4/17/24
Bruce, F.F. (1988). "Herod Agrippa I and the Church (12:1-24)." In The Book of Acts (Revised). (pp. 232-242). William B. Eerdmans Publishing,
At the start of Acts 12, Herod is introduced. Bruce notes this is Herod Agrippa, the grandson of Herod the Great (Bruce 1988, p. 232). He was taken to Rome at the age of four, and grew up on good terms with Claudius and Gaius, who became emperor in A.D. 37. Gaius Caesar assigned Agrippa two tetrarchies in Syria, as well as the title of king. His realm grew when Claudius Caesar became emperor in 41. Herod Agrippa regularly made attempts to gain the goodwill of the Jews.
Herod's desire for popularity led him to make his move against the apostles, recorded in Acts 12:2 (Bruce 1988, p. 232). James the son of Zebedee was the first of the Eleven to die as a martyr (Bruce 1988, p. 233). Bruce observes that while James the Just and some others who generally cooperated with the Jewish community seemed relatively safe, James the son of Zebedee and Peter were targets for persecution, likely due to their willingness to bring the gospel to Gentiles (Bruce 1988, p. 234).
Acts 12:4 places the time of this activity at the time of unleavened bread. Agrippa wanted to delay a public show until after the feast. However, this moved him to use special increased security measures to prevent a jailbreak. Peter was chained to two guards and had two more at the door of his cell.
In Acts 12:5-11 an angel of the Lord appears to Peter and releases him from prison, evading the guards (Bruce 1988, p. 235). The church had been in prayer for him (v. 5). Bruce notes that Peter at first assumed he was dreaming. Bruce briefly examines the physical description of the area and concludes the prison may have been the same one where Paul was kept in chapters 21-23. By verse 10, Peter realized he was not dreaming. He had been rescued from prison (Bruce 1988, p. 236). While Bruce entertains the possibility that the "angel" (messenger) was a human, Peter and Luke treat it as most likely an angelic being rather than a human.
Acts 12:12-17 describes Peter's actions. He first checked in with those who were praying, then he departed to go into hiding (Bruce 1988, p. 237). The gathering was at the home of John Mark, probably the author of the Second Gospel, also mentioned in Colossians 4:10; Philemon 24; 2 Timothy 4:11; and 1 Peter 5:13 (Bruce 1988, p. 238). Bruce notes the house was a substantial home, signaling wealth. The reception of Peter in verses 13-16 is humorous, as the doorkeeper had assumed Peter was dead, and left him waiting in the street. When he was admitted, he told of the events, urged those present to tell the other leaders, and went away. Bruce notes he "went underground so successfully that no one to this day has discovered for certain where he went" (Bruce 1988, p. 238). Bruce also notes the priority of James as the leader of the church at Jerusalem (Bruce 1988, p. 239).
The disappearance of Peter, discovered in the morning, spurred a search, an examination of the guards, and their punishment (Acts 12:18-19). Herod later departed to Caesarea. Verses 20-23 describe a dispute which involved Agrippa. The people of Tyre and Sidon depended on Galilee for food and supplies. However, they had offended Agrippa (Bruce 1988, p. 241). When they attempted to appease him, both Acts and Josephus describe him being invoked as a god. Acts describes him falling dead at that time, while Josephus describes an abdominal attack which left him lingering for five days before dying. Bruce draws on Josephus' account to describe Agrippa's finery and the events of the confrontation (Bruce 1988, p. 242). Acts 12:24 provides a brief statement that the gospel continued to spread.