An angel appears in a bright light, releases the chains and then has to smack Peter in order to awake him up. (So what are the guards doing at this point in time?). And just to let us know how asleep he is, the angel has to tell Peter how to dress. I’m thinking that Peter must have been pretty groggy. The two of them walk out of the prison and down the road. As the angel departs, Peter comes to his senses and realizes this is no dream… this is really happening.
The next part is really very funny when you picture it in your head. Peter goes to where his friends were praying for him. Standing outside their door he knocks, hopefully loud enough for those inside to hear, but not too loud as to let the sentries hear.
Peter waits.
Finally, Rhoda, the maid, answers the door. You can imagine her shock when she sees Peter standing there. (Isn’t this what they were praying for?) Anyway, she sees Peter, but how can he be standing there, no one escapes a Roman prison, not bound by chains, certainly not between two guards and certainly not passed the lock prison door guarded by a sentry. Poor Rhoda, in her shock she slams the door in Peter’s face. I can just picture him standing there – ready to walk past the threshold and then whammm!!!
I imagine him shaking his head and patiently waiting for her to realize what she just did.
Rhoda runs and tells the other Christians that Peter is at the door that their prayers were answered. And what do they tell her – you’re crazy. How interesting it is that when we pray, we often overlook how God chooses to answer our prayers. They tell Rhoda she is crazy, that she is seeing things, at best that she just saw his angel.
But Peter, still outside…starts knocking again and finally gets their attention. When they see him, a large commotion erupts. He quiets them down and assures them that it is him. You have to love how through the humor of it all that we can still witness the amazing handiwork of God. This truly was a miracle.
Now think about the turmoil that this episode brought about. The opposition to the Christians – Herod and his entourage, find that they are powerless against God. This has to be very maddening to Herod. But you see, the message is very clear. Anyone opposing God will suffer the consequences.
So the question for us is very simple. The lines are drawn. Which side are you one? Oh and by the way I know which side wins… do you?
Praising God
Pastor Kathy