The Not So Great Escape
Curt Deming
Melbourne Community Church
I love prison escape movies. It seems that no matter how badly they behaved to get themselves into prison, once they start trying to get out, I’m rooting for them to make it. It’s even easier to sympathize with the escaping prisoner in a war movie – like Union soldiers at Andersonville or Jewish holocaust survivors at Sobibor concentration camp. I admire their ingenuity and their desperate determination to free themselves. Then we have Paul – kind of slack when it was his turn to escape. All of the hard work was done for him. The earthquake opened the doors and broke the chains, yet he stayed put. Why? Later we’ll see that he wasn’t much of a lawyer either. What explains Paul’s behavior? I believe it was that Paul had learned one of the most important lessons any disciple can ever learn: It’s not about me.
This is the second message in a series on Philippians. Last week we learned about the first European converts in Philippi, and next week we’ll start into Paul’s letter to Philippians, verse by verse, but today we’ll see what else happened when Paul visited Philippi on his second missionary journey.
Let’s back up and put this story in context. After his conversion, Paul and Barnabas went on a missionary journey throughout Asia Minor.
SHOW MAP – 1st missionary journey
After his first missionary journey, Paul returned to controversy in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Council met and concluded that Gentile converts did not have to convert to Judaism on the way to Christianity. They placed a light burden on the new believers, asking them to refrain from behavior that was most offensive.
Jerusalem Council (Acts 15)
n Don’t eat food sacrificed to idols.
n Don’t drink blood.
n Don’t eat the meat of strangled animals.
n Abstain from sexual immorality.
Paul was eager to spread the good news of the Jerusalem Council’s decision, so he started planning his second missionary journey. The church at Philippi was planted during this journey.
SHOW MAP – 2nd missionary journey
Last week we looked at Acts 15:36-16:15 to see what happened during the beginning of the second missionary journey and how Paul and his companions went to Europe.
Last week: Acts 15:36-16:15
n Paul and Barnabas split up over Mark.
n Paul and Silas went to Asia Minor.
n Paul circumcised Timothy, and he joined the trip.
n The Holy Spirit blocked them in Asia.
n Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia.
n They went to Philippi.
n Lydia and her family became believers.
These are the highlights of the historical narrative from last week, but it’s not enough to stop there. We should always ask what we can learn about our own lives based on the truth of Scripture.
What did we learn last week?
n Leaders should be prepared to meet a higher standard.
n When God closes one door, he will open another.
n God speaks to his people through visions.
Let’s pick up Luke’s account in the middle of Acts, chapter 16.
Acts 16:16-17
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. 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.”
What’s wrong with that? She was telling the truth, but Paul didn’t like it. Why not? It wasn’t irritation but rather concern for his ministry. Demons tell the truth one moment and then lie the next. Also, allowing the demon-possessed slave girl to continue her advertising campaign places them in a working relationship. Paul was unwilling to continue working with Barnabas because he thought that Barnabas set his standards too low; he’s sure not going to be willing to work with a demon.
Acts 16:18
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.
Acts 16:19-21
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. They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”
This is one of two times in the book of Acts that we see a serious Gentile uprising against Paul and his teaching, and both times it was about money. It Acts 19, Demetrius and other Ephesian silversmiths started a riot because Paul’s success was cutting into their idol-making business. Here, the slave’s owners are not concerned about doctrine. They are angry because Paul is taking money out of their pockets.
Acts 16:22-24
The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to stripped and beaten. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
Now it looks like things are not going well for the mission trip into Europe. They have one family of converts, and Paul cast out a demon, but now that seems to have backfired. It seems to me that it would be very easy to get discouraged here. Paul and Silas were in physical pain from the beating, and the temptation to despair must have been overwhelming. Yet here is one of the places Paul and Silas demonstrate their greatness as missionaries. They showed an amazing ability to trust God in difficult circumstances, and God used them to advance his kingdom. I heard my friend Ernie Merritt explain this principle to a group of high school students Friday morning:
Ernie Merritt:
“Problems that are over our heads are still under the feet of Jesus.”
Also, Paul recognized that he had a job to do, and it wasn’t dependent on his comfort. Rick Warren summed up this principle in the first line of The Purpose-Driven Life.
