Written by: Paul & Sheelagh Easby

Acts 16 v 25-26
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing songs to God as the other prisoners listened. Suddenly, there was a strong earthquake that shook the foundation of the jail. Then all the doors of the jail broke open, and all the prisoners were freed from their chains.

Notes
Paul and his travelling companion, Silas, were in trouble. On their latest walking tour taking in Turkey, Greece, and much more!! they had managed as usual to annoy some of the local residents, were arrested, brought before the magistrates, ‘severely flogged’, and thrown into the innermost prison in Philippi, being secured, so it was thought, for the night, (see earlier part of Acts 16.)

Have you ever been in prison? I hope not! But my guess is that you may have been in a sticky situation or two, when you felt afraid or didn’t know what to do! I wonder what you did?

Paul and Silas ‘entertained’ their fellow prisoners by “praying and singing songs to God”. Yikes! were they crazy or something? Well, actually Paul had been in this sort of position before, and he would be again, (see 2 Corinthians 11 v 23-29.) Such was his faith and his trust in God to rescue him that he was able to witness to Him in the most dire circumstances. And sure enough God answered in an incredible way. The earthquake was just of the right number on the Richter scale, to shake the foundations of the jail, spring open all the doors, and free not only Paul and Silas, but all the other prisoners from their chains. 

What a lesson for us! Pray and trust in God, and the earth will move!

Acts 16 v 27-28
The jailer woke up and saw that the jail doors were open. Thinking that the prisoners had already escaped, he got his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul shouted, “Don’t hurt yourself! We are all here.”

Notes
CATASTROPHE! “There’s been an earthquake.”
“It’s OK though, the wife and kids aren’t hurt, and the house is still standing.”
But no. DISASTER! “The prison doors are all open and the prisoners I’m meant to be guarding are all free.”
DESPAIR! “The authorities will kill me for this. I’ll kill myself and save them the trouble.”

So went the down-up-down-down life of the jailer in Philippi who was in charge of Paul and Silas. And such was his desperation that he could think of no way out of it other than to end his life. 

Sadly in 21st century society in Britain several people every week decide that they can’t cope with what life throws at them. Tragically they don’t think anyone can help them and they actually do commit suicide. 

Gladly for the jailer there was somebody there. Paul’s influence on the rest of the prisoners was such that they hadn’t run away to claim their freedom, and he shouted out, “Don’t hurt yourself! We are all here.” 

Over the next few days we shall be hearing the up-up-up in that man’s life. But for each of us there are two challenges. 

Firstly, if we are ever getting to the point of absolute desperation, Jesus is always there – His last earthly promise was, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age,” (Matthew 28 v20). AND – there is always one of his followers somewhere near who will help us, if we will only ask.

Secondly, you and I need to be on the look-out for people we know, who are becoming depressed and desperate. AND – God will use us to be those who bring His love and comfort and peace to those in need. 

Acts 16 v 29-31
The jailer told someone to bring a light. Then he ran inside and, shaking with fear, fell down before Paul and Silas. He brought them outside and said, “Men, what must I do to be saved?”
They said to him, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved—you and all the people in your house.” 

Notes
When the huge, brand-new cruise liner, the Titanic hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage on the 14th April 1912, and sank taking with it 1513 passengers and crew, the desperate cries from the tilting deck were, “Save me!” There was no doubt in the minds of those who were relatively safe in the lifeboats what their friends needed to be saved from. 

Those hearing the similar cry from the man in charge of the jail at Philippi after the earthquake had ripped open his jail and released all the prisoners, may have been less sure what he wanted saving from. Was it the prisoners themselves wanting to take their revenge? Was it from authorities who would certainly want to know what had happened to his prisoners? Or could it possibly be something to do with those two crazy prisoners who had spent the first part of the night singing and praising a man called Jesus?

The light which he was holding illuminates the scene and shows that it was of course the latter of these possibilities. The hapless man had obviously heard about Paul’s teaching and witnessed their faith, and so he was now desperate to receive help for his life. Paul and Silas were able to give him the answer which is valid for all people, for all time, and in every conceivable situation, shipwreck, earthquake, tragedy, illness, bereavement, everyday life – “Believe in the Lord Jesus and YOU will be saved!”

Acts 16 v 32-34
So Paul and Silas told the message of the Lord to the jailer and all the people in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took Paul and Silas and washed their wounds. Then he and all his people were baptized immediately. After this the jailer took Paul and Silas home and gave them food. He and his family were very happy because they now believed in God.

Notes
“The time is 2am. There has been an earthquake. The prison I am meant to be guarding has been damaged and all the cell doors are open. What shall I do?

I know I’ll invite the two chief prisoners to come and meet my family and we’ll have tea and cakes together. In any case the other prisoners seem to have been convinced not to escape ….. and …… yippee! I’ve become a Christian.” 

What a change in a man’s life! Whereas the previous evening he had thrown Paul and Silas into the cell and secured them in the stocks, without so much as a glance at their wounds, (they had been stripped, beaten, and severely flogged, Acts 16 v22-24), now the transformed man washed their wounds and cared for their needs. 

