Acts 12–13

An Angel Helps Peter Escape From Prison

12About this time, King Herod arrested some people who belonged to the church. He planned to make them suffer greatly. ²He had James killed with a sword. James was John’s brother. ³Herod saw that the death of James pleased the Jews. So he arrested Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. ⁴After Herod arrested Peter, he put him in prison. Peter was placed under guard. He was watched by four groups of four soldiers each. Herod planned to put Peter on public trial. It would take place after the Passover Feast.

⁵So Peter was kept in prison. But the church prayed hard to God for him.

⁶It was the night before Herod was going to bring him to trial. Peter was sleeping between two soldiers. Two chains held him there. Lookouts stood guard at the entrance. ⁷Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared. A light shone in the prison cell. The angel struck Peter on his side. Peter woke up. “Quick!” the angel said. “Get up!” The chains fell off Peter’s wrists.

⁸Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” Peter did so. “Put on your coat,” the angel told him. “Follow me.” ⁹Peter 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. ¹⁰They passed the first and second guards. Then they came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself. They went through it. They walked the length of one street. Suddenly the angel left Peter.

¹¹Then Peter realized what had happened. He said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord sent his angel. He set me free from Herod’s power. He saved me from everything the Jewish people were hoping for.”

¹²When Peter understood what had happened, he went to Mary’s house. Mary was the mother of John Mark. Many people had gathered in her home. They were praying there. ¹³Peter knocked at the outer entrance. A servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. ¹⁴She recognized Peter’s voice. She was so excited that she ran back without opening the door. “Peter is at the door!” she exclaimed.

¹⁵“You’re out of your mind,” they said to her. But she kept telling them it was true. So they said, “It must be his angel.”

¹⁶Peter kept on knocking. When they opened the door and saw him, they were amazed. ¹⁷Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet. He explained how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the others about this,” he said. Then he went to another place.

¹⁸In the morning the soldiers were bewildered. They couldn’t figure out what had happened to Peter. ¹⁹So Herod had them look everywhere for Peter. But they didn’t find him. Then Herod questioned the guards closely. He ordered that they be put to death.

Herod Dies

Herod went from Judea to Caesarea. He stayed there awhile. ²⁰He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they got together and asked for a meeting with him. This was because they depended on the king’s country to supply them with food. They gained the support of Blastus and asked for peace. Blastus was a trusted personal servant of the king.

²¹The appointed day came. Herod was seated on his throne. He was wearing his royal robes. He made a speech to the people. ²²Then they shouted, “This is the voice of a god. It’s not the voice of a man.” ²³Right away an angel of the Lord struck Herod down. Herod had not given praise to God. So he was eaten by worms and died.

²⁴But God’s word continued to increase and spread.

²⁵Barnabas and Saul finished their task. Then they returned from Jerusalem. They took John Mark with them.

Barnabas and Saul Are Sent Off

13In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers. Among them were Barnabas, Simeon, and Lucius from Cyrene. Simeon was also called Niger. Another was Manaen. He had been brought up with Herod, the ruler of Galilee. Saul was among them too. ²While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit spoke. “Set apart Barnabas and Saul for me,” he said. “I have appointed them to do special work.” ³The prophets and teachers fasted and prayed. They placed their hands on Barnabas and Saul. Then they sent them off.

Events on Cyprus

⁴Barnabas and Saul were sent on their way by the Holy Spirit. They went down to Seleucia. From there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵They arrived at Salamis. There they preached God’s word in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.

⁶They traveled all across the island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jew named Bar-Jesus. He was an evil magician and a false prophet. ⁷He was an attendant of Sergius Paulus, the governor. Paulus was a man of understanding. He sent for Barnabas and Saul. He wanted to hear God’s word.

⁸But Elymas, the evil magician, opposed them. The name Elymas means “magician.” He tried to keep the governor from becoming a believer. ⁹Saul was also known as Paul. He was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked straight at Elymas. He said to him, ¹⁰“You are a child of the devil! You are an enemy of everything that is right! You cheat people. You use all kinds of tricks. Won’t you ever stop twisting the right ways of the Lord? ¹¹Now the Lord’s hand is against you. You are going to go blind. You won’t be able to see the light of the sun for a while.”

