Acts 12:13Meaning & 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.

But when they afterward went to the gate, opened it, and saw Peter with their own eyes, they became convinced that it truly was he. Yet they continued to marvel at such an unexpected event.

Then Peter told them the story of his wondrous deliverance through the angel. He commanded them to inform James, the brother of the Lord according to the flesh and bishop of the Church of Jerusalem (Gal 1:19; Gal 2:9).

They were also to inform the other brethren who were not present there, of course so that they would no longer be anxious about him.

Since it had to be expected that Herod would use every means to find Peter and seize him again, Peter withdrew from Jerusalem. He did this so as not to expose his life to danger vainly and uselessly.

To some of them this seemed so unbelievable that they were more ready to think Rhoda had lost her mind. Others said that Peter's angel had appeared. But Rhoda kept insisting on what she had said.

The perplexity was soon resolved, but it did exist. The writer of Acts found it necessary to include it in his sacred chronicle. By the vivid portrayal of how unbelievable Peter's release seemed to everyone, he showed the greatness of God's work.

He also showed the weakness of human understanding before what God does. God conquers the ordinances of nature and overthrows all the devices of human malice, even where ordinary human judgment sees no means for the opposite outcome.

All who saw the miracle were amazed, that is, they passed beyond the usual representations and concepts on which the mind bases its reasoning. Of the servant girl Rhoda they even said that she was out of her mind.

Yet she looked at the matter more soberly than all. Only one thing is unclear: why did she not open the doors for Peter? One may say that the judgment about her was partly correct, but at the same time almost incorrect.

She was so seized by joy and by the desire to share it that everything else receded into the background. This was all the more so because Peter clearly had full opportunity to wait a minute or two.

All interpreters find it natural that she could have done this from joy, and that according to the purposes of God's providence she even had to do so.

"Notice the reverence of the maiden," writes Blessed Theophylact. "For joy, it says, she did not open. But this turned out well. Otherwise the others, astonished by his unexpected appearance, might not have believed it was he, since even then they did not wish to believe."

But how did they then come to the thought that it was an angel? "They reasoned so because of the shortness of the time," says Saint John Chrysostom. Blessed Theophylact adds that they said this in accordance with their situation.

For it is said, "Where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I in the midst of them" (Mt 18:20). And where Christ is, there the archangels and the other powers must also be.

But here, evidently, Peter's guardian angel is meant (cf. Heb 1:14). Saint John Chrysostom remarks: "From this the truth is evident, that each of us has a guardian angel."

Perhaps this was a faint conjecture that Peter's guardian angel could have preserved him and brought him here, or at least announced something about him for the consolation or encouragement of the believers.

"The servant girl's joyful confusion at the voice of the Apostle Peter, so that she forgets to open the door of the house to him, but runs first to announce it to the hosts and guests; the good-natured, mocking question of the latter, 'Are you in your right mind?'; the common, noisy joy of all present at seeing the Apostle Peter: all this shows that the account was copied from reality."