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| Chapter 12 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. 2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. 3 And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (This was during the Days of Unleavened Bread.) 4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to guard him, intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. 5 ¶ Peter therefore was kept in prison, but prayer was made without ceasing by the church unto God for him. 6 And when Herod would have brought him forth, that same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains; and the keepers were guarding the door of the prison. 7 And behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison; and he smote Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, "Arise up quickly." And his chains fell off from his hands. 8 And the angel said unto him, "Gird thyself and bind on thy sandals." And so he did. And the angel said unto him, "Cast thy garment about thee and follow me." 9 And he went out and followed him, and knew not whether what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he saw a vision. 10 When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city, which opened to them of his own accord. And they went out and passed on through one street, and forthwith the angel departed from him. 11 And when Peter had come to himself, he said, "Now I know in truth that the Lord hath sent His angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod and from all the expectations of the people of the Jews." 12 And when he had considered this thing, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. 13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel named Rhoda came to ask who was there. 14 And when she recognized Peter’s voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in and told how Peter stood before the gate. 15 And they said unto her, "Thou art mad." But she continued to affirm that it was even so. Then they said, "It is his angel." 16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 But he, beckoning unto them with his hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, "Go and tell these things unto James and to the brethren." And he departed and went into another place. 18 Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. 19 And when Herod had sought him and found him not, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. 20 ¶ And Herod was highly displeased with those from Tyre and Sidon. But they came with one accord to him and, having made Blastus the king’s chamberlain their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was nourished by the king’s country. 21 And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne and delivered an oration unto them. 22 And the people gave a shout, saying, "It is the voice of a god, and not of a man!" 23 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory; and he was eaten by worms and gave up the ghost. 24 But the Word of God grew and multiplied. 25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark. |
Up to now most of the preaching of the gospel was throughout the area of Jerusalem with Peter being the central person. However, the message of Christ was also meant to reach the Gentiles. God had started by removing the prejudice of Peter and the other Jewish Christians to the Gentiles, now was about to open the doors fully to the Gentile nations, but not with Peter, it was Saul(Paul) who was about to come to the front in the Gentile outreach. Stephen had been killed about ten years previous, and since then persecution was common for the Jerusalem church, but now it was about to get worse. v1-5 Herod Agrippa 1, the grandson of Herod the Great has shown great interest and encouragement in the Jewish faith, even though his family were Edomites and not Jews. As a result he had a close relationship with the religious leaders. He only reigned from A.D. 41-44 but during that time he decides to persecute the Christians, this time the persecution was for the leading Apostles "because it pleased the Jews." He started by killing James Zebedean, the brother of John and arrested Peter, probably put in prison in the Antonio fortress. v6 Peter was guarded by four soldiers at a time, two chained to him, one on either side of him and two at the door of the cell. They normally divided the day into four, so six hours of guarding for each group of four soldiers. Herod has planned to put Peter on "Trial" after Easter (Passover, or following feast of Unleaven Bread). It was against Jewish law to have a trial or execution during the seven days of this celebration. v5 The Jewish believers are praying over the situation, but seemed to think there was no way out. Compare Acts 5:17-20. v6-10 God now moves. As Peter slept between the two soldiers, (he was obviously at peace with the situation) an angel enters the room filling the room with light. Peter is so deep in sleep the angel has to give him a shake to wake him up. The chains fall off, Peter gets dressed and they leave the room. The light and the noise of the chains do not wake the soldiers. v10-11 They pass all the guards, the doors opening of their own accord and soon leave the building. Peter thinks that he is dreaming. However, he soon realizes this is real as the angel leaves him. He realises that God is fully in control. v12 Peter goes to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark. The house is obviously being used a meeting place for one of the groups of Jewish believers. Another group were meeting with James, v17. v13,14 A servant girl answers Peter’s knocking on the door of the house, she recognised the voice of Peter and runs to tell the others instead of letting Peter in. v15,16 As Rhoda tells the group that Peter is outside they do not believe her. Seeing that they had been praying for God to release Peter they do not seemed to have had any faith in their prayer requests. "Thou art mad." "It is his angel.." When they do open the door they just cannot believe it. v17 Peter tells how God released him. Peter gives God the glory. He sent the angel, removed the chains, silenced the guards, opened the doors. Following this Peter then goes into hiding. What do we learn from this event? 1) If we meet an impossible to solve problem commit it all over to God. 2) If you feel it is impossible, remember God can do anything if He wants too. If you ask for help, believe that it can happen. 3) Impossible situations are often created by God to attract your attention. v18,19 You can imagine the reaction of the guards when they find Peter gone. Herod searches for Peter but when he cannot find him decided to "examine," possibly torture then punish the guards with execution. Herod probably thought that they were part of the plot to release Peter. v19 Herod’s pride had been hit, he moves from Judea to Caesarea. v20 Tyre and Sidon now feel the effect of a damaged pride as Herod pours out his anger on them. The towns send representatives to Herod to try to make peace, through Blastus, as they depended upon the food produced in Herod’s country for their food. Herod plans to answer their request but also decides to show off by putting on some special royal garments (set of special clothes). Ancient Jewish Historian, Josephus, gives a description of the royal garments, - the cloth, used to make the clothes, was made of silver thread. this meant that the clothes glowed in the sun. Herod is sitting on his throne giving an address to the people from Tyre and Sidon, the listeners seeing him glowing in the sun start to shout "It is the voice of a god, and not of a man!" Herod accepts this praise, accept the ‘divine’ honours, making him so proud of himself. v23 God sends an angel to punish Herod for his pride, for making himself a god. He died a terrible death, eaten by worms and dies five days later. v24 The persecutor dies, nothing can stop the spread of the Word of God. v25 Barnabas and Saul have delivered the money to the Jerusalem church sent from the Antioch churches Acts 11:29-30. The two elderly apostles now return from their mission, but taking a young John Mark with them. |
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