Study of Acts (2)
Notes
Transcript
Peter and Herod Acts ch 12
Peter and Herod Acts ch 12
Last week we looked at the ending of chapter 10 and the entirety of chapter 11.
We seen that Peter reports to the Jerusalem church about the things that had taken place.
That is how he was sent to Cornelius house and the Gentiles there were saved.
Some Jewish leaders in the church, questioned Peter, as it was against their laws to enter a Gentile home.
Peter explains what all took place, and how God had sent Him there and what God has cleansed let no man call it unclean.
Tonight we are going to look at how Peter is in prison and how king Agrippa plans to execute Peter
We begin in verse 1
1 Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them.
Herod Agrippa I was the grandson of Herod the Great.
Herod the Great - Aristobulus - Herod Agrippa I
Herod the Great - Aristobulus - Herod Agrippa I
Aristobulus the father of Herod Agrippa I, the son of Herod the Great, Aristobulus was executed by his father in 7 B. C.
Herod Agrippa I ruled from A. D. 37-44, the time period for our text is believed to be during the spring of A. D. 42 or 43.
The Greek of V. 1 is quite vivid: Herod laid violent hands on some of the Christians.
This persecution of believers was an a attempt to gain favor with the Jews.
2 And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword.
3 When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread.
This James is described as “brother of John: and thus was an apostle, as James and John were the sons of Zebedee
In v. 2 we see that James is the first apostle to be martyred, not first Christian/Believer as Stephen was the first believer to be martyred.
Luke did not want to dwell on this but used it to set the stage for his main emphasis - God’s deliverance of Peter.
Luke also notes in v. 3 that it was the days of unleavened bread, that is the festival that the Israelites celebrated annually in conjunction with the Passover.
This is why we know it was during the spring time of year.
4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out before the people.
5 So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.
Peter was placed under heavy security, being guarded by four squads of four soldiers each.
This was the usual Roman practice, changing guards every three hours throughout the twelve hours of night, this to assure maximum alertness.
Each squad had four soldiers; at all times two guards were chained to Peter while the other two stood watch outside the cell.
Verse 5 we are told that the church prayed fervently for Peter.
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
Fervent prayer is prayer that is offered without ceasing.
17 pray without ceasing;
This does not mean pray repetitiously or continuously without a break, but rather pray persistently and regularly.
6 On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison.
On the very night when Herod was about to bring Peter forward, that is the night before Peter’s trial.
Peter is described as sleeping, bond with two chains, each chain fastened to a guard, one on Peter’s right and one on his left.
The other two guards would be stationed at the doors or gates of the prison.
Perhaps one stood at each of the two inner gates of the prison.
The fact that Peter could sleep on the night before his trial, knowing that Agrippa had James executed not long before shows that Peter was assured that he was in God’s hand.
7 And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And his chains fell off his hands.
Peter was still asleep when the angel came to him, the angel had to arouse Peter.
We are told that the angel struck Peter’s side, this could be that the kicked or prodded Peter in his ribs.
8 And the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”
The angel aroused Peter, but Peter was still not fully alert.
The angel had to direct every step for Peter, telling him to get up, put your coat on and tie your shoes.
This was obviously not Peter’s escape but his deliverance.
9 And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.
Still half-asleep, Peter imagined that he was having some sort of vision.
The angel and Peter safely passed the first guard that was at the inner gate.
Perhaps a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon the guards.
This would not be the first time the Lord caused someone or people to fall into a deep sleep, we see this in a couple of places.
21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.
Another place is when David is running from Saul.
12 So David took the spear and the jug of water from beside Saul’s head, and they went away, but no one saw or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because a sound sleep from the Lord had fallen on them.
Then it is not stated but as in our text we can assume a deep sleep in Jesus’ Resurrection
4 The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.
Therefore, we can assume that God caused the guards of the prison to fall into a deep sleep, so that Peter could be delivered from the grips of king Agrippa.
10 When they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.
The angel leads Peter through the first two gates that are guarded by soldiers.
They then come to an iron gate that opens by itself.
This is the final gate of the prison.
As the angel leads Peter down the road away from the prison, the angel departs, leaves Peter.
11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”
Now Peter is outside and down the road from the prison, the angel departs from him and Peter comes to himself, that is Peter becomes fully awake and aware of what is happening.
Peter recognizes what God has done for him, and how he has been rescued from the hand of Herod Agrippa I.
12 And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.
The scene now shifts to the Christian community who had been praying fervently for Peter.
One group of believers had gathered at Mary, the mother of John Mark’s house.
John Mark is the cousin of Barnabas and an acquaintance of Peter, and later joined Barnabas and Paul on the mission field.
This is also the Mark that wrote the Gospel of Mark.
13 When he knocked at the door of the gate, a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer.
14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate.
Peter arrives at the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark and knocks on the door.
