Acts 16:19-40

 Acts 16:19-40

It was a perfect storm for persecution. Any element would have been cause for opposition, but their combination created a crisis with Paul and Silas in the middle. First was a financial issue. The slave girl’s owners had enjoyed a profit from her possession; now that was lost. There was racism or xenophobia that was common for Jews in the Roman Empire. Anytime there is a “not one of us” attitude, there is a potential for hostility. There was the ever-present aversion to change; “We have never done it that way before” is the rallying cry for the powers that be, to keep their power. With these three elements raging against Paul and Silas, it is not hard to understand what happened next.

Romans handed out beatings like candy on Halloween. Roman soldiers who served as bailiffs in the courts carried rods for the purpose of administering beatings. But a beating could not be administered to Roman citizens. However, everyone else could be beaten for any reason. It appears that from the beginning the strategy of the city authorities was to silence these preachers and get them to slink out of town in the morning with their tail between their legs. This silent retreat would have had a negative effect on the spread of Christianity in Philippi.

In the midst of this persecution, the Lord does three wonderful things. Instead of silencing the message, Paul was given a different audience. In verse 25 we find that the other prisoners were “listening”. This is not the common word for hearing but indicates active listening; the other prisoners were fascinated by the message. Second, the Lord makes a disciple within Roman leadership. The chief jailer in a major Roman colony was not a low-level bureaucratic peon. He was in fact a significant player in the power structure of the regional government. Finally the Lord created a parade for the disciples’ exit. The chief magistrate “kept begging.” The word itself means to ask of someone who has a special position. The grammar indicates it was an ongoing plea. Why did he have to keep pleading with Paul to leave? Because Paul was taking his sweet time to move on. We get the picture that Paul was sauntering around town doing this and that, followed by the magistrates, who kept asking, “Will you leave now?” This is in every way superior to the circus atmosphere that the proclamations of the slave girl would have created. If the goal was to silence the message and make them go away quietly, the effect was the complete opposite.

"Lord, help me to never see the events only of the moment.  Instead give me the patience to see what great things you will do.  AMEN"