The Book of Acts | God’s Revelation of Transition

Session 38 | Acts 12:6-17

Acts 12:3-17 | Peter Imprisoned and Miraculously Released

• Verses 3-5 included on session 37
• Verse 6 –
  • This expands on the role of the quaternions of soldiers in verse 4. The prisoner was bound to two of the soldiers, and two guarded the door.
  • The verse clarifies that Peter was well guarded and his time for presumed execution was very close.
• Verse 7 - No amount of prison force could have kept Peter in prison, because the angel of the Lord wasn’t under the same laws of nature as were the prison guards.
• Verse 8 –
  • The appearance of the angel is not noted, but he does speak, using language that can be understood.
  • The angel instructed Peter to Gird thyself and bind on thy sandals and Cast thy garment about thee and follow me. That is, get up, get dressed, get going!
• Verse 9 –
  • Peter, as he was going, wist not that it was true. The word wist is the past-participle of “to know.” Peter thought he saw a vision.
• Verse 10 –
  • Soon there was enough reality to know that it was not a vision. Peter was miraculously delivered from the prison, and from an almost certain death.
  • This miraculous intervention shows that Peter’s mission as an apostle (including the Kingdom aspect of that mission) was not yet ended.
• Verse 11 –
  • Peter know fully realizes what God has done. He has been delivered from Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.
  • That expectation was that Peter was going to be put to death just as James had been.
• Verse 12 –
  • Peter considered the thing, the word considered being συνοράω [synorao] or together with (syn-) knowledge/perception (orao - from oido). Thus, “when he had had the time to put everything he knew together and analyze the facts.”
  • Then he came to the house of Mary.
    • I would love to know if he specifically chose this house or he was just in the proximity. Did Mary have such a reputation that Peter would know that people would be gathered at her house for prayer? Was Mary’s house a “house church?”
    • Note: there are six women named Mary in the New Testament. Mary was the mother of John, whose surname was Mark, often called John Mark. This is the first reference to him in the book of Acts, though he will be prominent in a later incident with Paul.
    • This is the same John Mark who is cousin to Barnabus (Col. 4:10) and author of the Gospel of Mark.
• Verses 13-16 –
  • This is “humor in hindsight,” and it is hard to believe that those involved did not laugh at it later.
  • For those who insist that the reason their prayer was answered is because of the fervency of their prayer (Acts 12:5), these verses stand in stark contrast. When their prayer was answered they did not react in confidence, but rather they were astonished.
  • When Rhoda constantly affirmed that Peter was at the gate, those present assumed it must be his angel. There are a few possibilities of what is meant:
    • That Peter sent a messenger and the word should have been translated, not transliterated.
    • That this was Peter’s “guardian angel.” See Matthew 18:10 and Hebrews 1:14 for additional support.
    • That Peter was dead and had become “an angel.” This is the least likely because the Hebrew people (and all of Scripture) viewed angels as separately created beings from humans.
• Verse 17 –
  • Peter made some kind of hand motion, which evidently was a Jewish motion to be allowed to speak. It is seen also in Acts 13:16, 19:33, and 21:40.
  • The household, after hearing what had happened, was instructed to shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. This is the first reference to James, the Lord’s brother (the apostle being killed at the beginning of this chapter).
  • The reference to James brings up some unanswered questions:
    • How long had James been a prominent leader (or had he been) prior to this incident. In Galatians 1:19 he is called a
    • Who are the brethren? Are they the other apostles? Are they the other brothers of the Lord (Joses, Simon, Judas).
    • Why did Peter not go himself? Why did Peter not stay at Mary’s home? Why did he depart and go into another place?