Rick Warren:
“It’s not about you.”
Acts 16:25-26
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 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.
Years later, when Paul wrote his letter from prison in Rome to the Philippian church, there were probably readers there who had been with Paul and Silas in the Philippian prison. Certainly the jailer was part of the Philippian church, and quite possibly other prisoners were impacted by Paul’s example. Do you think they had trouble believing these words of Paul?
Philippians 4:11
[Paul] . . . “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.”
Paul had learned the secret of blooming where he had been planted. That’s why he could sing praises in prison after he had been unjustly beaten. Now the chains are off and the doors are open. It’s time to “Run! Run! Run!”
Acts 16:27-28
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. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
One element of Roman justice was that prison guards were punished with the sentences of prisoners who escaped on their watch. So there must have been some death row inmates with Paul and Silas. Why didn’t they leave? There are a few possibilities. Their wounds from the beatings might have been too severe. Where would they go after they left? The prospects of two injured fugitives in a foreign land weren’t very encouraging. Paul might have been thinking of the legacy he would leave to the small church that was beginning in Philippi. Or he could have been thinking about the unique opportunity to reach the jailer with the Gospel message.
Acts 16:29-30
The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
This is a most important question, but the answer is amazingly simple. Many salvation traditions have developed in a wide variety of churches, and we use a lot of phrases that are not found in the Bible: “Every head bowed, and every eye closed.” I heard that phrase countless times growing up. We teach children to “Ask Jesus into their hearts.” We lead people in a Sinner’s Prayer. I’m sure that all of these have been appropriately used at times, but look at the simplicity of the answer given by Paul and Silas.
Acts 16:31
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.”
Just believe in the Lord Jesus. Believe what? Part of the answer is given in the title they give to Jesus. Notice that they say “Lord Jesus.” Believing that he IS Lord is the key. “Lord” is not an easy concept for freedom-loving Americans in the 21st century to embrace, but it basically means “master,” another concept foreign to our society. In his letter to the Romans, Paul gives another key element of belief in Jesus.
Romans 10:9
That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
It’s that simple. Acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, and believe in the resurrection. Paul made it plain to the Ephesians that salvation is not about what we do, but what we believe.
Ephesians 2:8-9
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.
What about the “you and your household” part? Last week Lydia believed and her whole family was baptized. In Philippi does the head of the household get to decide on salvation for the entire family? I don’t think so. I think that Paul and Silas are extending the same offer of salvation to the jailer’s family, and we’re going to see that they accept that offer. But let’s not minimize the powerful impact one believer can have on his family, especially if that believer is Dad. The best evangelists in the world are Mom and Dad. The Bible speaks plainly of the sins of the father and the blessings of righteousness being passed on to our descendants. Yet each of us must make an individual decision to believe.
Acts 16:32-34
Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. 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.
Notice that the jailer’s repentance is followed by acts of kindness toward Paul and Silas. We believe that forgiveness before God does not require any act of penance. Yet a desire to make restitution to those we have hurt is evidence of true repentance.
Acts 16:35-36
When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”
Now they can leave without making a run for it. But Paul is still not in a hurry.
Acts 16:37
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.”
Roman citizenship offered some legal protection. Citizens were guaranteed a fair trial, and they were not to be whipped or crucified. Now I didn’t finish law school, but doesn’t it make sense to raise such an effective defense before the beating starts? Again, I believe that the answer lies in Paul’s motive. He’s not trying to protect himself or take revenge. He’s looking out for his new church. If he and Silas leave under a cloud of suspicion, that is not a good start for the new church. Also, it’s likely that the Philippian authorities were not so eager to persecute the church Paul and Silas left behind.
Acts 16:38-39
The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. They came to appease them and escorted them from prison, requesting them to leave the city.
Acts 16:40
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.
Philippi Community Church
n Lydia and her family
n Jailer and his family
n Servant girl ?
n Other prisoners ?
So Paul and Silas left a small group of believers to continue the work of the church. Next week we will start to look at the letter Paul wrote to the Philippians years later.
What have we learned?
n God brings people to salvation in a variety of ways. (Timothy, Lydia, jailer)
n We can glorify God in any circumstance.
n Sometimes we can have the greatest impact during the most difficult circumstances.
