Grace Bible Church

Preaching the Living Word through the Written Word

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE GOSPEL CANNOT BE IMPRISONED

(Ac 16:19-31) 04/19/15

Grace Bible Church, Gillette, Wyoming

Pastor Daryl Hilbert

 

I.     PERSECUTED FOR LOSS OF PROFIT (19-21)

 

A.    [19] When the slave girl’s masters realized that Paul had cast the demon out of her, they also realized that their profitable venture (ergasia - profit from business or enterprise) was gone. This prompted them to seize (epilambanomai - lay hold of or better “seized” (coupled with “dragged” helkō) cf. Lk 23:26; Ac 18:17; 21:30) Paul and Silas to take them before the authorities. It was the custom in those days that a plaintiff himself could drag (cf. Jam 2:6) a defendant into court. The courthouse was located in the marketplace, which was the center of all social life.

B.    The fact that Paul and Silas were the only ones apprehended was because they were Jews (cf. Ac 17:10). The recent aggression toward Jews was a result of the edict of Claudius in A.D. 49 (Ac 18:2), forbidding Jews in Rome, and obviously other Roman areas. Luke and Timothy were not seized because Luke was a Gentile and Timothy was half-Gentile.

C.    [20] They were brought before the “magistrates” (strategoi) who were two Praetors (Latin), that is, generals having military and judicial authority in Roman colonies.

D.    The accusation against Paul and Silas was that they were “throwing our city into confusion” because they were outspoken and troublesome Jews.

E.    [21] Paul and Silas were accused, not for removing their source of income (the real motive), but with proclaiming unlawful religious customs to Roman citizens. Roman citizens were forbidden from practicing any religion that was not sanctioned by the state.

 

II.    IMPRISONED IN A GUARDED JAIL (22-24)

 

A.    [22] This false accusation by the slave girl’s masters was enough to incite the crowd, for they joined in the growing malicious consent. The mob mentality influenced even the military magistrates for they ordered Paul and Silas to be stripped and beaten without a trial. They were beaten with rods (rabdizō - beaten with rods, from rabdos, Lat. Fasces, by rabdouchoi (lictorae) or military police, cf. 35, 38), which were wrapped bundles of thin wooden rods often with an axe attached.

B.    [23] They were beaten with “many blows.” Paul wrote in his letter to the Thessalonians that he had “suffered and been mistreated in Philippi” (1Th 2:2). To the Corinthians he wrote that he had been beaten with the rod three times in his ministry for the sake of Christ (2Co 11:25).

C.    After the beating, they were were thrown into prison. A command was given to the jailer, most likely a military veteran, to keep the prisoners secure.

D.    [24] Following his orders, the jailer threw Paul and Silas into the “inner” (esōteros) prison, which was innermost cell for greater security. In addition, he secured their feet in stocks with chains.

 

III.  FREED BY A MIRACULOUS EARTHQUAKE (25-29)

 

A.    [25] This passage reveals the heart of Paul and Silas. They had not been up all night with tears and sobbing. They had not been fretfully hoping that their circumstance was placed on the prayer chain. They had not been compiling complaints about their mistreatment. Instead, they were praying, singing hymns, and praising God. They were rejoicing that God was in control, not their captors. They rejoiced because they had been allowed to suffer for the sake of Christ (Ac 5:41; 2Co 4:17; Col 1:24 cf. Ac 20:23; 2Co 1:4; 2Co 6:4; 1Th 3:3-4; 2Th 1:4).

B.    They not only strengthened themselves, but they knew they had a captive audience of other prisoners to hear the gospel message through singing hymns.

C.    [26] God had sent an angel twice to free Peter (Ac 5:19; 12:7), but now God chose to use a natural phenomenon at a specific time and location. Luke recorded that suddenly, a violent earthquake occurred, which shook the foundations of the prison. This divine miracle opened the doors and loosed the prisoners’ chains.

D.    [27] Obviously, the magnitude of the earthquake woke the jailer. Equally frightening for him was seeing the prison doors opened. His response may seem a bit surprising but he drew his dagger (machaira - short sword or daggar used in hand to hand combat) to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. Being a guard for Rome’s military, the security of the prisoners was kept by an oath on his life. In other words, if the prisoners escaped, his life could be required (cf. Ac 12:19; Mt 28:11-15).

