Silent Justice Is True Reverence For The Word Of God And To Walk In Its Sovereign Light

But signaling to them with his hand to maintain the reverence, he explained fully to them how the Lord had led him out of that prison; and said, "Repeat this news to James and to the brethren." Then having departed he went out to another place. Now as the day began to frame up, it was no little matter among the soldiers of what would become of them because of Peter. So when Herod came searching for him and was not found, he questioned the guards and so ordered that they be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea to wait there. (MAST) In continuation from our last look at Luke's account of Peter's prison break, we come to this house of Mary which was planted, here, like a Rose garden for Peter's spiritual well-fare. He was encouraged by this obedient assembly to find them practicing life and love in the Name of Christ. We briefly discussed one particular daughter of this house who was a willful, energetic server for its life and growth. She added joy and beauty to this assembly with her chaste discernment and modest character. There was no dry doctrine and dead form in this assembly because of her persistent and enduring pursuit to know Christ, and to come under the headship of the male leaders who also served the hospitality of Mary with the same love and motivation.

This assembly served here at the surrender and expense of Mary. But this doesn't mean she was the only contributor to the hospitality of the house. She is recognized by Luke, here, to show that her sacrifice and sufferings deserve honorable mention, but this house was only used at the direction of the elders and apostleship. So we find Peter, after being welcomed among them, redirecting the hospitality of the house to advance the Word of God. Therefore, this assembly was purposed to uphold and keep the doctrines and practices of Christ and of the apostles pure. What an honor to the hospitality of this house to be an honorary example of church history in the inerrant and holy Scripture of God. But signaling to them with his hand to maintain the reverence, he explained fully to them how the Lord had led him out of that prison; and said, "Repeat this news to James and to the brethren." Then having departed he went out to another place.

By way of review, again, we come to the point in the narrative after Peter was released by the angel from the prison very early in the morning before sunrise. Peter was standing alone in the street not far from around the corner in which he was imprisoned. Upon knocking on the gate of Mary's house he hopes to find some familiar faces. Rose investigates the disturbance and finds Peter knocking on the gate. She leaves Peter outside in the darkness and runs back into the house with joy to share the good news, but struggles to convince the others of the truth. Finally, she motivates them to examine the truth for themselves, who then become exceedingly obnoxious upon their discovery of Peter in the context of the silent night. But signaling to them with his hand to maintain the reverence, . . .

Now we come to find Peter motioning with his hands for them to calm down and recognize the respect of the current darkness in which he was left in. I can only imagine Peter's thoughts, "Don't you see that I am on the run from my persecutors? Do you want to awake the city that seeks my death? Get a hold of yourselves! I am of more value to you alive than I would be dead." This further testifies of the wise discernment of Rose, who kept the joy of seeing Peter to herself, until she was inside the liberty and holiness of the house of Mary. Again, this surely was a Rose garden, but not without some common thorns. Therefore, this is an innocent reaction to Peter's appearance, but would have serious consequences if the neighborhood was awakened to come out against him. So he gently uses his hands to point out the reverence of the night for their, and his own, safety. For they too would be exposed and culpable for harboring a criminal of the State who has a death warrant on his forehead. . . . he explained fully to them how the Lord had led him out of that prison; . . . Luke narrates this in such a way that Peter doesn't even enter the house. It appears that this conversation is held right there in the courtyard of the property. Peter probably wanted a quick way of escape, should trouble come marching around the corner looking for him. He hadn't wandered that far from the prison, and so his suspicions would be high on edge. Under the cloak of the night he gives a full explanation of how the Lord saved him from the bars and chains of death. While it was the external light of an angel who released him from the chains and carried him out of the prison, he gives the glory to the Lord who now lives in his conscience and in the understanding of his heart by the Word of God. And so the Word was the lamp unto his feet and the light to his path that which led him to the house of Mary whose light shines in the darkness of the night. . . . and said, "Repeat this news to James and to the brethren."

