Biblical Bytes Podcast
Welcome to Biblical Bytes, a podcast dedicated to equipping and inspiring Christians to deepen their relationship with the word of God. Join hosts Adam van Arsdale and Alison Howell as they share their passion for biblical literacy and provide practical tips and techniques for personal Bible study. Whether you're a seasoned Bible student or just starting your journey, this podcast is for you. Join us on our mission to reduce biblical illiteracy and grow in your understanding of God's word. Subscribe now to stay up-to-date on the latest episodes.
Biblical Bytes Podcast
47. Acts 12 | Emancipated – God Frees Peter to Serve
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In this episode, Allison and Adam delve into Acts 12, examining the dynamics of earthly power versus divine power through the miraculous escape of Peter and the downfall of King Herod. The script intertwines humor and discussion, reflecting on personal anecdotes, historical context, and theological implications, while emphasizing the sovereign will of God in prayer, illustrated by the fervent prayers of the early church. The hosts also explore parallels between these biblical events and Old Testament patterns, ultimately pointing to God’s consistent and loyal love for His people.
00:00 Divine Power vs. Earthly Power: Introduction to Acts 12
00:23 Pastor Appreciation and Cereal Gifts
01:51 Peter's Imprisonment and a High School Drama Skit
03:57 The Mysterious Rhoda and Context of Acts 12
09:17 Herod's Evil Reign and the Martyrdom of James
14:07 Peter's Imprisonment and the Power of Prayer
22:34 A Prayer for Healing and a Call to Action
22:53 The Unexpected Passing and Family Gathering
23:14 Finding Comfort in God's Plan
24:45 The Power of Prayer in Acts Chapter 12
25:05 Peter's Miraculous Escape from Prison
26:16 Rhoda's Joy and the Disciples' Doubt
27:27 The Faith of Peter and the Power of Prayer
29:34 God as the Chain Breaker
32:50 The Significance of Iron Gates and Biblical Patterns
38:32 Herod's Downfall and the Sovereignty of God
42:58 Reflecting on Prayer and God's Sovereign Will
43:53 Closing Prayer and Gratitude
Music used in intro: "Hard Answers" by JK Productions
What happens when earthly power collides with divine power? Acts 12 is a story of a king who thinks he can stop the church, but finds out that God's plans can't be chained. Today we'll explore how Peter's miraculous escape and Herod's downfall remind us that God is always in control, even when things seem dark. What's up, Allison? It's a very important month this month, Adam. Do you know what month this is?
Adam:Oh, um. I don't want to answer this. It's October.
Alison:Yes, we're taping in October. I know where you're going with this. It's Pastor Appreciation Month and Adam is one of my pastors. So I had to bring you a little gift today, Adam.
Adam:Oh, a Cinnamon
Alison:Toast? Family size Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. So, you're welcome. If you remember, um, several, I don't know, it may have even been a year ago, you asked me what my favorite cereal was. Yeah, and it was really funny because I answered Cinnamon Life. Uh huh. And I told you that my secret favorite cereal was Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but I felt like I needed a more adult answer, but you were not ashamed to admit that this is your all time favorite cereal. That
Adam:is absolutely true. Still, to this day. Absolutely true.
Alison:So, you got a big box of it. I feel very
Adam:appreciated. I appreciate that. very much.
Alison:This is a massive
Adam:box. It
Alison:is a large box. Well, you have a lot of girls who I figure also like Cinnamon Toast Crunch, so I wanted you to get at least a bowl.
Adam:Oh, yes. They are going to enjoy this. Uh, but. After they find out it hidden in the pantry at some point. Good,
Alison:good. Well, and that's just, that's kind of a funny gift, but I am serious and telling you how much I appreciate you. Well, I
Adam:appreciate it. And all the
Alison:ways that you pastor me and my family. I
Adam:appreciate you guys and your family and your friendships and it's, it's great. Okay. Cry and love fest over. Let's move on. I do appreciate it though. Uh, but today we are, uh, in Acts chapter six or Acts chapter 12. I'm trying to jump further ahead and I've got a funny story to tell you. Okay. Okay. So this chapter, first of all, has two aspects to it. Number one, it has a whole portion that I honestly could not remember reading ever. Okay. Okay. So that's fun. I love when I get to read a new thing. Then I'm like, wait, what? I don't remember this part of the story. But the first part of it, um, is all about, um, Peter who will be imprisoned. And when I was in high school, I was a senior in high school. So I was 18. Um, I did a drama skit, reenacting this at my home church. We were real big into doing little drama skits and things like that. And so they had built this like massive, uh, Um, prison cell, like two by fours. It just looked like a really cool prison cell. And the whole point of it was about the angel of the Lord was going to come in, you know, release these chains and I was going to break out. We never even got to that point because all I'm sitting there performing the monologue or whatever it may have been at that point. The walls all fell down in the middle of the, in the middle of the play. And somewhere out there in the universe is a video of the director of this. He starts running down, down the aisle cause he has to try to hold me up for the whole big reveal. And as he's doing that, the angel of the Lord goes, uh, or I said, I said, uh, How did it go? You were Peter? Yeah, I was Peter. Uh huh. The angel of the Lord goes, oh no, and I
Both:said, you released me!
