[:en]SCRIPTURE: ACTS 16
“In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her” (Acts 16:18)
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:21)
TIMOTHY JOINS PAUL AND SILAS (vs. 1-5)
Silas being chosen as a leader in church (Acts 15:22) and a prophet (Acts 15:32) went with Paul to Lystra and met Timothy. Timothy’s mother was a Jewish believer and his father was a Greek. He had been raised by a godly mother and grandmother (2 Tim. 1:5; 3:15). Paul circumcised him and took him along in his missionary journey. He served with Paul faithfully.
PAUL’S VISION OF THE MAN OF MACEDONIA (vs. 6-10)
Paul and his companions passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night, Paul had a vision with a man begging him to come to Macedonia. So, they left for Macedonia to preach the gospel to them.
LYDIA’S CONVERSION IN PHILIPPI (vs. 11-15)
From Troas, they traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony named after Philip of Macedon. They reached the district of Macedonia and stayed there several days. They met a woman name Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth for the city of Thyatira. She was a religious woman with an open heart. She responded to Paul’s message and shared it with her household. All the members of her household were saved and baptized. She invited Paul and his companions to stay at her house.
PAUL AND SILAS IN PRISON (vs. 16-40)
While they were going to the place of prayer, they met a slave girl who had a spirit to predict the future. Her master earned a lot of money through her fortune telling. She followed Paul and kept on shouting: “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved” (v. 17). To put a stop, Paul said to the spirit: “In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her”. At that moment, the spirit left her (v. 18).
When the owners of the girl realized that there is no hope to make money out of the slave girl, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them to magistrates. They accused them of inciting uproar by advocating customs unlawful for Romans to accept or practice” (v. 21). The magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. They were thrown into prison in the inner cell and their feet fastened in the stock.
About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, a violent earthquake shook the foundation of the prison and all the prison doors opened and everybody’s chains were loose. When the jailer saw the prison door open, he wanted to commit suicide with his sword. But Paul shouted: “Don’t harm yourself!. We are all here.” (v. 28). The jailer took them to their house, washed their wounds and set a meal for them. He and his whole family believed in the Lord Jesus and were baptized.
When morning came, the magistrates told the jailer to release Paul and Silas. But Paul refused to leave quietly. He demanded the magistrates to settle the case openly by using his Roman citizenship and legal rights to prove their innocence in order that the Gospel would be respected.
THINGS TO PONDER:
- Paul selected Timothy and called him “my son in faith”. He trained him to fill the ranks in church. Older mature Christans must adopt younger believers and disciple them to take over church responsibilities.
- Timothy was willing to follow Paul’s calling to serve Christ. Can you count yourself worthy of Christian service?
- Paul and his group went to minister at places led by the Holy Spirit. Servants of God should also ask the Holy Spirit to guide them and give them directions on where to minister.
- When Lydia was convicted, she led her whole household to Christ. She also invited Paul and Silas to stay at her house. We should try our best to lead our whole family to know Christ. We should also be hospitable to God’s servant.
- Paul put a stop to the slave girl, who was predicting the future. Do not believe in fortune telling. Only God knows our future.
- While in prison, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. And God worked in a miraculously way to release them. Whatever happens to us, always remember that God is in control. Instead of complaining, pray and praise Him. God’s way is always the best.
- Paul and Silas were falsely arrested, flogged, stripped, beaten and put in prison. They refused to move out quietly because they wanted to give dignity to the Gospel and to the church. It is not wrong for Christians to use their legal rights as long as it promotes the case of Christ.
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