In conclusion to his explanation he gives them an imperative to share this news with James and the other brethren. In other words, in terms of Lord's salvation, his vantage point is cloaked by the darkness of the city, but spitefully shines brightly within the church. So this will be no secret to James and the other brethren. They alone will be able to understand this and be sympathetic, but the darkness that still surrounds him will not be able to comprehend it (Jn.1:5). So while he is asking them to hold their peace under the present darkness, they must not be ashamed to share this light among those for whom this light shines. In other words, Peter was released by the mercy of Christ for the sake and spiritual well-being of the house of God. In this, God is far more superior to the law of the State. The church must come first in order and priority of Peter's love for Christ. Then having departed he went out to another place. Now for the sake of their own safety, Peter could not abide in that house, for they were too close to the authorities, and upon sunrise the Roman soldiers will certainly be knocking on their door. If he is found among them, the whole house will suffer torment by the hand of the enemies of the cross. So out of love, Peter finds a better place to escape this danger at the command of the Lord. If the Lord went through all that trouble to make sure he was released from that prison, surely the Lord wanted him to find safety, satisfaction and rest. But the Lord was very clear that Peter was not to suffer, in this manner, and at this time. So even though the angel had departed from Peter, love had not departed his heart, so that the light of the Word, which was within him, would guide him through the darkness of the night. Now as the day began to frame up, it was no little matter among the soldiers of what would become of them because of Peter. We come now to the point of Luke's narrative where God shines light on both those things he has hidden in the church and those things still held under the darkness of the city. With Peter leaving the scene, there will be little hope for the soldiers who were found sound asleep during their duty to watch through the night, in order to protect the interests of the State. If they had been awake, they too may have been rescued from the power of darkness and the kingdom of pride, to see the Light of Christ. But since it was in their nature to only serve their own best self-interest, they will be punished by the hand of the State for their lack of service and loyalty to her pride, as a righteous judgment of the sovereignty of Christ. Now as the day began to frame up, . . .

So now, as Peter narrowly escapes under the cover of the Lord's shadow of the cross, the resource and light of the evil one rises on this day to pass judgment on his own subjects (Jn.8:44). In other words, as the sun began to rise, the soldiers became aware that Peter was missing. And so they awakened quickly to assemble and search for their missing prisoner. It's a sad story in the kingdom of pride when its prisoners have no rest unless they all share the same misery and damnation. Satan is an equal opportunity employer; he promises the same fate and wages if you will only bow down to his image and stand to drink in his pride. While Peter was also left in the darkness of the night, he was not left without the Light of God's Word; but these sad, miserable men were also left in the darkness of the night but found by-passed by the Light of God's Word. But is God to blame? The Light walked right passed them but they were asleep and willfully not searching for it. So they can only blame their own dishonor and lack of reverence for the Truth and Power of God's Omnipotence. This was the frame work of God's Light shining upon there present darkness, but instead they continued to seek how they can shape their own days; but the sun-light of this day will be their last. . . . it was no little matter among the soldiers of what would become of them because of Peter.

From the vantage point of the house of Mary there was great sorrow for their miserable souls, for they would be forced under silence in order to defend the Truth and house of God. But their hearts were screaming for mercy towards these soldiers, who were now sentenced to death by the hand of God's sovereignty, knowing that they were left to the consequences of their own choices, and to die by the second-hand of the master of their own choosing. They chose to receive the wages of sin, for this is how they shaped their days. They would not learn to number them by the grace of God, and so the pride of life finally murdered them, while the grace of life passed them by.

The house of Mary feared for their souls but were restrained by their first love to hold their peace for the sake of Christ. And so they could only watch as the men fearfully searched in panic and anxiety in the pursuit to please the pride of life. But the sun came up and scorched their day at the loss of their proud possession -- Peter's captivity -- which meant the life of their very souls. By losing Peter they lost the Providence of God's common grace and the opportunity to repent, so being reprobate from the beginning they chose apostasy to their death, understanding and knowing beforehand the consequence of their failure. So it was their failure that motivated them to recover the day for what was lost in the night, but they were unsuccessful because they ignored the light of life and the power of God's Word. So when Herod came searching for him and was not found, he questioned the guards and so ordered that they be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea to wait there.

Now knowing and understanding the character of Herod (and the will of the people), we need little explanation of why this constituted the death penalty. In spite of all the previous evidence of what had been already occuring through the life of Christ, and now the apostles, there still remained unbelief and hardness of heart toward the peaceful demonstrations of the acts of love and kindness that the church had been performing "in the Name of Christ." So when this treason, in the eyes of the State, was not found to be silenced to the satisfaction of the will of the majority, the relief, dare I say wrath, of sin's pride and glory had to fall upon someone, in order to serve their corrupt image (conscience), dare I say god, of justice. Therefore, the pride and honor of the soldiers was put to death at the expense of the pride and glory of the State. So make no bones about it, these men died for the honor and glory of the State, whether their own pride and honor was permitted to come into it or not, for their testimony was insufficient to gratify the wrath and will of the people, whom Herod was appointed to mediate for on behalf of Caesar. So to escape this pressure, Herod chose to donate his mediation to another territory more familiar and more gullible to his style of leadership. The people of Caesarea were easier to bully because they had little to no discernment of, nor cared to discern, the darkness they were confined under. So Herod is said to have waited there, but for what? Herod derived his life out of the pride of exercising his authority, and so he waited in Caesarea for the next opportunity to demonstrate his pride of life and find his satisfaction in being honored by the people he plundered. So he rested and waited there behind the safety and ignorance of the city and strength of Caesarea.