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ToBeLikeHim.com Return
to Acts Series The Book of Acts Series Acts, Chapter 12 John Baugh October, 2009 Acts
12 (New American Standard Bible) Acts 12 Significant
events in Acts, Chapter 12 -
Persecution of the Church by Herod o The
death of James o Peter
placed in Prison o Peter
freed from prison -
Herod’s Death -
Barnabas, Saul and John Mark
return to Antioch James
Killed by Herod 1It was about this time that King
Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2He had James, the brother of
John, put to death with the sword. Luke
begins Chapter 12 telling about the persecution against the Jerusalem church.
The key players in his story are Herod the King, James, the brother of John
and Peter. About This Time: Luke’s
telling of the persecution of the Jerusalem church occur during the same
general time as the growth of the church in Antioch (Acts 11: 19-26) and
before Paul’s trip to Jerusalem (Acts 11: 27-30). Historians,
following secular records, place Herod’s death (Acts 12: 20-23) in A.D. 44,
and Paul’s visit to Jerusalem (11:30) about two years later. The
persecution of James and Peter may be connected to bringing Cornelius into
the church fellowship, with the events Luke reports beginning sometime after
Peter’s defense of his visit to Cornelius in front of the Jerusalem church
(Acts 11: 1-18). The
Several “Herod the king(s)” Luke
begins his account of persecution against the Jerusalem church by writing:
"It was about this time King Herod arrested some who belonged to the
church, intending to persecute them" (Acts 12: 1). The King Herod
mentioned here is the grandson of "Herod the Great," who died in 4
B.C. He ruled Judea at the time of Jesus’ birth (Luke 1:5) and tried to kill
the infant Jesus (Matthew 2). Herod the Great was a Jew of Idumaean (Edomite)
descent on his father’s side. He refurbished the Jerusalem temple and built a
splendid complex around it (and also built temples to pagan deities). The
second Herod prominent in the biblical account is "Herod the
Tetrarch." He pops in and out of Luke’s account throughout Jesus’ life
(Luke 3:1, 19; 8:3; 9:7-9; 13:31; 23:7-15; Acts 4:27). He is the Herod who
executes John the Baptist and meets with Jesus just before his crucifixion.
The Romans depose him in A.D. 39. The
King Herod of Acts Chapter 12 is "Herod Agrippa I." He dies in A.D.
44, as Luke reports at the end of Chapter 12. Herod Agrippa grew up in Rome
with the imperial family and eventually came to rule over Palestine. Apostles
are persecuted Probably
in the early spring of A.D. 43, or perhaps 44, (about 12 years after Jesus
was crucified) (As Luke reports in Acts 12:1) Herod Agrippa began to
persecute the church, particularly in Jerusalem. From What Luke reports, it
appears that this time the apostles and leaders of the church are the
intended victims. Herod is held responsible by the Roman authorities for
keeping peace in Palestine. Evidently, his acts against the church were
intended to pacify the Jewish Authorities and the Jewish population of
Jerusalem. James, The Brother of
John As
a part of his persecution, Herod Agrippa has James arrested, along with
others in the Jerusalem church. Evidently, he singles out James, the brother
of John. Luke says specific things about this action: 1 - Herod intended to persecute the Jerusalem
church through this action. Luke
does not say why Herod did this (why he had James killed). 1 - A possible (speculative) reason could be
related to James and John’s nicknames “Sons of Thunder” given to them when
Christ was still teaching and preparing them for ministry. Perhaps in a
“thunderous” manner, James spoke out in defense of the church to Herod in the
same way that Stephen spoke to the Sanhedrin.
