BREAKOUT
ACTS 12
If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn’t if follow that electricians can be delighted; musicians denoted; cowboys deranged; models deposed; tree surgeons debarked and dry cleaners depressed? Can a princess be disenchanted? Can married people be decoupled? Can fishermen be debated? Can a King be de-wormed? Acts 12 is a type of flashback, as the events occurred around the time of the offering that was received for the church in Jerusalem. It is a transitional passage, as ir highlights the changes that were occurring in the churches development, with Peter moving out of the lime light, being replaced by Paul.
Breakout is about a number of people breaking out of their boxes. Peter from prison, Barnabas and Saul from minor activity, John Mark from obscurity, James breaking out of the shadows of his brother, as he begins leading the church in Jerusalem, and Herod the King having a breaking out of his own, as we shall see. This story is a sad one of sorts, as it will be Peter’s last major appearance on the stage, although he does show up one more time for a bit role in the drama. Luke’s introduction of John Mark let’s us in on the next major phase of Peter’s activities: the writing of a Gospel. This is a story that oozes the supernatural, as God upholds his churches integrity by striking its enemies and delivering its heroes. It is about prayer. For the church to ignore prayer is like saying, we only want to operate on battery power as Christians. We don’t want to plug into the grid! It is also a story that establishes why we should have the Fear of the Lord in our lives, which grows out of prayer. Observe:
I) REJECTING THE FEAR OF THE LORD (1-6)
1) It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them When Luke uses the phrase “about this time,” he identifies something we have made complex. Many commentators and liberals have argued about the sequence of events and the chronological timing of the events. Herod the King died in 44 AD, with the famine occurring in 46 AD.
While some people say this points to the unreliability of Scripture, there is a stronger argument for the reliability of the record based on the discrepancy, showing us that this is a real document of the era without glosses (editorial changes) or deletions. Ancient historians often wrote their histories based on a grouping of events or material (per species), as opposed to exact chronology. That was their rule and practice. It does not comport to modern standards, but that isn’t the point. It was the accepted standard of their day.
2) He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword James becomes the first apostle to die for his faith. Herod looked at Christians as divisive and contentious. Herod saw the church as an inflamer of Jewish passions and antagonism. This is why he had James the Apostle beheaded in accordance with the Mishna, as Mishna Sanheddrin 9:1, called for murderers and apostates to be beheaded. Herod had a respect for the Jewish way of life and religion. He developed a type of fear for God and Judaism, unlike his grandfather. It is healthy to develop what is called the Fear of the Lord. As Christians we are to fear God’s: Position and His Power. Herod thought he satisfied this, but he actually did the opposite. Fear does means to be terrified, to tremble, or to take flight.
3-5) When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 4After 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. 5So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him
Having a healthy fear of God should drive us toward God, embracing whatever He brings, or allows to come our way, but at the same seeking Him for the way out until all the door close in front of us. While Peter was in prison, the church was praying for him, with fervency. The Greek indicates that they “threw themselves” into intercession. This was not a sleepy or quiet prayer time.
This sudden persecution must have been overwhelming and they responded by crying out for seven days continuously, earnestly and fervently (imperfect in Greek indicates extended time) for one of their beloved leaders. They new they were in a spiritual battle with the unseen rulers that were manipulating Herod. The Family Research Council noted that “Christians who visit the U.S. from some other lands are shocked to discover the prayerlessness that prevails in many of America’s churches.” Jesus said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer…” – (Matthew 21:13). “The core identity of the Church now and in eternity is to be a House of Prayer (Mike Bickle).”
II) EMBRACING THE FEAR OF THE LORD (6-17)
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
What a difference between this Passover and the Passover of 15-20 years earlier! Peter could have fled, but he stayed in spite of James death, bringing stability to the church. He was demonstrating the fear of the Lord over the fear of man.
This passage shows us just how far Peter had come From that that previous Passover. Peter had a reversal: he ran from hardship at the trial of Jesus, and he ran into temptation because of his decision. Now he stood his ground in the face of persecution. We are told that Peter was sleeping firmly between two guards. The Greek doesn’t tell us that he slept like a baby, but he definitely was asleep. When we face temptation – we overcome by running from it. When we face hardship – we overcome by standing up to it.
7-10) 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. 8Then 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. 9Peter 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. 10They 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. The prayers of the people were answered.
10) Most commentators address what they see as a troubling aspect of this story. The problem as they see it is its parallel theme in most ancient cultural traditions, as there is a recurrent telling of stories of doors opening, chains falling off, and heroes being led out of captivity. These stories would have been common knowledge in the first century. This mythological connection has led some rationalists to argue that this escape was an engineered feat from the inside. In other words, it was a man and not an angel that freed Peter. This attempt to explain the story states that the soldiers were drugged and that others may have been bought off in order to get Peter liberated.
I think there is a better explanation. As we should remember, the Book of Acts is probably a legal treatise that was designed to validate Christianity. Attorneys, judges and potentates in the roman arena would be familiar with the loss of belief in the Roman Pantheon and the new reliance upon philosophy among the intelligentsia. As in other previously discussed instances concerning the miraculous, this inclusion of a supernaturally induced prison break would have forced the ancient fables into the picture, with one rather small detail: this was not a tale of fiction it was based on fact. God was proving His superiority over the gods of men once again.
12-16) 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. 13Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14When 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.” 16But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the brothers about this,” he said, and then he left for another place. 18In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.
