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Sunday School
God Is Rarely Early,
what Herod intended as evil became James’s path to eternal life. There is a rescue that goes beyond anything we know here on earth.
Paranoid Herod showed his true political stripes when he saw how the Jews ap- proved killing James. Acts 12:3-5. Wanting to ride the waves of popularity he pro- ceeded to seize Peter and in- tended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. Two providential things hindered Herod’s plans for Peter:
• First, it was Passover time. Religious festivals sometimes gave rise to polit- ical unrest. To ensure that nothing went wrong, Herod had Peter guarded with four squads of soldiers. After all, incarcerating Peter did not always work well (Acts 5:19).
• Second, the church prayed. God could have res- cued Peter without the church’s prayers. But when Heaven and earth collide, the result is a miracle. The
church did not really believe in their prayer in light of their surprise when Peter was released (Acts 12:12- 17). But the text did not say that they prayed for his re- lease. Nonetheless, prayer made a difference.
Angels are God’s messen- gers assigned to glorify him (Revelation 5:11, 12) and serve as ministering spirits (Hebrews 1:14). The Passover was over and Herod planned to bring him to trial the next day. God is rarely early, but never late. Acts 12:6-10
The account is miracu- lous and humorous. Peter was guarded carefully (with guards chained to him and guards at the door) while sleeping soundly. After all, you don’t want to go to your trial and execution being ex- hausted. Peter’s ability to sleep says something about his faith. Peter was sleeping so soundly that the angel had to slap him awake.
Peter remained almost subconscious as the angel
rescued him from prison. In fact, Peter thought he was seeing a vision. He had good reason to think this (Acts 10:9-16). Peter and the angel made their exit like ninjas. The guards were clue- lessandtheirongate... opened for them by itself. When Peter was safe, the angel left.
Peter came to himself. A very similar Greek phrase oc- curs in Luke 15:17 about the prodigal son. Some refer to it as an “Aha” moment. Acts 12:11 Peter had several of these in Acts (10:28, 34; 15:7-11). God rescued Peter. The word means “to take out.” God took Peter out of prison so that his min- istry could be preserved for another 20 years.
What irony. The one to be tried was miraculously deliv- ered from jail. The one in power was overthrown and eaten by worms (Acts 12:19- 23). The church that prayed was overjoyed (vv. 12-17) and continued to increase and grow (v. 24).
Rescue is at the heart of the gospel. Germane to the meaning of the word salva- tion is deliverance or rescue. The Bible often uses salva- tion in its most spiritual sense—redemption, forgive- ness, and the promise of eter- nal life (Colossians 1:13). But since salvation also in- cludes the healing of all cre- ation, salvation has a physical dimension as well (2 Timothy 3:10, 11; 4:18).
Peter was defending his actions to the Jerusalem church about taking the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 11:1-18). Now he will need
some defending of his own— as well as some help from on high.
The rescue of Peter was different than that of James. In a sense, both apostles were rescued. “Some” could refer to more than just James and Peter, but the focus is on just these two apostles. Acts 12:1, 2
James was put to death with the sword. Jesus pre- dicted that suffering like this would happen (John 15:18- 20). James, the brother of John and son of Zebedee, was the first Apostle to die a martyr’s death. However
But Never Late (Acts 12:1-24)
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