Making the Jail House Rock

Acts 16:16-34

Acts 16:16–34 NKJV

Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour. But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city; and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.” Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.” Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.

The text we read this morning has been a popular one for Vacation Bible Schools for many years. The cardboard props of the wall of the jail house and the barred windows has “imprisoned” many a child or saint in the skit. someone pulls the string, and the prisoners are released. This replay is good to put the story into one’s memory, but there is far more than is seen in the play acting. Let us look further into the text to get “the rest of the story” as Paul Harvey put it.

The set up for this text begins at Acts 16:6-9. Paul and Silas were on what we call “The Second Missionary Journey. They had strengthened the disciples in the Galatian and Phrygian regions whom they had visited on the first journey. Now Paul felt it was time to evangelize new areas. But the Holy Spirit forbid them to go to both Asia (Today, western Turkey) and Bithynia, That night Paul received a vision of a Macedonian man beckoning Paul and Silas to come over there to help. This they did, and the first mission to the continent of Europe began.

The first city they came to was the city of Philippi. It has been named after Alexander the Great’s father, Phillip of Macedon who lived about four hundred years earlier. It was a patron of the Oracle of Delphi where people went to seek the will of the gods. The oracles came to slave girls who sat over a pot which caused them to breathe hallucinogens. They were said to be possessed by a “python spirit.” The unintelligible gibberish they spouted was interpreted by a priest and delivered in perfect Greek hexameter, a form of poetry.

One can only say that from all human appearances, Paul’s travels to Macedonia got off to an inauspicious start. Paul had been used to go first to the Jewish synagogues in the city where bot Jews and Gentile god-fearers came on the Sabbath. There was common ground there to proclaim Christ as they knew the Scripture (Old Testament). But Paul found no synagogue in Philippi. There was not 10 Jewish men to be found in this city which was mostly inhabited by retired Roman legionnaires. All he could find was several women who has come to worship at the river bank. One of these, named Lydia, became the first convert in Europe to Christianity. The fruit seemed to be meager.

It seems that Paul spent several days, if not weeks, wondering what to do next. Paul’s usual strategy of evangelism would not work here. He may have begin to wonder and suffer from depression. We see tis in the slave girl with the python spirit following him over the course of several days, taunting both Paul and Silas. The slave-girl was right in that she proclaimed that Paul and Silas were servants of the most high God. But the message might as well as been gibberish to those who heard it. Who was this “most high God? Zeus? It is interesting to not that Jesus made a habit of immediately silencing evil spirits when they tried to identify Him. He would receive no testimony from devils. But Paul put up with this for some time until he could take it no more. He ordered the spirit to depart from the girl.

Now it was the owners of the slave girl who were greatly annoyed. She was their meal ticket, and now she was useless to them. So they went to the magistrates of the city (Roman lictors) and made complaint that Pau and Silas were preaching a strange God whose worship was forbidden there. We should note that the emperor could be worshipped as a god anywhere, but other gods could only be worshipped in their land of origin. The Jews had been granted an exemption to this, but the soldiers who ran the city had little regard for this. They were Roman citizens and veterans. So they had Paul and Silas beaten with rods. This was not as deadly as being scourged with the flagellum, a whip with embedded glass and metal, but it was, nevertheless, very painful. After this beating they were turned over to the custody of the jailor. They were placed in the most secure place in the prison and fastened with chains and stocks. There were no bars on the windows in the inner prison as there were no windows. What little light that was there was for the benefit of the guards to make sure the prisoners were still there.

There were Paul and Silas in the gloom and in great pain. What would happen to their mission now. Would they be tried and executed on the next day? There was by human standards great reason to be concerned. The Greek says that they were fastened to the “wood.” the same word is use of Christ hanging on the tree (cross). Paul had been told when he was converted that he would suffer greatly for Christ. He had already been stoned to the point of death. Now he languished in prison with his colleague Silas. What were they to do?

Contrary to all expectations, they did not groan or lament their predicament. They sang hymns of praise to God, the only God. This would certainly been seen as strange by the prisoners and guards alike. Would we do that? Or would we groan and complain? But this strange behavior was a powerful witness. We can go back to the cross where the victims usually cried out in agony and cursed God and man in their pain. the cross was made to make the victims appear as animals. surely, such brutes as these deserved to die. But Jesus kept His mind and forgave those who had put him on the cross, even in the midst of the hissing and curses of the crowds. So unusual was this that upon Jesus’ death, the Roman centurion said instead: Surely this man was the Son of God!”