E.    [28] Paul saw what the jailer was about to do and quickly cried out, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” Paul and Silas had no fear for they knew that it was God who had miraculously opened the prison doors. Since God miraculously opened the prison doors, they knew that God had opened an opportunity for their ministry.

F.     [29] The jailer immediately called for lights and “rushed in” (eisepēdaō - leap or spring forward) to the prison. At this moment, the jailer had understood that the events showed that Paul and Silas were God’s messengers.

G.    In holy fear, the jailer came “trembling” (entromos - involuntary quaking and quivering) and fell at the feet of these divine messengers.

 

IV.  FREED TO GIVE THE GOSPEL (30-31)

 

A.    [30] When the jailer had brought them out of the prison, he asked the timeless question of the ages, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

B.    It has been remarked by some that the jailer was not asking about eternal safety but about immediate physical safety. However, there are enough clues in the context to maintain that the jailer was speaking of eternal salvation. It would be implausible to think that the jailer had not known anything that had transpired between Paul and the masters of the slave-girl.

1.     Paul had been preaching the gospel for too many days in Philippi for his message to go unnoticed.

2.     The demon-possessed slave-girl had been following the missionaries for days declaring, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.”

3.     Most likely, the masters publically complained that Paul had rendered their slave-girl useless to continue fortune-telling after Paul cast out her demon.

4.     The earthquake that woke the jailer was too location-specific to be anything other than miraculous.

5.     Perhaps the jailer even heard them singing hymns and praises to God.

6.     Paul’s demeanor, unwillingness to escape from prison, and his concern for the jailer’s life certainly impacted the jailer.

7.     Since the prisoners were all accounted for, the jailer’s life was not in jeopardy for neglecting his Roman duties.

8.     Therefore, the jailer’s potential knowledge, the miraculous events, and his reverence towards Paul and Silas, lead to the conclusion that the jailer’s heart had been convicted by the Spirit of God to ask these messengers of God about the way of eternal salvation.

C.    [31] Paul certainly understood the jailer’s and gave one of the most concise answers on salvation, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

1.     If there were more insight into the way of salvation, this would have been Paul’s opportunity to proclaim it. But he did not.

2.     The way of salvation was and is through faith alone. They were to “believe” (pisteuō - to believe on, rely on, or trust upon) in the Lord Jesus. It was not a mere intellectual assent to the facts but a volitional trust or reliance (“believe on”- epi - on or upon).

3.     It is a trust and reliance upon the resurrected Lord Jesus as the divine Savior who made atonement for sin on the cross.

4.     Being an aorist imperative (pisteuson), a sinner is saved at the initial exercise of faith. It is at that moment of faith alone in Christ alone that a person is saved from sin and punishment for all eternity.

 

V. OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS

 

A.    Paul’s response to persecution

1.     He prayed and sang hymns and praising God -

a)    I’m not suggesting that the mistreatment and pain did not affect them.

b)    Their prayers and singing strengthened them spiritually. But there is more to it than that.

2.     He rejoiced because they were considered worthy to suffer for Christ (Ac 5:41; 2Co 4:17; 6:4; 2Th 1:5)

3.     He was ready to share the gospel

B.    Paul’s understanding of persecution

1.     Persecution is sometimes done through false accusations (material gain, jealousy, political, militant, under the name of religion)

2.     Ultimately, persecution is a visceral reaction to the conviction of the Holy Spirit

3.     Persecution can mean the furtherance of the gospel (Ac 8:4)

a)    God does not allow the gospel to remain behind bars.

b)    God always opens a door for the gospel (Php 1:13-14; 4:22)

c)     Men may die for the gospel, but the gospel never dies. -

(1)   the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church

4.     Believers are to expect persecution (Ac 20:23; 1Th 3:3-4)

5.     This was especially true for Paul (Col 1:24; 2Co 4:8-12)

C.    Today’s realization of persecution

1.     How close it is?

2.     Boldness to share the gospel (Ep 6:19)

 

 

 

Grace Bible Church · 4000 E. Collins Rd ·  PO Box #3762 · Gillette, WY · (307) 686-1516