Acts 12:11Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

In the Church there is an ancient tradition from the second century, that the Lord Himself did not command the apostles to leave Jerusalem before twelve years had passed. According to Eusebius, this tradition was found in Apollonius's work against the Montanists and in other books.

At this time the Church of Jerusalem, after eight years of peace since Stephen's death, was again disturbed, though not for long. King Herod Agrippa, to whom the emperor Claudius entrusted the rule of Judea itself, wished to display his zeal for strict observance of the law.

His conduct was not always consistent with this zeal. He also adapted himself to the Roman way of life, in order to win the favor of the Gentiles.

Yet, so as not to arm the Jews against himself, he rose up against the preachers of the new teaching. He ordered the Apostle James, the elder son of Zebedee and brother of the Apostle John, to be put to death.

During the feast of Pascha in the year 44, he also cast Peter into prison. His intention was, after the feast, to deal with him as he had dealt with James.

But Peter was freed from prison by the special aid of God. At the prayer of the Church for him, an angel loosed his chains, brought him out of the locked prison, and led him into the city.

Thus he saved from death the chief apostle, whose life was still needed for the Church. Soon afterward Herod himself died, struck by an angel in punishment for his actions against the Church of Christ.

His death restored peace to the Christians of Jerusalem.

Paul and Barnabas came to Jerusalem during these disturbances. Therefore they were probably there only a very short time, could do nothing significant, and soon returned to Antioch.

The words καί έκείνον τόν καιρόν in Acts 12:1, however, do not define the time precisely.

Meanwhile, following the angel, he calmly passed first by the first guard. This guard probably watched the door from the section of the prison where he was confined.

Then he passed by the second guard, probably watching the common exit door of the prison building. Next he reached the iron gate leading to the city street, which opened by itself before them as they passed.

Finally he went out into the street. When he and the angel had passed through one street, suddenly the angel was gone. Only then did Peter look around and become convinced that everything that had happened to him was real.

He knew that his deliverance had been accomplished by the hand of the Lord.

What the Jewish people expected means that part of the people, headed by the Sanhedrin, which was hostile to the Church of Christ. It expected to strike a decisive blow against Christianity by killing the foremost representative of Christianity.

Until then he had been stronger than all his other brethren, both in word and in deed, before God and men. By Peter's wondrous liberation, this hope of the people and of Herod was disappointed.

Even in the obscure phenomena of ordinary life, a historical distance is needed so that everything may be understood as fully as possible.

In the same way, Peter needed to be left alone with himself in order to understand that he could not possibly have left the prison unless the angel of the Lord had brought him out so wondrously.

Likewise, many of us value the great and glorious things that happen to us as God's work only after everything has taken place. Often, because of our lack of understanding of God's will, this is not to our benefit.

Therefore blessed is the man guided by God and guarded by His angel. He attends to God's providential care for him and strives to be obedient to Him, to do His works, to save himself, and to lead others to this.

“What happened inside the prison was more wondrous, while what followed was more ordinary,” says St. John Chrysostom. “When there was no longer any obstacle, the angel was no longer with him.

“But why does Peter not understand what is happening? So that he might receive deliverance suddenly, and only then, after deliverance, perceive it. Having perceived it, he acted accordingly.”

Thus he was given a full and rational ability to do at each moment of the action what was then necessary. Now he had the time and opportunity to understand everything, and he understood.

One may say that everything took place supernaturally, yet at the same time in accordance with the human sequence of feelings and thoughts.

Another remark of St. John Chrysostom is also worthy of mention. He says, “If Peter had taken what was happening as reality, he would have been afraid and would not have remembered what occurred.

“But now, as though seeing a dream, he remained undisturbed.”

The words of the Apostle Peter concerning deliverance from Herod and from all that the Jewish people expected show that he was sufficiently informed about Herod's aims and intentions. Therefore his joy in the Lord was understandable.

The Lord had arranged everything so wondrously through His angel.