June 01, 2023 | Be On Mission
Paul & Silas are Beaten and Jailed
Scripture: Acts 16:16-40(NIV)
16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and 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.
19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”
22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.
35 When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” 36 The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”
37 But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”
38 The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. 39 They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. 40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.
Devotional
Previously when Paul and his companions went to the place of prayer by the river, they met Lydia and won her to Christ. This time they met a completely different kind of woman. Lydia was a wealthy business owner. This woman was a nameless, fortune-telling slave. She made a pile of money for her owners, until Paul commanded the evil, fortune-telling spirit to come out of her.
For Paul and Silas, things went from bad to worse. They were seized, stripped, flogged, and imprisoned in the inner cell, with their legs secured in the wooden stocks. They couldn’t even stand up. Their response? They prayed and sang to God! I’m not saying that their singing was bad, but the chains came loose, the stocks released their legs, the prison doors flew open, and the foundation of the prison was shaken to its foundation by a severe earthquake. God had spoken!
That’s when things went from bad to worse… for the jailer. Escaped prisoners meant execution of the jailer. Facing certain death, he asked Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” He wanted to know what he needed to do to be saved physically, but the evangelists told him what he needed to do to be saved spiritually: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household” (v. 31). So the jailer took the prisoners to his own home where he was baptized and came to “believe in God—he and his whole household” (v. 33-34). Christian homes were being established throughout Philippi, one at a time.
Paul and Silas accompanied the jailer back to prison, so that he would not be executed. The city officials ended up releasing them from prison because they had been illegally flogged without a proper Roman trial. They went free, and the jailer was free to worship Jesus along with his whole household. The Christian movement in Philippi was underway!
Poem
Be Prepared
When you go on a picnic
Be prepared for the meal
A blanket, a basket
Handheld food, lots to drink
You might also need
Ant deterrent, bug spray
A day to enjoy
Be prepared in this way
When you go on a hike
Be prepared for the trek
A backpack, a map
Sturdy shoes, lots to drink
You might also need
First aid kit, mole skin
A way to succeed
Be prepared in this way
When a servant of God
Be prepared for the test
Hymns in mind, scriptured heart
Determined prayer, faithful stand
You might also need
Prayer warriors, anointing
A day to prove
Be prepared in this way
