The Lord Rescued Peter
12:6-11
Luke cast the imprisonment and escape of Peter as a spiritual battle. When Peter was arrested, the church offered earnest prayers for him. (5) They understood that the soldiers were human, but the ultimate enemy was Satan.
Ephesians 6:11-12 says:
“Put on the whole armor of God, that may may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
The enemies of the Lord locked Peter up tight. He was bound to two soldiers with two chains, locked in a cell, with sentries at the door. (6) Yet, the Lord rescued him.
The agent of Peter’s escape was an angel. He appeared and woke up Peter, unlocking the chains. He led Peter out past the soldiers and sentries, who did not react. Peter himself thought what happened was not real, but a vision. The Lord opened the iron gate into the city. Once in the city, the angel left Peter. Then Peter realized what had happened, that the Lord had rescued him from prison and execution (what the Jewish people were expecting). (11)
Charles Wesley alluded to this event in his hymn “And Can It Be”. He wrote:
“I woke; the dungeon flamed with light.
My chains fell off, my heart was free.
I rose, went forth, and followed thee”.
James died for his faith in the Lord, but Peter was rescued. Hebrews 11 tells us some by faith escaped the edge of the sword and some were killed by the sword. The Sovereign Lord decides how he will use each of his faithful servants to advance the kingdom. Peter, later, will also be killed for his faith. Whether we live or die, we should do it for the glory of the Lord. Job, who suffered greatly for the Lord, said “Though he slay me, I will hope in him.” (Job 13:15)
Peter Returned to the Church
12:12-19
Peter went to the house where many of the church members gathered to pray for him. (12) This house was owned by a woman named Mary, the mother of John Mark. (His Jewish name was John, his Roman name was Mark) When he knocked, a servant girl recognized Peter’s voice and ran in to tell everybody, leaving Peter at the gate in her joy and excitement. (14)
Oddly, the people did not believe her. In fact, they said she was out of her mind. They were praying for Peter’s release, yet did not believe he had been released.
If you are going to pray for something, you should believe it when God answers the prayer. We are more likely to think we did it ourselves and not give God credit for it. Here, they seemed to just not believe God could release Peter so quickly. When they finally saw Peter, they were amazed. (16)
Peter told them the story and told them to tell the story to James and the other believers (brothers). This is James the brother of Jesus. James the brother of John had been executed by Herod. Peter wanted them to know he was out of jail and unharmed, but he left for another place, presumably so the guards could not find him. James would later write “the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” or, “the effective prayer of a righteous person has great power”. (James 5:16) He certainly saw this in the rescue of Peter.
We also see here that James has become the leader of the church in Jerusalem.
Acts 15 will bear this out. The leadership of the Jerusalem church has passed from the apostles to the elders, led by James.
Herod was understandably upset since he wanted to use Peter’s death to get favor with the Jews. He had the guards killed, then left for his palace in Caesarea to avoid the anger of the Jews.
The Death of Herod
12:20-25
Luke closed his story with an account of the death of Herod. Herod gave a speech to the people of Tyre and Sidon when they asked for peace. To flatter him, they said his voice was the voice of a god. (22) Herod received their accolades. The Lord struck him down because he did not give God the glory. Peter, in contrast, had not let Cornelius worship him. So, God vindicated his martyred saints by judging their killer.
The church continued to multiply. Barnabas and Saul, having delivered the offering, left Jerusalem and returned to Antioch. They brought John Mark with them. Mark was the cousin of Barnabas. (Colossians 4:10)
From this point on, Luke will focus on the ministry of Saul.
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