Paul knew when a response was prompted by the action of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life, so he asked the man and his whole family about their belief in God. No doubt after some questioning and discussion, they all agreed to accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord and were baptised. It is almost as if Luke, the writer of Acts, adds a little postscript.

‘P.S. He and his family were very happy, because they now believed in God.’ 
Again, two challenges for us.

Firstly, to be willing to accept all that God wants to do in our lives, with Jesus as our personal Saviour and Living Lord.

Secondly, to be ready and willing at any time to share ‘the message of the Lord’. St. Peter in his first letter expresses it in these words, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have”, (1 Peter 3 v15).

Yes, LORD!

Acts 16 v 35-36
The next morning, the Roman officers sent the police to tell the jailer, “Let these men go free.”
The jailer said to Paul, “The officers have sent an order to let you go free. You can leave now. Go in peace.”

Notes
Have you ever woken up the morning after and thought to yourself, “What on earth happened last night?” We won’t go into any details as to why you might be thinking that. Suffice to say, that you might be thinking, “Oh, yes!” On the other hand you might be thinking, “Oh, no!”

‘The next morning …..’, (and if you have missed out on the earlier part of the story, you need to read Acts 16 v22-34,) the authorities were in a ‘Oh, no!’ state, and realised either that they had made a mistake, or that they had punished Paul and Silas enough. Regardless, they sent word to the jailer, who was now, Paul and Silas’s best friend, to set them free.

His had definitely been an ‘Oh, yes!’ night. Sixteen or so hours earlier, he had been your typical cruel jail keeper, paid by the Romans, ordered around by the Greek authorities and everyone else, drifting from day to day and trying to keep his head above water.

This morning ….. he now knew the reason for life – to be a son of the living God, living in love and friendship with his family and everyone else around him. He had found freedom in its true sense, and how delighted he must have been to offer to his new friends freedom in a bodily sense, and note the evidence of his changed personality, “Go in peace.”

For those of us who seem to be having too many, ‘Oh, no!’ next mornings, can I suggest that we take hold of Jesus’ words recorded by His best friend John, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed,” John 8 v36. Then we shall know true peace, see John 14 v27.

Acts 16 v 37-39
But Paul said to the police, “They beat us in public without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens. And they threw us in jail. Now they want to make us go away quietly. No! Let them come themselves and bring us out.”
The police told the Roman officers what Paul said. When the officers heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were afraid. So they came and told Paul and Silas they were sorry and took them out of jail and asked them to leave the city.

Notes (291)
Consequences and eating humble pie! 
It is a fact of life that sometimes people foul up, say something or do something which is quite wrong, and have to ask for forgiveness and try to make amends.

Paul and Silas had been badly treated by the authorities in Philippi. They had been beaten and flogged and thrown in jail, but God had used the situation in a wonderful way to change the life of the jailer and his family, (see verses 22 to 36, if you haven’t already read them.)

Now, the officers were beginning to realise their mistakes, and Paul piled on the pressure, insisting on an apology. The officers really were afraid when they realised the extent of their error, they had punished men who were Roman citizens. Not that being Romans put them above the law, but sadly in the society of the time it did ensure an easier passage, and so they came grovelling. We don’t have all the details, but the end result for the apostles was that they were finally free to go, and resume their travels in the name of the Lord.
As with some of our earlier readings, there are two lessons for us.

Firstly, as Christians it really is OK to stand up for our rights, we are not called to be doormats. In Jesus’s name and through the power of His Holy Spirit, we should speak up and stand up for what we know to be right for ourselves and for other people as well.

Secondly, when we foul up, and foul up we will! We need to be big enough to ask for forgiveness, from God and from the person we have offended, and make amends as best we can.

Acts 16 v 40
So when they came out of the jail, they went to Lydia’s house where they saw some of the believers and encouraged them. Then they left.

Notes
St Paul was an incredible guy! He had just experienced whipping, been thrown into jail, survived an earthquake, had to confront the authorities and demand an apology, be chucked out of the city of Philippi, and in the middle, lead a whole family to commit their lives to Jesus. Yet before he goes, he wants to visit some of his friends and ‘encourage them’. 

I’m sure if I had been through half of what he had, I would want to get out of that place as soon as I could. Paul and his companions had met Lydia a few days earlier and had spent some time at her house, see Acts 16 v13-15. She, like the Philippian jailer and his family, had become a Christian. Her faith is remembered not only in these verses in Acts, but by a beautiful church and baptism site, near to the ancient ruins of Philippi in Greece.

So Paul pays another short visit, gives further encouragement, and then moves on to Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, just a few hundred miles by foot!

On each of his journeys, Paul took one or more companions, and if he stopped at a place for any length of time, he would often write a letter to one of the other churches. And how often in his writings, we read of his encouragement to that individual or church. Check out 1 Timothy 4 v12, 1 Thessalonians 4 v1, Philippians 4 v19, and many more you can search out for yourself. These are words we can apply to our lives today and every day as we follow the path that our Lord has mapped out for us. They are- words and behaviour that we can pass on as we encourage others, as the Lord encourages us.

Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!


word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes