Thoughts on Study Questions from Acts Chapter 12 on 2/17
My Sunday school class/Life Group is studying the book of Acts. I posted these questions this Monday and encouraged you to jot your thoughts down.
This is Wednesday. This post consists of some comments from the class discussion.
If you’d like a PDF file of the questions, email me at crd.author@gmail.com
Chapter 12
Vv1-19a
Why was Peter arrested this time?
Herod was pleasing the Jews by rearresting him. There were many "extra" Jews in Jerusalem for Passover.
These soldiers were elite groups. Why use green berets or seals to guard a prisoner?
They were afraid of Peter.
Herod had no regard for life and was hoping Peter would give the soldiers an excuse to kill him.
Also, this might cause Christians to react in a way that "justified" killing them.
What does it mean to be “earnestly praying”? [v5]
Constant.
Praying together (this is just like at Pentecost)
Having your faith stretched.
When did the angel appear?
At the last minute, the night before Peter goes before Herod.
What does that tell us about God’s timing?
God specializes in "nick of time" grace. This is something Peter was familiar with because of his experience during the storm on Lake Galilee.
Faith grows during hard times.
God shows His authority and encourages those praying.
Why does the angel hit Peter?
To wake him up.
Look at the end of v7. Describe how you think these events occurred.
Peter was chained to two soldiers who had no concern for his comfort. The fact that Peter was sleeping is a testimony to his faith. He's sound enough asleep that the angel has to shake him to wake him up.
After he wakes up, Peter stands up. Two miraculous things happen.
- The Roman chains fall off
- The guards don't wake up.
Neither of those things should have happened.
What do we learn about this prison from v8?
It's big--there's a long path to the exit.
It's well-fortified.
It's dark.
We had a couple of interesting items surface during this discussion. I've summarized the extracurricular content at the end of the questions.
Peter obeys without question even though he thinks what?
It's a dream.
How does this apply to us?
Trust God.
Go in faith.
Let go and let God take over.
Jesus knows the intensity of your situation.
The angel protects Peter from several things during this escape. Name them.
- Guards he's chained to.
- Two other guards as he leaves the cell. (There might have been 12 other guards as well.)
- Opens the gate without drawing attention.
- Travels the distance of one entire street without being seen and ends up a signficant distance away from the prison.
When does the angel leave Peter alone?
When he's in a physically safe place.
Why do you think the angel didn’t stay with him longer?
Peter was capable of taking care of himself at that point. He obviously recognized something about his location because he heads to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark.
What does this tell us about God?
God give you what you need to do what He asks/expects you to do.
The will of God will not take you where His grace will not cover you.
In verse 11, Peter finally gets a clue. What prompted this awakening?
He realizes that he's not in prison! (v12)
Two items.
These questions came up.
- Was Peter invisible?
- If not, were all the special forces soldiers acting as guards asleep?
We just discussed them. There were arguments supporting and attacking both yes and no for each.
The other item became part of a addition to our weekly prayer and praise list. We call them "God Sightings." The purpose is for us to intentionally look for God working in, through, and around us.
- A visitor in the class told us about the time her police officer husband did not come home at his regular time. She woke up at 1:30 in the morning and was directed to pray for his safety.
- She did and went back to sleep.
- When he arrived around 5:30, he asked her if she'd prayed for him.
- She said, "Yes. Around 1:30."
- He said, "That's just when a gunman began shooting at us."
- We agreed that was a God Sighting!
Apologies for any inaccuracies in this account. I didn't take notes. I probably should have.
We got this far this week.
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