Chapter 26 – Limitations
Narration
Acts 16:6-10
Paul and Silas took Timothy and
visited Phrygia and Galatia next, but they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit from going into Asia. Jesus was controlling the preaching of the good news, and Bithynia was excluded too. Arriving at Troas, Paul saw a vision in the night. A man, appealing to him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” How could they refuse what was so obviously a sign?
The other areas could
wait.
Macedonia must be visited next.
Chapter 27 – Philippi
Narration
Acts 16:11-23
Paul and Silas caught a boat sailing to Neapolis,
the port nearest to the Roman colony of Philippi. It was a very quick trip, confirming for them that this was indeed the will of God. From Neapolis, they walked along the Egnatian Way to Philippi, a Roman colony and a leading city in the area. Since there was no synagogue in the city, Paul had to use a different preaching plan.
From several enquiries, it seemed that some believers in the
God of Israel met down by the river outside the city to pray. When Paul and Silas went there on the Sabbath, they found that the reports were true. Surprisingly, however, there were no men present, and Paul and Silas were asked to speak to the women assembled. One, a woman called Lydia from Thyatira, listened very carefully to everything they said. The Lord opened her heart and she learned the gospel of Jesus. Once she had been baptised, she invited Paul and Silas,
and those who were travelling with them, to stay at her house. She was very eager to hear as much as she could about this new hope.
But problems are never far away when people want to exploit others. A young slave-girl who had a sickness of her mind was being used to make money for her masters. They called her sickness a “spirit of divination” and had her tell people’s fortunes.
Every time Paul and his associates went to the place of prayer by the riverside, they passed her, and each time she shouted out to any who would listen that these men were telling people the way to be saved. Paul found this frustrating and irritating. Surely people could listen and work things out for themselves and if this girl knew they spoke truth, why didn’t she come and listen herself? At last, he healed her in the name of Jesus. With her mind working properly,
she could no longer tell fortunes in her former intriguing, ambiguous and obscure style. Her masters were furious and dragged Paul and Silas before the authorities. Of course, there were no genuine charges they could bring, so they tried to link their complaint with a religious objection to Paul’s teachings. They worked up the crowd, and the magistrates too, and soon Paul and Silas had their outer clothes torn off and were beaten with rods. Many blows fell.
After that, they were thrown into prison to think it over.
Chapter 28 – The Jailer
Narration
Acts 16:24-34
Paul and Silas found themselves in
the inner prison, feet held in the stocks and nothing to do but wait for the next morning.
With lacerated backs and feet locked in place, the idea of lying down held no attraction. Lying on their backs would have been the only option, and the pain was just too great. As midnight crawled around, they were praying and singing hymns while the other prisoners listened. A sudden earthquake,
sent to do God’s work, and they were free to leave. All the other prisoners were likewise freed, their chains having miraculously come undone. But one man’s advantage is often another man’s problem, and the jailer was far from happy. These prisoners were his responsibility. He rushed in, saw the situation at a glance and snatched out his sword, planning to kill himself before the magistrates did.
Paul had a loud voice when he needed it, and he used all its power that night, shouting to the jailer that he did not need to kill himself since all the prisoners were still there.
God’s work is done by earthquakes, visions and many other means. A vision had brought Paul and Silas to Philippi, and now an earthquake had given salvation to the jailer and his family. The jailer was
baptised that night.
Sketch 28.1
The damp, foul-smelling cell held eight prisoners, chained together and chained to the wall. There was no light, no ventilation, no drainage, little space and no creature comforts whatever. No beds, no chairs, no cupboards, no bathroom and no privacy – except that supplied by the ever-present darkness.
“What was all that about?” asked
Alexander, one of the prisoners, as the door clanged shut.
“Neptune was angry,” answered Quintus. “We should be glad we survived.”
“That’s not what that Jew said,” replied Alexander. “What was his name?”
“Paul, I think.” said Drusus, another of the eight.
“Yes, it was Paul. He said it was the God of Israel,” said Alexander.
“Who would you trust?” asked Quintus. “Our honourable ancestors or some random Jew you met in a prison?”
