Chapter Sixteen
Timothy Joins Paul and Silas for the Second Missionary Journey
16:1 Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
After going through Syria and Cilicia, Paul and Silas continue west to Derbe and then to Lystra. It is there where we are introduced to a disciple named Timothy who will play a major role in Paul’s life (see 1 Corinthians 4:17; Philippians 2:19; 1 Thessalonians 3:2; 1 Timothy 1:2). He likely became a believer during Paul and Barnabas’ first visit to Lystra. We are told that his mother (whose name was Eunice and his grandmother was Lois, see 2 Timothy 1:5) was a Jewish believer, but his father was a Greek (the use of the imperfect verb instead of present tense indicates that his father was probably dead). He was highly regarded by fellow believers in both Lystra and Iconium. Even though he was a young man possibly in his late teens, Paul wanted him to join them on this “church planting” journey. Understanding that they will inevitably encounter some less-than-open minded Jews, Paul has Timothy circumcised.
16:4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.
Luke tells us that as they went through the cities on their route, they shared the decisions made by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. As a result, the churches were strengthened in the faith and their numbers increased every day.
16:6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.
They went through the regions of Phrygia and Galatia, but were not allowed by the Holy Spirit to continue west into Asia which required them to head northwest to the region of Mysia. Then wanting to go north to the region of Bethynia they were further instructed by the Holy Spirit not to go there. Some have speculated reasons why the Holy Spirit would prevent them from going into those regions. Such speculation is only futile as we don’t have the mind of God, we should instead simply consider the reporting of these “forbidden places” as divine guidance directing them now going west to Troas.
16:8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
While in Troas Paul received a vision of a man from Macedonia calling him to come over to Macedonia and help them. Macedonia (the northern region of Greece) was across the Aegean Sea from Troas. They immediately began to seek the best way to Macedonia as they determined that God wanted them to go and preach the gospel message there. Did you notice the ‘we’, this is the first ‘we’ in this narrative account as Luke now joins Paul, Silas, and Timothy in this adventure.
16:11 So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. 13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.
They sail from Troas to the Island of Samothrace and then to the coastal city of Neapolis in Macedonia followed by a short trip to Philippi, a major city in Macedonia and the home of many Romans (colonized after Octavian, later known as Augustus, conquered the city in 42 B.C.). They stayed in the city for several days and on the Sabbath they went outside the city gate looking for a place to pray. They encounter several women at the river’s edge and they sat down to talk with them.
16:14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 15 And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
One on the women was named Lydia from the city of Thyatira (in Asia) who sold purple goods (purple dye was made from a gland found in Murex sea snails making it very expensive and was typically associated with wealth and royalty). She was a worshiper of God which tells us that she had already turned from idolatry. God opened her heart to listen closely to what Paul was teaching. As a result of accepting Jesus as her Savior, she was baptized and she then witnessed to her family and they also came to Jesus and were baptized. She then invited them to come to her house and stay at her house, which they did.
Paul and Silas in Prison
16:16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” 18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.
While they were heading to “the place of prayer” (if a town had no synagogue the local Jews often found a suitable location where they could pray) they encountered a slave girl possessed by a demon. The Greek states that she had “a python spirit” which has its roots in Greek mythology. She was undoubtedly able to communicate with other demons, and since both the Romans and the Greeks believed in omens and fortunetelling she was likely in great demand. Everyday when Paul’s group passed by the girl, she would shout, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” Which from our perspective sounds like a good thing, or as we say today, “Great PR!” But we need to remember that when the “father of lies” (Satan) speaks the truth it’s never for the benefit of God’s kingdom (see 2 Corinthians 11:13-14). She was likely trying to fake an association with Paul so that she would be accepted by believers, giving her opportunities to damage their relationship with Jesus. Luke notes that Paul was greatly annoyed by her outbursts, this was a legitimate issue, not just an irritation. So he called the demonic spirit to come out of her and it did.
16:19 But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21 They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” 22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
When the girl’s owners realized that she no longer had the spirit of divination and could no longer bring them any more income, they became furious and seized Paul and Silas dragging them before the magistrates. Their first accusation is that they were Jews (which could explain why Luke and Timothy were not arrested), it is interesting to note that around this same time period the Roman Emperor Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome (see Acts 18:2), anti-semitism is certainly not a modern phenomenon! The claim of them “disturbing our city” is false, but instead of investigating, they took the slave girl owner’s word (some believe that she was well known and popular among the residents). The next accusation may be partially accurate, as there was a Roman law that required religious protocols to be approved before anyone could practice them. However, it is likely that Judaism was approved by Rome, and since Christianity was considered a sect of Judaism at that time, it shouldn’t have been an issue. But this was a highly agitated emotional scene that carried over in to the crowd, the magistrates then sent them straight to incarceration and punishment without any trial. Their clothes were forcibly removed, beaten with rods, and then put in prison where the jailer chained their feet in stocks.
