This is the thirty-fifth
entry in the Bible Junkies Online Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles. In this
entry James, brother of John, and Peter face the wrath of the authorities.
3. Contents:
E) Preparation for
the Gentile Mission: the Conversions of Paul and Cornelius (9:1-12:25): John,
son of Zebedee, is killed and Peter is arrested (12:1-11):
1About that time King Herod laid violent hands
upon some who belonged to the church. 2 He had James, the
brother of John, killed with the sword. 3 After he saw that it
pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (This was during the
festival of Unleavened Bread.) 4 When he had seized him, he put
him in prison and handed him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him,
intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. 5 While
Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed fervently to God for him.
6 The very night before Herod was going to
bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers,
while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison. 7 Suddenly
an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on
the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his
wrists. 8 The angel said to him, “Fasten your belt and put on
your sandals.” He did so. Then he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and
follow me.” 9 Peter went out and
followed him; he did not realize that what was happening with the angel’s help
was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 After they had
passed the first and the second guard, they came before the iron gate leading
into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went outside and
walked along a lane, when suddenly the angel left him. 11 Then
Peter came to himself and said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel
and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were
expecting.” (NRSV)
Most scholars divide this section into two parts, 12:1-17 and 12:18-23,
with 12:24-25 transition and summary verses. I am dividing the section somewhat
differently for the purposes of the online commentary, primarily to create two
sections of even length, but also because I do think that there is a natural break that occurs after
Peter’s miraculous escape from prison. The next entry will bring us to the end
of chapter 12 and the end of section E)
Preparation for the Gentile Mission: the Conversions of Paul and Cornelius
(9:1-12:25) of this commentary. In
fact, if length of commentary was not a concern, the whole section coheres as
one unit. For Richard Pervo “the two stories {1-17 and 18-23} share a principal
character: ‘King Herod.’ These observations invite the critic to view the
entire unit as an integrated whole. Acts 12:1-23 is, in fact, a well-crafted
novella containing different forms drawn from several sources. Questions of
source, form, editing, and historical tradition are not insignificant, but they
ought not detract from recognition of the overall literary achievement. The
complexity of the tradition indicates the presence of an authorial hand”
(Pervo, Acts, 301).
While Luke’s authorial hand is present, it is difficult to determine
the number of sources which Luke is drawing on. Fitzmyer just posits a
Palestinian source (Fitzmyer, Acts, 486), but Pervo sees separate traditions
behind vv. 1-2 and the two episodes regarding Peter (vv. 7-10 and 12-17), with Pervo
treating 12:12-17 as a Lucan composition (Pervo, Acts, 301). Whether the
account with Rhoda and Peter is Luke’s composition, the miraculous escape
narrative plays into broader Lucan themes in Acts.
Peter’s escape from prison is one of “three prison-escape stories in
Acts (5:17-26; 16:19-40),” all of which “occur at important points in the
narrative and appear, in retrospect, to presage important changes” (Pervo, Acts,
301). Pervo notes that after the first escape in Acts 5 comes the account of
the Hellenists; the escape in Acts 16 comes after the Apostolic Council and
highlights “the beginning of Paul’s labors in the Aegean region” (Pervo, Acts,
301); while Peter’s escape that we are examining here marks the end of the
centrality of his mission in Acts. “The liberation stories are, in a general
sense, associated with breakthroughs of the message” (Pervo, Acts, 301).
This is an important insight regarding Luke’s purposes in Acts.
Pervo believes that one possibility for a source for the escape
narrative is the ancient Jewish historian Artapanus, whose work is found in
Eusebius, Praep. Ev. 9.27.23-25 in fragmentary form; in Artapanus’
text Pharaoh imprisons Moses, just as Peter is imprisoned by Agrippa. At night,
the prison door opens automatically for Moses and the prison guards “either die
or sleep” as Moses exits the prison. Moses then goes from the prison to the
palace where he wakes the Pharaoh and tells him the name of God, which leads
the Pharaoh to faint, but not die. Moses revives the Pharaoh, an outcome
happier than that which will end Acts 12 (Pervo, Acts, 301).
Our passage opens with “King Herod” laying “violent hands upon some who
belonged to the church” (Acts 12:1). As
Gary Gilbert says, “only Acts refers to Agrippa by the name ‘Herod,’ possibly
to build continuity with Herod Antipas, who was involved in the deaths of John
the Baptist (Lk 3:18-20; 9:7-9) and Jesus (Lk 13:31; 23:6-12; Acts 4:27), and
with his grandfather, Herod the Great (37-4BCE) (Lk 1:5; 3:1). In Jewish
tradition, Agrippa is remembered as a fair, generous, and religiously observant
Jewish ruler (Ant. 19.330)” (Gilbert, JANT, 222). That Luke wants
to draw these connections is the likely case since the peace of 9:31 has been
“shattered” (Pervo, Acts, 302). Agrippa becomes a “folkloristic
wicked tyrant, “who even though he was not known as “Herod,” becomes as “type”
of bad King Herod (Pervo, Acts, 302-3).
