READ | ACTS CHAPTER 12
Peter’s Miraculous Escape From Prison
1 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After 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.
5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
6 The 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. 7 Suddenly 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.
8 Then 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. 9 Peter 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. 10 They 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.
11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”
12 When 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. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When 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.”
16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.
18 In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.
Herod’s Death
Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. 20 He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing 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.
21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” 23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
24 But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.
Barnabas and Saul Sent Off
25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from[a] Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.
1 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After 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.
5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
6 The 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. 7 Suddenly 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.
8 Then 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. 9 Peter 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. 10 They 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.
11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”
12 When 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. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When 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.”
16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.
18 In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.
Herod’s Death
Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. 20 He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing 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.
21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” 23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
24 But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.
Barnabas and Saul Sent Off
25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from[a] Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.
DEVOTIONAL
Do you have faith for what God can do, or faith for what God will do? In Acts chapter 12, we read about an incredible miracle, one that Peter doesn’t even realize is really happening until it was all over. No one believed it, including the guards and even the people who had been praying for and believing for the deliverance of Peter from the clutches of the evil King Herod. This was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod the Great, who ruled in the days of Jesus’ birth. Herod Agrippa I was also the nephew of Herod Antipas, who had a role in the trial of Jesus and ordered that John the Baptist be beheaded. This was the youngest of a family tree who greatly opposed Jesus and his followers. Herod had already ordered James, the brother of John and son of Zebedee, to be put to death with a sword. The recent death of James shattered the illusion that somehow, the original twelve disciples enjoyed unique divine protection. John and his brother James had once come to Jesus and asked to be considered His two chief lieutenants. Jesus had replied to them saying, You do not know what you ask. Can you drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with? James and John, not really knowing what they were saying, replied by saying they could. In response, Jesus promised them, You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized. This martyrdom was the fulfillment of that promise for James.
Herod, under pressure and celebrated as a puppet by the Jewish religious leaders, had also arrested this troublemaker ringleader named Peter. By this point, after a period of substantial conversions and church growth, The Devil raises up his ugly head to bring trouble once again against those closest to Christ. The church in Jerusalem is under full assault from the establishment of religious Pharisees who desire to see all Christians and followers of Jesus killed, imprisoned, or intimidated into publicly recanting their faith. Knowing that Peter had mysteriously escaped from prison before, Herod assigned a high-security detail to guard Peter. Herod would have preferred to wait to execute Peter until after Passover for three reasons. First, he wanted to show how scrupulously he observed Passover, one of the most revered of Jewish festivals. He also wanted to wait until the pilgrim crowds went home to hopefully prevent a riot. Finally, he wanted to wait until he had the full attention of the Jewish population for the greatest political gain. Even today, many political figures are ready to persecute Christians if it will make them politically popular. These actions by King Herod are the epitome of Jesus’ words that men would “gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul.”
Even in the midst of what was about to happen, Peter slept soundly. A person can sleep soundly, no matter what pain or suffering lies ahead when they know they are being watched over by the Most High. At this point in his life, Peter had very little of the human weakness which inhabits most people. The fear of man and human threats can do little to one who has their heart and mind set on things above and not on the things of this earth. In the dead of night, the angel of God awakens Peter and leads him out of the prison. Iron shackles, multiple guards, and even a locked iron gate are no match for the power of God and a prayerful people. No lock can keep shut that which God wants to be opened. No chain can hold a person that God wants free. You just have to stand up and walk out of the prison. Once free, Peter realized what had happened and returned to the place where he knew Christians would be gathered together in prayer. They didn’t believe it could have happened! They knew God could free Peter, it had happened before, but still, the actual miracle is always beyond belief. The Jews believed in the idea of guardian angels, and that one’s guardian angel bore resemblance to the human it was assigned to. Even from these short stories, we gain so much insight into the minds of people who lived during those times.
In the final portion of this chapter, we read how Herod attempted to elevate himself to a state of godhood. He was no longer content being seen as a human king. It is in human nature to look for political deliverers and messiahs, and the people of Tyre and Sidon seemed to praise Herod as if he were a god. For his part, Herod enjoyed it, taking the glory unto himself. It was this reaction that led to his death; a death reflecting his life, slowly being corrupted and eaten from the inside out through the effects of pride, corruption, and hatred. One theme of this entire chapter is how God has authority and power over the physical world. There is no gate, shackle, guard, or leader with allusions of grandeur who can stand in his way. Yet God chooses to work through people to accomplish his will. We only have to have faith in what God can and will do!
Herod, under pressure and celebrated as a puppet by the Jewish religious leaders, had also arrested this troublemaker ringleader named Peter. By this point, after a period of substantial conversions and church growth, The Devil raises up his ugly head to bring trouble once again against those closest to Christ. The church in Jerusalem is under full assault from the establishment of religious Pharisees who desire to see all Christians and followers of Jesus killed, imprisoned, or intimidated into publicly recanting their faith. Knowing that Peter had mysteriously escaped from prison before, Herod assigned a high-security detail to guard Peter. Herod would have preferred to wait to execute Peter until after Passover for three reasons. First, he wanted to show how scrupulously he observed Passover, one of the most revered of Jewish festivals. He also wanted to wait until the pilgrim crowds went home to hopefully prevent a riot. Finally, he wanted to wait until he had the full attention of the Jewish population for the greatest political gain. Even today, many political figures are ready to persecute Christians if it will make them politically popular. These actions by King Herod are the epitome of Jesus’ words that men would “gain the whole world yet forfeit their soul.”
Even in the midst of what was about to happen, Peter slept soundly. A person can sleep soundly, no matter what pain or suffering lies ahead when they know they are being watched over by the Most High. At this point in his life, Peter had very little of the human weakness which inhabits most people. The fear of man and human threats can do little to one who has their heart and mind set on things above and not on the things of this earth. In the dead of night, the angel of God awakens Peter and leads him out of the prison. Iron shackles, multiple guards, and even a locked iron gate are no match for the power of God and a prayerful people. No lock can keep shut that which God wants to be opened. No chain can hold a person that God wants free. You just have to stand up and walk out of the prison. Once free, Peter realized what had happened and returned to the place where he knew Christians would be gathered together in prayer. They didn’t believe it could have happened! They knew God could free Peter, it had happened before, but still, the actual miracle is always beyond belief. The Jews believed in the idea of guardian angels, and that one’s guardian angel bore resemblance to the human it was assigned to. Even from these short stories, we gain so much insight into the minds of people who lived during those times.
In the final portion of this chapter, we read how Herod attempted to elevate himself to a state of godhood. He was no longer content being seen as a human king. It is in human nature to look for political deliverers and messiahs, and the people of Tyre and Sidon seemed to praise Herod as if he were a god. For his part, Herod enjoyed it, taking the glory unto himself. It was this reaction that led to his death; a death reflecting his life, slowly being corrupted and eaten from the inside out through the effects of pride, corruption, and hatred. One theme of this entire chapter is how God has authority and power over the physical world. There is no gate, shackle, guard, or leader with allusions of grandeur who can stand in his way. Yet God chooses to work through people to accomplish his will. We only have to have faith in what God can and will do!
