The Second Journey, Part 3: Philippi

Call to Worship

Psalm 97:1–6 “Yahweh reigns, let the earth rejoice; Let the many coastlands be glad. Clouds and thick darkness are all around Him; Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. Fire goes before Him And burns up His adversaries all around. His lightnings light up the world; The earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax at the presence of Yahweh, At the presence of the Lord of all the earth. The heavens declare His righteousness, And all the peoples see His glory.”

Elder: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you!

Consecration

Old Testament Reading

Isaiah 58:1-12

New Testament Reading

1 Corinthians 2:1-16

Sermon: The Second Journey, Part 3: Philippi

Dragon Slaying

We will now have the preaching of God’s Word from the book of Acts (Acts 16:16-40). The theme of this sermon is Dragon Slaying. And the message I want you take away is this: no half-measures, slay your dragons. And this is accomplished by means of Christ’s Word and Spirit.

Introduction

The way that demons are portrayed in the Scripture is quite interesting to consider.

We have the first example of spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12) already in the garden of Eden, where the serpent exercises evil influence over our first parents. This personal being exerts real power over a human, and his intention is purely evil. There is nothing good or neutral about his work; it is wholly directed toward the ruin of God’s image-bearers. While we could easily get lost in the weeds of God’s sovereignty when considering the role of Satan and demons in His providence, we can say this much for our purposes today: demons are fallen spirits with real power and influence who seek to confuse and deceive humanity, turning them away from truth and light.

Other instances throughout Scripture appear where Satan is operating as a deceiver—seeking to draw people away from righteousness:

The book of Job, where Satan is ready to tempt Job away from trust in Yahweh.

In 1 Chronicles 21, Satan stands to incite David to number Israel.

Or when he tempts Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4, Mark 1, Luke 4).

In all of these, he is tempting people away from righteousness.

Other instances throughout Scripture depict Satan, the Adversary, as an accuser. In Zechariah 3 he is standing next to the Angel of Yahweh ready to accuse Joshua the high priest. Jesus warned Peter that Satan desired to “sift him like wheat” (Luke 22:31) and Peter in turn warned the first-century believers that their adversary, the devil, was “seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). This “accuser of the brethren” is finally thrown down in Revelation 12:10 where he is overcome by “the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:11).

And then there are deceiving spirits or lying spirits who are sometimes sent to cause deception and ruin.

Judges 9 – Abimelech wickedly kills his brothers and is made king. But an evil spirit turned Abimelech’s allies against him which eventually led to his skull being crushed by a rock thrown by a woman from a tower (interesting story to consider!). 1 Kings 22 – When a lying spirit convinced the wicked king Ahab to go to his death against the king of Aram.

These are deceptive spirits who lead people into ruin.

And there are spirits that cause terror and raving.

In 1 Samuel 16–18, the Spirit of Yahweh departs from Saul and instead he is terrorized by an evil spirit. This evil spirit stirs up jealousy and murderous thoughts and actions from Saul toward David. And interestingly, the word translated “raving” is a form of “prophesying.” So, there is a prophetic sight: Saul saw God’s will. He knew that God was giving the kingdom to David. He was just stubbornly and jealously resisting that will.

I might put Pharaoh in Egypt in this category as well, since his heart was hardened against the will of Yahweh, and he stubbornly clung to his own way even though he knew what Yahweh wanted. The signs and wonders being performed by the magicians manifested a rival spiritual power to the Angel of Yahweh. There was cosmic battle going on.

And we have already been introduced to this ongoing conflict on numerous occasions in the book of Acts.

The old temple leadership throughout Acts 3–7 was persistently resisting the Spirit’s working—they rebuked, beat, imprisoned, and stoned the witnesses of Yahweh. Then in Acts 8–12 we were introduced to a dragon-figure, breathing out threatenings against God’s people: Saul of Tarsus. And sandwiched in between Saul’s narrative we learn of Simon the sorcerer, who astounded people with his magic. Both of these demon-driven characters were vanquished by the followers of Jesus. But this section ended with Herod laying hands on the church “in order to harm them.” He killed James with the sword and arrested Peter who was miraculously released by an angel. Then during the first missionary journey, Paul and Barnabas do battle with Elymas the magician who was opposing them, which is where Paul received his Gentile name (knighthood): he was no longer called Saul but Paul.

