Acts 12
1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. 2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. 3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) 4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
6 And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. 7 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.
8 And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. 9 And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. 10 When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.
11 And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.
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 praying. 13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. 14 And when she knew Peter’s voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate.
15 And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.
16 But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished. 17 But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place.
18 Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter. 19 And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode.
We see here different groups of people who acted very differently to the same situation. Let us consider these groups and see to which one of them we fit. Let us not go out the same way that we’ve entered here.
Let us first look at the ‘Herods’. Here it speaks of Herod Agrippa I, but he was one of many Herods. What he did here was a way of life in the Herod family. These Herods passed on their sins to their children. This Herod was the grandson of Herod the great who ordered the murder of the babies in Bethlehem. His sister Herodias had John the Baptist killed with the sword. This Herod was also involved in the trial of our Lord and had John the Baptist executed. He also executed James the apostle with the sword, the brother of John.
We see here that while God was working the devil was at work too. There are always those who work against God. This Herod persecuted the Christians. It is unbelievable that there are people in this world who make it their aim to persecute God’s people. Even today there are people who work against God, and one finds them right where God is working.
Remember that you can even kill people with your words. How do you speak about others?
Herod was someone who wanted to please everyone if it would be favorable to him. He killed James and when he saw that it pleased the Jews he seized Peter and put him in prison.
There are many people pleasers. They try to agree with everyone
All that was important to Herod was his own personal advantage. Many people are like that. They become opportunists; they use every opportunity to further their own cause.
You aren’t what you seem to be in public. The real you is what you do when nobody sees you in private.
Herod’s ego drove him to accept the praise men heaped upon him. Remember how he died. He held a public oration and the people praised him, “the voice of a god and not a man”; so God struck him that he died.
Now let’s look at the Christians. They prayed for Peter; when one member of the body suffers all suffer. They did not criticize him like many of today’s Christians criticize their brethren in need.
Where do you find yourself – do you pray for your leaders and your brethren in need or criticize them when they are in need?
How do you support your fellow Christians? Do they know that you support them or is your support suspiciously in secret?
We find these Christians all gathered in John Mark mother’s house. They were united praying for Peter.
It is amazing that when their prayer was answered they did not believe that Peter could possibly be delivered.
How do you pray? Do you reckon with the power of God? Do you confess your sin yet know while you pray that you will do it again or do you reckon with the power of God to deliver you?
Do you pray to soothe your conscience or do you truly believe that your prayer will be answered.
Let us look at Peter. God works sovereignly, and many times we don’t understand.
The Lord miraculously saved Peter out of this hopeless situation yet allowed James to be killed. God is supreme and sovereign and allow things to happen according to His plan.
Herod totally over reacted to guard harmless Peter with 16 guards.
The godless always fear with this great fear that maybe they could just be wrong – which they are.
Peter knew God’s peace. He could sleep in this difficult, hopeless situation. The wicked fear in the most peaceful situation whereas God’s children are at peace though it be difficult.
We also find a transformed Peter; he always wanted to act and had a solution to every problem, but here we find a different Peter; one who had committed everything into God’s hand.
We also see Peter’s immediate obedience, no questioning the Lord. He followed the angel’s instructions immediately and meticulously.
When the angel led him out of the prison Peter thought he was dreaming.
This is what it is like to walk with the Lord. Each day is like a dream – that the God of the universe should do so much for me! We are reminded of the hymn by Charles Wesley, “and can it be that I should gain an interest in the Saviour’s blood …”
We also read in Mark 16:20, they went out and preached, the Lord also working with them. That’s the blessed Christian life – experiencing the Lord daily, following Him in immediate obedience and experiencing His working.
May we experience God’s power in our lives and the beauty of walking with Him.