A servant-girl named Rhoda - the name Rhoda was a common Greek name, often used for servants and it means rose.
Rhoda was probably responsible for keeping the gate, a task often delegated to female servants.
17 Then the slave-girl who kept the door said to Peter, “You are not also one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.”
Rhoda was so excited to see Peter that she forgot to open the door and ran inside.
15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, “It is his angel.”
According to Jewish custom, each person had a guardian angel who could take on that person’s form and appearance.
We would say it as you have seen a ghost.
Such a reply is remarkable coming from a group that had been totally occupied for Peter’s deliverance.
When we remember that many people were gathered together praying for Peter, perhaps even praying day and night for possibly a week and these prayers were centered specifically on the deliverance of Peter.
The answer to their prayers is standing at the door, but they don’t have faith enough to open the door and let him in!
The people had found it easier to believe that Peter had died and gone to heaven than that their prayers had been answered.
God could get Peter out of prison, but Peter couldn’t get himself into the prayer meeting.
16 But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed.
Peter did not turn and leave, when the servant girl rushed off in excitement, but rather Peter continued to knock on the door.
When the door was opened the people were amazed.
This reminds me of Revelation 3:20
20 ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.
Jesus is standing at the door awaiting to be let in.
17 But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to James and the brethren.” Then he left and went to another place.
This is a key verse. It gives us basically three pieces of information.
1. Peter reports of his miraculous deliverance from prison.
1. Peter reports of his miraculous deliverance from prison.
2.His instructions to tell the news to James.
2.His instructions to tell the news to James.
3. Peter’s departure to another place where he would find refuge from the wrath of Agrippa.
3. Peter’s departure to another place where he would find refuge from the wrath of Agrippa.
The James mentioned here is the oldest brother of Jesus, who from this point on assumed the leadership of the church in Jerusalem.
As Peter departs to find refuge, he also fades from the scene of Acts, with the exception of a brief mention in chapter 15.
The text of Acts begins to focus on the ministry of Paul.
18 Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to what could have become of Peter.
When the guards awake, they found no one attached to their chains and likely no evidence of an escape other than the obvious fact that Peter was not there.
19 When Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they be led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and was spending time there.
After searching for Peter without success, the guards were then examined or interrogated on what happened.
When there was no success, Agrippa has the guards executed.
This was in accordance with Roman law, which specified that a guard who allowed the escape of a prisoner was to bear the same penalty the prisoner was going to face.
Agrippa then leaves for Caesarea, which was the capital of the Roman providence of Judea.
20 Now he was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; and with one accord they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king’s chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because their country was fed by the king’s country.
Agrippa was very angry, he had a quarrel or disagreement with the people of Tyre and Sidon.
It is believed to have been an economic war in which Agrippa had the upper hand.
Tyre and Sidon were coastal towns, that totally depended on their food source from inland territories that Agrippa ruled.
There is no other mention of Blastus, he is described as the king’s chamberlain or personal servant.
As a trusted servant, Blastus was able to speak with Agrippa and negotiate a settlement for the people of Tyre and Sidon.
21 On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them.
22 The people kept crying out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!”
Josephus describes the royal apparel, or royal robes worn by Agrippa as being made of silver and glistened radiantly in the morning sun.
As Agrippa addressed the people, the people shouted, “this is the voice of a god, not of a man.”
23 And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.
Agrippa neither affirmed nor denied the people’s ascription of divinity to him.
Agrippa did not give glory to God, and due to this sin/crime he was immediately struck with sickness.
Josephus added that Agrippa was immediately stricken with pain and carried to his bed chamber, and he died exactly five days later.
Now we are not told the five days in Scripture but it surely could have been.
Luke reports that Agrippa was eaten by worms, Josephus writes that Agrippa suffered from acute abdominal pain.
Agrippa possibly contracted a sever bowel disease, and as Luke writes was eaten by worms, therefore, a bowel disease is very possible.
24 But the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.
25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their mission, taking along with them John, who was also called Mark.
Th e Word of God grew and multiplied.
This is the last summary of the Jerusalem church in Acts and it ends on a positive note.
The attention turns to that of Saul who is renamed Paul.
Saul/Paul partnered with Barnabas on missions to the Gentiles.
The path to reaching the Gentiles had already been paved by Philip, Peter, and the church at Antioch.
Why did Luke include the events of chapter 12?
Why did Luke include the events of chapter 12?
To help us see that God is in control of all things.
What lesson can be found in Agrippa’s persecution of church leaders and his subsequent death?
What lesson can be found in Agrippa’s persecution of church leaders and his subsequent death?
That God will take care of all things, and He will revenge those who go against His people
This chapter discusses prayer.
This chapter discusses prayer.
We see the extraordinary things that happen when the children of God call out in faith to their Heavenly Father.
What are your prayer habits?
What are your prayer habits?
Do you pray regularly, (multiple times throughout the day, or just over meals).