First Baptist Church Laredo
Wednesday 9/9/2020 - Acts 16:11-40
  • Last week, we read about the missionary group’s decision to follow the Lord’s leading to go to Macedonia. In chapter 16 of Acts, we will read about their ministry to the people of the city of Philippi.

    1. Lydia’s Conversion (Acts 16:11-15)

    A. The missionary group journeyed to the city of Philippi. (Acts 16:11-12)

    Acts 16:11–12 CSB
    11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, the next day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, a Roman colony and a leading city of the district of Macedonia. We stayed in that city for several days.
    This is one of the “we” passages of the book of Acts, meaning the author, Luke, is with the group at this point. He gives a detailed account of the time and places which the group traveled. Philippi was about 10 miles inland from Neapolis. The cobbled stone path from Neapolis to Philippi still exists to this day. It was known as the Egnatian Way.

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    The region of Macedonia was separate from Greece at this point in history. Macedonia had become a Roman province in 146 B.C. Philippi was a Roman colony.

    B. On the Sabbath, they went outside the city by a river “when they expected to find a place of prayer.” (Acts 16:13)

    Acts 16:13 CSB
    13 On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate by the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and spoke to the women gathered there.
    Places of prayer were normally a term used for synagogues, but there was no synagogue in Philippi. This must have been a known place where people from the city worshipped God. If you notice in the verse, only women were gathered there. They were gathered by a river for the purpose of ceremonial washing rituals.

    B. Lydia accepted the gospel message. (Acts 16:14)

    Acts 16:14 CSB
    14 A God-fearing woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying.
    Lydia was not from Philippi. She was from Thyatira, which was known for its purple dye. Lydia might not actually be her name. Lydia might have been her business name, the Lydian lady. The woman was from Thyatira which was part of the ancient kingdom of Lydia. Paul shared the gospel with her, the Lord opened her heart to the message, and she believed.

    C. Lydia and her household believed and were baptized. (Acts 16:15)

    Acts 16:15 CSB
    15 After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
    Her entire household believed the gospel message and was baptized. Likely, this included her employees. She asked the missionary group to stay with her. She may have been a single woman which would account for why it took some persuading for them to stay with her.
    It wouldn’t be too long before Paul and Silas would find themselves in a difficult situation.

    2. Paul and Silas are imprisoned. (Acts 16:16-24)

    A. Paul and Silas encountered a demon-possessed slave girl. (Acts 16:16-18a)

    Acts 16:16–18a CSB
    16 Once, as we were on our way to prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She made a large profit for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 As she followed Paul and us she cried out, “These men, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation, are the servants of the Most High God.” 18 She did this for many days. Paul was greatly annoyed. Turning to the spirit, he said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out right away.
    This next story has several similarities with Jesus’ encounters with evil spirits. The evil spirits seems to have supernatural powers and knowledge. She made her owners a lot of money through fortune-telling and predicting the future. The Bible seems to indicate that she was legitimately predicting the future and telling fortune. This wasn’t a scam artist. It is strange that this girl was crying out and declaring what she was. The writing doesn’t give us tone, so we don’t know in what manner she was making this declaration; however, she kept at it for several day and Paul got annoyed by her behavior.

    B. By the power of Jesus’ name, Paul cast the evil spirit out of the slave girl. (Acts 16:18)

    Acts 16:18 CSB
    18 She did this for many days. Paul was greatly annoyed. Turning to the spirit, he said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out right away.
    Why Paul waited for the several days to act is a mystery. However, at the appointed time, by the power of God, the demon was cast out.

    C. Her owners realized their business was ruined and dragged Paul and Silas before the city authorities. (Acts 16:19-21)

    Acts 16:19–21 CSB
    19 When her owners realized that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. 20 Bringing them before the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are seriously disturbing our city. They are Jews 21 and are promoting customs that are not legal for us as Romans to adopt or practice.”
    Notice how they tried to silence Paul and Silas. They called them outsiders and trouble-makers. They said they were promoting unlawful actions. Clearly, they were presenting an “us versus them” type of argument. Obviously, they didn’t take time to find out who Paul and Silas were.

    D. Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into jail. (Acts 16:22-24)

    Acts 16:22–24 CSB
    22 The crowd joined in the attack against them, and the chief magistrates stripped off their clothes and ordered them to be beaten with rods. 23 After they had severely flogged them, they threw them in jail, ordering the jailer to guard them carefully. 24 Receiving such an order, he put them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks.
    Without trial and after being stripped and beaten harshly, they were thrown into the maximum security section of the prison. In the inner cell of the prison, their feet were placed in stocks. The stocks would have been very uncomfortable. They would not be able to sit properly or lay down easily. The stocks would have caused painful cramping. It is not a surprise we find them awake at midnight. They were considered criminals of the highest order.

