Rhoda, A Servant Girl

Acts 12:13 ‘Peter knocked at the outside door and a servant girl called Rhoda came to answer it.’

In this section of the book of Acts, we encounter a number of big figures. There is Herod: dark, threatening, ruthless and cruel. His name is mentioned once only, but in the verses which come before our reading, we are told that he began to persecute some members of the church. He had James the brother of John put to death by the sword and when he saw that this pleased the Jews he went on to arrest Peter and imprisoned him. Herod was a formidable figure as far as the church was concerned and yet his time was soon to come. In the verses following our reading we find Herod at variance with the people of Tyre and Sidon. They came to him to sue for peace and Herod put on his royal robes, sat on his throne and made a speech for which he received great praise. The people who heard it said, ‘It isn’t a man speaking but a god’. Herod did not give the glory to God as he should have done and he was eaten by worms and died. Such is the fate, ultimately, of those who set themselves up against God.

Then there is the figure of Mary, the mother of John Mark. This is the only time she is mentioned in the New Testament but here she stands tall. It was in her home that the believers met for prayer and to which Peter came on his release from prison. This was very probably the same house in which Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples and instituted the sacrament of Holy Communion. It may be the same house in which he made his appearance to them on the evening of Easter Sunday. Further, Mary is described as ‘the mother of John Mark’ – she had a part in the Christian upbringing and restoration of her son who was the first to write a life of Jesus.

Then there is Peter, the big fisherman. He is willing to undergo imprisonment for the gospel and when his is released he comes and strengthens the church.

In complete contrast to all of these we have the figure of Rhoda, who is a servant girl. Her name means ‘Rose’. She was a Christian and she plays an important part in this story. She hears Peter’s knock, goes to the door, recognises his voice and tells the others. At first she is not believed but she persists and at last Peter is admitted.

From these verses we can say she was good at four things which are important for our Christian living today:

I. She was good at using the means of grace

We find her name being mentioned in connection with prayer which the church was offering for Peter. We do not know what form that prayer took. Was it bidding prayer led from the front by a prominent member of the congregation? Was it open prayer in which different members of the church took part? Was it silent prayer in which the believers focused their attention on Peter? Did Rhoda take part verbally or sit silently? We do not know, but we do know that she was at that meeting. This is a good reminder to us that people whose station in life may be humble can be pillars of strength where the things of Christ are concerned. They can be diligent in reading their bibles, faithful in attending worship, faithful in prayer, sacrificial in giving and much else. Rhoda is thus a good role model for us in this. We do not always find it easy to pray but we should try. It is good to attend meetings for prayer even if we do not take part verbally. Our presence there can be an encouragement to others. Let us remember too that the most effective prayers in the New Testament are often just one sentence and that the prayer which Jesus gave his disciples can be said in less than a minute.

2. She was good at performing a humble task

Rhoda heard Peter’s knock and went immediately to open the door. No doubt as a servant she was used to carrying out humble tasks and here she responds immediately. This also is an important part of Christian living. In the work of the gospel there are many humble tasks to be carried out. Churches and halls have to be cleaned and warmed, seats have to be laid out, sandwiches have to be made, tables have to be set out and dishes washed, the elements have to be prepared for Communion and cleared away afterwards. We should never be too proud to engage in any of these. For most of his life Jesus worked as a carpenter and on the night before his death he washed the feet of his disciples.

3. She was good at sharing the news of what God had done

When Rhoda heard Peter’s voice she was so overjoyed that instead of opening the door as she should she went and told the believers of his release. She did not keep the good news to herself. Perhaps in our congregation we feel that nothing so spectacular has happened and that there are no miracles to report. Still, if we look, we may be able to see God’s hand at work, blessing and sustaining his people. We may hear of what he is doing elsewhere and can, in a humble and non-threatening way, pass this on.

4. She persevered in the face of difficulties

Rhoda found that her message was not believed. Her fellow believers described her as mad and that may have been hurtful. Is it not interesting to note that this church which was praying for the release of Peter found it difficult to believe that he had been released? Yet Rhoda kept insisting and eventually the door was opened and Peter admitted. Rhoda had been right all along. She is not the only Christian to have had her word doubted and her message rejected. On the morning of Easter Sunday the women of Jesus’ company went to the tomb and were told that he had been raised to life. They brought the news to Jesus’ disciples but the disciples thought that what the women said was nonsense and did not believe them. In making our witness to Jesus today we will certainly encounter unbelief and scorn but that is no reason for giving up. Let us continue our witness by coming to church and using the means of grace and we may achieve more than we know. Also we can be certain that when the Great Day comes we will know that our service to Jesus has not been in vain.

Rev. Billy McMillan

This meditation was written by the Reverend Billy McMillan and was published in Life and Work, the magazine of the Church of Scotland. We are grateful to Mr McMillan and Life & Work for granting us permission to post them on the HTC website.