Peter’s actions and reactions.
6 When Herod was about to bring him out for trial,
that very night Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers,
while the sentries in front of the door guarded the prison.
7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell.
Striking Peter on the side, he woke him up and said,
“Quick, get up!” Pasted And the chains fell off his wrists.
8 “Get dressed,” the angel told him,
“and put on your sandals.”
And he did.
“Wrap your cloak around you,” he told him, “and follow me.”
9 So he went out and followed, and he did not know that
what the angel did was really happening,
but he thought he was seeing a vision.
10 After they passed the first and second guards,
they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened to them by itself.
They went outside and passed one street, and suddenly the angel left him.
always follow God’s leading.
summarize the events leading up to Peter’s arrest by Herod.
After the encounter with Cornelius,
Peter returned to Jerusalem and told the apostles and other Jewish believers what had happened. after he told them everything that had happened-
the Jewish believers glorified God.the city of Antioch was a place where both Jews and Gentiles heard, understood, and believed the gospel in unity.
Barnabas was sent to Antioch to investigate what was happening.large numbers of people were accepting Christ and becoming active members of the early church Barnabas met with, and brought Saul to the church in Antioch, and together they taught the believers there for a whole year.
Antioch is where “disciples were first called Christians” (11:26).Next, Luke recounted two crises for the early church.
First, a famine struck the region around Jerusalem, leading to physical suffering within the churches of Judea.
Second, King Herod had begun an intense persecution of the church.
He had executed James, the brother of John, before having Peter arrested.Since the Jews were pleased with Herod’s attacks, the outlook for Peter was grim.
Knowing that Peter was likely to face the same fate as James, the members of the Jerusalem church began praying for him intensely (12:5).
think about the impact that the martyrdom of James may have had on the early church.
Note that the church turned to fervent prayer on Peter’s behalf.
Herod
This ruler was Herod Agrippa,
and he was a member of a long line of leaders in Israel.
His grandfather, Herod the Great, had tried to kill Jesus when He was an infant.
Later, his father had beheaded John the Baptist and questioned Jesus on the night before His crucifixion.
For his part, this Herod had “violently attacked” members of the church (Acts 12:1-3).
He had executed John’s brother, James,
and, when that increased his popularity among the Jewish leaders and some of the people,
he arrested Peter with the same intent.
History tells us that this Herod was corrupt, conniving, and calculating-
just as his father and grandfather had been.
All three of these men were false kings whose efforts to thwart the true King of the Jews always fell short.
summarize the key points.
Herod did not want Peter to escape, and he did not want anyone coming to Peter’s rescue.
In each of these cases, the angel had paved the way for the gospel to advance.
The angel’s words are not suggestions.
Peter thought he was walking around in a dream.
Once he got outside the prison, the angel left Peter as suddenly as he had appeared.
Note how God negated all of Herod’s security.
Peter had a peace that was rooted in his faith in God’s power and sovereignty.
In fact, he was so comfortable in his setting that the angel had to nudge him to wake him up!
Even though Peter didn’t understand exactly what was going on, God got him out of jail so he could continue his work as an apostle.