Good morning. We saw last week how the Lord led Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke from Asia to Europe and to this leading city of Macedonia, Philippi.
• Through them, the Gospel reached Lydia, the businesswoman, and her household.
• It was made possible by the providence of God. God’s work in Philippi continues.
• Luke has more to say in Acts 16:16-40. Let us pray before we begin.
Heavenly Father, once again we bow before You. We are here to listen to you because our hope and strength are found in your Word.
We acknowledge that we need to learn and be taught, our eyes to be opened, our hearts to be enlightened, and our affections to be drawn after You. Thank You for your written Word.
Thank you for teaching us through the book of Acts. Help us see Christ and the power of the Gospel afresh. For this, we ask in Jesus’ Name.
We are going to read this passage progressively.
• It records the amazing account of the deliverance of a demon-possessed girl and a violent earthquake, and how God orchestrated these to save a family, ultimately.
• The earthquake was miraculous, but what happened after that was equally amazing.
• God was in it again, acting to save His elect. How did it happen?
Let’s get into the text. Acts 16:16-18.
16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved." 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" At that moment the spirit left her.
The missionaries met a slave girl who was possessed by a spirit that allowed her to predict fortunes. Her owners were making use of her to earn money.
• She followed Paul and his team and shouted, “These men are servants of the Most High God who are telling you the way to be saved.” (16:17)
• Not once, not for a day, but many days. It was unwarranted and damaging to Paul’s work of sharing the Gospel.
• The confession, coming from a questionable source, would only confuse the pagan crowd.
• It became so distracting and troubling that Paul turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" (16:18)
• At that moment, the spirit left her. She was completed healed.
Acts 16:19-21
19 When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, "These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice."
Luke did not say, “when the owners realised that she was healed” but “when they realised that their hope of making money was gone.”
• That was their concern, not that the girl was well but that they’ve lost their source of income. She was just a tool in their eyes.
• When Paul cast out the demon, he cast out their income.
This was not good news to the masters of the slave girl. They were people driven by self-gain. They use people and love things, not using things to love people.
• People are to be loved and not used. We love people and use things; not love things and use people.
The unhappy masters dragged Paul and Silas to the marketplace to face the two magistrates overseeing the city Philippi, a Roman colony.
• They accused them falsely. "These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice." (20b-21)
• There were so few Jews in this city as evidenced by the lack of a synagogue, and yet they were accused of turning the city into an uproar advocating Jewish customs.
• And to start off saying, “These men are Jews” revealed their racial prejudice, which was likely the result of the anti-Jewish sentiments that were prevalent at the time because the Roman Emperor Claudius had just expelled the Jews from Rome in AD49 (less than a year ago).
Acts 16:22-24
22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
The charges were baseless but the crowd joined in.
• Fearing a riot, the magistrates made a rash decision and ordered Paul and Silas to be beaten, without a proper hearing.
• Only Paul and Silas were targeted, either because they were the prominent speakers, or most Jewish in appearance. Luke was a Gentile, and Timothy was half-Jewish.
• Paul and Silas were thrown into the prison, into the innermost cell and with their feet fastened in the stocks.
Acts 16:25-28
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"
Despite their ordeal, Paul and Silas began to pray and sing hymns to God in worship.
• They were praising God, even though their backs were bruised, they had suffered injustice, their feet fastened in the stocks and sitting in discomfort.
• They showed no self-pity or resentment, no worry, no fear, no anxiety.
• Despite facing uncertainty, not knowing what the outcome would be, they praised God and trusted their future into His hands.
The peace and joy that they had come from within, not without. Trusting God is believing Him even in harsh circumstances when it is difficult.
• They showed faith in God with their singing and “the other prisoners were listening to them”, amazed and probably glad to hear a live concert in prison!
• They could see the faith and hear their joy. It was something unprecedented in the prison.
• In all circumstances, we see Paul and Silas bearing witness to the new life they have in Christ.
16:26 “Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose.”
Luke did not tell us that God caused the earthquake but we know it was an act of God, considering its timing and its consequences.
• It happened while the two missionaries were praising God in prison, where God wanted them to be, knowing what happened next.
• Although it was violent and the foundations of the prison were shaken, no one was injured and no lives were lost.
• And yet all the prison doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosened.
• For a violent earthquake to cause all these and yet preserve all lives, it can only be divinely orchestrated.
When the keeper of the prison woke up and saw the opened doors, he was devastated.
• His first reaction was to kill himself, thinking that all the prisoners would have escaped.
• Under Roman law, guards who allowed their prisoners to escape received the penalty of their escaped prisoners. He lost all hope of escaping punishment.
Paul saw that he was about to kill himself and shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” (16:28)
• Not only were Paul and Silas still inside, but the rest of the prisoners were there too.
• Either they were too awestruck by what has happened, or they have been urged by the pair not to run.
It would be easy for Paul and Silas to think that God has caused this to happen for their escape, just like Peter in Acts 12.
• Peter was imprisoned by King Herod after the King executed James.
• He was awakened in the prison by an angel, his chains fell off and he was led out of the prison with the gates already opened for him.
• The context was different. Peter was facing possible death the next day and he was led out by an angel.
Here, a jailbreak would have costed the lives of the jailer and also the other guards.
• Why did it happen? Were they supposed to run? Is God doing this for their personal freedom and comfort? Is this the will of God?
