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Acts 12:12–17
“[Peter] described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, ‘Tell these things to James and to the brothers.’ Then he departed and went to another place” (v. 17).
On the eve of standing before Herod Agrippa I to be tried and sentenced for following Jesus, Peter slept peacefully because he trusted in the Lord’s good providence. That same night, God sent an angel to free him from prison, and the Apostle escaped the guard that Herod had placed to keep him behind bars (Acts 12:1–11). It was time for Peter to be reunited with the church that had been praying for him fervently (v. 5).
Luke tells us the story of this reunion in today’s passage. Peter went to the house of a woman named Mary, where many of the Christians in Jerusalem were praying (v. 12). The earliest Christians in Jerusalem attended synagogue meetings and even the temple, and following the practice of their Jewish ancestors, they also gathered in homes for prayer and fellowship with other believers. Mary was likely a wealthy woman because only those with some means owned houses large enough for many Christians to gather. Thus we see that the Christian church from the start had members of every economic status. Luke does not mention the name of Mary’s husband, which probably indicates that she was a widow. Furthermore, Mary was the “mother of John whose other name was Mark.” This John Mark later worked alongside Barnabas and Saul (12:25), and eventually those two men separated when they disagreed about Mark’s usefulness in ministry (15:36–41). Years afterward, John Mark wrote the gospel of Mark, his primary source being the Apostle Peter.
That Mary had some wealth is confirmed by the fact that she had at least one servant, a girl named Rhoda, who answered the door when Peter came knocking (12:13). Rhoda was so overjoyed when she heard Peter’s voice that instead of opening the door, she ran back to the people gathered inside to tell them that Peter was there. They did not believe her, and when she insisted that it was Peter, they said that it was his angel, reflecting a Jewish belief that some people had their own angelic guardians (vv. 14–15). Their disbelief that it could be the Apostle implies that they had essentially given up hope that they would see Peter again even though they had been praying for his release. When we pray, God may do more than we expect.
Peter’s reunion with the Jerusalem church was brief, for he needed to get away from Herod. The Apostle instructed the believers to let James know what had happened (vv. 16–17). This was James the brother of Jesus, a key leader of the Jerusalem church.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
God’s church includes all kinds of people, including both the very wealthy and the very poor. From the beginning, wealthy individuals such as the Mary mentioned in today’s passage have worshiped Christ alongside those of little means. No one is to be excluded from the church on the basis of wealth or social status, for all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are one people in Him.
For further study
- Proverbs 22:2
- Ecclesiastes 5:19
- James 2:1–13
- 1 Peter 5:13
The bible in a year
- 1 Chronicles 8–10
- John 8:39–59