Slides: Acts 12-13
Slide 1
12:1-17: Peter’s Deliverance
Slide 2
Herod Agrippa (12:1)
- Brother of Herodius
- Party buddy of Gaius Caligula
- Thus 1st official Jewish “king” since his grandfather Herod the Great
- His grandmother Mariamne a Hasmonean princess
- Jewish as well as Idumean
- Very popular with the people
- Eager to please, threw money around
- Emphasized Judean identity (as Roman in Rome)
- Pro- Pharisaic and frequented the Temple
Slide 3
Beheading (12:2)
Like Jn Bapt (Lk 9:9)
Sword in this period
More merciful, esp. for Roman citizens
King held ius gladiis- power of life and death (unlike Sanhedrin)
What do we do when tragedy strikes?
Slide 4
12:3
“Feast of Unleavened Bread”:
- Time of Jesus’ execution (Lk 22:7)
- Agrippa sometimes executed people for public entertainment
Agrippa gave generously to gentiles outside Judea
But policies more popular with his Jewish subjects
- Catered to their majority whims
- His soldiers in Caesarea hated him
Slide 5
12:4
Location
- Agrippa 1 resided in Jerusalem
- Place of imprisonment: maybe fortress Antonia- near Upper City
Soldiers
- 4 soldiers each on 4 shifts
12: 6
- each chain tied Peter to soldier
Slide 6
12:8-11
Prisons didn’t supply clothes
Outer cloak could be used as blanket
Agrippa wielded much more direct power than Sanhedrin; his guards more efficient
(Eurip.) Dionysus made chains drop off and locked doors again
- doors opening “by themselves”: from Homer to Josephus
Slide 7
Upper City, like Antonia (12:12-13)
From Antonia fortress, straight route to Upper City
Outer gate, servant girl/porter
Barnabas’s relatives: cf. Col 4:10 with Acts 4:36-37
As Levites (4:36)
- maybe ties with priestly aristocracy?
- Many well-to-do priests lived in Upper City
Homes rather than church buildings for 1st 3 cent’s of church’s existence (Rom 16:5, etc)
- As with some poorer synagogues
- Jerusalem megachurch (earlier), but elsewhere only homes
“Mark”: Latin name, hence prob. more favorable to Rome
“Mary”: most common women’s name in Judea, Galilee
“Rhoda”: Rose
- Common servant name
- Sexual harassment of slaves- but not Mary
Slide 8
12: 14-16
Learning faith by God’s grace (He answers our prayers anyway)
James had been executed, possibly in spite of their prayers
But note purpose for prayer meeting (12:5)
Their surprise:
- Disbelieved Rhoda, like women at tomb
- “It’s his ghost!” (like Lk 24)
- His angel:
. Some popular trad’s like angels after death
. but angel had just delivered him
- Peter himself: a vision
- Peter pounding on gate- neighbor’s porters?
Slide 9
12:17
“James”:
- Lit. “Jacob”
- Common Jewish name
- Not James of 12:2
- James of 15:13; 1 Cor. 15:7; Gal. 2:9- Jesus’ brother
Highly reputed for devoutness
When martyred, people of Jerusalem protested
Prob. safe from Agrippa (12:1-3)
Slide 10
12: 18,19
Arrogant Agrippa condemns others, accepts worship, is damned
- Examined for information: perhaps under torture
- Executes the four
- Under Roman law, a guard whose death- penalty prisoner escaped would pay for it with his own lie (cf. 16:27, 27:42)
12:20
Tyre, Sidon: depended on imports for food
Slide 11
12: 21 Agrippa 1 like to flaunt his power
royal robes: also noted by Josephus
self-display led to anti-Jewish riots in Alexandria
Josephus: this scene in theater of Caesarea
- Built by his grandfather Herod the Great
- Foundations of this theater still remain today
- On Emperor’s birthday
Slide 12
12: 22-24 Josephus: Agrippa flaunted his power
- Flatterers praised him as a god- common in Greek East
- Friend of Gaius Caligula
- Even Germanicus, others, expected deflect such praise
- Josephus: immediately collapsed
- Died at age of 54, after 5 days of stomach pains
- Deaths from bowel diseases and worms: horrible (tyrants)
Slide 13
12:25-13:3
Antioch Sends Out Missionaries
Despite 1:8, Judean apostles still in Jerusalem (15:6)
Antioch’s success in Gentile mission (11:19-26)
Slide 14
12:25
journey roughly 400 miles
customary for ancient teachers to take disciples with them
safer to travel in groups
customary to talk of Torah when traveling
Slide 15
13:1 Overseers
- Overseers: prophets and teachers
Simeon and Manaen (=Menahem): Jewish names
- Simeon’s surname “Niger”
- Respectable Roman name; maybe Roman citizen
- Nickname: “Black”
Lucius: Cyrene’s large Jewish population (maybe ¼)
- But geographic diversity
Slide 16
13:2-3
Fasting:
- To mourn or repent
- Some, for revelations
- Here, seeking God in prayer
HS esp.= Spirit of prophecy
- Prob. one of prophets prophesied
Sent them: probably paid fare (one way)
Slide 17
13:4-12 The Proconsul of Cyprus Believes
- Customary for messengers to travel by twos
- Students of Torah preferred having companions to study with
- Roman roads good and generally safe during the day
- Travel easier than ever before or again till close to modern period
13:4
Seleucia: Antioch’s port city
- 15 mi (24 km) to W.
