Chapter 23 Acts 12:1–25

Literary Context

Luke began his second volume on the work that Jesus, the crucified, risen, and exalted Messiah of Israel, continues to do and teach through the apostles and through the church (1:1–14) by focusing on the life and mission of the congregation of Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem (1:15–8:3) and then in Samaria, in Judea, and on the coastal plain and as far as Antioch (8:4–11:30). Beginning in 13:1, the focus will be nearly entirely on Paul and his missionary work. Luke places the report on the persecution initiated by Herod Agrippa I that forced Peter to leave Jerusalem between the shift of his focus from Peter and Jerusalem to Paul and Roman provinces in the eastern Mediterranean—a shift he started to make in 11:19–30, when Barnabas moved from Jerusalem to Antioch and Paul from Tarsus to Antioch.

The famine relief that the congregation in Antioch sent to the believers in Jerusalem and Judea was presented by Barnabas and Paul to “the elders,” a new group of leaders who are neither the Seven (6:5–6) nor the apostles, whom they evidently replaced. The report in 12:1–24 explains the transition of leadership in the Jerusalem congregation, as indicated by the fact that this report is framed by comments on the famine relief mission in AD 44 by Barnabas and Saul (11:30; 12:25). The persecution that Herod Agrippa I organized against the leaders of the congregation in Jerusalem is best dated to AD 41, i.e., to the beginning of his tenure as king of Judea (AD 41–44; see on 12:1).

Peter’s departure from Jerusalem is not simply an escape; it is not a defeat for the church, nor does it slow down the expansion of the congregations of Jesus’ followers. On the contrary, Luke notes the continued growth and expansion of the church (12:24), connected with Peter’s departure. Luke certainly knew to which “another place” (12:17) Peter traveled, but he does not tell his readers that story as he shifts his attention to Paul. Peter’s departure from Jerusalem in AD 41 brings to an end the first phase of the church in Jerusalem and thus also the first phase of the missionary expansion of the church, which had been initiated and organized by Jewish Christian missionaries from the Jerusalem congregation.

III. The Beginnings of the Mission to Gentiles (8:4–12:25)
1. D. The Mission in Antioch (11:19–30)
2. E. The Departure of Peter from Jerusalem in the Persecution under Herod Agrippa I (12:1–25)
  1. 24. The persecution of the church in Jerusalem by Herod Agrippa I (12:1–23)
  2. 25. The growth of the church (12:24–25)

IV. The Mission of Paul in Asia Minor: Cyprus, South Galatia, Pamphylia (13:1–15:35)

Main Idea

Luke’s report of Peter’s imprisonment, miraculous escape, and departure from Jerusalem informs us about a major transition of leadership in the early history of the church, reveals the power of God at work in the messianic movement of Jesus’ followers, and illustrates the dangers of being a believer in Jesus and of opposing God’s work.

Translation

Structure and Literary Form

This section consists of two episodes. The first episode, featuring the persecution of the church in Jerusalem (12:1–23), is narrated in three incidents: a report on persecution organized by Herod Agrippa and on the execution of James, one of the Twelve (vv. 1–2); the arrest and miraculous liberation of Peter by an angel of the Lord (vv. 3–19); and the circumstances of Herod Agrippa’s death in Caesarea (vv. 20–23). The second episode consists of a summary statement concerning the continued growth of the church in Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond (v. 24), and a historical note concerning the return of Barnabas and Saul to Antioch (v. 25).

The first episode (12:1–23) is a narrative about historical events in Jerusalem (vv. 1–19) and in Caesarea (vv. 20–23) affecting the church and King Agrippa, respectively. The second incident of this episode includes a miracle story (vv. 6–11), with the following traditional elements present:1 (1) the coming of the miracle worker—here the angel of the Lord (v. 7); (2) the appearance of the distressed person (v. 6); (3) the miracle-working word: “Get up quickly” (v. 7); (4) touch: the angel tapped Peter on the side (v. 7); (5) demonstration of the miracle: they pass through the guards and through the gate of the prison and walk down a street (v. 10); (6) wonder among the people (v. 16); (7) adversaries: Herod Agrippa searches for Peter, without success, and then has the guards executed (vv. 18–19).

