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The Book of Acts
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BIBLE STUDY ACTS 12:1-25 REVIEW: Chapter 11 began with Peter once again recounting his vision and the events which led to the conversion of the Roman Centurion Cornelius and his household. The focus this time, however, was upon the kind of relationships which believing Jews could have with believing Gentiles. Peter came to the conclusion that if believing Jews and Gentiles are all of equal status under Christ, they should also be able to share table fellowship with each other as well. The next part of the chapter shows another aspect of how Gentiles were becoming a part of the church – this time as a result of outreach activity by Hellenistic believers in Antioch. Barnabas upon coming from Jerusalem encouraged this, and then also brought Saul from Tarsus to help in the ministry of teaching. Finally, the Antioch church decides to help their fellow Christians in Judea who were suffering because of a severe famine. They did this both because of compassion and to demonstrate their fellowship with them. CHAPTER 12:1-11 “Peter’s Arrest and Deliverance” “About that time King Herod laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church. He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword. After he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (This was during the festival of Unleavened Bread.) When he had seized him, he put him in prison and handed him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. While Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed fervently to God for him. The very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the wide and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists. The angel said to h8im, “Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.” He did so. Then he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” Peter went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening with the angel’s help was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. After they had passed the first and the second guard, they came before the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went outside and walked along a lane, when suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.” Luke’s narrative shifts from the church in Antioch back to events involving Peter and the church at Jerusalem. Beginning with the next chapter, Luke’s focus will center exclusively upon Paul and his ministry. This is the third Herod in Luke/Acts. The first was Herod the Great (Lk. 1:5) - who, according to Matthew’s gospel, tried to kill the infant Jesus. The second was Herod Antipas (one of the sons of Herod the Great) who was the Tetrarch of the province of Galilee during Jesus’ ministry. The “King Herod” mentioned here is Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod the Great. The Jewish historian Josephus writes about him extensively. Through political maneuvering with Roman emperors, Herod Agrippa eventually came to exercise rule over most of Palestine. Luke begins his narrative by noting a new wave of persecution against the Jerusalem Christians – this time begun by King Herod’s execution of James, the brother of John (son of Zebedee). The “Jews” were pleased because many of them by this time regarded the followers of Jesus as being apostates who were worshiping false gods. In Deut. 13:15 the Israelites were commanded to put such people to the sword – and that is what Luke may be referring to here. In the face of such persecution, the story of Peter’s escape is a “miracle story” of deliverance. In the face of impossible odds and hatred, God still answers the prayers of his church and works to save his people. CHAPTER 12:12-19 “The Answered Prayer” “As soon as he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many had gathered and were praying. When he knocked at the outer gate, a maid named Rhoda came to answer. On recognizing Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the gate, she ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate. They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she insisted that it was so. They said, “It is his angel.” Meanwhile Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the gate, they saw him and were amazed. He motioned to them with his hand to be silent, and described for them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he added, “Tell this to James and to the believers.” Then he left and went to another place. When morning came, there was no small commotion among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. When Herod had searched for him and could not find him, he examined the guards and ordered them to be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.” The story here is humorous as to how people may react when their prayers are actually answered in the way they ask for! The church had been fervently praying for Peter’s release, but did they actually expect it?! Perhaps this is a question we need to ask of ourselves as well. When we pray, do we truly expect God to answer us? Luke Timothy Johnson in his commentary on The Acts of the Apostles notes that this story also has parallels to stories involving earlier prophetic characters in Luke’s writings, including Jesus himself. As mentioned in chapter six, Stephen’s trial and death in a way mirrored and continued the story of Jesus’ passion. Likewise, we note here that Peter – another prophet in this tradition – is arrested and imprisoned during the time of the Passover celebration, and that a “King Herod” had a role in this event. Not only that, Peter’s deliverance in a way was every bit as miraculous as Jesus’ resurrection – and as the apostles did not believe the report of the women that Jesus had risen from the dead (Lk. 24:11), so now the believers do not believe the report of another woman (Rhoda) about Peter’s deliverance (Acts 12:15)! Finally, after the risen Jesus makes himself known to his disciples and talks with them, he withdraws from them (Lk. 24:51) – as does Peter in this story. Looking at the story as a whole, Luke Timothy Johnson also notes that it also serves Luke’s overall narrative purpose in Acts. Luke quickly passes over James, who is killed by Herod, so that the reader can from then on focus upon the other “James” (Jesus’ brother) who was the leader of the Jerusalem church (Acts 12:17; 15:13-21; 21:17-26). Luke also states that Peter “went to another place” - perhaps helping the reader to understand that from now on James (the Lord’s brother) and not Peter is the most important authority in the Jerusalem church. CHAPTER 12:20-25 “The Death of Herod” “Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they came to him in a body; and after winning over Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for a reconciliation, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat on the platform, and delivered a public address to them. They people kept shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a mortal!” And immediately, because he had not given the glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. But the word of God continued to advance and gain adherents. Then after completing their mission Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem and brought with them John, whose other name was Mark.” We have no idea of why Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. We do know, however, that Herod as the ruler of Palestine could make things very difficult for them by impairing their trade and by cutting off supplies of food from his territory. Since there was a severe famine (Acts 11:28), this could have disastrous consequences for Tyre and Sidon. The flattery that the people give to Herod was not at all unusual, but Luke sees it as being the cause of Herod’s death. We know from the Jewish historian Josephus that this happened in 44 C.E. According to him, Herod developed severe stomach pains that lasted for five days before he died. The “worms” may refer to maggots produced by a gangrenous condition. Overall, the point of Luke’s relating this is to show that God’s justice triumphed in the end. Herod began by persecuting the church – God miraculously delivered Peter – and in the end the oppressor dies. Finally, Luke returns to his story about Barnabas and Saul. Having completed their mission of delivering relief to the believers in Judea (Acts 11:29), they now return from Jerusalem (to Antioch). The statement that they returned “to” Jerusalem is probably incorrect – other ancient authorities read “from” – and that is obviously what Luke means. They also bring with them John Mark – who in the next chapter will accompany them on their missionary journey. -------------------- George R. Karres, Pella Lutheran Church 418 W. Main Street Sidney, MT 59270
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