This week we will read about a clash between legalistic Judaism and the new gentile church and apply the lessons they learned to our modern day church life.

Acts 12:18-19 describes what happened after Peter left the prison. At this time Peter has likely already left town after visiting a while with his fellow believers. The guards apparently slept through the whole escape, and are only now waking up, perhaps because the next shift arrived to take over. Remember Peter was chained to the guards…

This week we find Peter imprisoned with no hope of escape. We will look at how the church responds, and how that applies to us today.

In the beginning of the world, everyone knew God, then Adam sinned and everyone who came after him began to drift away. God then choose a family to be his witness to the world so that everyone would come back to him. (Isa. 42:6) They failed to be this light, and in the fullness of time Jesus came to be that light to the whole world. (Luke 28-32) In the same way, Acts starts off with a Jewish revival, transitions to the proselytes, then to Samaritans, and finally to Gentiles…

Luke opens this chapter with Peter on trial for his visit to a gentile home. Based on the opening text in this chapter it appears that someone brought the news to Jerusalem, but only told enough to condemn Peter for breaking the Mosaic Law.