Session 13
Acts 12:6-18
Memory Verse: Acts 12:24
God reigns sovereignly over all things in all places. God is also always loving. Sometimes, we think that we must choose between these two statements. We wonder how both can be true at the same time. Despite how our human logic plays out, though, the testimony of Scripture, including this session’s passage, affirms that God controls all things and always acts in love toward those who have responded in faith to His call (Rom. 8:28).
Peter had been persecuted for his faith already, and in Acts 12 he found himself in jail again. This time, though, Herod seemed determined to take his life. Still, Peter chose to stay faithful to Jesus, no matter what. As you reflect on this passage, evaluate your own faithfulness. Think about what it would take to make you quit on Jesus. Ask God to help you stand strong in all circumstances. And pray that the adults in your group will draw closer to Jesus because of your time together this week.
Why are many Christians hesitant to pray? Perhaps some have difficulty seeing God as a good, loving Father because their fathers were neither good nor loving. For others, it’s not that God has proven Himself untrustworthy, but rather they have not proven Him at all. Jesus commanded believers to pray so we might experience His love at work (Mark 11:24; John 16:23-24). If we believe God is both great and good, we can pray with the expectation of faith. (PSG, p. 118)
After his encounter with Cornelius, Peter returned to Jerusalem and told the apostles and other Jewish believers what had happened. At first, they were concerned that Peter had fellowship with “uncircumcised men” (Acts 11:3). However, after he told them everything that had happened-from his vision of the sheet in Joppa to how the Holy Spirit had come upon Cornelius’s household in Caesarea-the Jewish believers in Jerusalem had no choice but to glorify God. They came to the same conclusion Peter had reached: The Lord had “given repentance” and eternal life to the Gentiles (11:18).
Next, Luke recounted how God, in a wonderful example of His loving sovereignty, used Stephen’s death as a catalyst to advance the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles. Luke specifically mentioned the city of Antioch as a place where both Jews and Gentiles heard, understood, and believed the gospel in unity. When the church in Jerusalem heard about Gentiles coming to Christ, they sent Barnabas to Antioch to investigate what was happening. After seeing that God was truly working among these new believers, Barnabas stayed true to His calling and to his name as the Son of Encouragement (11:23).
Once again, Luke noted that “large numbers” of people were accepting Christ and becoming active members of the early church (11:24). Luke used a similar phrase three other times in Acts (2:41,47; 5:14). Through this repetition, Luke was emphasizing that God was working in Antioch just as He had worked in Jerusalem.
After encouraging and ministering to the new believers in Antioch, Barnabas set out for Tarsus. He wanted to find Saul. As recorded in Acts 9, Barnabas and Saul had met in Jerusalem, and Barnabas again acted as his friend’s advocate. This time he brought Saul to the church in Antioch, and together they taught the believers there for a whole year. Luke shared that 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). As it turned out, God heard their prayers.
As you read Acts 12:6-18, consider how Peter’s story of God’s deliverance impacted other believers. (PSG, p. 119)
EXPLORE THE TEXT
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!” 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.
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.
(v. 6) Was sleeping: On the eve of his trial and likely execution, Peter was sleeping soundly. He did not have any sort of special revelation about what was going to happen to him. Instead, he had something better. He had faith and trust in the sovereignty of God. With that peace of mind, Peter was able to rest in the love of God.
(v. 6) Soldiers . . . Sentries: Herod did not want Peter to escape, and he did not want anyone coming to Peter’s rescue. As a result, he kept the apostle under close guard with multiple levels of security. Many scholars believe Peter was being held in the Tower of Antonia, which was a Roman army barrack within the temple complex.
(v. 7) Angel of the Lord: Luke had written about an angel of the Lord five previous times in his Gospel and the earlier sections of Acts. First, an angel had appeared to Zechariah, John the Baptist’s father, in Luke 1. Second, an angel of the Lord had appeared to the shepherds outside Bethlehem in Luke 2. Third, an angel had led Peter and John out of prison in Acts 5. Fourth, an angel of the Lord appeared to Philip in Acts 8. Finally, an angel of the Lord had appeared to Cornelius in Acts 10. In each of these cases, the angel had paved the way for the gospel to advance.
(v. 8) Follow me: The angel’s words are not suggestions. He gave Peter five direct and clear imperatives: Get up (v. 7), get dressed (v. 8), put on your sandals (v. 8), wrap your cloak (v. 8), and follow me (v. 8). In a similar way, God helps us maneuver through challenges and threats we may face through the commands that He gives us in the Bible.
(v. 9) A vision: 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. The angel’s role was complete. He had guided Peter out of the prison. That’s when Peter realized he was not dreaming.
11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from all that the Jewish people expected.” 12 As soon as he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was called Mark, where many had assembled and were praying. 13 He knocked at the door of the outer gate, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer. 14 She recognized Peter’s voice, and because of her joy, she did not open the gate but ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the outer gate.
(v. 11) Came to himself: In verse 9, Peter did not know what was happening to him as the angel led him out of the prison and into the street. It was not until the angel’s departure that he realized he truly had been set free. It is curious that Peter would not have realized what was happening was real since he had previously been rescued from prison by an angel (Acts 5:19-21). Once Peter came to himself, however, he confessed that God had acted on his behalf to rescue him.
(v. 11) Know for certain: The Greek word for know can mean to see with one’s eyes. However, biblical writers also included a metaphorical connotation related to insight, especially spiritual discernment. For them, physical sight was just a bridge to spiritual understanding. The addition of certain intensifies the absolute conviction of what Peter was expressing.
