In the Philippian Jail
TRANSLATION
(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 great earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. Immediately, all the doors flew open, and all restraints were loosened. (27) When the jailor woke up and saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped. (28) But Paul called with a loud voice, “Do yourself no harm! We are all here.” (29) The jailer called for lights and rushed in, and, trembling with fear, fell at the feet of Paul and Silas. (30) He then brought them outside and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (31) They answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (32) Then they spoke the Word of the Lord to him along with all who were in his house. (33) He took them that very hour of the night and washed their stripes. He was then baptized, he and all his family. (34) Then he brought them into his house, set food before them, and rejoiced together with his entire household that they had believed in God.
(35) In the morning, the magistrates sent their officers with this message: “Release these men.” (36) The jailor told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered me to release you. Now you are free to leave. Go in peace.” (37) However, Paul said to him, “They have publicly flogged us without a trial, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison. Do they now intend to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.” (38) The officers reported these words to the magistrates who were frightened when they heard that they were Roman citizens. (39) They came and apologized to them and, when they had escorted them out, they begged them to leave the city. (40) After leaving the prison, they entered Lydia’s house. Once they had met with the believers and encouraged them, they departed.
OBSERVATIONS
In this part of Chapter 16 Luke continued describing the miracles that accompanied the founding of the church in Philippi. Several key repetitions lead us to its essential message. The combination of “Paul and Silas” occurred twice (vss. 25 & 29) while Paul’s name appeared three times alone (vss. 28, 36, & 37). “Prisoners” is found twice (vss. 25 & 27) while “prison” occurred four times (vss. 26, 27, 37, & 40). “Jailer” was used three times (vss. 27, 29, & 36). “Saved” (vss. 30 & 31), “household” (vss. 31 & 34), “his house” (vss. 32 & 34), “officers” (vss. 35 & 38), “Roman citizens” (vss. 37 & 38), are all found twice while “magistrates” (vss. 35, 36, & 38) occurred three times.
OUTLINE
I. Paul and Silas were miraculously freed from their restraints by an earthquake. (25-28)
II. When the jailer desperately asked how he could be saved, Paul and Silas led him and his entire household to faith and baptized them. (29-34)
III. When Philippi’s magistrates tried to release them quietly, Paul demanded a public apology for their having illegally beaten a Roman citizen. (35-39)
IV. After encouraging the believers in Lydia’s house, Paul and Silas departed from Philippi. (40)
IDEA STATEMENT
God worked miraculously through Paul’s and Silas’ imprisonment to establish a church in Philippi.
APPLICATION
What at first appears to be a roadblock to the work of the Lord will often turn out to be the very means of accomplishing his will. This was certainly true during the weeks Paul and Silas spent in Philippi. When they were thrown into jail for having delivered the slave girl of her demon, it seemed a serious setback. However, God used their deliverance from prison to bring the jailer and his family to faith and provide a great testimony of divine power to the entire city. As a result of these events, a fellowship of Philippian believers was successfully planted and greatly encouraged.
Several years later Paul would write his epistle to the church in Philippi during his confinement in Rome. As we read these words, we cannot help but think about his previous imprisonment in Philippi and how his confidence in God must have resonated in the hearts of those who read his letter: “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ” (Phil. 1:12 & 13). Like Paul, we can rest assured that our God “always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere” no matter what opposition we may be facing (2 Cor. 2:14).