The book of Acts
Paul and Silas in Philippi
Chapter 16: 9 to 40
In Troas, Paul had a vision from God during the night, in which a man of Macedonia pleaded with him to go over there to help them. After two previous negatives, God now revealed to Paul the way forward in his apostolate. Macedonia (now Greece) was in Europe, and would be the starting point for the evangelization of the continent.
Paul had with him Silas and Timothy, and now the author of this book uses the first person plural from verse 10, indicating that he, Luke, had joined them. It is possible that Luke, a Gentile physician, had been converted by the preaching of Paul at Troas. With remarkable humility, he reveals little about himself. After going with Paul and the others to Philippi, he only reappears when Paul visited this city again on his third missionary journey (Chapter 20: 5,6), possibly having stayed in Philippi in the interval of seven or eight years.
The four soon sought and boarded a ship going to Philippi, an ancient town that was fortified by Philip of Macedonia and received his name. It was now a Roman colony, capital of the province of Macedonia, ruled by a military junta appointed directly and submissive to Rome, and governed by its laws. There they stayed for several days.
It was a fortified city, and probably there was no synagogue inside where Paul and his companions could attend to start preaching the Gospel, as they always did. Therefore, they went out to the riverside on the Sabbath, where they thought they would find a place of prayer of the Jews, for it was common for Jews to gather so in the absence of a synagogue.
They actually found a group, but only of women who met there. So they sat down, the usual position to preach in public, and spoke to them. A certain woman named Lydia heard them.
Lydia “was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshipped God”. Thyatira was a famous city in ancient times for the production of purple, a dye obtained from shellfish and used in imperial robes, expensive fabrics and much sought after by noblemen and wealthy people. Lydia was a seller of these fabrics. She was probably a Gentile, but feared God, indicating that she had converted to Judaism.
“The Lord opened the heart of Lydia to heed the things spoken by Paul”, meaning that not only was her ear open to the gospel, but her heart was open as well. After receiving the Lord Jesus as her Saviour and Lord, “she and her household were baptized”. The members of her household had, of course, also been converted before they were baptized. There is no mention of Lydia being married, so her household could have consisted of servants.
Lydia had a house in Philippi, and soon after baptism constrained Paul and his companions to stay in it, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and stay."
The "place of prayer" became a preaching point. However, when they went there, our evangelists began to be disturbed by a slave girl possessed by a demon, or "spirit of divination", like the sorcerers Simon of Samaria (chapter 8) and Elymas of Cyprus (chapter 13). This girl cried out, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation”. After repetition of this scene for many days, Paul was troubled. What she said was true, but Paul knew better than to accept testimony from demons. He must also have been sorry for the wretched condition of this enslaved girl. Therefore, in the all-powerful name of Jesus Christ, he commanded the demon to come out of her. Immediately she was freed from this dreadful bondage, and became a sane, rational person.
The lords, owners of this young woman who brought them great income because of their divinations, felt grievously harmed by the action of Paul, and used their influence to arrest Paul and Silas and drag them into the marketplace and report them to the magistrates of city. This is an example of the two main ways that the enemy uses to smother the Gospel: first with annoyance, then the persecution by the world to silence the messengers.
In their charge against the evangelists, these profiteers hid the real reason for their action, but pretended patriotism by denouncing Paul and Silas as Jews who were disturbing the order in the city, by illegally preaching against Roman customs. Note the emphasis on nationality. "These Jewish men" was a contemptuous expression, because recently a decree of Claudius had expelled the Jews from Rome (chapter 18:2), inspiring a racial prejudice against them in their colonies: to prove themselves loyal, settlers had come to despise Jews.
Romans tolerated the religious customs of conquered countries, provided they did not try to change those of the Romans, who were idolaters and worshipped the emperor himself besides many other gods. Disturbing the peace by preaching the new religion to Roman citizens was a crime. The large crowd in the marketplace therefore gathered against Paul and Silas. The magistrates tore their clothes, and commanded that they should be beaten and then cast into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely.
The jailer fastened their feet in the stocks in the innermost chamber at the bottom of the prison, which at that time would be a dungeon where air and light entered only when the door was open. However, far from lamenting, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God there, while the other prisoners listened with pleasure. Around midnight there was a great earthquake, which caused the foundations of the prison to be shaken, the doors opened and everybody's chains came loose. The doors were probably locked with bars, which would have loosened with the movement, and the chains would be attached to the wall, which would have cracked.
The jailer had been asleep, but woke up with the earthquake and saw that the prison doors were open. He supposed that the prisoners had escaped, and drew his sword to kill himself, too afraid to face conviction to the cruel death to which he was now exposed.
Paul could see the warden from where he was, and realizing what he intended to do, cried loudly for him not to harm himself because they were all there. Having confirmed that this was true, the jailer became convinced that something extraordinary had happened, felt the weight of his sins and feared the justice of God, not of men. No doubt, he had heard Paul, Silas, and their message, and appealed to them with the question: "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" He was referring to the salvation of his soul.
Every sinner must be convicted of his sin, and fear the justice of God before his conversion. He needs to know that he is lost before being saved. It is no use to show him how to be saved before he is convinced he deserves to go to hell.
The answer that Paul and Silas gave him was simple: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, and your household." This is what Peter told Cornelius (cap. 10), i.e., he would be saved through faith in the Lord Jesus, and in the same way those in his home (it is wrong to understand that those in your home will be automatically saved by your faith).
After they heard the word of God explained by Paul and Silas, all believed, and the jailer expressed the reality of his conversion by treating their wounds. Immediately they were all baptized. There is no basis for thinking that there were young children among them, all were old enough to believe in Christ for their salvation.
The baptism was probably done within an existing tank in or near the prison, where they could be immersed. After baptism, they all went to the house of the jailer, who set food before them, “and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.”
When morning came, the magistrates sent their officers to the prison with the order to release Paul and Silas. The jailer reported to Paul the order he had received, and told the two to depart and to go in peace.
No doubt to the surprise of all, Paul revealed that he and Silas were Roman citizens, and that, without being condemned by judgment of a competent court, they were beaten openly and thrown into prison by the magistrates. How could they now put them out secretly? They must come over themselves to release them. When the magistrates heard that they were Roman citizens, they were afraid of the consequences of this illegal act they had themselves committed, and went to the prison to plead with them and bring them out, asking them to depart from the city.
Then Paul and Silas left the prison and entered the house of Lydia, where they saw the brethren, encouraged them and departed. Timothy and Luke remained there, and Timothy appears later in Berea (17:15).
R David Jones
9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us."
10 Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.
11 Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day came to Neapolis,
12 and from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days.
13 And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there.
14 Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshipped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.
15 And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." So she persuaded us.
16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling.
17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation."
18 And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And he came out that very hour.
19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.
20 And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, "These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city;
21 and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe."
22 Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods.
23 And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely.
24 Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
26 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 chains were loosed.
27 And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself.
28 But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here."
29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.
30 And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
31 So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household."
32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.
33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.
34 Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.
35 And when it was day, the magistrates sent the officers, saying, "Let those men go."
36 So the keeper of the prison reported these words to Paul, saying, "The magistrates have sent to let you go. Now therefore depart, and go in peace."
37 But Paul said to them, "They have beaten us openly, uncondemned Romans, and have thrown us into prison. And now do they put us out secretly? No indeed! Let them come themselves and get us out."
38 And the officers told these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans.
39 Then they came and pleaded with them and brought them out, and asked them to depart from the city.
40 So they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia; and when they had seen the brethren, they encouraged them and departed.
Acts chapter 16, verses 9 to 40