Adam:And we, and then the director immediately just stops and like turns around and just points to me and he's like, good job, and took off running back out of the, out of the sanctuary. Oh, it was the funniest thing. And the people. The whole time, the whole thing was supposed to build up to this releasing. So then the rest of the monologue was all about how the Angel of the Lord was going to release my chains, but yet I was already free, you know, from that stuff.
Alison:So did you still give the monologue? I
Adam:still gave it all, yeah. We performed the whole thing, except it got a lot more laughs than it was originally supposed to, so it totally worked out great. It was awesome.
Alison:Well, I wonder if you could get your hands on that video. I'm gonna have to see if I can find
Adam:it. My mom probably has it. I know, I know it's out there.
Alison:So, there was a portion of this passage that you didn't, you hadn't read before? Correct.
Adam:Was it at the
Alison:beginning or the end? No,
Adam:it's this, this mysterious Rhoda character.
Alison:Oh!
Adam:Yes. Okay,
Alison:awesome. Well, we're gonna get to never, ever
Adam:heard this name and I'm like, I know, I had to have read through this and it's just one of those stories that I'm like, never heard this story.
Alison:I think that because I spend a lot of time, uh, Um, teaching kids. This is one of those foundational stories. Is it really? Yeah, that we teach kids a lot. And, um, and, and so I, I have, I'm fond of Rhoda. I feel like I would have been Rhoda, but you know, our listeners, maybe they don't know who Rhoda is either. So we're going to get to that. So that's kind of like a stay tuned, right? To learn about who Rhoda is and see if you can identify. But let's get started in Acts chapter 12, um, let me give you, uh, our listeners a little bit of context. So I think this is our sixth episode in the book of Acts, right? Yes. And,
Adam:oh, by the way, we, we surpassed a milestone.
Alison:Did we?
Adam:3, 500 listens. Really? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Alison:That's really
Adam:good. We're just, we're at 3503.
Alison:Okay.
Adam:35, I think 34, 999 are my mom. So, hi mom. And
Alison:one's mom. One's my mom. Exactly. That's wonderful. No, I've, I've, I've been so blessed, like, because I've been sharing our Facebook, um, Posts that you know share the episodes and things like that and listening and so it's a big bless It's it's fun to get to visit with you, but it's just added blessing. Yeah,
Adam:actually, let me add this real quick your mom Yeah, listen to it. Yes, cuz she's a faithful fan mail. Okay And this is what she said. This is regarding last episode, so if you want to know the context, you got to go back and listen to last episode and give us a couple more listens, I guess she said Antioch, the Greek moniker combines the elements anti or against with echo, meaning to have or possess or have charge of put them together and you've got stubborn, resistant and holding fast.
Alison:There you
Adam:go. There's a little Antioch.
Alison:So that describes Antioch where, where people were first called Christians. Yes. In Antioch. And
Adam:so thank you, Miss Mary.
Alison:Yeah. And that's really good because that, she's helping us to set the stage for where I was going with this week. Um, so we actually, her description of Antioch, um, is from Acts chapter 11.
Both:Mm.
Alison:And so in Acts chapter 11, and before that even, the church has been persecuted. That's resulted in them scattering, um, which also resulted in spreading the gospel because God is sovereign. And that's a theme in the book of Acts. And um, even one of the chief. persecutors, Saul, also called Paul, he, um, he received Christ. And in, um, in Acts 11, we see for the first time that non Jews are being evangelized. So at this place called Antioch, which means stubborn or resistant, I think many probably were, but some, some non Jews in Antioch received Christ. And, um, that was really the first time I think that the big evangelical efforts, right, had gone out to groups of people other than Jews. The, the believers, when they scattered, they, they went to new places, they went to new places, but they always went into the synagogues and taught the Jews there. Um, and so the, for the first time, it sounds like to me that these apostles evangelists are out on the streets, just reaching the Greek. And, and doing the kind of evangelism that we might think about when we go on mission trips. In fact, it's
Adam:the first usage of that word Christian in verse 26 of chapter 11, first usage of the word Christian.
Alison:And I also think it's interesting in chapter 11, we see that Barnabas is sent down from Jerusalem to Jerusalem. to Antioch to see what all's going. And you know who he goes and gets? He goes and gets Saul, um, who's been in Tarsus for about 10 years, we think. And he brings Saul back and he's like, you have to see what's going on in Antioch. And Saul and Barnabas stay in Antioch for about a year and they start discipling new believers there in Antioch. And um, The church is growing. They are growing in numbers, but they're also growing in spiritual maturity because at the very end of Acts chapter 11, we see that, um, the believers in Antioch, they're going to start giving offerings to the church in Jerusalem to use for, um, a famine that's coming. Um, and so we can just see a lot of growth, a lot of maturity, um, and Acts chapter 12 starts with the phrase about that time, Acts chapter 12, verse one, very first verses say about that time. So let me tell you, I'm going to read verses one through four in Acts chapter 12 and you can see while all this is going on in Antioch and Jerusalem and the believers are growing about that time, King Herod violently attacked some who belonged to the church. And he executed James, John's brother, with a sword. When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter, too, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. After the arrest, he had him put in prison and assigned four squads of four soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. So I'm stopping there. I know there's probably one more verse before the section heading in your Bible before a new section heading in your Bible, if you're following along. But the next verse is just a key verse. So we're going to stop before verse 5 and just let's talk a little bit about Acts 1 through 4, Acts 12, 1 through 4. Can you give our listeners a little bit of an insight into who Herod was in this verse?
