In his brief guide to Acts Chris Green points out the contrast between the way that the church copes with the famine in Acts 11:27-30, and the way that Herod and co. do so in Acts 12:20-22.
27 Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). 29 So the disciples determined, everyone according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. 30 And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
20 Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. 21 On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. 22 And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!”
One involves manipulation and leads to idolatry. The other serves to strengthen the bonds between the Gentile and the Jewish churches. The Church proves, by it’s deeds, that it (and not the Jewish nation) is the true, Torah-fulfilling (cf. Deuteronomy 15) Israel of God.
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