Chapter 12 Acts 12
Peter Is Put in Jail (vv. 1-5)
About this time King Herod a began to persecute some members of the church. 2 He had James, the brother of John, b put to death by the sword. c 3 When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he went ahead and had Peter arrested. (This happened during the time of the Festival of Unleavened Bread.) d 4 After his arrest Peter was put in jail, where he was handed over to be guarded by four groups of four soldiers each. e Herod planned to put him on trial in public after Passover. 5 So Peter was kept in jail, f but the people of the church were praying earnestly to God for him.
Interesting Stuff:
a This was Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great (refer to ‘The Family of Herod the Great’, p. viii) and son of Aristobulus. He was a nephew of Herod Antipas, who beheaded John the Baptist (Mt 14:3-12) and tried Jesus (Lk 23:8-12). He did his best to win the favour of the Jews and especially the Pharisees.
b James and John were the sons of Zebedee (Lk 5:10) and part of Jesus’ group of 12 apostles. This event took place about ten years after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Jesus had already warned of their coming suffering (Mt 20:23).
c He was beheaded, like John the Baptist.
d The Festival of Unleavened Bread begins on the day after the Passover. The Passover was the first of all the annual feasts, and historically and religiously, it was the most important of all (refer to ‘The Festivals’, p. xxvii). It was celebrated on the 14th day of the first month (Nisan) of the religious year. The Festival of Unleavened Bread begins on the 15th day and for one week, they ate bread made without yeast or leaven. By the time of Jesus, the names of both the feasts had come to be used interchangeably. This festival commemorates how the Israelites ate only unleavened bread on the eve of the exodus.
e This referred to one company of four soldiers for each of the four watches of the night. The Romans divided the period of darkness from sunset to sunrise into four watches, the Jews into three.
f This was probably in the tower of Antonia, located at the north- west corner of the Temple (refer to ‘Floorplan of the Temple in Jerusalem’, p. xxviii).
Questions:
What did King Herod begin to do to the church at this time (vv. 1-3)?
2. When was Peter arrested and what happened to him after he was put in jail (vv. 3-4)?
3. How did the church respond when Peter was arrested (v. 5)?
Summary of Section:
- About this time King Herod began to persecute some members of the church.
- He had James, the brother of John, put to death by the sword.
- When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he arrested Peter during the time of the Festival of Unleavened Bread.
- Peter was put in jail, guarded by four groups of four soldiers each.
- Herod planned to put him on trial in public after Passover.
- While Peter was in jail, the church prayed earnestly for him.
Nuggets of Wisdom
- Herod was known to have been anx- ious to preserve the Roman peace in Palestine and therefore to have disliked minorities who threatened to disrupt it. Knowing how greatly the masses hated his family, Herod Agrippa I tried to win their affection during his administration in Palestine by diligently observing the Jewish Law when he was in Jerusalem, and now by persecuting the church.
- Jesus had warned both James and John who had asked for seats in his kingdom that they would drink his cup and share in his baptism (see Mk 10:38-39), i.e., participate in his sufferings. Within God’s purposes, this had come to mean execution for James and later exile for John (see Rev 1:9).
- Herod’s intention was to bring Peter out for trial and public execution immediately after Passover. But knowing how many sympathisers, secret as well as open, the apostles had in Jerusalem, he took special precautions against any attempts to free the prisoner.
An Angel Rescues Peter (vv. 6-19)
6 The night before Herod was going to bring him out to the people, Peter was sleeping between two guards. He was tied with two chains, g and there were guards on duty at the prison gate. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood there, and a light shone in the cell. The angel shook Peter by the shoulder, woke him up, and said, “Hurry! Get up!” At once the chains fell off Peter’s hands. 8 Then the angel said, “Tighten your belt and put on your sandals.” Peter did so, and the angel said, “Put your cloak around you and come with me.” 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, not knowing, however, if what the angel was doing was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed by the first guard station and then the second, and came at last to the iron gate that opens into the city. The gate opened for them by itself, and they went out. They walked down a street, and suddenly the angel left Peter.
11 Then Peter realised what had happened to him, and said, “Now I know that it is really true! The Lord sent his angel to rescue me from Herod’s power and from everything the Jewish people expected to happen.”
12 Aware of his situation, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, h where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at the outside door, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it. 14 She recognised Peter’s voice and was so happy that she ran back in without opening the door, and announced that Peter was standing outside. 15 “You are crazy!” they told her. But she insisted that it was true. So they answered, “It is his angel.” i
16 Meanwhile Peter kept on knocking. At last they opened the door, and when they saw him, they were amazed. j 17 He motioned with his hand for them to be quiet, k and he explained to them how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell this to James l and the rest of the believers,” he said; then he left and went somewhere else.
