Act 12 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Acts 12:1-5: 12:1-5 Jesus had clearly predicted persecution and hardship for his followers (Luke 11:49-51 ). For the first time since Jesus’ death, Roman authorities took direct violent action against the church. James , the brother of John, was one of the first called to be a disciple (Mark 1:16-20 ; Luke 5:1-11 ), and he was one of the first Christians to be martyred for his faith. • King Herod Agrippa attacked the church (cp. Acts 12:20-23 ), a move that he found to be politically helpful with the Jewish people . The letter of James, the brother of Jesus, was probably written after this persecution to the scattered Christians (see 8:1-4 ; James Book Introduction, “Date of Writing”).

Summary for Acts 12:1-5: 12:1-5 ^a Jesus had clearly predicted persecution and hardship for his followers (Luke 11:49-51 ^b). For the first time since Jesus’ death, Roman authorities took direct violent action against the church. James, the brother of John, was one of the first called to be a disciple (Mark 1:16-20 ^c; Luke 5:1-11 ^d), and he was one of the first Christians to be martyred for his faith.

• King Herod Agrippa attacked the church (cp. Acts 12:20-23 ^e), a move that he found to be politically helpful with the Jewish people. The letter of James, the brother of Jesus, was probably written after this persecution to the scattered Christians (see 8:1-4 ^f; James Book Introduction, “Date of Writing”).
12:4 ^g Herod had Peter guarded by four squads of soldiers, making it humanly impossible for the apostle to escape (cp. 12:6 ^h). However, God was in charge, and nothing is too hard for him (cp. 4:27-31 ⁱ; Gen 18:14 ^j; Jer 32:17 ^k, 27 ^l; Matt 19:26 ^m; Mark 10:27 ⁿ; Luke 1:37 ^o; 18:27 ^p).
12:5 ^q the church prayed very earnestly: God answers the earnest prayers of his people (12:6-17 ^r; see Luke 11:1-13 ^s; 18:1-8 ^t; cp. Matt 7:7-11 ^u; John 15:7 ^v; Phil 4:6-7 ^w; Jas 5:16 ^x; 1 Jn 3:22 ^y).
Summary for Acts 12:6-19: 12:6-19 ^z God, through an angel, led Peter out, reunited him with his praying friends, and sent him out to carry on the work of spreading the Good News. The message advanced despite determined opposition.
Summary for Acts 12:7-11: 12:7-11 ^aa See thematic note for Angels at end of chapter.
12:12 ^ab The home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, was evidently a gathering place for believers. John Mark later became a missionary colleague of Barnabas and Saul (12:25 ^ac).
Summary for Acts 12:13-17: 12:13-17 ^ad Rhoda was so surprised when Peter appeared that she left him standing at the closed door. Both she and the other believers were amazed by God’s answer to their prayers (12:5 ^ae).
Summary for Acts 12:18-23: 12:18-23 ^af When Peter couldn’t be found after a careful search, Herod interrogated the guards and put them to death (cp. 16:27 ^ag). However, Herod met his own painful end as a divine judgment on his conceit when he accepted the people’s worship. Josephus records the death of Herod Agrippa I in greater detail (Josephus, Antiquities 19.8.1-2).
Summary for Acts 12:24-25: 12:24-25 ^ah Herod’s demise from a terrible illness (12:23 ^ai) contrasts with the growth of the Christian church and the unhindered message of Good News (28:31 ^aj).

