Bible Verses About Prisoners

When the Council members heard this, they were enraged, and they resolved to put the apostles to death.

But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a short time.

“Men of Israel,” he said, “consider carefully what you are about to do to these men.

Some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing.

After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and drew away people after him. He too perished, and all his followers were scattered.

So in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone. Let them go! For if their purpose or endeavor is of human origin, it will fail.

But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God.”

At this, they yielded to Gamaliel. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and released them.

The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.

Every day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.

And seeing that this pleased the Jews, Herod proceeded to seize Peter during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

He arrested him and put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out to the people after the Passover.

So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was fervently praying to God for him.

On the night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, with sentries standing guard at the entrance to the prison.

Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists.

“Get dressed and put on your sandals,” said the angel. Peter did so, and the angel told him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”

So Peter followed him out, but he was unaware that what the angel was doing was real. He thought he was only seeing a vision.

They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city, which opened for them by itself. When they had gone outside and walked the length of one block, the angel suddenly left him.

Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.”

And when he had realized this, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered together and were praying.

He knocked at the outer gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it.

When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that she forgot to open the gate, but ran inside and announced, “Peter is standing at the gate!”

“You are out of your mind,” they told her. But when she kept insisting it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”

But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astounded.

Peter motioned with his hand for silence, and he described how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. “Send word to James and to the brothers,” he said, and he left for another place.