Bible Study series: Acts 12:1-5. God did not intervene for James, but he did for Peter. Pray according to God’s will and intervention to be done.
Friendly greetings and a warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn. Let’s learn together and apply these truths to our lives.
I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click on this link:
At the link to the original post, next, I write more commentary and dig a little deeper into the Greek. I also offer a section titled Observations for Discipleship at the end. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided in the commentary section for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Acts 12:1-5
1 At about that time, King Herod arrested certain ones from the church, to mistreat them. 2 He executed James the brother of John with the sword. 3 When he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews, he went further and arrested Peter, but it was the days of Unleavened Bread. 4 Seizing him, he put him in prison, handing him over to four squads of four soldiers to guard him, intending after Passover to bring him out to the people. 5 And so Peter was kept in prison. But there was earnest prayer taking place by the church to God for him. (Acts 12:1-5)
Comments:
Peterson: “Without explanation, one apostle is executed, but another is rescued, teaching the church to live with the mystery of God’s providence and rely afresh in each situation on the mercy and continuing care of God (cf. 4:24-31)” (comments on vv. 1-3). Peterson also notes that James’s death was not formally replaced by an apostle as we read in Acts 1. Instead he was replaced by James the Lord’s brother, who with a group of elders became the leaders of the Jerusalem church (see 11:30; 12:17; 15:2, 4, 6, 22, 23, 21:18). But I note that the replacement of Judas in Acts 1 did not involve Jesus’s brother, even though he was there (1:14). Instead, Matthias was selected. Could it be that James’s earlier unbelief disqualified him (John 7:5)? After all, he and his other brothers tried to take Jesus into custody, for they thought he was out of his mind (Mark 3:20-21). Jesus seems to have appeared to James later than to Peter and the other eleven (1 Cor. 15:7). Did Jesus have to restore James and move him away from his unbelief, much as he had to do this to Peter (John 21:15-19)? Did Jesus tell him that he would become a leader? So could it be that James grew into his leadership role later, in a process?
1:
Herod Agrippa I (born in 9 B.C.) was appointed king of sorts over certain territories in Israel. He was very favorable to Judaism.
“At about that time”: Bock says that Agrippa was in Rome in AD 41 and died before Passover in 44, so these events in Acts 12 can be dated either in 42 or 43 (comment on vv. 1-2). Longenecker says that if the famine which Agabus predicted occurred in 44, then Luke is simply placing some of his material as a grouping, and evidently he wants to bring an end to this period of the Jerusalem church by mentioning the death of James and the escape of Peter. Historians can shift their material around a theme (Longenecker, comment on v. 1). In other words, Luke was being approximate and thematic.
“arrested”: Agrippa through his agents literally put his hands on or grabbed these certain members. But who are the certain ones? They were not just anybody but were probably leaders. Bruce (1990) says they were the apostles. The arrest of James and Peter indicates Bruce is right. We don’t know what happened to the others because the narrative focuses on James and then Peter.
Would you or I be ready to suffer for being Christians though we did nothing wrong? Only by God’s grace and strength.
“church”: In Greek it is ekklēsia (pronounced ek-klay-see-ah) and the meaning has roots in both Hebrew and Greek. It literally describes an assembly or gathering. It literally means “the ones called out” or “the called out” or “the summoned” who gather together.
Fellowship is so important for believers. Don’t believe the lie circulating in American society, particularly in social media, that not going to church is good enough. People who skip constant fellowship are prone to sin and self-deception and satanic attacks. We need each other.
This link has a list of the famous “one another” verses, like “love one another.”
Further, since American Christianity is undergoing discussion on the sizes of churches, let me add: the earliest Christian community met either in houses (Acts 2:46) or in Solomon’s Colonnade in Jerusalem (Acts 3:11; 5:12) or a large number in Antioch (11:26), which could hold a large gathering—call it a mega-church—and presumably in mid-sized gatherings. Size does not matter, since it varies so widely.
Further, At the time of this writing, I’m not a church planter (or planner), but one thing that impresses me about all those above references, is that the apostles, as they planted churches, were guided by the Spirit—always—and they were also deliberate about setting them up and establishing them. Planning is Scriptural. So wisdom says: listen to the Spirit and plan. Listen as you plan and be ready to drop your plans at a moment notice, when the Spirit says so. God will grow the church as we proclaim the good news.
