ACTS 12
About that time King Herod Agrippa began to persecute some believers in the church. He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword. When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter. (This took place during the Passover celebration.) Then he imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover. But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.
The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate. Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered.
So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening. They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him.
Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!”
When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer. He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!”
“You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.”
Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed. He motioned for them to quiet down and told them how the Lord had led him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers what happened,” he said. And then he went to another place.
At dawn there was a great commotion among the soldiers about what had happened to Peter. Herod Agrippa ordered a thorough search for him. When he couldn’t be found, Herod interrogated the guards and sentenced them to death. Afterward Herod left Judea to stay in Caesarea for a while.
Now Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they sent a delegation to make peace with him because their cities were dependent upon Herod’s country for food. The delegates won the support of Blastus, Herod’s personal assistant, and an appointment with Herod was granted. When the day arrived, Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to them. The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, “It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!”
Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died.
Meanwhile, the word of God continued to spread, and there were many new believers.
When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission to Jerusalem, they returned, taking John Mark with them.
JAMES KILLED
In this chapter, Jesus’ disciple James is killed. Luke even tells us that the Jews are pleased with the persecution of the Church and its leaders. So, to keep them happy, Herod arrests Peter too. While Peter is imprisoned, the believers pray for the Lord to intervene in a way that they cannot. As readers, we cannot separate the fact that Peter’s deliverance from prison comes while the Church is depending on God. You may be thinking—why is Peter saved, yet James and Stephen die? God could have saved any of them, so why not all of them? Here’s a key truth about God—we cannot understand his ways, and we will never be able to explain his purposes, which are much bigger than any one individual. At the end of the chapter, Herod is also struck down by God for trying to be god himself. Again, not all evil and injustice is immediately dealt with, even when we want it to be. Yet, the passage says that “the word of God increased and multiplied.” God is clearly doing something, and our limited knowledge makes it difficult for us to understand. The early Church mourns the loss of a brother while also celebrating Peter’s deliverance and the death of a persecutor. Suffering and celebration happen side by side for these believers, and in the end, the Word of God continues to grow in the face of opposition.
REFLECT
When Peter is imprisoned, believers gather and express their dependence on God through prayer. Instead of viewing prayer as something on your to-do list, what steps do you need to take to have more dependence on God? Where do you struggle to express your need for God?
Consider the idea that God is inscrutable—we cannot fully understand him and his ways. What questions does it raise for you? What does your response reveal about your willingness to accept God on his terms?