Exegetical Outline

I. The Persecution of the Church in Jerusalem by Herod Agrippa I (12:1–23)
1. A. The Execution of James son of Zebedee (12:1–2)
  1. 1. The persecution organized by Herod Agrippa (12:1)
  2. 2. The execution of James (12:2)
2. B. The Arrest and Miraculous Liberation of Peter (12:3–19)
  1. 1. The arrest and imprisonment of Peter (12:3–5)
    1. a. Peter’s arrest (12:3)
    2. b. Peter’s imprisonment and impending execution (12:4)
    3. c. The prayers of the church (12:5)
  2. 2. The miraculous escape of Peter (12:6–11)
    1. a. The conditions of Peter’s detention during the night before his execution (12:6)
    2. b. The appearance of an angel in Peter’s cell (12:7a-d)
    3. c. The angel’s command to Peter to get up (12:7e-i)
    4. d. Peter’s liberation from his chains (12:7j)
    5. e. The angel’s command to Peter to get ready to leave the prison (12:8)
    6. f. The escape from the cell and from the prison (12:9–10)
    7. g. Peter’s realization of what has happened (12:11)
  3. 3. The aftermath of Peter’s escape (12:12–19)
    1. a. Peter’s contact with the believers assembled in Mary’s house (12:12–17g)
    2. b. Peter’s departure from Jerusalem (12:17h-i)
    3. c. The commotion among the soldiers over Peter’s disappearance (12:18)
    4. d. The unsuccessful search for Peter (12:19a-c)
    5. e. The execution of the prison guards (12:19d)
    6. f. King Agrippa’s relocation to Caesarea (12:19e-f)
3. C. The Death of Herod Agrippa I (12:20–23)
  1. 1. The delegations from Tyre and Sidon and Agrippa’s public speech (12:20–21)
  2. 2. The acclamation of Agrippa as divine (12:22)
  3. 3. Agrippa’s death (12:23)
II. The Growth of the Church (12:24–25)
1. A. The Growth of the Church in Jerusalem, Judea, and Beyond (12:24)
2. B. The Return of Barnabas and Saul to Antioch (12:25)
  1. 1. Barnabas and Saul return from Jerusalem to Antioch (12:25a-b)
  2. 2. John Mark accompanies Barnabas and Saul (12:25c-d)

Explanation of the Text

12:1 At that time King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to mistreat them (κατ’ ἐκεῖνον δὲ τὸν καιρὸν ἐπέβαλεν Ἡρῴδης ὁ βασιλεὺς τὰς χεῖρας κακῶσαί τινας τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ἐκκλησίας). Luke begins his account of the persecution of the Jerusalem church (vv. 1–23) with a general chronological reference that introduces the first incident (vv. 1–2), the execution of James. The ruler called “King Herod” (Ἡρῴδης ὁ βασιλεύς) is Agrippa I. The vague time reference “at that time” (κατ’ ἐκεῖνον δὲ τὸν καιρόν) refers, perhaps, in summary fashion to the rule of Agrippa from AD 41–44. The persecution organized by the new Jewish king took place in AD 41, immediately after his return from Rome. The famine relief mission of Barnabas and Saul to Jerusalem (11:30) took place in AD 44. At that time the apostles had left Jerusalem (see comment on 12:17); this is why they take the famine relief to the “elders” of the Jerusalem church. This reference to the elders indicates that the apostles had had to leave Jerusalem, with a new set of leaders responsible for the congregation (see on 12:17).

King Agrippa arrested several who belonged to the church, Jewish followers of Jesus whom he planned to mistreat, i.e., interrogate and punish by beatings and executions (see v. 2). Agrippa undoubtedly occupied the palace of Herod on the west side of the city, which had been used by the Roman governors and evidently included a prison.2 The conditions in the prison—in which James stayed before his execution (v. 2), and presumably also Peter (v. 4)—were harsh. When Silas, the commander of the army under Agrippa I, was thrown into prison for being presumptuous, he complained to the king that all that he received as a reward for his loyalty was “chains and a gloomy dungeon” (Josephus, Ant. 19.324).

12:2 He had James, the brother of John, executed with the sword (ἀνεῖλεν δὲ Ἰάκωβον τὸν ἀδελφὸν Ἰωάννου μαχαίρῃ). Among the first believers to be arrested and mistreated was James, the brother of John, i.e., one of the Twelve (Luke 6:14; Acts 1:13) and one of the earliest followers of Jesus (Luke 5:10) who belonged to the inner circle of disciples.3 James’s execution with the sword,4 i.e., probably through beheading, may indicate that a political charge was advanced against James, suggesting that due to their large numbers in Jerusalem the Christians were regarded as “more than a religious nuisance; they threatened the security of the state.”5 Others have suggested, based on (later) Mishnaic law that calls beheading the most shameful of deaths and stipulates beheading for murderers and for the people of an apostate city who have no share in the world to come, that the new king sided with the Jewish leaders who regarded the followers of Jesus as apostates and idolaters, or that James’s execution was the result of a lawless and arbitrary course of action.

Since our knowledge of criminal law in Palestine in the first century is limited, particularly as it was administrated during the brief reign of Agrippa I, any suggestion must remain hypothetical. James’s execution demonstrates that Agrippa’s measures against the church were severe and violent, ending the period of tranquility of about ten years since the persecution that ensued after Stephen’s execution in AD 31.