2:
To hear the news that James was beheaded must have been a terrible shock to the Messianic Jews headquartered in Jerusalem. But it must be asked, where were their prayers? I have been arguing throughout this commentary series up to now that Luke does not need to mention every detail about the charismatic power of the church. He assumes we the readers would know this from the entire context of the book of Acts—it is supercharged with the power and presence of the Spirit. So maybe they were praying for James without Luke stating it. But it is odd that Luke describes the massive and extensive prayers for Peter, but not for James and the others. Let’s trust they were praying for them, as well. For a long discussion see the very last section, below.
3:
“pleasing to the Jews”: This reminds me of John’s frequent reference to the Jews. Clearly Luke means the Jerusalem establishment. They could not carry out the death penalty, but Agrippa could. So of course the execution of church leaders pleased them. F. F. Bruce (1990) writes of Agrippa’s relations with the Jews: “In Palestine he sedulously cultivated the goodwill of his Jewish subjects, observing their customs and showing preference for their company, so that even the Pharisees thought well of him. On one occasions, when he publicly read Dt. 17:14-20 (the ‘law of kingship’) at the Feast of Tabernacles in [AD] 41, he is said to have wept at the words of v. 15 (‘you may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother’), for he remembered his Edomite ancestry; but the people called out repeatedly, ‘Be not dismayed; you are indeed our brother!’ (mSota 7.8)” (1990, p. 280).
So he sought to curry favor from the Jerusalem establishment and the people.
Agrippa lived by the standards of Judaism and the Old Covenant, and by the end of Acts 12, he will suffer punishment laid out by the standards of the Old Covenant: an angel of the Lord will strike him down. Ananias and Sapphira also lived outside the New Covenant and inside the Old, and they too died on the spot (Acts 5:1-11).
See my post Ananias and Sapphira, which also mentions Agrippa.
Why Did Ananias and Sapphira Drop Dead?
But why did the Jewish leadership turn on the apostles? Bruce again rightly says it is because word got around that Peter ate with Cornelius, a centurion in the Roman army, the occupier and oppressor. So the earliest Messianic Jews were gradually breaking free from Judaism, but not enough that they have to flee Jerusalem (Acts 15). So again, the messages are mixed—the Jesus Movement was linked to Judaism, but still Jesus was the Messiah. And yet the Messianic Jews must have kept some (or much?) of the law, like kosher requirements and circumcision (Acts 15:1-5).
Jesus predicted that at least one of Zebedee’s sons would go through suffering:
37 They said to him, “Grant to us that we may sit one on your right and one on your left, in your glory.” 38 Jesus said to them, “You don’t understand what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup which I will drink and to be baptized with the baptism with which I will be baptized?” 39 They said to him, “We are able.” But Jesus said to them, “You shall drink the cup which I drink and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. (Mark 10:37-39)
“Day of Unleavened Bread”: Since it immediately follows Passover (v. 4), let’s cover this feast first.
(1). Passover
Time of year in OT: First Month: Aviv / Nisan 14th day (for one day)
Time of Year in Modern Calendar: March / April (second Passover is one month later according to Num. 9:10-11)
How to celebrate it:
(1) A whole lamb by the number of people in household, being ready to share with nearest neighbor; (2) one-year-old males without defects, taken from sheep and goats; (3) take care of them until the fourteenth day; (4) then all the community is to slaughter it at twilight; (5) put the blood on the tops and sides of the doorframes of the houses where the lambs are eaten, with bitter herbs and bread without yeast; (6) that night eat the lambs roasted over fire, with the head, legs and internal organs, not raw or boiled (7) do not leave any of it until morning; if there is any leftover, burn it; (8) the cloak must be tucked into belt; sandals on feet and staff in hand; (9) eat in haste in order to leave Egypt soon (Exod. 12:4-11).
Purpose: Exodus from Egypt and Protection from Judgment:
“The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt” (Exod. 12:13).
