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Acts 12:1-11
About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. 2 He killed James the brother of John with the sword, 3 and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. 4 And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.
6 Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. 7 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 9 And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. 11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.”
The corrections official spoke from atop the 30-foot-tall guard tower. “Your keys, wallet, and phone in the basket.” No please. No further explanation as he lowered a wire basket on a cable from above. I did as he told me. In a few moments he lowered the basket with my wallet and ID. “I’ll return your phone on the way back out. You can go through the gate now.” I went through the first of two gates in the 20-foot-high razor-wire-topped fences. The first closed behind me, then the second one opened. I walked through, and on to the small waiting room. I provided my ID again, went through a metal-detector, and walked toward the chaplain’s office.
I was inside the state prison. I was not afraid. But I was well aware that I needed the system to work properly in order to get out. My release was no great escape. But when I retrieved my phone from the guard tower (having traversed back through the hall, waiting area, two gaits) I had a strong sense of relief–even though I didn’t have four squads of soldiers guarding me.
Peter didn’t have the razor-wire-topped fences, or guard towers. But I’m thinking he might have had at least the equivalent in ancient near-eastern prison security. He had, however, not committed a crime. He had not yet been tried. He was simply put in prison.
But urgent prayer was being made for him by the believers there. There will be a great escape. He will not be held in chains. The two soldiers who were chained on either side: no problem. The four squads of soldiers: No problem. Herod’s prison will be no match for God’s angels in answer to fervent prayer.
We might want to spiritualize this great escape, drawing the parallel between that escape and God’s freeing grace at work in our hearts. We could talk about being freed from guilt and shame. We could think about being rescued from addictions and hopeless futures. Certainly Jesus does that.
But this is about a real escape from a real prison. Sometimes we need earth-bound relief. Sometimes we need a new address. A new boss. A new job. In this case the escape was an answer to fervent prayer. So perhaps rather than spiritualizing this, we might take a page from the early church and pray for an earthly escape of our own.
When that happens, we can praise God for his gracious rescue.
David Bahn - Reflections 