12:3 When he saw that this pleased the Judeans, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread (ἰδὼν δὲ ὅτι ἀρεστόν ἐστιν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, προσέθετο συλλαβεῖν καὶ Πέτρον—ἦσαν δὲ αἱ ἡμέραι τῶν ἀζύμων). The second incident of the episode narrates the arrest and miraculous liberation of Peter (vv. 3–19). After James was arrested, imprisoned, perhaps tried in legal proceedings, and executed (v. 2), Agrippa continues to attempt to eliminate the leadership of the church in Jerusalem. The arrest of Peter is the next phase of his persecution of the followers of Jesus. Agrippa had evidently carefully gauged the reaction among the Jewish population,6 which was positive. While Luke does not explain the change of mood in Jerusalem concerning the followers of Jesus (compare with 2:47; 5:14), his comment implies that despite the phenomenal growth of the church, the believers in Jesus continued to be a minority.

Peter is arrested during the Festival of Unleavened Bread (τὰ ἄζυμα), which began with the Passover meal (τὸ πάσχα, v. 4) on Nisan 14 and lasted seven days.7 In AD 41, Passover (Nisan 14) fell on April 5, which means that Agrippa wanted to try Peter on April 12 (Nisan 22) and execute him presumably on the next day. The date given for Peter’s arrest underlines the significance of his imprisonment and his subsequent departure from Jerusalem for the history of the church.

12:4 He had him seized and put into prison with four detachments of four soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover (ὃν καὶ πιάσας ἔθετο εἰς φυλακὴν παραδοὺς τέσσαρσιν τετραδίοις στρατιωτῶν φυλάσσειν αὐτόν, βουλόμενος μετὰ τὸ πάσχα ἀναγαγεῖν αὐτὸν τῷ λαῷ). Agrippa’s action and intention is described with four phrases. (1) Peter is arrested. (2) He is put in prison, presumably the prison located in Herod’s palace on the west side of the city. (3) He is guarded by four detachments of four soldiers8 during the seven days of the festival. Details regarding the placement of the guards are given in v. 6 for the night hours: Peter sleeps between two soldiers, to whom he is tied with chains, while two soldiers guard the door of the cell in which he is imprisoned; the four soldiers would have been relieved after three hours by the next detachment of four soldiers. The heavy guard is meant to make an escape (such as in 5:21–26) impossible. (4) Agrippa intends to “bring him before” the people, presumably for a public trial whose outcome he can control.

12:5 While Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed earnestly to God for him (ὁ μὲν οὖν Πέτρος ἐτηρεῖτο ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ· προσευχὴ δὲ ἦν ἐκτενῶς γινομένη ὑπὸ τῆς ἐκκλησίας πρὸς τὸν θεὸν περὶ αὐτοῦ). Luke does not record Peter’s reaction to his arrest and imprisonment, but he does relate the believers’ reaction—they pray “earnestly” (ἐκτενῶς), with zeal and anticipation of God’s intervention. Some think the content of the church’s prayer is Peter’s liberation, which would have to be miraculous; but since vv. 14–15 suggests that they do not anticipate Peter’s escape, they may have prayed for a positive outcome of the trial that will soon take place (in 4:21 Peter and John were let go), for a lesser punishment than execution (in 5:40 the apostles were not executed, but flogged), or for courage and strength to endure the interrogation and execution (as Jesus had endured both).

12:6 During the very night before Herod was going to summon him, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, while sentries in front of the door guarded the prison (ὅτε δὲ ἤμελλεν προαγαγεῖν αὐτὸν ὁ Ἡρῴδης, τῇ νυκτὶ ἐκείνῃ ἦν ὁ Πέτρος κοιμώμενος μεταξὺ δύο στρατιωτῶν δεδεμένος ἁλύσεσιν δυσὶν φύλακές τε πρὸ τῆς θύρας ἐτήρουν τὴν φυλακήν). Luke here describes the conditions of Peter’s detention. The day Agrippa planned to summon Peter was the day after the Festival of Unleavened Bread. Peter’s miraculous escape happens during the night before his trial, when Peter is sleeping, chained by the wrists (cf. v. 7) to two soldiers, with two further soldiers guarding his prison cell. Peter’s miraculous rescue takes place at the last possible moment, evidently during the third night watch (cf. v. 18), i.e., between 4:00 and 6:00 a.m. The fact that Peter is fast asleep the night before his trial demonstrates his trust in the Lord; he does not know whether he will be rescued again, as before, or he will stand trial and be executed, as happened to Jesus and Stephen.

12:7–8 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light gleamed in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him with the words, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists. Then the angel said to him, “Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.” This he did. Then the angel said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me” (καὶ ἰδοὺ ἄγγελος κυρίου ἐπέστη καὶ φῶς ἔλαμψεν ἐν τῷ οἰκήματι· πατάξας δὲ τὴν πλευρὰν τοῦ Πέτρου ἤγειρεν αὐτὸν λέγων· ἀνάστα ἐν τάχει. καὶ ἐξέπεσαν αὐτοῦ αἱ ἁλύσεις ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν. εἶπεν δὲ ὁ ἄγγελος πρὸς αὐτόν· ζῶσαι καὶ ὑπόδησαι τὰ σανδάλιά σου. ἐποίησεν δὲ οὕτως. καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· περιβαλοῦ τὸ ἱμάτιόν σου καὶ ἀκολούθει μοι). Luke narrates Peter’s rescue from prison in vivid detail, focusing on the appearance, words, and actions of an angel.

