Peter Imprisoned (Again)

 Meditations on The Acts of the Apostles

 February 25, 2021

Peter Imprisoned (Again)

So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

Acts 12:5

Read: Acts 12:1-5 

The Apostle James, the brother of the Apostle John, was executed by King Herod. This found favor among the Jews in Jerusalem who were becoming increasingly hostile to the Christians. So Herod decided to take on the leader of the New Community of Believers and had Peter arrested.

Luke mentioned the Passover seven times in his Gospel once when Jesus was a child and got separated from his parents (Luke 2) and six times in chapter 22 when Luke describes the Last Supper. In our passage today, Luke mentions the Passover once and another name for it, the Festival of Unleavened Bread, once. This is the only time the Passover is mentioned in the Book of Acts.

Passover is the highest on the Holy Days for the Jews. It was during the Passover when Jesus was crucified, and in today’s reading, we see more violence in the execution of James and the arrest and intended execution of Peter. There is no mention of a trial for James, so perhaps Herod was intending to make a public spectacle of Peter, much like what was done for Jesus.

My Takeaway: Jesus said the thief, that is the forces of evil, comes to kill, steal and destroy the people of God. The forces of evil were clearly evident in the world of the first century church, and the forces of evil are clearly evident in the world of the twenty-first century church. But Jesus said,

“In this world you will have trouble.

But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

John 16:33b

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2021 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.