Life was tough for the Christians when they first started after Jesus had come to die for our sins and then left for Heaven. He promised that with the Holy Spirit came the ability to do even more remarkable and, of course, sent the people on a mission to tell the world the good news about God. In an imaginary world, everything would have been impeccable. It would have been nice, okay, fine, and perfect. However, in reality, it was anything but perfection. The Jewish leaders were not fond of Jesus’ new followers taking people from their ranks, and they began to influence Gentiles as well. Due to this, things had to happen. The leadership was not going to allow their power to decrease.
The Christians in early AD were in literal life-threatening danger. Many had begun to be persecuted, including one of the leaders, James, and now Peter was also threatened. We learn that Peter was captured and held during Passover time and was going to be executed soon after. Herod wanted to ensure that no miracles could happen and was feeling mighty due to the slaying of James. Nevertheless, the church prayed.
We can learn from the church and its people to never give up. I’m sure they prayed for James, but his life was not spared. They could have been sad and distraught over Peter being taken and assumed the same fate was going to happen to him. Instead, they choose to have faith anyhow. They saw where one person had gone through a tragedy but didn’t let that stop them from praying for the salvation of another. We cannot give up. It’s tough to see someone you love, know, or care for have something terrible happen to them. Mainly what the early church went through seeing their members persecuted still, we must push on in faith, believing God can make a way. It’s easy to pray when life is going well, but much more challenging to believe when you’ve seen a prayer not be answered as you would have liked. Over two thousand years ago, the early church didn’t give up we must take our cue to do the same.
In Acts, we see that that their earnest prayers worked. The fantastic part of the passage is that Peter knew about James' death. He knew that at any given time, he would be next. He was in a terrible place, surrounded by those who would lead him to his demise, and yet, he was asleep. He found peace despite the horrible situation, not because life was going well. Peter had resigned himself to the fate of what would happen, made peace with it, and figured to get some sleep. He was, in fact, so unbelievably knocked out that the Angel who came to free the disciple had to work hard to snap Peter out of what the man thought was a dream-like state.
It’s easy to have peace when life is going well. As a matter of fact, talk to people who have been through struggle, pain, war, or grief, and they will let you know that peace is something they look forward to having. They want a period in their life when they don’t have to worry, or at least have some semblance of their mind being able to relax and enjoy the moments. The actual test is getting peace when everything around you is hectic and messy. At those moments, we need to go to Jesus and ask for what is necessary to give us the strength to overcome that situation or at least have peace while we’re battling. Peace, like Peter, didn’t come from nowhere. When we’re reading through the gospel of Mark, we’ll see that Peter was not always at peace. There were moments when his natural instinct to fight, swear, or run took over. Despite this, Jesus knew He would be a powerful servant and worked with Him to get to the point we see in the book of Acts.
As you go through this study, allow the Lord to manipulate, change, and alter who you are. After all, the Gospel of Mark is one of the accounts of the life of Jesus. It’s our time to experience Jesus and allow Him to change our lives. We should never read and get to know the Lord intimately and leave the same way we started. It’s okay if you came in with a certain mindset and behavior but finished, altered, and changed. It doesn’t mean you’ll be perfect. It doesn’t mean you will be the best person in all situations. Instead, it only means there might be a time, like Peter, when something is wrong. A situation so terrible. A fierce problem might seem to break the old you, but now, when going through that calamity. You can sit back, relax, know God will make a way, and be at peace.