“Well, he seems to have got out of prison, while we’re still stuck in this stinking hole,” observed Emilius.
“We should’ve taken the opportunity to escape,” said Faustus. “We’ll never get another chance so good.”
“You’re right,” responded Gaius. “We should’ve ignored him
when he told us all to stay.”
“And now he’s gone himself!” said Faustus.
“But how long would you have stayed free, Gaius, before you got caught again?” asked Drusus.
“It would’ve been worth it,” retorted Gaius.
“Do you know what they do to escaped prisoners when they catch them?” interjected Alexander.
“And not only to the prisoners!”
said Brutus. “What they do to their families, too.”
“Yes, I’ve heard terrible stories of what can happen if they know your family – like they do mine,” said Quintus. “I wouldn’t dare escape unless I could move my family somewhere else first. Some other country, in fact.”
“I reckon Paul’s advice was good, though I’d probably have taken the opportunity to escape if he hadn’t said what he did,” said Brutus.
No-one spoke for a while. The men were settling down for what was left of the night, each trying to find a comfortable place to lie on the stone floor.
“I miss the singing,” said Alexander. “It helped to pass the time in this hell-hole.”
“How can you say that? Didn’t you understand what they were singing? It was all Jewish heresies,” said Quintus. “I worship the gods of my fathers
– I don’t have time for Jewish myths.”
“If you worship your father’s gods, why did you rob that temple?” asked Alexander.
“I didn’t!” objected Quintus. “It was Julius.”
“Come on!” said Lucius in the darkness. “You can’t fool me, Quintus. Don’t forget, I was there when you and Julius brought the incense bowls to Tertius looking for some money. I heard what you said, too.”
Quintus didn’t reply.
“The fact is, we’re all in here for some crime or other,” continued Lucius. “That’s why we don’t sing songs like Paul and his friend did. Two weeks ago, a couple of days before they threw me in here, I heard a servant girl shouting out that they were telling the ways of salvation. Now I wish I’d paid more attention. I don’t know if she’s right, but I know that I’ve spent far too much time in
prisons on and off, and I’ve never heard anything like that singing, nor heard of an earthquake that opened all the doors in a prison and freed everyone without falling stones hurting anyone.”
“You could be right,” said Alexander, cautiously.
“They still ended up in prison,” said Quintus. “So they can’t be too good!”
“But they’re not here now,” said Emilius. “Lucius is right – it’s been a
funny night and no mistake.”
“And the floor is still hard, the stench is still unbearable, and we’re still locked up,” said Faustus bitterly. “I wish I’d taken the chance to escape. I wouldn’t have cared if they caught me. Execution sounds better than the endless stifling darkness of this cell.”
“Anyone know any religious songs?” asked Lucius.
“Huh!” said Quintus. “Do you expect
another earthquake?”
“Maybe it’d just be a good thing to do. It could be time for us to do something good.”
“It’s time to go to sleep,” said Drusus.
Sometimes the fact that we cease to notice a smell we are exposed to for a long time is a real blessing. It was for those eight unfortunates, since without it there would have been no sleep in the cell that night. As it was, it wasn’t long
before all were asleep.
Chapter 29 – Leaving Philippi
Narration
Acts 16:35-40
Morning came and the magistrates reviewed Paul and Silas’ case. In the cold light of day, it seemed that
enough punishment had been meted out – some even suggested it might have been too much. They sent a terse message to the jailer to let the two men go.
Paul refused to leave.
Now, he felt, was the time to play the citizenship card, using it to protect the small group of new believers from persecution.
Legally, the magistrates had made a bad error of judgement in beating Paul and Silas – both of whom were Roman citizens. When the magistrates heard this, they hurried to the jail and tried to placate the men who could cause them a lot of trouble should they choose to do so.
Paul was quite happy to go and had no wish to cause trouble, as long as he could be confident that the believers would be
left alone also.
Paul could have used his citizenship to protect himself on the previous day. Instead, he used it to protect his new children in the faith.
After a short meeting of encouragement with the believers, Paul and Silas walked out of Philippi.
[To be continued]