Thematic note: Angels
Throughout the Bible, angels are God’s heavenly agents who carry out his purpose and communicate God’s will to humanity (Gen 16:7-12 ^ak; Num 22:22-34 ^al; Judg 13:3-21 ^am; 2 Kgs 1:3 ^an, 15 ^ao; Zech 1:4-12 ^ap). The only angels named in the Bible are Michael and Gabriel, who carry out special assignments (Dan 8:16 ^aq, 18 ^ar; 9:21 ^as; 10:12 ^at, 21 ^au; 12:1-2 ^av; Luke 1:19-20 ^aw; Jude 1:9 ^ax). Angels had a role in putting God’s law into effect through Moses (Acts 7:30 ^ay, 35 ^az, 38 ^ba, 53 ^bb; Gal 3:19 ^bc). Angels dispense God’s grace and sometimes administer his judgment (2 Kgs 19:35 ^bd; Acts 12:23 ^be; Rev 9:15 ^bf; 16:1-12 ^bg). Angels were witnesses of Christ’s life (1 Tim 3:16 ^bh), and they are now witnesses of the lives of God’s people (see 1 Cor 11:10 ^bi; 1 Tim 5:21 ^bj). There are guardian angels who protect God’s people (Matt 18:10 ^bk; see also Pss 34:7 ^bl; 91:11 ^bm; Acts 12:11 ^bn). They are “spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation” (Heb 1:14 ^bo). Angels will accompany Christ when he returns (Matt 25:31 ^bp; 2 Thes 1:7-8 ^bq) and will participate in the final judgment (Matt 13:39 ^br, 41 ^bs, 49-50 ^bt; 16:27 ^bu; 24:31 ^bv; Mark 13:27 ^bw; Luke 9:26 ^bx; 12:8 ^by; 2 Thes 1:7 ^bz).
Angels appear at some significant points in the Gospels. Angels announced the births of John the Baptist and Jesus (Luke 1:1–2:52 ^ca) and ministered to Jesus after his temptation (Matt 4:11 ^cb). Angels also appeared at the empty tomb after the resurrection of Jesus (Matt 28:1-8 ^cc; Mark 16:5-7 ^cd; Luke 24:23 ^ce; John 20:12 ^cf).
The ministry of angels is also prominent in the book of Acts. On multiple occasions, an angel of the Lord made possible miraculous escapes from prison (5:19 ^cg; 12:6-11 ^ch). An angel offered a message of encouragement to Paul in the midst of a violent storm (27:23-24 ^ci). An angel also directed Cornelius to seek the Good News from Peter (10:3 ^cj, 7 ^ck, 22 ^cl; 11:13 ^cm). Meanwhile, an angel struck down Herod Agrippa “because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God” (12:23 ^cn). Throughout Acts, God was guiding his people in their ministry and using angels to accomplish his purposes.
Some angels have fallen into sin and are destined for eternal judgment (Matt 25:41 ^co; 2 Pet 2:4 ^cp, 11 ^cq; Jude 1:6 ^cr). And although angels are spiritual and heavenly beings, angels are not to be worshiped (Gal 1:8 ^cs; Col 2:18 ^ct; Rev 19:10 ^cu; 22:8-9 ^cv) because they are inferior to Christ (Heb 1:5-14 ^cw). Their role is to be servants of God (Heb 1:14 ^cx).

Passages for Further Study
Ps 91:11 ^cy; Dan 8:15-18 ^cz; 9:21-23 ^da; 10:4–11:1 ^db; 12:1-2 ^dc; Zech 1:8-13 ^dd, 18-19 ^de; 2:3-5 ^df; Matt 1:20-24 ^dg; 4:5-7 ^dh, 11 ^di; 13:39-42 ^dj, 49-50 ^dk; 18:10 ^dl; 24:31 ^dm; 28:2-7 ^dn; Mark 16:5-7 ^do; Luke 1:11-22 ^dp, 26-38 ^dq; 2:8-15 ^dr; 9:26 ^ds; 12:8 ^dt; John 20:12-13 ^du; Acts 5:19-20 ^dv; 7:30-35 ^dw, 53 ^dx; 10:3-8 ^dy; 12:6-11 ^dz, 23 ^ea; 27:23-24 ^eb; 1 Cor 11:10 ^ec; Gal 1:8 ^ed; 3:19 ^ee; Col 2:18 ^ef; 1 Thes 4:16 ^eg; 1 Tim 3:16 ^eh; 5:21 ^ei; Heb 1:5-14 ^ej; 12:22 ^ek; 13:2 ^el; 2 Pet 2:4 ^em, 11 ^en; Jude 1:6 ^eo, 9 ^ep; Rev 1:1-2 ^eq; 5:2 ^er, 11-12 ^es; 7:1-2 ^et; 8:3-8 ^eu; 9:15 ^ev; 10:7-9 ^ew; 14:6-10 ^ex; 16:1-12 ^ey; 19:10 ^ez, 17 ^fa; 20:1 ^fb; 22:6-9 ^fc