Acts 12 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Acts 12 in 5 Minutes

WHEN:

• The events of chapter 12 likely occurred in 44 A.D.

• Herod Agrippa I was king of Judea from 41-44 A.D.

CHARACTERS:

• James – An Apostle, the brother of John the Apostle.

• Peter – An Apostle, the brother of Andrew the Apostle.

• Herod Agrippa I – King of Judea and Grandson of Herod the Great. He died at the age of 54. 

• Rhoda – A servant girl who worked in the house of Mary, mother of John called Mark.

• John Mark – A travelling companion of Paul and Barnabas.

WHERE:

• James was killed in the city of Jerusalem

• After Peter’s escape from jail, Herod went to live in Caesarea, near the Mediterranean coast.

OUTLINE:

• THE MARYRDOM OF JAMES THE APOSTLE AND THE ARREST OF PETER (12:1-5):

  •  Herod Agrippa I was a persecutor of the early Church.

  • He killed James, the brother of John, with a sword.

  • When he saw that it pleased his Jewish constituents, He arrested Peter, intending to give him a similar fate.

• PETER RESCUED FROM PRISION (12:6-19):

  • The night before Peter was to be killed, he was bound by chains and sleeping between two soldiers.

  • The angel of the Lord woke Peter up, loosed his chains, and led him out of the iron gate securing the prison.

  • The angel departed as soon as they made it to the city street.

  • Peter went to the house of a woman named Mary, where many saints had gathered to pray.

  • Peter knocked on the door and asked a servant girl named Rhoda to let him enter.

  • Recognized Peter’s voice, but neglecting to open the door, she excitedly informed the prayer group of Peter’s arrival.

  • The people in the house didn’t believe her.

  • When the door was finally opened, the whole group was amazed to see Peter standing in front of them.

  • Peter recounted his experience with the angel to them and then went into hiding.

  • Herod searched for Peter the next day without success.

  • In anger, he ordered the prison guards to be put to death.

• HEROD’S DEATH (12:20-25):

  • One day, Herod dressed in his royal robes, sat on his throne, and gave an “oration” to the people.

  • The people worshipped him as if he were a god, saying, “The voice of a god, and not a man!”

  • Herod accepted their praise, and his heart was full of pride.

  • As a result, and angel of the Lord “struck him down” and “he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.”

APPLICATION:

• How does an angel free a prisoner who is chained to two guards and lead them out of an iron clad prison without the slightest resistance?

• How did the guards not realize a man was no longer chained to them?

• How did they not see the iron gate open?

• God can work in ways that are invisible and indiscernible to us.

• He can affect and change the world around us without our recognition, even the things immediately before our eyes.

• Don’t assume that because you can’t see and explain God’s work that He isn’t working.

• Don’t think to much of yourself by presuming you understand every way God works.