(11)
Scripture Reading: Acts 16:6-40
In 16:6-40 we have the journey of Paul and his co-workers to Philippi of Macedonia. Verses 6 through 10 record Paul’s vision of a Macedonian; verses 11 through 18, the preaching and its fruits; and verses 19 through 40, the imprisonment and the release.
Paul and his co-workers were “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia” (v. 6), and “the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them” to go into Bithynia (v. 7). After they had come down to Troas, “a vision was seen by Paul during the night: a certain man, a Macedonian, was standing and entreating him and saying, Come over into Macedonia and help us!” (v. 9). This vision seen by Paul was neither a dream nor a trance. This is different from Peter’s experience in 10:9-16, when “a trance came upon him” (v. 10). In the vision in 16:9 a Macedonian man urged Paul to come over into Macedonia. Macedonia was a province of the Roman Empire in southeastern Europe between Thrace and Achaia on the Aegean Sea.
Acts 16:10 goes on to say, “And when he had seen the vision, we immediately endeavored to go forth into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to bring the good news to them.” This verse indicates that after seeing the vision from God, there was still the need to conclude, that is, to understand what the vision meant, by exercising the mind according to the actual situation and environment. The mind that is capable of understanding such a vision from God is a mind saturated and directed by the spirit (Eph. 4:23).
In 16:10 the pronoun “we” is used for the first time to include the writer, Luke. This indicates that from Troas Luke joined the apostle Paul in his ministry journey.
After concluding that God had called them to bring the good news to the Macedonians, Paul and his co-workers endeavored to go forth into Macedonia. This was a major step in the Lord’s move for the spreading of His kingdom to another continent, to Europe. It explains the intention of the Holy Spirit forbidding them, the Spirit of Jesus not allowing them, and also the coming of the vision in the night. To carry out this particular leading in the Lord’s strategic move required the endeavoring of the apostle and his co-workers. This they did immediately.
Acts 16:11 and 12a say, “And putting out to sea from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and on the following day to Neapolis; and from there to Philippi, which is the leading city of that part of Macedonia, a colony.” Troas was a seaport at the northwest corner of Asia Minor opposite to Macedonia on the Aegean Sea. Samothrace was an island in the Aegean Sea between Troas and Philippi, and Neapolis was a seaport of Philippi. Acts 16:12 says that Philippi was a colony. This means that it was a fortified outpost of the Roman Empire in a foreign country, where the citizens had equal rights with those at the capital, Rome. Hence, Philippi was a strategic point for the spread of the gospel at its beginning in Europe.
Verse 13 says, “And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate by a river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.” Here the word “Sabbath” indicates how widespread Judaism and its influence was, even in Europe. This verse also speaks of a place of prayer. Man’s prayer to God affords Him an opportunity for His move among men on earth.
In 16:13 Paul followed his principle of seeking out God’s chosen people. Here in Philippi he did not go to the synagogue; instead, on the Sabbath he went to a place of prayer. It is likely that Jews and Greek proselytes who were seeking God gathered at this place. This was Paul’s reason for going there.
Acts 16:14 goes on to say, “And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple-dyed goods, from the city of Thyatira, who worshipped God, was listening, whose heart the Lord opened to give heed to the things spoken by Paul.” The Lord here, who opened the heart of Lydia to give heed to the gospel preaching, must be the Spirit, who is the Lord Himself (2 Cor. 3:17). We do not know whether Lydia was a Jewish lady or a God-seeking Greek, since many of the Greek women, especially of the upper class, were seeking God. The first person gained by the Lord in Europe was not a man but a woman.
Acts 16:15 says, “And when she was baptized and her household, she entreated us, saying, If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and remain there; and she urged us.” Here we see that baptism immediately followed believing, as the Lord commanded in Mark 16:16. Lydia, after believing and being baptized, entered into fellowship with the apostle and his co-workers, the fellowship of the Body of Christ, as evidence of her salvation. At her invitation, they came into her house and remained there. This was the first house the Lord gained in Europe through His gospel and for His gospel (v. 40).
Acts 16:16 goes on to say, “And it came about that as we were going to the place of prayer, a certain maiden having a spirit of Python met us, who brought her masters much profit by divining.” The spirit in this verse was not a fallen angel but a demon (Mark 1:23, 32, 34, 39; Luke 4:33), one of the spirits of the living creatures who lived in the preadamic age and were judged by God when they joined Satan’s rebellion (see Life-study of Genesis Message 2). The fallen angels work with Satan in the air (Eph. 2:2; 6:11-12), and the unclean spirits, the demons, move with him on earth. Both act evilly upon man for the kingdom of Satan. The possession of people by demons signifies Satan’s usurpation of man, whom God created for His purpose.
In Acts 16:16 the maiden had a spirit of Python and brought profit to her masters by divining. The name “Python” was used to denote a prophetic demon, and was also used of fortune tellers. Divination is the art or practice that seeks to foresee or foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge by the aid of supernatural powers.
According to verses 17 and 18, “This woman followed after Paul and us and cried out, saying, These men are slaves of the Most High God, who are announcing to you a way of salvation. And she was doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly disturbed, and turning, he said to the spirit, I charge you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out from her! And it came out that very hour.” The woman with this evil spirit became a frustration to Paul’s preaching. Paul tolerated the situation for some time. But eventually he cast out the evil spirit. As verse 19 indicates, after the demon had been cast out from the woman, she could no longer bring profit to her masters.
Acts 16:19 says, “When her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they laid hold of Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.” Literally, the Greek word rendered “gone” here means “gone out.” To be sure, the woman’s masters were Gentiles, who were angry that their means of making a profit was gone. They caused trouble to Paul and his co-workers, stirring up the city against them. “And having brought them to the magistrates, they said, These men who are Jews are throwing our city into confusion, and they are announcing customs which it is not lawful for us who are Romans to accept nor to do” (vv. 20-21). The magistrates in verse 20 were the Roman praetors.