So, this conflict between the sons of the devil and the servants of Yahweh has been on-going and it will be again prominent in our passage today.

I have the passage broken down into three sections which are descriptive:

Conflict with the Serpent (vv. 16–24)

Shaken Foundations (vv. 25–34)

A New Household (vv. 35–40)

We will consider the Word of God, and then I have one point to make which I will introduce now.

When someone is delivered from demons, or to say it another way, when someone is delivered from evil, there are no half-measures. You are either wholly delivered or your situation becomes worse. Consider:

Luke 11:23–26: “He who is not with Me is against Me and he who does not gather with Me, scatters. When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”

So, when a person is delivered, their entire world changes. When the demoniac in Luke 8 is delivered from “Legion,” he becomes clothed and in his right mind. But paradoxically, the locals do not see this as a positive thing.

Alastair Roberts points out that somehow, this man was essential to the normal workings of that region. We will find a similar arrangement in our passage today. The Philippians were using this demon-possessed girl for profit. She was an essential feature of their economy. So, when she is delivered from her sin, it perturbs the locals.

And I see this played out in our own lives very clearly. When we truly deal with sin, our flesh will resist. It does not like it. And when our church is dealing with sin and also extending salvation to the community, delivering people from evil, then that community will resist the progression of light.

Light exposes the works done in darkness, and those who wish to remain in darkness will be like Saul or Pharaoh, wickedly resisting the truth of God. Stubbornly clinging to their sin and misery. Terrorized by an evil spirit or a legion of evil spirits who incite them to evil and harm and ultimately destruction of both body and soul.

This is the cosmic battle that we find ourselves in. It is no different for us than it was for Moses or for Jesus or for Paul. We are fighting the same evil and we have the same God.

But if we are not slaying the dragons in our midst, then we, as a community, will not be slaying the dragons in our society. We must be slaying our own dragons. We must be living in the light. Otherwise, we will be consumed and we will be in the darkness, unable to help anyone who is similarly oppressed, bound, and terrorized by evil spirits and sin.

So, the final point we will consider is: No half-measures, slay your dragons.

Let us pray as we look at God’s Word then I will read each section and give a brief exposition.

Pray.

Conflict with the Serpent (vv. 16–24)

Acts 16:16–24 “Now it happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a servant-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.” And she continued doing this for many days. But being greatly annoyed, Paul turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to leave her!” And it left at that very moment. But when her masters saw that their hope of profit had left, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities, and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews, and are proclaiming customs that are not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans.” And the crowd joined together to attack them, and the chief magistrates, tearing their garments off of them, proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods. And when they had inflicted them with many wounds, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely, who, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.”

The Python Spirit

Spirit of Divination – πνεῦμα πύθωνα – python-spirit, connected to the Delphic serpent, a kind of serpent-spirit.

According to Schreiner, the spirit is labeled a puthōna and could be the snake guarding the oracle of Delphi representing the god Apollo. Apollo was believed to predict future events.

She was a “fortune-teller,” which was a practice forbidden throughout the Old Testament. She is bringing great profit to her masters by means of this demonic spirit. So you can see that the economy of Philippi is, at least at this point, built upon a demon.

I will also point out that this demon-filled girl is proclaiming a true “prophecy.” She is speaking truth, but, presumably, in a manner that was doing harm to the witness of Paul, which exasperated him. This is very similar to Saul who also saw the truth that God was giving the kingdom to David, but he resisted the will of God. His prophetic vision was twisted.

Deliverance in the name of Jesus

So then we see Paul’s response to this demonic statement of truth, and the wording here is funny. It says that Paul commands the spirit to leave her in the name of Jesus, it leaves, and with it their hope of profit. The same verb is used, look at it again: he commands it to “leave her,” it leaves, and then they see that their “hope of profit had left.” This is an implication that the profit of these slave-masters was directly tied to, or built upon, the demon.

