Page 273 - Demo

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES -
to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a large number of people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were
rst called Christians.
The Prediction of Agabus.* 27At that time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch, 28and one of them named Agabus stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine all over the world, and it happened under Claudius.g 29So the disciples determined that, according to ability,h each should send relief to the brothers who lived in Judea. 30* This they did, sending it to the presbyters in care of Barnabas and Saul.
Herod’s Persecution of the Christians.*
121About that time King Herod laid hands upon some members
of the church to harm them. 2He had James, the brother of John,* killed by the sword, 3* and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (It was [the] feast of Unleavened Bread.) 4He had him taken into custody and put in prison under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. He intended to bring him before the people after Passover. 5Peter thus was being kept in prison, but prayer by the church was fervently being made to God on his behalf.a
6On the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter, secured by double chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while outside the door guards kept watch on the prison. 7Suddenly the angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and awakened him, saying, “Get up quickly.” The chains fell from his wrists. 8The angel said to him, “Put on your belt and your sandals.” He did so. Then he said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.” 9So he followed him out, not realizing that what was happening through the angel was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10They passed the rst guard, then the second, and came to the iron gate leading out to the city, which opened for them by itself. They emerged and made their way down an alley, and suddenly the angel left him. 11Then Peter recovered his senses and said, “Now I know for certain that [the] Lord sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people had been expecting.” 12When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who is called Mark, where there were many people gathered in prayer.b 13When he knocked on the gateway door, a maid named Rhoda came to answer it. 14She was so overjoyed when she recognized Peter’s voice
*
11:26
“It was in Antioch that the disciples were rst called Christians.” As the Gospel spreads beyond the Jewish community to the Gentiles, the followers of Jesus Christ are known by a new name: Christians.
The Arrest of James, by Jan von Scorel (1495-1552)
CHAPTER 11
g. [11:28] 21:10.
h. [11:29–30] 12:25.
CHAPTER 12
a. [12:5] Jas 5:16.
b. [12:12] 12:25; 15:37.
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* [11:27–30] It is not clear whether the prophets from Jerusalem came to Antioch to request help in view of the coming famine or whether they received this insight during their visit there. The former supposition seems more likely. Suetonius and Tacitus speak of famines during the reign of Claudius (A.D. 41–54), while the Jewish historian Josephus mentions a famine in Judea in A.D. 46–48. Luke is interested, rather, in showing the charity of the Antiochene community toward the Jewish Christians of Jerusalem despite their di erences on mixed communities.
* [11:30] Presbyters: this is the same Greek word that elsewhere is translated “elders,” primarily in reference to the Jewish community.
* [12:1–19] Herod Agrippa ruled Judea A.D. 41–44. While Luke does not assign a motive for his execution of James and his intended execution of Peter, the broad background lies in Herod’s support of Pharisaic Judaism. The Jewish Christians had lost the popularity they had had in Jerusalem (Acts 2:47), perhaps because of suspicions against them traceable to the teaching of Stephen.
* [12:2] James, the brother of John: this James, the son of Zebedee, was beheaded by Herod Agrippa ca. A.D. 44.
* [12:3, 4] Feast of Unleavened Bread. . .Passover: see note on Lk 22:1.