(1) An angel sent by the Lord (ἄγγελος κυρίου) appears in the cell in which Peter is kept as prisoner (v. 7). The suddenness of his appearance is highlighted by the introductory “suddenly” (ἰδού) and the aorist tense of the verb “appeared” (ἐπέστη), which follows the imperfect verbal forms of vv. 5–6 that described the ongoing conditions of Peter’s incarceration. The “Lord” may refer to God, but could also refer to Jesus as the risen Lord, who continues to intervene in the life of the church and of his witnesses. The angel who stands over Peter is accompanied by “light” (φῶς), which signals divine presence.9

(2) The angel touches10 Peter on his side, wakes him up, and commands him to get up (ἀνάστα, imperative).

(3) The chains with which Peter’s wrists were tied to the soldiers who guard him fall off, which allows him to obey the angel’s command.

(4) The angel issues two further commands, again related in direct speech (v. 8). He directs Peter to fasten his belt and to put on his sandals. Luke notes Peter’s compliance with another verb in the aorist tense.

(5) The angel issues two more commands. He directs Peter to put on his cloak 11 and to “follow” (ἀκολούθει) him; the last imperative is a present tense imperative; Peter should stay right behind the angel on the way out of the prison.

This sequence of events presumes that the guards are fast asleep, not noticing the angel, the chains falling to the ground, or Peter getting dressed. This dramatic description emphasizes that Peter’s escape from prison is a divine rescue mission.

12:9–10 He went out following the angel, not knowing what was really happening with the angel’s help; he thought he was seeing a vision. After they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself. They went out and walked along one street. Then, suddenly, the angel left him (καὶ ἐξελθὼν ἠκολούθει καὶ οὐκ ᾔδει ὅτι ἀληθές ἐστιν τὸ γινόμενον διὰ τοῦ ἀγγέλου· ἐδόκει δὲ ὅραμα βλέπειν. διελθόντες δὲ πρώτην φυλακὴν καὶ δευτέραν ἦλθαν ἐπὶ τὴν πύλην τὴν σιδηρᾶν τὴν φέρουσαν εἰς τὴν πόλιν, ἥτις αὐτομάτη ἠνοίγη αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐξελθόντες προῆλθον ῥύμην μίαν, καὶ εὐθέως ἀπέστη ὁ ἄγγελος ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ). Luke highlights Peter’s passive role in his escape by remarking that though Peter follows behind the angel, he does not realize that what is happening is real (ἀληθές; “true”). Having been fast asleep and evidently not anticipating an escape from a heavily guarded prison cell, he thinks that he may be seeing a “vision” (ὅραμα). He will soon realize, however, that the appearance of the angel is more real than the appearance of the unclean animals on the roof in Simon’s house in Joppa (10:9–16).

Luke’s narrative of Peter’s escape from the prison cell and building focuses, naturally and realistically, on the guards outside the cell mentioned in v. 6 and on the iron gate that leads into the city, which opens “by itself,” i.e., miraculously.12 After leaving the prison, the angel and Peter proceed for “one street,” i.e., probably one block,13 at which point the angel “suddenly” (εὐθέως) disappears.

12:11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting” (καὶ ὁ Πέτρος ἐν ἑαυτῷ γενόμενος εἶπεν· νῦν οἶδα ἀληθῶς ὅτι ἐξαπέστειλεν ὁ κύριος τὸν ἄγγελον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐξείλατό με ἐκ χειρὸς Ἡρῴδου καὶ πάσης τῆς προσδοκίας τοῦ λαοῦ τῶν Ἰουδαίων). Only when Peter is alone, on a street corner one block from the prison, does he come to his senses and recognize the true reality of what has just happened. The Lord has sent his angel, who rescued him from the king and from the hostile expectations of the Jewish people, who undoubtedly count on a conviction and execution as with James (vv. 2–3).

Luke relates Peter’s realization in a brief monologue of direct speech, as he often does, to make the narrative vivid and to underline a central insight. Since, for Luke, the expression “the people” (ὁ λαός) usually suffices to denote the Jewish people, the emphatic “the people of the Jews [τῶν Ἰουδαίων]” presents Peter as separated from the unbelieving Jews in Jerusalem. God, who sent his angel to rescue Peter, is on the side of the followers of Jesus, whereas the Jewish king turns out to be God’s opponent, together with those of the Jewish people who welcome the violent oppression of those who believe in Jesus as the Jewish Messiah.

12:12 When this dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who is called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying (συνιδών τε ἦλθεν ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκίαν τῆς Μαρίας τῆς μητρὸς Ἰωάννου τοῦ ἐπικαλουμένου Μάρκου, οὗ ἦσαν ἱκανοὶ συνηθροισμένοι καὶ προσευχόμενοι). In vv. 12–19 Luke narrates the aftermath of Peter’s escape from prison. After realizing what has just happened, Peter is able to act on his own initiative again. He decides to go to a house where he knows he will meet other believers and then leave the city. So he goes to the house of Mary, who is identified as the mother of John Mark.