Other Scriptures: Exod. 12:4-14; Num. 28:16
(2). Unleavened Bread
Time of Year in OT: Same month, 15th to 21st days, for seven days
Time of Year in Modern Calendar: Same month, on the fifteenth day, which lasts for seven days
How to celebrate it:
Exod. 12:14-20 says that the Israelites were to eat bread without yeast for seven days, from the fourteenth day to the twenty-first day. On the first day they were to remove the yeast from their houses. If they eat anything with yeast from the first to the seventh days they shall be cut off (excommunicated), and this was true for foreigner or native-born. They must not do work on those days, except to prepare to prepare the food for everyone to eat. On the first days they are to hold a sacred assembly (meet at the tabernacle) and another one on the seventh day.
Other Scriptures: Exod. 12:14-20; Num. 28:16
Purpose: see the previous section “Passover.”
Festivals in Leviticus 23 from a NT Perspective
4:
Peter was tightly guarded. Bock says that a squad was made up of four soldiers, and four squads add up to sixteen (comment on vv. 3-5). Each squad took the four shifts in the night (Peterson, comments on vv. 4-5). Bruce says that Peter was probably kept in the Antonia Fortress (1988, comment on vv. 5-9). Agrippa wanted to bring him out to the people for a public trial. They probably would have turned on him for his accepting the Gentiles into a sect of Judaism—the Way or the Jesus Movement. This brings up an interesting point. If Herod had been able to put the other apostles on public trial, would the people have accepted them because of all the signs and wonders and miracles they did and because they did not have table fellowship with the Gentiles, and with a Roman officer to boot? Maybe. We’ll never know. Whatever the case, Messianic Jews never felt the pressure to leave Jerusalem—or enough pressure actually to flee, since we see them guiding the church throughout the eastern part of the Roman Empire from the capital of Israel (Acts 15).
5:
It is good that prayers happened for Peter. Did they not pray for James?
“earnest”: it could be translated as “constant,” “earnest,” and “eager.” As noted in v. 2, it was a blessing that they prayed constantly for Peter, but where were these prayers for James and the others? Since the church was very charismatic and Spirit-empowered, let’s assume and trust that they were praying for them in the same way they were for Peter. Luke does not have to record every detail. NT narratives are elliptical (omit details). However, for a closer look, see the very last section, below.
“prayer”: In this case it is in the imperfect form of the verb so the prayers were continuous. Always pray and not give up, no matter how long it takes.
Prayer flows out of confidence before God that he will answer because we no longer have an uncondemned heart (1 John 3:19-24; Rom. 8:1); and we know him so intimately that we find out from him what is his will is and then we pray according to it (1 John 5:14-15); we pray with our Spirit-inspired languages and our native languages (1 Cor. 14:15-16). But that’s what all believers should do; however, too often theory outruns practice. Pray! For a theology on how to respond when God does not answer our prayers, as when James was executed by Herod, see the very last application section: Observations for Discipleship.
Prayer can be (1) for oneself, like overcoming sins and vices in your heart and mind or receiving wisdom from above (James 3:17) and not being double-minded about receiving it (Jas. 1:5-8), but (2) it is also for the needs of the community. It was coming under attack, so prayers were offered. Praying for boldness to reach out and spread the word is wonderful. We should do it more often. (3) Further, prayer brings down the manifest presence of God. God is omnipresent (everywhere) of course, but his presence can make itself felt and experienced. God showed up and shook the place where they were gathered.
Prayer can be visualized like a pebble in a pond, and the ripples go outward. (1) It starts with oneself and one’s needs; (2) then it goes outward to one’s own family and (3) to the Christian community (your home church). (4) It goes out to evangelism and the needs of the world around the community, (5) and finally to parts around the globe. But this prayer here in Acts varies the order, which you may do, if you like. Prayer is ultimately and most deeply a conversation with God.
What Is Biblical Intercession?
GrowApp for Acts 12:1-5
1. When personal tragedy occurs, pray! How is your prayer life?
2. Would you be prepared to suffer persecution like this? How does on prepare? What about praying? What about developing your relationship with God?
RELATED
The Historical Reliability of the Book of Acts
Book of Acts and Paul’s Epistles: Match Made in Heaven?
SOURCES
For the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the very bottom:
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 