Acts 12

Devotional by Abigail O’Neel

Read Acts 12

Acts 12

James Killed and Peter Imprisoned

12 About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. 2 He killed James the brother of John with the sword, 3 and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. 4 And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

Peter Is Rescued

6 Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. 7 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 9 And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. 11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am 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.”

12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. 13 And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 Recognizing Peter’s voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!” 16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. 17 But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.” Then he departed and went to another place.

18 Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. 19 And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there.

The Death of Herod

20 Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. 21 On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. 22 And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” 23 Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

24 But the word of God increased and multiplied.

25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.

Devotional

If I retitled chapter 12, I’d title it “The Tale of Two Fates.” On the one hand, Peter miraculously escapes from prison despite being heavily guarded and shackled. He breaks free from two chains, passes two guards, and walks straight through an iron gate that “opened on its own accord.” After returning to reality following the stunning events of the night, Peter immediately responds: “Surely the Lord rescued me.” 

Meanwhile, Herod revels in his own importance. Eager to please the Jews, he executes James and imprisons Peter. We can certainly speculate about Herod’s plans for Peter, but unbeknownst to him, Peter’s fate was not in Herod’s hands. Peter’s and Herod’s’ fates were fully in the Lord’s hands, and time truly told what happens when man wears God’s glory as if it’s his own. 

In the end, the word of God increased and multiplied because, of course, it did. No earthly authority can contain God’s church or hinder the work of the faithful.

Peter’s escape from prison and Herod’s demise both reveal the consequences of acknowledging or ignoring God’s glory. In what ways do you find yourself seeking recognition or validation from human sources rather than acknowledging God’s supremacy in your life?

26 thoughts on “Day Twelve | The Book of Acts”

  1. I often find myself seeking people’s approval when offering help, even when they refuse it. I feel convicted to help because I have either experienced the same struggle or seen someone close to me go through it, and I want to be a support system for them and prevent them from getting hurt. Occasionally we need to experience pain in our lives to turn to Jesus because we don’t always know what is in a person’s heart. God has complete control over everything in our lives, He is sovereign, and sometimes I need to sit back and let Him rule. We need to acknowledge that God’s supremacy is everlasting and unconditional and human validation is temporary and conditional. A great reminder that regardless of public opinion, God’s reign will always be above it all as stated in verse 10, “…passed the first and the second guard…they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out…”

  2. This is so good! His was at work then and He still is today. Tonight, 30% of the people registered for the Marriage Conference are guests – over 30% actually! Who knows what God is going to do in their life? “But the word of God increased & multiplied.”

  3. I feel the same way. Thank you for posting this. PRAISE THE LORD OUR GOD!! AMEN!!🙏📖⛪🙏

  4. I will love to share one out of many lessons I learnt from this chapter. I learnt that it is very crucial and necessary for us to be praying for our leaders in faith, our pastors or our life group leaders. The Bible says in Matthew 26:31 “Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ The devil was very strategic, how come he laid his hands on the leaders of the Church. The three disciples that were closed to the Master was Peter, James and John. So after James has been killed, he went for Peter.

    However the Bible says the church prayed and God heard their cry and HE sent HIS Angel to rescue Peter. Imagine if church had not prayed, may be Peter would have been killed like James. what we must also learn in this chapter is that Heaven hold back when we fail to pray for others, most especially our leaders. The Bible says Matthew 18 VS 18.“Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. The gate of hell will not prevail in Jesus Name when we to pray for the Church and not silent.

    May the Lord baptise HIS Church with a fresh fire of Holy Spirit, to be spiritually awakened, praying fervently and intercede for the Church continually in Jesus Name…🙏

    1. Amen!
      We really need to pray for all doing the work of God and the church family.
      God is too good and HE always has a plan.