Mary (Μαρία)14 is a follower of Jesus and an evidently wealthy woman who placed her house—a substantial house with an outer gate (v. 13)—at the disposal of the believers in Jerusalem. As she is mentioned without a reference to her husband, she is presumably a widow, unless her husband tolerated Christian meetings in his house despite not being a follower of Jesus himself, which seems less likely. John Mark, her son, is mentioned on account of his role in the subsequent missionary work of Barnabas and Paul in the cities of Cyprus and southern Galatia (12:25; 13:5, 13; 15:37–39). Paul describes him in Col 4:10 as the cousin of Barnabas.15 The gathering of believers in Mary’s house is one of the regular meetings held in private houses during which the Christians spent time in prayer (2:46–47), praying here for Peter during the early days of this new wave of persecution; it is also possible that this meeting is specifically convened to pray for Peter. On the content of their prayers, see v. 5.

12:13–14 When he knocked at the door of the gate, a female slave named Rhoda came to answer the door. When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that instead of opening the gate, she ran inside and reported that Peter was standing at the gate (κρούσαντος δὲ αὐτοῦ τὴν θύραν τοῦ πυλῶνος προσῆλθεν παιδίσκη ὑπακοῦσαι ὀνόματι Ῥόδη, καὶ ἐπιγνοῦσα τὴν φωνὴν τοῦ Πέτρου ἀπὸ τῆς χαρᾶς οὐκ ἤνοιξεν τὸν πυλῶνα, εἰσδραμοῦσα δὲ ἀπήγγειλεν ἑστάναι τὸν Πέτρον πρὸ τοῦ πυλῶνος). The reference to a “gate” (πυλών), as distinct from a door (θύρα), describes the house of Mary as an apparently elegant residence that consisted of a house (οἰκία) separated from the street by an inner courtyard and a gateway. When Peter knocks at the door of the gate, a woman named Rhoda, evidently a “female slave” (παιδίσκη) working in Mary’s household, comes to the gate to answer.

As Peter stands in the street in front of the house and hears someone coming to the gate, he presumably asks for the door to be opened. The joy that grips Rhoda when she recognizes the voice of Peter (v. 14) indicates that she recognizes Peter, that she is herself a believer, and that she does not expect to see Peter that night. Rather than opening the gate, her emotional response moves her to run back inside and report to Mary and the believers gathered in her house that Peter is standing at the gate.

12:15–16 They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” She insisted that it was so. Then they said, “It is his angel.” Peter continued to knock. When they finally opened the gate, they saw him and were astonished (οἱ δὲ πρὸς αὐτὴν εἶπαν· μαίνῃ. ἡ δὲ διϊσχυρίζετο οὕτως ἔχειν. οἱ δὲ ἔλεγον· ὁ ἄγγελός ἐστιν αὐτοῦ. ὁ δὲ Πέτρος ἐπέμενεν κρούων· ἀνοίξαντες δὲ εἶδαν αὐτὸν καὶ ἐξέστησαν). Luke narrates what follows in a brief dialogue. The believers do not believe Rhoda, suggesting that she is crazy. Rather than going back to the gate, letting Peter into the house and thus proving that she is right, she argues that her report is true. The believers are thoroughly incredulous and suggest she has encountered Peter’s “angel” (ἄγγελος, v. 15e), a term usually understood here in terms of “guardian angel” and considered as “the double of the person guarded.”16 The believers gathered in Mary’s house evidently are not praying for a miraculous escape of Peter from prison on the night before his trial and execution.

Only after Peter’s knocks on the door continue do they open the gate (v. 16). When they see Peter, they realize that he is not an angel but Peter himself, a fact that astonishes them (see on 2:6). This reaction demonstrates the reality of the miracle of Peter’s escape.17

12:17 He motioned to them to be quiet, then he explained to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. Then he said, “Report this to James and the brothers.” Then he left and traveled to another place (κατασείσας δὲ αὐτοῖς τῇ χειρὶ σιγᾶν διηγήσατο αὐτοῖς πῶς ὁ κύριος αὐτὸν ἐξήγαγεν ἐκ τῆς φυλακῆς εἶπέν τε· ἀπαγγείλατε Ἰακώβῳ καὶ τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ταῦτα. καὶ ἐξελθὼν ἐπορεύθη εἰς ἕτερον τόπον). The necessity of a manual signal, meant to silence the believers, suggests that they are all talking at the same time, trying to make sense of Peter’s sudden appearance. Luke summarizes the report that Peter gives to the believers and tells them “how” (πῶς) he escaped. The fact that “the Lord” (ὁ κύριος) is the subject of the sentence of Peter’s report indicates that he focuses on God’s initiative and intervention in his rescue from prison, although κύριος can also refer to the risen Jesus who continues to intervene in human affairs from God’s throne.

