Standing Outside the Door

The Bible narrative I was reading is found in the book of Acts, Chapter 12, starting with the first verse … “During this period King Herod incited persecution against the church …” (TPT)

So, let’s set the scene: By beheading the apostle Jacob, John’s brother, Herod discovers he can please the Jewish leaders. All he has to do is persecute the church, so for his next trick he has Peter arrested and thrown into prison during the Feast of Passover. There must have been a part of him that realized strange things happened whenever someone messed with the believers, because he assigned sixteen soldiers to rotate guarding Peter until he could be brought to public trial – which couldn’t happen until after Passover.

Think about that for a minute: sixteen soldiers? To guard one uneducated, simple fisherman? A fisherman who was being housed in a prison? And, these weren’t your Hollywood version of sloppy guards with an ale in one hand and unkempt clothes nearly falling off of them – they were highly trained soldiers … after all, they worked for the King!

But Herod was right to be cautious. Nobody from among Peter’s friends was going to attack the prison and free him, however something even better was happening: The church began a season of intense intercession, asking God to free him (vs. 5). Now, I don’t know about you, but if I had to choose between men trying set me free from a prison cell and God setting the rescue in motion, I’d choose God every time! And, as the time for bringing Peter to trial got closer, Herod stepped up his precautions – he made sure that Peter was securely bound with two chains attached to two soldiers. And he posted extra guards just outside his prison cell.

The next part of this story kind of amuses me. I picture Herod waffling between glee when he thinks about his plans for the next day, and simultaneously suffering from waves of nerves and dread as the thought keeps popping into his head that something will go wrong and he’ll look the complete fool! So, there’s poor Herod tossing and turning … getting up and walking the floor … trying to rest and failing as he waits for dawn to break. If you’ve ever had a night like that, as I have, you can almost feel sorry for the chap – almost, but not quite.

And this is the cap to that picture that makes me want to giggle. Where is Peter in all of this? Verse 6 makes it very clear: “Peter was sound asleep between two soldiers …” And, it gets even better. “… all at once an angel of the Lord appeared, filling his prison cell with a brilliant light.” But does that wake Peter? Apparently not, for the next sentence says, “The angel struck Peter on the side to awaken him and said, ‘Hurry up! Let’s go!’” Now I ask you, does that sound like Peter was terribly concerned about what was about to happen to him? Cuz it sure doesn’t to me. If I’d even been able to go to sleep in those conditions, I guarantee I would not have slept through my room suddenly exploding like a hundred spotlights went on! And, even if I had, I’m going to guess that the angel’s announcement was louder than a whisper!! Not to mention someone smacking me in the side and all my chains clattering to the ground!!!

I love this next part: the angel has to give Peter step-by-step instructions on what to do next. “Put on your clothes and sandals.” “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” But we have to remember that Peter actually thought he might be seeing a vision … he really had no idea if what was happening was real. And if it had turned out to be a vision, man, it was sure a good one! But it wasn’t – it was as real as it gets. They waltzed right by the first guards … and the second ones … then the iron gate leading into the city opened for them by itself! They walked the length of one street and … POOF! … Peter was by himself. And it all became clear to him. He had just had an amazing, God-directed, angel-implemented rescue from almost certain death. That’s a reason to celebrate – privately and with friends.

So, Peter goes to the house of Mary the mother of John (also known as Mark), which happens to be where the prayer meeting had been happening. So … question: did he know that or was it God’s guidance again that took him there? It actually doesn’t really matter – I just get curious. Now, here’s Peter knocking at the door, I’m sure reeling a little bit emotionally and mentally, and a servant named Rhoda hears and recognizes his voice. What does she do? Well, she’s so overjoyed, she runs back into the party and yells, “Peter is at the door!” Which causes all the others to tell her, “You’re out of your mind,” and then the argument begins with her insisting, and them denying, saying, “It must be his angel”.

Meanwhile, where is Peter? He’s standing right where she left him. Outside the door, still knocking. When they finally open the door and see him, as you can imagine, it’s quite loud. But Peter is able to calm them with a motion of his hand! (Wish I had that ability.) He tells them the story you’ve just read – without all the side comments from yours truly – and then says, “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” — and leaves for another place. He doesn’t come in for a refreshing drink … or ask for a wet cloth to wipe off his hands and face … or anything. Just relates his tale and takes off.

Which leaves me with some other questions about this episode:
What was Peter thinking and saying to himself as he stood outside that door, hearing the sounds from inside, probably unable to discern most of what was being said, but continuing to knock, hoping at some point they’d remember to open the door? Can you imagine yourself in that situation? Would you have been amused? Or frustrated? And how long would it have been before you gave up and walked away?

And, what about Rhoda? The first thing I noticed was that we actually know her name. After all, we don’t know the name of the woman at the well, or the woman with the issue of blood, or the one caught in adultery … and they had direct encounters with Jesus! The second thing that caught my attention about Rhoda was her social position – in Israel at that time, she would have been considered lower class because of the two words used to describe her: “serving” and “girl”. But she had the gumption to argue with the others about whether or not Peter was actually standing outside the door. Still her name is immortalized for all of time – even if she did leave Peter standing outside! Am I the only one who wonders why?

Some of my questions about the story lead me to ask questions of, and about, myself. The questions about Peter on the doorstep whisper, “How long would you be willing to stand waiting patiently, with hope and belief, when God has asked you to do something, and you’ve tried and are trying, but you’re not seeing any progress?” So far, my track record in this area is not exactly stellar. Like most of us in our current day, I want to see more than just progress … I want instant change. Fortunately, I serve an infinitely merciful God who remembers who I am.

Rhoda’s story brings other thoughts to mind. She was so excited with her news that she forgot her task and who had asked it of her. Isn’t that us sometimes? God gives us a word, or shows us something new and we get so excited about telling everyone else that we leave God on the doorstep instead of inviting him in so we can hear more from the Source of our excitement. I’ve been known to do this too. When I think of those times, I can picture him waiting for me to calm down and focus so I could finally hear him saying, “You know … you don’t have all the information yet. I’m willing to give you more … wouldn’t you like to come and be still to hear it?” I wonder how many times I’ve missed the opportunity to hear more because I couldn’t, or wouldn’t, be still. Again, I’m blessed by a God who doesn’t just have a “Plan A”; he’s a God of infinite plans and infinite imagination. He’s willing to use as many as he needs to in order to bring about his ultimate plan – and with all my mess-ups and mistakes, he’s still willing to let me take part in that ultimate plan. Even better than that? He wants me to … I find that incredible! And just in case you didn’t know, he wants to include you also.