Acts 12:13-16

This amusing incident is very true to life. Rhoda’s (Rosebud’s) joy at finding Peter at the gate, which admitted people from the street into a courtyard, overpowered her common sense. Instead of letting him in she ran inside the house and announced his arrival. The believers could not believe that God had answered their prayers so directly and dramatically. Peter meanwhile stood outside still trying to get in. Finally they let him in hardly able to believe that it really was Peter.

Evidently the Christians thought Peter’s guardian angel had appeared (Acts 12:15; Daniel 10:21; Matthew 18:10). Another explanation is that we should understand "angel" as a reference to a human messenger that Peter had sent. A third possibility is that the Christians thought that Herod had killed Peter and that the apostle’s spirit had come to visit them. [Note: See Witherington, p. 387, for additional options.]