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Scripture Reading: Acts 12:1-24
In this message we shall consider 12:1-24, a parenthetical section concerning Peter in his ministry.
Why is there the need for such a parenthetical section as 12:1-24 to be inserted here? All the writers of the New Testament were inspired by the Spirit to select the proper material for their composition so that their writing might reach the goal. Based upon this principle, we need to consider why Luke, the writer of the book of Acts, inserted the instance recorded in 12:1-24 at this point. Surely the Holy Spirit within Luke must have had a goal in doing this.
In 11:1-18 Peter related to those in Jerusalem how the door was opened for the Gentiles to come into the kingdom of God. According to 11:18, those who heard these things were silent and glorified God. They could only say, “Then also to the Gentiles God has given repentance unto life.” In the remainder of chapter eleven (vv. 19-30) Luke tells us about the spread of the gospel to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch through the scattered disciples and about the communication between the church in Antioch and the churches in Judea. Barnabas was sent out from Jerusalem to visit the places where the Lord’s work was spreading. When he came to Antioch, he realized that there was the need for ministry. Therefore, he brought Saul to Antioch to help in meeting the need there. It was through this that Saul was brought into the service in the church and was initiated into his ministry.
Saul’s preaching in Damascus was quite prevailing, and he even had disciples. But that was not the right time for him to be fully initiated into the New Testament ministry. We may say that Saul’s preaching in Damascus was something done on his own.
Three brothers were especially related to Saul: Stephen, Ananias, and Barnabas. Through Stephen Saul heard the gospel for the first time. Through Ananias he was brought into the identification with the Body. Then through Barnabas Saul was brought into the fellowship in Jerusalem. Although he was brought into the fellowship at that time, he was not yet brought into the ministry. He was not at that time fully initiated into the New Testament economy. Sometime after Saul left Jerusalem for Tarsus, the time became right for Barnabas to find him and bring him to Antioch. Only when Saul was brought to Antioch by Barnabas was he brought into the service for the churches in an absolute way. We see this in the disciples in Antioch sending their material gift to the brothers in Judea through the hand of Barnabas and Saul. Here we see that Barnabas and Saul were assigned to bring the gifts from Antioch to help the saints in Judea. In this way Saul was brought into a service that was recognized by all the churches. Furthermore, after Barnabas and Saul returned to Antioch from Jerusalem, Saul entered fully into the New Testament ministry. Therefore, Saul’s initiation into the service of the churches and fully into the New Testament ministry took place in 11:19 through 12:25, with 12:1-24 being a parenthetical section related to Peter, not Saul, inserted in the record.
It seems that Peter’s ministry has waned by 11:18. Then in 11:19 we have the beginning of the full initiation of Saul’s ministry. This initiation is completed at 12:25. Then, as we shall see, his ministry begins fully in 13:1.
Now we need to consider the reason Luke inserted a section concerning Peter. Actually, this section has nothing to do with Peter’s ministry. Rather, it records a miracle through which Peter was rescued from prison. What is the reason for this insertion? What was Luke’s goal in recording it?
Suppose the account concerning Peter and his ministry ended at 11:18. What kind of impression would we have of Peter? Peter was not bold in relating what took place in the house of Cornelius. If Peter had been bold, he might have said, “Brothers, the Lord Jesus told us that we should be His witnesses to the remotest part of the earth. What, then, was wrong for me to go into the house of a Roman centurion in Caesarea?” But instead of being bold, Peter was very cautious. Galatians 2 confirms the fact that Peter had a problem concerning the association of Jewish and Gentile believers. In this matter he was not strong. Therefore, when he was asked concerning it, he was not bold to answer.
In Acts 1:8 the Lord Jesus prophesied and commanded, saying, “You shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the remotest part of the earth.” Paul may have endeavored to fulfill this word when he intended to go to Spain. In his heart there may have been the thought that if he could go to Spain, he would reach the uttermost part of the earth. Paul’s intention was to fulfill the Lord’s commandment in Acts 1:8.
Peter should have remembered the Lord’s word in 1:8 when he was speaking with those of the circumcision in Acts 11. That word would have given him the ground to be bold in his speaking. However, Peter did not give a bold testimony. Rather, he spoke in a nice, cautious way, and even used six brothers to cover him.
