When You’re Falsely Accused

When you choose to take the high road, people take note. The world’s way is to get even, to pursue that revenge at all cost. The easiest path for Paul was to sit back and watch that jailer kill himself, then walk out a free man. After all, the jailer had supervised his torture. Didn’t the jailer get what was coming to him? Yet, Paul chose to see this man as a creation of God who needed to become a friend of God. And so Paul did what he could to save the man’s life, and the man took note. What Paul really did is part 3, which is to...

3. Give glory to God

Notice the jailer’s response to the grace and mercy shown him. Verse 30 says, “He then brought them out and asked, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’

That’s a great question, isn’t it? There was something radically different about Paul’s life. Paul didn’t operate like the rest of the world. I’ve always liked this story; yet, when I studied the passage this week, I discovered something totally new: the Romans promised a version of salvation themselves: “The Pax Romana,” or “Roman Peace” was their version of salvation. Technology, military domination, spread of wealth and empire all were designed to offer “salvation” to people in need of a better life. Yet, here is a Roman authority asking these two Jewish men, “What must I do to be saved?”

What do you need to do? Only believe. Verses 31 and 32: “They replied, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.’ Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.” And the rest of the story shows a changed man: the jailer and his family all get baptized. And the jailer cleans Paul and Silas’ wounds and feeds them. His life will never again be the same. He has believed. He has turned over his life control to Jesus. As Paul would later write, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved” (Romans 10:9-10).

In summary, Paul acts like a Christian by choosing to worship God in hardship and taking the high road rather than revenge. And when asked about it, he gives glory to God. He points people to the author and finisher of our faith: Jesus Christ. And the jailer and his family join the family of God.

Today we’re taking the Lord’s Supper together. Paul did a good job of illustrating our three points, but what better example could we have than our Lord Jesus? As the cross drew near, Jesus chose to pray. We looked at that story the last couple of weeks, as we looked at his High Priestly Prayer and the Gethsemane Prayer. Despite false accusations, Jesus worshiped and waited for God’s perfect plan to unfold. When he was treated unjustly by the Roman government and the Jewish religious leaders, he refrained from revenge. He never struck back. He took it quietly, certain in the Father’s plan. And then, while he died a death for you and me, he gave glory to God: “Into your hands I commit my Spirit.” He pointed people to the Heavenly Father. And God raised him up to the highest point, as Paul describes in Philippians 2. Jesus remained humble, and Father God raised him up to be our conqueror over and sin and death forever. That’s what we celebrate today in the Lord’s Supper. Let’s pray about it together: