by Cynthia Nelson

Created on: May 20, 2009

Peter finally came to his senses. "It's really true!" he said. "The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!" When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer. He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. 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!"

"You're out of your mind!" they said. When she insisted, they decided, "It must be his angel." Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed. He motioned for them to quiet down and told them how the Lord had led him out of prison. "Tell James and the other brothers what happened," he said. And then he went to another place.

Acts 12:11-17 New Living Translation

A group of the early Christian church was at Mary's house, John Mark's mother, praying for Peter, who was in prison. Once the angel freed Peter from jail, he went to Mary's house to let them know that their prayers had been answered. Rhoda went to answer the door, and when she heard Peter's voice, she was so excited that instead of opening the door, she went and told the others. They didn't believe her, but Rhoda was so sure and so insistent that they went to the door and found out that she was not mistaken, Peter was alive.

At first glance, Rhoda is a very minor character in the book of Acts. She is described as a servant girl who goes to the door and discovers that Peter is alive. It is only when you meditate on these Scriptures that you realize how significant Rhoda is. Rhoda is the only person named in this text other than other than Mary, John Mark, and James. It is obvious that Peter's fellow disciples and church family are present in the house, otherwise Peter wouldn't have gone there. I think the writer of the book of Acts named Rhoda so that she would be remembered for her great faith, even though she was very young. She insisted that Peter was alive, even when no one else believed her. Even though the church was earnestly praying for Peter (verse 5), they really didn't have enough faith to believe that God had answered their prayers.

Although Rhoda is mentioned in only two verses, we can learn a great deal from her. We can see that although she was very young, she had a great, unshakable faith in God, even though the others didn't believe her. She knew Peter well enough to know his voice, and knew that God had delivered Peter alive to Mary's home. It was through her insistence that the others went to the door and saw that Peter was alive and unharmed. What Rhoda's character illustrates to us is to have faith in God, and to stand your ground when God reveals something to you, even when others don't believe you.

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