God Moves Us - Acts 11-12

Acts 12:12-17 (ESV)

When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. Recognizing Peter’s voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!” But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.” Then he departed and went to another place.

Peter has been locked up by Herod for his faith.  Herod has just killed James, the brother of John, and was eager to oppress the Christians even more.   As Peter is held in prison, presumably for his faith, angels rescue him in a miraculous way.  Peter thought he was seeing a vision has he is brought out of jail.  Once he came to his senses, the above story unfolds.   Outside of one brief mention of him in Acts 15, this is the last time Peter is mentioned in Acts.   When it says he departed and went to another place, we don’t know where that is.   Here are some lessons from this shift in Luke’s account of the early church. 

1. Peter went somewhere else for practical reasons.   He may have left Herod’s jurisdiction. He could not stay at Mary’s house. That is the first place Herod would be looking for him. 

2. Peter went somewhere else for suffering reasons.   God wanted him somewhere else so God used this incident to move him.  God often allows suffering to be a way to move us from one place to another.   

3. Peter went somewhere else for ministry reasons.   God is about to change the story of the church and is pivoting away from Peter to Paul.   This is Luke’s way of ending the focus from one to another.  This is God succession plan.   

4. Peter went somewhere else out of fear. This reason is not complimentary to Peter. But watching James die and having this experience would undoubtedly change someone.   

5. Peter went somewhere else to write.   We do know we get 1 and 2 Peter out of all this.   Peter will be long enough in his ministry to pen these two letter warning us about false teachers and how to live in a hostile world.  (It is noted that he teaches us to obey and submit to worldly leaders, in his first epistle.) 

According to church tradition Peter was martyred in Rome.   Wherever he went, he served his Savior and died for Christ’s message.   God sometimes moves us for His reasons and not ours.