Adam:Yeah, so Herod, Herod, this is a Herod Agrippa I, um, and he was the ruler over there in in Jerusalem at this time, so he's kind of, uh, he's sort of a mix in between, uh, the Uh, Jewish state and the Roman Empire, ultimately. And so, uh, he actually is the great, or is the grandson of Herod the Great, who ruled during Jesus birth. So, if you've hear, you've heard of Herod, you'll know, um, you'll recognize that name. Um, it's all within the family. And Herod is kind of in a, He's in a unique position because he wants to be king of the Jews. He wants to be the ruler, uh, there. He's been put in place as far as, um, from a Roman side, uh, to, to kind of rule this area. And, uh, so he wants to kind of keep everybody happy, but he really wants to keep those in Rome happy. Um, and so Herod is, um, kind of testing the political waters here. Um, he wants to see how much power he really has. Um, when he goes and decides to, um, he sees this, um, growing faction of people and that they've now established names as Christians, these followers of, of Christ, this different way than, than he's used to. And he's, he's, uh, Jewish, and so he wants to keep, uh, the Jews happy, but he also wants to keep Rome happy. And so what he does is he takes one of the, um, leaders, uh, of this Christian, um, uh, group and he, he, uh, he murders him. And, uh, he want, he's, he, he can almost visualize, like, the human side of him where he's like, you know, okay, I'm, I'm keeping the Jews happy, I'm keeping the Romans happy, there's not an uprising, I'm actually stopping an uprising, but I'm sending a message to those Christians, and you can kind of see, you know. Like this character beginning to, uh, evolve here where he's sort of testing those political waters.
Alison:Yeah. And I think Herod, no matter if you're talking about Herod the Great, Herod Antipas, who was responsible for part of the trial that sent Jesus to the cross, or this Herod, Herod the Great, but they're all just evil, right? Yeah. Just could be like a synonym for evil, pretty much. They're not good guys. Um, and He martyrs or he persecutes, he kills James. This is James, the apostle James, um, not the brother of Jesus James. So, um, the, the James that was martyred, he was the brother of John. Um, he was part of that inner circle, um, that Jesus had of, of, of. Peter James and John, and he was actually the first apostle to be martyred. And interestingly enough, his brother, John, is going to be the only apostle not martyred for their faith in the Bible. Yeah. Which I think, um, really goes along with the theme of, of saving and delivering and, you know, like
Adam:the, the, uh, blessed favored brother. Yeah. Yeah. That's here.
Alison:That's here. Um, so, um, Peter has, is in prison and he's being held in prison because it's the Passover and Jewish law didn't allow for trials to be held during the Passover. But you might be thinking, wait, wasn't Jesus tried during the Passover? Yes. Illegally.
Both:Yes.
Alison:Um, and, and had to happen that way in order to fulfill prophecy and that was God's plan because he was the ultimate Passover lamb. But at the same time, it also marks, um, true that nothing they did to Jesus was legal or right. Um, it was all wrong. Um, and yet he endured it for our sake. Um, and so they're holding Peter in jail, um, and they have four soldiers at a time watching him. Two he's chained to and two are guarding him. And there are 16 soldiers and all responsible for him because the soldiers, history tells us would work like six hour shifts. So every six hours, a new group of four chained to ten. more. Um, why, why is he making such a distinct effort to keep him chained up?
Adam:Well, this is that literary device that's building intensity. We're not throwing Peter into like a holding cell cell for. A minor, uh, uh, conviction, uh, they are, they are throwing him into maximum security prison. You know, there is zero chance that Paul or Peter walks out of here, um, with human will, human way. Um, no, we're, we're looking at almost a comical amount of Right. Uh, uh, uh, chains and, and guards.
Alison:And Peter had actually gotten out of prison before supernaturally by the divine power of God. Right? Um, early in the book of Acts, um, he gets thrown with the apostles in jail and then all of a sudden they're just out in the temple preaching again. Um, but you're right. So, uh, yeah. Um, Herod is taking great, great lengths to make sure he, by no human capacity, can escape. Um, but all the while, let me read verse five. That's okay, because it's my favorite verse of this chapter. Chapter 12, verse 5 said, So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was praying fervently to God for him. And so we can think about all of the weaponry and all of the armor and all of the metal and all the things that would have been there in the prison right now. I would imagine, would you think the guards would have been armed?