• With great discernment, Paul and Silas stayed and it was proven right. The jailer would have died if they were gone.
• And it turned out to be good for the testimony of the church in Philippi. They did not sneak out of the prison and fled like a fugitive guilty of an offence.
In the darkness, the jailer heard a voice of hope: “We are all here!”
Acts 16:29-34
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
31 They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved-you and your household." 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God-he and his whole family.
The jailer asked Paul and Silas, “What must I do to be saved?”
• How much he meant by this question, it would be difficult to say. In all likelihood, he knew nothing of the Jewish God or Messiah.
• The earthquake might just be the sign to him that the gods were unhappy. The jailer wanted to be delivered from divine judgement.
• Whatever his fears, Paul gave him the only right answer: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your family!”
Paul then spoke the Word of God to him and all the others in his house.
• We can assume that the jailer’s house was next to the jail because Paul spoke to everyone in his house and they had a meal together.
• The family heard the Word of God, they believed and were baptised.
• Faith comes from hearing the word of Christ. The truth of God’s Word changed them. ONLY the Word of God has the power to change lives.
Again we see the practical expression of the jailer’s conversion, just like Lydia (in the previous passage).
• The jailer washed Paul and Silas’ wounds and host them to a meal.
• He was filled with joy – the joy that Paul and Silas had earlier displayed in the prison - the joy that comes from within. It is the joy of the Lord for the redeemed.
After their wounds were washed, after the family was baptised and they had a joyful meal together in the jailer’s house, Paul and Silas returned back to the prison.
• They made no attempt to run. They did not want to. It would mean serious trouble for the jailer, having failed in his duty to secure the prison.
• This was not God’s will. The salvation of the jailer was.
Acts 16:35-40
35 When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: "Release those men." 36 The jailer told Paul, "The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace."
37 But Paul said to the officers: "They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out."
38 The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. 39 They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. 40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia's house, where they met with the brothers and encouraged them. Then they left.
The magistrates realised they did not have a good case against Paul and Silas and decided to set them free.
• But in a surprising move, Paul demanded that the magistrates come to them and publicly show their innocence.
• Luke did not explain the reason for this. But knowing Paul, it was not an act of personal revenge.
• He was making a public stand to clear their names. If he “sneak out of town” quietly, such an exit would only create suspicion.
• And more importantly, I believe Paul wanted to leave behind a good witness for the new church in Philippi. The city needs to see them as good and upright citizens.
• Paul was concerned about the future of the church and the Gospel in Philippi.
Paul and Silas went to Lydia’s house before they leave the city.
• Noticed that when they met the believers, they were the ones encouraging them and not the other way around.
• Paul and Silas, being men of faith and maturity in Christ, encouraged the new believers to stay strong and be faithful, even in adverse circumstances in Philippi.
--------------------
On hindsight, we see the purpose of the earthquake.
• The foundations of the prison were shaken, the prison doors were thrown open, and all the prisoners’ chains came loose, and yet no one got away.
• They stayed in prison as if waiting for the jailer to come and check on things.
• It was not to free the prisoners from bondage (because none of them escaped) but to set the jailer and his family free from their bondage (to sin).
• God was reaching out to the jailer and his family. He created the opportunity.
• The earthquake did not just shake the prison; it shook the jailer. He came trembling, crying out for his salvation.
This is the miracle in the prison. Not the earthquake, but the salvation of a lost soul.
• God used the earthquake to open hearts to the Gospel.
• God works even in adverse circumstances to fulfil His will.
• He works through adversity to accomplish His purpose.
Paul and Silas displayed such a faith in God, so can we.
• They were able to rise above the troubles – the troubles that came from the demon-possessed girl, her greedy owners, the angry mob and the unjust magistrates – and trust God to help them get through them.
• They sang and praise God, not because they knew what was about to happen or that they would be released the next day, but simply for WHO God is.
A student needed to earn money for his college fees and decided to sell bibles door-to-door during the holidays. He came to the home of his school president.
The president’s wife came to the door and explained politely that her family didn’t need any more books. As the student walked away, she saw him limping. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she exclaimed. “I didn’t know you were disabled!”
When the student turned around, she realized she had offended him. So she quickly added, “I didn’t mean to be rude. It was my admiration. But doesn’t your disability colour your life?”
To which the student responded, “Yes, it does. But thank God, I can choose the colour.”
He chose the bright colour of gratitude and praise, rather than the dark colour of bitterness and pessimism.
Like Paul and Silas, we can rise above the mood swings caused by our circumstances and trust God for His unchanging goodness.
• We can keep our eyes focus on God. He is the Lord over our lives, not the circumstances; we are never victims of the circumstances.
• 1 Thess 5:16-18 16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
AMEN. Let us pray.
Dear Lord, may we share the same faith and confidence as Paul and Silas in adversity, trusting in your presence and your control over all the circumstances of our lives.
We obey you and trust you. We believe you are working to fulfil your will in and through us. May our eyes be always on you, and let our hearts be filled with joy and hope, praising you at all times for your goodness and grace.
May we be faithful witnesses in good and difficult times, wherever we are. May we be submissive to your leading in our lives.
Let your will be done and your name glorified.
Now may the grace of Jesus Christ, the love of God our Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all, now and forevermore, AMEN.
