Acts 12
12
1 Now at the same time, king Herod extended his hand, in order to afflict some from the Church.
2 Then he killed James, the brother of John, with the sword.
3 And seeing that it pleased the Jews, he set out next to apprehend Peter also. Now it was the days of Unleavened Bread.
4 So when he had apprehended him, he sent him into prison, handing him over into the custody of four groups of four soldiers, intending to produce him to the people after the Passover.
5 And so Peter was detained in prison. But prayers were being made without ceasing, by the Church, to God on his behalf.
6 And when Herod was ready to produce him, in that same night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, and was bound with two chains. And there were guards in front of the door, guarding the prison.
7 And behold, an Angel of the Lord stood near, and a light shined forth in the cell. And tapping Peter on the side, he awakened him, saying, "Rise up, quickly." And the chains fell from his hands.
8 Then the Angel said to him: "Dress yourself, and put on your boots." And he did so. And he said to him, "Wrap your garment around yourself and follow me."
9 And going out, he followed him. And he did not know this truth: that this was being done by an Angel. For he thought that he was seeing a vision.
10 And passing by the first and second guards, they came to the iron gate which leads into the city; and it opened for them by itself. And departing, they continued on along a certain side street. And suddenly the Angel withdrew from him.
11 And Peter, returning to himself, said: "Now I know, truly, that the Lord sent his Angel, and that he rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the people of the Jews were anticipating."
12 And as he was considering this, he arrived at the house of Mary, the mother of John, who was surnamed Mark, where many were gathered and were praying.
13 Then, as he knocked at the door of the gate, a girl went out to answer, whose name was Rhoda.
14 And when she recognized the voice of Peter, out of joy, she did not open the gate, but instead, running in, she reported that Peter stood before the gate.
15 But they said to her, "You are crazy." But she reaffirmed that this was so. Then they were saying, "It is his angel."
16 But Peter was persevering in knocking. And when they had opened, they saw him and were astonished.
17 But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he explained how the Lord had led him away from prison. And he said, "Inform James and those brothers." And going out, he went away to another place.
18 Then, when daylight came, there was no small commotion among the soldiers, as to what had happened concerning Peter.
19 And when Herod had requested him and did not obtain him, having had the guards interrogated, he ordered them led away. And descending from Judea into Caesarea, he lodged there.
20 Now he was angry with those of Tyre and Sidon. But they came to him with one accord, and, having persuaded Blastus, who was over the bedchamber of the king, they petitioned for peace, because their regions were supplied with food by him.
21 Then, on the appointed day, Herod was clothed in kingly apparel, and he sat in the judgment seat, and he gave a speech to them.
22 Then the people were crying out, "The voice of a god, and not of a man!"
23 And immediately, an Angel of the Lord struck him down, because he had not given honor to God. And having been consumed by worms, he expired.
24 But the word of the Lord was increasing and multiplying.
25 Then Barnabas and Saul, having completed the ministry, returned from Jerusalem, bringing with them John, who was surnamed Mark.
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Acts 12
12
Peter Under Heavy Guard
1-4That’s when King Herod got it into his head to go after some of the church members. He murdered James, John’s brother. When he saw how much it raised his popularity ratings with the Jews, he arrested Peter—all this during Passover Week, mind you—and had him thrown in jail, putting four squads of four soldiers each to guard him. He was planning a public lynching after Passover.
5All the time that Peter was under heavy guard in the jailhouse, the church prayed for him most strenuously.
6Then the time came for Herod to bring him out for the kill. That night, even though shackled to two soldiers, one on either side, Peter slept like a baby. And there were guards at the door keeping their eyes on the place. Herod was taking no chances!
7-9Suddenly there was an angel at his side and light flooding the room. The angel shook Peter and got him up: “Hurry!” The handcuffs fell off his wrists. The angel said, “Get dressed. Put on your shoes.” Peter did it. Then, “Grab your coat and let’s get out of here.” Peter followed him, but didn’t believe it was really an angel—he thought he was dreaming.
10-11Past the first guard and then the second, they came to the iron gate that led into the city. It swung open before them on its own, and they were out on the street, free as the breeze. At the first intersection the angel left him, going his own way. That’s when Peter realized it was no dream. “I can’t believe it—this really happened! The Master sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s vicious little production and the spectacle the Jewish mob was looking forward to.”
12-14Still shaking his head, amazed, he went to Mary’s house, the Mary who was John Mark’s mother. The house was packed with praying friends. When he knocked on the door to the courtyard, a young woman named Rhoda came to see who it was. But when she recognized his voice—Peter’s voice!—she was so excited and eager to tell everyone Peter was there that she forgot to open the door and left him standing in the street.
15-16a But they wouldn’t believe her, dismissing her, dismissing her report. “You’re crazy,” they said. She stuck by her story, insisting. They still wouldn’t believe her and said, “It must be his angel.” All this time poor Peter was standing out in the street, knocking away.
16b-17 Finally they opened up and saw him—and went wild! Peter put his hands up and calmed them down. He described how the Master had gotten him out of jail, then said, “Tell James and the brothers what’s happened.” He left them and went off to another place.
18-19At daybreak the jail was in an uproar. “Where is Peter? What’s happened to Peter?” When Herod sent for him and they could neither produce him nor explain why not, he ordered their execution: “Off with their heads!” Fed up with Judea and Jews, he went for a vacation to Caesarea.
The Death of Herod
20-22But things went from bad to worse for Herod. Now people from Tyre and Sidon put him on the warpath. But they got Blastus, King Herod’s right-hand man, to put in a good word for them and got a delegation together to iron things out. Because they were dependent on Judea for food supplies, they couldn’t afford to let this go on too long. On the day set for their meeting, Herod, robed in pomposity, took his place on the throne and regaled them with a lot of hot air. The people played their part to the hilt and shouted flatteries: “The voice of God! The voice of God!”
23That was the last straw. God had had enough of Herod’s arrogance and sent an angel to strike him down. Herod had given God no credit for anything. Down he went. Rotten to the core, a maggoty old man if there ever was one, he died.
24Meanwhile, the ministry of God’s Word grew by leaps and bounds.
25Barnabas and Saul, once they had delivered the relief offering to the church in Jerusalem, went back to Antioch. This time they took John with them, the one they called Mark.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.