Introduction
In Part I[1]We learned of Paul's call to preach in Macedonia. In his Second Missionary Journey, he, along with Timothy and Silas, traveled to the Macedonian city of Phillipi. There he met Lydia, a purple fabrics merchant from Thyatira, to whom he preached the Word of Christ. Upon her belief in the Lord, she and her household were baptized (Acts 16:14-15).
Paul Casts a Demon From a Slave Girl
After the conversion of Lydia, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met them. She followed the company for many days, saying, “These men are bondservants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.”
Luke says, “Paul was greatly annoyed” by this and eventually “turned and said to the spirit, ‘I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!’” There are various possibilities as to why Paul was annoyed, but perhaps the following by James Burton Coffman is the best explanation:
Paul's problem was simple, but difficult as well. The slave-masters who were exploiting this alleged soothsayer were making a lot of money out of her. They knew she was a fraud, else they would have believed it when she identified Luke and Paul and company as servants of the Most High God showing the right way of salvation. Paul therefore knew that if he cast the demon out of her, there would be a sharp conflict with the evil men who owned her. He delayed acting as long as he properly could, hoping perhaps that she would desist; but when she continued, Paul cast the demon out. He, even as the Lord, could not afford an endorsement of one so clearly evil; and furthermore, any sign or miracle that Paul might have performed would have been seized upon by the masters of the girl in an effort to exploit such to their own benefit.
Paul and Silas Are Beaten and Imprisoned
When Paul cast the evil spirit from the slave girl, it angered her owners because they realized that the hope of their financial gain was gone. They seized Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities, and claimed, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews, 21 and are proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans.”
Of course, that was not the thing that angered these Philippians. They were angry, as the text says, because they “saw that their hope of profit was gone” (verse 19). As Joe Hisle writes:
It is easily noted, in the priorities of wicked men, that one may insult their moral character, slander their name, impugn their ethics with little or no consequences; but, if one wants to avoid trouble, he does not touch their moneybag! The spirit of Demetrius the silversmith (19:24-32) is alive and well in Philippi, even as it is in our world today. Gone with the evil spirit is the potential for financial gain[2].
With no formal trial or regard for the rule of law, the magistrates ripped the clothes off of Paul and Silas and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After they beat them with many blows, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailor to guard them securely. The jailor fastened their feet in the stocks. Here Hisle writes:
It is easy for us to read of such a beating in the insulated surroundings of our civilized lifestyles and not appreciate what really happened. Think of being stripped of all clothing and tied to the whipping post; then, at the hands of one who is an expert in this type of torture, being beaten with a bundle of rods (canes) until the flesh gapes in inflamed welts, blood pours from the wounds, the body cries out in excruciating pain, while the jubilant mob jeers. Three times the Apostle Paul is constrained to suffer thus for his Lord, Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 11:25)[3].
It is now midnight. At this point, most people would have been complaining and questioning if their service to Christ was worth it. Not these men! They were praying and singing hymns of praise to God (verse 25)! I wonder what was in the minds of the prisoners who were listening. In a moment, we will get an idea of what was on the jailer's mind.
The Conversion of the Philippian Jailor
Luke writes in verse 26:
Suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that e foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains were unfastened.
Luke continues in verse 27, “When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.” The reason that the jailer was about to kill himself is because of the penalty under Roman law for a jailer or prison guard to allow a prisoner to escape. Hisle comments concerning the fate of the sixteen soldiers who failed to keep Peter, who had been imprisoned by Herod, incarcerated (Acts 12):
These sixteen soldiers are examined for an explanation as to the escape of Peter. This examination often involved hideous forms of torture in hopes of getting the truth out of the guards. One can only pity these poor soldiers, as they can give no explanation. They are not derelict in their duties; they do all that is humanly possible to contain Peter. Luke gives the reason for the deliverance of Peter, a reason no man can thwart: "the Lord brought him forth!"
This jailer in Phillipi feared such a torturous death and considered suicide a much better alternative. But Luke continues, “But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!’”(verse 28). Paul desired no revenge for the vicious treatment inflicted on Silas and himself, but quickly intervened to prevent the jailer’s suicide.
The jailer’s response is rapid. Luke writes, “And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas…” (verse 29). The jailer then asked the most important question ever asked by mankind, “What must I do to be saved?” (verse 29). He was not asking how to be saved from the penalty of allowing the prisoners to escape. He is asking how to be saved from the consequences of his sins. He now knows that Paul and Silas are preachers of salvation. The question, with slight variations, is asked three times in the book of Acts, given the same answer with only minor variations. Hisle lists these with their accompanying passages of scripture (KJV):
- "Men and brethren, what shall we do" (2:37)?
"Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins" (2:38). - "What doth hinder me to be baptized" (8:36)?
"If thou believest ... thou mayest" (8:37).
"... he baptized him" (8:38). - "Sirs, what must I do to be saved" (16:30)?
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" (16:31).
He "was baptized" (16:33).
Notice that, in the first example, believers in Christ were told to “Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins.” In the second example, a believer recognized that he must be baptized. In the third example, a non-believer was told to believe, and, upon his belief, was baptized. Baptism was given as a part of the answer to the question, “What must I do to be saved?” There is no example of salvation in the book of Acts, or anywhere else in the New Testament, in which baptism is not a requirement for salvation, including here in Acts 16.
When the jailer asked, “What must I do to be saved?” Paul answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:30-31). Though he told him to believe in the Lord, that is not the end of the story. Luke continues, “And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house” (verse 32). Back in Chapter 8, Philip preached “Jesus” to the Ethiopian who soon asked, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” (Acts 8:35-36). This shows that the necessity of baptism is a part of preaching Jesus. Here in Acts 16, the same is true. When “they spoke the word of the Lord to him,” Luke tells us, “And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway” (Acts 16:32-33).
Remember, this was long past midnight; Paul and Silas had been severely beaten, thrown into prison, and shackled, and preached the word of the Lord to the jailer and his household. Yet there was no hesitation on the part of the jailer to be baptized, or for Paul to baptize him! Such was the case with every example of conversion in the book of Acts – believers were immediately baptized.
In both examples of conversion here in Acts 16, Lydia and her household and the Philippian jailor and his household, the word of the Lord was preached and those who believed were immediately baptized. Baptism is necessary for salvation (Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:21).
Have you been baptized for the remission of your sins? Why not let us assist you in doing so?