Acts 12
It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.
8 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.
11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”
12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”
15 “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”
16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.
18 In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.
Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. 20 He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply.
21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” 23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
24 But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.
25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from[a] Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.
Without a doubt
In Acts chapter 12, Peter is imprisoned by Herod, awaiting his execution, when suddenly an angel of the Lord appears to him in his sleep and delivers him from prison. The moment is so outlandish, so Marvel-esque, that when Peter is frantically pounding on the door of fellow believers to find shelter, they almost didn’t let him in because they couldn’t believe it was really him.
Have you ever found yourself in a ministry pickle? Maybe none of us have actually been imprisoned for the Kingdom work we do, but I’m sure most of us can remember moments where we needed God to show up in a miraculous way. My husband and I served as missionaries in a closed country for four years before moving to Canada. Obtaining and keeping our visas to remain in the country became such a deep source of stress that the word “visa” practically became a curse word in our home. It was the most faith stretching, exhausting moments of risk in my ministry. Sometimes we had to take refuge in a nearby country as we waited for approval, but God always showed up. God had called us, and he was faithful to ensure we could complete the work he called us to.
These moments of faith were stressful, but looking back, there’s a sweetness in remembering. What comes to mind is not the hours we spent waiting in the government offices, packing up our belongings last minute because we were getting kicked out again, or the anxiety and uncertainty of the future. What comes to mind are all the miracles: How God provided in big ways. We took big risks for the Kingdom and we actively saw God move. We knew, just as Peter did, “. . . without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me” (Acts 12:11).
Although the simple act of serving in vocational ministry is faith building and countercultural, monotony can find its way in. We get caught up in the routine and can forget to take big, faith-building risks. Throughout Acts, God showed up for Peter in small and big ways, as he obediently offered his whole life to building the Kingdom. Is God inviting you into an act of faith—one where you may not have all the control? A situation that would require God to show up? It’s super vulnerable, and yet in this vulnerability we allow our trust in God to grow and expand. Peter witnessed the resurrection for goodness’ sake! Yet God had deeper depths of faith to invite him in to. He’s the God who raises the dead, the one who transports people and sends Herod to be eaten by worms (gross), who delivers his disciples from literal prisons. What if God wants to show himself to you in a big way this year? Will you let him?
Reflection:
How has God showed up for you in big ways throughout your life? Spend a few moments in gratitude.
In what ways is the Holy Spirit leading you into deeper depths of faith? What risks is he calling you to take?
How can you make space for God to show up in miraculous ways in your life and community?
Author Bio
Emily Crow serves as the Associate Director of Spiritual Formation and Prayer for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. She also works at The Living Room Church and is starting a discerning community in her neighborhood in Toronto. She is getting her masters in Spiritual Direction from Tyndale University. Emily is married to an incredibly talented graphic designer and has three sons.
Luke and Acts taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
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