Luke relates in direct speech Peter’s request that the believers assembled in Mary’s house should report his miraculous escape from prison “to James and the brothers” (v. 17f-g). Since James cannot be the apostle James, the brother of John, who had been executed by Agrippa (v. 2), and since James is not more closely identified—which suggests a well-known person and, in the present context, a person of authority—he is most plausibly identified with James, the brother of Jesus (Mark 6:3), who surfaces in 15:13–21 and 21:18 as the leader of the Jerusalem church (cf. Gal 1:19; 2:9, 12; see on 15:13). Eusebius describes James as the first bishop of Jerusalem (Hist. eccl. 2.23.1). The “brothers” (οἱ ἀδελφοί) are either other believers in general or the elders who appear in 11:30 as the leadership of the Jerusalem church.18

Luke does not relate why Peter leaves the congregation and Jerusalem (v. 17h), but the reason is obvious: his life is in danger, more so than ever before, and thus he leaves to be active elsewhere. Luke does not identify the “another place” (ἕτερον τόπον) to which Peter travels (v. 17i), reflecting perhaps the necessity of keeping Peter’s whereabouts secret.19 Read against the background of Gal 2:11–15 and 1 Cor 9:5, Luke’s comment should be interpreted in terms of intensive and extensive missionary work undertaken by Peter after his departure.

12:18–19 In the morning there was no small commotion among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. After Herod had organized a search for him and did not find him, he interrogated the guards and ordered their execution. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there (γενομένης δὲ ἡμέρας ἦν τάραχος οὐκ ὀλίγος ἐν τοῖς στρατιώταις τί ἄρα ὁ Πέτρος ἐγένετο. Ἡρῴδης δὲ ἐπιζητήσας αὐτὸν καὶ μὴ εὑρών, ἀνακρίνας τοὺς φύλακας ἐκέλευσεν ἀπαχθῆναι, καὶ κατελθὼν ἀπὸ τῆς Ἰουδαίας εἰς Καισάρειαν διέτριβεν). When daylight comes and the soldiers wake up from their sleep, they are in “a state of mental agitation.”20 They cannot understand “what had become of Peter,” i.e., how he could have disappeared (v. 18). Peter’s escape becomes public knowledge when Agrippa asks for Peter to be brought out to stand trial (cf. v. 4).

The next three comments in v. 19, all formulated in the aorist tense, follow as a matter of course. The king “organized a search” (ἐπιζητήσας), which is unsuccessful (v. 19a-b) since Peter had left Jerusalem several hours earlier, perhaps hiding among the thousands of Passover pilgrims leaving Jerusalem in all directions. The king has the guards “interrogated” (ἀνακρίνας), probably under torture, about their conduct while on guard duty, their whereabouts during the night, perhaps their potential complicity in Peter’s escape. Eventually Agrippa “ordered their execution” (ἐκέλευσεν ἀπαχθῆναι) for dereliction of duty and probably out of fury that Peter was nowhere to be found.

Luke ends the narrative of Peter’s escape from prison by commenting on Agrippa’s relocation from Jerusalem to Caesarea (see on 10:1), where he stayed, presumably in the luxurious palace built by Herod I that Marullus, the last Roman governor before Agrippa was given Judea, had used as a praetorium.

12:20 He had been infuriated with the people of Tyre and Sidon. They joined together and presented themselves in an audience with him. They had secured the support of Blastus, the chamberlain of the king, and asked for peace, because their region depended on the king’s territory for food (ἦν δὲ θυμομαχῶν Τυρίοις καὶ Σιδωνίοις· ὁμοθυμαδὸν δὲ παρῆσαν πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ πείσαντες Βλάστον, τὸν ἐπὶ τοῦ κοιτῶνος τοῦ βασιλέως, ᾐτοῦντο εἰρήνην διὰ τὸ τρέφεσθαι αὐτῶν τὴν χώραν ἀπὸ τῆς βασιλικῆς). Luke concludes his narrative of Agrippa’s persecution of the church in Jerusalem with a third incident that relates the king’s death (vv. 20–23), emphasizing the truth that God is more powerful than the earthly powers that seek to destroy the church. Luke relates the events leading up to Agrippa’s death (v. 20), the cause of his death (vv. 21–22), and the manner of his death (v. 23). Josephus’s account of Agrippa’s demise (Ant. 19.343–350) corresponds with Luke’s account in many of the details and in the interpretation of Agrippa’s death as punishment for the blasphemous hubris he displayed in Caesarea.21

There was a dispute between the citizens of Tyre (see on 21:3–6) and Sidon (see on 27:3) and Agrippa. The controversy is not mentioned in other sources and cannot be reconstructed in detail, but it concerned food. The form of the verb used here (τρέφεσθαι) is either middle (“because their country supported itself”) or passive (“because their country was supported [by importing grain] from the king’s country,” BDAG). Tyre and Sidon, free cities on the Phoenician coast in southern Syria, had done something that made Agrippa furious so that he had blocked shipments of food, perhaps grain from Galilee exported to southern Syria.22

The city magistrates of Tyre and Sidon collaborated in trying to resolve the dispute; they sent a delegation to Caesarea whose members presented themselves in an audience with the king after they had secured the support of Blastus, a court official described as “the chamberlain” (ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ κοιτῶνος, lit. “the one in charge of the bed chamber”) of the king. They petitioned Agrippa to make peace, with the argument that their region depended on the king’s territory for food supply.

