READING THE BOOK OF ACTS: CHAPTER 12

 READING THE BOOK OF ACTS: CHAPTER 12

Wednesday, September 7, 2022

 CONTEXT FOR ACTS, CHAPTER 12

When Acts 12 opens, at least some of the apostles are in Jerusalem, and Barnabas and Saul are in Syrian Antioch, collecting support so the church in Jerusalem can survive the coming famine. (Acts 11:27-30. The church is established in Jerusalem and growing in the regions on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea. When the chapter closes, Barnabas and Saul are poised for their missionary trip in modern-day Asia Minor. Saul will take on the Greek version of his name, Paul and the story of Jesus will spread to Rome and beyond.  (https://www.bibleref.com/Acts/12/Acts-chapter-12.html)

1) Verses 1-10, Peter's Miraculous Escape from Prison, (Part 1) MRS. ELNORA

12 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. 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.

NOTATIONS:

SECTION QUESTIONS:

1. What is the Festival of Unleavened Bread?

2. How was Peter guarded in prison? (V.4,6)

3. What happened the night before Peter was to be tried? (V.7)

4. What did Peter think about the angel appearing to him? (V.9)

5. What did the angel do for Peter? (V.10)

2) Verses 11-19, Peter's Miraculous Escape from Prison, (Part 2) JEANNIE

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. ¹³ Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. ¹⁴ When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!” ¹⁵ “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.” ¹⁶ But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. ¹⁷ Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place. ¹⁸ In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. ¹⁹ After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.

NOTATIONS:

The church faced a seemingly impossible situation. The very existence of the early church seemed to be at stake. What did they do" What are you to do in situations that are seemingly impossible? We see the answer in verse 5: The church was earnestly praying to God for Peter. We can influence the course of history through prayer.

{Insert picture of Devotional here}

The prayers of the church were effective and powerful! God responded in a supernatural way to their intercession. The chains were miraculously broken and fell off Peter without anyone touching them. The prison guards could do nothing to stop this from happening. In verse 13 Peter shows up at the prayer meeting! Even though they were praying for Peter, the fact that God answered their prayers blew their minds. They were shocked and couldn't believe this was happening. Rhoda forgot to open the door and let Peter in when she heard his voice at the door.

So, despite the enemy's every attempt to stop the Word of God from spreading, it continues to spread. At the beginning of this chapter, James is dead, Peter is in prison, and Herod is seemingly victorious. But, that's not how this chapter will end...

SECTION QUESTIONS:

1. What happened when Peter went to Mary's house? (V.17)

2. What did Herod do to the guards after Peter couldn't be found? (V.19)

3) Verses 20-25, Herod's Death, DESTINY

²⁰ He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply. ²¹ On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. ²² They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” ²³ Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. ²⁴ But the word of God continued to spread and flourish. ²⁵ When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from^[a] Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.

NOTATIONS:

SECTION QUESTIONS:

1. Why and how did Herod die? (V.23)

2. This chapter began with James dead, Peter in prison, and King Herod seemingly victorious. How does the chapter end?

The Greek City of Antioch, Changed

The Greek city of Antioch was one of the wealthiest capital cities in the East. It was popular because of its culture and sophisticated structures. Much like the larger popular cities of today, it was a place of corruption and widespread Godlessness. Can you imagine New York transformed into a city of peace and Christian morals? This is what happened to Antioch because of the ministry of Barnabas, Peter, Paul, and the other apostles. In chapter 11, verse 21 said that the Lord's hand was with them and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

A Prayer Confession

Dear Heavenly Father, 

Help us to pray like the early church. Be with us like you were with Peter and Paul. We ask that you remove the Herods of our world today. Give us the strength to proclaim the Word of God and spread the Gospel with unwavering faith through the power of the Holy Spirit. Protect us from seen and unseen dangers. Give us the courage and bravery to speak your Word with authority and boldness as in the anointing of Peter. As you spoke through the angel to Peter in our study, speak to us by your Holy Spirit. Reveal to us what you are calling us to do. We declare and decree that many people will believe and turn to Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh, and experience triumph and victory over their situations and circumstances in life.

In Jesus' name we pray, amen.