Not long after Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, so many people were becoming Christians that the leaders in Jerusalem decided that they needed to act.
They had some of the church leaders put to death and others, like Peter, were arrested (Acts 12:2).
Late one night, God freed Peter from the prison (see Acts 12:1-10) and, once he was outside, he knew exactly what to do. “He went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying” (verse 12). That one little reference raises several points.
First, how did Peter know where to go? There are only two answers: either someone told him that they were meeting at Mary’s house, or that is where they always met.
Either way, in a time when Christians were being arrested and even executed, it is remarkable that Mary still had the courage to say, “Regardless of what happens, or who finds out, we can meet here.”
Second, note what the church was doing when Peter arrived: they were praying for him (Acts 12:5 and 12). In all my years in the church, I can think of only a couple of times when we have come together to pray about a specific problem or concern.
That is odd, is it not? On the other hand, Mary seemed convinced that group prayer would get a response from God. Not surprisingly, it did.
Third, we are told that she is the mother of John Mark. He is the young man that went with Paul and Barnabas on their first journey (Acts 13-14) and he is also the one who wrote the Biblical book called Mark.
In other words, Mary passed her belief on to her son and then he wrote the first detailed account of the life of Jesus. Mark’s gospel has blessed millions and, of course, it is still being read today.
It would be very easy to overlook this woman named Mary. She is not the main character in the story. In fact, she is only mentioned this one time in this one verse. However, that one verse tells us that her faithful example had an impact on those around her. In fact, it is still having an impact today.
Do what you can where you are, because little is much in the hands of God.
