Monday 21 July 2025

Psalm 100

Background
In this passage, we find ourselves at a moment of transition in the middle of the book of Acts. Up to this point, the focus has been on the expansion of the Church that began on the day of Pentecost with Peter addressing the crowds in Jerusalem (Acts 2).

Today’s miraculous escape from prison marks Peter’s penultimate appearance in Acts (no doubt in part because Peter needed to keep a lower profile from this point). The second half of Acts moves on from Jerusalem, focusing on Paul, his missionary expeditions, and his final journey to Rome in custody.

Today’s passage begins with the death of James – the first death among the apostles, and the beginning of a new phase of leadership among the emerging Church.

Peter had been arrested and thrown into prison by King Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of King Herod the Great, who had been on the throne when Jesus was born. Peter then escaped from prison in a truly miraculous fashion, despite being bound by chains, sleeping between two soldiers, being guarded by four squads of soldiers, and being held behind an iron gate that opened of its own accord. Anyone feeling disappointed that such miracles no longer happen might be interested to read The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun, who escaped in similarly miraculous circumstances from Zhengzhou maximum security prison in China from which no-one had previously escaped. Brother Yun, having heard a divine voice telling him to walk out of the heavily guarded prison, did so, saying afterwards it was as if he had become invisible to the guards.

In Peter’s case, his escape is followed by a delightfully comic episode in which he is left outside the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where a prayer meeting was taking place. The maid Rhoda was so overcome to see Peter that she left him knocking anxiously at the door, and ran to tell the others. The others did not believe it could be Peter – despite having been praying ‘fervently to God for him’ (Acts 12:5).

Peter asked for the news to be shared with James – not the apostle James who was murdered at the start of the passage, but presumably James the brother of Jesus, who is mentioned in Acts 15:13 and 21:18 and in Galatians as a principal leader of the church in Jerusalem. Again, this passage signals a new phase in the leadership and development of the early Christian Church.

To Ponder:

• Have you ever prayed for something and been surprised when God answered? Might there have been prayers of yours that have been answered without you realising – simply because you did not expect God to act?
• Do you think that angels are at work in the world today? If so – in what way?

Bible notes author: The Revd Naomi Oates
Naomi is a Methodist minister, currently serving in four churches across five communities in the North Kent Circuit. When not being rugby-tackled by her two young children, she enjoys cycling, baking and reading Golden Age detective fiction (although not all at the same time).