Welcome back, my friends. It is always nice of you to join us. Today, we will read Acts chapters 11 through 13.
Yesterday, we spoke of the hypocrisy of Saul and the Pharisees. But this was no different in the newly formed church. When Peter went up to Jerusalem, the believers there criticized him for even eating with Gentiles (Acts 11:2–3). He retells the story of the sheet and the voice of Jesus saying, “Get up, kill and eat” (Acts 11:7).
I call this hypocrisy because Jesus had already told them:
- “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also” (John 10:16).
- He praised the Roman centurion’s faith and said many would come from east and west to sit with Abraham (Matthew 8:10–12).
- He reminded the synagogue that Elijah and Elisha ministered to Gentiles (Luke 4:25–27).
- He gave the Great Commission: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).
- And in Acts 1:8, He said, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
They should have expected this. But prejudice dies hard.
The Rot of Racism
There are many people today who would still have a problem with one leader of the church in Antioch—Simeon called Niger (Acts 13:1). The word Niger means “black.” He was likely of African descent, and some scholars suggest he may be the same man who carried Jesus’ cross (Luke 23:26). Racism prevents some from accepting this. It is rot in our society still today.
Decay and Resurrection
These passages focus on decay. The prophets foretold Jesus would face no decay (Acts 13:35). Though David decayed, over 500 people saw Jesus after the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:6), and then He ascended into the clouds, much like Enoch (Genesis 5:24) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11).
Then we have Herod. This would be Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great and nephew of Herod Antipas—the man who had Jesus crucified. Agrippa was so filled with pride that he refused to honor God. Therefore, God struck him down, and worms ate him (Acts 12:23). Scholars and medical historians have proposed conditions like ascariasis or myiasis—parasitic infestations that cause severe abdominal pain and death. (1)
He lost his comfort and his life. This escalated what happened to Jonah. For Jonah, the worm only ate his vine and caused him to lose the shade he had (Jonah 4:7).
Foreshadowing Eternal Judgment
Herod’s fate also foreshadows the fate of all unrepentant sinners, who will endure unending torment “where the worm never dies” (Mark 9:48). This matches the prophecy in Isaiah: “Their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched” (Isaiah 66:24).
In all these situations, we see that the things inside us can eat at us. We let them get under our skin and remain there until they fester and erupt into problems.
A Personal Reflection on Hypocrisy
I will admit that when I was in high school playing football, I had a Black coach. He was making us do extra wind sprints—running as hard as we could for forty yards, stopping, turning around, resetting, and running another forty, over and over. Our lungs were burning, and so were our legs.
Then some players claimed it was me not running hard enough, and I lashed out. I called the coach the same name as Simeon. I regret it to this day. Not because it was the last day I played high school football, but because I let the situation get the best of me.
I actually had a lot of respect for my coach. I just didn’t show it at that moment. I guess we can all have moments of hypocrisy.
Fortunately, Jesus forgives all our sins. Not just the popular ones.
Footnotes
- Patheos. “Herod Agrippa I ‘Eaten By Worms’: Myth or Plausible?” Patheos, June 2023. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/davearmstrong/2023/06/herod-agrippa-i-eaten-by-worms-myth-or-plausible.html.