110. PETER ESCAPES FROM PRISON

"The Lord hath sent His angel and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod"

Aim

To show how God listened to the prayers of the brethren and sisters and set Peter free.

About eleven years had passed since the Lord Jesus had ascended into heaven. In this time thousands of Jews had been converted to the Gospel and now the work was spreading to the Gentiles. But many Jews still persecuted the ecclesia, trying hard to stop the work of the Apostles.

Acts 12

THE DEATH OF JAMES (vv. 1-2)

Herod Agrippa, grandson of Herod the Great, had not long returned from Rome and wanted to make himself popular with the Jews. He had noticed the hatred the Jews felt for the followers of Jesus (now also called Christians -Acts. 11:26) and decided that the quickest way to please them was to put to death important members of the ecclesia. Herod Agrippa was a very evil man. He began his wicked plan by taking James, the brother of John, and with great cruelty, he had him publicly beheaded. The brethren and sisters were greatly shocked, and fear fell upon them all. The Jews, however, were very pleased. They hoped that if Herod kept this up they would get rid of the Christians altogether.

PETER IS IMPRISONED (vv. 3-4)

When Herod saw how pleased the Jews were at the death of James, he decided to arrest Peter. He realised how important Peter had become, and what effect his imprisonment and death would have on the ecclesia. It was not, however, a suitable time to kill Peter as it was now the Passover Feast and Herod did not want the Jews to think he would break their laws.

Peter was put into prison until the end of the seven days' Feast of Unleavened Bread which was a part of the Passover Feast. Every care was taken to see there was no possible way for him to escape. Sixteen soldiers (four quaternions) were given the charge to watch over him.

PRAYER IS MADE FOR PETER (vv. 5,12)

Peter's imprisonment drew the members of the ecclesia very closely together. Day and night they met together and prayer was made continually for the beloved apostle's safety. The seven-day Feast was fast drawing to its close, and still Herod had not changed his mind. The next morning Peter would be put to death. There was nothing the ecclesia could do except pray to God for Peter's release and safety. A very anxious group gathered together in the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where they planned to spend the whole night in prayer.

PETER ESCAPES FROM PRISON (vv. 6-11)

Although the ecclesia was very anxious, Peter remained quite calm. Throughout the long week he also had prayed and now was quite ready to suffer whatever would take place on the following day. He slept bound to two guards with a double chain, while two other guards kept watch outside the door of the prison cell.

Suddenly a bright light filled the dark prison and Peter felt himself being struck on the side and lifted. A voice said to him, "Arise up quickly." Peter saw the angel of God standing there. The chains fell from his hands and he stood up. "Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals," commanded the angel. Again Peter obeyed. It all seemed to Peter like a dream, but he did as he was told, pulling his cloak about him. Through the power of God they passed unseen by the guards both inside and outside the cell. At last they reached the large, heavy outer gate of the prison, which opened by itself as they approached. Then they were outside the prison and Peter was free. Immediately the angel left him and, as Peter stood alone in the darkness of the deserted Jerusalem street, he realised that God had delivered him from Herod.

"Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath sent His angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod." (v. 11)

The work of James, the son of Zebedee, had been finished but Peter's great strength and leadership were still needed in the ecclesia. It was for this reason that God had rescued him.

PETER COMES TO MARY'S HOUSE (vv. 12-17)

Peter thought of those anxious brethren and sisters who had gathered at Mary's house. Even though it was very late, he went straight there and knocked on the outside door. It was locked because those inside were fearful of Herod and the Jews. A young maid named Rhoda came to the door to ask who was there. When she heard Peter's voice she was so excited that she ran back inside to tell the others. Those inside did not believe her and said, "Thou art mad." But Rhoda insisted that she had not imagined it - Peter was truly there. So then they said, "It is his angel." They could not believe it could be Peter himself.

Outside Peter kept on knocking until they finally opened the door and were astonished to see the beloved apostle standing there.

He described how God had sent His angel to set him free and told them to let James (the brother of Jesus) and the other brethren know. Then, without waiting any longer, he went to find another place to hide from Herod.

GOD PUNISHES WICKED HEROD (vv. 18-23)

In the morning "there was no small stir among the soldiers", as to what was become of Peter (v. 18). Herod sent for Peter, only to find that he was missing. No one could explain what had happened, but € Peter was no longer in prison. It seemed to Herod that the jailors had helped the apostle to escape; so he ordered them to be put to death.

It seems that Herod gave up any further plans to capture the apostles at that time because he left Jerusalem and went down to Caesarea to live (v. 19).

Not long after this, at a public meeting, Herod made a speech and the people, wanting to flatter him, cried out, "It is the voice of a god and not of a man" (v. 22). Lifted up in his heart with pride, the king accepted the praise and immediately the angel of the Lord smote him. "He was eaten of worms" and died (v. 23).

LESSON FOR US

Jesus once taught, "Men ought always to pray, and not to faint", or lose heart (Luke 18:1).

God does answer our prayers and He can do far above all that we ask or think (Eph. 3:20). However, His answer is not always what we expect. Sometimes it is "yes", sometimes "no", sometimes "wait". Sometimes, when God answers our prayers (as He did that night when He set Peter free), we are like those brethren who almost refused to believe that their prayers had been answered.

Let us trust in God and pray to Him always. Then, no matter what trouble we may be in, we will not be fearful, knowing that He is watching over us.

QUESTIONS

Short Answers

1. Why did Herod put James, the brother of John, to death?

2. At what feast of the Jews was Peter imprisoned?

3. How well-guarded was Peter?

4. What did Herod plan to do to Peter?

5. What did the ecclesia do when Peter was put into prison?

1. What is the name of the young person who came to the door when Peter knocked?

6. Why did she not let him, in?

7. What did the brethren say whey they heard her story?

8. How did God punish Herod Agrippa?

Detailed Answers

10. In order to please the Jews in Jerusalem, Herod Agrippa put Peter in prison.

1. Why were so many brethren and sisters gathered together so late at night in Mary's house?

2. Tell what happened when they heard someone knocking at the door.

11. Tell how Peter escaped from prison.

12. Herod's wicked plan failed.

1. What did he do when he found that Peter had escaped?

2. How did God punish Herod?

13. (a) Does God always answer our prayers?

(b) Does God always answer our prayers in the way we might expect?