Considerations
Fortune Telling
Are fortune tellers real? Due to the imprecise nature of the information that is typically passed on there are undoubtedly many charlatans that can put on a good show and prognosticate a vague but believable message. But sometimes their information is accurate, relaying things that would otherwise be impossible for them to know.
So where do they get this information? The answer is from Satan and his minions. Paul wrote in his second epistle to the church in Corinth, “No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15, NASB) These dark angels know what was done in the past and what people said because they were there, they saw and heard for themselves, plus they have known humanity for a long time and can probably guess fairly accurately what they’re going to do next. Satan deceives people by pretending to be kind and helpful. He and his demons offer information to hook people into spiritism, which God forbids. The Bible condemns all forms of spiritism, be it through mediums, the occult, fortune telling, divination, necromancy, or psychics (see Leviticus 19:31; 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:10-13). Click here for more information.
God, and God alone, knows the future. He forbids spiritism because we are to have faith in Him and rely on Him for all things. Satan’s only goal is to pull you away from God, we are to instead, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” (James 4:7-8a, ESV)
The Jailer Seeks and Receives Salvation
16:25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and 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 bonds were unfastened.
Located in the inner prison (typically higher security) with feet chained and likely in the dark, Paul and Silas were praying and singing to God. Many question how could they be singing hymns of praise to God in those conditions. They understood that praising God is not conditional (it was Paul who later wrote that rejoicing and praise should never end, see Philippians 4:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). This persecution did not intimidate them, if anything it elevated their boldness. Paul later wrote about this experience, “But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.” (1 Thessalonians 2:2, ESV) The other prisoners (and the jailer) were listening to their prayers and praise. Then there was a great earthquake and the prison doors opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.
16:27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.
If prisoners manage to escape a Roman prison the jailers were typically executed. When the jailer woke up and saw that the prison doors were open, he decided to avoid the humility of being executed by a fellow Roman, so he was preparing to kill himself.
16:28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas.
Paul called out in a loud voice to the jailer to not harm himself as all of the prisoners were still there. There is no explanation given as to why none of the prisoners left, but it is likely that the Holy Spirit prompted Paul to speak out when he did and kept the prisoners from leaving so that the jailer, who had heard their prayers and singing could accept Jesus. Upon hearing Paul, the jailer calls for the torches to be lit and rushed in to the jail, recognizing that the earthquake was likely a supernatural sign, fell before Paul and Silas.
16:30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
The jailer brings them out of the room they were in and asks Paul and Silas what must he do to be saved. They tell him to believe in Jesus, and he and his household will be saved. This verse is often taken out of context, it does not mean that if the father (or anyone else in a family) believes in Jesus that the whole family is saved.
It does not mean that his family would be saved simply by his believing, but that the offers had reference to them as well as to himself; that they might be saved as well as he. His attention was thus called at once, as every man’s should be, to his family. He was reminded that they needed salvation, and he was presented with the assurance that they might unite with him in the peace and joy of redeeming mercy.[1]
Every person is responsible for their own salvation, if they believe that they have sinned against God, repent of their sins, and believe that Jesus will save them from eternal condemnation when they die, they will be saved. Note the single criterion for salvation, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” If the jailer’s family each believed, they made it clear to him that they too could be saved.
16:32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.
Paul and Silas taught the Word of God to the jailer and his family. The jailer washed their wounds and fed them at his house. He and his family after accepting Jesus as their Savior were baptized and they rejoiced that they believed in God.
16:35 But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” 36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” 37 But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” 38 The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. 39 So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. 40 So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.
Without any explanation the instructions to let them go was sent to the jailer. But Paul, knowing that they were beaten, arrested, and incarcerated without any trial was not in accordance with Roman law, refuses to leave. He points out that they are Roman citizens and to now quietly send them on their way is unconscionable, he wants the magistrates to release them personally. Hearing that they were Roman citizens who had their ‘rights’ violated, they feared what could happen to them and their jobs, so they came and apologized to them. They then left to visit Lydia and encourage the new disciples and continued their journey.
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[1] Barnes, A. (1884–1885). Notes on the New Testament: Acts (R. Frew, Ed.; p. 247). Blackie & Son.