Unwavering Joy - Acts 16:16-40

Unwavering Joy

Introduction.

Not only journeys turn out the way it seems from the get go. On our way to the Highlands this past week, we decided to listen to JRR Tolkein’s “The Hobbit.” One of the great things about audio books is picking up on details you miss in the first couple of read throughs. When the dwarves of Thorin’s Folk arrive to the quaint village of Hobbiton in the Shire, Bilbo is presented with a critical decision. Should he stay in his cozy home under the hill? Or, should he travel with Thorin and company to seek the Lonely Mountain and the treasure that lies within. The “Tookish” part of Bilbo obliges to meet the grew at the Prancing Pony wherein they are off on their journey.

We could imagine Bilbo’s surprise in leaving the Shire and experiencing the vastness of an unexplored world. The journey, however, would come with a wide range of events that were not thought of amidst the cool damp, scarcely lit, Hobbit-hole that Bilbo left. His journey would be wrought with dealings with trolls, storms, perils, goblins, wolves, a ride on eagles, giant spiders, and eventually an encounter with the great dragon Smaug. Bilbo’s journey did not begin as it finished.

Paul’s second missionary journey also did not turn out the way he probably imagined. In Acts 16:6 “And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.” Perhaps Paul thought to himself, “the Holy Spirit must be urging us to go elsewhere for fear of the many perils that lie in Asia.” Even arriving in Philippi, he encounters Lydia and other converts through his ministry. Yet the journey in Philippi is just beginning and is ripe with the persecutions to come. Yet, Paul is unwavering in his own joy.

(1) a joy found in persecution (vv. 16-24)

Paul goes throughout the market in Philippi and is followed by a demon-possessed woman. The text says she has a “spirit of divination.” Paul, being a studied Jew, would no that divination was not to be practiced and was an abomination to the Lord. As Moses writes in Leviticus 19:31 ““Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.” We know that this woman brought about a plethora of wealth to her masters.

“The Greek text literally reads “a python spirit.” That designation derives from Greek mythology, in which the Python was a snake that guarded the famous oracle at Delphi. Eventually, the Python was killed by Apollo, the god of prophecy. Since it was believed that Apollo spoke through the oracle at Delphi, the term “python” came to refer to anyone in contact with Apollo. In modern terms, she was a medium in contact with demons.”

- John F. MacArthur Jr., Acts, vol. 2, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1994), 96.

Even today, we have those who practice a form of divination. Self-proclaimed apostles and prophets of the charismatic movement have often been claiming to have this divination and practice it, although it has been proven to be false. A mere parlor trick of using social media and the practices of searching for information to pretend to have this gift. Paul warns the church in 2 Corinthians 11:13–14 “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” The Lord abhors it.

Paul’s encounter with this woman is much like Jesus’s encounter with demons. The woman cries out saying “These men are servants of the Most High God. James tells us that James 2:19 “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!” Jesus likewise deals with this similar issue. Mark 1:34 “And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.” Luke 4:41 “And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.”

The attack from Satan to thwart the church in Philippi continues for many days as the text says. Luke records that Paul becomes annoyed by what this demonically possessed woman was speaking. Though we do not know the particulars it was more than likely an attempt to subvert Paul’s proclamation of the Gospel. In a way of demonstrating his authority and power as an apostle, Paul exclaims “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” The immediacy of Paul’s rebuke results in the woman being freed from the spiritual bondage of the demon and freed.

Unfortunately for Paul, as it would seem, her owners witness this occurence and take Paul and Silas to the marketplace before the rulers and authorities. The persecution of Silas and Paul begins. The slave owners appeal to Roman law stating that it is unlawful to practice such evangelism. The result is that the crowd attacks Paul and Silas beating them with rods. After they had “inflicted many blows upon them” they were thrown into prison and placed into the stocks.

This is only a taste of what Paul will eventually go through for the sake of the Gospel. 2 Corinthians 11:23–29 “Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?”

It is ironic that Paul had indeed freed this woman from the oppression of the enemy and now he was the one in chains and bondage. Often our attempts to help those who need it comes with a price. How often do we proclaim the Gospel to others only to receive lashings from the tongue or physical beatings because of it?