Verses 22 through 24 say, “And the crowd rose up together against them, and the magistrates tore off their garments and ordered them to be beaten with rods. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they threw them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them securely, who, having received such a charge, threw them into the inner prison, and secured their feet in the stocks.” Literally, the Greek word translated “stocks” means “timber” and denotes an instrument of torture with holes to hold the prisoner’s wrists, ankles, and neck. The same word is used for the cross in 5:30; 10:39; Gal. 3:13 and 1 Pet. 2:24.
When the apostles were put into the inner prison, the Lord had an excellent opportunity to vindicate Himself as the Lord of the kings. Verses 25 and 26 say, “And about midnight Paul and Silas, while praying, were singing hymns of praise to God; and the prisoners were listening to them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and instantly all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.” While Paul and Silas were praying and singing, the Lord shook the prison, and all the prisoners were released from their bonds. When the jailer saw the doors of the prison opened, he “drew his sword and was about to do away with himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped” (v. 27). But Paul shouted out to him, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” (v. 28).
In verse 30 the jailer said to Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do that I may be saved?” They replied, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household” (v. 31). The word “household” indicates that the family of the believer is a complete unit for God’s salvation, like the family of Noah (Gen. 7:1), the families partaking of the Passover (Exo. 12:3-4), the family of the harlot Rahab (Josh. 2:18-19), the family of Zaccheus (Luke 19:9), the family of Cornelius (Acts 11:14), the family of Lydia (16:15), the family of the jailer here, and the family of Crispus in 18:8.
Paul and Silas “spoke the word of God to him together with all those in his house” (v. 32). Then “taking them with him in that very hour of the night, he washed their stripes” (v. 33a). Literally, the Greek words rendered “washed their stripes” mean “washed them from their stripes.” According to 33b, “he was baptized immediately, he and all his household.” As in the case of Lydia, baptism was practiced immediately after the jailer and those in his household had believed, that they might be saved.
Verse 34 continues, “And he brought them up into his house and set a table before them; and he exulted, having believed in God with all his household.” The jailer, after believing and being baptized, also came into fellowship with the apostles, the fellowship of the Body of Christ, as a token of his salvation.
It may seem strange to us that the jailer and his household believed, were baptized, and were brought into the fellowship of the apostles all in the same night. What a wonderful conversion! I hope that we shall see such conversions today where people believe and are baptized and brought into the fellowship of the Body of Christ.
Acts 16:35 says, “Now when day came, the magistrates sent the deputies, saying, Release those men.” Here the “deputies” were the Roman lictors, those who held the rod to clear the way for the magistrates and to execute punishment on the criminals.
In verse 36 the jailer reported to Paul the words of the magistrates: “The magistrates have sent that you may be released. Now therefore come out and go in peace.” In verse 37 we have Paul’s strong reply: “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Romans, and have thrown us into prison; and now they are thrusting us out secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out.” Here Paul did not behave like a lamb that was being brought to the slaughter. On the contrary, he claimed his rights as a Roman citizen. Some who read Paul’s word here may say, “It seems that in this situation Paul was not very spiritual. He acted like a lion, not like a lamb. We may also say that he was not a ‘dove’ but a ‘hawk.’” For years I could not understand Paul’s behavior at this point in Acts 16.
Gradually through my own experience of suffering persecution, criticism, and opposition, I came to realize that we should not always give in. We have tried to be faithful and honest followers of Jesus. We have tried to walk in His footsteps, suffering persecution as He did. Eventually I learned that this is not always wise, and that it is not always God’s intention that we react to persecution and opposition in this way.
Actually, in 16:35-39 the question is not whether Paul should have been a dove or a hawk. The important matter here was Paul’s evangelical work. Paul realized that for the sake of the future of this evangelical work it was necessary for him to claim his rights as a Roman citizen. The Roman government was a government of law, and this government protected its citizens. Therefore, Paul was wise in having the attitude described in verse 37, for this was a help to the future of his work. This attitude made it impossible for the Roman officials to think that they could treat Paul in any way they desired because he was a Jew.
In verse 37 Paul seemed to be saying, “No, we are not willing to go out secretly. We are Romans, and we have not been judged guilty of any crime. First you put us into the inner prison, and now you ask us to go out secretly. We refuse to do this. Let the magistrates come and escort us out of the prison. We shall not slip away like escaped criminals. We want to be brought out of the prison in a way that is worthy of Roman citizens. Therefore, ask the magistrates to come and accompany us out of prison.”
The record of Acts 16 indicates that the Roman magistrates had no choice except to fulfill Paul’s request. “The deputies reported these words to the magistrates. And they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans. And they came and entreated them, and bringing them out, they asked them to depart from the city” (vv. 38-39). Here we see that the magistrates accompanied Paul and Silas out of prison as Paul had asked. Verse 40 concludes, “And they went out from the prison and entered the house of Lydia; and when they saw the brothers, they encouraged them and went out.”
In 16:35-39 Paul was not spiritual in a religious way. In this situation he was not a religious dove; instead, he was a right-claiming hawk. For the future of his evangelical work, Paul claimed his rights as a Roman citizen. Without vindicating ourselves in any way, we can testify that we have learned of Paul to claim our rights as citizens and to appeal to today’s “Caesar” — the law of this democratic country — to deal with evil books that libel us. We live in a country of law, and in this constitutional country there are laws against defamation. For the sake of his evangelical work, Paul claimed his rights as a Roman citizen and appealed to Caesar. In like manner, for the Lord’s interest, not for our personal profit, we claim our rights as citizens and appeal to the law as our “Caesar” today.
