Acts Lesson 6: 16.22-34
LAST WEEK: In the last part of Acts 15, we studied split-up between Paul and Barnabas, and then in the first part of Acts 16, we saw how God used this division to form a new missionary team consisting of Paul, Silas and Timothy. One thing we learned was that Spiritual maturity doesn't necessarily erase personality differences. We are still fallen sinners who can slip into the trap of sinful pride. The blow-up and consequent split between Paul and Barnabas wasn't a good model for Christian behavior. Neither man showed a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, and patience toward one another. They allowed the sun to set on their anger (Eph. 4:26). Even if you are convinced that your opinion is right, you are still wrong-sinning-if you allow it to alienate a Christian brother or sister.
THIS WEEK: We move to Acts 16:22-34 which reports an incident that occurred shortly after the new missionary team (which now included Luke) arrived in the Macedonian city of Philippi. After delivering a slave-girl from demonic possession in vv. 16-18, Paul and Silas were apprehended by the girl's owners, who were using her in some money-making scheme, and brought before magistrates on vague allegations that they were doing things that violated Roman law in vv. 19-21. This is where our lesson begins.
Read Acts 16:22-24 - Paul and Silas Arrested, Beaten, and Imprisoned
22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
Note: vv. 20-21, which the lesson plan skips suggest that Paul and Silas were singled-out because they were Jews, and led their captors to automatically assume they weren't Roman citizens. They apparently left Luke and Timothy alone because they must have looked like Gentiles. In the Roman Empire there were two sets of laws, one for citizens and another for non-citizens, who possessed absolutely no civil rights.
v. 22: "The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods" - Largely because of the anti-Jewish attitude prevalent in the city, the crowd turned into a mob and attacked Paul and Silas. The magistrates stepped in and took control at this point. Magistrates functioned in a dual role of both policeman and judge, especially with respect to supposed non-citizens. Having judged them without any opportunity to defend or explain themselves, the magistrates tore off their clothes preparatory to flogging them with rods. The flogging, brutal enough in itself, would be expected to wring a confession out of them for the larger punishment to come, i.e., death or slavery. Ironically, both Paul and Silas were Roman citizens with protected legal rights, though neither had revealed this fact as yet.
v. 23-24: "And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks." - The magistrates' order "to keep them safely" might have stemmed from the idea that since the two missionaries had powers that saved the slave girl, they might know some tricks-be able to escape somehow; thus, they were placed in the maximum security, inner part of the jail. Added to that, they were placed in stocks, which immobilized their legs. They weren't going anywhere.
Read Acts 16:25-28 - A Miracle in the Philippian Jail
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here."
v. 25: " About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them" - For real? Yes, Paul and Silas, their rights having been violated and their backs torn open, their feet in stocks, and locked in the dark, inner prison, were praying and singing hymns of praise to God at Midnight! We must all understand that Paul and Silas would not have been doing this if such rejoicing in the Lord had not been a regular part of their lives, ergo; they were simply doing what they normally did. We also need to keep in mind that Paul and Silas did not know the end of this story when they began singing at midnight. For all they knew, they would be executed the next day. Paul and Silas weren't singing so that they could be good witnesses during their difficult situation; they were singing because their hearts were full of praise toward God for the sheer joy of His salvation; the overflow of their joyful worship was a witness was an added bonus. That's how it always should be. What a strange sound this must have been to the other prisoners. They might have been asking among themselves, "What's with these guys, anyway?" Then we tell them what's with us. Our lives then back up the reality of our message.
Comment: The "prisoners" are always listening to us. By that, I mean those who are prisoners of Satan's dark domain-lost people-are always listening to and watching the people of God, especially in times of trial, like we see with Paul and Silas. If instead, Paul and Silas had been self-pitying and complaining-the way most people typically react when their rights are violated and they are abused-they would have missed this great opportunity to witness for Christ.
v. 26: "and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened" - The earthquake was unmistakably a supernatural event, not only because of its timing and location but also in the way the doors were opened and everyone's bonds were loosed. Was this an answer to Paul's specific prayer? We'll discuss this in a few minutes but think about it.
vv. 27-28: "When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here" - The jailer's reaction-suicide-had good reason behind it: under Roman rule, if jailers or guards allowed their prisoners to escape, they would have to suffer the penalties of the escapees. But Paul in effect screams at him, "Stop! Don't do it! Wait! We're all still here." This moment of hesitation seems to imply that Paul didn't pray for God's intervention because he wasn't expecting it. If Paul and Silas had prayed for the earthquake, it stands to reason that they would have run for their lives as soon as it happened. Most likely, when they were praying earlier, they asked God to use their desperate situation for the furtherance of the gospel.