Peter in Prison 3When he saw that this pleased the
Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of
Unleavened Bread. 4After
arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four
squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public
trial after the Passover. It
is obvious that Herod means business in his persecution of the church. He
shows a fatal character flaw when he has James killed. The church has done
nothing to Herod to justify this action against James. More so, when he sees
that having James killed pleases the Jews, he moves against Peter also. He
has him seized during the feast of unleavened bread (Passover) and has him
thrown into prison, intending to deal with him in a public trial after the
Passover feast. The
seven days of the festival of Unleavened Bread are just beginning when Peter
is arrested. There can be no doubt that the outcome of any public trial of
Peter would end in a death sentence that would be quickly carried out by the
Roman executioners. The delay until the end of the Passover celebration is an
intent by Herod to avoid offending the Jews by execution anyone during the
celebration. It should be remembered that the Priests did not want to arrest
and execute Jesus during the same festival. In Mark’s gospel he says that the
priests (about twelve years earlier) believed that if they had arrested and
executed Jesus during Passover that the people might riot (Mark 14:2). 5So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly
praying to God for him. 6The
night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two
soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. It
is obvious that Herod means business and obvious what will happen to Peter
unless God intervenes. That is what the church was praying for when they
prayed for Peter. Throughout Acts, Luke points out that prayer is a central
part of the life of the church. Here, the church is facing a life-threatening
crisis and they do exactly what they need to do. They pray earnestly to God
for Peter. As
all of this is taking place, Herod is taking no chances. He has Peter in
Prison, well guarded. In Herod’s mind, there is no way the church will take
Peter by force. In the mind of the church, the only answer will come from
God. During
this time, Peter is probably in the Antonia fortress, the military barracks
where Paul is later confined (Acts 21:31 – Acts 23:32). The fortress
overlooks the Jerusalem temple. Peter is guarded by four squads of four
soldiers each, probably on a rotating basis. He sleeps bound with two chains
between two soldiers, with sentries standing guard at the entrance of his
cell. 7Suddenly an angel of the Lord
appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke
him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's
wrists. 8Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and
sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow
me," the angel told him. 9Peter
followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was
doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10They passed the first and
second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for
them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of
one street, suddenly the angel left him. Suddenly,
an angel appears, and a light shins into Peter’s cell, lighting it up. The
angel strikes him sharply in the side (evidently he is sleeping soundly) to
wake him up. " Quick,
get up!" the angel demands. At this point Luke reports that the chains
fall from Peter’s wrists. The
angel then tells Peter to put on his clothes and wrap his outer garment around
him. There is no doubt in the mind of the angel. They are leaving the prison,
but Peter does not understand. I am certain that he later told Luke, “Man, I
had no idea what was going on. I thought I was having a dream or vision at
that point and I just stumbled along behind, having no idea what was
happening. We passed right by all of the guards and no one woke up. When we
came to the city gates, they swung open all by themselves and we simply
entered the city. After we had walked the length of a street the guy I was
following simply disappeared!” At this point Peter is
still in a daze, half asleep, thinking that his experience with the angel is
simply a vivid dream. One can understand Peter’s confusion, as everything
that is happening is in all respects contrary to normal. 11Then Peter came to himself and
said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and
rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were
anticipating." Finally,
Luke tells us that Peter "comes to himself" and realizes the
dream-like scene is real. Luke records Peter’s thoughts as he walks along the
quiet streets: "Now I know without a doubt the Lord sent his angel and
rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were
anticipating" (Acts 12:11). The
power of the resurrected Jesus is working mightily in his apostles and
church. It might be reasonable to ask why God allowed Peter to escape but
left James to die. There is no easy answer to that question except that the
answer lies among the mysteries of God. It
has always been that way among God’s people. God rescues some of his servants
to do his work and others are killed while doing it (Hebrews 11:32-37). In Peter’s
case, God steps in and saves him (and almost certainly the Jerusalem church).
Whatever plans Herod and the Sanhedrin may have to destroy the community of
believers is stopped for the moment. 12When this had dawned on him, he
went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many
people had gathered and were praying. When
Peter comes to his senses, he makes his way to the house where the church is
waiting and praying for a miracle. That place is the house of Mary, the
mother of John Mark. We know that since the house is mentioned as “the house