Adam:Oh yeah, for sure. Yeah,
Alison:and he had chains and we can just imagine the scene of that in our minds. But when we think about, um, the church praying, Maybe we don't think about prayer as the kind of weapon that was present in that prison, but prayer is a weapon. Yep. The Bible tells us that prayer is a weapon. In fact, Paul in the book of Ephesians describes it as part of our spiritual armor. Yep. And, um, the book of Ephesians is a lot about, um, you know, fighting back against spiritual warfare and how Christians We fight
Adam:not against flesh and blood, but against principalities of darkness. And did you
Alison:know that in the book of Ephesians, 55 percent of the verses are directly related to prayer?
Adam:Interesting.
Alison:Yeah. So prayer is powerful. In the book of Isaiah, even, God calls his house, says his house is going to be called a house of prayer. So when he's talking about the church, um, he puts prayer as a top priority, not discipleship. He doesn't say, my house can be called a house of discipleship or a house of missions. All those things are important. Yeah. But when he chooses to describe his house, he chooses to use, um, he wants it to be known as a house of prayer.
Adam:So one of the questions I have then is, uh, regarding this idea of God's sovereignty, because this is definitely a theme we're seeing, that God is consistent, that he remains, that he is, uh, his will is, is going to, Uh, uh, uh, follow through regardless of human intent. Um, how does this work, uh, in your mind with regards to praying and, uh, uh, you know, the believer, how, you know, if God's will is going to go no matter what, why do we even need to pray at that point?
Alison:Exactly. That is such a hard question. So thanks for, for sharing. It's one that I thought a lot about this week. Um, I'll tell you what prayer is not. Prayer is not an effort to persuade a reluctant God. Um, God wants our good in his glory and you're right. God is sovereign. So, um, You know, there, there is, I guess, that tension of if God is sovereign and, and everything's going to happen just like he wants anyway, then what is the point of praying? But, but the Bible is pretty clear that prayer is super important. So why is prayer so important? I don't have all the answers, Adam, but one of the things that I feel like is that prayer is our invitation to the heart of God. Um, and there are, there, there is change that happens when we're invited to the heart of God. It's just not, God doesn't change. We might change. We might see our circumstances differently. Um, and I think we see examples of that in the Bible. Yeah. Amen. Like, you, you had some examples when we talked before about, um, Moses, I think.
Adam:Yeah. Moses on Mount Sinai stands before and intercedes before a righteous and wrathful God who wants to destroy his people for, for what they're doing at the bottom of Mount Sinai with the golden calf. Um, and, uh, Moses comes up and, and basically tells God that he is to remain consistent And his loyal love towards the Israelites and, and God takes that and, uh, and basically changes his, uh, his way in a way, um, from wanting to destroy the people to allowing, um, most to live. You know, during this time. So, so from a human standpoint, this would seem as if Moses has changed the will of God, but I don't think that's the case either. I'm with you at that point. I think, I think in God's sovereign will, which will continue, um, he builds an opportunity for man to intercede on behalf of God. Uh, of others and, and, and, and certain situations, and that is part of God's will. Yeah. And so, um, that built in opportunity for, for Moses to stand and intercede on behalf of the people, just like Abraham did with Sodom and Gomorrah. Um, what if I found 50 righteous and 40 and 30? Um, it's, it's built an opportunity within God's will. For man to be partnered with God.
Alison:I love that. Um, and I'll asked you specifically to address that because you had mentioned that phrase to me. Mm-Hmm. previously an opportunity for God's people to participate. Mm-Hmm. or to intercede. And I think that's so beautiful. And I think that this, um, verse, this one little verse in chapter 12, verse five, um, I think it, it speaks to that because it says that the people pray fervently. Hmm. And a synonym. That's an adjective. So the root word, um, that would be the verb that came from that word, it means to stretch out your hand, like as far as you can, like outstretched hand. And so I think that, um, when we're thinking about the kind of prayer that invites opportunity for us to intercede or participate or to partner with God, it's the kind of prayer that draws close to him. It's not the kind of like, um, sit down and recited poem, like prayer, you know, that we might. Amen.
Adam:Um, is that where he stands with outstretched arms? Like is it drawing on that same, um, that same idea where the strength, the outstretched arms are towards God? Is that what you're saying?
