¹⁶But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. ¹⁷But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to James and the brethren.” Then he left and went to another place.

The fact that Peter kept knocking indicates that the believers inside were cautious about being invaded by unbelievers or authorities. After all, Herod, at the encouragement of the Jewish leaders, had stepped up the pressure on the Christians, killing James and having Peter up next. This incident also clues us in to the struggle the believers were beginning to have. Their leaders were apprehended, and the rank and file would probably be next. Intense opposition to the movement was picking up again.

Finally, the believers responded to the continual knocking and were surprised to find Peter. If we had an idealized and pristine view of the early church during the time of the apostles, we would be caught off guard at the believers’ reaction—after all, were they not praying for Peter? But the burgeoning movement of faith had its intense moments, including struggles with the opposition. While their turning away from the status quo of the Jewish culture and ways was certainly heroic (in a sense), they were still people whose faith needed to grow. And nothing fosters faith more than struggles and opposition.

Peter, upon entering, immediately hushed the crowd, an effort to keep their excitement from drawing attention to the clandestine meeting. He laid out the details of his escape. It was not his ingenuity or fast talking, nor sneaking around to find an escape; God had used an angel to lead him out, and he walked without any opposition. Peter spoke with conviction and certainty, even though during the event itself he had been somewhat dazed. It was after the fact that he “came to himself” (Acts 12:11) and concluded the reality of divine intervention.

There are two different individuals in this story named “James.” One was the apostle James, brother of the apostle John. Together with Peter, this James and John—the sons of Zebedee—composed what some call Jesus’ “inner circle” (see Mark 14:33, Luke 9:28, etc.). This James was executed (Acts 12:2). The other James, who was instructed in today’s passage to receive Peter’s report, was likely Jesus’ half-brother who wrote the epistle bearing his name after rising to prominence in the Jerusalem church (see his involvement in the Acts 15 council and Paul’s mention of meeting him in Galatians 1:19). In this story, we catch a glimpse of the Christian movement being driven underground but maintaining a line of communication among its leaders.

Lord, help me not become jaded when I see persecution cut down the faithful.