43 - Bible Commentary | Karuna Sadan

“Now about that time, Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church.” (Acts 12:1)

Herod Agrippa was king over Jerusalem at the time when Saul and Barnabas were preparing to go to Jerusalem. This was also a time when there was a great famine in other lands except for Jerusalem. So, Saul and Barnabas had gone to collect what the believers in Jerusalem had gathered to give to the other churches. Jerusalem exercised so much power over other territories that smaller nations relied on them for survival. Before now, there was no king in Jerusalem who had power over Judea. Herod was the first and, presumably, the last. And then, at that time, Herod had so much hatred for the activities of the church, that he stretched forth his hands to persecute them.

“Then he killed James, the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the days of unleavened bread.” (Acts 12:2-3)

Unfortunately, James, the brother of John, fell into Herod’s wrath. James was killed with a sword thrusting through his flesh. Scholars generally accept it as a historical event that likely occurred during the reign of Herod Agrippa I, who ruled from AD 41-44.

The reaction of the Jews made Herod feel encouraged to continue the killings, and he arrested Peter. These men were people who followed Christ diligently and went about expanding his kingdom. They were killed not because they were criminals but because of the gospel. This was James, the son of Zebedee who was also the brother of John, whom the Lord nicknamed sons of thunder.

“So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.” (Acts 12:4)

So, Herod, with so much anger, imprisoned Peter. He did not just imprison him; he handed him over to the four squads of soldiers to guard him so he could bring him out to ridicule after Easter. Although Peter had spent a better part of his life in the Lord’s service, Herod did not understand this. It wasn’t even a concern to Herod that this was the same man who spoke once, and three thousand people got saved. Peter’s results were not enough to save him from Herod’s wrath. In fact, they contributed more to Peter’s persecution. The reason why the early believers were persecuted was because they did things that were contrary to the laws of the land.

Like Jesus, the law had said that no miracle should be performed on the Sabbath day, but he saw someone who needed to be healed and didn’t hold back; this made the people angrier with him. For Daniel, there was a decree not to worship any god, but Daniel disobeyed. Herod was against the spread of the gospel, and he wanted to stop it, which was why he attacked the believers with great persecution.

“Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.” (Acts 12:5)

While Peter was in prison, the church did not cease to pray for him. This season was a time when the church suffered great persecution. But even then, they still gathered together to pray for Peter. In the body of Christ, what affects one, affects all. The early church understood this, which was why they gathered and prayed for Peter instead of minding their business.

The business of the kingdom is for no man, and yet, it is for every man. This is it, God did not rely on the advancement of his kingdom upon any man, and yet, he relied on every man. Every man can work for God, but not any man can work for God. It means that as much as the gospel needs to be advanced, God cannot do it with any man; he can only work with whoever is available.

And Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison.” (Acts 12:6)

On the day Herod planned to ridicule Peter, he was just there sleeping between two muscled soldiers and held bound in chains, and even the doors were guarded by soldiers. Herod did this because he would have thought that the early Christians were cunning and crafty and could release Peter at night. He obviously had heard about Jesus, how the Pharisees brought about news that Jesus’ body was stolen from the tomb. And so, to prevent the believers from breaking Peter out of prison, he properly and strictly guarded where Peter was kept.

Peter slept like a baby between two soldiers; he was not scared of what would befall him, and he did not even regret standing for the gospel; he just lay there and slept. To Peter, his life meant less to him as long as the gospel was concerned, so whether he died or not, nothing stopped him from holding onto his faith.

“Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, ‘Arise quickly!’ and his chains fell off his hands.” (Acts 12:7)

While in prison, with so much security in place, Peter still got divine help. The prayer of the church was not in vain. Now, note that the presence of the angel did not wake the guards up; it only woke Peter up. The angel even spoke, and only Peter heard his voice, even in the midst of the two guards. When God wants to deliver a man, he delivers him from the midst of troubles, not outside his troubles. Like Daniel, God intervened in the lion’s den. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, God intervened in the midst of the fire. No matter how tough a situation might seem, God can still deliver a man out of that situation.

"Then the angel said to him, 'gird yourself and tie on your sandals,' and so he did. And he said to him, "Put on your garment t and follow me.'" (Acts 12:8)

Obviously, Peter had been stripped of his clothes, so he took his time to put on his clothes, and it still did not attract the attention of the guards. Another thing worthy of note is how Peter obediently carried out every instruction given to him by the angel; he never objected. God can help us better if we completely trust him. Peter never asked any questions; he must have been frightened to his soul, just waking up and seeing an angel inside his prison room. But then, that did not stop him from obeying or keeping quiet. God is willing to help His children out of trouble, but he demands that you trust him and allow him to help you the way he wants.

"So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision." (Acts 12:9)

At first, what was happening was not real to Peter; he thought he was probably hallucinating. I mean, how could someone just walk in through hundreds of guards and even two personal guards in prison and set a man free? It was not something that the ordinary human mind could comprehend. God's dealings with us are as such; sometimes, we cannot understand them, and we don't even know why he is asking us to do some things. We don't even know where we are going when he asks us to move. But then, when God is working with us, and it seems strange, the end point of it will become clearer, and we'll get to understand why he took us through the paths we went through.

When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. And when Peter had come to himself. He said, 'Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.'" (Acts 12:10-11)

So, the process was over, and it was time for Peter to understand the purpose of the process – why he went through it. What had appeared to him as a vision was now real when God's intention was completed. When they got to the gate, they did not need a gatekeeper to allow them to pass; the gate opened on its own accord. Peter confirmed that he now knew that God sent His angel to deliver him.

Just try to paint a picture of Peter questioning the angel about what he was doing or where they were going; he would not have received the deliverance he sought. Yet, even when he did not understand, he just followed, and at the end of the journey, he realized that he had not followed in vain

Chapter 12