. The Word, however, did not change; it grew and spread. Luke uses different words to repeat the same point at the end of chapter 13. Many Jews in Pisidian Antioch rejected the Word, but the Gentiles accepted and even glorified the Word (Acts 13:48).
This passage is not the only time Luke makes this point (see also Acts 6:7 and 19:20). In these passages, the “Word” refers to the story of Jesus that the apostles were proclaiming, and the words that Luke uses are the same words that occur in the Greek translation of Genesis 1:28, where God commands humanity to “be fruitful [and] multiply” (CSB). The point is that through the gospel, God was fulfilling His purpose for humankind.
This passage challenges us with the following question: Will we be faithful to that same Word? Will we put our trust in people who change, or in the unchanging Word?