Acts 12:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer.

NIV: Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door.

NASB: When he knocked at the door of the gate, a slave woman named Rhoda came to answer.

CSB: He knocked at the door of the outer gate, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer.

NLT: He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it.

KJV: And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda.

NKJV: And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer.

Minutes before, Peter was sound asleep, chained between two guards in a prison cell. It was after sundown, the night after the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and Herod Agrippa I was about to send for him and see to his execution. An angel came, instead, nudged Peter in the side to wake him, and led him through formerly locked gates and attentive soldiers to the street outside the prison (Acts 12:6–11).

Peter has come to the home of Mary, whose son is John Mark, to let the church know he is safe before he goes into hiding. Scholars posit that Mary is the owner of the "upper room" where Jesus held the Last Supper (John 13:1–38). She hosts at least one home church in Jerusalem—possibly the headquarters of the apostles. The fact that Mary has a gateway suggests she has a forecourt; she must be fairly rich.

When the angel rescued Peter, Peter's shackles fell from his hands, guards saw nothing, gates opened freely. Now, Peter is standing at the gate of a woman he knows well in front of a house that holds several of his friends, but he can't get in. Once more, a servant girl stands between him and safety (Mark 14:66–72).

Rhoda's reaction to Peter's arrival combines humor and joy—she's excited enough about seeing him that she runs to tell others while forgetting to actually let him in (Acts 12:14).

Acts 12:12–19 records Peter quickly telling the story of his escape from a Roman prison before fleeing. Herod Agrippa I had arrested and beheaded James and found the Sanhedrin greatly impressed. He arrested Peter, as well, and planned to execute him after the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Acts 12:1–5), but an angel arrived first and led Peter out of prison (Acts 12:6–11). Once Peter realized he wasn't dreaming he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark (Acts 12:12–19). Peter will reappear briefly in Acts 15:6–11, but this is the last significant mention of any of the apostles in the book of Acts.

Acts 12 starts with the first death of an apostle and ends with the death of a king. Herod Agrippa I beheads James and imprisons Peter. An angel rescues Peter and he quickly lets the church in Jerusalem know before he goes into hiding. Agrippa, grandson of Herod the Great and friend to the Pharisees, accepts glory due only to God and dies, likely a few days later, of internal worms. Meanwhile, the church continues to grow, and Barnabas and Saul return to Syrian Antioch. The scene is set for Paul's extensive ministry to the Gentiles.

When Acts 12 opens, at least some of the apostles are in Jerusalem, and Barnabas and Saul are in Syrian Antioch, collecting support so the church in Jerusalem can survive the coming famine (Acts 11:27–30). The church is established in Jerusalem and growing in the regions on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea. When the chapter closes, Barnabas and Saul are poised for their missionary trip in modern-day Asia Minor. Saul will take on the Greek version of his name, Paul, and the story of Jesus will spread to Rome and beyond.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.