Ep 413 – Acts 12:12-25

Many of the stories found in the Book of Acts are fantastic in nature. They involve supernatural events and the divine intervention of God in the everyday affairs of men. Then, there are stories that are somewhat humorous in nature. They provide us with reminders that all of these events were taking place among flesh-and-blood human beings, just like us. Sometimes the people involved failed to see the hand of God and ended up drawing some rather interesting conclusions. When the crowds had heard the disciples speaking in tongues on the day of Pentecost, they wrote it off as nothing more than a case of public intoxication – en masse. In today’s episode, found in Acts 12:12-25, we have yet another comedic take on the affairs of the disciples. It involves Peter, and immediately follows his miraculous release from prison by God. He ends up at the home of Mary, but is denied entrance, because the disciples gathered inside, ostensibly praying for his release, refuse to believe it’s really him. They leave poor Peter standing outside while they argue over the exact identity of the one waiting at the gate. Peter had been touched by an angel, but the rest of the disciples couldn’t seem to put their finger on what was going on outside the house in which they sat. In this passage, we are going to see God’s divine hand at work, freeing Paul and, ultimately, punishing Herod. One was doing the work of God, while the other was attempting to stop it. And only one would find success because the Lord was on his side.