Acts 12:8-11 - The Lord has sent His angel

12:8-10

The angel then gave practical instruction to Peter, namely to put on his clothes and sandals. The angel was not intending to leave Peter in the prison cell! Peter followed the angel, as instructed, but thought he was seeing a vision. He didn’t think there was actually an angel there. They passed the first and second guards, it is not explained how they managed to do this, whether the angel had stunned the guards or what. The gate out of the jail opened by itself and they went through. They walked the length of the street, so Peter was well and truly out of the jail, and the angel then left him, his work having been done.

12:11

Peter seems to have been in something of a daze while all this was happening. But now that he was out of the jail he realised that it wasn’t all a dream, but had actually been happening. If he had not been rescued, he would have been killed by Herod the next day, for the feast would then have been over. He also refers to “everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen”. This implies that it was the Jews in general who were pleased at the death of James, and were looking forward to the same happening to Peter. Even so, the hope of the church, and the apostles, was that the Jewish people would receive the gospel. In a similar way, today many Palestinians hope for the destruction of Israel, even so we must continue to hope for the salvation of the Palestinians.