Prison Break
“And the Chains Fell Off”
Acts 12:1-17 …and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists (7).
Intro: This was the ultimate prison break. How does a person escape while chained to two guards, being watched by several more guards, and being locked behind doors and a secure gate? It was virtually impossible for Peter to get out of this one- yet he did.
-We might feel like we are locked in our problems and life situations. We don’t see any possible way out. However, the things that are too hard for man are doable with God! That is what I’d like to talk about today.
Prop: The Lord rescues and delivers those who put their trust in Him.
Interrogative: How is such a prison break possible in our lives?
TS: Let’s look at a few principles found in our text that show us how much God wants to bring about our freedom from anything that holds us in bondage.
I. Bound by Two Chains
-It appears that the king of this region, Herod Agrippa I, was doing all he could to stay on the good side of the influential Jews in Jerusalem. Unfortunately, many of these influential Jews wanted nothing more than to see all of the followers of Jesus wiped out. Herod’s grandmother was Jewish, so he exploited his ancestry, participating in temple worship, and appearing to observe the law of Moses. The Sanhedrin accepted him as one of their own, and he probably brought James to trial through the Sanhedrin.
-It is noteworthy that James was killed by the sword. By Jewish law, if someone enticed a Jew to participate in idolatry, then he was to be stoned to death. However, if someone caused a whole city to serve other gods, then he was to be killed with the sword (Deut. 13:6-18). James was likely executed as a representative of all the Messianic believers who had made a huge impact on Jerusalem. The Jews believed that the followers of Jesus had committed idolatry by equating Jesus with God, and their faith in Jesus had spread all over Jerusalem.
-So James was dead – one of the 3 disciples who had been closest to Jesus (Peter, James, and John). Now Peter, for all practical purposes, was on death row, awaiting his own trial and execution. What do you suppose he was feeling? Well, v.6 says he was bound by two chains. No doubt those were two physical chains used to restrain Peter from escape, but let’s look at 2 things that the chains could represent.
-The first chain might represent grief. Peter was no doubt grieving the loss of his fellow disciple and friend, James. In fact, he had probably spent some of his incarceration weeping and mourning the death of James. You’ll never find Jesus condemning the expression of grief. You will find Him bringing comfort and healing, but you’ll never find Him silencing the God-given emotions that arise when someone close to us dies. In fact, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” One of the chains that weighed down the arms of Peter was sorrow. Yet, it wasn’t the sorrow that those without God have when someone close to them dies. In John 16:20, Jesus told His disciples, “You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.” Also, Paul writes, “We do not want you to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14). If you know Jesus you have hope when you lose a loved one; but for a time, grief can be a heavy chain that holds you down.
-The 2nd chain might represent injustice or mistreatment. Peter had seen a lot of injustice from rulers in his time. He had witnessed the kangaroo court that was responsible for putting Jesus to death. He had been with Jesus when Herod’s uncle, Herod Antipas, had put John the Baptist to death on the whim of a lustful promise. Peter himself had already been put in prison at least twice, and flogged once, based on false accusations and injustice. His good friend Stephen had been stoned to death because of his faith. He had every reason to hate these crooked, selfish, power-hungry murderers who made up the Sanhedrin. Yet somehow he didn’t hate them. He remembered what Jesus had told him several years earlier: “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:10-12).
-Peter’s enemies wanted to break his spirit through grief, sorrow, and unfair treatment. They wanted him to be bound up, not only in physical chains, but in emotional chains of hatred and despair.
-Maybe you have found yourself bound by something. There are many forms these chains can take. You might identify with Peter because you are bound up by grief and sorrow. You may have lost somebody close to you and have never really worked through the grief to find healing. Maybe you’ve been mistreated or wounded by someone. You find yourself unable to forgive them, and that chain of unforgiveness is weighing you down. Maybe you are chained by an addiction or a recurring illness. Whatever your chains might be, please hear me when I say there is hope for you. You can find freedom from the things that hold you back from living life to the full! How do I know that? Because that is the good news about Jesus. He came to help us, heal us, and forgive us. Peter had already experienced the Lord’s help and forgiveness, but in this situation he received help through the prayers of people in the church. Let’s take a look at how that happened.
II. Strengthened through a Praying Church
-Peter was sleeping. Even in the midst of the bondage of grief and mistreatment, Peter was able to trust the Lord and rest in Him for the outcome. This was the night before he was to go on trial. He would likely face execution the next day, just as his good friend James had just a few days earlier.
-Why was Peter able to go to sleep and put his life and future in God’s hands? I really believe it was because the church was praying for him. Psalm 3:5 says, “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.” God sustained Peter in response to the prayers of other believers.
-God often burdens others to pray for us, and sometimes He even uses them to help meet our need. However, we always need to remember that He is our source. [Illus: A little boy was saying his bedtime prayers with his mother: "Lord, bless Mommy and Daddy, and God, GIVE ME A NEW BICYCLE!!!" Mom: "God’s not deaf, son. Boy: "I know, Mom, but Grandma’s in the next room, and she’s hard of hearing!”] God knows our situation, just as He knew Peter’s situation. God gave the church a burden to pray for Peter, and then He did the rest.
