The Great Escape – Part 2
Text: Acts 12:12-19
Introduction
1. Illustration: Recently Tina and I went on an Alaskan cruise. In the evenings, one of our favorite things to do was to go to the Punch Liners Comedy Club. Every evening comedians would come and do their standup comedy routines and most of them were funny. But I think they would have laughed at me if I would have told them there is comedy in the Bible. Well, there is, and it’s very funny. God does have a sense of humor.
2. Case in point is our text today. You can’t read the story of Peter’s escape from prison and not see the humor in it.
3. However, God’s humor always has a point. He uses humor to teach us.
4. Let’s look at Acts 12:12-19
Transition: The first thing that the humor in this text teaches us is…
I. Believe What You Ask for In Prayer (12-17).
A. Peter’s Standing at the Door
1. So, as the story continues, Peter had been in prison and the church was praying earnestly for him. Suddenly, an angel comes and miraculously breaks Peter out of prison, and it wasn’t until the angel leaves that Peter realizes it wasn’t a dream.
2. He is now standing in the middle of the street and not chained to two guards. Then Luke tells us in v.12, “When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer.”
a. Once he realized this wasn’t a dream, Peter decides to go to Mary’s house the mother of John Mark.
b. Now, Mary was a popular name in these days. If you think about it, Jesus’ mother’s name was Mary, and Mary Magdalene was a major player in the Gospel’s.
c. In addition, we have Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and there’s even someone known as “the other Mary.”
d. So, Luke identifies this Mary as the mother of John Mark, who became an important character as a part of Paul’s first missionary journey.
e. This Mary was apparently a wealthy woman because she had a house big enough for large numbers of people to gather, and servants to take care of it.
f. Her house must have been a popular meeting place for the church because Peter goes right there knowing that is where the church would be gathering.
3. Now, if you remember, when I preached the first part of this text, I told you that there is humor in the bible. This is one of those places, because this next part is funny. In vv. 13-14 it says, “He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. 14 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!”
a. In a house like Mary’s, there was a gate at the street with a sidewalk, or breezeway, that led to the main front door of the house.
b. Peter knocks at the gate and waits for someone to let him in.
c. This was the job of one of the servants, in the case a girl named Rhoda.
d. She goes to answer the door, and on her way, she recognized Peter’s voice as the person knocking at the door.
e. Now, this is where the humor comes in, instead of letting him in, she gets so excited that she runs to tell everyone...leaving Peter, who at this point is a wanted man, standing at the door! Come on now, that’s funny!
f. Now as a good exegete of the Word of God, I know better than to add something to text that’s not there, but being human, I can’t help but think Rhoda must have been a blonde! (just kidding ladies - but y’all know it’s true).
g. Anyway, she runs and tells everyone “Peter is standing at the door!”
h. If Peter was standing at the door, for goodness’ sake, let him in! Well, duh!
4. The humorous scene continues in vv. 15-16, where Luke tells us that the church told Rhoda, “You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.” 16 Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed.”
a. Here Rhoda leaves poor Peter standing at the door and runs to tell the church Peter is standing at the door, but none of them believer her.
b. Instead, they tell her she’s out of her mind, she’s crazy!
c. However, Rhoda keeps saying, “no, I’m telling you, Peter is standing at the door.”
d. Notice two things, first, no one asks her, “then why didn’t you let him in?”
e. Second, they say it must be his angel. You see, there was a common belief among the Jews that everyone had a guardian angel, and some believed that the angel would appear after the person had died.
f. Some people today still hold on to this belief in a guardian angel, but the truth is there is no biblical defense for this belief.
g. It appears nowhere in the bible. However, just like today, there are those who insist it’s true.
h. But folks, this is not “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and there is not an angel assigned specifically to you.
i. Then Luke tells us, at the meantime Peter is still knocking at the door.
j. Finally, they open the door and let poor Peter in the house. When the realized it really was him, they were amazed.
k. There is a lesson for us in this text, that if we pray for something believe that it will happen.
l. Why on earth should God answer prayers that we don’t believe will happen?
m. I don’t care how unrealistic the prayer may seem, if you ask God to do something for you, believe he is going to do it!
n. The church was praying for Peter to be released from jail, and when he was, Peter thought it was a dream and the church thought it was just his angel!
o. Not to mention, when they finally realized it was him, they were “amazed!”
p. If you ask God for something, be surprised ONLY IS IT DOESN’T HAPPEN!
q. If you believe that God answers prayer, expect him to answer your prayers!
5. Keep in mind that soon the king and his guards were going to discover that Peter was missing, and he would be a hunted man. So, “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.”
a. Peter was glad to be out of prison and he was excited that the church learned the power of prayer, but they were going to be people looking high and low for him.
b. So, he motions to the folks to be quiet not wanting to draw attention to his presence.
c. He then tells them the whole story of how the angel came and rescued him from prison. From the chains falling off his wrists, to the gate opening without being touched, to the fact that nobody even noticing he was gone.
d. I’m sure he even told them not to feel bad about not believing their prayers were answered because even he thought it was all a dream.
e. Then he tells them to tell James and the other brothers what had happened.
f. This James is obviously not the same James mentioned earlier in the chapter, because he was dead, but rather this was James the half-brother of Jesus who had taken on a leadership role in the Jerusalem church.
g. Even Peter submitted to and recognized the authority that James held.
h. Then Luke tells us that he went to another place. I’m sure you’re wondering where he went, but the truth is, we really don’t know.
i. There are some who believe he went to Rome, but that is unlikely since he appears at the Council of Jerusalem in chapter 15.
j. We can assume he laid low for a while since he was a wanted man after his escape.
k. But the point of all of this is to believe we will receive what we ask for in faith, because our God answers prayer.
