NOTES for Act 12:1-25
1 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. |
2 And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. |
3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) |
4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. |
5 Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. |
6 And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. |
7 And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. |
8 And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. |
9 And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. |
10 When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him. |
11 And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews. |
12 And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying. |
13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. |
14 And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate. |
15 And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel. |
16 But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished. |
17 But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place. |
18 Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter. |
19 And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode. |
20 And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king's country. |
21 And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. |
22 And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. |
23 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. |
24 But the word of God grew and multiplied. |
25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark. |
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Today's reading gives us the chance to see the Kingdom from a new and somewhat unexpected side. It concerns the incident with Peter (vv. 6-11). At first glance it may seem that the miracle that happened to Peter is not very different from the miracles we read about in the Gospel. Yet there is one important difference.
Of course, appearances of angels are quite well known to the authors of the biblical books; references to them occur in both the Old and New Testaments. But earlier every appearance of an angel was regarded as an event that was, to a certain degree, mystical.
Here a clarification is needed: strictly speaking, the Bible knows nothing mystical at all. Mysticism assumes that we live in an originally divided world whose different regions do not intersect with one another at all, or almost not at all. The Bible, however, from its first pages describes the world as one, and any division in it, from the viewpoint of the authors of the biblical books, is the consequence of evil and sin that entered the world. Such division cannot be absolute, and therefore a person who has normal, full relations with God sees the world not as divided, but as God conceived and created it: whole. In such a world God is always near, and one can meet an angel simply while sitting at the entrance to one's own tent, as Abraham did. Yet for the authors of the Old Testament books the Kingdom was still the reality of "the age to come"; its time had not yet arrived. Jesus constantly reminds people that it is near throughout His earthly ministry, revealing it to those ready to see. Still, before Pentecost the Kingdom remained limited in space and time; it was bound to the person of Jesus Himself and moved over the earth together with Him.
Now everything is different: the Kingdom enters the world, no longer limited by any boundaries. It can open anywhere and at any time; it is always near, and what earlier was only partly revealed in a vision now becomes part of the reality in which we live. Earlier, to see the Kingdom one had to look into the future; now one needs only to enter the Kingdom for it to remain always near. The Kingdom becomes the reality of our world. Of course, far from everyone in the world notices it, but it does not become less real because of that. The age to come has become the present age. The Kingdom enters the world.
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Readings for 24 October 2025
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