When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!” Acts 12:14 NLT
The she in this verse refers to Rhoda. A servant in Mary’s house – Mary, the mother of John Mark. Rhoda is only mentioned once in the Bible and it’s in this chapter. I find it remarkable that she’s even named. There are so many times the Bible doesn’t mention people’s names. It’s the woman with the issue of blood, the woman at the well, the blind man by the side of the road, Peter’s mother-in-law, or Jairus’ daughter, etc. Yet remarkably we know this servant girl’s name and all she did was forget to open the door.
That may not sound too important until we realize who was standing on the other side: Peter. The very person everyone gathered at Mary’s house was praying for.
The backstory
Herod Agrippa I was in power and he began persecuting some of the believers. He already had James killed. James the son of Zebedee, the other half of James and John and a member of Jesus’s inner circle. Now he had Peter, another member of the inner circle, arrested and imprisoned while waiting for Passover to end to bring him to trial. No doubt to render the same fate that James received, since Herod saw how much it pleased the Jews (Acts 12:1-4).
While Peter was in prison, the church prayed earnestly for him. The night before his trial there was a group of believers gathered at Mary’s house for prayer. I’m not sure what they prayed for but I know if I were in their situation I would be praying for God to deliver Peter and save him from the hands of Herod and his co-conspirators.
Enter Rhoda
This is where our friend Rhoda enters the scene. She hears a knock at the door in the gate and goes to investigate and immediately recognizes the voice. It’s Peter! The very same person everyone was praying about. She was so overcome with joy and excited to share this information that she rushed back inside to tell everyone the good news. Leaving Peter still standing behind the closed door.
How did everyone receive Rhoda’s news that their prayers were answered? Probably not as enthusiastically as she hoped. They told her she was out of her mind (vs 15). There’s no way Peter could be standing outside. Makes me wonder why they were praying if they weren’t expecting to receive an answer. Or what were they hoping their prayers would accomplish?
Disbelief and doubt
Either way, Rhoda is not backing down. She is adamant. But the idea Peter could be standing outside the door was too fantastical. They’d rather believe it was Peter’s angel out there rather than the man himself.
Maybe their skepticism was due to the fact there was no way for Peter to escape prison. Herod Agrippa I had placed him under the “guard of four squads of four soldiers each.” He had a squad of soldiers constantly watching him. So I understand their disbelief. However, why insist Rhoda was wrong without investigating her claims first? Although it may have been humanly impossible to escape prison, it was certainly possible with God. But that thought never seemed to have crossed their minds. Meanwhile, Peter stands outside knocking. The answer to their prayers was standing outside the door waiting to be let in.
The moral of the story
It’s easy for disbelief and doubt to cloud our vision, preventing us from opening the door to the miracles that may be standing right outside. Rhoda may not have opened the door but she recognized the miracle and in her joy, she went to share the good news with those who should have been excited to receive it. But instead of reciprocating, she was met with skepticism. It was only Peter’s persistent knocking that led the others to investigate for themselves and when they finally opened the door and saw Peter standing there, they were ‘amazed’.
It goes to show that we should never underestimate the power of God to answer earnest prayers.
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. James 5:16 NLT