12:21–22 On the appointed day, Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat on the platform, and addressed them. The assembly shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a human being!” (τακτῇ δὲ ἡμέρᾳ ὁ Ἡρῴδης ἐνδυσάμενος ἐσθῆτα βασιλικὴν καὶ καθίσας ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματος ἐδημηγόρει πρὸς αὐτούς. ὁ δὲ δῆμος ἐπεφώνει· θεοῦ φωνὴ καὶ οὐκ ἀνθρώπου). The delegation of Tyre and Sidon evidently succeeded in achieving their goals. The peace agreement was to be publicly announced on an “appointed day” (v. 21). Josephus, who does not mention a delegation from Tyre and Sidon, describes “spectacles in honor of Caesar” held in the theater of Caesarea. These games were probably the quadrennial games founded by Herod the Great in 10 BC in honor of Augustus.23

On the appointed day Agrippa entered the theater at daybreak, “clad in a garment woven completely of silver so that its texture was indeed wondrous” (Josephus, Ant. 19.344). Luke refers to “royal robes” (ἐσθὴς βασιλική) when he sat on the platform, a term that describes here a “throne-like speaker’s platform.”24 The term “assembly” (ὁ δῆμος) in v. 22 suggests that the occasion was larger than the meeting with the delegation. Agrippa seems to have addressed the officials of the court, the delegation from the two cities, and the citizens of Caesarea.

Josephus relates that when Agrippa appeared in the theater, “the silver, illumined by the touch of the first rays of the sun, was wondrously radiant and by its glitter inspired fear and awe in those who gazed intently upon it” (Ant. 19.344). Both Josephus and Luke relate that the people assembled acclaimed him as a god. Luke reports their reaction in direct speech. They shouted that Agrippa’s voice was “the voice of a god” (θεοῦ φωνή), not the voice of a human being (v. 22).25 This was the reaction of a Gentile crowd who failed to distinguish a human from a divine being. The imperial cult understood the emperor as a “god present in the world,” i.e., like one of the traditional gods, though “located in an ambivalent position, higher than mortals but not fully the equal of the gods.”26

12:23 Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give the honor to God. He was eaten by worms and expired (παραχρῆμα δὲ ἐπάταξεν αὐτὸν ἄγγελος κυρίου ἀνθ’ ὧν οὐκ ἔδωκεν τὴν δόξαν τῷ θεῷ, καὶ γενόμενος σκωληκόβρωτος ἐξέψυξεν). Apparently Agrippa accepted, perhaps even welcomed, the acclamation as a god.27 He did not give “the honor” (τὴν δόξαν) to the one true God, thus committing the most fundamental sin that a Jew can commit, violating the first commandment. Divine retribution followed swiftly. An angel of the Lord “struck him down,” a phrase that may signal sudden pain. Luke describes Agrippa’s death as the result of being eaten by worms, a Greek expression that is not a medical technical term, although the term appears to describe a form of phthiriasis as a terminal illness.28 Josephus relates that apart from a stab of pain in the heart, “he was also gripped in his stomach by an ache that he felt everywhere at once and that was intense from the start” (Ant. 19.346), a condition that has been identified with appendicitis.29 Luke’s description of Agrippa’s death identifies him as villain, a bad character whose death was deserved.

12:24 The word of God continued to advance and gain converts (ὁ δὲ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ ηὔξανεν καὶ ἐπληθύνετο). This next episode describes the growth of the church (vv. 24–25). First, Luke provides another summary statement,30 noting the continued expansion of the church as more people accepted the preaching of “the word of God,” i.e., of the good news of Jesus, Israel’s Messiah and the Savior of the world. Despite the persecution that King Agrippa initiated against the church, despite the execution of James and the departure of Peter from Jerusalem, the movement of the followers of Jesus grew and continued to gain new converts.

Placed after the long narrative of the persecution of Agrippa against the apostles, this verse may indicate continued church growth in Jerusalem. Placed after the events related to Agrippa’s death in Caesarea, the brief comment may have a wider geographical perspective, encompassing the realm of Agrippa’s rule over Judea, Samaria, Galilee, and other adjacent areas. Placed at the transition from Peter’s ministry in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria (Acts 1–12) to Paul’s ministry in Syria, Cyprus, Asia Minor, and Europe (Acts 13–28), the comment may be intended to communicate the fact that Jews and Gentiles continued to be converted in large numbers in the 40s. Luke emphasizes, again, that nothing can stop the advance of God’s word proclaimed by Jesus’ witnesses (see the introduction to this section).