  6. No matter how many years you follow Jesus, I think there will always be this desire to receive affirmation from others for any and everything you do. Especially if you have performance based gifts, you tend to live a life of “performance” constantly which isn’t sustainable. BUT when your “performance” is an overflow of your truest identity, a child of God (a truth that can’t be shaken), you’ll always be at rest and find security in His sovereignty.

  7. I imagine that Peter’s story about his miraculous rescue was shared many times.
    I wonder how Herod’s horrible death was explained to the people.
    In both stories, God is great and greatly to be praised!

  8. Reading how God MIRACULOUSLY rescued Peter made me think: how many times has God RESCUED us from situations, illnesses. danger and we failed to recognize Him and give Him the Glory? Don’t miss your “God Moments”!!
    ACKNOWLEDGE Who He is and What He’s done in your life🙏🏾❤️

  9. We should always keep our eyes on God and what He is doing no matter what is going on around us. Man is fallible and can never be perfect so we should never make or base our decisions on what man is doing, but rather what God is doing because ultimately our fate is in God’s hands.

  10. I can more definitely struggle with seeking affirmation or validation from others. But I have One to please and honor. Lord help me to see clearly that you are who I strive to glorify not anything of my own accord.

  11. Oh yes Lord. I acknowledge all that You have done in my life Like Ps 103, Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me, Bless His Holy Name. The Lord is merciful. Praise the Lord. In Your Name Jesus Amen.

  12. Yes I agree that there are times I have wanted other peoples’ approval. But the lord is the mighty deliver and sustainer of his sheep. Praise the lord for hope and peace in 2024.

  13. The Word of God is the best commentary of the Word. Listen to how Paul challenges the church at Galatia. (Gal. 1:10) “Am I now trying to win the approval of men or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ!” Read (Matt. 6:1) for further commentary.
    Thanks Church for these devotionals!

  14. In my early life I was falsely accused and put in jail, for a few hours. I have a very funny story of that time of how God worked to keep me away from “the worst of the worst”. The miracles of God nerve cease to amaze me.
    We all want the approval of others, it’s human nature. We have to remind ourselves that we already have all the approval we need, we are a child of the King.

  15. What an example! The church was praying without ceasing and many were gathered praying in the house of Mary. But they were astonished when their prayers were answered! May we always remember God hears and answers our prayers, then thank Him and praise Him.

  17. “Surely the Lord rescued me.”
    May we always remember to give all glory to God.
    HE blesses us with wisdom, power, health, wealth, everything we are/have or hope to be/have is only from HIM.
    HE is GOD

  18. After reading this passage in Acts 12, I’m always amused at the response of Rhoda seeing Peter! “Hey, it’s Peter!” Door slam! Runs to the believers inside. “Hey, it’s Peter outside!” My response would have been, “Why didn’t you let him in?”

    How many times do we witness a miracle from God like this and run away in disbelief like Rhoda did? Instead, we must run to the Lord and embrace His miraculous work in our lives. Lord, open our eyes and our hearts to Your activity today!

  19. Lord help me not take, but give you all the glory, because I don’t deserve it and it’s yours. Help me simply acknowledge your glory, allowing me to find the place where you want me to play my part in your glorious kingdom, regardless of the result, in Jesus’ name.

  20. God is sovereign and Always at Work. Look for his mighty hand in our life and give him the Praise🙏🏾❤️

  21. On a side note – I think it’s kind of funny that the angel had to whack Peter to get going! How many times I have to get pushed in ways that weren’t comfortable to get up and do what God was telling me to do!🤣

  22. Peter’s behavior was similar to the ignorance of Noah’s son and Jonah. Because of the rebellion against God, they did suffer grave consequences and it shows us the importance of not fighting Gods will and not forcing his hand.

  23. I thank you God for helping me open my heart to you. I am learning so much from Pastor and the Bible. This chapter tells us about Peter’s rescue by the angel and Herod’s horrible death. Peter followed God’s command and was saved, yet Herod did not do what God commanded and perished.
    We Praise the Lord for his many Blessings .

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