- wealthy, merchant city, strong fortifications
Cyprus: Barnabas knew (4:36)
- 60 miles (95km) by sea from Seleucia
Slide 18
Salamis (13:5)
Probably over 100,000
Large Jewish comm., prob. several synag’s
- visiting teachers skilled in Torah asked to speak in local synagogues
Did Paul speak in synagogues? (Rom 11; 2 Cor 11)
- in early 2d cent. Cypriot Jewish community attacked Salamis
- Jewish community obliterated
Slide 19
13:6
probably took newer S. road- shorter than N.
cities en route: Citium, Amathus and Curium
New Paphos:
- Greek harbor town on N & W of Cyprus
- Provincial capital
- Maintained some trade relations with Judea
- Famous Aphrodite shrine; old Paphos, 7 mi (11 km) SE
Slide 20
Jewish magicians
- Thought among best in Roman Empire
- Forbidden in Scripture and mistrusted among pious Jews!
- Roman aristocrats often attached philosophers to their court
- Later Felix befriended a Jewish magician from Cyprus
- Sergius attracted to E. ?
Slide 21
13:7-8
Sergius Paulus:
Proconsul of Cyprus c. AD 45-46
As always, Lk has correct specific local title of official
Sergius Paulus family: Romans in region where they go next
13:9
Saul= Paul:
- Roman citizens had 3 names
- Roman cognomen (“Paul,” meaning “small”)
- Roman name sounded similar to his Jewish name (common)
- Now in predominantly Roman environment
. Thus Roman name
Slide 22
13:10-11
Power encounter
Temporary blindness—Paul understood value (cf. 9:8)
Slide 23
Power encounters
E.g., Emmanuel
Moussounga
Slide 24
Unexpected encounters
Slide 25
Dr. Rodney Ragwan
Kisten Ragwan (Indian Baptist in Durban)
Man warned that he would send a spirit that night to show his power, around midnight
Slide 26
Family praying, fasting
C. 11:45, and for 20 minutes, they heard massive steps around house
Rodney’s father remembers well
Man admitted next day- his spirits could not get in
Slide 27
Many spirit- practitioners converted through power encounters
Indonesia, Philippines, southern Africa, etc.
Slide 28
Tandi Randa, Indonesia
Unharmed by witchcraft attacks to kill others
Everyone expected him to die, but experienced no harm
The witchcraft worker repented and accepted Christ
Slide 29
Burning the witchcraft items:
After he touched the witchcraft items to burn them, people expected him to die (photo from a different meeting)
12 years later, he remains well
Slide 30
13:13-41: Sermon in Pisidian Antioch
Slide 31
Cities visited from 13:13-14:26:
- All along Via Augusta
- Built ½ a century before
13:13
Probably landed at Attalia; the main harbor
By road to Perga, 10 miles (16km) N
- Perga 5 miles from even possibly navigable water
- “in Pamphylia”: part of Pamphylia-Lycia in this period (AD 43-c.68)
Then probably NE along via Sebaste (Augustus Highway)
Slide 32
Anitoch near Pisidia (13:14)
Roman “colony”
- 5000 “colonists” plus others
Worshiped Men; biggest temple: for emperor
Much smaller than coastal cities
But if Sergius Paulus supplied letters of recommendation…
Regular Jewish public gatherings normally only on Sabbath and feast day
Slide 33
13:15
Readings (especially from Torah) fixed (maybe later)
Synagogue sermon: homily on texts read
“Rulers of the synagogue”:
- often honorary
- but often: highest officials of synagogues (inscriptions)
13:16
Diaspora: speaker would stand (vs. Jesus in Matt 5:1)
Scripture-laced exposition in 13:16-43 vs 14:15-17, 17:22-31
Paul adapted to different audiences in his speeches as in his letters