Porters and Porches

The porch and duties of the porter. The passageway inside the door and leading to the courtyard itself is called the porch. It is most often furnished with some kind of seats for the porter or for the servants. It was in this porch that one of Peter's denials, took place. "And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth" (Matthew 26:71; Mark 14:68). It is the duty of the porter (or servant or member of the family serving in that capacity) to parley with any visitor who knocks on the door desiring admission. The purpose of this is to give opportunity to recognize the voice of the visitor, and identify him as a friend. So it is not expected that the door will be opened as soon as the knock is heard. The one inside will call out, "Who?" And the outsider, instead of giving his name, will rather answer, "I." Acts 12:13, 14 says: "And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness." When Rhoda had listened to Peter's voice then she recognized who it was outside the gate. The familiar words of Revelation 3:20 present the same idea: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him," (for additional light on Revelation 3:20, study the relation between host and guest as given in Chapter Seven of this book). We must recognize the voice of the Saviour who is knocking. When JESUS came walking on the water to the fearful disciples in the storm, He did not say: "It is Jesus, be not afraid," but rather, "It is I; be not afraid" (Matthew 14:27; Mark 6:50; John 6:20). They heard His voice and recognized that it was the voice of Jesus. The Oriental is trained to listen to a voice and be able to recognize a friend. [Manners And Customs of Bible Lands]

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