Struggling
An intriguing reading and lesson, just to cite a few points.
We are sorry for the abused slave girl, and shocked that a person could be treated so.
That a prison guard would commit suicide over prisoners escaping would have been logical because, as we saw in Acts 12, Herod had guards put to death when Peter escaped overnight, and such execution likely was not easy and merciful. Paul & Silas show mercy and kindness toward the prison guard in not simply walking away after the earthquake.
Nowhere in his own extant writings does Paul say he is a Roman citizen. And I suppose it would be human nature to demand an official and public apology for being treated as they were; but every time I read this, Luke's presentation in Acts 16 has always made Paul seem somehow, disappointingly, lacking the humility that I might've expected of him; I don't know if anyone else has ever had that feeling.
Of course, though, setting the stage early of Paul being a Roman citizen would have been essential later to Paul's appeal to Caesar that led to his final missionary journey, to Rome.
Perhaps Luke's most important lesson in this little account is the guard asking, "What must I do to be saved?" and Paul answering, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved," literally, "Have faith in the Lord Jesus." Something in me, maybe in my upbringing, always makes me uneasy about the question and answer process, "Are you saved?" I'm never quite sure just what that means, either in Acts 16 to the jailer, or to Paul exactly, or to Luke the author, or indeed for myself. The word is σῴζω save, heal, preserve, cure, make well and I struggle with it. Must I do something, or just accept, or must I keep my "I will, with God's help" part of my baptismal covenant? And then saved to what? It has varied in the church from age to age, believer by believer, and I'm not into the formula I used to hear from Jerry Falwell, "as sure for heaven as if you were already there." So I'm struggling; I feel that I do know what it means to Paul in his writings; but I don't know, am not certain, what it means here to Luke for Paul, or to the jailer, or for me. I did like the answer one of my young parishioners gave when, in an evangelical, fundamentalist setting, the church elders demanded of him, "Are you saved?" and young Blake said "Yes." And they demanded of him "When were you saved?" and his answer, "On Good Friday afternoon two thousand years ago."
Anyway, here's the map again, to help keep us in perspective. They seem to be in Philippi.
Acts 16:16-40
Paul and Silas in Prison
One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, ‘These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation.’ She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ‘I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And it came out that very hour.
But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market-place before the authorities. When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, ‘These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe.’ The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, ‘Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.’ The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’
They answered, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.
When morning came, the magistrates sent the police, saying, ‘Let those men go.’ And the jailer reported the message to Paul, saying, ‘The magistrates sent word to let you go; therefore come out now and go in peace.’ But Paul replied, ‘They have beaten us in public, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they going to discharge us in secret? Certainly not! Let them come and take us out themselves.’ The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens; so they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. After leaving the prison they went to Lydia’s home; and when they had seen and encouraged the brothers and sisters there, they departed.
We are sorry for the abused slave girl, and shocked that a person could be treated so.
That a prison guard would commit suicide over prisoners escaping would have been logical because, as we saw in Acts 12, Herod had guards put to death when Peter escaped overnight, and such execution likely was not easy and merciful. Paul & Silas show mercy and kindness toward the prison guard in not simply walking away after the earthquake.
Nowhere in his own extant writings does Paul say he is a Roman citizen. And I suppose it would be human nature to demand an official and public apology for being treated as they were; but every time I read this, Luke's presentation in Acts 16 has always made Paul seem somehow, disappointingly, lacking the humility that I might've expected of him; I don't know if anyone else has ever had that feeling.
Of course, though, setting the stage early of Paul being a Roman citizen would have been essential later to Paul's appeal to Caesar that led to his final missionary journey, to Rome.
Perhaps Luke's most important lesson in this little account is the guard asking, "What must I do to be saved?" and Paul answering, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved," literally, "Have faith in the Lord Jesus." Something in me, maybe in my upbringing, always makes me uneasy about the question and answer process, "Are you saved?" I'm never quite sure just what that means, either in Acts 16 to the jailer, or to Paul exactly, or to Luke the author, or indeed for myself. The word is σῴζω save, heal, preserve, cure, make well and I struggle with it. Must I do something, or just accept, or must I keep my "I will, with God's help" part of my baptismal covenant? And then saved to what? It has varied in the church from age to age, believer by believer, and I'm not into the formula I used to hear from Jerry Falwell, "as sure for heaven as if you were already there." So I'm struggling; I feel that I do know what it means to Paul in his writings; but I don't know, am not certain, what it means here to Luke for Paul, or to the jailer, or for me. I did like the answer one of my young parishioners gave when, in an evangelical, fundamentalist setting, the church elders demanded of him, "Are you saved?" and young Blake said "Yes." And they demanded of him "When were you saved?" and his answer, "On Good Friday afternoon two thousand years ago."
Anyway, here's the map again, to help keep us in perspective. They seem to be in Philippi.
Acts 16:16-40
Paul and Silas in Prison
One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, ‘These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation.’ She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ‘I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And it came out that very hour.
But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market-place before the authorities. When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, ‘These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe.’ The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, ‘Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.’ The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’
They answered, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.
When morning came, the magistrates sent the police, saying, ‘Let those men go.’ And the jailer reported the message to Paul, saying, ‘The magistrates sent word to let you go; therefore come out now and go in peace.’ But Paul replied, ‘They have beaten us in public, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they going to discharge us in secret? Certainly not! Let them come and take us out themselves.’ The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens; so they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. After leaving the prison they went to Lydia’s home; and when they had seen and encouraged the brothers and sisters there, they departed.