Now we need to consider the reason Luke inserted a section concerning Peter. Actually, this section has nothing to do with Peter’s ministry. Rather, it records a miracle through which Peter was rescued from prison. What is the reason for this insertion? What was Luke’s goal in recording it?
Suppose the account concerning Peter and his ministry ended at 11:18. What kind of impression would we have of Peter? Peter was not bold in relating what took place in the house of Cornelius. If Peter had been bold, he might have said, “Brothers, the Lord Jesus told us that we should be His witnesses to the remotest part of the earth. What, then, was wrong for me to go into the house of a Roman centurion in Caesarea?” But instead of being bold, Peter was very cautious. Galatians 2 confirms the fact that Peter had a problem concerning the association of Jewish and Gentile believers. In this matter he was not strong. Therefore, when he was asked concerning it, he was not bold to answer.
In Acts 1:8 the Lord Jesus prophesied and commanded, saying, “You shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the remotest part of the earth.” Paul may have endeavored to fulfill this word when he intended to go to Spain. In his heart there may have been the thought that if he could go to Spain, he would reach the uttermost part of the earth. Paul’s intention was to fulfill the Lord’s commandment in Acts 1:8.
Peter should have remembered the Lord’s word in 1:8 when he was speaking with those of the circumcision in Acts 11. That word would have given him the ground to be bold in his speaking. However, Peter did not give a bold testimony. Rather, he spoke in a nice, cautious way, and even used six brothers to cover him.
Without the insertion of 12:1-24, we may not have a favorable impression of Peter, especially of his ministry. We perhaps would have doubts concerning him. Therefore, as he was writing about the initiation of Paul’s ministry, Luke took up the burden to insert something in order to strengthen the positive impression he has given his readers regarding Peter. This, I believe, is the first reason for this insertion.
A second reason for this insertion is to show that the persecution of the church and the apostles came not only from the source of Jewish religion but also from Roman politics. Acts 12:1 and 2 say, “Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some from the church to mistreat them. And he did away with James, the brother of John, with the sword.” This was Herod, Agrippa I, whose successor was King Agrippa (II) in 25:13. Both were different from Herod the tetrarch in 13:1. Thus far the church suffered persecution only from the Jewish religion. Now Gentile politics began to participate in the persecution in cooperation with the Jewish religion (v. 11). The Jewish religion joined with the Roman government to execute the Lord Jesus. Here in chapter twelve of Acts Luke shows us that the persecution now comes from Roman politics as well as from the Jewish religion. Luke’s insertion of 12:1-24 indicates this.
According to Acts 12, Herod mistreated a number of the saints. In particular, he slew James, the brother of John. “And when he saw that it was pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also....And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four squads of soldiers to guard him....Peter therefore was kept in the prison” (vv. 3-5). When the Sanhedrin arrested Peter and the other apostles, they were put into the outer prison. Herod, however, put Peter into the inner prison where he was guarded by four squads of soldiers. Literally, the Greek word for “squads” means quaternions. A quaternion was a group of four soldiers. Luke’s intention is to show us that Roman politics joined the Jewish religion to persecute the church.