Acts 12
James Killed, Peter Imprisoned
1 Now about that time Herod the King put forth his hands to afflict certain of the church.
The time period is when Barnabas and Paul brought the donation from Antioch to Jerusalem.
Herod was pronounced king of all Israel by Emperor Caligula in 37 A.D. He was the grandson of Herod the Great, who should really be named Herod the Murderer. At the birth of Jesus, Herod murdered all of the babies under two years old in the region of Bethlehem.
The Greek word for "put forth his hands" is ἐπέβαλεν τὰς χεῖρας (epebalen tax keiras), meaning to strike with the hand.
2 And he killed James, the brother of John, with the sword.
This was the fourth persecution of the Church. This time the persecution came from the government against the leaders of the Church.
James was one of the three inner-circle disciples of Jesus. James and John were brothers who had asked Jesus if they could sit on the right and left seats of his throne. Jesus asked them if they could drink the cup that he was going to drink. They answered yes, and they both drank the cup of martyrdom. James was the first disciple martyred and John was the last. All of the other disciples were martyred in-between. James was beheaded by the sword.
3 And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. And those were the days of unleavened bread.
Herod was an Edomite from the tribe of Esau. He was insecure about ruling over the Jews, so he attempted to appease them. He arrested Peter during the Passover and placed him in prison. He was hoping that this arrest would give him favor with the Jewish religious leaders.
4 And when he had taken him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to guard him; intending after the Passover to bring him forth to the people.
A quaternion was a regiment of sixteen soldiers, four on duty for six hour periods, with two chained to the prisoner, and two guarding the outside cell door. The kind of imprisonment was reserved for the worst political prisoners, such as Barabbus. Herod may have heard of Peter's other miraculous escape, so he attempted to make the guard more secure. After the Passover, Herod planned to place Peter on trial and execute him.
Peter Rescued
5 Peter therefore was kept in the prison, but prayer was made earnestly of the church unto God for him.
This was a difficult time for the Church, as they had already lost the Apostle James. The Church began to pray for Peter.
6 And when Herod was about to bring him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards before the door kept the prison.
Jesus predicted that Peter would be martyred at an old age. Therefore, Peter was immortal until he reached elderly status. Therefore, he could sleep peacefully, knowing that he was going to live another day to do God's work.
7 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shined in the cell, and he smote Peter on the side, and awoke him, saying, "Rise up quickly." And his chains fell off from his hands.
The light from the angel could have been a reflection of the Shechinah Glory. The light woke up Peter, but not the guards. There were two guards chained to Peter. The chains miraculously fell off of Peter.
8 And the angel said unto him, "Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals." And he did so. And he saith unto him, "Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me."
This was not a hurried escape. Peter pulled up his robe, tightened it, bound his sandals, and put on his cloak. He did all of this without waking the guards.
9 And he went out, and followed; and he knew not that it was true which was done by the angel, but thought he saw a vision.
Peter thought this was all a vision or possibly a dream.
10 And when they were past the first and the second guard, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth into the city; which opened to them of its own accord, and they went out, and passed on through one street, and straightway the angel departed from him.
The "first guard" were the two guards that were chained to Peter. The "second guard" were the two guards outside his prison door. Peter walked to the main city gate. The Greek word for "of its own accord" is αὐτόματος (automas), meaning automatically. The city gate opened automatically. The angel departed, as his job was complete.
11 And when Peter was come to himself, he said, “Now I know of a truth, that the Lord hath sent forth his angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.”
Often charismatics will quote "Jesus is the same, today, yesterday, and forever" in order to support the possibility of miracles. Jesus is the same in his divine goal, but he is not the same in his person, nor does he always work the same way. At one time, Jesus was in the form of God alone. At his incarnation, he added humanity to his form. Therefore, he is the same in person, but not in form. Jesus allowed James to be martyred, but he saved Peter. Therefore, Jesus changed his method of dealing with his disciples. Charismatics make the mistake of taking the history of Acts and making it into bible doctrine. The doctrine of the church is found in Paul's epistles.
12 And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.
The Hebrew name of Mary is Miriam, meaning rebel or bitter. It is a common Hebrew name. This Mary is the mother of John Mark, who was the author of Luke. John is his Hebrew name and Marcus is his Latin name. Mark is known more by his Latin name, because of his gospel to the Romans.
13 And when he knocked at the door of the gate, a maid came to answer, named Rhoda.
Rhoda was a female slave. Her name means rose. Peter knocked at the gate, which was outside of the house.
14 And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for joy, but ran in, and told that Peter stood before the gate.
Rhoda was so excited, that she left Peter outside the gate.
15 And they said unto her, “Thou art mad.” But she confidently affirmed that it was even so. And they said, “It is his angel.”
There was a common Jewish misconception that a person's guardian angel looked like the person.
16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they had opened, they saw him, and were amazed.
Peter had to keep knocking on the gate louder so that people could hear that he was outside waiting to enter.
17 But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him forth out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things unto James, and to the brethren.” And he departed, and went to another place.
Peter silenced the crowd with his hand and gave details of his deliverance. Since Peter was being persecuted in Jerusalem, he would now have to depart from the city. According to other epistles, Peter fled to Corinth, Antioch, and Babylon. James is the half-brother of Jesus. With Peter and the apostles under persecution in Jerusalem, James will become the new pastor of the Jerusalem church.
Except for Peter at the Jerusalem Council, this ends the story of Peter. Luke will now focus on the ministry of Paul and his ministry to the Gentiles.
18 Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter.
The Greek words for "no small stir" are τάραχος οὐκ ὀλίγος (taprakas ouk holigos), meaning no small agitation. The 16 soldiers were very agitated, because they may lose their lives.
19 And when Herod had sought for 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 tarried there.
Herod's soldiers could not find Peter anywhere in the city. Herod questioned the guards, thinking that they may have been a part of the conspiracy. The standard Roman procedure for escape of a prisoner was execution of the guards. Herod stayed inside Jerusalem during the Passover, but afterwards, it was standard procedure to return to his political headquarters in Caesarea.
The Death of Herod
20 Now he was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon; and 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 fed from the king's country.
The Greek word for "highly displeased" is θυμομαχέω (thumomacheo), meaning furiously angry. For some reason, Herod was furiously angry with Tyre and Sidon. Tyre and Sidon needed grain for Galilee, so they sent ambassadors to negotiate with Herod. Herod had cut off their food supply, so they needed to make peace with Herod.
21 And upon a set day Herod arrayed himself in royal apparel, and sat on the throne, and made an oration unto them.
According to Josephus, the set day was a feast day to honor the Emperor Claudius. Herod wore his royal clothes and gave a speech that scolded the people.
22 And the people shouted, saying, “The voice of a god, and not of a man.”
The people of Tyre and Sidon worshiped Herod as a god.
23 And immediately an angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory, and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.
Josephus recorded this historical event, “’The king was struck with a deadly malady after being hailed divine. He was smitten one day and died five days later, and the rotting of his flesh produced worms.’”
Since Herod was now dead, Peter was able to return to Jerusalem to appear at the Council of Jerusalem. The new governors of Judea were Felix, and then later Festus.
24 But the word of God grew and multiplied.
After the death of Herod, the gospel was preached and the Church was multiplied.
25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministration, taking with them John whose surname was Mark.
After Herod died and Peter returned, Barnabas and Saul brought a monetary gift to the Jerusalem Church. John Mark, the author of the Gospel of Mark, came with them. They were about to begin their first missionary journey.