of Mary” that she is a widow. The house must be large, because there are
“many people” gathered there. As Luke has already mentioned, they are still
praying. When I read this, the words from the King James Version Acts 12:5
come to mind Peter
therefore was kept in prison: but prayer
was made without ceasing The
church was praying without ceasing. They began doing that when they learned
that Peter had been taken to prison and they still (several days later) were
when he returned to them. Mary , the mother of John Mark Mary’s
son, had both a Jewish name (John) and a Roman one (Mark) as did many others
mentioned in Acts and the epistles. John Mark will later become an important
figure in Luke’s story and the life of the early missionary workers Barnabas
and Saul/Paul (another man with both Jewish and Roman names). Christian
historians refer to Mark as "the interpreter of Peter" and the
founder of the church in Alexandria. Eusebius, the bishop of Caesarea, who
was regarded by his contemporaries as the greatest Christian scholar of his
time and “the father of church history," recounted a number of
traditions about Mark in his writings. Among other things, he is called
"the companion" and "interpreter" of Peter, as well as
the writer of a Gospel at Rome. 13Peter knocked at the outer
entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14When she recognized Peter's
voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed,
"Peter is at the door!" 15"You're out of your mind," they told her. When
she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his
angel." 16But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the
door and saw him, they were astonished. 17Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and
described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. "Tell James and
the brothers about this," he said, and then he left for another place. Evidently,
Mary had a
house servant named Rhoda and this is the person who comes to the door as
Peter continues to knock. She recognizes Peter’s voice and is so overjoyed
that she forgets to open the door. Rhoda runs back into the house to
announce, "Peter is at the door". "You’re out of your
mind," the church tells her in unison. This response should help all of
us deal with our failures of prayer life when we pray continuously “without
ceasing” and never expect God to answer our prayers. How slow we are to
respond to the words of God, especially when they contradict our
understanding of reality! When
Rhoda keeps insisting that it is Peter’s voice, the church answers, "It
must be his angel". They apparently think, as many people in the first
century do, that guardian angels exist, and are a kind of spirit counterpart
resembling the person. Meanwhile, Peter keeps banging on the door. Someone
finally opens it, and a thoroughly astonished church gapes at him as though
he is a ghost. It
is almost silly to read this account of Peter’s escape and the church’s
refusal to believe it really is him standing at its door. Just as comical is
the scene immediately before this, where Herod’s so seriously attempts to
assure Peter is held for trail only to lose him from between guards in the
night as all of them sleep during the escape. Perhaps these lighthearted
recollections are intended to make a very serious point: God works his
purpose in mysterious ways that humans find hard to understand. The
story Luke shares here is one of confusion and joyful humor. It must have
been a source of great joy and hilarity every time it was repeated among the
early believers. Imagine
the joy of hearing again and again the story of Peter’s knocking, becoming more
and more urgent as he stood on the dark street beating on the locked door.
Imagine hearing all about Rhoda’s joy when she heard Peter’s voice; such joy
that she forgets to open the door, followed by the believers’ refusal to
believe it was Peter, even though they had just been praying for him. All of
this continues as they belittle Rhoda ("You are out of your mind.")
when she insists that it is him outside and then the conclusion that,
"It must be his angel". All of this humor comes to a close when they
said something like, “And we opened the door and it was him, and we let him
come in.” "Tell
James" (Acts 12:17) There
was a joyous outcry when the disciples at Mary’s house finally realized that
Peter was standing there. He probably had to ask the group to be quite so
that he could explain how God had rescued him from prison. After finishing
his explanation and saying his goodbyes, Peter asks his listeners to: "tell James and the brothers about this" This
is the first direct mention of James in Acts. The
James mentioned here is Jesus’ half-brother, not James the apostle, since
James the apostle, the brother of John, had been killed a few days earlier. Along
with his brothers and sisters, James did not believe in Jesus before the
Resurrection. But, as Luke has already written, James and the other brothers
and sisters were among the disciples meeting together before Pentecost (Acts
1:14). It
is obvious from the way that Peter singles out James in Acts 12:17 that he is
prominent in the Jerusalem church. Peter and the other original apostles are
the primary spiritual leaders of the Christian community at large, but James
seems to have a more visible leadership role in the Jerusalem church. In his
letter to the Galatians, Paul calls James "the Lord’s brother" and
implies that he is one of its "pillars" (Galatians 1:19, 2:9). Luke
describes James as the leader of the Jerusalem church about a decade later
(Acts 21:18). At that time, he is known as "James the Just". Hegesippus,
a second-century Christian of Jerusalem, wrote (and Eusebius repeated), that
James’ knees are like camel’s knees from his frequent prayers for the people.