This is what happened to Peter, and Peter’s response to God’s intervention was much like ours: disbelief. His response was to treat this Theophonic appearance as a vision like his vision on the rooftop: real, but not tangible. This doesn’t invalidate the action of God, it just means we need to get slapped up side the head in order to see His redemption! The churches reaction was the same. They had been praying but apparently were not expecting as miraculous deliverance. It is assumed that there intercession was for Peter’s strengthening, not his release, as he faced his trial and date with the executioner.
It is funny to note how the late night prayer meeting was interrupted by the Apostle’s knocking. The servant girl would have walked down a long hall that separated the meeting room from the street, with an inner courtyard, much like the Spanish style homes in California that have inner courtyards. When she heard the sound of Peter’s voice, the people inside thought she had encountered his guardian angel. Although this may sound odd to us today, this is in accordance with the traditions of the day, as many people believed there were guardian angels who also bore the image of the person they protected.
We build platforms for God to bless us on, like faithfulness to our employers, living responsibly, and taking care of our health. This makes it easy for small blessings to happen all the time. Sometimes circumstances, manipulation and our social conditions make it impossible for the normal measures of deliverance to happen. Like an economic downturn, exposure to pathogens or loss of an industry, not just a job. That’s when God steps in to create His own platform to operate from. God can directly intervene whenever He wants to!
Peter immediately went to one of the main meeting places of the early church: the home of Mary, mother of John Mark, Paul and Barnabas’ companion in contention, As Barnabas tried to get Paul to forgive his cousin for an indiscretion of judgment. Peter’s eventual companion in ministry and the author of The Gospel According to Mark. This is the man who first made his appearance as a boy in Gethsemane’s Garden, running naked into the night.
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 brothers about this,” he said, and then he left for another place. James isn’t the same James of verse two. This is James, the half brother of Jesus, one of the witnesses of the resurrection. He too demonstrates a reversal of conviction. He had probably went with his mother to take Jesus away: A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” (Mark 3:32). Now he is well on his way to becoming one of the three main pillars in the early church: Peter, Paul and James: James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews (Galatians 2:9).
The church was at a crossroad: Peter needed to leave (probably to Babylon and not Rome, where a large community of believers existed outside of Herod’s reach), and the church needed new leadership, especially in Jerusalem. James was a respected Pharisee, who was gifted in the Law, and who comported to Jewish traditions. Peter was suspect, as he hung out with Samaritans and Greeks. James was the right man for the right time. When he eventually died as a martyr, the city mourned his death, Christian and Jew alike.
We see one of the reasons why the history and propriety of interpretation is important with the phrase: “then he left for another place.” The likelihood is Peter never went to Rome until his death. It is taught in apocryphal accounts that are resoundingly rejected by most groups minus the Catholic church. The early Catholic Church also interpreted this story allegorically, saying it represented Peter’s translation into heaven without dying, like Elijah and Enoch. Luke is simply letting us know Peter continued to minister, however he was now going to places that would keep him out of the center spotlight.
III) MISSING THE FEAR OF THE LORD (18-25, 1-5)
18-22) In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there a while. 20He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. Having secured 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. 21On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” 23Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
This new persecution came as trouble from the Jews again at the hand of Herod the King, grandson of Herod the Great. During this time, the Romans had withdrawn from most of Judea into Caesarea.
Herod the King was an interesting character. He was the grandson of Herod the Great. He grew up in Rome and was good friends with some of the men who became Emperor, like Caligula and Claudius. These friends got him out of prison and debt, eventually giving him his Grandfather’s Kingdom back to his family through Herod. King Herod feared men more than he feared God. This led to Peter’s arrest and James death, and this opened Herod up to bad influences. When Herod was in Palestine he acted the part of an observant Jew, when in Rome or Roman territory, he acted pagan, although he helped the Jews regularly. This is why he waited until Passover ended to execute Peter, although he doubled the number of guards to make sure this escape artist wouldn’t disappear in custody again. When Caligula wanted to erect a statue of himself as a god in the Temple in Jerusalem, Herod talked him out of it.
Herod should have feared God. You see, the fear of the Lord grants us protection, and the fear of the Lord opens us up for provision. Fear is more than just respect or awe. Fear of God is the source of life. When we walk in the fear of the Lord, we will inevitably see one breakout after another in our lives, as God demonstrates for us, what he did for Peter: He is supernatural and He can do more than we ever expected. Luke was showing us that God was still with the Jerusalem church even as the church was breaking away from its historic root of Judaism.
24) But the word of God continued to increase and spread. Herod, the source of the churches troubles had a breakout of his own: the worms inside him were breaking out of his intestines. In spite of the persecution, in spite of James death and Peter’s departure, Luke tells us the church in Jerusalem continued to make progress as it grew.
Conclusion: Acts 12:1-24 could be subtitled, from bad to worse… We can experience miracles of deliverance… by understanding the pre-requisite for a miracle: you need one. Expect miracles in hard times. James was dead…Things were not looking good for Peter. Miracles always come in the worst moments in life because we have need and God is not threatened by our dire circumstances. Remember Jesus said: “I will build my church!” “Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life,” (James 1:12). Miracles are not logical, if we can explain it, it probably is not a miracle. Past experience does not determine future possibilities. Your story of faith for the development of faith stories in others.
How we can experience deliverance from God:
1. Expect a miracle (don’t fear hard times)
2. Pray for a miracle (don’t try to understand it)
3. Rest in God (don’t try to fix it yourself)
4. Look for God (don’t just look at the problem)
5. Act on God’s direction (get going)
6. Tell your story (even if it seems crazy)
