Acts 16:16-40
I commented yesterday that Luke was also preaching the gospel (Acts 16:10). Today, we see him again in Acts 16:16-17. However, it seems that Luke was not as forthright as Paul and Silas in his preaching, in that he was not seized by the owners or beaten by the magistrates: 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. (v. 19) Today is also the last of the “we” verses until we get to Acts 20:8.
Today we have a third account of a miraculous prison release. You may recall that some apostles (Acts 5:17-26) and Peter (Acts 12:6-17) were delivered by angels earlier. Today’s account is different in a number of ways. First, it was an earthquake, not an angel, that set them free. Second, we have a jailer ready to commit suicide upon seeing the prisoners free. Finally, Paul and Silas took their release as an opportunity to share the gospel with the Philippian jailer and his household. I am impressed that Paul and Silas demanded that the authorities come forward to acknowledge the wrong that they had committed in beating Roman citizens without a trial. Paul took every opportunity to evangelize and to strengthen the church.
We need to keep this Philippian account in mind down the road when we read Paul’s letter to the Philippians. It is a letter of true joy – it seems that Paul remembers the many Philippian conversions more than the beating he received!
See also: March 27 / Acts 16:16-24; March 28 / Acts 16:25-40