Commentary Acts 12:1-12

Commentary Acts 12:1-12

1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.)
4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him.
6 And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.
7 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.
8 And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me.
9 And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision.
10 When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him.
11 And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews.


Peter was sent to prison by Herod. Peter did not commit a crime. But because Herod noticed that it pleased the Jews when he killed James the brother of John, he sought to take Peter also. Herod wanted to please the Jews again. He wanted to be liked. So Peter sat in the prison for days until an unusual miracle happened.

It was the night before Peter's scheduled execution that God decided to take him out of the prison cell. Peter had to keep his faith until the very last moments. Thankfully, the church was praying for him.

But God didn't just take him out. He sent an angel. The angel "came upon him" and "a light shined in the prison." Now, it surprises me that Peter was not awakened by the presence of the angel and the light in the prison. He was in such a deep slumber that the angel had to "smote" him on the side.

It makes me think about my life. When God sends his angel to help me and guide me, yet I'm "sleeping" and don't realize the presence of the angel and don't notice the light shining before me. That is when I am "smote" by the angel and forced to come to recognize the glory of the Lord. It is during these times when we are served with circumstances beyond our control and are forced to rely on God and recognize His power.

After Peter was "smote" on the side, the angel "raised him up, saying Arise up quickly." Here we see that the angel actually "raised him up;" however, at the same time, he directed Peter to "Arise up quickly." Peter was still in chains when the angel said this. Perhaps the angel needed Peter to have the faith to be raised up.

"And his chains fell off from his hands." Perhaps all we need to do is believe and make the first step, trusting that the angel of the Lord will deliver us through the impossible.

Then the angel said, "Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals." It was customary to wear a girdle around the body before walking about. The fact that Peter had taken off his girdle and sandals shows that he had lost faith in being rescued from the prison. Perhaps he took off these principle parts of his clothing so that he could have a more comfortable sleep. Perhaps this is why he did not awaken to the angel's presence and light and had to be "smote" by the angel.

Then the angel said, "Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me." After Peter put on his girdle, sandals and garment, he followed the angel right out of the prison. The funny thing is, he thought it was all a dream. It was so unreal to him that he couldn't understand it to be true. It was not until the angel departed from him that he realized God had sent an angel to him.

I think this happens to us all. I think we all have a divine intervention in our lives, but don't realize it until after the fact. When looking back on the events in our lives, it is easy to see how God played a role in certain situations. But during those situations, we are often blinded to Gods intervention.