B. Do Not Waver
1. He's an on-time God, yes, He is
Oh on time God, yes he is
Job said, He may not come when you want him
But he'll be there right on time.
I tell he's an on time God
Yes He is
2. Let’s get some witness here tonight
You can ask the children of Israel
Trapped at the red sea
By that mean ol pharaoh and his army
They had water all around them
And pharaoh on their track
You know what?
From out of nowhere God stepped in
Built a highway just like that
Let me tell you, he’s an on-time God.
3. If you ask God for something in prayer, believe he’s going to deliver!
a. “But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” (James 1:6-8).
b. Let’s put this in human terms. If you ask a friend to do something for you, do you believe they’re going to do it? Of course, you do, or you wouldn’t ask them.
c. Well, if we believe humans, who give us what we ask, why shouldn’t we believe that an Almighty God who loved us enough to send his own Son to die for us would give us what we ask for in prayer?
d. “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.” (Matt. 7:11).
e. This is what we call expectant faith. If you ask God for something expect you’re going to get it!
f. But if we waver, we shouldn’t expect to receive anything, because our loyalty is to the world and not in God. The world says we won’t receive anything in prayer because God doesn’t exist.
g. But the truth is that God does exist, and he rewards those who believe! So, if you ask in faith believe God will answer!
Transition: But even when we receive the impossible from God…
II. Others Won’t Believe (18-19).
A. What Happened to Peter
1. Meanwhile, back at the palace, as you might imagine, the king wanted answers. As Ricky Richardo would say, “Lucy, you got some splaining to do!”
2. Luke tells us in vv. 18-19, “At dawn there was a great commotion among the soldiers about what had happened to Peter. 19 Herod Agrippa ordered a thorough search for him. When he couldn’t be found, Herod interrogated the guards and sentenced them to death. Afterward Herod left Judea to stay in Caesarea for a while.”
a. The king wanted answers when he discovered that Peter had indeed escaped from prison.
b. He was being watched by 16 guards, so, how did he get away?
c. First, Agrippa had a thorough search made for Peter, but he was nowhere to be found.
d. Second, he interrogated the guards who were responsible to watch Peter.
e. Now, we know that this was a miraculous act of God, but Agrippa didn’t care because this made him look bad.
f. He had Peter securely looked up, and now he was gone.
g. So, he had the guards sentenced to death. It was Roman law that if a guard allowed a prisoner to escape that he would receive the same sentence as the person that they let escape. Since Agrippa’s intention was to execute Peter, he executed the guards instead.
h. Knowing he had been humiliated, Agrippa left Judea and went to Caesarea.
3. However, the one thing that he never considered, and the one question that he never asked was, maybe there is something different about this Jesus and his followers?
a. Peter had now escaped twice from prison, and in such a way that it had to have been divine intervention.
b. But Agrippa wouldn’t believe because he thought that he was a god.
c. He would rather believe in his own power and abilities than to consider that there was a God in heaven who was far greater than himself.
d. He was filled with pride, and as a result he couldn’t give that up to believe in Jesus.
e. It would be his undoing.
B. Still Don’t Believe
1. Illustration: The other day, I spoke with a friend of mine from Ohio named Charlotte. In 2010 she was healed of COPD. She tells the story of her healing to anyone that will listen. She has told all her seven children. Some of them believe, but others tell her she’s crazy. Some people just can’t give up their stubborn pride.
2. The world can’t believe in miracles because rather than having Jesus in their hearts their hearts are filled with themselves.
a. “If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. 14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.” (2 Cor. 5:13-15).
b. The world thinks we are crazy for believing in an almighty, and merciful God.
c. They would rather believe that we are the result of chance and cosmic explosion.
d. Rather than believing we are made in the image and likeness of God, we are the descendants of apes.
e. Well, what they believe takes more faith than I can muster.
f. I’d rather believe in an intelligent creator who loves me enough to send his Son to die in my place.
g. Dr. Stephen Hawking once said, “Religion is a fairytale for those who are afraid of the dark.” Well, Dr. Hawking, atheism is a lie for those afraid of the light!
h. I believe in a God who loves me and hears me when I pray. I will cling to that until my dying breath.
Conclusion
1. The story of Peter’s escape is a humorous story that teaches us a lesson.
a. It teaches us to expect God to answer our prayers.
b. It also teaches us that some people, no matter how much evidence for the existence of miracles they are given, are too filled with themselves to believe.
2. What’s the point preacher? Ask God for whatever you need in prayer and believe that you will receive it, because God loves you.
