This is a simplified version of the Bible story found in Acts 12:1-19, written for children to understand. For the original version, please refer to the Bible passage.
A man named Herod was in charge of a place where many people followed Jesus. Herod didn’t like these Jesus followers, so he did bad things to them.
One day, he killed a man named James, who was the brother of John. This made the other Jesus followers very sad. Herod liked how this made the Jews who didn’t follow Jesus happy, so he decided to put another Jesus follower named Peter in jail.
When Herod was going to bring Peter out of jail, on that very night, an angel of the Lord appeared to Peter in his cell. Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and the guards were guarding the prison door when a light shone in the cell.
The angel woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” Then the chains fell off his hands. Peter was surprised and scared, but he trusted in the Lord and followed the angel’s instructions. The angel told Peter to put on his clothes and shoes, and then he led Peter out of the cell, past all the guards, and even opened the gate for him. Peter thought it was all a dream until he was outside on the street! He knew that God had saved him from Herod and his bad plans.
Peter went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many people were praying for him. When he knocked on the door, a girl named Rhoda answered. She was so happy to hear Peter’s voice that she didn’t open the door and ran to tell everyone that Peter was outside. But they didn’t believe her! They thought she was imagining things. “Rhoda, you must be mistaken,” they said. “Peter is in prison, how could he possibly be here?”
But Rhoda insisted that she had heard Peter’s voice and that he was outside the door. Finally, they decided to check and see, and to their amazement, Peter was indeed standing there. They were all filled with joy and amazement, and Peter shared with them how God had saved him from prison. He also told them, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.” Then Peter departed and went to another place.
The next day, the soldiers were very confused about what had happened to Peter. Herod was very angry that Peter had escaped, so he punished the guards who were supposed to be watching Peter and ordered that they should be put to death. He then went to another city called Caesarea.
Biblical Lessons
- Persecution and suffering may come to those who follow Jesus, but God is always with us and can give us the strength to endure.
- Miracles can happen when we trust in God and have faith in His power.
- Sometimes, people may not believe us or what we say, but we should still continue to speak the truth and share what God has done for us.
- God can use even the most difficult and challenging situations to bring about good and accomplish His purposes.
Related Stories
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