Paul’s attitude is Christ-like. He still experiences joy amidst such persecution. When writing to the church in Philippi, Philippians 1:3–4 “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy,” Paul reflects upon the good and the bad knowing that God works all things according to his purposes and his will. Perhaps Paul was reminded of the words of Jesus in John 15:18 ““If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.”

Often those in the world project their hatred of Christ upon believers instead. What should our response be? Joy in persecution which is found in Christ Jesus our Lord

(2) a joy found in proclamation (vv. 25-34)

Charles Simeon opens his commentary on this passage writing, “Various are the ways in which God effects the conversion of sinners to himself.”[1] Pentecost was marked by a great and powerful movement of the Spirit. The conversion of Paul was nothing short of extraordinary. Lydia’s conversion prior to this passage was simple. And now the conversion of the jailer occurs by a powerful earthquake accompanied by a simple, succinct, and easily digestible message, “Believe in the Lord Jesus.”

This is a means of grace passage. The key elements are prayer, the preaching of the Word, and the sacrament of baptism. Demonstrates the effectiveness of these basic and fundamental elements of worship. [1] Charles Simeon, Horae Homileticae: John XIII to Acts, vol. 14 (London: Holdsworth and Ball, 1833), 456.

If you were curious as to whether or not Paul and Silas were joyful, Luke records that while in prison they were praying and singing hymns to God. Think about the effect Paul and Silas’s joyful proclamation had on others who were in prison. Why in the world would they be singing and praying? They should be crying out in agony from the pain. We are told similarly that the prisoners were listening to them proclaiming these wondrous things of the Lord. Not many know the extent of what Paul and Silas were singing, I would fall in the camp that they were singing “Be Thou My Vision” the greatest hymn ever written, but that is beside the point.

Paul and Silas were in the stocks. They were likely bound by hand and foot so as to prevent any form of escape. We perhaps imagine them being merely sitting loftily in a prison cell, yet the Romans were bent on ensuring their prisoners remained in the prison. It is no wonder that Luke makes note of this sovereign rescue by the Creator of all things via the miraculous earthquake upon the prison foundations.

In any other circumstance, Paul and Silas should not have been joyfully singing and praying. The ESV translates the passage as singing hymns but other translations merely note that they were singing songs of praise. They were simply singing and praying. This posture was critical in their personal rejoicing despite erroneously being thrown into prison.

Paul explains this joy in Romans 5.3, “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

James, the half-brother of Jesus likewise reminds us, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (1.2ff)

Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

[Illustration]

Peter Jasek, a Czech missionary to Sudan, spend 445 days in prison on charges of espionage for sharing the Gospel. He shared a prison cell with members of ISIS and other terrorist organizations. He knew suffering, yet he knew Christ. The Lord used him through his prayerfulness and joy amidst suffering to lead 40 guards to faith in Christ.

[Application]

John Chrysostom asks a simple question in his commentary on this passage, “Do you mark what a blessing tribulation is?”[1] What is your posture when tribulation comes? Are you quick to rejoice in the Lord or quick to despondency? Our posture should be the same as Paul and Silas’ for theirs is equal to their Lord’s who came, humbled himself, and sought the will of the Father despite his own unnecessary persecution.

(B) Joy in preaching and evangelism (16:27-32)

“When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house”

[Explanation]

The jailer presumed that the only option for allowing a prisoner escape was suicide.[2] Honor and duty to one’s country were now abandoned as the prison cells were opened.

It is a bit ironic that Paul and Silas were bound inside the Roman cell yet they were more free in Christ Jesus than anyone else in the prison. Conversely, the Roman soldier was the one who was truly bound by his spiritual darkness, his deadness in sins, and his abhorrence for the Lord Almighty. Yet, this is reversed. Paul and Silas are not truly the ones who are freed but the Roman soldier is freed.

Sometimes we think that great signs and miracles are sufficient to bring us to saving faith. But even when confronted with the earthquake and cataclysmic event, the Roman jailer asks one simple question. He asks pointedly, “What must I do to be saved?” The answer is simple, “Believe in the Lord Jesus.” There is a guarantee of salvation upon belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of all men. The effects are also greater than what we often realize. The extension of salvation is to his household as well. The Roman soldier as the head of his household and now a member of the invisible church extends the benefits thereof to his entire family as well.

