Acts 16:16-34 II: Paul and Silas in Philippi

Somebody's business was going to get hurt. Now the shoe is on the other foot, as the owners of the slave girl realized that their "hope of income" had dissipated along with the spirit within her. The stilling of her voice meant that their business was hurt. Isn't this the way things are? If the faith business prospers other businesses might be hurt? And vice versa? Well, this probably is too much to maintain, but it shows a rather uneasy relationship between the faith business and the business of making money.

So her masters, who were probably yucking it up and pulling in even more money when she was trailing Paul and Silas, were hurt. It was as if a tornado had destroyed their business and they had no insurance on it. They decided to attack the source of their misery. When they dragged Paul and Silas before the magistrates (v. 19-20), they didn't bring the "true" charges against them. The "true" charge was that the Apostles had taken away their economic base. Instead they levelled other charges--that they "are disturbing our city" and "are Jews" and "are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe" (v. 21). These charges sound vaguely like those brought against Socrates by Anytus and Meletus about 400 years previously, but Luke doesn't comment on any kind of similarity. After the Apostles are released from prison, they tell the authorities they are Roman citizens, and thus are not supposed to be subjected to the kind of punishment they received. Why didn't they "pull rank" immediately upon their arrest? Maybe this is Luke's way of showing how they heightened the embarrassment of the officials.

The charges against Paul and Silas, such as they are, relate to the trouble "caused" by the disciples and the fact that these Jews are leading Romans into new customs. Rome respects tradition and doesn't want religious innovation. But the Jewish religion was a tradition which Rome protected because of its antiquity. Yet, even the Jews were only protected as long as they stayed within their sphere. But the real danger, the real reason for the prosecution, was economic. The Apostles were accused of violation of traditions because it never is a strong argument just to say that someone has hurt your economic base. If they claimed that the Apostles had "hurt business," they would have garnered much less sympathy. So many things "hurt business."

As is often the case, the business people have politcal power, and so they use the public officials to vent their spleen. Even before any kind of trial takes place the Apostles are beaten with rods and thrown into prison. The magistrates thus are also caught up in the fury of the moment. Not wanting to appear indolent or inactive, they sprung into action. The politicans parrotted the interests of the people hurt economically just as certainly as the slave girl parrotted her divinations to get them money. Gadarene rushes to judgment follow the economic loss of the businessmen.

In Prison and Released

But when you rush to judgment, you end up doing contradictory things. You both beat the prisoners, thus making them very vulnerable, and then you confine them in the innermost prison, thus making them safe from the depredations of the crowd. How does a person approach imprisonment? Have any of you, my readers, been imprisoned unjustly? (justly?) Well, the Apostles do what they do best. They pray and sing. In everything they give thanks to God. Maybe they didn't know what would happen. They might be killed, but probably not. They would probably just be kicked out of town with dire warnings about what might happen to them if they returned. But they don't know that yet. They just sing and pray. And the text says that "the prisoners were listening to them." Why not? Is this important? The prisoners don't appear elsewhere. Perhaps this shows that apostolic fidelity created respect and silence rather than jeers. Certainly those in jail realize that Paul and Silas didn't belong there. Even people in mental hospitals recognize when someone sane is in their midst. So Luke hints that even outlaws find the piety of the Apostles intriguing.

Suddenly there is an explosion. It is an earthquake. It happened just at the "right time." Is this earthquake a small demonstration of the great shaking of the foundations which God will effect at the last day? Though one may see the earthquake as a natural disaster, it is seen by Luke as God's intervention at the right time. However, no angles are present--in contrast to Acts 12:6ff. No divine messenger leads the Apostles through the dark city to safety. There is just the earthquake.

The earthquake transforms the prison. It is now a series of open rooms. The prisoners' chains are loosed. All were constrained; now the constraints are loosed. God does what is needed in a situation. God didn't kill people or miraculously transport the Apostles. It was a providential act the benefits of which were available to all. Like the rain that falls on the just and unjust alike, so the earthquake benefitted the just and unjust alike.

A humorous detail intrudes. The jailer awoke and was confused. Should he have been asleep in the first place? He hadn't heard the singing of hymns and offering of prayers, because he was asleep. But he wants to kill himself immediately. Why? Because he is a good soldier. His "charges" have probably escaped, he thinks, and he must pay the consequences for these actions. So, the good soldier is in trouble because he was a bad soldier--he slept on his watch. The older I get the more I realize that there are lots of lazy people in the world. I denied it for years because I knew I wasn't lazy. I figured that the world had so many fantastically interesting things in it that everyone just had to be constantly motivated to understand and to be a part of this world in which we live. But that just isn't the case. Many people just would rather sleep or not work. I still don't understand the mentality but that is, I believe, the reality of life.

Just as the action was fast and furious when Paul and Silas were beaten and sent to prison, so the action is now fast and furious. The earthquake. Chains released. Locks broken. Jailer about to kill himself. Paul rushes in to tell him not to do so because "we are all here." Had Paul done a head count? Why wouldn't the prisoners have tried to escape? Maybe the smoke yet hadn't cleared. The first thing the jailer asks about is salvation. But what kind of salvation does he have in mind (v. 30)? He was asleep and probably didn't hear Paul and Silas. He may have perceived their spirit, but now the thing on his mind is his back side. When he says "what must I do to be saved?" he is asking how he can get out of the pickle he now was in. How can I save my life, my career, my dignity? How can I possibly give an explanation of things to my superiors?

Paul and Silas' Response

Though the jailer asks the question of how he can get out of his predicament, the Apostles hear his quetion as a request for information about ultimate salvation. Did they mishear? No, not really. They answered the question according to the realm of knowledge where they had expertise, and they gave him an unequivocal answer. When Paul and Silas took his question in one way, he continued the line of thought they suggested. When we ask a question we frequntly don't know the full scope of exactly what we mean. A suggested answer can actually clarify our question for us. Thus, the "lesson" from the text is that we ought to answer boldy the question we want to answer. The Apostles didn't ask him to clarify his question. They responded with what was on their minds.

So, the next scene takes us to his house. Just as Lydia took the Apostles home immediately so they could share the message with and baptize her entire household, so the Philippian jailer does the same. Notice the verbs that are used. They speak, they ask, they eat, they rejoice. Perhaps the last of these verbs pervaded all their other activities. First the Apostles addressed the real and deep concern and then the physical pain or comfort that related to the deep concern. The Apostles wanted to solve the problem in all of its dimensions, and they they joined in a fellowship meal together (v. 34).

Conclusion

So many "lessons" leap out at us from this story. (1) Even when one is unjustly treated, go along with the powers that be; (2) Keep the faith even when you don't see where things are leading; (3) God will intervene at the right time with benefits for all; (4) when person is in need and asks an ambigious question, don't always feel you have to clarify the question. Answer first from your strength; (5) Deal with the substantial issue first before you deal with its surface forms; (6) Celebrate and relax; (7) And, finally, give thanks and praise to God, the living God, throughout it all.

Now, don't you think this is a very interesting story?

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