Alison:Well, what actually, there are examples of that in the Bible of actually physically outstretching our arms. But what I'm saying is, The church was praying fervently to God for him that word fervently the root word Fervently the original word means outstretched arms. Oh,
Adam:awesome. Yeah, and
Alison:so it's just like a Imagery of like the physical representation of just reaching out toward God just trying to draw close to God So it's a very like prayer style. Um, and I think that when you, when you do that, um, God does invite you into his heart, right? And, and that doesn't mean he's going to answer your prayer just like you wanted it prayed, um, or just like you wanted to answered, but he is going to open your eyes. I think more to what he's doing. Um, And I can think of, you gave some really good examples in the book of, um, Genesis or Exodus, um, about times that God allowed Moses and Abraham to, to, um, see his will, um, and to participate in his will. And I can think of a few times in my own life where I've been earnestly praying for something and that's happened for me as well. Um, Um, for example, one of the things I was thinking about this morning when I was reading over this passage is in 2021, my uncle became very sick with COVID. Um, some of our listeners may have had family members who, uh, suffered or passed away from COVID. And, um, he got to the point, you know, people weren't wanting to go to the hospital, um, at that point really quickly because there was a lot of scary stories about being separated from family members, you know, and you can't, you couldn't go in This there was no visiting hours for covid patients. And, um, there were stories about how overwhelmed the hospitals were. And so for a long time, he chose to, um, you know, treated at home, um, kind of, um, he was healthy when he got sick. Um, and so I think it was pretty much. You know, a good decision. He was able to stay with his wife, but he got to the point I was kind of doing that soup drop off at the door thing, you know, and when the door opened, I could just hear him coughing and my spirit became like more and more disturbed with how serious I felt like he, his sickness was. And so I began for about two weeks, just fervently praying for him. And during those two weeks, he actually did go to the hospital. And he got worse and he was, he was healthy, um, very, you know, wife that very much had lots of life left and left in her. They had lots of life left to live. He was very important to my kids. And so it just began to fervently just pray for him every single day. And one morning I woke up and, um, I just thought I'm going to pray and then I'm going to go work out and then I'm going to run to run some errands and like I had my whole day planned out. And as I was praying, the Lord was just like, put everything aside and go take a shower and get your house in order. And um, it was just in my spirit and what I was praying for was that he would be healed, right? And he would come home, that he would be okay. But in my spirit, it was like the Lord was saying, Go pick those dirty socks up off your living room floor that have been there for three weeks that you've all ignored and get your house in order and get dressed. And so I did and about that time my aunt called me and he had coded at the hospital and so I brought her up there and he passed away and by that night, um, we had a house full. Wow. Of guests. Um, and had, and had a house full because we used that as the meeting place for the family for probably a week after that. Really? And, um, the Lord had not answered my prayer like I wanted, although I know that, that my uncle was a Christian and he is in heaven. Yeah. But I, I felt so drawn to the heart of the Lord that he would be gracious enough to, Invite me into his plan and allow me to get my house in order and allow me the opportunity to minister
Adam:Yeah
Alison:in that way And I feel like that's an example of just reaching out your hand and God didn't nothing changed in God's sovereign will as an example Of that but because I was fervently praying and drawn to the heart of God He allowed me to be a part and yeah It just looked like picking up socks and washing some dishes so that my house was ready for guests but it It was undeniably his, his work.
Adam:Wow. What a story. I mean, I'm sure our listeners probably have stories like that as well, where the hardest times I think are those moments where you want God so badly to do something and perform something that you, uh, that is your will. And when he doesn't, it becomes, um, This moment where, uh, you know, you have an opportunity to begin to recognize more that God, God's will is good in that, uh, if he doesn't listen to us, uh, it's okay, like, because he is the sovereign God. He is the one that's unchanging. He knows what's best. And, uh, we're thankful for opportunities that we can move the heart of God. Um, uh, when he allows us to partner with him in that prayer, um, in his will.
Alison:So, so I wonder what happens when the church prays, um, in Acts chapter 12. You want to read? Sure. And give us a hint.
Adam:Let's see. Uh, want me to read 6 through, what do you want me to read to you? I feel like
Alison:you, we just have to hear the rest of the story, so I think 6
Adam:it is, okay. Um, now, when Herod was about to bring him out on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers. Bound with two chains, and centuries before the door were guarding the prison. And behold, the angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, Get up quickly. And the chains fell off his hands, and And the angel said to him, dress yourself, put on your sandals, and he did so. And he said to him, wrap your cloak around you, or wrap your cloak around you and follow me. And he went out and followed him. He did not know what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When he had passed the first and the second guard and came to the iron gate leading into the city, it opened for them on its own accord. And they went out and went along the street, and immediately the angel left him. When Peter came to himself, he said, Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod, and from all that the Jewish people were expecting. When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose other name was Mark, where many gathered together and were praying. And when he had knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. Recognizing Peter's voice and her joy, she did not open the gate, but ran and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. They said to her, you are out of your mind. But she kept insisting, and it was so, and they kept saying, is, uh, it is an angel. But Peter continued knocking, and they, when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. 17?
Alison:That sounds good. Okay.
Adam:But mon, uh, but motioning to them with his hands to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison and said, tell these things to James and to the brothers. Then he departed and went to another place.
Alison:So do you identify with Rhoda, Adam?
Adam:Of course, yeah.
Alison:Me too.
Adam:Unfortunately, I also identify with the family inside people. Yeah? Yeah, in ways, yeah. No way, that's not Peter.
Alison:That's
Adam:not. There's no way.
Alison:They hadn't just been praying.
Adam:Yeah.
