About that time King Herod laid hands upon some members of the church to harm them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword, 3 and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (It was [the] feast of Unleavened Bread.) 4 He had him taken into custody and put in prison under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. He intended to bring him before the people after Passover. 5 Peter thus was being kept in prison, but prayer by the church was fervently being made to God on his behalf. 6 On the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter, secured by double chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while outside the door guards kept watch on the prison. 7 Suddenly the angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and awakened him, saying, “Get up quickly.” The chains fell from his wrists. 8 The angel said to him, “Put on your belt and your sandals.” He did so. Then he said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.” 9 So he followed him out, not realizing that what was happening through the angel was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first guard, then the second, and came to the iron gate leading out to the city, which opened for them by itself. They emerged and made their way down an alley, and suddenly the angel left him. 11 Then Peter recovered his senses and said, “Now I know for certain that [the] Lord sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people had been expecting.” 12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who is called Mark, where there were many people gathered in prayer. 13 When he knocked on the gateway door, a maid named Rhoda came to answer it. 14 She was so overjoyed when she recognized Peter’s voice that, instead of opening the gate, she ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 They told her, “You are out of your mind,” but she insisted that it was so. But they kept saying, “It is his angel.” 16 But Peter continued to knock, and when they opened it, they saw him and were astounded. 17 He motioned to them with his hand to be quiet and explained [to them] how the Lord had led him out of the prison, and said, “Report this to James and the brothers.” Then he left and went to another place. 18 At daybreak there was no small commotion among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. 19 Herod, after instituting a search but not finding him, ordered the guards tried and executed. Then he left Judea to spend some time in Caesarea.
The Jewish people continued the persecution of Christians which began with Steven’s Martyrdom (Acts 8:1-3). Herod Agrippa, the grandson of Herod the Great, had James killed. James was the brother of John and the son of Zebedee. James was the first apostle to be martyred and Jesus had foretold his martyrdom (Mk. 10:38-39). James was not replaced most likely because as far as the apostles understood, by reaching Rome, the capital of the pagan world, the Church had reached the ends of the civilized world (Acts 1:8).
James’ execution pleased the Jews so Herod imprisoned Peter with the intention of killing him also. Peter was imprisoned, guarded by 16 soldiers, and secured by double chains between another two soldiers. The Church prayed fervently for Peter and an angel freed Peter from the chains the night before he was to be executed. The angel led him past the guards and through an iron gate which opened by itself. Peter thought he was in a vision but regained his senses when he was outside the prison.
Peter went to Mary’s house where many were gathered. The maid saw Peter but did not open the door and went to tell the others who thought she had seen an angel. When they let Peter inside, he explained how God had freed him and told him to inform James. This James was a relative of Jesus (Gal. 1:19) who became the head of the Church in Jerusalem after Peter began his missionary journeys. Peter left Mary’s house without telling them where he was going. When Herod found out the next morning that Peter was not in the prison, he ordered the guards to be put to death.
Almighty God, through your grace open our eyes to the works of your hands that we may live in accordance with your divine plan. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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