Study From the Book of Acts,12

Study From the Book of Acts,12  

Today we study the twelfth chapter of the Book of Acts and we choose two biblical principles and their lessons which are useful in Biblical Counselling.

Herod the king is Herod Agrippa I, the nephew of Herod Antipas who murdered John the Baptist, and the grandson of Herod the Great who had the children of Bethlehem put to death in his search for Jesus. Herod was not a Jewish but an Edomite. The Jewish resented this fact, and Herod knew it.

James was the first of the twelve apostles to die for the sake of the gospel, and the only one whose death is recorded is the NT. The killing of James by Herod was as attempt to win the favour of the Jewish leaders.

Why James ‘life was taken and Peter’s life was spared? The answer is the sovereign will of God. If we believe God is good and wise, we can trust that what He allowed to happen was part of His plan for the good of His people. When we place our complete trust in the goodness of God, we can find true peace. God is in control despite any appearance to the contrary.

It was unclear why Herod was so angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. The important point is that the cities did not want the angry king to set an economic embargo against them.

The Jewish historian Josephus provides an account of Herod’s violent death. He informed us that in an attempted appeasement of the king the people confessed that he was “more than a mortal.” Herod, instead of rebuking the address of deity, enjoyed the adulation-until he discovered the consequences of such blasphemy.

Structure:

Verses 1-4: Herod’s violence to the church

Verses 5-19: Peter freed from prison.  

Verses 20-24: Herod’s violent death.

Principle 23: verse 12: 5: --“Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.”

Lesson 23: The church had already lost one leader, James the brother of John, to the executioner. Now it appeared as though it would lose Peter too. But God loves to perform miracles in response to corporate prayer!

Principle 24: verse 12:9: --"So he went out and followed him, and did not knew that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.”

Lesson 24:  Peter had seen visions from God before, and this scene looked so unusual that he thought it had to be another one. But it wasn’t; it was actually happening, just as he saw it. Nothing is impossible for God.27/4/2025.