FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF VILLA RICA, PCA

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An Angel Frees Peter From Prison

By

Rev. Todd W. Allen

Villa Rica July 27, 2003

Acts 12:5-18

  We can understand the crisis facing the fledgling church. James was one of the foremost apostles and now he is dead. Peter was regarded as the other most important apostolic leader, so Herod intends to strike at him next. But this time the result will be different. Our scripture today relates in graphic vividness and minute detail the deliverance of Peter out of prison.

Peter had been placed in the custody of sixteen soldiers, four squads of four men each. No doubt they had four shifts to take turns guarding him. He was bound with chains to two soldiers, one on either side of him. Today we would use handcuffs. But how many times have you ever seen a prisoner handcuffed to two guards? The double guard on him around the clock was to make doubly sure that he would not escape. The other two soldiers guarded the prison to make sure he could not escape even if he managed to be freed from the two-chained guards.

I.   Prayer Played a Vital Part in Peter’s Deliverance

Prayer is the greatest privilege and weapon a Christian has. Those who know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord know that prayer is essential to one’s spiritual life. We depend on prayer to answer our calls  for help for both others and ourselves. God is pleased to inspire and use prayer to accomplish his holy will.

A Doctoral student at Princeton in1952 asked the question, "What is there left in the world for original dissertation research?"

            Visiting lecturer Albert Einstein gave this response: "Find out about prayer. Somebody must find out about prayer."

A.   To find out about prayer one has to go to the Bible. Our scripture today is only one passage among hundreds that sheds light on prayer.

       In the case of James there was little or no time for prayer. He was hurriedly arrested and executed. But in Peter’s case, while Herod was just as determined to kill him as he had killed James he decided to wait until after the Passover to bring him out to show him off as a prize victim of his persecuting zeal.

            So in Peter’s case the church had opportunity to pray. And this they did, most fervently and unceasingly. No doubt they had Christians in several houses taking turns praying. It must have been round the clock. What a testimony to the importance they attached to prayer.

Should not we do the same, especially during times of grave emergency and crisis. After all, the church was threatened with extinction. What would happen to the worldwide mission of the church if two of the foremost apostles were snuffed out before the church could be firmly established in Jerusalem and beyond?

The answer to that question is that God is the Protector of His church. There is no way that the church can fail. God has promised that the gates of hell cannot prevail against the church. And God certainly stirs up his people to pray when he chooses to show forth his power and glory to those who would seek to destroy her, as in this case.

            This is not to say that we shouldn’t pray always. We should not wait for a crisis to pray. But there are times when it is more urgent than at other times. This was certainly one of those times.

            But notice God’s timing. He sends an angel to deliver his apostle at the eleventh hour. The Passover is ending and Herod had set a timetable to kill Peter as he killed James the next day. He had made certain that Peter was secure in the Prison. Sixteen soldiers assigned; handcuffed between two and two more guarding the prison door day and night. Herod made sure that any rescue attempt would find Peter chained and guarded by soldiers and behind iron bars and iron gates.

            God moved when it seemed humanly impossible to free Peter and he did it at the eleventh hour and he did it in a miraculous way. Our Confession states that God, in His ordinary providence, maketh use of means, yet is free to work without, above and against them, at His pleasure. (Trinity hymnal P. 851, V:III)

God can use angels and he can perform miracles that are not ordinary means. He did it at the Red Sea when Pharaoh’s army seemed ready to pounce on the escaping Israelites. But then Moses lifted his rod and the sea parted making a way of escape. When the Egyptians tried to follow Moses once again lifted his rod and the sea closed back to it normal state and the Egyptians were all drowned.

            God acted at the critical moment when Abraham in obedience to God’s Word was about to lift the knife to sacrifice his son Isaac. At that very moment the angel called to him from heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham! And he said, “Here I am.” And he said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” (Genesis 22:10-12)

            Faith may be tested to the limit before God acts, as in these cases. But God is never too late. His timing is absolutely perfect.

B.    God’s angel visited the prison that final night before Peter was due to be killed. A light shone in the prison, but apparently no one but Peter saw the light. The soldiers must have been sound asleep for they made no move to resist the rescue of Peter.

When the angel came to roll back the stone at the tomb of our Lord the guards were stricken with great fear and fled. But in this instance they simply did not even know that the angel was there. They did not stir. They made no sign that they knew what was happening.

