The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate. Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered. So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening. They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him.
Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent His angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!” When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer. He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!” “You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.” Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed. He motioned for them to quiet down and told them how the Lord had led him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers what happened,” he said. And then he went to another place.
At dawn there was a great commotion among the soldiers about what had happened to Peter. Herod Agrippa ordered a thorough search for him. When he couldn’t be found, Herod interrogated the guards and sentenced them to death. Afterward Herod left Judea to stay in Caesarea for a while.]Acts 12:6-19
This maybe the shortest Gem on record but there have been other really short ones. I will sometimes put one question to you based on the text before us and then leave you to ponder the point until the next Gem.
Have you noticed something in this passage that is strange? It should arrest your attention and make you wonder what is going on?Once you find it, spend some time pondering how you would answer if someone else were to ask you about it. If you are reading these Gems live and are doing what I suggest, email me your ponderings.
There are three ways to get something done: 1. Do it yourself 2. Hire someone 3. Forbid your kids to do it
Ian Vail
It’s been suggested to me that I don’t know the answers to many questions I pose. I just ask all of you and then pass on the answers.
Ian Vail
There are four ways for me to find the answers: 1. Find out myself 2. Hire someone 3. Consult a commentary 4. Get my Gems Readers to do it.
Ian Vail
I won’t answer on the grounds it may incriminate you.
Ian Vail
The adage of Deeper Bible is: Give a (wo)man a fish feed her/him for a day. Teach a (wo)man to fish feed her/him for a lifetime.
Ian Vail