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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.
This morning we turn to Acts chapter 12. Up to now we’ve seen a lot of persecution of the new church by the religious leaders of the Jewish people. They didn’t like the fact that these believers in Christ were changing things. Remember they had a pretty lucrative thing going with the sacrifices in the temple and this new faith would essentially end the sacrificial system and cut off their money stream. But to this point in the book of Acts the persecution has all been coming from the Jewish religious leaders and the Jewish people themselves. Here in chapter 12 we’ll see things start to shift. We’ll see the governmental authorities start to get in on the act. So let’s start reading our text for this morning beginning with verse 1 of chapter 12.
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.
So like I said before, here the government starts to get involved in the persecution of the church. King Herod has the apostle James executed and when he sees the reaction of the Jewish people he has Peter arrested as well. Now before I continue I think we need to look a little bit at this Herod because as you read through the gospel accounts and through Acts you will see Herod mentioned several different times. That’s because Herod was a name used almost as a title by several different men throughout this time. These were all members of the same family that has come to be known as the Herodian dynasty and they were installed as rulers over Judea by the Roman Empire. The men from this family were Edomite in origin which means they were descendants of Esau the twin brother of Jacob, the son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham. Now the Edomites had been conquered by the Judean kingdom sometime around 100 or so years before the birth of Christ and they had been forced to convert to Judaism. So these Herodian rulers were raised as Jews religiously, but they were loyal to the Roman Empire because it was the Empire that had placed them in power.
The first Herod is the one we see in the gospels during the account of Jesus’s birth. This is Herod the Great and he’s the one that the wise men visit when they are searching for Jesus. The one we just read about here in these verses is Herod Agrippa who was the grandson of Herod the Great. Like his grandfather he was raised as a Jew so it’s not really surprising to see him opposing this new faith. But with him being the Roman appointed “king” of Judea this put the power of the Roman government behind the persecution.
So as we’ve already seen he has the apostle James killed and then since that seemed to make the Jewish people happy he has Peter arrested and thrown in prison. He assigns four squads of 4 soldiers each to guard him. With 16 men assigned to guard duty there was a constant rotation so Peter was never left alone. In fact, as we’ll see in the next section, he even had guards inside his cell with him. Herod planned to bring Peter out to the people at Passover, probably much like Jesus had been presented to the people by Pontius Pilate. Verse 5 tells us that Peter was being held, awaiting the Passover, but the believers were praying fervently for him.
So Peter is sitting in prison waiting. He probably thinks this is it. He’s been in prison several times before as we’ve already seen, and he’s always been released. But he’s also just seen James killed. There’s not a whole lot of hope this time. If you remember last time we saw him in prison back in chapter 5 he and John are released when an angel opens the doors of the prison and tells them to go stand in the temple and share the gospel. Well, Herod remembers that as well, so he has taken precautions this time. He’s assigned 16 soldiers to guard Peter. That’s their only duty. Make sure he doesn’t go anywhere. So Peter’s sleeping between two of the soldiers and it says he’s bound with two chains. They actually had him chained to these two soldiers. One handcuff around Peter’s left wrist and the other end of it around the right wrist of the soldier on his left. One handcuff around Peter’s right wrist and the other end of it around the left wrist of the soldier on his right. Then there’s a locked door with a soldier standing guard outside. Then there’s another locked door with another soldier standing guard outside there. Then a locked iron gate to get outside the prison and into the city. Nobody is getting out of this prison without somebody catching on. Or so they think.
Now let’s pick up reading with verse 6.
Acts 12:6-10
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 thought he had everything covered. Plenty of guards, plenty of locked doors and gates and he took the extra precaution of having Peter physically chained to two of his guards. He’s not going anywhere. But then the angel shows up. And the chains fall away. And they walk past the guards. And the locked iron gate swings open all by itself. Peter himself thought this was all just a dream. There’s no way he’s just walking out of this prison this easily. He had to be dreaming. But then let’s pick up reading again with verse 11.
Acts 12:11-
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 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.
So the angel brings Peter out and then it disappears. And that’s when Peter finds himself standing alone in the city and he realizes, “Wait a minute. That just happened. For real. That just happened.” So he heads out to this house where he knew a bunch of believers would have gathered together to pray. He knocks on the gate and the servant that answers is so excited when she recognizes his voice that she forgets to open the gate and runs off to tell everybody that their prayers have been answered and Peter is out of prison and standing at the gate. And I love their response to her, “You’re out of your mind!” That’s not the kind of thing we expect to read in the Bible, but if we’re honest, it’s probably pretty accurate to what most of us would say if something like this were to happen today. But eventually they let him in and he explains everything that happened and he tells them to let James and the other apostles know and then he leaves.