18 When morning came, there was a tremendous confusion among the guards – what had happened to Peter? 19 Herod gave orders to search for him, but they could not find him. So he had the guards questioned and ordered them put to death. m
After this, Herod left Judea and spent some time in Caesarea. n
Interesting Stuff:
g Herod Agrippa I had planned to put Peter on trial and then execute him as a warning to other followers of Jesus to stop their activities. Usually a prisoner was chained to only one guard, but in view of Agrippa’s intentions, the guard was doubled.
h Luke’s identification of Mary by her son implies that her son’s name was better known to his readers than hers. It also suggests that the John Mark referred to here was the one who was with Paul and Barnabas on part of the first missionary journey (Ac 13:5, 13) and who was a cousin of Barnabas (Col 4:10). This is thus the house of Barnabas’ aunt where the Christians were gathering.
i The Jews believed that everyone has a guardian angel or a personal angel who ministers to him (see Mt 18:10 for an echo of this belief). These angels were thought to appear occasionally and also to bear the image of the persons they protected. It is most likely that this was nothing more than a Jewish superstition that Luke cites because he made no attempts to confirm this belief.
j Though they had been earnestly praying for Peter, they found it hard to believe when their prayers were answered!
k This was not the time for celebration because Herod’s soldiers would soon be prowling the streets looking for him. Peter had to get moving to escape being recaptured. So he gave them a quick summary of ‘how the Lord had brought him out of prison’ and instructed them to tell James and the other brothers what had happened.
l The James mentioned here is James the Lord’s brother, not James the brother of John and son of Zebedee. James the son of Zebedee had already been beheaded by Herod Agrippa I (cf. v. 2). Undoubtedly Peter was the leader of the first Christian community at Jerusalem, as the early chapters of Acts indicate. But later, James seemed also to have exercised administrative leadership along with Peter and the other apostles (Gal 1:19; 2:9). Later he presided at the Jerusalem Council of A.D. 49 (15:13-21). Later still Luke refers to him as head of the Jerusalem church (21:18). He was most likely martyred in A.D. 62.
m In Roman law, a guard who allowed his prisoner to escape was subject to the same penalty the escaped prisoner would have suffered. When Herod heard of Peter’s escape, he called for a search and cross-examined the guards. Later, frustrated by his lack of success, he ordered the guards to be taken out and executed.
n Caesarea was not only the headquarters for the Roman gover- nors, it was also used by King Agrippa as his capital when no governors were assigned to Judea.
Questions:
Describe how Peter was held in the prison (v. 6).
2. At whose house were many people gathered to pray (v. 12)?
3. Describe briefly how God answered the people’s prayers (vv. 6-10).
4. How did Peter respond when he realised what had happened (v. 11)?
5. Where did Peter go after he had said those words (v. 12)?
6. How did the people react when he arrived (vv. 13-16)?
7. What did Peter tell them (v. 17)?
8. What happened in the morning when the guards could not find Peter (vv. 18-19)?
9. Where did Herod go after leaving Judea (v. 19)?
Summary of Section:
- The night before Peter’s trial, he was sleeping between two guards, tied with two chains. There were also guards on duty at the prison gate.
- Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood there and a light shone in the cell.
- He shook Peter by the shoulder, woke him up and told him to hurry and get up. At once the chains fell off his hands.
- The angel told him to tighten his belt and put on his sandals. Peter obeyed. Then the angel told him to put his cloak around him and follow him.
- Peter followed the angel, thinking that he was seeing a vision. After passing through two guard stations, they came to an iron gate which opened by itself.
- They went out, walked down a street and the angel suddenly left Peter.
- Then Peter realised that it was real and that the Lord had sent his angel to rescue him from Herod’s power and all that would have happened to him as expected by the Jewish people.
- He went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.
- Peter knocked on the door and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it. When she heard Peter’s voice, she was so happy that she ran to announce to the others that Peter was outside without opening the door for him.
- The people thought she was crazy and told her that it was his angel.
- Meanwhile Peter kept knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw Peter, they were amazed.
- He motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and told them how the Lord had rescued him. He told them to let James and the rest of the believers know what had happened and then left for some other place.
- When morning came, there was tremendous confusion among the guards when they could not find Peter.
- Herod mounted a search for him. When they could not find him, Herod had the guards questioned and then ordered them to be put to death.
- After this, Herod left Judea and went to Caesarea.