Meanwhile, back at the jail, midnight came, the beginning of the new Roman day. What a new day it would be. Just like at the crucifixion of Jesus, there was a great earthquake. Earthquakes were seen as a sign from God, usually of displeasure. It was doubly frightening. But there was something unusual about this earthquake. One would expect the cracking of masonry or the collapse of the wall. This may indeed have happened here. But the loosening of the shackles would have been quite unusual. The may have come loose from the wall, but they would have remained on the prisoners. It also says the doors were opened which implies that they weren’t just violently shaken down. Also, no one was hurt. Perhaps what is most unusual is that the prisoners were free to escape but did not. We can deduce that at least some of them were there on capital crimes for which they would soon be executed. This is because the punishment that would have fallen upon the escaped prisoner would have fallen instead on the jailor and the guards. The fact the jailor, when he was awakened and assessing the situation drew a sword to kill himself rather than having the magistrates executing him.

Paul cried out to the jailor not to harm himself as no one had escaped. How could Paul see this in the gloom and the dust which was stirred up by the earthquake. How could he even see the jailor? Paul was thought to have poor vision, possibly from the stoning he had received. He even hints of this elsewhere. But Paul had spiritual sight. What a witness Paul and Silas had made on the prisoners. They had the opportunity to escape but did not. Surely the fear of God was in them. How many of them became believers on Jesus that night?

We can’t answer the last question directly, but we can see the effect of what had happened to the jailor. The jailor who had just despaired of life and was about to kill himself to avoid a more painful and dishonorable death now had hope, a hope he had not possessed even before Paul and Silas came into the prison he kept. Sometimes we don’t recognize how much of a prisoner we are until we are set free in Jesus. Charles Wesley, the brother of John had such an experience just prior to his brother’s encounter with Christ at Aldersgate. His hymn “And Can it Be” talks about how his dungeon was flamed with light and his chains fell off. The jailor took Paul and Silas to his house and washed their wounds. this means he left the prison behind with the open doors and the prisoners inside. He instead asked how he could be saved. He was more interested in his soul than the threat of the prisoners escaping.

Paul and Silas in tandem told the jailor to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and he would be saved. And not only him, but his house. The household here consisted not only of immediate family but also the household servants as well. The man was the head of the house, which means that the members of the household were expected to follow the religion of the lord of the house. We should remember that this is Roman custom and not the Bible per-se which expects each individual to believe. Perhaps the jailor;s story was so convincing that everyone believed and joined the jailor in baptism.

Paul and Silas had their stripes washed, but more importantly, the jailor and his house had had their sins washed. And there was great joy in the house. Joy is a major theme of Luke, especially when people come to know Jesus and find forgiveness for their sin. We even read how Luke, who had complete mastery of Greek grammar leaves a comparison open when he records Jesus saying that there was more joy in heaven over a sinner that repents (Luke 15:7) More joy than what? There is nothing on the other side of the comparison. Just put whatever joy you can think of there and it will pale in comparison to the joy God has for a repentant sinners. when people get saved there is joy in heaven and earth. It serves as one of the badges of election that one has truly become a Christian and is baptized.

A new church at Philippi was birthed. As with birth comes joy. But all births involve pain as well on the part of the birther. Jesus reminds us of this in John 16:21 where He compares the suffering He is about to undergo to labor pains. the disciples were included in that they would also suffer travail that night. But what was accomplished later that day at Cavalry. The sorrows He suffered became joy when His church was born. Paul in Galatians 4:19 stated the pain he suffered for the sake of his ministry to the Galatians as labor pains. Suffering for the name of Jesus is also a badge that one is a genuine Christian as well. Paul and Silas had endured great pain and shame for the sake of the gospel. they had been rewarded with new birth as the jailor and his family (perhaps others) were saved.

The principle we need to see here is that suffering for Christ is a great witness to the gospel. If one is bold for Christ, then persecution and suffering is inevitable. But God can turn this into an occasion for joy. I am sure that Paul and Silas still hurt from the wounds they had received, but one forgets these things when a good result ensues. True joy is birthed by the crucible of suffering.

So when we look at our churches today, do we find joy? We see a lot of churches try to work up the emotion of joy, but there is great deadness in many of the churches. They sanctuaries are comfortable. People are careful not to offend anyone. But where is the joy of new birth? Why are there so few people being born again to Jesus. We try to lower the standards of what makes a confession of faith. Yet, we feel so empty. Is is because we have lost faith? Have we locked ourselves behind locked doors for fear of the world. The church has become a prison, and God needs to shake it up. When the Gospel is truly preached again, we might find reason to exist. We need the power of the Holy Spirit like it came down at Pentecost to turn the timid disciples into towers of strength. Let us pray for the power to speak the Word of God with boldness like the Apostles prayed. The church frees the prisoner rather than imprison the world.