Eusebius also wrote that the apostles chose James to be the leader of the
Jerusalem church. At
the time Luke reports Peter’s escape from Herod in the mid-A.D. 40s, James
already seems to be the leader of the Jerusalem church. A few years later, in
A.D. 49, James presides over the Jerusalem Council as chief spokesperson of
the church. He has authority to finalize what churches located in areas
outside Jerusalem should practice (Acts 15:13-21). James
continues to lead the church in Jerusalem for many years (Acts 21:17-25)
until (as reported by Josephus) the high priest has him killed in perhaps
A.D. 62. Eusebius wrote that James is thrown from a wing of the temple and
beaten to death with a club. This is done because James and some others
(probably Christians) are condemned as "breakers of the law." This
happens between the death of the Roman governor Festus in about A.D. 62 and
the coming of the next governor, Albinus. "Another
place" (12:17) Immediately
after telling the story of his escape and asking the church to give James the
details, Peter goes into hiding. To tell us this, Luke simply writes "He
left for another place" (12:17). Perhaps the other apostles left
Jerusalem at this time also. Where
did Peter go? No one knows. Some would say that he went to Rome, but this is
not supported by any evidence. Only at the end of his life is there any
biblical (1 Peter 5:13) and any other evidence linking him with the capital
of the Roman Empire. The Problem With Peter’s Escape 18In the morning, there was no small
commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19After Herod had a thorough
search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and
ordered that they be executed. Luke
writes that the next morning there was “no small commotion” among the
soldiers about Peter’s whereabouts (Acts 12:18). Recriminations probably fly
fast and furious about who is responsible for letting him escape. In my mind,
I can see fingers pointing in all directions as attempts are made to shift
the blaim onto someone else. The simple fact was that soldiers’ lives were on
the line. Whomever was responsible for the escape was to die. For
his part, Herod has a thorough search made for the missing prisoner. When he
cannot be found, Herod cross examines (tortures) the guards to see if they
have any information and then has them (Four squads = 16 soldiers) executed
(Acts 18:19). The
later Code of Justinian shows that a guard who allows a prisoner to escape is
subject to the same penalty the escaped prisoner would have suffered. This
explains why later in Acts, the jailor at Philippi is about to kill himself
when he thinks the prisoners have escaped (Acts 16:27). It’s the reason the
soldiers want to kill the prisoners, including Paul, who are on the
shipwrecked boat. They don’t want the prisoners to escape, because if the
prisoners escape, the guards will have to suffer their penalty (Acts 27:42). Herod's
Death Then Herod went from Judea to
Caesarea and stayed there a while. 20He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and
Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. Having
secured the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they
asked for peace, because they depended on the king's country for their food
supply. 21On the appointed day Herod,
wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to
the people. 22They
shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." 23Immediately, because Herod
did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was
eaten by worms and died. As
he turns away from Peter, Luke provides details of the fate of Herod Agrippa. After
the prison incident, Herod returned to Caesarea (12:19). Apparently there was
some problem between him and the cities of Tyre and Sidon. Luke says they
were quarreling. Together with the support (probably through bribery) of
Herod’s trusted aide, a man named Blastus, these two cities hope to gain an
audience with Herod and sue for peace. Luke says the reason they want to make
a pact with Herod is economic: "They depended on the king’s country for
their food supply" (12:20). Tyre
and Sidon were large cities on the coast of Phoenicia, in the territory
adjacent to Herod’s kingdom. They had been centers of commerce and shipping
since Old Testament times, but they were dependent on Galilee for their food
supply. Luke’s indicates some sort of agreement was reached between Herod and
the coastal cities and was to be publicly ratified at a festival, at which
Herod was to speak. Luke
wrote that after Herod delivered his speech, his listeners shouted,
"This is the voice of a god, not of a man". Immediately after this
flattery, Herod was struck down with an illness because he did "not give
praise to God". Luke concluded the story of Herod’s fatal illness by
writing "he was eaten by worms and died". This
could have happened immediately or over some period of time. Josephus
writes about this incident also. In it he describes Herod as donning a silver
robe and entering the theater on the day of his death. He looks so wonderful
that the flattering mobs begin saying that he is a god. About this, Josephus
writes: "Upon this the king did neither rebuke them, nor reject their
impious flattery". Josephus writes immediately after this, Herod begins
having severe stomach pains and dies five days later, after being king of
Judea for three years. His death is placed in A.D. 44, in the fourth year of
the Roman emperor Claudius. 24But the word of God continued to
increase and spread. Luke
moves from his report of the death of Herod Agrippa to good news about the church.
Herod dies, "but the word of God continued to increase and spread"
(12:24). At
the conclusion of each section of Acts, Luke shows the continued growth of
the church. 25When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they
returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark. The
word of God grew and multiplied, despite all the opposition. And two men were
there whom God particularly wanted to instruct in how to handle tough
situations -- Barnabas and Saul. They were keen observers of all that took
place in Jerusalem at this time. Saul would draw upon his experience many
times later in his turbulent career -- remembering how God could work to set
people free, to open prison doors, to change a situation, to move a
tyrannical ruler -- all in response to the believing prayer of his people.
Paul would never forget what prayer can do. At
this point (the end of Chapter 12) there is another fundamental change in the
book of Acts. Up to this point, Luke’s story could be called "The Acts
of Peter." But Peter (except for a brief appearance in Chapter 15) is
about to pass out of Luke’s narrative history. From now on, Luke’s account
will be about "The Acts of Paul." This ends the study of Acts,
Chapter 12 Copyright © 2009, by ToBeLikeHim Ministries Return
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