-Never underestimate the power of a praying church! We don’t quite know how it works or why it works, but something definitely happens when believers pray that does not happen when they don’t pray. God is sovereign and will do what He sees best in every situation, but for some reason he chooses to work through the prayers of His people.
-Some people might say, “God will do what He wants to do regardless of whether I pray or not.” In a sense that is true, because God will not allow His purposes to be thwarted by any created being. None of us has the power to hinder God from doing what He purposes to do. So let’s think about this in another way.
-When we pray for someone, who do you think gives us the idea to pray? Are we the source of the prayer burdens that arise in our hearts? No! God is the source. God determines what is needed, and then He speaks to our hearts so we will pray and see the answer come. God can do whatever He wants, and would never even have to involve us, but He wants to include His children in His plans. He wants us to learn to partner with Him and see His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
-As we will see next, prayer not only brought comfort and freedom to Peter’s heart and mind, but it also brought about his physical freedom.
III. Rescued by a Loving God (The chains fell off!)
-God came to Peter’s rescue after hearing the believers cry out for Him to help Peter. He sent an angel to set Peter free. The angel came and gave Peter a jab to wake him up. Then he told him, “Get up, get dressed, and follow me.” As soon as he told Peter to get up, the chains fell off.
-Have you ever dreamed about your chains falling off? Have you visualized what it would be like to be free from those feelings of pain or guilt? Have you thought about what it would be like to be free from that addictive habit? Some people describe what it was like when they first found forgiveness from God. “I felt light and free- almost as if I could fly!”
-God cares about you and He can make your chains go away. No matter what they are, he can rescue you and bring deliverance and freedom to your life.
-Peter thought he was having a dream. He knew that God could do anything, but he had probably come to a place where he was ready to die for Christ. He really thought this was it for him. However, God still had plans for Peter on this earth, so the chains fell off!
-The angel led him down the length of one street, and then left him. Then reality struck as Peter was left by himself in the middle of the street. He realized that this was different from the vision of the clean and unclean animals on the sheet. That vision had come to him 3 different times. This time he had been delivered by an angel and he didn’t even know that it was really happening until he found himself free.
-God wants us to be free… free from sin and bondage and free to do His will.
-Well, you would think that those who had been praying for Peter would have expected him to show up at any moment, but when he did, they were so surprised, they didn’t believe it at first.
IV. Astonished by God’s Miraculous Deliverance
-V. 13 says that Peter went to a certain house where “many people had gathered and were praying.” He knocked on the door, and the servant girl answered. When she heard Peter’s voice, she was so excited she ran back without opening it and cried out, “Peter is at the door!” Nobody believed her.
-One side note that I find interesting is that when Luke, the writer of Acts, interviewed Peter to record this event, Peter remembers the servant girl’s name. This shows me the value of each person in the church. In their culture, servants would often be overlooked and left nameless within a story. However, because every believer was valued as precious in God’s sight, Rhoda was named in the story. People matter to God; consequently, people must also matter to the church.
-Well, Rhoda insisted that Peter was at the door, so finally they concluded that it must be Peter’s angel. If you read Psalm 91:11, you can see the common Jewish belief that guardian angels protected God’s people. Later, other Jewish writings reflect the belief that guardian angels assume the appearance of those whom they protect, and serve as their doubles. This could be why they thought this was Peter’s guardian angel.
-Who knows how long Peter stood out there knocking. He may have been thinking, “Great! An angel rescues me from prison and I get arrested again because the church won’t let me in.” Finally, when they thought to open the door, they saw Peter, and they were astonished.
-Have you ever been surprised by God? Has He ever worked so quickly and powerfully in your life that you were astounded? Has God ever surprised you by the way He answers your prayers? We often pray and get an idea of how God should handle something. Then, when He does it His way, we are surprised and say, “Why didn’t I think of that?”
-God’s way can be trusted! When He works in our lives, it is always a marvelous thing – even if we do happen to know how things will go down.
Conclusion: So, what does this message say to us today? God has a way of rescuing and providing for those who put their trust in Him. We can trust God for deliverance and provision no matter what we’re up against. And we should also get in on what God is doing. We do that by joining other believers in praying for those who are facing tough times. We really do need to be praying for one another. Prayer will bring freedom to those who are weighted down by troubles and problems. Jesus said in Luke 4:18: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors.”
-God is into freedom! Maybe you need His freedom in your life today. If so, would you be willing to let the church to pray for you? Ask other believers to pray for you, and be willing to pray for them. You might need freedom from sin, guilt, anger, unforgiveness, addictions, abuse, or some other circumstance in your life. God can bring about your escape and give you the freedom and strength to be all He wants you to be. If you want that, please come and be prayed for. God cares and we care.
-Sing “I Need You More,” or “Lord, I Give You My Heart.”
