Acts 16:16-40

Philippi

Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail is one of the iconic stories of the ministry of Paul. Here are some random thoughts on this passage.

“The magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.” This is a remarkable passage considering that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. We discover later that all they had to do was to announce their Roman citizenship and all of the madness would have stopped. There would have been no severe flogging and no being placed in stocks. But they didn’t take advantage of this position. Why?

Well, had their been no flogging and imprisonment there would have been no opportunity to minister salvation to the jailer and his family. Did Paul and Silas know this? No. All they knew was that for some reason the Holy Spirit was keeping them from defending themselves in this matter. As followers of Christ there is a higher claim on our lives than comfort or even self protection. This doesn’t mean that we never claim our rights. To take such a position would cut the Holy Spirit out of the equation. This does mean that the only real question in any situation is, “What is God saying?”

Far from grumbling and complaining about their situation Paul and Silas are praying and singing hymns. There were so many reasons to complain. They had done a good thing for this girl, and were punished for it. Where was God? Why didn’t He protect them? This is not only painful and uncomfortable but also unjust! Of course! This is an excellent time to break out a few hymns. You have gotta love this.

Here we see a few more baptisms. Again we see the same pattern we have seem before. A person gets saved. That person gets baptized right away. That person is baptized by the one who shared the gospel with them.

I love the touch at the end. “When they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city.” This is just a reminder that no matter how things appear to be playing out presently in the end those who put their faith in God will be gloriously vindicated.