Peter: Delivered From Prison
When the church was birthed Herod Agrippa was governor of Judea. He ruled by the gracious favor of the emperor Claudius but he never forgot that his position was as dependent on the favor of the Jews as it was on Caesar’s. So it was that, in an attempt to curry favor with his Jewish constituents, Herod began to persecute the church.
He jailed innocent men and women and children, confiscated their goods, seized their houses and lands, and wreaked havoc among the church in general. It was not an easy time to be a Christian, and it never was during those early centuries, yet, surprisingly the movement grew. People flocked to this strange and new religious sect because it offered a message of hope; no other religious ideology of the time assured people of life beyond the grave the way Christianity did and its entire ideology was based on a single fact, the resurrection of Jesus. Because Jesus has been raised from the dead everyone who accepted him and believed in him, could experience the same transformation. Despite the inferno of persecution that surrounded the movement, this single truth propelled it forward at breakneck speed.
The growth of the church, despite the continuous pressure heaped on it by external forces, enraged the Jews. To them, Christianity represented extinction and a shift of power. In their minds, the growth of Christianity, which seemed to be an extension of Judaism, threatened to destroy Judaism completely and shift its power base by appropriating most of its adherents. It seemed that thousands of years of tradition teetered on the brink of being expunged because of a dead Jew named Jesus who couldn’t be exterminated no matter how hard the Jewish leaders tried
Herod understood the dynamics of the situation; if he wanted to keep the Jews happy and in his corner, then he needed to destroy the church. With this in mind, he began targeting church leaders. The reasoning seemed simple enough; if you cut off the head the body will wither and die. Yet Herod didn't realize that the head of the church was not a man or even a dead Jew, it was God himself and Herod's sword could never extend that far.
Herod arrested and beheaded James, John’s brother and one of Jesus’ inner circle. He hoped James’ death would cripple the church but that didn't happen. While James' execution was a bitter blow it failed to bring the church to its knees. Enraged and determined to keep the forward momentum going Herod arrested Peter as well.
Peter’s arrest drove the church to its knees; not in defeat but in earnest prayer. They understood that nothing short of Divine intervention could deliver Peter from Herod’s power. When the Jews heard that Peter had been arrested they saw an important public relations opportunity that had been missed during James’ death. As gratifying as it had been to have James arrested and beheaded with alarming speed, he had been executed in private. The Jewish leaders were determined to make a public example of Peter and demanded that Herod have him executed in public.
Peter had been arrested in the middle of the Passover celebration and the Jewish leaders thought it prudent to wait until the festivities had ended and the city had been emptied of its visiting masses before Peter’s execution was planned. After all, they didn’t want a riot in Jerusalem and they were nervous that Peter might open his big mouth and start preaching. The preaching would inevitably lead to mass conversions and if they were to behead Peter in the aftermath of such an event they were asking for trouble.
They wanted a public bloodletting preferably while preserving their own necks. This delay in Peter’s execution gave the church an opportunity to persevere in prayer. Peter was too important, too central a figure to lose so early in the life of the church and the young Christians pleaded with God for mercy and deliverance.
This wasn’t the first time Peter had been imprisoned. The last time it had happened an angel had released him. Determined to prevent a second instance of supernatural intervention Herod commissioned sixteen soldiers to guard Peter. The irony of the situation is marked; Herod was assuming that sixteen Roman soldiers with their short iron swords could take on a single supernatural being and win. He was afraid of an unseen opponent yet determined to fight. Some might call this courage but it sounds very much like hubris.
A date was set for Peter’s execution and the church redoubled its efforts at prayer. Peter prayed in his cell too but he also surrendered his case to God. He recognized the impossible situation he was in; locked up in an impregnable prison surrounded by thick stone walls, solid wooden doors, and heavy iron bard. In addition to all this, he was continuously chained to one of the guards who were assigned to watch over him. Yet, despite the discomfort and the bleakness of the situation Peter’s faith didn’t fail.
As it turned out, Herod’s paranoid plans to keep Peter from being rescued, even by supernatural means only served to glorify God. Surrounded by guards and swords and bars and bolts Peter was still within reach of Divine power.
The angel led Peter out of the prison and through the streets of the city until they reached his destination. Then, as suddenly and as silently as he had appeared the angel was gone and Peter was left standing in the street, jaw unhinged and still wondering if he was asleep.
Looking around Peter recognized where he was. He also recognized something far more important; against all odds, God send an angel and delivered him from prison. Nothing was impossible with God. Hurriedly Peter made his way to a house where he assumed his fellow believers would be gathered together praying for him. Once there he knocked on the door and one of the servants, a young girl named Rhoda came to answer. Excited and discombobulated by the late-night guest at the door, Rhoda left Peter on the street and ran to tell everyone gathered inside that he was knocking at the door. At first, no one believed her, which was a little ironic considering that they were engaged in the act of praying for a miracle. The kind of miracle that had brought Peter to their door.
Regardless of the skepticism, she faced Rhoda kept insisting that she knew what she had heard. When she refused to relent one of the believers told her that it must be an angel which was even more bewildering because an angel at the door who sounded like Peter was more believable to them at that point than Peter himself making an appearance. Why was it so hard to believe that God had answered their prayers? Why was it easier to keep praying for something without really believing that God would answer them? The act of prayer in and of itself can sometimes be so comforting that we forget that God can actually answer our prayers.
Meanwhile, poor Peter kept knocking, most likely glancing around the empty street hoping no one came charging to arrest him and haul him back to his cell. When everyone finally managed to clear up the confusion the believers were beside themselves with joy. God had answered their prayers, which had beggared belief for so long that Peter had to stand on the stoop in the dead of night. But at least he was safe and they had learned a valuable lesson; prayer isn’t just for comfort, prayer can actually move the arm of God.
When Herod discovered that his prize prisoner had been whisked away in the dead of night he looked around for someone to blame. He knew that no human power could have intervened to rescue Peter but he refused to acknowledge the power of God either. So instead he had the soldiers who were guarding Peter executed for dereliction of duty because sometimes it's easier to blame human beings for divine intervention so that we can skirt the issue of having to believe that God is real.
Herod was not alone in his wilful and valiant efforts to reject God. The world is full of people who, despite strong evidence to the contrary, refuse to acknowledge the existence and sovereignty of God. But perhaps the moral of the entire story is this; absolute confidence in the will of God for our lives even when the outcomes look bleak. Peter surrendered his life to God without question, whether he lived or died he was willing to accept the outcomes. He was willing to rest in that reality. And that made all the difference.
