Acts 12:1-19
There was a young woman, a servant, named Rhoda. She was a maidservant, in the house of Mary, mother of John, also called Mark. She is mentioned, by name, only once in the book of Acts (12:13), as the one to first discover Peter’s freedom from prison.
The Scripture tells us that “Peter was arrested and put in prison. He was guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Peter slept between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance”. Humanly speaking, Peter wasn’t going anywhere. I’m sure, at that point, Peter had resigned himself to the same conclusion. After all, James the brother of John had just been killed with the sword, by persecution of Herod. But “suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared, woke Peter up, loosed his chains and led him out of the prison. Peter thought it must be a vision. He had no idea that this was really happening. The angel led him past the first and second guards, through the iron gate (which opened by itself) leading to the city, walked the length of one street and then suddenly the angel left Peter. He knew then that this was not a vision, it was real. When this happened he headed straight for the house of Mary, the mother of Mark.” Acts 12:1-12 NIV
All the time that Peter was kept in prison, many people (the church) gathered together and prayed to God for him. Why wouldn’t he go to this house where so many were in continual prayer for him. This is where Miss Rhoda comes into the picture. Her name in Greek is pronounced roe-dose, and it means rose. I imagine Rhoda as this meek little servant girl, and when Peter came knocking at the door she was freightened. She wondered who it could be at this late hour? Was it the authorities coming to arrest those gathered there, to meet the same fate as Peter? So she, ever so quietly pressed her ear to the door. Then she heard Peter’s voice, and recognized it. But she did not open the door. She ran to where the others were praying, excited with gladness, to tell them that Peter was at the door. They all looked at her like she was a crazy, meek little servant girl, and called her mad saying, it is just his angel. All the while, Rhoda is still excited and claiming that it is Peter. Since she was a good little servant girl, she was probably very respectful in what she was saying. But I can imagine what she was thinking (my ‘Hubby’ says I have a vivid imagination~he’s probably right). She’s thinking, okay, ya all have been praying continually for Peter and you can’t believe that God has heard your prayers! You call me crazy? What’s the deal? The knocking continued (Peter was also probably thinking, what’s the deal?). When they finally opened the door, it was Peter. He told them all about how and angel of the Lord brought him out of the prison! Acts 12:13-19
Rhoda, the rose, was just a little servant girl. But because she was tending to her duties, she was the first to discover Peter’s freedom from prison, his deliverance from Herod’s persecution. She probably recognized his voice at the door because she had heard his message from the Lord many times. She may have told her story many times to anyone who would listen. She may have said, I was the first one there when Peter knocked at the door. I was the first one to hear and believe that day.
Questions to Ponder
What do you think of Rhoda?____________________________________________
What thoughts do you have, when you think about Rhoda’s humble place of service and the importance of mentioning her (and her experience) by name in this passage of Scripture?
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Thoughts to Ponder
Rhoda was the first to discover Peter’s freedom from persecution, from her humble place of service. She was the first to hear of God’s glorious miracle that day. Perhaps you and I might look upon humble, out of site, places of service differently, after hearing Rhoda’s story. Perhaps we will be honored to be the first to see a piece of God’s glory, and to share it for generations to come. Amen
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