19 And Herod having sought him and not found him, having examined the guards, commanded [them] to be executed. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea and stayed [there].
And as they went, behold, some of the watch went into the city, and brought word to the chief priests of all that had taken place. And having assembled with the elders, and having taken counsel, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, Say that his disciples coming by night stole him [while] we [were] sleeping. And if this should come to the hearing of the governor, *we* will persuade him, and save *you* from all anxiety. And they took the money and did as they had been taught. And this report is current among the Jews until this day.
But the chief priests took counsel that they might kill Lazarus also, because many of the Jews went away on his account and believed on Jesus.
For the thing that the king demandeth is extraordinary, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. For this cause the king was irritated and very wroth, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. And the decree went forth that the wise men were to be slain; and they sought Daniel and his companions to slay them.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Acts 12
Commentary on Acts 12 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 12
In this chapter we have the story,
Act 12:1-4
Ever since the conversion of Paul, we have heard no more of the agency of the priests in persecuting the saints at Jerusalem; perhaps that wonderful change wrought upon him, and the disappointment it gave to their design upon the Christians at Damascus, had somewhat mollified them, and brought them under the check of Gamaliel's advice-to let those men alone, and see what would be the issue; but here the storm arises from another point. The civil power, not now, as usual (for aught that appears) stirred up by the ecclesiastics, acts by itself in the persecution. But Herod, though originally of an Edomite family, yet seems to have been a proselyte to the Jewish religion; for Josephus says he was zealous for the Mosaic rites, a bigot for the ceremonies. He was not only (as Herod Antipas was) tetrarch of Galilee, but had also the government of Judea committed to him by Claudius the emperor, and resided most at Jerusalem, where he was at this time. Three things we are here told he did-
Act 12:5-19
We have here an account of Peter's deliverance out of prison, by which the design of Herod against him was defeated, and his life preserved for further service, and a stop given to this bloody torrent. Now,
Act 12:20-25
In these verses we have,