Acts 12:1-24

12:1-3 | Herod killed James the brother of John (Matt. 4:21), not James the half-brother of Jesus (Mark 6:3). Herod likely thought that if he killed one of the leaders of the Jerusalem church, it would discourage other believers and please the Jews.

12:3-4 | To kill Peter when he was seized – during the Days of Unleavened Bread following Passover (Ex. 23:15) – would have interrupted the feast and stirred up the Jews. Peter was heavily guarded because Herod was concerned he would escape from prison as he had once before.

12:5 | Something stronger than Herod’s army was at work: constant prayer was offered for Peter by the church. The Greek word for constant is a medical term used to describe the stretching of a muscle to its limits. “Earnest” would be another way to translate the nature of their prayers. The faith of the saints was being stretched.

12:6-7 | Only the sovereign God knows why Peter was rescued while James was killed. Although God’s people may not always perceive His answers to prayer as “good,” they can trust that their heavenly Father knows what is good (Rom. 8:28-29).

12:8-19 | Whereas an actual angel of the Lord freed Peter from prison, the statement It is his angel reflects a (non-biblical) tradition in Judaism at the time. Peter’s friends were saying they did not believe God had rescued him, but that he had been killed, and the voice Rhoda heard at the door was that of Peter’s angel.

12:18-19 | Under ancient Roman law, any guard who allowed a prisoner to escape was liable for the same penalty that was due the prisoner. In Peter’s case, that meant death.

12:19 | Herod had killed his wife and sons because he thought they were rivals for his throne. No human life except his own held any value for Herod Agrippa I.

12:22-23 | The people ascribed deity to Herod to gain his favor. However, an angel of the Lord struck Herod because he did not give glory to God (Ps. 115:1). Luke adds this postscript to Peter’s prison story to show that God is just: wickedness will always be punished, either here on earth or at God’s throne.

12:24 | Jesus had said that the gates of hell would not prevail against the church (Matt. 16:18), and Luke provides evidence to that end. In spite of everything that happened to Peter, the word of God grew and multiplied.