Thursday February 24, 2022

Question - Answer

Peter was therefore kept in prison and the Church addressed ardent prayers to God for him... After thinking, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, nicknamed Mark, where many people were gathered together and praying. Acts 12:5,12

Regarding the above verse, you ask me if the whole congregation in Jerusalem was in Mary's house to pray, and if it is possible that all the believers in the city meet in one place, since once there were 3,000, another time 5,000 conversions and probably many more !

First, you are right to speak of the assembly in Jerusalem : indeed, the believers who lived in Jerusalem were all part of it, whether they were gathered together or not. The Word always speaks of the assembly in a city, and when it speaks of the assemblies, then it is the assemblies of a region (Judea, Galatia).

Among these thousands of converts in Jerusalem, some who had come from elsewhere had returned to their city. Moreover, the persecution that had taken place on the occasion of Stephen's death had scattered many believers out of Jerusalem. Yet there were still many left in this town. They met in small groups according to their possibilities (there was no building capable of accommodating them all), or they met in the temple. It is also on these occasions that large numbers of conversions are reported.

They took the supper very simply in their homes in remembrance of the death of the Lord. By sharing the cup and the bread, Christians have communion with the blood and body of Christ. Therefore, they have fellowship with one another as members of one and the same spiritual family, which includes all true Christians everywhere.

To come back to your question, it therefore seems clear that only several, that is to say a fairly large number of them, had gathered in Mary's house and were praying for Peter's deliverance. But there were probably other groups in other houses.

Yes, it was a beautiful time : Christians gathered together without wearing a label, because they simply had the same life, that of Christ and the same Spirit of God which united them. In the disorder that reigns among Christians today, the Church is apparently fragmented. But the Lord speaks of His Church as one and indivisible.

Source (Pleasing the Lord)