Read Rhoda’s story in Acts 12:1–19
Rhoda worked in a well-off residential section of Jerusalem. No, Rhoda wasn’t an interior designer, a personal hair dresser, or even a dog walker. Rhoda was a servant girl who worked in the home of a woman named Mary. Yes, at that time, Mary was a popular name. This particular Mary was the mother of John Mark, the “Mark” who wrote the second gospel in the New Testament.
You might think Rhoda’s job as a servant or a maid sounds kind of boring. Nope. Rhoda’s story is one of drama, suspense, and humor. Her job wasn’t all about dusting and mopping, or washing clothes in the river. The Early Church, the followers of the risen Christ Jesus, met secretly in Mary’s house.
The Roman king, Herod Agrippa I, ordered the persecution of the early Christians, and he had the apostle Peter arrested for his faith. The king ordered that a squad of four men guard Peter around the clock. While Peter sat in jail, Mary, Mark, and others gathered in Mary’s home and prayed for Peter’s safe release from prison.
When a knock sounded on the door at the outer entrance, it was Rhoda’s job to answer it. I think I would have at least hesitated to answer the door. Maybe refused. The church was, after all, being persecuted for their faith. One of their members was recently executed. Another member was imprisoned and, no doubt, facing the same fate.
Boring, no. Dangerous, yes. Despite any concerns Rhoda might have had about brawny Roman soldiers crashing their prayer meeting, she went to see who was knocking. She recognized the voice on the other side of the door.
Peter! Peter was free. He was safe. And he was there at Mary’s house. More than a little excited, Rhoda didn’t even open the door to let him in before running to tell the others of the wonderful news. “Peter is at the door!” she shouted.
“You’re out of your mind,” she was told.
If you had been one of those praying for Peter’s release, would you have believed Rhoda? Knowing the evil intentions of the king, would you have thought it possible for Peter to have been freed?
The knocking persisted. I’m sure Peter wasn’t comfortable waiting outside.
Rhoda kept insisting it was Peter.
The others finally did open the door to see for themselves. Astonished, they listened to Peter’s amazing story. That night, the night before his scheduled trial, he’d been asleep between two soldiers, bound with chains. Two sentries stood guard at the entrance. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord awoke him. The chains fell off Peter’s wrists. The angel told Peter to dress in his cloak and sandals, and he did. Peter followed the angel out of the cell. They passed the guards and went through the iron gate leading to the city, which opened by itself. They walked the length of one street, and the angel left Peter. That’s when Peter realized he hadn’t been dreaming and that the Lord had rescued him from Herod Agrippa’s clutches.
Have you ever felt like what you do isn’t important? Like your role in life doesn’t matter?
It’s so easy to look at what our friends and family members are doing and think what we do isn’t as important.
For Rhoda, going to the door first that night allowed her to be the first person to learn of God’s answer to prayer in Peter’s life. When Rhoda recognized Peter’s voice on the other side of the door, she knew God had heard their prayers and done a miraculous thing. Peter was freed as an act of God.
At times, God may call you to serve him in the spotlight where people see what you’re doing and recognize its value. More often, God asks us to serve him on the sidelines, doing basic, even boring, tasks. He may ask you to do something as simple as opening a door for someone else. Serving him may be praying for missionaries or baking cookies for a lonely neighbor. The task may not bring with it drama, suspense, and humor, but then again, it just might.
What do you feel the Lord is calling you to do for him today?
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the father through him.
–Colossians 3:17
I will serve God wherever I am with a heart of thanksgiving.
Lord God, sometimes I don’t like where I am or what I have to do. Please help me to trust you, knowing that you are with me always and working in ways that I may not see. For Jesus’s sake, amen.
Rhoda worked in a home in Jerusalem. Thirty-three miles east of the Mediterranean, Jerusalem was by this time the largest city in the country of Judea and served as a religious and commercial center.
The Book of Acts in the New Testament is a study of the birth of the early church, a group of Jesus’s followers. Acts tells us what happened after Jesus died and returned to heaven. The believers followed Jesus’s command to go forth and preach the gospel to all, and they sent out missionaries like Paul, Barnabas, Timothy, and others. Acts is the book that tells the story of how the Christian faith spread to the whole world. And Rhoda had a daring role in God’s exciting story.