Now before we move on, just a quick word of explanation here because many people have questions about this last verse. They wonder how they could tell James anything since he was the one that was executed at the beginning of this chapter. Well it’s a simple answer. This is a different James. Notice back at the beginning of the chapter when it talks about James being executed it refers to him as “James, John’s brother.” This was James and John the sons of Zebedee who were the 3rd and 4th apostles that Jesus called to follow him. (The first 2 were Peter and his brother Andrew.) Most of the time when referring to this James the Bible will pair him with John. At the end of the chapter the James that Peter tells them to tell the story to is James the brother of Jesus. This was one of Mary and Joseph’s other children who had become a believer and would go on to become one of the leaders of the early church.
Now let’s pick up reading and finish out this chapter.
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.
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 flourished and multiplied. 25 After they had completed their relief mission, Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem, taking along John who was called Mark.
Acts 12:18-
The next morning the soldiers wake up and Peter’s gone, again. Herod is understandably not happy. He knew Peter had gotten away last time he was in prison so he had taken all kinds of precautions to make sure he didn’t slip out again. Sixteen different guards on rotating, round the clock shifts, with two of them physically attached to the prisoner at all times and several layers of locked doors and gates. The soldiers explain that, from their perspective anyway since none of them had seen anything, Peter had just disappeared. Herod didn’t like this explanation so he has the guards executed and then he leaves and travels to Caesarea to pout about what had happened.
Acts 12:18
The next morning the soldiers wake up and Peter’s gone, again. Herod is understandably not happy. He knew Peter had gotten away last time he was in prison so he had taken all kinds of precautions to make sure he didn’t slip out again. Sixteen different guards on rotating, round the clock shifts, with two of them physically attached to the prisoner at all times and several layers of locked doors and gates. The soldiers explain that, from their perspective anyway since none of them had seen anything, Peter had just disappeared. Herod didn’t like this explanation so he has the guards executed and then he leaves and travels to Caesarea to pout about what had happened.
And then we get this little side story about the people of Tyre and Sidon. Herod has been angry at them for a while. We don’t know why, but they end up ingratiating themselves to him by getting in with one of his trusted servants and they ask for peace. So Herod sets a day aside and he’s all dressed up in his fanciest robes and sitting on his fanciest throne and he gives this speech probably about how he’s the greatest thing since sliced bread and because he’s so great he’s going to grant peace to these people, blah, blah, blah. And the people start shouting and praising him and saying he’s wonderful and it’s the voice of a god and not of a man. And Herod is eating it all up. He’s loving the attention and the praises and the worship, and God says “Nope.” Because he didn’t give glory to God and took that glory for himself an angel of God strikes him down and he dies and gets eaten by worms. The end. At least it’s the end for Herod, because we get these final two verses.
24 But the word of God flourished and multiplied. 25 After they had completed their relief mission, Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem, taking along John who was called Mark.
So once again, persecution strikes at the church. James is killed, Peter is thrown in prison and things don’t look too good. But once again, “the word of God flourished and multiplied.” Every time the religious leaders, or now the government try to squash this new faith, it just seems to get stronger. Every time someone is killed the faith spreads farther and wider. They tried killing Stephen and the church spread outside of its roots in Jerusalem. They tried killing James and the word of God flourished and multiplied. And remember, they originally tried killing Jesus and he just didn’t stay dead.
What will we do when persecution comes our way? Because make no mistake, eventually persecution will come. It may not, in our lifetime, come to the point of Christians being killed for their faith like Stephen and James, at least not in this country. But it’s already come to that point in other areas around our world. And unless we stand up and share our faith and see a revival in this country, we may see it here too. Maybe we’ve become too complacent, too comfortable in our faith here. Maybe we need persecution to strengthen the body. Just as exercise strengthens the physical body persecution seems to strengthen the church body because every example of persecution in the Bible simply makes the church grow stronger and spread farther. If we don’t stand up and honor God and give him glory, we run the risk of being struck down just like Herod was. But even if we don’t stand up, Jesus tells us in
40 He answered, “I tell you, if they were to keep silent, the stones would cry out.”
Even if we are silent the word of God will flourish and multiply because the very stones will cry out and worship Him. But wouldn’t it be so much better to be one of the ones crying out? To be one of the ones worshipping?
Would you join me in prayer?