Look also at the role of man in salvation. The jailer was not pursuing Christ. He was not looking for God. He was a Roman soldier, a pagan. He was willing to take his own life. Yet, through Paul and Silas, the Lord used them to bring about this man’s conversion. Not only his conversion, but his household as well. Twice now we have households being included into the covenant community of God through baptism.

Simple and effective. That was Paul’s message to the jailer. We do not need to come up with fancy words, or elaborate evangelistic tactics to convince people to come to Christ, we simply pronounce the truth “Believe in the Lord Jesus.” This echoes Christ’s own words in Mark 1.15, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Are you living a simple Gospel? Are you rejoicing in Christ for all that he has done? Can you like Paul exhort, Philippians 4:11–13 “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

(C) Joy in family conversion (16:33-34)

“And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household.And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with his whole household.”

[Explanation]

The immediacy of conversion is shocking to say the least. This Roman soldier in the short night changed completely. The effect of his conversion is that his entire household now benefits of the love of God. The jailer is recorded as “rejoicing greatly” by the effect of Paul and Silas’ ministry to him. No longer is he and his household bound in the chains of spiritual darkness and paganism which encompassed the Romans but now he was truly unbound and freed to serve Christ.

[Illustration]

“Amendment of life is the best repentance,” says Puritan John Trapp. The Roman jailer went from wrongful persecution of godly men to washing their wounds, receiving the sign of baptism, and serving those whom he once imprisoned.

[Application]

Serving the Lord with all heart, soul, and mind naturally yields tangible fruits of belief and repentance, as demonstrated by the Philippian jailer. Are you likewise exhibiting those tangible fruits? Are you rejoicing that the Lord has saved you and extended that salvation to your household as well?

[1] John Chrysostom, “Homilies of St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, on the Acts of the Apostles,” in Saint Chrysostom: Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistle to the Romans, ed. Philip Schaff, trans. J. Walker et al., vol. 11, A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, First Series (New York: Christian Literature Company, 1889), 223. [2] “For a man brought up to a Roman soldier’s ideals of duty and discipline, only one honorable course was open—suicide” F. F. Bruce, The Book of the Acts, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1988), 317.

(3) a joy found in provision (vv. 35-40)

Providence is a funny thing isn’t it? A while back, in my early theology studies during my undergraduate degree, I read from someone about what he called “providential hindsight.” That is, looking backward to see God’s providence at work all along the way. This is exactly what Paul deals with in a joy found in provision. God provides a way of escape. The prison had been struck with a cataclysmic earthquake and thus Paul and Silas were freed.

Paul also uses his station in life as a means to rebuke the civil magistrates. Unknown to Paul upon his birth, his Roman citizenship would play a crucial role in the spreading of God’s gospel. This privilege that Paul has is exactly the means God uses to bring the Gospel to Rome. Acts 25:11 “If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar.”” Acts 26:32 “And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.””

The apology given represents Paul’s insistence on a public apology from the magistrates (v. 37) is motivated not by a sense of personal insult but by a desire to rehabilitate the gospel’s reputation in Philippi, refuting the slander that it advocates practices unfit for Romans (v. 21). God provides the building blocks for the Church and ensures that the Gospel continues thenceforth.

Paul also circles back to check in on Lydia and the brothers who make up the church. Befitting Acts is Luke’s account of persecution occuring, perseverance for the messengers of the Gospel, and strengthening of the church prior to Paul leaving.

Once again, the Gospel message is going forth to the ends of the earth as Jesus promised. Nothing will stand in its way. Even though Paul, Silas, Barnabas, the other Apostles, and church evangelists will be confronted with persecution, the church will continue. Indeed, it has continued throughout the ages. It has never been thwarted. The Gospel continues to go forth. The ordinary means of grace continue to be the way by which sinners are confronted and convicted of their sin and turn to Christ. Let us continue to put our hope in Jesus Christ for his saving power.