    3. God brought midnight salvation. (Acts 16:25-34)

    A. Despite their situation, Paul and Silas praised and worshipped God. (Acts 16:25)

    Acts 16:25 CSB
    25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
    I find it interesting that the other prisoners were listening to them. They were watching their behavior and they still maintained their mission even though they were treated unjustly.

    B. An earthquake shattered the night (Acts 16:26)

    Acts 16:26 CSB
    26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the jail were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains came loose.

    C. The jailer, fearing the worst, planned to commit suicide. (Acts 16:27)

    Acts 16:27 CSB
    27 When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison standing open, he drew his sword and was going to kill himself, since he thought the prisoners had escaped.

    D. The jailer inquired as to how to be saved. (Acts 16:28-30)

    It may be that he had heard the words of the slave girl or at least the gossip and rumors. It could be that he was talking about his physical salvation, in other words, saved from the situation he was in. He wanted to know what he had to do to receive salvation, but there was nothing he could do. Christ had already done everything needed for salvation.

    E. Belief in Jesus Christ is the way of salvation (Acts 16:31)

    Acts 16:31 CSB
    31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
    This is one of the more famous verses of Scripture. Believe and you will be saved. This is the way of salvation. We don’t need to make it any more difficult than that.
    To make note, Paul is not saying that the faith of the jailer will save his household. Rather, if they too believe, they will be saved.

    F. The jailer, his entire household believed and are baptized. (Acts 16:32-34)

    Acts 16:32–34 CSB
    32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him along with everyone in his house. 33 He took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds. Right away he and all his family were baptized. 34 He brought them into his house, set a meal before them, and rejoiced because he had come to believe in God with his entire household.
    The entire household responded positively to message of salvation. They believed and are baptized. Side note: often this verse is used as evidence of infant baptism, but we are not told there are infants present. Therefore, we cannot conclude from this verse that infant baptism is proper.

    4. Paul and Silas are released and received an apology. (Acts 16:35-40)

    Acts 16:35–40 CSB
    35 When daylight came, the chief magistrates sent the police to say, “Release those men.” 36 The jailer reported these words to Paul: “The magistrates have sent orders for you to be released. So come out now and go in peace.” 37 But Paul said to them, “They beat us in public without a trial, although we are Roman citizens, and threw us in jail. And now are they going to send us away secretly? Certainly not! On the contrary, let them come themselves and escort us out.” 38 The police reported these words to the magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. 39 So they came to appease them, and escorting them from prison, they urged them to leave town. 40 After leaving the jail, they came to Lydia’s house, where they saw and encouraged the brothers and sisters, and departed.
    ​
    Having thought that Paul and Silas have properly paid for their crimes, the magistrates of the city order for Paul and Silas to be released. They sent word to the jailer to release Paul and Silas, but Paul and Silas do not go quietly. They wanted the officials to know the grave error they had made by treating Roman citizens in such a way. They wanted a public apology for their unjust treatment. After being released, Paul and Silas traveled to Lydia’s home before leaving town. Noting the “they” language, it is likely that Luke remained in Philippi until Paul returns to Philippi later in chapter 20 of Acts.

    Five Questions

    1. How do we know if we are dealing with demonic opposition in ministry?

    2. How do we know the proper time to ignore ministry annoyances and when it is time to confront them?

    3. How can we maintain our public witness for Christ in difficult circumstances?

    4. When is it proper to assert our rights against the governing authorities?

    5. Why do we have a tendency to make salvation more difficult than what it is?

    ​

      • Acts 16:11–12ESV

      • Acts 16:11–12CSB

      • Acts 16:13ESV

      • Acts 16:13ESV

      • Acts 16:14ESV

      • Acts 16:15ESV

      • Acts 16:15CSB

      • Acts 16:16–24ESV

      • Acts 16:16–18aESV

      • Acts 16:16–18aCSB

      • Acts 16:18ESV

      • Acts 16:18ESV

      • Acts 16:19–21ESV

      • Acts 16:19–21CSB

      • Acts 16:22–24ESV

      • Acts 16:22–24CSB

      • Acts 16:25–34ESV

      • Acts 16:25ESV

      • Acts 16:25CSB

      • Acts 16:26ESV

      • Acts 16:26CSB

      • Acts 16:27ESV

      • Acts 16:27CSB

      • Acts 16:28–30ESV

      • Acts 16:31ESV

      • Acts 16:31CSB

      • Acts 16:32–34ESV

      • Acts 16:32–34CSB

      • Acts 16:35–40ESV

      • Acts 16:35–40ESV

First Baptist Church Laredo
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