The Early Church · AD 44
Chapter 9
Peter in Prison
Peter therefore was kept in the prison, but constant prayer was made by the assembly to God for him.
For parents
This chapter tells, in a few plain words, how King Herod killed James, the brother of John, with the sword and put Peter in prison (Acts 12:1–4). After an angel brought Peter out, Herod ordered the guards put to death (12:19). It also tells how an angel of the Lord struck Herod, and he was eaten by worms and died (12:23). None of it is described in detail.
About that time King set out to mistreat some of the . He killed , the brother of , with the sword.
When Herod saw that this pleased the Jews, he went further and seized as well. This was during the days of .
After arresting Peter, Herod put him in prison. He gave four squads of soldiers, four in each squad, the job of guarding him. He meant to bring Peter out in front of the people when the was over.
So Peter was kept in the prison. But the assembly never stopped praying to God for him.
On the night when Herod was about to bring him out, Peter was asleep between two soldiers, bound with two chains. Guards stood in front of the door, watching the prison.
All at once an angel of the Lord was standing beside him, and a light shone in the cell. The angel struck Peter on the side and woke him. “Stand up, quickly!” he said. And Peter’s chains fell off his hands.
“Get dressed and put your sandals on,” the angel said to him. Peter did. Then the angel said, “Put on your cloak and follow me.”
So Peter followed him out. He didn’t know that the things the angel was doing were real. He thought he was having a vision.
They got past the first guard and then the second. They came to the iron gate that leads into the city, and it opened for them on its own. They went out and walked down one street, and then the angel suddenly left him.
Then Peter came to his senses. “Now I truly know,” he said, “that the Lord has sent out his angel and freed me from Herod’s hand, and from everything the Jewish people were expecting.”
When he had thought it over, he made his way to house. She was the mother of , and many people were gathered there, praying.
Peter knocked at the gate, and a servant girl came to answer. Her name was . She knew Peter’s voice, and she was so full of joy that she didn’t open the gate. She ran in and told them that Peter was standing in front of the gate.
“You’re crazy!” they said to her. But she kept saying it was him. Then they said, “It’s his angel.”
Peter kept on knocking. They opened the gate, and when they saw him, they were amazed.
Peter waved his hand for them to be quiet, and he told them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. Then he said, “Tell and the brothers about these things.” After that he left and went to another place.
As soon as it was day, the soldiers were in an uproar about what had become of Peter.
Herod searched for Peter and didn’t find him. He questioned the guards, and then he ordered them to be put to death. After that he went down from to and stayed there.
Now Herod was very angry with the people of and . They came to him all together. They made , the king’s personal aide, their friend, and then they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food.
On the day that had been chosen, Herod put on his royal clothes, sat down on the throne, and gave a speech to them.
The people shouted, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!”
In that moment an angel of the Lord struck Herod, because he didn’t give God the glory. He was eaten by worms, and he died.
But the word of God kept growing and multiplying.
and returned to when they had finished their service, and they took John who was called Mark with them.