Peter Sleeping between Two Soldiers - Acts 12:6
[15th November 2019]
Acts 12:1 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.
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 round 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
This is certainly an encouraging story of God working in the supernatural to rescue Peter.
This King Herod who locked up Peter was Herod Agrippa I, the son of Herod Antipas to whom Jesus refused to speak at his trial. Herod Agrippa was an insecure, evil man who used popular PR stunts to gain favour with the Jewish religious authorities who despised him. Having killed the apostle James to popular applause, he thought he would do the same thing to Peter. So he had him arrested, and thrown into prison ready to be brought out for execution at the end of the week of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
But what struck me most about this story when I re-read it, were not all the supernatural events, which are wonderful enough, but more the fact that Peter was sleeping on the morning of his planned execution. He had probably been in prison for a whole week, waiting until the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread were over. How could Peter sleep on the morning of his planned execution? One would think he might at least be praying!
So why was Peter calmly sleeping?
· Perhaps he knew that the church leaders in Jerusalem would be praying for him at John Mark’s house? – as they were.
· Perhaps because he recalled the words of Jesus at the end of John’s Gospel that he would die as an old man?
· Perhaps he had great confidence in the resurrection from the dead and death held no terrors for him – as it should not. Easy for me to say, but then I have never faced execution.
Another question I have is: Why did God rescue Peter and not James his fellow-apostle who was killed earlier? In WEC Congo during the horrible Simba Uprising of 1964 some missionaries were brutally murdered others had wonderful supernatural escapes and lived to tell us the stories of God’s deliverance – and the mystery remained why some suffered and others didn’t.
There is another story of someone else sleeping: Jesus, who slept while a great storm struck the apostles’ boat on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus told them to go to the other side of the lake and went to sleep. Jesus was awoken by the apostles, who were panicking, and he rebuked them for their little faith. But what were they not believing? They didn’t know who Jesus was and what his purpose was. Like Jesus asleep in the storm on the lake, Peter now knew that God is in control. Peter now knew that God will always succeed and triumph, whether James lives or dies whether Peter lives or dies. That takes a devotion and love for God that we all need.
Our personal fulfilment is not the key, but the advance of the gospel. I doubt very much whether there is any ill-feeling between Peter and James in heaven 2,000 years later, about why Peter escaped and James got his head chopped off in 44 AD. The bigger scheme of things is more important - and I believe Peter knew that.
I think the key to this story and why it is told out of an age already abounding in amazing miracles, is its place in the Book of Acts. It is halfway through the book. It is also half way through the book in time as well. Pentecost occurred 30 AD, this story occurred in 44 AD and the last chapter of Acts ch28 takes place in 60 AD. It is a sort of hinge between the 1st and 2nd halves of the book. Chapter 12 concludes after the King Herod had been struck down by God and died, v24, “But the word of God increased and multiplied.” It is his word, not ours. It is his gospel not ours. And we are his people.
Every attempt had been made to crush the gospel. Some apostles lived, some died, there had already been failures, there was persecution such that many Jewish Christians had fled Jerusalem – but as v24 says: “But the word of God increased and multiplied.” We are working with a powerful God.
Peter knew that. It’s nice when things go well for me, but it’s not all about me. Catch a sight of the gospel! Catch a sight of the grace of God in Christ! Remind yourself what happened to the Son of God on the cross for you and me and for all the nations of the world. Catch a sight of eternity. After 10,000 years in glory, our troubles and worries of today will seem very trivial and minor.
The word of God will increase and will multiply no matter what happens to his servants.