6-19 Peter delivered from prison and execution
Verse 6: Peter was bound and watchers kept the door. Peter
slept in the face of death (cf. Psalm 127:2), committing his case to the
righteous judge (I Peter 2:23). Matthew Henry writes, “A peaceful conscience, a
lively hope, and the consolations of the Holy Spirit, can keep men calm in the
full prospect of death; even those very persons who have been most distracted
with terrors on that account.”[i]
Verses 7-9: The sleeping Peter experiences an angelic
release.[ii]
With the coming of the angel, “a light shined in the prison.” He woke Peter by
striking him on the side, then told him to arise while raising him up. The
chains on Peter’s hands fell off. The angel then told Peter to prepare to
travel, and led him out of the prison. All this was done without awaking any
guards (if any were asleep) or alerting any guards who were awake (cf. v. 18). In
the night (“the same night,” v. 6) before Peter’s day of execution, God
delivered him. Initially Peter thought he saw a vision rather than a real
happening.
Verses 10-11: “the first and the second ward” (φυλακην) refers
to ward in its meaning “a body of guards,” that is, then, two of the
quaternions assigned to keep Peter.[iii] The gate leading from the prison to the city opened
“of his own accord.” After passing through one street, the angel left Peter. At
this point, Peter realized that this was not simply a vision but a deliverance
by the Lord through his angel. God delivered Peter “out of the hand of Herod,
and from all the expectation of the
people of the Jews.”
Verses 12-14: After the angel departed, Peter realized this
was no dream or vision. He “considered the thing” and went to the house of
Mary. His action shows he knows this home as a gathering place of believers.
This Mary is Mary the mother of John Mark. She is probably a widow since her
husband is unmentioned. Mary is a sister
of Barnabas, according to Colossians 4:10.[iv] At
this house members of the Jerusalem congregation were gathered praying – the
prayer that God had answered, unbeknownst to them. A damsel named Rhoda
answered Peter’s knock at the gate.[v]
Rhoda knew Peter well enough to recognize the sound of his voice. In
overwhelming joy, Rhoda became so excited that rather than open the gate she
ran into the house to tell everyone that Peter was at the gate.
Verses 15-17: The praying believers become unbelievers in
answered prayer! Some believe that the reaction of the disciples at Mary’s
house indicate that they were praying for something other than Peter’s release.[vi]
Rather than believe Peter was out of prison, they thought the actions of the
damsel meant she was mad – in the sense of deranged, insane, not of sound mind.
Festus thought Paul was mad, beside himself (cf. Acts 26:24). Rhoda continued
to affirm that Peter was at the gate. Others offered as a possible solution to
the quandary, “It is his angel.” Rather than Peter himself, they thought
perhaps of a guardian angel or an angel with a communication about Peter – “his
angel” ο αγγελος αυτου εστιν (the angel of him, i.e., Peter). This solution might
explain Rhoda’s reaction without accepting as fact that it was Peter himself
standing outside! “However, God had sent an angel to deliver Peter from death,
not to report it.”[vii]
Peter stayed at the gate door, persistently knocking. When they finally opened
the door of the gate, it proved to their astonishment to actually be Peter. The
praying believers experience the work of “him that is able to do exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think.” Peter subdued their excitement with
a motion of his hand to hold their peace. This action could serve two practical
purposes: (1) their quiet allowed him to tell his story; and (2) their quiet
was important since soldiers might be roaming around looking for him. They
patiently listen as Peter declares their prayers have been answered – “how the
Lord had brought him out of the prison.” Afterward he instructed them to send
messengers to James and the brethren (the apostles and other church leaders).
This James must be either the other James among the twelve, or James “the
Lord’s brother” (cf. Galatians 1:19). The apostle James, brother of John, has
been executed (verse 2). “he departed, and went into another place” Possibly
out of Jerusalem, or at least to another location in Jerusalem – for his own
safety and the safety of this house.
[ii] An angel is mentioned three times in Acts 12, though once it is a case of mistaken identity.
[iii] Often, “ward” means confinement or the prison itself (cf. e.g., v. 6; Luke 12:58; Genesis 40:3; Numbers 15:34; Ezekiel 19:9). Peter was chained to two soldiers, with perhaps two others nearby. Then perhaps four “keepers before the door,’ four of the first ward, and four of the second ward. The 16 soldiers might be accounted for as stationed in this way. Or, they may have served alternating shifts of four at a time.
[iv] Older translators and commentators understand ανεψιος to mean “sister’s son” – that is, Mark and Barnabas have a nephew and uncle. It is popular in modern versions to translate ανεψιος as “cousin.”
[v] Damsel = young woman, παιδισκη, perhaps also a servant; cf. John 18:17, Luke 22:56, Acts 16:16, et al. Her familiarity with Peter and her gladness indicates she was a believer.
[vi] “It does seem likely, based upon their reaction, that they were not praying for Peter’s release from jail.” Carlsen, Faith and Courage, p. 209. Whatever their prayer, they were bound to “seek first the kingdom of God.”
[vii] Dwyer, The Book of Acts, p. 186. It is possible that the congregation was speaking out of confusion when they said “It is his angel.”
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