AM May 29th Acts 12

May 29^th            Herod dies

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.

When Peter finally woke up he realised that he had been delivered by the hand of God from Prison and from Herod and from the murderous plots of the Jews. When he had figured out what he was doing he made his way to Mary’s house, because he knew they were praying for him. When Peter knocked on the outer door Rhoda came to see who was knocking. Rhoda was probably a servant of the lowest order. It was her job to keep the door and wash the visitor’s feet after their journeys. She was expert at recognising voices – it was her job and she knew Peters voice. I wonder what he sounded like. However she was so excited that she forgot to open the door and ran into the prayer room to tell everyone that Peter was knocking. They said to her, you are mad! Then, maybe its his angel knocking. (Little did they know of angelic activity this night) Peter was still knocking! When they finally opened the door and saw him they were completely astonished and overjoyed. Peter raised his hand for quiet and then told them how the Lord had delivered him from Prison. Then he said go and tell James and the brethren. Then Peter went to another home. When the day dawned and the guards woke up they were in a great flap as to what had become of him. Herod tortured the guards to find out what had happened and then he executed them all. Then Herod left Judea and went to Caesarea and stayed there. Herod was very displeased with the people of Tyre and Sidon but the men of the city came to make things up and they secured an ally in Blastus. On a particular day Herod was clothed in his king’s garments and he was sitting on his throne and he made a great speech. The people shouted, it is the voice of a god and not a man. And it that moment the angel of the Lord killed him because he did not give glory to God. He was eaten of worms and died. But the Word of God – that is the preaching of the gospel flourished and multiplied. (The converts were becoming evangelists) Paul and Barnabas returned to the north and they took John Mark with them he was the nephew of Barnabas.