As chapter 11 came to an end, we noticed that the thriving church in Antioch sent an offering to Jerusalem to aid the saints there. Not only was there a famine throughout the entire Roman Empire (Acts 11:27-30), but the Jerusalem saints were also experiencing severe persecution at the hands of Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:1-5), who held the title of King of Judea from 41-44 AD, and is the focus of God’s work (negatively) in this chapter along with the apostle Peter (positively). Let’s take a look.
1) V1-5 – 1It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 4After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. 5So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
Historians note that Herod was a zealous Jew, which offers a motive for his wanting to persecute Christians. It is suggested that Herod picked James first from among the Twelve because of his fiery temper – with his brother John, they were called “sons of thunder.” Seeing that the execution of James pleased the Jews, Herod imprisoned Peter next. With Herod not wanting to disturb the Passover Feast, Peter’s life was spared for a time, allowing the church to earnestly pray to God for him. Questions that often arise when considering this passage include these: What were the saints praying for in regard to Peter? His life to be spared? His miraculous release from prison? His spiritual peace and physical health during what could have been a tortuous prison experience? And secondly, why did God allow James to die while sparing Peter? How do the specifics accompany God’s overarching plan to advance His Kingdom?
2) V6-11 – 6The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. 8Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. 9Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. 11Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.”
John Calvin offers an interesting perspective on Peter’s miraculous escape from prison. He says, “God was able to have carried Peter away in the turning of an hand; but he overcometh diverse straits one after another, that the glory of the miracle might be the greater.” He counts more than ten specific details, such as chains and guards and the gate, about this miracle recorded by Luke. Peter even thought he was dreaming until the angel left him a block down the street! Let’s break down the words Peter speaks to himself in v11.
First he says, “Now I know.” There was a time, even during the escape, that Peter doubted or at least lacked certainty. That can be the case for us in our Christian life. We may at times only be able to look back and say with Peter, “Now I know.” Then Peter says, “Without a doubt.” Again, he had doubts during the escape, and most likely beforehand too. But now that the escape has occurred – in a most miraculous fashion – Peter has no doubt that the Lord orchestrated the whole thing. We too have doubts in the circumstances of our lives, but oftentimes, looking back we can have all doubt removed like Peter. Next Peter says, “That the Lord.” This is the crux of the statement. Glory to God! It’s all about Him, and we ought to be able to say, at every point looking back, “That the Lord” did it, whatever good thing “it” may be. Peter next states, “Sent His angel.” The Lord works in mysterious ways; His ways are not our ways. We read that people have often entertained angels without knowing it, and Peter had an angelic helper here, but only after the angel was gone did he even realize it. The same can be true for us, but we may not even have the certainty Peter had! Next Peter says, “And rescued me.” The Lord is a rescuer; that much is easy to see. But Peter is working through the means by which the Lord has accomplished this end, and no doubt understanding those means causes a worshipful attitude to well-up within Peter. Again, the same can be true for us when we experience the means of God’s rescuing power, most clearly through His Son, Jesus Christ. Peter says, “From Herod’s clutches.” He sees a twofold enemy here, the first of which is Herod himself. Usually, we can pick out an enemy, but we need to remember the concept of “God loves the sinner but hates the sin.” Herod, perhaps like Judas, may have simply been the pawn of Satan in this attack on God’s young church. Nevertheless, in his pride, like Satan, Herod is fully responsible before God for his actions. The final part of Peter’s realization is this: “And from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.” The second part of the twofold enemy is “everything.” We have a three-part enemy, the world, the flesh, and the devil. Here Peter recognizes the world and the devil. And perhaps his own doubt and failure to realize the work of God soon was the sin of his flesh. Notice how the Jewish people were anticipating Peter’s death, perhaps in a tortuous style. And the Lord rescued him from their sinful appetite. The Lord also rescues us from the world and its desire to see God’s people fall.
3) V12-17 – 12When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!” 15“You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.” 16But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the brothers about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.
Tradition says that there were two primary congregations of Jewish Christians in Jerusalem at this time, one of which met at Mary’s house. The devoted Christians had gathered there – in the middle of the night – and were praying when Peter, likely the leader of this congregation, knocked on the door. Despite their prayers, even on Peter’s behalf, the Christians at Mary’s house didn’t appear to have much faith that God would answer their pleas; they thought he was probably already dead (v15)! Has there been a time in your life like this, when you didn’t believe that God had answered your prayers so quickly, despite the overwhelming evidence? With their astonishment after his own persistent knocking, Peter informed them of his miraculous deliverance, told them to pass along the news to “James and the brothers” – the other congregation of Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, led by James the brother of Jesus (not the brother of John who was killed by Herod) – and then “he left for another place,” likely Galilee.
4) V18-25 – 18In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there a while. 20He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. Having secured the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply. 21On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” 23Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. 24But the word of God continued to increase and spread. 25When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.
Herod refused to believe the guards’ testimony and had them executed. How do you feel about Herod’s reaction to Peter’s escape? Did the guards get justice? From Herod? From God? John Calvin says, “Thus doth Satan deprive the wicked of understanding, that in seeing they see not; and the Lord, by smiting them with this horrible amazedness, doth justly revenge Himself and His Church.”
Herod had other business to deal with besides the ordeal with Peter and the Christians. He had been waging a war of economics against Tyre and Sidon, withholding food from them, and they, so it seemed, were finally willing to surrender to his will. So he went to speak to them, apparently as his subjects. Read the following verses and consider any similarities you might share with Herod: Deuteronomy 8:13-14, Psalm 31:23, Proverbs 3:34; 16:5,18; James 4:6.
V21 begins with the words, “On the appointed day.” This most likely refers to the day of Herod’s public speech before those in Tyre and Sidon who had submitted themselves to his authority. But could it also refer to the day God had determined to take Herod’s life? Consider that question in light of these verses: 1 Samuel 2:25, Job 14:5, Psalm 139:16, Luke 12:16-21, and Romans 9:17-18.
Josephus, a Jewish historian, says that the crowd saw Herod’s silvery robe sparkling in the sunlight and, thinking he himself was shining, declared him to be a god (v22). Interestingly, most Jews have a favorable remembrance of Agrippa’s leadership, while Christians portray him as disgustingly devilish, both as a leader and as a person. Secular historians are divided. Reflect on the justice Herod received, and remember to give glory to God, for He alone is worthy.
This chapter began with Herod persecuting the church. Herod was struck down by “angel of the Lord” (v23), “but the word of God continued to increase and spread” (Acts 12:24). When someone stands in the way of God and His purpose, He patiently and justly removes them, for even the gates of hell cannot stand against the Church of Christ (Matthew 16:18) and the advancing kingdom of God. Have you experienced an example of this truth – where Satan seemed to have the upper hand, but God won out in the end – in your life? The entire book of Esther is an example of that! But what if it didn’t always work out that way for you? Can you speak the words of Habakkuk 3:17-18 and mean them? In v25, we read that Barnabas and Saul returned to Antioch after delivering the offering for the Jerusalem saints. They brought John Mark with them, and he would accompany them on what is usually called Paul’s first missionary journey. And the “good news” traveled fast!
Footnotes
- 12:25 Some manuscripts to
Bible text from Gospelcom.net. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.