The Apostle Peter's Miraculous Escape From Jail
This week's ongoing Biblical study series for 11/11/22 on the Social Gospel Blog
Peter's Surreal Escape From Prison and Certain Execution
(Acts chapter 12, verses 1-12)
This installment of my Biblical Study Series is from my book,”The Social Gospel Teaching Series Vol. 2: the Acts of the Apostles”, which can be ordered from the author for $19.95. My Pay Pal address is greatestservant62@gmail.com
Last week when we concluded our examination of chapter 11, we found the faithful in the city of Antioch had taken up a collection of essentials and other valuables to send to the believers in Jerusalem during the famine that occurred during the reign of Emperor Claudius. This occurred around the year 40AD, give or take a few years. This was evidently done at the request of those in Jerusalem, who were said to be in dire straights. Everyone gave whatever they could spare on a voluntary basis, there was no mandatory 10 percent ‘tithing’ like there is today.
Another Persecution Breaks Out
But this week as we move on to chapter 12, we find the apostle Luke once again presenting the reader with a change of scenery. Another persecution has broken out, this time at the hands of King Herod. The "King Herod” mentioned in Acts chapter 12 is identified as Herod Agrippa, the grand-son of King Herod in Matthew chapter 2, verses 13-18 whose name lives in infamy as a mass killer of innocent babies. And so let's all begin right there at verse one.
Part One of This Week’s Study Verses
“1) It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2) He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3) When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4) After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. 5) So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. 6) The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7) Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.” (Acts chapter 12, verses 1-7)
A Tale of Two King Herod’s
We have all seen in our past studies that the first great persecution of Christians happened just after the public execution of Steven back in Acts chapter 7 (you can find that particular study from this link). The instigator then was the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council in Jerusalem. This time it was King Herod, who was a Roman puppet governor appointed by the emperor, and who ruled with an iron hand just like his predecessors. One of his first acts was to execute the apostle James, author of the epistle by the same name. So the apostle James was the first of the Twelve to meet his fate at the hands of his Roman abusers. James was allowed to go home and be with the Lord, but when Herod went after Peter, it was a totally different story, as we saw beginning in verse 7.
The High Holy Day of Passover
...“This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. After arresting him, he put him in prison.” My long-time readers will recall that the Feast of Unleavened Bread is an integral part of the celebration of Passover, an important Jewish holiday that occurs every spring, but not always on the same date due to differences between the Western and Hebrew calendars. You will also recall that this occurred during the life of Christ the same week he was crucified, a striking parallel to be sure.
The Overwhelming Power of Prayer
But in Peter's case it was not to be. Instead, he finds himself awakened in the middle of the night. “So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers....” Notice the apostle Luke's recurring theme throughout his writings – prayer! The entire church, all who had heard of the apostle Peter's incarceration and impending execution, prayed earnestly and without ceasing as far as it was humanly possible.
The Contrast Between Spiritual Light and Darkness Defined
As we can see here in verse 7, the prayers of the church were answered. “Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.” That angel didn't need a key, he unlocked Peter's chains with a mere thought. While I have never seen anyone do anything like that, it's important for us to remember that our thoughts do matter. Positive thoughts yield positive results, and negative thought yield negative results. Positive thought comes from the Light, and negative thoughts come from darkness. So, that angel knew exactly what he was doing. Notice that his command to “Get up!” and the falling of Peter's chains occurred all at once. That was not a coincidence. And now lets move on to the second half of this week's study, beginning at verse 8.
Part Two of This Week’s Study Verses
“8) Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. 9) Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10) They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. 11) Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.” 12) When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.”
Nothing Is Impossible With God
So here we can see that Peter is being led out of prison – except he doesn't realize it at first. It seems the old adage about believing only half of what you see and none of what you hear goes back at least 2 thousand years (and probably much further than that). “Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision.” So the apostle Peter is having a surrealistic experience, or so he thinks, having related all this to Luke much later. “They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself....” Here we are once again seeing locks that unlock themselves without being touched. About this I can only quote Jesus: 'Nothing is impossible with God', which I have paraphrased from Matthew 19: 26.
Divine Intercession On Peter’s Behalf
So if there's anything in anyone's life who is reading this, anything at all that you are ready to give up on, call on God to help you perform the impossible. You can't do these things by yourself, but with God you can do anything you set your mind to. The apostle Peter had come to this same realization as he said to himself, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.” When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.” Peter could have done none of this – anything at all, for that matter – if it weren't for the Divine intervention of the angel who set him free. The angel had been sent by God himself, specifically by the Holy Spirit, to get the Lord's business taken care of.
Everything Is Sacred Because God Made It All
The salvation of Christ is quite similar to Peter's being let out of jail. There was no way Peter was getting out of that jail without help. Otherwise, he would have surely been executed the very next morning. In much the same way, there is simply no way anyone can escape the fires of hell except by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. I know, I know, there are a lot of people who don't believe in, or have stopped believing in, God and heaven and hell. Let me caution all of you to stop listening to and watching so many TV shows, movies and listening to music that is devoid of any Spirituality. They have a deeply negative effect on the human mind due to the subliminal messages embedded within them. There are, on the other hand, certain things in life that are sacred, starting with God and all He has created. So not only is every form of life sacred, from the lowest single-celled creature to human beings, and everything in between, but all life is sacred because Almighty God their creator is sacred. And you can't touch that. Come back next week, when we'll finish up Acts chapter 12.
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