Agrippa I was the son of Berenice I and Aristobulus IV and brother of
Herodias (Mark 6:15-28) and grandson of Herod the Great and Mariamne, who was born
in 10 BC and reigned from 37 AD until his death in 44 AD (Fitzmyer, Acts, 486; see Josephus, Antiquities, 18. 250-256; 19.6.1-4, 292-316 for an
overview of his whole reign, which Gilbert noted above).
Agrippa is a persecutor in this case as “he had James, the brother of
John, killed with the sword” (Acts 12:2). The account is puzzling in that no
motive is offered for this action (Fitzmyer, Acts, 487), but it does end
a “short period of tranquility” (Johnson, Acts, 210). Both Pervo and
Joseph Fitzmyer also see James’ death as pointing to the “end of the apostolic
age,” leading to James, the brother of
the Lord, to succeed Peter in charge of the church in Jerusalem (Pervo, Acts,
302; Fitzmyer, Acts, 485). For Fitzmyer, the death of James, son of
Zebedee, “explains the transition from Peter’s importance in the Jerusalem
community to that of James {brother of the Lord}, who eventually takes over for
him as the chief authority in that community” (Fitzmyer, Acts, 485).
Fitzmyer also finds it remarkable that the apostles do not try and
reconstitute the twelve after James’ death as they did after Judas’s death
(Fitzmyer, Acts, 486). He writes, “Nor is there in the history of the
church any continuation of the titles ‘apostle’ or ‘the Twelve.’ Bishops are
said to be successors to the apostles, but they do not bear either of those two
titles” (Fitzmyer, Acts, 486). I think it is easy enough to understand
why the title “the Twelve” came to an end and it is probably linked to the same
reason “apostle” stops being used at some point in the early church. Judas is
the outlier for Luke, I think, because of how he left his position and so
filling his position as an apostle and one of the Twelve is essential to
reconstitute the original Twelve, but it serves no purpose beyond that since we
never hear of Mattathias again. For the other apostles, who die faithful to
Jesus, there is no reason to replace them among the Twelve.
Agrippa finds that killing James “pleased the Jews,” so “he proceeded
to arrest Peter also. (This was during the festival of Unleavened Bread)” (Acts
12:3). It is clear that Agrippa’s intention is to kill Peter, since James’
death was so well received, but he waits because of the festival, which draws
an intended parallel to Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion (Pervo, Acts,
303).
Why does James’ death please the Jews? Luke Timothy Johnson speculates
that a clue might rest with the means of death, beheading, which is fit for an
apostate (as outlined in Mishnah Sanhedrin 9.1, 10.4 {inhabitants of an
apostate city have no share in the world to come}, and Deut. 13:15 {a call for
the extermination of idol worshippers}). Since Agrippa I supports the Pharisees (Josephus,
Antiquities, 19. 292-316), Johnson argues, this death is a means to
satisfy their demands (Johnson, Acts, 211). This seems a bit of a
stretch on both the apostasy claim – in what way are the early disciples of
Jesus apostates? – and the direct connection of the Pharisees to the Mishnah.
More likely is Gilbert’s explanation that “Jews as a whole, not just
individuals such as the high priest or groups such as the Sadducees, frequently
appear in Acts as persecutors of Christians (13:45; 14:2, 19; 17:5; 18:12;
20:3; 21:27; 22:30; 23:12; 24:9; 25:2, 7; 26:2, 21)” (Gilbert, JANT,
222). This is a great number of passages and “since the death of Stephen, it has
been assumed that ‘the Jews’ hated followers of Jesus - and the ruler decided
to continue his course” (Pervo, Acts, 303). All of the Jews, naturally,
did not desire the death of all of the Christians, but Luke has presented this “split,”
as Pervo says, starting with Stephen in Acts 6.
Peter was arrested, therefore, and Agrippa “put him in prison and
handed him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him
out to the people after the Passover” (Acts 12:4). The number of soldiers has
the result of telling us that escape is impossible! Gilbert defines “squad, Gk ‘stratiōtos,’
a small group of soldiers probably consisting of about ten men; the number
(forty or so, altogether) emphasizes the impossibility of escape (as do the
chains, v. 6)” (Gilbert, JANT, 222; on the four squads see also Philo, In Flaccum, 13.111).
