#1587 Acts 16 Part 3 Jail House Rock

 

25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 And suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the jailhouse were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. 27 And when the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” 29 And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 and after he brought them out, he 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 house.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his household. 33 And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household. 34 And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly with his whole household, because he had believed in God.

35 Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their policemen, saying, “Release those men.” 36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The chief magistrates have sent to release you. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” 37 But Paul said to them, “Having beaten us in public without trial, men who are Romans, they have thrown us into prison. And now are they sending us away secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out.” 38 And the policemen reported these words to the chief magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that they were Romans, 39 and they came and appealed to them, and when they had brought them out, they kept requesting them to leave the city. 40 And they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia, and when they saw the brothers, they encouraged them and left. Acts 16: 25-40 LSB

Acts 16: 25-40

V. 25 Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God - In the midst of their troubles they could still find joy in the One Who actually brought them there. It's hard to remember this in the heat of my problems, but what others intend for evil, to hurt you, God can use for good. This story is a prime example of that. When you pray to God you are appealing to the highest authority, the greatest good. When you praise Him you are putting Him, in your mind, closer to the place He already is. Your heart is starting to agree with the reality that He is above your reasoning, above your current circumstances. 

…14Why do I put myself at risk and take my life in my own hands? 15Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. I will still defend my ways to His face. 16Moreover, this will be my salvation, for no godless man can appear before Him.… Job 13: 14-16

  

1For the choirmaster. According to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph. I cried out to God; I cried aloud to God to hear me. 2In the day of trouble I sought the Lord; through the night my outstretched hands did not grow weary; my soul refused to be comforted. 3I remembered You, O God, and I groaned; I mused and my spirit grew faint. Selah… Psalm 77: 1-3

…15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, for to this you were called as members of one body. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.… Colossians 3: 15-17

V. 26 And suddenly there came a great earthquake - Talk about a visual of setting the captives free; I think I need to start praying and singing at work more. You can't just say coincidence here, that it happened randomly at the same time they were praying and praising. That may account for the bars in a few cells, but not the shackles, and certainly earthquakes that shake the foundation are usually not so selective at sparing life. 

V. 27 He drew his sword and was about to kill himself - I have had some bad bosses in my day, even been falsely accused, but being blamed for the result of an earthquake, an act of God, that's a wee bit harsh.

The jailer was about to kill himself - Instant death would be better to him than the torture that the authorities would inflict before they killed him. "He was on the point of committing suicide as Brutus had done near here. Stoicism had made suicide popular as the escape from trouble like the Japanese harikari." (Robertson)

Roman law stated that if a guard lost a prisoner, he was given the same punishment the prisoner would have received. It follows that the jailer knew that there were some men in the prison who had committed capital crimes and were being held for execution. The jailer would rather commit suicide than face shame and execution. - PA

V. 28 Do not harm yourself for we are all here - That's mercy, even going there in your mind, that awareness of what your freedom could do to someone else, and then having the kindness to give it up. I try to teach my guys this when it comes to security, they are just doing their job in a lot of instances, and they are not given the authority to reason with you or negotiate, they're just told, "do this" and so they are doing just that. Sometimes they are also going out of their way to be pricks, but how you respond could cost you your job. Be forgiving, let ant hills stay low. 

…43You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’ 44But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.… Matthew 5: 43-45

Vs. 29-30 Sirs, what must I do to be saved - It's not always an earthquake, but it is always an act of God. 

V. 31 Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your house - I have heard people use this to say that a loved one who was not a believer was saved though because of being married to or the child of a believer. That is not what we learn by taking the whole counsel of God. I have also seen this verse used to teach infant baptism, and that is a gross stretch. If that were the case then I would be pushing my atheist friends into the water all the time. 

…15But if the unbeliever leaves, let him go. The believing brother or sister is not bound in such cases. God has called you to live in peace. 16 How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? 17Regardless, each one should lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is what I prescribe in all the churches.… 1 Corinthians 7: 15-17

You and your whole household - Luke is not advocating salvation by proxy. In other words, he is not saying the jailer's salvation automatically included everyone in his house and that they had no need to respond to the Gospel. The fact is that each member of the household had to personally believe in order to be saved. The example of the head of the household made it easier for them, but they, too, needed to believe to be saved, a salvation which they testified to by being baptized. - PA

V. 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord - Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. What a marvelous work that we get to be part of. 

…7I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace, given me through the working of His power. 8Though I am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9and to illuminate for everyone the stewardship of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.… Ephesians 3: 7-9

Vs. 33-34 Rejoiced greatly with his whole household because he had believed in God - What a change of events, like when Abraham has the knife raise above Isaac, so this man was going the way of the stoic, by his own hands, with his own sword. What a turn around, at the very edge of death. 

1In that day you will say: “O LORD, I will praise You. Although You were angry with me, Your anger has turned away, and You have comforted me. 2Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.” 3With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation,… Isaiah 12: 1-3

Vs. 35-37 Having beaten us in public without trial, men who are Romans - OOps! Rome had laws about this. They had a Republic and they were supposed to uphold justice, you know, like innocent until proven guilty, but even nowadays that is not always the case. If you die then you are no longer away.

…25“Look!” he exclaimed. “I see four men, unbound and unharmed, walking around in the fire—and the fourth looks like a son of the gods!” 26Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the blazing fiery furnace and called out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire, 27and when the satraps, prefects, governors, and royal advisers had gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men. Not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them.… Daniel 3: 25-27

Vs. 38-40 And they came and appealed to them - Now they are asking Paul for mercy because they are way in the wrong. An eye for an eye, lash for lash, they did not want for themselves what they did to these men and even against their own laws. Where is justice?

They have beaten us in public without trial, men who are Romans - Paul was born a Roman citizen (Acts 22:28), which gave him certain rights, including a public hearing. Scourging of any Roman citizen was prohibited by law; the rights of Paul and Silas, therefore, had already been violated. "he praetors (magistrates) did not know, of course, that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens any more than Lysias knew it in Acts 22:27. Paul’s claim is not challenged in either instance. It was a capital offence to make a false claim to Roman citizenship." (Robertson)

John Stott notes that "The citizen had only to say civis Romanus sum and he would be immune to punishment; heavy penalties were prescribed for those who violated these citizenship privileges."

John MacArthur wrote, “For Paul and Silas to have departed quietly could have set a dangerous precedent for the future treatment of missionaries and exposed the believers to arbitrary and abusive action from the magistrates.” - PA