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Acts 12

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Herod Persecutes the Church 1–5

1
Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. ​
2
And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. ​
3
And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) ​
4
And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. ​
5
Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. ​

Peter's Miraculous Deliverance 6–11

6
And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.
7
And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. ​
8
And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.
9
And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. ​
10
When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him. ​
11
And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews. ​

Peter Reaches the Praying Community 12–19

12
And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying. ​
13
And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda.
14
And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate.
15
And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel. ​
16
But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.
17
But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place. ​
18
Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter.
19
And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode. ​

The Death of Herod Agrippa I 20–23

20
And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king's country. ​
21
And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. ​
22
And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. ​
23
And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. ​

The Word of God Grows 24–25

24
But the word of God grew and multiplied. ​
25
And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Acts 12

Verse 1

stretched forth his hands to vex — The phrase is the idiom of laying hands on, as in Christ’s ‘ye stretched forth no hands against me’ (Luke 22:53). ‘Vex’ is kakoo, to injure or do harm. Herod’s blow falls on ‘certain of the church’, as Christ had said, ‘If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you’ (John 15:20).

Verse 2

James the brother of John — He was one of the sons of Zebedee called from the nets (Matt 4:21). Jesus had told him and John, ‘Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of’ (Mark 10:39). The killing ‘with the sword’ (machaira) is told in a single line, with no speech from James or any account of his trial.

Verse 3

days of unleavened bread — The feast of ‘seven days’ began on the fifteenth of the first month, the day after the passover (Lev 23:5–6). Herod acts during it, ‘because he saw it pleased the Jews’. The rulers had once said of Christ, ‘Not on the feast day’ (Matt 26:5); Herod keeps Peter for after it (v.4).

Verse 4

four quaternions of soldiers — Tetradion, a squad of four, found only here. Four squads make sixteen soldiers, of whom two are chained to Peter in v.6. Easter is pascha, ‘Passover’, as the KJV renders it in its twenty-eight other occurrences; this is the only ‘Easter’ in the KJV, and here it means the Passover season of vv.3–4.

Verse 5

prayer was made without ceasing — Ektenes, ‘stretched out’, intent. The adjective occurs only here and in 1 Pet 4:8, ‘fervent charity’. The church answers the arrest with prayer, and the prayer is still going on when the answer reaches the door (vv.12–16).

Verse 7

the angel of the Lord came upon him — The same deliverance as Acts 5:19, when ‘the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors’. ‘Smote’ is patasso, a blow to wake him; the same verb is used of the angel’s stroke on Herod in v.23. ‘The LORD looseth the prisoners’ (Ps 146:7).

Verse 9

thought he saw a vision — Horama, something seen. Peter ‘wist not that it was true’ (alethes), and knows only in v.11. He had known a vision before, at Joppa (Acts 10:17). The state resembles Ps 126:1, ‘When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.’

Verse 10

of his own accord — Automatos, self-moved, occurs in the New Testament only here and in Mark 4:28, of the earth that ‘bringeth forth fruit of herself’. The ‘first and the second ward’ are the guards of v.6 passed in turn; the iron gate opens without hand, and the angel leaves him in the street.

Verse 11

come to himself — This is the phrase of the prodigal in Luke 15:17. Peter’s ‘Now I know of a surety’ answers his not knowing in v.9. ‘Expectation’ is prosdokia, anticipated harm, used elsewhere only in Luke 21:26. His words echo Dan 6:22: ‘My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths.’

Verse 12

Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark — The house of Mary is where the prayer of v.5 is still going on. John Mark returns in v.25 and in 15:37; Paul calls him ‘Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas’ (Col 4:10), and Peter writes, ‘Marcus my son’ (1 Pet 5:13).

Verse 15

It is his angel — This is the household’s reply to Rhoda. ‘Constantly affirmed’ is diischurizomai, used elsewhere only in Luke 22:59, of the one who ‘confidently affirmed’ that Peter was with Jesus. ‘Their angels’ of the little ones (Matt 18:10) may lie behind the saying. Prayer was answered before it was believed.

Verse 17

Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren — The apostle James is dead (v.2), so this is James the Lord’s brother (Gal 1:19), who answers the gathered church in Acts 15:13 and receives Paul in Acts 21:18. ‘Beckoning’ is kataseio, the signal for silence Paul also uses (Acts 13:16; 21:40).

Verse 19

commanded that they should be put to death — The keepers answer with their lives for the empty chains, the outcome the jailer at Philippi feared when he saw the doors open (Acts 16:27). Herod then ‘went down from Judaea to Caesarea’, the place of his death in vv.21–23.

Verse 20

Tyre and Sidon — Their country was ‘nourished by the king’s country’, as when Solomon gave Hiram ‘twenty thousand measures of wheat’ (1 Kgs 5:11) and Judah and Israel ‘traded in thy market wheat of Minnith’ (Ezek 27:17). Their food depended on his, so they sought peace through Blastus, ‘the king’s chamberlain’.

Verse 21

sat upon his throne — ‘Throne’ is bema, the raised seat of a ruler or judge, rendered ‘judgment seat’ in Acts 18:12; 25:6; Rom 14:10. ‘Made an oration’ is one word, demegoreo, to address a public assembly, found only here. Herod appears ‘upon a set day’ in ‘royal apparel’.

Verse 22

the voice of a god — This is the crowd’s shout. Peter had refused such worship (Acts 10:26, ‘I myself also am a man’), as Paul and Barnabas did at Lystra after ‘The gods are come down to us’ (Acts 14:11, 14–15). The LORD’s word to the prince of Tyrus was, ‘thou hast said, I am a God… yet thou art a man, and not God’ (Ezek 28:2).

Verse 23

he gave not God the glory — The LORD says, ‘my glory will I not give to another’ (Isa 42:8). ‘Smote’ is patasso again, as in v.7; ‘eaten of worms’ (skolekobrotos) appears only here; ‘gave up the ghost’ (ekpsycho) is used three times, here and of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:5, 10).

Verse 24

the word of God grew and multiplied — The two verbs, auxano and plethuno, are those of Acts 7:17, ‘the people grew and multiplied in Egypt’, while Pharaoh oppressed them. The word of God does the same here, after James is killed, Peter jailed and Herod dead. Cf. Acts 6:7; 19:20.

Verse 25

John, whose surname was Mark — Barnabas and Saul had come to Jerusalem to bring relief to the brethren in Judaea (Acts 11:29), their ‘ministry’ (diakonia). They take with them the son of the house of v.12, who is with them as helper in 13:5; at 15:37 Barnabas wishes to take him again.