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"

Acts 16:16-18

 Acts 16:16-18

We’re not told much about the girl who had the demon that allowed her to prophesy. We are not told her age or how she came to be in her condition, nor what became of her after she was set free. But what we do know is she was powerful. She had a spirit of divination, which was likely associated with Apollo, the god of prophecy. The word “divination” is from the word that gives us the English word “python”. At some point, perhaps, a girl believed that involvement with the demon or fortune-telling was an attractive good thing. But once in the coils of a python escape is all but impossible. When anyone, even a disciple, opens themselves up to the power of the demonic, they can find themselves bound and moving to deeper levels of darkness. To dabble with spiritism is forbidden for anyone who would know God.

She was a profitable slave who made a great deal of money for her owners by “fortune-telling”. This word is used in the Greek Old Testament to describe lying prophets. The lying prophets would spin enough truth in with deception to keep their patrons coming back for more. Motivated by fear and believing that the gods and the universe were a cruel place, the pagans rushed to anyone who might warn them about or help them manipulate the future. As disciples we do see that the world can be a cruel place, but we also know that Jesus has overcome the world. We do not need to attempt to manipulate the future because in each present moment, the Lord Jesus is the victor, and nothing in or out of time can defeat His good plan for us.

Why was Paul so annoyed by the slave girl’s proclamation? First, Paul understood that the demonic always has an evil agenda. What the demon said was true, but there was an evil intent behind it, and unchecked, the demon would turn the proclamation of this good news to evil. Second, consider the duels that have been fought to the death when an evil man has taken the liberty with a name and reputation of a good woman. The word of salvation is too holy for the profane mouth of a demon to speak. Finally, the Gospel is not advanced by a sideshow. The carnival chaos of this demon harangue would draw a crowd but would not make disciples. What about the girl? With her powers gone, did she try to regain them? Did she become a disciple? The Scriptures are silent on this, and that tells us all that we actually need to know.

“Lord, give me the wisdom and will to never dabble with the powers of darkness, no matter what the purpose.  AMEN

Acts 16:1-15

 Acts 16:1-15

Between the calling into ministry and circumcision of Timothy and the Macedonian call, there is a scene that is profoundly important but little noticed. It is the occasion where Jesus is saying “No.”. In verses 6-9 we see that the Lord directs Paul and his companions not to go somewhere and preach. They were traveling from east to west across the middle of what is now Turkey. To the north were cities and regions of unreached people. Nevertheless, God directs Paul and company not to go there. They finally come to the region of Mysia that is located at the northwest edge of Turkey, or what Luke calls Asia. Don’t miss this point: they were “forbidden” by the Holy Spirit to preach the Gospel in this region. This seems both strange and emphatic. They come to the end of Turkey to the city of Troas and are apparently waiting for instructions. Ultimately it is here that Paul receives what is known as the “Macedonian call.”.

It must have been confusing for Paul and company to have been on a missionary journey and being told not to preach. Before the vision we can wonder if Paul was frustrated and confused. Paul: “Lord, look at all these lost people. Let me tell them about your salvation.”. The Lord: “No, Paul, don’t preach here.” It is not like the Lord gave Paul the big picture of the mission to northern Greece. All he told Paul was, Don’t preach. Certainly Paul faithfully trusted, but we can wonder if he was also confused.

In hindsight we see two key reasons why the Lord refused to allow Paul to preach in that area. First, the expansion of the gospel into the Greek and Roman world is one of the great moments in all of history. The transition from east to west, from the Orient to Europe, was one of the great expansions of Christianity. Second, we see a change of pronouns between verses 9 and 10. There Luke transitions from “they” to “we”. The fact that we are reading the book of Acts and that we have read the Gospel of Luke is in part due to the fact that the Lord prevented Paul from ministering in northern Galatia. Because we can never see the big picture, we must always trust the one who does.

“Lord, when I don’t understand help me to trust. AMEN.”