Alison:And he would be saved. Yeah. So, so let's, before we jump into that, all of that, um, with Rhoda, let's look at the very beginning of the part that you read. Um, you started with Acts chapter 12, verse six, and when it says, when Herod was about to bring him a trial that very night, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers. And I've heard a lot about the faith of Peter here of for it to be able to sleep and I don't want to take that away from Peter. I think he did have great faith. I think he shows us that. Um, but I think when we just assign Peter sleeping to his faith, we're missing something.
Adam:Okay. I've got, I've got, that's, that's great. I had not read anything about that, but I was like, oh, okay, there's an outstretched arm. Oh, no. So. Okay, the faith of Peter because he was sleeping?
Alison:Yeah. Like, in other words, like, people have been saying, like, I hear a lot of people say, like, Peter had so much faith that he could just sleep on the night before his execution. Okay. In other words, he wasn't worried. Like, because if you, if you, if it was the night before, because, I mean, Peter knew, right? That, that that's where Herod was headed. I'm not saying he. Believe that's where he was, that he was going to die. But he knew that was Herod's goal. To, you know, he was gonna, he was on death row basically in that prison. And so, you know, it surprises us to see that Peter was a sound, so sound asleep. You, you giggled when you read that he got kicked by an angel or struck by an angel to wake up. Right. That's what I think about with
Adam:my kids. Kids in the morning, get ready for
Alison:school. So, so Peter, it was, it's crazy to some people that Peter could sleep, you know, and I mean, I think the same thing. Like if I knew I was about to face death the next day or possibly could, it would be difficult for me to sleep. And oftentimes that's, to Peter's faith that he could lay there and sleep because he had great faith. And I think he did, but I think we're missing something when we just put all of the credit on Peter's faith, the people were praying. And here's the thing I know about. I've prayed with a lot of ladies before I've prayed with them over their kids that like moms and touch groups and mops groups throughout my time as a mom, and I just really believe there were latest and maybe meant to but I've just spent a lot of time praying with ladies over people and I just know there were ladies in that house praying largest. Comfort Peter tonight or just give Peter a sweet sleep that he could just sleep like nothing was there were people praying that I just know There were people praying that and I think that Peter was sleeping not just because he had a great faith But this is already an answer to their prayer right here that Peter was sleeping And the other thing that I noticed right early on is that right when the angel appears and He hits him.
Both:Yeah.
Alison:Angel. I think it's a gentle pride. It says struck. You think it's struck? It says struck. Okay. I'm going
Adam:with struck.
Alison:Well, so, he, he strikes him. Whatever that looks like. Adam's envisioning getting Kinsley up for school in the morning.
Adam:Listen, the word itself, I'm looking at it, it's pataso, it means to strike, it means to hit, to strike, to kill, to beat upon. That dude, it struck him.
Alison:So he was, he was really sleeping. It's of the Hebrew to smite. Okay, alright. So, and so it wasn't gentle. Oh, it's
Adam:great.
Alison:But the first thing that happens after that is that his chains fall off. And that really struck me that. You know, I mean, obviously that's got to be part of the order of things if he's going to escape, or I mean, I guess God could just let him out with the chains on still, but that's not how God works. And I noticed a pattern, um, in scripture. If you look, if you go ahead and look up to, um, Acts chapter 16, I think it is. Yeah. Chapter 16, Paul and Silas are actually going to, you know, Um, get out of prison. They're going to be in prison and they're the earth shakes in verse 26. It's the very opening description of how they escape. And the first thing that it says is their chains fall off.
Both:Yep
Alison:It's the first thing that happens and if you look back into the old testament because I know that you're going to be so proud of me for this pattern that Goes between the old and the new testament if you look in the book of daniel at shadrach, meshach and abednego King nebuchadnezzar realizes they're not being burned up. He hops up in the very first chapter The first description he gives of them is they're walking around without chains. And then he says, Oh, and there's a fourth man
Adam:and he's real shiny. Yeah.
Alison:And so, um, it's the very first thing mentioned in all three of those accounts. And I think that it's the first thing mentioned because it tells us something about the character of the Lord. God is a chain breaker. Yeah. And that may look like physical chains, but I think oftentimes that looks like other kinds of chains in our life. Chains to sin.
Adam:Yeah.
Alison:Um, and he, he is in the business of breaking chains.
Adam:We're going to get back to this Old Testament thing here shortly, but yes, I love it. I love it. It's not, it's also interesting to note that Paul doesn't, uh, doesn't, uh, escape like Peter in that, in that account. I wonder why. Yeah. Anyways, stay tuned. Maybe we'll go over that. Maybe we'll get there. Okay, uh, so then he goes to this house, and we're introduced to this random character. This random character that we're actually told, um, uh, some qualities about her. What do we, what do we know about, uh, Ol Rhoda?
Alison:Well, I know she's a servant.
Adam:Mm hmm, yeah.
Alison:And she was, uh, Very excited.
Adam:Mm
Alison:hmm. What else about her?
