Peter and the Cell

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Introduction

Continuing in the book of Acts

Last week you all sat in

But we saw that the persecution of the Church caused a scattering of believers outside of Jerusalem

The center of the church moved from Jerusalem to Antioch

And today, we are picking up in Acts 12

And a brief overview of what we are going to read:

James (the Disciple/brother of John) is executed

Peter is arrested and imprisoned

Peter escapes the prison and leaves Jerusalem

King Herod Agrippa I (who was responsible for all of this) suddenly dies because of God’s judgement

So let’s read:

Acts 12 CSB

1 About that time King Herod violently attacked some who belonged to the church, 2 and he executed James, John’s brother, with the sword. 3 When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter too, during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After the arrest, he put him in prison and assigned four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was praying fervently to God for him. 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. 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. 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. 19 After Herod had searched and did not find him, he interrogated the guards and ordered their execution. Then Herod went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. 20 Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. Together they presented themselves before him. After winning over Blastus, who was in charge of the king’s bedroom, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food from the king’s country. 21 On an appointed day, dressed in royal robes and seated on the throne, Herod delivered a speech to them. 22 The assembled people began to shout, “It’s the voice of a god and not of a man!” 23 At once an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give the glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died. 24 But the word of God spread and multiplied. 25 After they had completed their relief mission, Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem, taking along John who was called Mark.

(SLIDES BACK)

Believe it or not, this story actually hits on some very difficult questions of the Christian faith

Why does God intervene sometimes… but other times he seems silent?

Right here we see three people that’s lives were forever changed

James is executed

Peter escapes execution

King Herod dies unexpectedly

And as we sit with this story… it can be difficult to face these questions:

Why did God spare Peter, but James ended up executed?

Both were in the inner 3 — Peter, James, John

Why is Herod struck down for his pride—but other leaders throughout history remain in power and defiance of God?

It seems like God is random, moody, and inconsistent

But we know this is not true

And these aren’t just questions for Christians thousands of years ago… they are the same questions we struggle with today

Why do some people meet tragic and unexpected ends?

Especially those who are loyal and faithful to God?

Why does God save some peoples lives but not others?

Why doesn’t God bring judgement on leaders that are so filled with pride and arrogance?

Why does he let them continue to rule?

And if you’re here this morning asking these questions… I’m sorry that I don’t have the answer

We simply trust that God is in control

He knows far more than any of us could ever

We can’t put him in a box—and he isn’t formulaic

But what we can see today, is some deep wisdom from these stories

God’s ways are higher than our ways

Unshakeable Peace

How does the Church respond to James’ death?

They continue forward in faith

Just because God did not deliver James didn’t mean that God was no longer with them

(SLIDES)

Acts 12:5 CSB

5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was praying fervently to God for him.

They continued in prayer for Peter

And even Peter himself wasn’t hopeless—he was at peace

The night before his trial—he was sound asleep

In full confidence that God was with him—regardless of the outcome

Both Peter and the early church were not moved when things began to fall apart

And this didn’t happen overnight

Around 14 years passed since resurrection

And we see the fruit of Peter’s maturity in Christ

So its one thing to read this story and be impressed with their responses

But we follow the same Jesus that these people did thousands of years ago

We have access to the same unshakeable peace in the middle of the storm

(SLIDES)

So where do you go, when life seems to be falling apart?

Despair and hopelessness

Distraction

Anxiety and stress

Indifference

I’m sure Peter was praying to be released...

But he wasn’t certain it would happen

James had just been killed

Jesus himself had gone through arrest and trial resulting in his death on the cross

Peter’s future was not guaranteed… yet he didn’t lose heart

It reminds me of the story in Daniel

(SLIDES)

Daniel 3:16–18 CSB

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to give you an answer to this question. 17 If the God we serve exists, then he can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he can rescue us from the power of you, the king. 18 But even if he does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.”

He can — But even if he doesn’t — we still stand by what we believe

And this is because Peter, has a hope that goes far deeper than any circumstances

Worst case — Peter dies

And Peter dying is the best thing that can happen to him

He would be brought to where Jesus is

His Lord, His savior, His best friend

The worst the world could do to Peter—would only draw him closer to Jesus

Or in Paul’s words

(SLIDES)

Philippians 1:21–24 CSB

21 For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. 23 I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ—which is far better—24 but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

I would rather be dead (not morbid or depressed)

But there is work to do here

And what we see in this story is the fruit of such a deep hope

That nothing that we face can move us

Our hope isn’t in our circumstances

That our worst fears can come true, but the Gospel remains true

(SLIDES BACK)

But in Peter’s case—he didn’t die

God delivered him from his prison cell

And here we see that:

God shatters our expectations

If we know this story, Peter’s deliverance doesn’t surprise us

But I think here, God was moving in an unexpected way

Peter wasn’t expecting it

This was the night before his trial

And he was sound asleep

God had to wake him up

He wasn’t banking on a prison break

I don’t think the church was expecting it either

Peter comes to a church gathering and no one believes its him

(SLIDES)

Acts 12:13–16 CSB

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. 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.

I don’t think the church was expecting God to break Peter out of prison

If they were praying for that… why would they be surprised when it happened?

In verse 5 it does say that the church was praying fervently to God for Peter

But I think they were praying one of two things:

For God’s will to be done

For a favorable trial—that he would be acquitted and set free

But no one was expecting a prison break the night before his trial

(SLIDES BACK

Which brings me to my second point for us: Often, God shatters our expectations

When we pray… we often don’t know what we really need

We see in the Scriptures that time after time God breaks through in ways that people would never expect

When we pray—we pray for God to move and intervene

Not for particular outcomes

Your kingdom come—Your will be done

God knows best

And we are all going through things that we wish God would come and intervene—but he knows best

We ask that his will be done

And often, we’re surprised by his ways

He works in bigger and better ways than we can imagine

Ex. Dating

Conclusion

So as we wrap up, I want you to think

Where in your life (or the life of a loved one) do you want to see God move?

Not specific circumstances changed—but where do you want to see God’s plan play out

(SLIDES)

“God fixes our prayers on the way up. If He does not answer the prayer we made, He will answer the prayer we should have made. This is all anyone needs to know." — J.I. Packer

Or in Pauls words:

(SLIDES)

Romans 8:26–27 CSB

26 In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Because we pray—we invite God in and he does the work

When we are less focused on our circumstances we make room for God

Today we learn a tremendous lesson in prayer that I wish I knew earlier in life

We just need to pray

We don’t need the magic words

We don’t need the right imagination and understanding

We don’t even need to know what we are praying for

We just pray

God, the creator of the universe

God, my savior and king

God, my loving father

Please help me

Please intervene

Please let your will be done

It’s a lot less stressful than we make it to be

We place it all in God’s hands

The ball is in his court

(SLIDES)

So we’re going to wrap up today in prayer

Yourself

A friend or family member

Something happening in the world