Surrounded by soldiers in prison, “the church prayed fervently to God
for him” (Acts 12:5). Petitionary prayer is a significant Lucan theme (Fitzmyer,
Acts, 487) and “the community’s prayer compensates for Peter’s
powerlessness and prepares for his miraculous escape” (Johnson, Acts,
211). Not only was Peter surrounded by soldiers, but he was also on the “night
before Herod was going to bring him out… bound with two chains…sleeping between
two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the
prison” (Acts 12:6). Seneca (Epistle
5.7) also knows of this method of
chaining a prisoner to two guards, which indicates a desire to keep a prisoner
from even the thought of escape (Fitzmyer, Acts, 488). “Security is
especially tight” (Pervo, Acts, 303), which is intended to make Peter’s
escape all the more miraculous (Johnson, Acts, 211). This extra precaution
was due to Agrippa’s desire to “bring him out,” which probably means Peter was
going to have a public trial of some sort, unlike James but like Jesus (Fitzmyer,
Acts, 487).
The implausibility of an escape is established, but “suddenly an angel
of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. As Pervo says, “no ruler
has ever been able to design an angel-proof jail” (Pervo, Acts, 303).
The angel tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, ‘Get up quickly.’ And
the chains fell off his wrists” (Acts 12:7). Johnson notes that the verb patassō, translated in the NRSV as “tapped,” is odd because it usually
means “smite” (Exod 2:12; Ps 3:7; see more biblical passages at Johnson, Acts, 212). It seems that the angel has a job waking up Peter!
Even more remarkable is that even though the angel had to “tap” Peter,
who is chained to two guards, and that “the light shone” no one else woke up.
This might be intended to indicate God keeping the guards from seeing, just as at
Paul’s own revelatory experience only he had the full divine knowledge. In this
case, no one else experiences any of the revelation of the angel.
As Pervo states, “Readers know what to expect: the angel will escort Peter
out of prison and give him instructions” (Pervo, Acts, 304) and indeed “the
angel said to him, ‘Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.’ He did so. Then
he said to him, ‘Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.’ (Acts 12:8). Pervo finds this “a maddening dialogue…as the
angel supervises every detail of Peter’s toilet (v.8). Worried readers will not
understand why these niceties cannot wait. When his wardrobe finally meets the
standards of this celestial valet, Peter is told to follow…the human characters
are puppets maneuvered from on high” (Pervo, Acts, 304). This is surely
the issue, though, that God is directing events and keeping Peter alive (and
soon to end Agrippa’s life). Even more the physicality of the instructions is
intended to tell the reader: this is not a dream! Peter is getting dressed with
real clothes, a belt and sandals.
In Acts 12:9 Peter, having done what he was told, “went out and
followed him; he did not realize that what was happening with the angel’s help
was real; he thought he was seeing a vision.” Peter might wonder if he is having a dream,
but the reader knows better. So, after Peter and the angel “had passed the
first and the second guard, they came before the iron gate leading into the
city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went outside and walked
along a lane, when suddenly the angel left him” (Acts 12:10). There are
accounts of gates opening of their own accord in other ancient literature,
including Ovid, Metamorphoses, 3.699-700 (“of their own accord the doors
opened wide”) (Fitzmyer, Acts, 488), but what is odd about this story is
that the angel suddenly leaves him without further direction or telling him the
next step of the plan, which “is not a common feature of escape stories or any
other kind of legend” (Pervo, Acts, 305).
At this point, “Peter came to himself and said, ‘Now I am sure that the
Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all
that the Jewish people were expecting’” (Acts 12:11). It is only when the angel leaves that Peter
comes to his senses and realizes that God has helped him escape. Peter is
rescued from Agrippa, indeed, but what were the Jewish people expecting? A
public trial? His death, however it would be carried out? According to Richard
Dillon, “all that the Jewish
people were expecting” is a statement
which, “carrying the author’s assessment of the miracle, documents the further
development of the process that began at the stoning of Stephen: the defection
of ‘the people’ who once welcomed the apostolic ministry (2:47; 5:13) into unbelieving
Jewry and, therewith, ‘the true Israel’s’ outreach to the Gentiles” (Dillon, NJBC, 747-48). As Pervo said, cited above, each of these escape narratives carries
with it a transition to a new stage in the development of the Gospel mission.
God is on Peter’s side, but, according to Luke, the people no longer are on the
side of the disciples.
Next entry, Peter
finds his fellow believers and Agrippa I dies.
John W. Martens
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