Acts 12:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison.

NIV: 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.

NASB: On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison.

CSB: When Herod was about to bring him out for trial, that very night Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while the sentries in front of the door guarded the prison.

NLT: The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate.

KJV: And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.

NKJV: And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison.

Herod Agrippa I is the grandson of Herod the Great (Matthew 2:1). In his younger years in Rome, he made a habit of getting into trouble and relying on his wife to bail him out. When his friend Caligula became Caesar, Agrippa was given rule of the tetrarchy of his uncle Philip, northeast of Galilee. In time, his political machinations proved effective, and he now controls Galilee, Samaria, Judea, and Perea across the Jordan River.

In addition, he has earned the favor of the Sanhedrin by showing a modest but effective respect for Judaism. For some unspecified reason, he has arrested and beheaded the apostle James. When he realizes the move has made him even more favorable to the Sanhedrin, he arrests Peter but wants to wait until after the Feast of Unleavened Bread before he executes him (Acts 12:1–5).

Peter has been arrested twice before, but only by Sanhedrin guards who have no authority to execute a prisoner (Acts 4:1–22; 5:17–40; John 18:31). Now, he has been arrested by Roman soldiers. He is probably being kept in the Fortress Antonia, the guardhouse on the northwest corner of the Temple Mount. Jesus has told him that he will die by crucifixion (John 21:18–19), so he has plenty of reasons to be nervous.

However, Jesus also told Peter he would be "old" when he died. Agrippa reigned over Judea from AD 41 until his death in AD 44—so this is no later than fourteen years after Jesus' ascension. Peter knows his ministry isn't finished, but even if it were, he would face death on behalf of Jesus. It's noteworthy that at this moment, he's fast asleep. In fact, tradition states that when the Romans finally do sentence him to crucifixion, he demands to be hung upside-down as he has no right to die like his Savior.

Acts 12:6–11 describes Peter's angelic rescue from a Roman prison. Herod Agrippa I arrested and killed the apostle James, brother of John. When he realized how much local religious leaders approved, he arrested Peter with plans to kill him after the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The church has been praying, however, and Peter's ministry is not over. God answers their prayer by sending an angel to rescue him from prison. Peter will stop by and update members of the church and then go into hiding. We won't see him again until the meeting of church leaders in Acts 15.

Acts 12 starts with the first death of an apostle and ends with the death of a king. Herod Agrippa I beheads James and imprisons Peter. An angel rescues Peter and he quickly lets the church in Jerusalem know before he goes into hiding. Agrippa, grandson of Herod the Great and friend to the Pharisees, accepts glory due only to God and dies, likely a few days later, of internal worms. Meanwhile, the church continues to grow, and Barnabas and Saul return to Syrian Antioch. The scene is set for Paul's extensive ministry to the Gentiles.

When Acts 12 opens, at least some of the apostles are in Jerusalem, and Barnabas and Saul are in Syrian Antioch, collecting support so the church in Jerusalem can survive the coming famine (Acts 11:27–30). The church is established in Jerusalem and growing in the regions on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea. When the chapter closes, Barnabas and Saul are poised for their missionary trip in modern-day Asia Minor. Saul will take on the Greek version of his name, Paul, and the story of Jesus will spread to Rome and beyond.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.