James is killed, Peter put in prison
12
📚Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hands to trouble some in the church. 12:1 This Herod was the grandson of the one in Matt 2:1. He was godless, as all the Herods were.⚜
2 📚And he had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword. 3 📚And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. That was during the Days of Unleavened Bread.
12:2-3 James was one of the original apostles (Matt 10:2). No reason is given for the difference in Herod’s treatment of these two apostles. The meaning of it all is hidden in the secret counsels of God who rules over all. Herod was an Edomite (a descendent of Esau – Gen 25:29-30). He tried to please the Jews because he wanted a successful reign over them. In general the Jewish people disliked all the Herods. Note on Feast of Unleavened Bread at Lev 23:4-8.⚜
An angel rescues Peter
4 📚And when he had arrested him, he put him in prison and handed him over to four groups of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.
12:4 Probably he planned to try Peter on some invented charge of blasphemy.⚜
5 📚So Peter was kept in prison, but prayer to God for him was made without ceasing by the church.
12:5 As appears from vs 15,16 their prayers were more earnest than believing. Still, weak as their faith seems to have been, God answered. This should be an encouragement to all who pray to the true God. Prayers with little faith are far better than no prayers at all.⚜
6 📚And when Herod was about to bring him out, that same night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains. And the guards at the door were watching the prison.
12:6 Herod was determined that Peter should not escape.⚜
7 📚And suddenly the angel of the Lord stood over him, and a light shone in the prison. And he tapped Peter on the side, and got him up, saying, “Get up quickly”. And his chains fell off his hands.
8 And the angel said to him, “Fasten your belt, and tie on your sandals”. And so he did. And he said to him, “Put your cloak around you and follow me”.
9 📚And he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he saw a vision. 10 📚When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city. It opened to them by itself, and they went out and on down one street, and suddenly the angel departed from him.
11 📚And when Peter came to himself he said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent his angel and has delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the Jewish people”.
12:7-11 Compare Acts 5:18-24. An angel could just as easily have saved James from the sword as Peter from prison.⚜
12 📚And when he had considered the matter, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, who was called Mark. There many were gathered together praying.
12:12 Verse 5. Mark became the author of the Gospel which bears his name. Other references to him are v 25; Acts 13:5-13; 15:37-39; Col 4:10; Phile 24; 2 Tim 4:11; 1 Pet 5:13.⚜
13 📚And when Peter knocked at the door of the entryway, a girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 📚And when she recognized Peter’s voice, for joy she ran in without opening the gate, and reported that Peter was standing at the gate.
12:13-14 She, at least, believed God had answered their prayers.⚜
15 📚And they said to her, “You are out of your mind”. But she kept on stating that it was so. Then they said, “It is his angel 📖”.
16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.
12:15-16 Their thinking that the girl was out of her mind for believing God had answered their prayer, and their subsequent astonishment are indications of their unbelief or weak faith.⚜
17 📚But he, gesturing to them with his hand to keep quiet, told them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Go tell these things to James and to the brethren”. And he departed and went to another place.
12:17 The James in this verse was a half-brother of the Lord Jesus (Acts 1:14; Matt 13:55). He had become the leader of the church in Jerusalem.⚜
18 📚Now as soon as it was daylight, there was no small stir among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 📚And when Herod had a search made for him and did not find him, he examined the guards, and gave orders that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there.
12:19 According to Roman law if a person escaped, his guards had to suffer the punishment that would have come to him.⚜
The death of King Herod
20 📚And Herod was greatly displeased with the people of Tyre and Sidon, but they all came to him with one accord, and having made a friend of Blastus, a personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food by the king’s country.
12:20 Tyre and Sidon were cities on the Mediterranean coast north of Israel.⚜
21 And on a set day Herod, dressed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave a speech to them. 22 📚And the people shouted out: “It is the voice of a god, and not of a man!” 23 📚And immediately the angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give God the glory. And he was eaten by worms, and breathed his last.
12:22-23 Herod knew very well the Old Testament teaching about the one true God, and was aware that no man has the right to accept divine honors (Ex 20:1-6). He paid the penalty for his pride. Compare his behavior with that of Paul and Barnabas in Acts 14:11-18, and Peter in Acts 3:12-16 and Acts 10:26. We must have right views of God and of ourselves. Otherwise we may fall into the error of Herod and be judged as he was.⚜
24 📚But the word of God grew and increased.
12:24 The Herods of this world, and all opponents of the truth, come and go. The Word of God goes on doing its work and will stand forever – Matt 5:18; 24:35; Ps 37:35-36; Isa 40:6-8.⚜
25 📚And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had finished their ministry, and took with them John who was called Mark.
12:25 Verse 12; Acts 11:29-30. They returned to Antioch.⚜