234 – Jail Break
Acts 12:1-24
Barnabas and Saul arrived in Jerusalem about the time King Herod decided to persecute the Christians. He started by arresting James the brother of John. Eventually Herod had James killed. When he saw how much this pleased the Jews, he arrested Peter and had him put in prison. Sixteen soldiers guarded him. The church began praying for Peter, and didn’t stop.
The night before he was to be executed, Peter was sleeping between two guards. His hands and feet were in chains. The other guards were standing next to various doors in the prison.
Suddenly, an angel appeared and filled the prison cell with light. Peter didn’t wake up; so the angel poked him. “Wake up and get dressed.” Peter looked up and saw the angel, but he didn’t believe this was really happening. He thought he was seeing a vision. Still, he got up, and his chains dropped to the floor.
The angel said, “Follow me.” Peter followed him through several guard posts until they came to the iron gate that led out into the city. Peter watched as it opened by itself.
They went along a city street when suddenly the angel disappeared. Peter stood alone in the night air, and finally realized he wasn’t dreaming.
He went to where believers were praying for him, and knocked on the gate. A servant girl came to answer. She was surprised to hear Peter’s voice through the door. She ran back into the house and yelled, “Peter is standing at the door.”
They didn’t believe her, but she kept saying, “I know what I heard. Peter is at the door.”
They said, “That’s impossible! Peter is in prison. You probably heard his angel.”
Peter continued knocking at the door, so they finally opened it. They were shocked when they saw him standing there, and they all started talking at the same time. Peter said, “Please, let me tell you what happened.”
He then told them exactly how the Lord sent an angel to deliver him. They all gave praise to God for what he had done.
The next morning, the guards were horrified to find that Peter was missing! When Herod found out, he had all sixteen men executed.
Herod then went to a resort on the coast and delivered a speech to a crowd of people. After he was done, they shouted, “This is the voice of a god!” Herod was filled with pride. Suddenly, an angel struck him, and he was infested with worms and died.
The work of God continued to grow and spread. Barnabas and Saul left Jerusalem and headed back to Antioch, taking John Mark with them.
