Acts 12:19

And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode. AND WHEN HEROD HAD SOUGHT FOR HIM, AND FOUND HIM NOT, HE EXAMINED [ anakrinas (G350)] - sat in judgment upon "the keepers" - who, either like the keepers of our Lord's tomb, had "shaken, and become as dead men" (Matthew 28:4), or had slept on their watch and been divinely kept from awaking, "and commanded that they should be put to death." Impotent vengeance! AND HE (HEROD) WENT DOWN FROM JUDEA TO CESAREA - to preside (as we shall see from Josephus presently) at the games there celebrated in honour of his friend and patron Claudius, "and there abode." H...

12-19 God's providence leaves room for the use of our prudence, though he has undertaken to perform and perfect what he has begun. These Christians continued in prayer for Peter, for they were truly in earnest. Thus men ought always to pray, and not to faint. As long as we are kept waiting for a mercy, we must continue praying for it. But sometimes that which we most earnestly wish for, we are most backward to believe. The Christian law of self-denial and of suffering for Christ, has not done away the natural law of caring for our own safety by lawful means. In times of public danger, all believers have God for their hiding-place; which is so secret, that the world cannot find them. Also, the instruments of persecution are themselves exposed to danger; the wrath of God hangs over all that engage in this hateful work. And the range of persecutors often vents itself on all in its way....

Verse Acts 12:19. _COMMANDED THAT THEY SHOULD BE PUT TO DEATH._] He believed, or pretended to believe, that the escape of Peter was owing to the negligence of the keepers: jailers, watchmen, c., ordinarily suffered the same kind of punishment which should have been inflicted on the prisoner whose escape they were supposed to have favoured. _HE WENT DOWN FROM JUDEA TO CAESAREA_] How soon he went down, and how long he stayed there, we know not....

HE EXAMINED THE KEEPERS - The soldiers who were entrusted with his custody. Probably only those who had the special care of him at that watch of the night. The word “examine” here means “to inquire diligently, to make investigation.” He subjected them to a rigid scrutiny to ascertain the manner of his escape; for it is evident that Herod did not mean to admit the possibility of a miraculous interposition. SHOULD BE PUT TO DEATH - For having failed to keep Peter. This punishment they had a right to expect for having suffered his escape. AND HE WENT DOWN ... - How soon after the escape of Peter he went down to Caesarea, or how long he abode there, is not known. Caesarea was rising into magnificence, and the Roman governors made it often their abode. See the notes on Acts 8:40. Compare

EXPOSITION ACTS 12:1 _Put _for _stretched, _A.V.;_ afflict _for _vex, _A.V. The phrase, ABOUT THAT TIME, as in Acts 19:23, points to what had just before been related (Meyer). The interposition of the narrative in this chapter between Acts 11:20 and Acts 12:25 evidently implies that the bulk or rather the chief of the events narrated happened in the interval. Which of the events was the chief in the mind of the narrator with reference to his general narrative, and what are the coincidences which he wished to note, it is not easy to say with certainty. The narrative in this c

AND WHEN HEROD HAD SOUGHT FOR HIM AND FOUND HIM NOT,.... Neither in the prison, nor in any part of the city: HE EXAMINED THE KEEPERS; of the prison, and those that were upon the watch, whether they had not been accessary to his escape: AND COMMANDED THAT THEY SHOULD BE PUT TO DEATH: or brought forth, not before a judge to be tried and judged, because they had been examined by Herod already; but either that they should be carried and laid in bonds, or be led forth to suffer punishment; and so our version directs, and which is confirmed by the Syriac; and the Greeks say n, that απαγωγη is a kind of punishment: AND HE WENT DOWN FROM JUDEA TO CAESAREA; not Peter, but Herod: AND THERE ABODE; of this journey of Agrippa's to Caesarea, Josephus makes mention o; this place was distant from Jerusalem six hundred furlongs, or seventy five miles p. n Harpocratian. Lex. p. 32. o Antiqu. l. 19. c...

CHAPTER 12 _ 1. The great Persecution by Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12:1)._ 2. The miraculous deliverance of Peter (Acts 12:6). 3. The Presumption and Judgment of Herod (Acts 12:18). 4. Barnabas and Saul returning to Jerusalem (Acts 12:24). With this chapter we reach the conclusion of the second part of this book. Jerusalem had heard the second offer concerning the Kingdom, and mercy was ready even for the murderers of the Prince of Life. But that offer was rejected. Stephen's testimony followed by his martyrdom marked the close of that second offer to the city where our Lord had been crucified. Then broke out a great p

FATE OF THE SOLDIERS AND OF HEROD. For the soldiers, _cf. Acts 5:21_ ff. Here they are led away to be put to death. The story of Herod's glorification and end is told by Josephus in a similar way; but our version is at some points defective. Herod's displeasure with Tyre dates from an earlier period; no disagreement with Sidon is reported. As king of Judæ a he had a hold on the two towns which depended on importation for their corn, and they might seek to work on him through Blastus, the Master of his Bedchamber; he was a good-natured man they could get round him. Acts 12:21_ b_ requires some such clause as is found in D, on his being reconciled to the Tyrians. His decision was evidently to be given at a splendid court ceremony. The scene is described by Josephus (_Ant._ XIX. viii. 2) who s

IMPRISONMENT AND DELIVERANCE (Acts 12:1-11)...

SOUGHT FOR HIM. sought him up and down. NOT. Greek. _me._ App-105. EXAMINED. Greek. _anakrino._ App-122. PUT TO DEATH. led away, i.e. to execution. Greek. _apago._ Same word as in Matthew 27:31, &c. CAESAREA. See Acts 8:40. ABODE. Greek. _diatribo,_ to rub away, or spend (time). Occures John 3:22; John 11:54, and eight times in Acts....