The Great Escape 2 Series

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?”