12:25 Barnabas and Saul returned after they had completed their ministry to Jerusalem. They brought John with them, who was also called Mark (Βαρναβᾶς δὲ καὶ Σαῦλος ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ πληρώσαντες τὴν διακονίαν, συμπαραλαβόντες Ἰωάννην τὸν ἐπικληθέντα Μᾶρκον). Luke’s second remark picks up his narrative in 11:30, where he had related the famine relief visit of Barnabas and Saul from Antioch to Jerusalem to deliver the collection from the believers in the Syrian capital to the believers in Jerusalem and Judea. The fact that they encounter “elders” (11:30; see on 12:17) rather than apostles confirms that their famine relief visit to Jerusalem took place after Peter’s departure from Jerusalem in AD 41, probably AD 44. After completing their “ministry” (διακονία) to Jerusalem, they return to Antioch, taking with them John Mark (see on v. 12). He will accompany Barnabas and Saul during their missionary work on Cyprus (13:5).

Theology in Application

The main theme of the persecution of the Jerusalem church by Agrippa I informs readers about a major transition of leadership in the early history of the church caused by dramatic events that transpired in Jerusalem. At the same time, the passage reveals the power of God at work in the messianic movement of Jesus’ followers, and it illustrates the dangers of being a believer in Jesus, particularly being a leader of the church, and the danger of opposing God’s work. This passage has several emphases.

Leaders Prepared for Persecution

Leaders of the church are prepared for persecution. The persecution organized by Agrippa I was not the first time that the apostles had come under pressure. They had been imprisoned, threatened, and beaten before, repeatedly. They were ready and willing to face new attempts to suppress the followers of Jesus. Enemies of the Christian faith who want to silence Christians generally choose the leaders of local congregations, of regional organizations, and of national denominations as their first targets of violent persecutions. Luke’s narrative of James’s execution and of Peter’s near-execution challenges Christian leaders to examine their priorities and motivations. It is obvious, in contexts of political danger, that only believers with the right priorities and motivations will accept calls to lead churches; motivations focused on prestige, position, comfort, and salary will not survive the fire of arrest, legal (sham) trials, imprisonment, and potential execution.

Changes in Leadership

Churches are prepared for changes in leadership. The apostles had led the Jerusalem church for twelve years after Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension. Then James was killed, Peter had to leave Jerusalem in the early morning hours after his escape from prison, and it appears that the other apostles left as well. The leadership of the church shifted from the apostles, whose names we know (Acts 1:13, 26), to elders, whose names Luke does not record (with the exception of James, the brother of the Lord). Since Luke’s focus shifts from Peter to Paul and thus from Jerusalem to the Roman provinces beyond Palestine, we do not know much about the history of the Jerusalem church after this transition of leadership. Luke’s narrative of Peter’s departure demonstrates, however, that all leaders can be replaced. The itinerant missionary ministry (on which Peter embarked) is not inferior to local pastoral ministry, and the growth of the church (12:24) does not depend on one person nor on a particular group of leaders; rather, it depends always, and only, on the power of the word of God.

God’s Intervention

Believers reckon with the possibility of God’s intervention. Luke does not report whether the imprisoned Peter prayed for a miraculous escape; his report of the reaction of the believers assembled in Mary’s house to Rhoda’s excited news of Peter standing at the door suggests that they did not reckon with a miraculous escape in the night before his trial and execution. But they did pray, and God answered their prayer, perhaps in ways they had not anticipated. God intervened by rescuing Peter from prison with the assistance of an angel in the middle of the night. But God did not intervene in the case of James, who was arrested, imprisoned, and executed (12:1–2).

Believers trust in God, which means that they know that they cannot manipulate him into getting him to fulfill what they wish for. Trust in God implies the confidence that God will give strength to endure suffering, courage to endure execution, and boldness to be a witness of God’s power and grace right to the end. This is precisely what Daniel’s friends said to Nebuchadnezzar, who had demanded that all people should fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up: “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Dan 3:16–18). They give witness of their faith in the one true God, they are prepared to die for their faith, and they express their conviction that God can rescue them. Believers do not “name and claim” outcomes they expect God to bring about; authentic believers express their faith, they formulate their hopes and wishes in prayers, they acknowledge God’s sovereignty to do as he sees fit, and they leave their fate in his hands.

God’s Enemies and Judgment

God’s enemies face God’s judgment. Agrippa died after only three or four years on the throne, punished by God on account of his acceptance of divine acclamation, and—in the context of Acts 12—on account of his persecution of the church. Not all political leaders who persecute the church, and not all individuals who belong to a mob burning churches and killing Christians, die instantly or suffer horrible deaths. But all of God’s enemies will face God’s judgment. It is certainly true that from Luke’s account “many an early Christian will have drawn comfort and strength in the face of political pressure and persecution.”31 Believers in Jesus knew that they would participate in God’s judgment of the world (1 Cor 6:2), a fact that helped them to stand with courage before God’s enemies. John Stott comments, “Tyrants may be permitted for a time to boast and bluster, oppressing the church and hindering the spread of the gospel, but they will not last. In the end, their empire will be broken and their pride abased.”32