The angel gave Peter instructions. He first woke

Peter up by striking him on his side. Then he said,

"Get up quickly...gird yourself and put on your sandals. His chains fell off and he got dressed. The angel then said, wrap your cloak around you and follow me.

This is what God has to do with the unsaved sinner. He has to be awakened out of his sleep of death by striking him on his side, awakening his conscience, and telling him to arise and follow the light.

Peter thought he was seeing a vision. It wasn't until they had passed through the first and second guard and had come to the Iron Gate that leads out into the city and he was walking down the street that he realized it really was happening. The angel left him and he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark. Many of the disciples were there praying. He knocked on the door and Rhoda came to answer. She recognized Peter but was so overjoyed that she left him standing there and ran to tell the others.

C.     They didn't believe her when she told them that Peter was at the gate. They said, You are out of

Your mind! But Rhoda kept insisting that it was he. And since Peter is still banging on the gate they finally opened to him and were amazed.

Isn't that interesting -- that they had been praying for Peter’s deliverance, praying that God would do something, but when God does something they simply can't believe it. And isn't that the way it is with us many times? We pray but when things seem impossible of changing we tend to doubt that God will answer, especially when we have seen others in similar straits who were not delivered, as in the case of James. We would have to say that this was a miraculous deliverance.

When Paul and Silas were in the Philippian jail God sent something like an earthquake to unshackle all the prisoners. God is not limited in how he can act. He can liberate you from the chains that may be binding you today. He tells us that this was what he came to do.

As he began his public ministry 16 He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. 17And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,

18        “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME,  BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR.

            HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES,           AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,19         TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”

20And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:16-21 (NASB)

            When Jesus was casting out demons he was accused by the scribes of casting out demons by the ruler of the demons. To this Jesus replied:

 “How can Satan cast out Satan? ²⁴“If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵“If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. ²⁶“If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished! ²⁷“But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house. Mark 3:23-27 (NASB)
            He tells us in this parable that he has power to bind Satan, the strong man, and that he is able to rescue victims from his power. This is what he does for you and me and all who call upon him.  We were bound in the prison house of sin and Satan. There was no way that you or I could ever have delivered ourselves out of that prison. Satan himself is the strong man who kept us under his power and we couldn’t have escaped even if we tried. Jesus Christ came to set the captives free; he leads us out of the captivity of Satan.

This is also what he did for Peter as he was held fast in the prison awaiting death at the hands of Herod. But God intended to keep Peter alive. He answered the prayers of the disciples and sent an angel to free him.

II.  Herod Is Judged  (Acts 12:20-25)

A. Now you can imagine the stir that was caused when

they discovered Peter gone. Herod sends for him and he is not in the prison. Well, he examined the guards and then, when they could give no proper explanation of what had happened to Peter, he ordered them executed. 

B. But now Herod is about to face his own sentence of death He doesn't know it. He is involved in politics and the power plays that go with being a king. And on a certain day when he made an address to the people of Tyre and Sidon decked out in his royal apparel wearing a robe of silver sheen. As he makes his speech the people begin to cry out, the voice of a god and not of a man. And the Word of God tells us, and immediately an angel of the Lord struck him became he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.

C. The scripture goes on to tell us...but the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied. We see, then, that the church sustained the persecution of Herod, as it did all succeeding persecutions down to this very day. And the church continued to grow. But her enemies are smitten and die.

Herod was taken from the earth because of his not giving the glory to God for his authority, power and ability to serve in the governmental office God had given to him. He received the praise that belongs to God alone. This was Satan’s sin and it can be the sin of anyone who yields to the temptation to accept the praise that belongs to God alone.

We know that what took place was something that gave the Christians assurance that God was their Protector and that no weapon forged against the church can prevail. In the end it is the church that prevails.

Not a sparrow falls to the ground apart from God’s will. He says in Matt.10:28-30 (NASB)  : 28“Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29“Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

God never leaves us nor forsakes us. Even martyrdom for Jesus Christ does not kill the soul, only the body. Herod killed James but James has been with the Lord all of these centuries since his martyrdom.  And although Peter was spared at that time he later died, as we all do. But when you belong to the Lord Jesus you are promised eternal life.

Do you have him today? Come to him today. Make him your own personal Savior and Lord. Ask him to save you right now.