Acts 12

Acts 12 is the twelfth of the twenty-eight chapters of Acts. At the end of Acts 11, the church in Antioch sends relief to Jerusalem by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. This chapter recounts the persecution the Jerusalem church suffered during the same period and the death of its persecutor, Herod. Beginning with Acts 13, Paul's missionary work becomes the focus of the narrative.

Outline

• Verses 1–4: King Herod kills James the brother of John with the sword. When he sees that this pleases the Jews, he also seizes Peter during the days of unleavened bread and puts him in prison. Peter is guarded by four squads of four soldiers each, and Herod intends to bring him out before the people after the Passover.
• Verse 5: While Peter is held in prison, the church prays earnestly for him.
• Verses 6–11: On the night before he is to be brought out, Peter is sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains. An angel of the Lord wakes him, the chains fall from his hands, and Peter passes the first and second wards and an iron gate that opens of its own accord, coming out into the street. Only after the angel departs does Peter realize that this was not a vision.
• Verses 12–17: Peter goes to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many are gathered praying. A girl named Rhoda comes to the door, but in her joy she runs to tell the others without opening it. They do not believe her, saying, "Thou art mad," and "It is his angel." When they open the door and see Peter, they are astonished, and Peter tells them how he was brought out of prison. He then tells them to report these things to James and to the brethren, and departs to another place.
• Verses 18–19: Unable to find Peter, Herod examines the guards and orders them put to death, then goes down to Caesarea.
• Verses 20–23: The people of Tyre and Sidon, who had provoked Herod's anger, seek peace through Blastus, the king's chamberlain. When Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, delivers an oration, the people shout, "It is the voice of a god, and not of a man." Because Herod does not give God the glory, an angel of the Lord strikes him, and he is eaten of worms and dies.
• Verses 24–25: The word of God continues to spread. Barnabas and Saul complete their relief mission and return, taking with them John whose surname was Mark.

Key Verses

• Acts 12:5: "prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him" — a scene of the community praying together for its imprisoned leader.
• Acts 12:23: "because he gave not God the glory" — the persecutor's death is explained as the result of his failure to give glory to God.
• Acts 12:24: "But the word of God grew and multiplied" — one of several summary statements in Acts, showing that the gospel continued to spread even amid persecution.

People and Places

• Herod: The king who killed James and imprisoned Peter. He is generally identified as Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great.
• James: The brother of John, killed by Herod with the sword.
• Peter: Imprisoned and then led out by an angel.
• Angel: Also called "the angel of the Lord" in the text.
• Mary: The mother of John whose surname was Mark; her house served as a place of prayer for believers.
• Rhoda: The girl who came to answer the door at Mary's house.
• James (verse 17): Commonly identified as James the brother of Jesus, who became a leader of the Jerusalem church.
• Blastus: Herod's chamberlain.
• Barnabas, Saul (Paul), and Mark: Barnabas and Saul complete their relief work and bring Mark with them.
• Places: Jerusalem; Caesarea, where Herod died; and Tyre and Sidon, port cities on the Mediterranean coast.

Points for Reflection

• James is the only one of the Twelve Apostles whose martyrdom is recorded in the New Testament.
• The first-century Jewish historian Josephus also records that Agrippa I, after appearing in splendid garments at Caesarea and being acclaimed as a god, was seized with abdominal pains and died within a few days. The details differ from the biblical account.
• "His angel" in verse 15 is sometimes read as support for the idea of an angel assigned to protect an individual (a guardian angel). However, the text merely reports what those gathered said, so interpreters differ on whether the verse can serve as a basis for doctrine.
• The text does not identify the "another place" to which Peter went in verse 17. Views linking it to a specific location such as Rome are speculation beyond the text. Peter appears again in Acts 15.
• Some manuscripts of verse 25 read "to Jerusalem," and translations and interpretations are known to differ accordingly. Mark, who departs with them here, later becomes the cause of the split between Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:37–39).

In the Korean Church

The prayer scenes in verses 5 and 12 are frequently cited in sermons and prayer meetings on intercessory prayer and united prayer. The scene in which Rhoda, in her joy, fails to open the door is also a common subject of Sunday school story lessons.