The Lord’s Angel Saves You-Acts 12

Acts of the Apostles, New Testament, Sermons

  • Sermon (3/27/2023).
  • What a Christian is: What was the primary “identity” of Paul (Phil 3:4-6; Gal 2:20)? Peter (Ac 10:11-14, 34-36)? Jonah (Jon 1:7-9)? How does this explain his “failure” as a prophet (Jon 1:1-3; 3:10)? How does your primary identity affect your life choices and reactions?
  • Why did God allow James to be killed (Ac 12:2), but not Peter (Ac 12:11)? Why is one martyred and one rescued? Why is one apostle killed, but not the other?
  • Why did God allow Stephen, a great defender of the church, to be martyred (Acts 7), but save Saul, the great persecutor of the church (Acts 9)?
  • Why did God let a good man Jesus to be killed at a young age, while allowing countless bad men to live long lives?
God Allowed James to Die, but not Peter. God’s ways are not our ways (Isa 55:8). The Sovereign Lord and God is large and always in charge. He alone determines the entirety of everyone’s life (Jn 1:4;11:9; 21:18-22). He alone rules in the kingdom of men. After Nebuchadnezzar went crazy for thinking and acting like he is god (Dan 4:30), he finally acknowledged God as sovereign (Dan 4:34-37). But Herod never did.
  • If you decide to obey Acts 1:8, the result in your life will be Acts 8:1 (Ac 12:1-4; 4:1-3; 5:17-18; 9:15-16, 23, 29; Jn 15:20; 16:33).
  • Do you expect to be persecuted when you live as a Christian (1 Pet 4:12-16)?
  • Does persecution come even from within the church (Ac 11:2-3; 15:1, 5; 2 Cor 11:5; 12:11)?
  • If you tell others about Jesus, would you say, “Become a Christian and expect to be persecuted” (2 Tim 3:12)?

  1. Why did King Herod [Agrippa I, 37-44 A.D.] behead James, the brother of John (Ac 12:1-2; Mt 26:31; Lk 23:2)? Why did he proceed to arrest Peter (Ac 12:3)? Guard him with maximum security (Ac 12:4; 5:18-19)? Wait until after the Passover?
  2. What obstacles stood between Peter and freedom (Ac 12:6, 10)? How was this escape possible (Ac 12:7-9, 11)? What was the church doing (Ac 12:5, 12)?
  3. Why did Rhoda not open the gate (Ac 12:13-14)? What did the praying Christians think (Ac 12:15)? Why did God save Peter but let James (Ac 12:2) and Stephen (Ac 7:54-60) be brutally killed? Should Christians be upset when prayers seem to go unanswered?
  4. Why did Herod execute the guards (Ac 12:18-19; 16:27; 27:42)? Why did Herod die (Ac 12:20-23)? What was the result of the persecution of the church (Ac 12:24)?
  • Acts 9 is about a rabbi [Saul] who fought God and was saved.
  • Acts 10-11 is about a centurion [Cornelius] who followed God and was saved.
  • Acts 12 is about a king [Herod Agrippa I] who fought God and was killed.
The power of God [of prayer] overthrows hostility and opposition. Powerful prayer and pernicious pride. Acts 12 opens with
  1. James dead (Ac 12:2),
  2. Peter in prison (Ac 12:3-4) and
  3. Herod triumphing;
it closes with
  1. Herod dead (Ac 12:23),
  2. Peter free (Ac 12:11) and
  3. the Word of God triumphing (Ac 12:24).
Prayer and the sovereignty of God. God is always sovereign in all that happens. And prayer is always heard by our God who is sovereign. Thomas Schreiner’s outline:
  1. Sometimes God’s people suffer terribly (Ac 12:1-2).
  2. Sometimes God delivers in miraculous ways (12:3-17).
  3. No one ever triumphs over God (12:18-24). Evil will not ultimately triumph.
Persecution again. After Saul was sent off to Tarsus (Ac 9:29-30), there was a period of peace and flourishing for the church (Ac 9:31). But persecution soon reared its ugly head again. Acts 12 is one of the most colorful and entertaining narratives in all of Acts with the humorous scene where Peter is prodded by an angel to put on his clothes (Ac 12:8), and how later he was left standing and locked out at the gate of the home of his Christian friends by an excited gatekeeper (Ac 12:13-14) after having been led through numerous gates manned by his captors (Ac 12:9-10)!
2 halves of Acts. Acts 12 ends the 1st 1/2 of Acts–“the Palestinian period“–with Acts 1-8:3 covering the Jewish Christian church, and Acts 8-12 moving the church step by step from a Jewish sect to a worldwide religious force. The 2nd 1/2 of Acts (13-28) covers the development of the universal mission as it spread throughout the Roman world.

Church history oscillates between expansion and opposition, growth and shrinkage, advance and retreat, approval and persecution. The recent peace and growth of the church (Ac 9:31; 11:21, 26) comes to an abrupt end as Herod Agrippa I reenergizes Jewish opposition and initiates a major persecution centering on the apostles, like the difficult times in Acts 4-5. But despite facing renewed opposition, the church does not retreat. She forges ahead through suffering and even gains courage and Spirit-given strength (Ac 12:24). God’s hand of justice also reaches down to give Herod what he has earned, a terrible death (Ac 12:23).

  1. Herod’s plot (12:1-5). Persecution and arrest. Herod Antipas I is the great grandson of Herod the great who tried to kill Jesus as a baby (Matthew 2), and the nephew of Herod Antipas who helped send Jesus to the cross (Luke 23).
    1. James is martyred (12:1-2).
    2. Peter is arrested and imprisoned (12:3-5).
  2. Herod’s defeat (12:6-19). Unexpected deliverance.
    1. Miraculous escape (12:6-11).
    2. Reactions to the stupendous event (12:12-19).
  3. Herod’s death (12:20-23). Divine judgment on Herod Agrippa I. Both Peter and Herod were “struck” (Ac 12:7, 23), one gently and was delivered, the other strongly and was killed. Same word, different result. Same cloud, guiding the Israelites but confusing the Egyptians. Same fully committed apostles who loved Jesus but one killed and the other delivered. God is always sovereign, whose ways are not our ways (Isa 55:8).  
  4. God‘s victory (12:24-25). The Word continues to grow. The church continues its mission.
References:
  1. Osborne, Grant. Acts. Verse by Verse. 2019. Persecution under Herod (12:1-25).
  2. Witherington III, Ben. The Acts of the Apostles. A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. 1998. Rescue and Retribution in Jerusalem (12:1-25).
  3. Stott, John. The Message of Acts. 1990. Through the Bible through the year, Daily reflections from Genesis to Revelation. 2006. 
  4. Peterson, David G. The Acts of the Apostles. The Pillar NT commentary. 2009. The Word Advances in Judea and Syria (9:32-12:25). Peter‘s Deliverance in Jerusalem (12:1-25).
  5. Marshall, I. Howard. Acts. Tyndale NT commentaries (TNTC). 1980. The Beginning of the Gentile Mission (9:32-12:25).
    1. Peter‘s mighty works (9:32-43).
    2. The conversion of Cornelius (10:1-11:18).
    3. The church at Antioch (11:19-30).
    4. The imprisonment and escape of Peter (12:1-25).
  6. Wright, N.T. Acts for Everyone, Part 1. Chapters 1-12. 2008.
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