We’re kidding ourselves if we believe that systems of commerce in our context are not similarly driven by demonic forces in some instances. The profit (the love of money) is the spirit behind the business. The perspective of these men is not toward their employee (their slave in this case), it was toward the profits that this slave could bring them. And so, when this slave is freed from this bondage, they see that they have now lost a source of income.

Think of it this way: It is similar to a woman who has been led to believe that her only value is in providing money for her pimp by selling her body. This is her purpose and the only thing that she is good for. But along comes someone who, through the gospel, reveals to this woman that she has real value and that she does not need to be enslaved any longer. So she leaves, and with her leaves the potential profit for the pimp who will be outraged. Not because she has “religion,” but because of his lost income. In the same way, these men in Philippi did not see a young woman delivered from bondage; they saw their hope of profit walk away. Their economy was built upon a demon, and when Christ set her free, their business collapsed with it.

This is a graphic depiction in the commentary by Keener:

Acts: An Exegetical Commentary, Volume 3: 15:1–23:35 I. The Slave and Her Exploiters (16:16)

The Pythia’s pronouncements were widely regarded as accurate, and literature testifies to individuals and nations inquiring from and obeying the oracle.

Plutarch...describes...the spirits by a term that came to mean acting as a “ventriloquist,” making one’s voice seem to come from elsewhere, but probably originally meant “pregnant” with the deity, perhaps at least implying speech with a strange voice...

Lucan paints this frenzy most graphically, although he certainly exaggerates; he depicts full possession, Apollo controlling the virgin priestess’s soul and lips (C.W. 5.97–101). Without signs of stirring and divine frenzy, she could be feigning her inspiration; when genuinely possessed, however, her voice would fill the whole cavern; her hair would bristle, and the wreath would rise from her head (5.148–57). Apollo “forced his way into her body,” banishing her thoughts as he seized possession of her; her head tossed, her hair bristled, things were overturned, and the fire of Apollo’s wrath burned inside her. This possession tortured her from within, yielding frenzy and foaming lips, inarticulate panting and groans, wailing, and finally articulate speech (5.165–93).

This is what Paul saved the woman from.

Racial & Cultural Tension

What do they do in response? They point out that this “deliverance” has thrown the entire city into confusion. They explicitly link this confusion with the “Jewishness” of Paul and Silas, and claim that they are subverting their Roman culture (which was apparently enslaving girls for profit).

A young woman is freed from a demon and the response from the culture is to attack the rival Spirit who freed her (“by whose authority have you told my fortuneteller that she doesn’t have to do this?”). Particularly, they are resisting the authority of Jesus Christ, by whose name Paul commanded the spirit to leave the girl.

When framed this way, it becomes clear that there is a clash here, not between Jew and Roman, but between the servants of Satan and the servants of Yahweh. Christ has claimed Philippi as His own. Christ does not allow for taking advantage of the weak for the sake of profit. He commands the spirit to leave. And in response, the servants of the unclean spirit resort to violence and deception, inciting racial tensions.

This is a cosmic war for souls that is ongoing. And now, Paul and Silas find themselves beaten and cast into the innermost prison and placed in stocks.

Shaken Foundations (vv. 25–34)

Acts 16:25–34 “But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. And suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the jailhouse were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. And 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. But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your house.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his household. 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 with his whole household, because he had believed in God.”

The foundations of the jailhouse were shaken

I take this as symbolic. The jailhouse is meant to be a place of confinement, particularly for people that are disrupting this demonic system; traitors to that society. Now, this would likely include some who deserved to be there (murderers, thieves, etc.), but it would also include the servants of rival spirits—and in this case, the servants of Jesus Christ, the King of all the earth and of all spirits.

So, when the foundations of the jailhouse are shaken, the doors open, and the chains are unfastened, I believe that this is a symbolic expression of Christ’s authority. That which is true of the gospel is demonstrated here visibly: when a person believes in Jesus, they believe the promises of God in Him, they are freed from a prison of sin and misery. They are no longer slaves to sin.