Nuggets of Wisdom
- Luke deliberately stresses the thoroughness with which Peter was being guarded against escape or rescue. Normally it was considered enough for a prisoner to be handcuffed to one soldier.
- The Christians in Jerusalem understood Herod’s intentions because he had earlier imprisoned some of them and killed James the son of Zebedee. It was a great crisis for the life of the early Christian community at Jerusalem. But while God does not promise deliverance from persecution or death, at crucial times He often steps in to act for the honour of His name and the benefit of His people. The dramatic details Luke includes seem to emphasise the intervention of God and that Peter’s deliverance must be ascribed entirely to God. It was in no way due to the apostle’s own efforts (he was fast asleep) or those of the Christian community – apart from their prayers.
- It is ironical that the group who were praying fervently and persistently for Peter’s deliverance should regard as mad the person who informed them that their prayers had been answered. Like these believers, very often although we pray to God, we do not really believe deep in our hearts that He would answer our prayers.
The Death of Herod (vv. 20-25)
20 Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, o so they went in a group to see him. First they convinced Blastus, the man in charge of the palace, that he should help them. Then they went to Herod and asked him for peace, because their country got its food supplies from the king’s country.
21 On a chosen day p Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech to the people. 22 “It isn’t a man speaking, but a god!” they shouted. 23 At once the angel of the Lord struck Herod down, q because he did not give honour to God. He was eaten by worms r and died.
24 Meanwhile the word of God continued to spread and grow. 25 Barnabas and Saul finished their mission s and returned from Jerusalem, taking John Mark t with them.
Interesting Stuff:
o Tyre and Sidon were the leading cities of Phoenicia (see chap 11, note j). They were dependent on the grainfields of Galilee for their food.
p The Jewish historian Josephus records how Herod celebrated games in Caesarea in honour of the emperor which were attended by the leading men of the kingdom. He also records an incident where Herod’s flatterers addressed him as a god. As Herod accepted their flattery, he looked upward, saw an owl perched on a rope and took it as a symbol of ill fortune. At the same time, he was seized by violent internal pains and was carried into his palace where he died after five days of illness. It is clearly the same story as told here by Luke.
q Luke was not thinking of a visible appearance of a heavenly figure but more that ultimately the disease was from God as a judgment on Herod.
r This could have referred to Herod being actually infected by intestinal worms or to a phrase that was often used to refer to the death of tyrants.
s This verse reaches back behind the events of chap 12 to connect 13:1-3 with the account of the Antioch church in 11:19-30. Luke uses it as a kind of bridge statement before turning to the missionary journey itself. Thus he shifts his readers’ attention from Jerusalem to Antioch-of-Syria and tells of John Mark’s return with his cousin Barnabas (Col 4:10) and with Saul from Jerusalem to Antioch.
t John Mark was thought to be the young man who ran away on the night of Jesus’ arrest (Mk 14:51-52). He is also thought to be the writer of the Gospel of Mark and the cousin of Barnabas.
Questions:
Why did the people of Tyre and Sidon go to see Herod (v. 20)?
2. What happened to Herod on the day that he made a speech to the people (vv. 21-23)?
3. In contrast, what happened to the word of God (v. 24)?
4. What was Barnabas and Saul’s mission in Jerusalem (11:28-30)?
What did they do after they finished their mission (v. 25)?
Summary of Section:
- Herod was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon and so they went in a group to see him, asking help from Blastus who was in charge of the palace.
- They asked Herod for peace because their country got its food supplies from Herod’s country.
- On a particular day, Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne and made a speech to the people.
- The people shouted that he was a god, not a man. Because Herod did not give honour to God, the angel of the Lord struck him down.
- He was eaten by worms and died.
- Meanwhile the word of God continued to spread and grow.
- Barnabas and Saul finished their mission and left Jerusalem, taking John Mark with them.
Nuggets of Wisdom
- Although Josephus’ account (see chap 12, note p) and Luke’s differ in some details, their general outline is the same. Both agree that Herod was in Caesarea at the time and both mention the royal robes he was wearing. They also agree that God’s judgment fell upon Herod Agrippa because he glorified himself rather than God.
- In striking contrast to the death of the tyrant, Luke ends the chapter by stating that the word of God continued to spread and grow. The chapter opens with James dead, Peter in prison and Herod triumphing. It closes with Herod dead, Peter free and the word of God triumphing. People might be permitted to oppose and oppress the church for a time and hinder the spread of the gospel, but they will not last. Such is the power of God to overthrow evil human plans and to establish His own purposes in their place.
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