12:1 那時，希律王下手苦害教會中幾個人，
12:2 用刀殺了約翰的哥哥雅各。
12:3 他見猶太人喜歡這事，又去捉拿彼得。那時正是除酵的日子。
12:4 希律拿了彼得，收在監裡，交付四班兵丁看守，每班四個人，意思要在逾越節後把他提出來，當著百姓辦他。
12:5 於是彼得被囚在監裡；教會卻為他切切地禱告上帝。
12:6 希律將要提他出來的前一夜，彼得被兩條鐵鍊鎖著，睡在兩個兵丁當中；看守的人也在門外看守。
12:7 忽然，有主的一個使者站在旁邊，屋裡有光照耀，天使拍彼得的肋旁，拍醒了他，說：「快快起來！」那鐵鍊就從他手上脫落下來。
12:8 天使對他說：「束上帶子，穿上鞋。」他就那樣做。天使又說：「披上外衣，跟著我來。」
12:9 彼得就出來跟著他，不知道天使所做是真的，只當見了異象。
12:10 過了第一層第二層監牢，就來到臨街的鐵門，那門自己開了。他們出來，走過一條街，天使便離開他去了。
12:11 彼得醒悟過來，說：「我現在真知道主差遣他的使者，救我脫離希律的手和猶太百姓一切所盼望的。」
12:12 想了一想，就往那稱呼馬可的約翰、他母親馬利亞家去，在那裡有好些人聚集禱告。
12:13 彼得敲外門，有一個使女，名叫羅大，出來探聽，
12:14 聽得是彼得的聲音，就歡喜的顧不得開門，跑進去告訴眾人說：「彼得站在門外。」
12:15 他們說：「你是瘋了！」使女極力地說：「真是他！」他們說：「必是他的天使！」
12:16 彼得不住地敲門。他們開了門，看見他，就甚驚奇。
12:17 彼得擺手，不要他們作聲，就告訴他們主怎樣領他出監；又說：「你們把這事告訴雅各和眾弟兄。」於是出去，往別處去了。
12:18 到了天亮，兵丁擾亂得很，不知道彼得往哪裡去了。
12:19 希律找他，找不著，就審問看守的人，吩咐把他們拉去殺了。後來希律離開猶太，下凱撒利亞去，住在那裡。
It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.
6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.
8 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.
11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”
12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”
15 “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”
16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.
18 In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.
Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.
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約翰的哥哥雅各是第一位為主殉道的使徒，是死在希律王的迫害。然而彼得卻在天使的拯救下，從監獄裡出來。這一切都是在上帝的安排，不是人可以決定的。
我們的生命也是如此，在世的長短不是我們能夠決定。然而能夠決定的就是要為主而活或為主而死！保羅也說過：「我們沒有一個人為自己活，也沒有一個人為自己死。我們若活著，是為主而活；若死了，是為主而死。所以，我們或活或死總是主的人。因此，基督死了，又活了，為要作死人並活人的主。」（羅馬書14:7-9）
求主保守我們，讓我們時時而刻刻為主而活，因為主位我們死在十字架上償還我們的罪債，又藉著復活賜給我們新的生命！就像保羅說說：「我已經與基督同釘十字架，現在活著的不再是我，乃是基督在我裡面活著；並且我如今在肉身活著，是因信上帝的兒子而活；他是愛我，為我捨己。」(加拉太書2:20)
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