Acts 12

Acts 12:1

C. The Persecution by Herod and His Death (12:1-23) 12:1, 2 Satan’s relentless attacks on the church continued. This time the persecution came from Herod the king. This was Herod Agrippa I, a grandson of Herod the Great. He was appointed king over Judea by the Roman Emperor, Claudius. An observer of the Law of Moses, he went to great lengths to please the Jews. It was in pursuance of this policy that he harassed some from the church and killed James the brother of John with the sword. It was this James who had been with Peter and John on the Mount of Transfiguration with our Lord; and it was his mother who had requested that her two sons might sit beside Christ in His kingdom. This chapter affords an interesting study of God’s ways in connection with His people. James was put to death by the enemy, yet Peter was miraculously delivered. Human reason would ask why such preference should be shown to Peter. Faith rests on the love and wisdom of God, knowing that: Ill that God blesses is our good, And unblest good is ill, And all is right that seems most wrong, If it be His good will. Frederick W. Faber 12:3, 4 The Jews responded so enthusiastically to the execution of James that Herod was encouraged to do the same with Peter. However, it was by then the Days of Unleavened Bread, and executions were not exactly appropriate during religious holidays. Also the Jews would be too busy with their ceremonies to appreciate the favor, so Herod ordered Peter to jail during the interim. The apostle was guarded by sixteen soldiers in four squads of four soldiers each. 12:5 The church in Jerusalem prayed earnestly for Peter, especially as the death of James was so vivid in their minds. G. C. Morgan comments, That force of earnest, halting prayer was mightier than Herod, and mightier than hell.12:6-11 That night … when Herod planned to bring him out, Peter was sleeping soundly, manacled between two soldiers. Someone has called his slumber a triumph of faith. He probably remembered the Lord’s promise that he would live to be an old man (Joh_21:18), and so he knew that Herod could not kill him prematurely. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and the cell was flooded with light. Tapping Peter on the side, the angel ordered him to get up quickly. Immediately the handcuffs fell off. Then with short, crisp sentences, the angel told Peter to dress, to tie on his sandals, to throw his cloak around him, and to follow. Though in a daze, Peter followed the angel past the first and second guard posts of the prison. When they came to the iron gate, it opened automatically, as if by an electric eye. It was only after they had passed through one street of the city, and the angel had vanished, that Peter came to himself and realized it was not a dream, but that the Lord had miraculously delivered him from the hand of Herod and of the Jews. 12:12 When he stopped long enough to consider, Peter realized that the disciples would be praying at the house of Mary, the mother of John … Mark. It must have been an all-night prayer meeting, since Peter’s escape from prison probably took place during the early morning hours. 12:13-15 Peter knocked at the door of the gate and waited. A girl named Rhoda (Greek, Rose) came to answer, but was so excited when she heard Peter that she failed to open the gate! She ran back to announce the good news to those who were praying. They thought she was crazy, and did not hesitate to tell her so, yet she kept insisting that the apostle was really at the gate. They said, It must be his guardian angel, but she stated positively that it was Peter. These believers have often been chided for their unbelieving prayers; they were actually surprised when their prayers were answered. But any such criticism is probably influenced by our own nervous self-consciousness. Instead of chiding others, we should be greatly comforted that God answers such faithless prayers. We all tend to be unbelieving believers. 12:16, 17 Peter, in the meantime, had been standing on the doorstep, knocking. When they finally opened the door and he stepped in, all their doubts vanished, and they broke out into great expressions of joy. He quickly quieted them down, gave a brief account of his miraculous deliverance, asked them to convey the news to James (probably the son of Alphaeus) and to the brethren, and then departed. It is impossible to know where he went at this time. 12:18, 19 When morning came and Peter was missing, the hapless soldiers were thrown into a state of panic. For Herod, too, it was a traumatic experience to be so outwitted. Nothing that the soldiers could say sounded at all convincing. In fact, the lameness of their testimony probably infuriated the king all the more. So he ordered them to be executed. He then left for Caesarea to nurse his wounded pride. 12:20 For some unknown reason, Herod had become very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, two commercial ports on the Mediterranean. The people of these cities took advantage of his holiday in Caesarea to ingratiate themselves with him, because they depended on importing grain from Judea. So they befriended Blastus the king’s personal aide, and through him requested restoration of diplomatic relations. 12:21-23 One day Herod came forth in all his royal finery to address the people. They shouted deliriously, The voice of a god and not of a man! He made no effort to refuse such divine honors, or to give glory to God. Therefore, an angel of the Lord struck Him with a fearful disease and he died. This was in a.d. 44. Thus, the one who had executed James to please the Jews is himself slain at the hands of Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell. Herod reaped what he sowed.

Acts 12:24

D. Paul’s First Missionary Journey: Galatia (12:24-14:28) 12:24 Meanwhile, the gospel expands its outreach continually. God makes the wrath of man praise Him, and the remainder of wrath He restrains (Psa_76:10). He makes the devices of the people of no effect, but the counsel of the Lord stands forever (Psa_33:10-11). 12:25 After they had fulfilled their mission in Jerusalem by delivering the gift from Antioch, Barnabas and Saul returned to Antioch, taking with them Mark, who was a nephew of Barnabas, and later wrote the Second Gospel. It is impossible to know whether Barnabas and Saul were in Jerusalem at the time of the death of James, the imprisonment of Peter, or the death of Herod. Many Bible commentators feel that chapter 13 marks a distinct break in the Book of Acts. Some even go so far as to call it Volume II of Acts. The Apostle Paul has now definitely come into the place of prominence, and Antioch in Syria becomes the center from which the gospel radiates to the Gentiles.