NLT Illustrated Study Bible - Book of Acts - Flipbook - Page 38
A cts 1 2 : 3
1994
The Imprisonment and Escape of Peter
3 When Herod saw how much this pleased
the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter.
(This took place during the Passover cele
bration.*) 4 Then he imprisoned him, placing
him under the guard of four squads of four
soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter
out for public trial after the Passover. 5 But
while Peter was in prison, the church prayed
very earnestly for him.
6 The night before Peter was to be placed
on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two
chains between two soldiers. Others stood
guard at the prison gate. 7 Suddenly, there
was a bright light in the cell, and an p angel of
the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck
him on the side to awaken him and said,
“Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his
wrists. 8 Then the angel told him, “Get dressed
and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now
put on your coat and follow me,” the angel
ordered.
9 So Peter left the cell, following the angel.
But all the time he thought it was a vision.
He didn’t realize it was actually happening.
10 They passed the first and second guard
posts and came to the iron gate leading to
the city, and this opened for them all by it
self. So they passed through and started
walking down the street, and then the angel
suddenly left him.
11 Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really
true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and
saved me from Herod and from what the Jew
ish leaders* had planned to do to me!”
12 When he realized this, he went to the
home of Mary, the mother of John Mark,
where many were gathered for prayer. 13 He
knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant
girl named Rhoda came to open it. 14 When
she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so over
joyed that, instead of opening the door, she
ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is
standing at the door!”
15 “You’re out of your mind!” they said.
When she insisted, they decided, “It must
be his angel.”
16 Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking.
When they finally opened the door and
saw him, they were amazed. 17 He motioned
for them to quiet down and told them how
the Lord had led him out of prison. “Tell
James and the other brothers what hap
pened,” he said. And then he went to an
other place.
18 At dawn there was a great commotion
among the soldiers about what had hap
pened to Peter. 19 Herod Agrippa ordered a
thorough search for him. When he couldn’t
be found, Herod interrogated the guards
and sentenced them to death. Afterward
Herod left Judea to stay in Caesarea for a
while.
The Death of Herod Agrippa I
20 Now Herod was very angry with the people
of Tyre and Sidon. So they sent a delegation
to make peace with him because their cit
ies were dependent upon Herod’s country
for food. The delegates won the support of
Blastus, Herod’s personal assistant, 21 and
an appointment with Herod was granted.
When the day arrived, Herod put on his royal
robes, sat on his throne, and made a speech
to them. 22 The people gave him a great ova
tion, shouting, “It’s the voice of a god, not of
a man!”
23Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Her
od with a sickness, because he accepted the
people’s worship instead of giving the glory
to God. So he was consumed with worms and
died.
12:3
Exod 12:15; 23:15
12:410
Acts 5:1825
12:5
Acts 1:14
Eph 6:18
12:7
Acts 5:19
p angelos (0032)
Acts
27:23
12:9
Acts 9:10
12:10
Acts 5:19; 16:26
12:11
Ps 34:7
Dan 3:28; 6:22
2 Pet 2:9
12:12
Acts 12:25; 15:37
Col 4:10
1 Pet 5:13
12:15
Matt 18:10
12:17
Acts 15:13; 21:18
12:19
Acts 8:40; 16:27
12:22
Ezek 28:2
12:23
1 Sam 25:38
2 Sam 24:1617
2 Kgs 19:35
Dan 5:20
12:24
Acts 6:7; 19:20
12:25
Acts 11:2930
The Success of the Mission
24 Meanwhile, the word of God continued to
spread, and there were many new believers.
25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished
their mission to Jerusalem, they returned,*
taking John Mark with them.
12:3 Greek the days of unleavened bread. 12:11 Or the Jewish people. 12:25 Or mission, they returned to Jerusalem. Other
manuscripts read mission, they returned from Jerusalem; still others read mission, they returned from Jerusalem to Antioch.
12:4 Herod had Peter guarded by
four squads of soldiers, making it
humanly impossible for the apostle to
escape (cp. 12:6). However, God was
in charge, and nothing is too hard for
him (cp. 4:2731; Gen 18:14; Jer 32:17,
27; Matt 19:26; Mark 10:27; Luke 1:37;
18:27).
12:5 the church prayed very earnestly:
God answers the earnest prayers of
his people (12:617; see Luke 11:113;
18:18; cp. Matt 7:711; John 15:7; Phil
4:67; Jas 5:16; 1 Jn 3:22).
12:619 God, through an angel, led
Peter out, reunited him with his praying
T H E P E N TAT E U C H
friends, and sent him out to Caesarea to
carry on the work of spreading the Good
News. The message advanced despite
determined opposition.
12:711 See “Angels,” 27:2324.
12:12 The home of Mary, the mother
of John Mark, was evidently a gather
ing place for believers. John Mark later
became a missionary colleague of Barn
abas and Saul (12:25; see “John Mark,”
13:45, 13).
12:1317 Rhoda was so surprised
when Peter appeared that she left
him standing at the closed door.
Both she and the other believers were
ISRAEL’S HISTORY
amazed by God’s answer to their
prayers (12:5).
12:1823 When Peter couldn’t be found
after a careful search, Herod interrogated the guards and put them to death
(cp. 16:27). However, Herod met his own
painful end as a divine judgment on his
conceit when he accepted the people’s
worship. Josephus records the death of
Herod Agrippa I in greater detail (Jose
phus, Antiquities 19.8.12).
12:2425 Herod’s demise from a terrible
illness (12:23) contrasts with the growth of
the Christian church and the unhindered
message of Good News (28:31).
POETRY & WISDOM