Read Acts 16:29-32 - The Jailer Converted
29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31 And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.
v. 29: "And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas" - Hearing Paul cry out, the jailer responded quickly and called for his helpers to bring the lamps and torches, which tells us the jail must have been pitch dark on the inside. Then without waiting to see if was safe to enter, the jailer rushed in and immediately saw Paul, Silas, and the others, apparently, were standing there staring at him. He was so taken aback that he fell down trembling at their feet.
v. 30: "Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" - Stop and think a minute about the word "saved." What do you think the jailer was asking to be saved from? This question has provoked a lot of debate over the years. Some say that because this man was obviously a heathen with no sense of sin as we understand it, that he certainly couldn't have been referring to eternal salvation from the one God in heaven. Others disagree, claiming he was inspired. But, in any case, given what had just happened to him, he most certainly regarded Paul and Silas as his "saviors" in a manner of speaking, and it caused him to be receptive to their guidance. After all, he asked the right question, didn't he-what must I do to be saved?-even if he didn't comprehend what he was asking for?
v. 31-32: "And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house." - Paul and Silas simply and directly answer the jailer with the essence of the gospel. Although Luke didn't record it, they probably added a longer proclamation about repenting and being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, and they also made it clear that everyone in his household could enjoy the same salvation. Continuing in v.32, they shared the gospel with everyone in the jailer's family and possibly servants as well.
Read Acts 16:33-34 - Transformed
33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.
The jailer, a man who had been a certified brute -accustomed to dealing with common criminals- now demonstrates his faith with repentance, humility, and kindness by taking Paul and Silas into his house and treating their wounds. After that, he and his family are baptized. As one commentator put it, "He, the jailer, washed and was washed. He washed them from their stripes and was himself washed from his sins." After this, the new converts extend genuine hospitality to the missionaries. They were no longer prisoners, but fellow Christians.
Postscript: As the story continues to the end of the chapter in vv. 35-40,, the next morning the magistrates, apparently having second thoughts about the validity of the charges, send word to the jailer to set Paul and Silas free. When Paul heard this, he said, "They have beat us publically, without a trial, men who are Roman citizens, and thrown us into prison, and now they want to throw us out secretly? No indeed!" After this was reported to the local Roman authorities, the magistrates came to the jail, openly apologized to them, and released them. Paul didn't do this out of personal pride but did it to further the gospel. Instead of leaving town as a lawbreaker and troublemaker, his work to spread the gospel could now be regarded as a legitimate activity. By doing this, he protected the future of the newly planted church in Philippi and the preaching of the gospel in Macedonia.
Application: We Americans have a thing about standing up for our rights, don't we? If our rights are violated, we don't take it sitting down, no siree! We will protest, we might sue, we'll write to our congressman; or we'll go all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. We Americans tend to be highly sensitive about any interference with our rights. But the fact is, most of us Americans have never personally experienced any serious violation of our religious rights. But what if we unexpectedly found ourselves in a situation like that of Paul and Silas-arrested on spurious charges, deprived of due process of law, and left without any legal recourse, totally at the mercy of our captors? This has happened to Americans overseas, some of them Christian missionaries. What would you do? Short answer: We should do our best to imitate Paul's example when we are treated unfairly and unjustly by:
Our Lord addressed this very issue early in His ministry when He said, "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Mt. 5:11-12. In his later ministry, Paul said this, "Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Rom. 5:3-5.
PRAYER: God, our Father in heaven, we come before your throne this morning with thankful hearts, praising You for the love, mercy, and grace You steadfastly demonstrate to us as Christian believers. We thank You also for giving us another opportunity-through this Facebook video presentation-to learn and indeed, apply to ourselves, the truths of Your inerrant and holy Word. I ask, Lord, that You will use this time of study and learning to encourage and strengthen every person listening-to especially help us during this time of a national pandemic to truly trust you, Dear God, for the ultimate outcome. Lord, as we prepare to assemble and worship together again in this church on May 31, I pray that all present will be mindful and careful regarding the rules and restrictions that we need to observe, and that You will use Your power to keep all of us safe. In the name of our blessed Redeemer and Savior, Jesus Christ, I pray, AMEN.
