Chapter Tweleve
James Killed and Peter Arrested
12:1 About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. 2 He killed James the brother of John with the sword, 3 and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread.
There were several prominent people named Herod in the New Testament (click here to read a brief synopsis). This “Herod the king” was Herod Agrippa (the first) he reigned from, 37-44 A.D. and was the grandson of Herod the Great (the Herod known from the account of Jesus’ birth).
During the Feast of Unleavened Bread (possibly used as a synecdoche for all three of the Spring festivals, click here to read about God’s appointed times) Herod used force to counter those that were preaching the gospel. He had James the brother of John killed, and when that seemed to please the Jews (undoubtedly most of those that had converted to Christianity were Jews), Herod had Peter arrested.
12:4 And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.
Peter was taken to prison and was guarded by four squads of soldiers (Greek tetradiois, four soldiers) for a total of sixteen men watching one man. Herod wanted to wait after Passover (likely another synecdoche as Passover was one day and the Feast of Unleavened Bread was a week long celebration that began the day after Passover) before bringing him out to the people, perhaps like what Pilate had done with Jesus before His crucifixion. While Peter was in prison the people of the church were earnestly (Greek ektenōs, intense with perseverance) praying for him.
Peter is Rescued by an Angel
12:6 Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison.
The night before Herod was planning on bringing Peter out, he was sleeping between two soldiers and bound with chains, while sentries were posted at the door guarding the entrance.
12:7 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”
Suddenly a bright light lit up the jail cell and an angel of God appears next to Peter. He poked Peter on the side to wake him and told him to get up quickly. As the chains fell off his hands the angel further told him to get dressed, to put on his sandals, wrap his cloak around himself, and follow him.
12:9 And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. 11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”
Peter followed the angel, but Luke notes that it didn’t feel real to him, almost as if he was watching a vision. They walked by several guards, the iron gate exit opened on its own, and then walked down a street, all without resistance. At which time the angel left him. When his mind finally cleared and the reality of his freedom became evident, he said to himself, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”
12:12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.
He went to the house of Mary, the Mother of John Mark (we learn from Colossians 4:10 that he is Barnabas’ cousin), where many of the believers were praying.
12:13 And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 Recognizing Peter’s voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate.
Peter knocked at the door of the gateway and a servant girl named Rhoda answered and recognized his voice, Luke tells us that in her joy she ran back to those praying and told them that Peter was there at the gate, but forgot to let him in.
12:15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!”
The group praying told her that she was “out of your mind” (Greek mainē, the word that the English word ‘maniac’ is derived from), but she kept insisting that it is Peter, some thought it was his angel (some Jews believed that everyone has a guardian angel who could look like that person).
12:16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. 17 But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.” Then he departed and went to another place.
Peter kept on knocking and when he came in everyone was amazed (Greek exestēsan, astonished beyond belief, see also Acts 2:7, 12; 8:9, 11, 13; 9:21; 10:45). Undoubtedly a joyful but loud reunion, Peter motions to them to keep quiet and then described how he got out of prison. He told them to pass that information on to James (the half-brother of Jesus, who we will learn later in chapter fifteen that he is a leader in the church in Jerusalem) and to the other believers. Probably concerned that the authorities would be soon looking for him and not wanting to put them in jeopardy he left to an undisclosed location.
12:18 Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. 19 And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there.
When the sun came up there was a major disturbance among the soldiers that were assigned to guard Peter. After they searched for him and was no where to be found, Herod himself examined the men, but since they could not explain how Peter escaped, he had the men executed. Herod then went to Caesarea.
Considerations
Pray with Expectation
Why bother to pray if you don’t expect God to answer? The people praying for Peter in this account told the servant girl that she was out of her mind and then they were astonished to see Peter. What were they expecting if Peter’s release was a surprise? We can get “hung up” when we think that insurmountable odds are against what we pray for, be it a disease like cancer or whatever is deemed impossible. Nothing is impossible with God (see Genesis 18:14; Job 42:2; Jeremiah 32:17, 27; Matthew 19:26; Mark 10:27 14:36; Luke 1:37), so when we pray we are to pray with faith and expectation. Yes, it’s true, God could say no, and we know that He knows what’s best. Jesus also told us to persevere and keep on praying, as the answer may be “not yet” (see Luke 18:1-8).
The Death of Herod
12:20 Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food.
Luke sets the stage for Herod’s demise with an unusual backstory, we read that Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, who would be out of his jurisdiction, but we are not told why. Due to his anger he apparently stopped the agricultural flow of food from his region to them (the transportation of food and drink into that area has a long history, see 1 Kings 5:11; Ezra 3:7; Ezekiel 27:17). Using Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, as a mediator, the people of Tyre and Sidon ask for peace.
12:21 On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. 22 And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” 23 Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.
But before the representatives for the people of Tyre and Sidon left, Herod put on his royal robes and sat on his throne to deliver a message. Josephus records that the celebration was in honor of Emperor Claudius.[1] Apparently his speech was inspiring to some (Josephus called them ‘flatterers’) in the audience as they began to shout that they were hearing the voice of a god. Luke points out that since he did not rebuke those that were calling him a god and did not give God the glory, an angel struck him down. The text says he was “eaten by worms” (one Greek word skōlēkobrōtos, which refers to a tapeworm, death due to a rupture of a cyst formed by a tapeworm is possible). Josephus records that Herod was in intense pain for five days before dying.[2]
12:24 But the word of God increased and multiplied. 25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark.
Luke notes that despite any effort to silence the Word of God, the gospel message continued to spread, the church continued to grow. Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem after they were done serving God there (some manuscripts say they returned to Jerusalem), and brought John Mark with them.
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[1] Josephus “Antiquities of the Jews,” Book 19, Chapter 8, Section 2.
[2] Josephus, F., & Whiston, W. (1987). The works of Josephus: complete and unabridged (pp. 523–524). Hendrickson.