Peter's
Escape From Prison and Execution
[Acts
chapter 12, verses 1-12]
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Last
week when we concluded our examination of chapter 11, we found the
faithful in Antioch had taken up a collection of essentials and other
valuables to send to the believers in Jerusalem during the famine
that occurred during the reign of Emperor Claudius. This occurred
around 40AD, give or take, I don't know the exact date offhand. This
was presumably done at the request of those in Jerusalem, who were
evidently in dire straights. Everyone gave whatever they could spare
on a voluntary basis, there was no mandatory 10 percent like there is
today. But this week as we move on to chapter 12, we find the apostle
Luke once again presenting the reader with a change of scenery.
Another persecution has broken out, this time at the hands of King
Herod. The
"King Herod” mentioned in Acts chapter 12 is identified as
Herod Agrippa, the grand-son of King Herod in Matthew chapter 2,
whose name lives in infamy as a mass killer of babies. And so let's
all begin right there at verse one.
“1) It was about this time that
King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to
persecute them. 2) He had James, the brother of John, put to death
with the sword. 3) When he saw that this met with approval among the
Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the
Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4) After 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. 5) So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was
earnestly praying to God for him. 6) The 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. 7)
Suddenly 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.”
We
have all seen in past studies that the first great persecution of
Christians happened just after the public execution of Steven back in
Acts chapter 7 (you can find that particular study from this
link). The instigator then was the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling
council in Jerusalem. This time it was King Herod, who was a Roman
puppet governor appointed by the emperor, and who ruled with an iron
hand just like his predecessors. One of his first acts was to execute
the apostle James, author of the epistle by the same name. So the
apostle James was the first of the Twelve to meet his fate at the
hands of his Roman abusers. James was allowed to go home and be with
the Lord, but when Herod went after Peter, it was a totally different
story, as we saw beginning in verse 7.
“
This
happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. After arresting
him, he put him in prison.”
My long-time readers will recall that the Feast of Unleavened Bread
is an integral part of the celebration of Passover, an important
Jewish holiday that occurs every spring, but not always on the same
date due to differences in our calendars. You will also recall that
this occurred during the life of Christ the same week he was
crucified, a striking parallel to be sure. But in Peter's case it was
not to be. Instead, he finds himself awakened in the middle of the
night. “So
Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God
for him. The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was
sleeping between two soldiers....”
Notice the apostle Luke's recurring theme throughout his writings –
prayer! The entire church, all who had heard of the apostle Peter's
incarceration and impending execution, prayed earnestly and without
ceasing as far as it was humanly possible.
As
we can see here in verse 7, the prayers of the church were answered.
“Suddenly
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.”
That angel didn't need a key, he unlocked Peter's chains with a mere
thought. While I have never seen anyone do anything like that, it's
important for us to remember that our thoughts do matter. Positive
thoughts yield positive results, and negative thought yield negative
results. Positive thought comes from the Light, and negative thoughts
come from darkness. So, that angel knew exactly what he was doing.
Notice that his command to “Get up!” and the falling of Peter's
chains occurred all at once! That was not a coincidence. And now lets
move on to the second half of this week's study, beginning at verse
8.
“8)
Then 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.
9) Peter 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. 10) They 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. 11) Then Peter came to
himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has
sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from
everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.” 12) When
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.”
So here we can see
that Peter is being led out of prison – except he doesn't realize
it at first. It seems the old adage about believing only half of what
you see and none of what you hear goes back at least 2 thousand
years, and probably much further than that! “Peter
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.”
So the apostle Peter is having a surrealistic experience, or so he
thinks, having related all this to Luke much later. “They
passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading
to the city. It opened for them by itself....”
Here we are once again seeing locks that unlock themselves without
being touched. About this I can only quote Jesus: 'Nothing is
impossible with God', which I have paraphrased from Matthew
19: 26.
So
if there's anything in anyone's life who is reading this, anything at
all that you are ready to give up on, call on God to help you perform
the impossible. You can't do these things by yourself, but with God
you can do anything you set your mind to. The apostle Peter had come
to this same realization as he said to himself, “Now
I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued
me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were
hoping would happen.” When 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.”
Peter could have done none of this if it weren't for the Divine
intervention of the angel who set him free. The angel had been sent
by God himself, or by the Holy Spirit as I think, to get the Lord's
business taken care of.
The
salvation of Christ is quite similar to Peter's being let out of
jail. There was no way Peter was getting out of that jail without
help. Otherwise, he would have surely been executed the very next
morning. In much the same way, there is simply no way anyone can
escape the fires of hell except by the shed blood of Jesus Christ! I
know, I know, there are a lot of people who don't believe in, or have
stopped believing in, God and heaven and hell. Let me caution all of
you to stop listening to and watching TV shows, movies and music that
is totally secular – that is, devoid of any Spirituality. They have
a deeply negative effect on the human mind. There are, on the other
hand, certain things in life that are sacred, starting with God and
all He has created. So not only is every form of life sacred, from
the lowest single-celled creature to human beings, and everything in
between, but all life is sacred because Almighty God their creator is
sacred. And you can't touch that. Come back next week, when we'll
finish up Acts chapter 12.
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