Without the insertion of 12:1-24, we may not have a favorable impression of Peter, especially of his ministry. We perhaps would have doubts concerning him. Therefore, as he was writing about the initiation of Paul’s ministry, Luke took up the burden to insert something in order to strengthen the positive impression he has given his readers regarding Peter. This, I believe, is the first reason for this insertion.
A second reason for this insertion is to show that the persecution of the church and the apostles came not only from the source of Jewish religion but also from Roman politics. Acts 12:1 and 2 say, “Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some from the church to mistreat them. And he did away with James, the brother of John, with the sword.” This was Herod, Agrippa I, whose successor was King Agrippa (II) in 25:13. Both were different from Herod the tetrarch in 13:1. Thus far the church suffered persecution only from the Jewish religion. Now Gentile politics began to participate in the persecution in cooperation with the Jewish religion (v. 11). The Jewish religion joined with the Roman government to execute the Lord Jesus. Here in chapter twelve of Acts Luke shows us that the persecution now comes from Roman politics as well as from the Jewish religion. Luke’s insertion of 12:1-24 indicates this.
According to Acts 12, Herod mistreated a number of the saints. In particular, he slew James, the brother of John. “And when he saw that it was pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also....And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four squads of soldiers to guard him....Peter therefore was kept in the prison” (vv. 3-5). When the Sanhedrin arrested Peter and the other apostles, they were put into the outer prison. Herod, however, put Peter into the inner prison where he was guarded by four squads of soldiers. Literally, the Greek word for “squads” means quaternions. A quaternion was a group of four soldiers. Luke’s intention is to show us that Roman politics joined the Jewish religion to persecute the church.
Furthermore, Luke’s narration in 12:1-24 makes Peter a hero. This Christian hero suffered persecution both from the Jewish religion and from Roman politics. This leaves us with a very positive impression concerning Peter. As we read chapter twelve, we receive the impression that Peter was a hero.
In 12:5b-19a we see that Peter was rescued by the Lord in a miraculous way. Herod exercised his authority to put Peter into the inner prison, where he was chained to two guards, one on his right and the other on his left. Herod was waiting until after the Passover to bring Peter out to the Jewish people (v. 4), for he thought that this would be very pleasing to the Jews. “When Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping in that night between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards before the door were keeping the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the cell; and striking Peter’s side, he roused him, saying, Rise up quickly! And the chains fell off his hands” (vv. 6-7). As Peter went out and followed the angel, “he did not know that what was taking place through the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision” (v. 9). The angel led Peter past the guards and through an iron gate, “which opened of itself to them; and going out they went forward one lane; and immediately the angel departed from him” (v. 10). Then Peter realized that what was happening to him was not a vision but was real. “Peter came to himself and said, Now I surely know that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me out of Herod’s hand and from all the expectation of the Jewish people. And when he became aware of this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was surnamed Mark, where a considerable number were assembled together praying” (vv. 11-12).
When a maiden named Rhoda recognized Peter’s voice and reported to those in the house that Peter was standing before the entry, they said, “It is his angel” (vv. 13-15). Not only Peter as an apostle had an angel; even the little ones among the believers have their angels (Matt. 18:10), who are servants to the believers who inherit God’s salvation.
Eventually, when those in the house saw Peter, they were amazed (v. 16). “Motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he related to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison, and said, Report these things to James and the brothers” (v. 17). This indicates that James was a leader among the apostles and elders in Jerusalem (see 15:13; 21:18; Gal. 1:19; 2:9, 12).
Acts 12:18-19b say, “Now when it became day, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. And when Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.” Everything was ready for Peter to be brought out of prison and presented to the people, with one exception — the prisoner had disappeared. What a shame that was to Herod! Herod was angry and commanded that the guards be executed.
Although Herod was shamed by Peter’s rescue from prison, he was still arrogant, and he still uplifted himself. We are told that “he was furious with the Tyrians and Sidonians; and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country was fed by the king’s country” (v. 20). Because Herod’s country was rich and supplied food to Tyre and Sidon, the people there were afraid of Herod. They were concerned that their supply of food would be cut off, and they did something to please Herod. “On an appointed day Herod, having arrayed himself in royal clothing, sat on the judgment seat and made an oration to them. And the populace cried out, The voice of a god and not of a man! And instantly an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give the glory to God; and he was eaten by worms and expired” (vv. 21-23). It seems that Herod did not die immediately when the angel of the Lord struck him. Rather, this arrogant, God-insulting person was eaten by worms.
