Acts 12:22Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

See how flattering they were, and how wise the apostles were. The one whom the whole people sought to please, they counted as nothing.

And the flatterers at once began calling him a god, adding, "Be gracious." They meant: if until now we feared you as a man, from this time we acknowledge that you are above human nature. Notice how they flattered him. Yet turn your gaze also to the greatness of soul in the apostles. The one whom the whole people so honored, they despised. But if the flatterers cried out in this way, what relation does this have to Herod? It was that he accepted the cry and counted himself worthy of such flattery. It was chiefly from him that they learned such senseless flattery. Therefore both he and they deserved punishment. But since the time of judgment had not yet come, only the one especially guilty is punished.

Since you wrote, Deacon Eutonius, "For what reason was Herod punished when others flattered him beyond his worth and said, The voice of a god, and not of a man?" I answer: because he did not rebuke them and did not reject their impious and senseless flattery. By accepting the flattery, he trained them in greater impiety. It is likely that they too were punished, if not at once, then later. Even if they escaped punishment here, they will not escape it there.

Soon the judgment of God was revealed against the persecutor of Christ's Church. Herod had been angered in some way against the Tyrians and Sidonians. For the inhabitants of these maritime trading cities, Herod's territories were the chief place for exchanging goods brought from other lands for grain. They themselves did not cultivate grain. Therefore it was unprofitable for them to remain in conflict with Herod. They sent chosen representatives to petition for the restoration of peaceful relations, which they had formerly maintained with the ruler of Palestine. With the help of Blastus, the king's chamberlain, whom the deputies managed to win over, they obtained an audience with the king. On the appointed day Herod put on splendid royal garments.

"The people cried out," and so forth, out of flattery toward the king. One must suppose that such words burst from the mouths of the pagan part of the people, not the Jewish part. Such acclamations must have been contrary to the whole Jewish worldview. Yet to what depths will flattery not descend?

Herod's death was retribution for his self-exaltation and pride. Pleasing others by flattery, he himself desired to be flattered. For this reason he dressed so magnificently and spoke so eloquently before the envoys of Tyre and Sidon. Struck by the sight of his shining garments and refined speech, they said, "This is a god, not a man." He did not reject this. He did not render God's dignity to God. For this he was struck through an Angel with such a deadly disease that his body began to decay while he was still alive. In the burning climate of that land, a multitude of worms bred in him. Consumed by disease and worms, he died soon afterward. Thus passes the glory of this world!