Right away mist and darkness came over him. He tried to feel his way around. He wanted to find someone to lead him by the hand. ¹²When the governor saw what had happened, he believed. He was amazed at what Paul was teaching about the Lord.

Paul Preaches in Pisidian Antioch

¹³From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia. There John left them and returned to Jerusalem. ¹⁴From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath day they entered the synagogue and sat down. ¹⁵The Law and the Prophets were read aloud. Then the synagogue rulers sent word to Paul and his companions. They said, “Brothers, do you have a message of hope for the people? If you do, please speak.”

¹⁶Paul stood up and motioned with his hand. Then he said, “Men of Israel, and you non-Jews who worship God, listen to me! ¹⁷The God of Israel chose our people who lived long ago. He blessed them greatly while they were in Egypt. With his mighty power he led them out of that country. ¹⁸He put up with them for about 40 years in the desert. ¹⁹He destroyed seven nations in Canaan. Then he gave the land to his people as their rightful share. ²⁰All of this took about 450 years.

“After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. ²¹Then the people asked for a king. He gave them Saul, son of Kish. Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin. He ruled for 40 years. ²²God removed him and made David their king. Here is God’s witness about him. ‘David, son of Jesse, is a man dear to my heart,’ he said. ‘He will do everything I want him to do.’

²³“From this man’s family line God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus. This is what he had promised. ²⁴Before Jesus came, John preached that we should turn away from our sins and be baptized. He preached this to all Israel. ²⁵John was coming to the end of his work. ‘Who do you think I am?’ he said. ‘I am not the one you are looking for. No, he is coming after me. I am not good enough to untie his sandals.’

²⁶“Listen, brothers, you children of Abraham! Listen, you non-Jews who worship God! This message of salvation has been sent to us. ²⁷The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus. By finding him guilty, they made the prophets’ words come true. These are read every Sabbath day. ²⁸The people and their rulers had no reason at all for sentencing Jesus to death. But they asked Pilate to have him killed. ²⁹They did everything that had been written about Jesus. Then they took him down from the cross. They laid him in a tomb. ³⁰But God raised him from the dead. ³¹For many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. Now they are his witnesses to our people.

³²“We are telling you the good news. What God promised our people long ago ³³he has done for us, their children. He has raised up Jesus. This is what is written in the second Psalm. It says,

“ ‘You are my Son.

Today I have become your Father.’

³⁴God raised Jesus from the dead. He will never rot in the grave. This is what is written in Scripture. It says,

“ ‘Holy and sure blessings were promised to David.

I will give them to you.’

³⁵In another place it says,

“ ‘You will not let your Holy One rot away.’

³⁶“David carried out God’s purpose while he lived. Then he died. He was buried with his people. His body rotted away. ³⁷But the One whom God raised from the dead did not rot away.

³⁸“My brothers, here is what I want you to know. I announce to you that your sins can be forgiven because of what Jesus has done. ³⁹Through him everyone who believes is made right with God. Moses’ law could not make you right in God’s eyes. ⁴⁰Be careful! Don’t let what the prophets spoke about happen to you. They said,

⁴¹“ ‘Look, you who make fun of the truth!

Wonder and die!

I am going to do something in your days

that you would never believe.

You wouldn’t believe it even if someone told you.’ ”

⁴²Paul and Barnabas started to leave the synagogue. The people invited them to say more about these things on the next Sabbath day. ⁴³The people were told they could leave the service. Many Jews followed Paul and Barnabas. Many non-Jews who faithfully worshiped the God of the Jews did the same. Paul and Barnabas talked with them. They tried to get them to keep living in God’s grace.

⁴⁴On the next Sabbath day, almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. ⁴⁵When the Jews saw the crowds, they became very jealous. They said evil things against what Paul was saying.

⁴⁶Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly. “We had to speak God’s word to you first,” they said. “But you don’t accept it. You don’t think you are good enough for eternal life. So now we are turning to those who aren’t Jews. ⁴⁷This is what the Lord has commanded us to…