The account of Herod’s fate recorded in 12:19b-23 is related to Peter’s suffering and to his being presented as a hero. I believe that Luke’s intention in inserting this section into the narrative is to keep us from having a negative impression of Peter. On the contrary, our impression of him should be very positive, for the record concerning him and his ministry ends with such a miracle. This confirms the fact that even though Peter’s ministry was waning, the Lord was still with him and for him.
Because the account regarding Peter ends in a heroic way, we should never depreciate Peter or his ministry. Although we do not agree with the Roman Catholic Church in uplifting Peter as a pope, we recognize that he and his ministry were very good. The record of his ministry is the record of a hero approved by God. Therefore, we should not uplift Paul and depreciate Peter. If we do this, we are like the Corinthians, for we shall be saying that we are of Paul and not of Peter. Because Peter was truly a hero in the Lord’s move, we need to respect him.
There are a number of other matters in 12:1-24 that we need to consider. First, when Peter was in prison, “prayer was being made fervently by the church to God concerning him” (v. 5). This indicates that behind the scene there was a battle between spiritual forces, a battle between God and His enemy, Satan. Apparently the conflict was between Herod and Peter; actually it was between God and His enemy. No doubt, Herod was instigated by Satan. Satan was behind him and even within him. Therefore, the church fought the battle with God against Satan, the evil one.
This battle was fought not by the flesh but by prayer. The church prayed, and the weapon used by the church to defeat Herod and the spiritual force behind him was not of the flesh but of the Spirit.
Second, in 12:12 we see that in the house of Mary a considerable number were assembled together praying. This indicates that the prayer concerning Peter was offered mainly in the home of a sister. From this we see that in the church life the sisters should take the lead in the matter of prayer. According to the basic principle in the Word, the activities should be carried out by the brothers, and for the most part the sisters should do the supporting work behind the scene. The main supporting work is to pray. This was exactly the situation in Peter’s case. After he was released, he went to Mary’s house, where many of the saints were still praying.
In Acts 12 we see that the Lord is truly the Lord; He is the Ruler of the kings. Herod the king was arrogant, but Jesus the Ruler was above him. The Lord Jesus exercised His lordship to send an angel to deal with Herod, one who had been instigated, usurped, and used by Satan. Here we clearly see that the Lord fought the battle and won.
Finally, 12:24 says, “But the word of God grew and multiplied.” The previous verse says that Herod was eaten by worms and expired. Then this verse begins with “but.” Herod expired, but the word of God grew. The word of God is actually the Lord Himself because the word is the container of the Lord. Therefore, for the word of God to grow actually means that the Lord grew.
Acts 12:24 says that the word of God not only grew but also multiplied. The word does not grow and multiply in itself. Rather, the word grows with the believers and multiplies with the church. When the believers grow, the word within them grows. When the churches multiply, the word multiplies within the churches. The fact that the word of God grew and multiplied indicates that in ancient times the believers and the churches were filled with the word and were one with the word. This is a strong sign of the Lord’s victory in His battle against the evil one.
The growth and multiplication of the word in 12:24 was the result, the issue, of Peter’s ministry. Therefore, this verse indicates that Peter’s ministry concluded in a victorious way. The last word concerning his ministry in Acts is that the word of God grew and multiplied. This is a glorious and victorious ending of Peter’s ministry.
Furthermore, this verse is a declaration of the Lord’s move on earth from Jerusalem, through Samaria, to the Gentile world. The Lord’s move from chapter two to the end of chapter twelve was altogether victorious over the situation. His move in His ministry for the propagation of the resurrected Christ was victorious not only over Jewish religion but also over Roman politics.
Since the record concerning Peter’s ministry in Acts concludes in a victorious way, we should not belittle Peter. The New Testament says clearly that Peter was appointed only for the circumcision, whereas Paul was appointed for the uncircumcision. They were in two regions of the New Testament ministry. As an insertion into the record in Acts, 12:1-24 proves that God’s move is victorious in all circumstances.
