“”The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. ‘Quick, get up!’ he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. Then the angel said to him, ‘Put on your clothes and sandals.’ And Peter did so. ‘Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,’ the angel told him. Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, ‘Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.'”
Acts 12:6-11
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FEBRUARY 4, 2025
Peter was sleeping. A strange detail, given the miraculous nature of his prison escape, but this is one of the pieces I find most striking. I don’t know about you, but I sincerely doubt I would be sleeping soundly if I was an oppressed minority sitting in a Roman prison chained between two guards after they executed one of my closest friends! Yet, Peter was sleeping so deeply that the angel had to strike him to wake him up.
It seems Peter was not expecting a divine rescue. Even after he felt the angel strike him, opened his eyes to find blinding light, and felt his chains fall to the floor, he assumed he was seeing a vision. Maybe he had resigned himself to the idea that he would be put to death too. After all, Jesus had revealed to Peter that he would one day be killed for the sake of the gospel (John 21:18-19).
So why was Peter able to sleep so soundly in prison? I don’t think he was simply exhausted. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” While this passage doesn’t tell us exactly what was going through Peter’s mind, we do know that when writing to persecuted Christians years later, he encouraged them to keep their focus on Christ, setting their future hope on Him and following His example in suffering (1 Peter 1:13; 1 Peter 2:21; 1 Peter 4:12-14). Even in Herod’s prison, Peter knew that no matter the outcome of his current circumstances, his hope in Christ was secure.
The next time you find yourself in a frightening situation, rather than focusing on the outcome, keep your eyes fixed on our good God. Even if we don’t understand what He is doing, we know He will never leave or forsake us, and that His good plan will triumph in the end.
Questions for reflection and discussion:
- How would you have felt in Peter’s place?
- How does keeping your focus on Jesus give you peace?
- When have you found God’s peace in a dangerous or stressful circumstance?
Church Reading Plan: Genesis 37; Mark 7