Worship

The prisoners were listening to them worship. This jailhouse became a place of prayer.

And, similarly to when they were set apart for the first journey, the Spirit here moves during their worship.

It reminds us that if our relationship to God in Christ is not where it must be for us, then there is no point in doing anything else. Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. If the glory of God and the enjoying of God is not our chief end, then why would we expect the blessing of God?

In this case, despite their circumstances, they knew that they served the King of all the earth, so why would they be perturbed? Rather, the most sensible thing for them to do was to worship and glorify their King.

The Philippian Jailer

And this leads to the miraculous and apparently quite violent earthquake, which not only shook the foundations of the jailhouse, but also shook the jailer, who we are told was “trembling with fear.”

Sometimes, we undergo hardship so that someone else might be saved. Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown in prison, and while there, the jailer, one of their oppressors, is converted with his whole house. The Spirit of God has funny ways of evangelizing and they are not what we would expect!

This is similar to Paul—while persecuting he is converted. Also, every time the old temple community oppressed the apostles in Jerusalem, it turned out for the betterment of the followers of Jesus: they put them in prison and they are miraculously released, they stone them but the message spreads even more rapidly. The efforts of the dragon to undo the purposes of God are worked for good.

The oppression of the dragon leads to the salvation of the dragon’s jailer.

Sacraments

Notice he was immediately baptized with his whole house and they enjoyed food together—because he had believed in God.

The jailer perceived a threat to himself (fear and trembling). Now, I will make an argument that the symbolic shaking of the foundations and opening of the doors was perceived by this jailer as the working of a stronger Spirit and he knew that he was in danger. He just did not know who this Spirit was. So Paul and Silas tell him, they say “believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved,” and they “spoke the word of the Lord to him.” They introduced this dragon’s jailer to the King of all kings, and he immediately switched his allegiance.

He is symbolically washed with water and then sits at peace with God’s people, breaking bread.

And the promise that he will be saved along with his household reminds me of Rahab. Similarly, there were two spies in a rival city. And they told her that if she changed her allegiance, then she and her household would be saved. Now, Paul and Silas are in a rival city, shaking its foundations, and this jailer, like Rahab, has professed his faith in the one true God.

Now let’s see how it turns out:

A New Household (vv. 35–40)

Acts 16:35–40 “Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their policemen, saying, “Release those men.” And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The chief magistrates have sent to release you. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” But Paul said to them, “Having beaten us in public without trial, men who are Romans, they have thrown us into prison. And now are they sending us away secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out.” And the policemen reported these words to the chief magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that they were Romans, and they came and appealed to them, and when they had brought them out, they kept requesting them to leave the city. And they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia, and when they saw the brothers, they encouraged them and left.”

Why did Paul advocate for justice in this case?

One possibility is this: The activities of the slave-girl were in some manner exasperating to Paul. And when he dealt with it the public perception could be that the repercussions of going against the system were imprisonment and beating.

So Paul forces the magistrate to publicly demonstrate that they were innocent and that they did nothing wrong.

Paul wanted a public declaration that they were innocent just like there was a public declaration that they were guilty. This would be beneficial for the church’s witness in that city. He did not want the public to view the Christians as anti-Roman or anti-Philippi. He wanted society to know that Christ is King of Rome and Philippi.

If the church’s witness grew, then all who were oppressed and taken advantage of would flock to the church of Christ and it would greatly disrupt the demon economy. This is the way.

Christ sometimes saves the oppressors, but he very often saves the oppressed out of their clutches. This is how society is changed.

In summary, Paul and Silas are gathering with the believers in Philippi. Paul commands a demon to leave in the name of Jesus and they are imprisoned. The foundations of the prison are shaken, the jailer is converted, and the witness of Jesus is publicly exonerated.

