Living in the Image of God M05S07
Peter’s escape from Herod’s prison conveys understanding that God provides miracles to combine with human effort to accomplish his goals. He freed Peter from prison but left him to complete his escape from King Herod by human effort. Also, through his interactions with disciples during two storms on Sea of Galilee, Christ conveys understanding of human relationship with God regarding faith, human effort, and miracles. In the first storm, the disciples panicked and shifted focus from work to seeking Jesus. He released a miracle to end the storm, then scolded the disciples for lack of faith. In the second storm, the disciples focused on work but were distracted by the glory of Jesus walking on water. He encouraged them to keep working and released a miracle to end the storm. The examples convey understanding that God sees your human effort, encourages you to keep working, and will intervene with miracle when and how he chooses. Therefore, focus on doing what you can humanly do in every endeavor.
In this bible study, we discuss examples from the bible to understand that God provides miracles to combine with human effort to accomplish his goals.
First, we discuss Peter’s escape from Herod’s prison. An angel freed Peter from prison, but left him at a short distance from the prison, where Herod’s people could easily recapture him if he stayed there. Therefore, Peter still needed human effort to complete his escape from Herod. That is, a combination of miracle plus human effort occurred to accomplish the goal of “Peter’s escape from Herod.”
Second, we discuss Christ interactions with disciples during two storms on Lake Galilee. In the first storm, the disciples panicked as they feared that Jesus was not aware of their struggle with the storm. They shifted focus from human effort to seeking Jesus to intervene. He released a miracle to end the storm and scolded the disciples for lack of faith. In the second storm, the disciples focused on human effort but were distracted when they saw Jesus walking on water. He encouraged them to keep working. Then he entered the boat and released a miracle to end the storm.
The accounts help us understand that God has given us capabilities to accomplish every goal that he has established for us, calls every person to apply their capabilities in every situation, and will determine when and how to intervene with miracles as needed. Therefore, focus on doing what you can humanly do. God sees your effort and will choose when and how to provide a miracle.
Herod Arrests Peter
King Herod arrested Peter and intended to execute him. He had begun a persecution of the believers in Jerusalem, which he calculated would please the Jews based on their reaction to the execution of James [Acts 12:1–3]: “It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also.”
He held Peter in a maximum-security prison, intending to put him on public trial after the Festival of Unleavened Bread [Acts 12:4]: “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.” The church met at a private home continuously to pray for Peter.
Angel Frees Peter from Prison
God sent an angel to free Peter from prison on the night before the scheduled public trial. The angel woke Peter while the guards slept, released him from shackles, led him out of the prison, through the gates, and into the street [Acts 12:6–7]: “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. 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.”
The angel walked with Peter to a short distance from the prison and left him [Acts 12:10]: “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.”
The events of freeing Peter from the prison (Acts 12:7–10) represent a miracle. The events happened by the power of God only and could not have been accomplished by any human action. Peter was freed from prison by miracle. However, although Peter was freed, the angel left him at a short distance from the prison. If Peter stayed there, Herod’s people would easily recapture him as soon as they began looking for him. Therefore, Peter still needed human effort to complete his escape from Herod. That is, a combination of miracle plus human effort was needed to accomplish the goal of “Peter’s escape from Herod.”
Peter Completes Escape from Herod
God performed a miracle to begin Peter’s escape from Herod’s prison, but left Peter where he still needed human effort to complete the escape. The first thing Peter did was visit the church that was praying for him. He told them that God freed him from prison, and asked them to inform the other members. Then, he left for an undisclosed place to complete his escape from Herod [Acts 12:17]: “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.”
His interaction with the church shows he understood that his escape was not yet complete. Herod and his men could recapture him easily if he remained there. Therefore, he talked with the church as he needed and left for an undisclosed location to complete his escape from Herod. That is, God performed a miracle to start the escape and Peter completed the escape by human effort.
Sequence of Miracle and Human Effort
Human effort needs miracle to accomplish its objective. Also, miracle could need human effort. Miracles could be intertwined with human effort or occur in a sequence determined by God. For example, in the healing of a lame man by Peter and John, the miracle occurred through and at the end the human effort. In contrast, in Peter’s escape from Herod, the miracle occurred to begin the escape. The two events show that God chooses when and how to intervene with a miracle and may not disclose the sequence a priori.
Therefore, always focus on doing what you can humanly do, as if your human effort alone would be sufficient to accomplish your goal. God will provide miracles to work with your human effort; when and how he chooses.
Faith, Human Effort, and Miracles
Let us recall Christ teaching through interactions with his disciples during two storms on Sea of Galilee. As we discuss previously under Individual Responsibility Regarding Faith and Human Effort (M04S09), Christ interactions with his disciples during the two storms convey a message of human relationship with God regarding faith, human effort, and miracles. Through the interactions, Christ calls every person to focus on doing what you can humanly do in every endeavor, knowing that God will intervene with miracle when and how he chooses.
Please see the cited bible study for a more detailed discussion of his interactions with the disciples during the two storms. We provide a summary of the discussion here.
First Storm on Sea of Galilee
During the first storm (Mark 4:35–40), the disciples panicked, because they feared that Jesus was not aware of their struggle with the storm. They shifted focus from human effort to seeking Jesus to intervene. He released a miracle to end the storm. Then, he scolded the disciples for lack of faith.
Second Storm on Sea of Galilee
During the second storm (Mark 6:45–51), in contrast, the disciples focused on human effort. They worked feverishly, determined to fight through the storm toward their destination. However, they were distracted when they saw Jesus walking on water. He encouraged them to keep working. Then he entered the boat and released a miracle to end the storm.
Summary of What We Learned
Peter’s escape from Herod’s prison conveys understanding that God provides miracles to combine with human effort to accomplish his goals. He freed Peter from prison but left him to complete his escape from King Herod by human effort. Also, through his interactions with disciples during two storms on Sea of Galilee, Christ conveys understanding of human relationship with God regarding faith, human effort, and miracles.
In the first storm, the disciples panicked and shifted focus from work to seeking Jesus. He released a miracle to end the storm, then scolded the disciples for lack of faith. In the second storm, the disciples focused on work but were distracted by the glory of Jesus walking on water. He encouraged them to keep working and released a miracle to end the storm.
The examples convey understanding that God sees your human effort, encourages you to keep working, and will intervene with miracle when and how he chooses. Therefore, focus on doing what you can humanly do in every endeavor.