Adam:Nope, that's it. Okay, unless you want to look at the Greek Do you know her? Do you know what the Greek is for Rose? Oh, darn. You do know the story real well. Yeah Yeah, so Rose is here. She insists she keeps knocking the first thing that I think is interesting is one We're told very specifically about the gates. You notice there's a lot of gate language here that's taking place. And it specifically ascribes that the gates are made of something specific. Do you remember what metal that was?
Alison:I don't. You'll have to tell me that. It's
Adam:iron. Okay. Now this seems like a pretty insignificant situation. The gates of the prison are made of iron and he's, he's breaks through those. But if you are an ancient Christian, So, uh, Israelite, Jew, you're reading this, you're hearing this, um, Psalms 107 may come to mind. In Psalms 107 verses 15 to 16 say this, Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast or covenant loyal love. His loyal love. For His wondrous works, uh, Uh, works to, for his wondrous works to the children of man, for he shatters the doors of bronze and he cuts into the bars of iron. Um, there's another, uh, uh, passage in Isaiah chapter 45, um, uh, in verse, uh, two, where it says that I will go before you and level the exalted places. I will break into pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron. And so here we're watching like the will of the Lord take place. We're watching them fulfill. Um, these little tiny, little insignificant details, um, uh, but the same steadfast, loyal God and his sovereignty is, is acting the same as he always has, and he's still breaking chains just like in Daniel, uh, and he's still, uh, he's still, uh, cutting down the iron or breaking the bars of iron, um, and it is setting the captives free.
Alison:I love that.
Adam:We're not done with the Old Testament yet. We'll end with a bang. Okay.
Alison:Well, and one of the things that I noticed, too, that can, um, really help direct our doctrine is in, um, you see in verse 15 that they, when Rhoda goes in, she leaves Peter at the door, right? This is the part where I identify with Rhoda. She
Adam:just takes off.
Alison:Yeah, she takes off. Like, I'm terrible. I don't know if you would consider this an emergency situation, but I would think it It would be an emergency situation in the way of like it requires immediate response. It's something out of the ordinary, you know, it's, it's in a lot of ways a crisis and escape prisoners at her door. Um, I'm terrible in emergency situations. I like lose my mind. Like I'm useless. Um, I would totally have been Rhoda. I think I would have just been like, I don't know if I've ever heard of it. She goes back into the house and she's like, Peter's at the door. And they think it's his guardian angel. Um, I think they surmise that he has already died. Um, and they believed in guardian angels, um, a lot in, in Bible times. We know that that's not necessarily, um, like we don't become an angel when we die.
Both:Yeah.
Alison:Um, but they did, they didn't, they weren't all clear, you know, like we still aren't all clear on that fact. And, um, I think that they were thinking, oh, Peter died and this is his guardian angel. And I think the reason they thought that is, I don't, I don't think they were praying for Peter to be released that night. I think if they were praying that, they might've expected it a little more. I think they were probably praying what they saw as possibility, like that he would be found innocent, that he, that Herod would release him. Um, you know, those kind of things that we can see on a human level that God would still need to orchestrate, but that were possible. And so I think there are two things that we can learn from their response. And one is that God invites us to pray the kind of prayers that if he were to answer it, he would be the only person that could get the glory. Um, so I think sometimes we don't pray big enough prayers, um, that we don't, you know, we don't expect the unexpected from God and he invites us to do that. Um, and, but what I, what I also think we need to keep in mind when we do pray those big prayers or any prayer, our amount of faith doesn't equal the quality of the answer. see that in verse 15. Um, they, they literally been praying for it and they didn't, they didn't believe it when it happened. Um, so obviously they had a lack of faith that demonstrates the lack of faith. And so, um, you know, there is a movement that talks about, um, well, If you have, you know, you're. I think you would experience victory if you had more faith, you know, that your amount of faith equals the victory you have or the answered prayers you have in your life. And I think the Bible teaches that's simply not true, um, that God is sovereign. And like you said, he invites man to intercede, um, he bites us to participate, he gives us opportunities to do that. Um, but our lack of faith doesn't equal the quality of his answer.
Adam:That's great. So what happens next?
Alison:So, um, so after, after Peter comes in, he tells him, I was actually a little confused about this. I had to step back. He said it wasn't his angel. He kept on knocking. They finally let him in. He describes how he got let out of prison. And he tells, um, he tells James, uh, he tells them, excuse me. He tells them to tell James and the brothers. And I was, when I first read that, I'm like, wait a second. James just
Both:got
Alison:martyred. It's a different James. This is, uh, James. This one is the half brother of Jesus. James. And he was, um, I think, was he pretty much recognized as a leader of the church in Jerusalem? And so he wanted the whole church to know. Yeah. what had happened at this time. And, um, and, and it's going to be a story for the church in all places and all times.
Adam:Yep. Absolutely. We get to still read it today.
Alison:Yeah. So you're going to end us with a bang.
