Acts 12:11-19 – 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 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.” Peter had been thinking, until the angel left that he was seeing a vision. When he realized that all that had been happening was reality he realized that the Lord had saved him from the evil desires of the Herod and the Jewish leaders. It is hard to even put oneself in his shoes.
“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!” “John, also called Mark” is sometimes called John Mark and is the person whom the Spirit used to write the book of Mark. He accompanied Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary trip. However, he (a young man) did not stay the whole time causing Paul not to trust him on a future trip. However Barnabas, Mark’s cousin, disagreed and that caused a temporary schism between Paul and Barnabas. Years later it seems that all is forgiven between Paul and Mark as Mark is again with Paul in Philemon 1:24.
His mother Mary (a common name of the time) is thought to have been a widow who was well off. Her home must have been a large home as she often hosted the community of believers.
It was not considered safe to open the door to a knock in the nighttime. The servant girl Rhoda (her name meaning either Rose, or servant girl) heard the knock and did not at first know who was knocking, but then she recognized Peter’s voice. Rhoda may have been very young. It is mindful of small child today who hears a knock at the door, recognizes the person knocking, but has been told not to open the door, especially at night, so the child will run to tell its parents who was at the door. Rhoda was so excited to hear that it was Peter who was knocking that she hurried to excitedly tell the praying adults that that Peter, whom they were praying God would release, was at the door.
““You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”” At first the adults, who were earnestly praying for Peter told the girl that she was crazy because Peter was in jail. But she kept insisting so they proffered that perhaps it was Peter’s angel. To us, that would seem an odd idea that it was an angel knocking at the door and that Rhoda mistook the angel for Peter. However, they had a tradition at that time that stated everyone has a guardian angel and that the angel looks exactly like the person that is being guarded. Intriguing, but not found in scripture.
It seems that while the believers were earnestly calling out to God to save Peter, when God had saved him, they were not believing that their prayers were answered. In that we see the miraculous part of this whole event. The fact that Peter was out, either released or had somehow escaped the imprisonment of Herod, seemed too unbelievable to them. They knew that in the natural there was no escaping the situation. So even though they knew that God could save Peter, they were not sure that He would. After all, hadn’t James been killed before Peter’s imprisonment? There seems to have been a lack of faith, or at least understandable uncertainty on the part of the prayers. Yet we do not judge them harshly for that. After all, don’t we all need to confess the same? We pray without fully believing we will receive (Mark 11:24). Now there is much to discuss about that topic that we cannot discuss at this time. However, we know that when we pray we must pray with the knowledge that God may provide exactly as we have asked. We know that one way or another He will answer. Too often, however, we pray without full confidence because we often don’t know what the will of God is in the situation. However, if a person sick, we know that it is the will of God that we should pray for the sick (James 5:14). We should pray continuously and especially motivated by love (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Family, let us not doubt and become discouraged, let us pray in faith and having done that, trust our God who in every circumstance knows best. Pray and believe that even the seemingly impossible may come true as God wills. Our God is good and He loves us. He will provide the perfect answer, whether we understand or not. Pray to our good and loving God and believe that He may provide a miraculous answer, just as He did in the rescuing of Peter. Our God is able. He still is supernatural and all powerful. Praise our God! Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.