Slay your dragons

Luke 11:23–26: “He who is not with Me is against Me and he who does not gather with Me, scatters. When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”

And in that passage, there is a woman who proclaims that Jesus’ mother is blessed. And Jesus responds, Luke 11:28: “But He said, ‘On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.’”

The Word of God is able to discern your spirit. If we are not reading and meditating on the Word of God, if we are not consuming it, then our dragons will remain unidentified and unslain.

And it is not a rote, mindless checkbox. It is not a matter of just simply reading your Bible. You are required to read, understand, and obey. In so far as you obey the Word of God, you will slay your dragons with its sharp, cutting insights. In so far as you disregard what the Bible says, you will be oppressed by your sin, the flesh, or even, the devil.

How can we expect to identify the demons present in society and slay them if we cannot even identify our own? How will we be a lighthouse on a stormy sea for any who are caught in a demonic web of exploitation if we allow ourselves to be exploited by sin for the economy of our own flesh?

If we are not dealing with sin our witness will be impotent. Our church and community will be just another social club within a society of corrupt social clubs.

So, how are we dealing with our sin? Are we in God’s Word? Or, are we allowing ourselves to be tossed about by every wind of doctrine? Are we causing wars and fightings among the body because of our own lusts?

The King of all spirits is our God. We sit at His table. How can the table of Jesus fellowship with the table of demons? It cannot. This table is for God’s people and there is but one requirement: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

Communion

1 Corinthians 10:14–21: “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to prudent people. You judge what I say. Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Look at the nation Israel. Are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar? What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. And I do not want you to become sharers in demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.”

Paul here is pointing out that the ones who eat the sacrifice on the altar are partaking in that sacrifice. For us, we partake of the sacrifice of Jesus spiritually and by faith, but sacramentally in the bread and wine. So Paul is asking, in effect, “How can you partake of Christ’s sacrifice and still commune with the vanity of demons?”

We know that idols will lead to folly. It is pure foolishness for us to throw away eternal fellowship with the Almighty God for the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. But people do it all the time. It is normal.

But thanks be to God that the gospel is powerful and able to enlighten the mind to the freedom that is in Christ Jesus. We are no longer slaves to sin, for we have died to ourselves in order to be raised in newness of life.

As the girl in Philippi could not keep one foot with the demon and one with Christ (their hope of profit fled, it wasn’t lessened), so we cannot eat from both tables; this Meal is our public siding with the Lord who casts out the python and shakes the prison.

So, consider for a moment what you may be harboring in your heart of hearts, and rather than allowing that thing to hold you back, endeavor to kill it by the power of Jesus Christ. Confess your sin and turn away from it, and come to the Table where we are reminded and where we proclaim that Jesus has not only paid the penalty for your sin but also offers you freedom in Himself and fellowship with the Almighty.

If you are not baptized, or if you are harboring unrepented sin in your heart toward God or your neighbor—meaning that you are not desiring to be free from your sin—then we ask you to refrain from the Supper for now. But we invite you to repent, receive Christ, and seek membership in His church. And this must be so, because the table of the Lord has no fellowship with the table of demons.

If you are baptized and in good standing with the body of Christ, harboring no unrepented sin against God or your neighbor, then we invite you to eat and drink with us in remembrance of Christ. Do not be overly scrupulous here. We all have sin; we all have fallen short of the glory of God; this Supper is for sinners. So, if you, in your spirit, are oppressed by sin and desirous of being free of it, then come to the Table and be comforted by the forgiveness that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Bread

Give thanks

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 LSB

...the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was being betrayed took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.”

Read during distribution:

Psalm 112:1-10

The Cup

Give thanks

1 Corinthians 11:25 LSB

In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.

Read during distribution:

Matthew 5:13-20

1 Corinthians 11:26 LSB

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes.

The Lord’s Prayer

Matthew 6:9–13 LSB

“...Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. ‘Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”

Matthew 6:14–15 LSB

“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

The Commission

Matthew 28:18–20 LSB

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Numbers 6:24–26 LSB

Yahweh bless you, and keep you; Yahweh make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; Yahweh lift up His face on you, And give you peace.’