Adam:Yeah. So, um, I'm going to summarize, uh, the last portion here. Okay. Um, because it's going to connect all the dots. Um, the two guards Herod finds out this guy who's just testing the waters politically finds out that this, um, This big mercenary, you know, of this movement that is a threat to him and the Jews and to Rome has now escaped his, you know, maximum security prison. Um, so he takes his anger out and murders the guards and then goes out, um, with the people of Tyre and Sidon, or however you want to say that, Sidon, Sidon. And, uh, at that time, uh, the angel of the Lord shows up. Because the people start worshiping him like he is God. And they say, according to verse 22, the people were shouting, The voice of God and not of man. Right? And immediately the angel of the Lord struck him down. So there's two strikings that take place. One delivers and one kills. Okay? Two strikings. Now, let me ask you a question. Do you remember at feast, are they celebrating Passover? Can you think of anything in the Bible that has to do with Passover at night? Slaves. Yeah. And the exodus. Yeah. Yeah. So at the very Passover time. We're going to be given an exodus narrative here and what the angel of the Lord will both deliver some and kill others. Yeah, who want to like a With a hardened heart Pharaoh, and what are we seeing in all this? This is a complete repeat of a story we already read in exodus and the thing that remains the same the leaders change The situations change the country's change, but the thing that remains the same is that is exactly what we were talking about, the sovereign will of God. It is his hesed, his loyal love, his loyal love for his creation. And he is willing to break chains and to lead people out. Um, and the sad part is, is that Herod Agrippa, according to this pattern, If we go back to Daniel, um, had the opportunity, really, to, um, repent, because what we see is, in the midst of this, um, of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, um, we see, literally, um, uh, well, let's just go there, Daniel chapter 3, is a quote from chapter 12 of Acts, in verse 11, when Peter came to himself, he said, now I am sure, That the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod, and from all the Jewish people, uh, all, that all the Jewish people were expecting. So if you go to Daniel chapter 3, and we read verse 28, so Daniel 3 verse 28, this is what it says. Verse 28, it says, I'm finding my spot, sorry, I should have been prepared for this, I was too excited. Okay. Verse 28. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Has sent his angels and delivered the servants. Who trusted him and set aside the King's command and yielded up their bodies rather than to serve and worship any God except their own. Nebuchadnezzar here is gonna recognize God. The God of Shadrach, Micha, and Abednego, and Herod himself is going to accept the worship of the Gods. And so there's even a small echo of this whole Nebuchadnezzar story. Yeah. And the whole Shadrach and Micha Indego. And what you're seeing is repeat, repeating pattern, repeating pattern, repeating pattern, which I am a stickler for, right? And people get really annoyed with me going, it's a pattern! It's all connected! But I think that the reason why these patterns and stuff are there are because it shows the divine authorship of this whole book. It can be written by so many different men. different languages, different countries over a long period of time. But you cannot deny that these are repeating patterns and stories because there is an underlying divine author of all of it.
Alison:Yeah.
Adam:And that is the God who remains sovereign and consistent to his loyal love for his people.
Alison:Well, and I think that patterns in the Bible also point to the fact that everything is a predecessor for Jesus. Everything's a shadow pointing to or pointing front, like either pointing toward or pointing back to Jesus. And so those patterns are important.
Adam:Yep. Love it. Love it. What think we covered everything? I
Alison:think, I think we covered everything for this week. I'm not sure that I, that I totally answered your key question about prayer. So I'd love if our listeners might even add their thoughts this week to our fan mail or Facebook page. So the question is, where does prayer fit into the plan of a sovereign God?
Adam:Where does prayer fit into the sovereign God? If you reach out to us by clicking the link in the top of the description that says text us just know, we're not ignoring you. If you don't get a message back, there's actually not a way to do that. So you're just one way. So we can't even argue with you. Oh, you can say whatever you want.
Alison:Or they could direct message on Facebook or comment on Facebook to start a conversation with listeners other than just you and I.
Adam:Yes. And hey, we're approaching, we're approaching 50 episodes. You know that, right? We're only a couple away and 3, 500 listens. We have a lot to be thankful for. We do. And, uh, why don't I, uh, take a, take a moment and just, uh, get your seed on behalf of our own hearts. Sounds good. Uh, for our thankfulness. Let's pray. Father God, thank you for the opportunity to spread your word. We're thankful that, um, throughout all of this, um, the world changes, the, the, the plans of man's change, but your will, your, your sovereign will is good. And we are thankful for that. God, we're thankful for this podcast. We're thankful that we get the opportunity to just spend a few moments, um, just, uh, teaching your word, diving into your word. I pray that it is a blessing to those who are listening. God, that it'll, um, help them, um, spark an interest into getting into the word more. God, that we can continue, um, little by little fighting that, um, biblical illiteracy, um, that, that just plagues our church. God, we're thankful that we have the word. We have you that Jesus died for our sins and that we have that free gift of salvation. God, I pray that we can be, um, uh, that we can do, um, good by you, God, that we can remember that we're not fighting against flesh and blood, but we're fighting against those things that we can't see the powers of darkness. God, we also know that you have, um, the, the keys to heaven and earth, God you own, and all the power. It belongs to you, and we get to just be a part of that in partnership, um, of your will. Father, we ask that you just keep us safe. We love you in your name. Amen.
Alison:Amen.