(v. 11) The Jewish people expected: Herod had arrested Peter to please the Jews. There is a sad irony in Peter’s words here. The Jews should have been expecting the Messiah. They should have been expecting the message about the Messiah, the gospel. Instead, many of them wanted Herod to execute Peter just as he had executed James. Due to the sin of unbelief, the expectation of the people of Israel had been turned on its head.
Jesus said that His followers should expect to be persecuted and hated by the world (John 15:20). Later, Peter wrote that persecution is a normal part of the Christian life (1 Pet. 4:12-13). We should not be surprised when persecution happens, and we should not expect the gospel to be welcomed by the world. However, we can rest in the knowledge that God is always seated on His throne and is still guiding history toward His appointed end.
Mary
The name Mary is common among women in the Bible. Along with Jesus’s mother (Luke 1:26-38), Gospel writers referred to Mary Magdalene (Mark 15:47); Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus (Luke 10:38-42); and Mary, the mother of James and Salome (Matt. 27:56-28:1). Paul also mentioned a woman named Mary in his letter to the Romans (Rom. 16:6).
This Mary was the mother of John Mark, who would later travel with Paul and Barnabas and write the Gospel of Mark. Many scholars believe she was Barnabas’s sister, and she may have owned the room where Jesus and His disciples celebrated the last supper.
While little else is known about her, Luke did share that she hosted the church in her home. This house was probably a regular meeting place for the early church, but, on this occasion, it was the site of an ongoing prayer meeting for Peter.
(v. 14) Did not open the gate: Recognizing that God had rescued him, Peter went to Mary’s house where many had gathered to pray for him. When Peter knocked on the outer door, a servant named Rhoda answered. While Rhoda recognized Peter’s voice, she failed to let him in.
Rhoda joyfully announced that Peter was standing at the front gate, where she had left him standing. Believers should celebrate God’s deliverance with joy as Rhoda did, but we should also seize the opportunities to act as God gives us the chance.
15 “You’re out of your mind!” they told her. But she kept insisting that it was true, and they said, “It’s his angel.” 16 Peter, however, kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were amazed.
17 Motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. “Tell these things to James and the brothers,” he said, and he left and went to another place. 18 At daylight, there was a great commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter.
(v. 15) Out of your mind: The people in the house doubted Rhoda, making her even more insistent. Luke once again painted a picture of irony. The people who were praying fervently for Peter did not believe their prayers had been answered. Instead, they questioned Rhoda’s sanity and suspected that she was suffering from hallucinations.
We get the English word “maniac” from the wording Luke used here. It could relate to a madness driven by intense anger, but it also suggests the loss of one’s senses or faculties. It is similar to the response of the religious leaders who accused Jesus of having a demon in John 10:19-20.
(v. 15) His angel: It is unclear what this phrase means, but it could relate to a Jewish belief that all people have a guardian angel. The others thought it made more sense for Peter to be dead, leaving his angel behind, than for God to have answered their prayers.
It is important to note that the Scriptures are not teaching this idea. Luke was merely reporting what the believers at Mary’s house said to Rhoda. It should also be emphasized that Rhoda’s joy, not the others’ skepticism, is the example Luke challenged us to imitate.
(v. 16) Kept on knocking: Peter continued to knock and was eventually allowed into the house. Perhaps Jesus’s parable of the persistent friend (Luke 11:5-8) was echoing in Peter’s mind as he continued to knock on the door-or in Luke’s mind as he wrote down Peter’s story.
(v. 16) Amazed: When supernatural events happen, we sometimes explain away God’s answer to prayer. However, God is certainly capable of answering our prayers, and we should pray with a sense of expectancy that He will act for His glory and for the good of His people. As we observe God answering our prayers, believers should celebrate His response.
Peter certainly gave God the credit for what had happened to him that night. As he quieted the gathered group, He shared how God had rescued him from prison-and Herod’s plans. Peter encouraged those who heard his story to tell it to other believers so they could be encouraged.
James
Peter specifically identified James as someone who needed to hear about what had happened to him. Since John’s brother was dead, this James was likely the leader of the Jerusalem church who was also the half-brother of Jesus.
Initially, Jesus’s siblings were skeptics in regard to His claim of being the Messiah. They doubted Him and thought He might have been a little crazy (Mark 3:20-21; John 7:1-10). Early on, though, his mother and brothers had joined the apostles in praying and waiting for the Holy Spirit to come (Acts 1:14).
Before long, James had taken on a role of authority in the church in Jerusalem. His leadership would become clearer at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. He also is credited with writing the book of James.
(v. 18) Great commotion: As might be expected, Peter’s absence caused a great commotion among the prison soldiers once the morning came. To add to the confusion, Peter and the angel left no evidence behind. The apostle’s absence was the only sign that he was gone.
The guards were executed for having let Peter escape (v. 19). Since Roman law stated that a guard would face the same punishment as the prisoner who escaped, Luke basically affirmed Herod’s plan was to kill Peter.
God
God is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. (See Exodus 14:13-14; Mark 10:27.)
Use a concordance and Bible dictionary to learn more about a Bible character.
Herod was the name of a line of kings who ruled in Palestine during the Roman Empire. Several different rulers are referred to as “Herod” in the New Testament. Using a Bible dictionary, make a list the Herods in the New Testament and at least one distinctive fact about each one.