Acts 12:18-19

Acts 12:18-19

[18] Now  as soon as it was  day,  no  small  stir  among  the soldiers,  what  was become  of Peter.  [19] And  Herod  had sought for  him,  and  found him  not,  he examined  the keepers,  and commanded  that they should be put to death.  And  he went down  from  Judaea  to  Caesarea,  and there abode. 

What does Acts 12:18-19 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Understandably there was "no small disturbance" (a litotes, cf. Acts 14:28; Acts 15:2; Acts 17:4; Acts 17:12; Acts 19:23-24) when the authorities found Peter"s cell empty. Herod evidently concluded that the guards had cooperated with Peter"s escape or at least had been negligent. Roman guards who allowed their prisoners to escape suffered the punishment of those prisoners. [1] These guards died. Herod then left Judea (the old Jewish name for the area around Jerusalem) and returned to Caesarea, the nominal capital of the Roman province of Judea. One wonders if Peter"s escape played a role in Herod"s decision to leave the center of Jewish life and so save face. Even a Roman authority could not prevent the church from growing.