“About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God as the prisoners listened,
there was suddenly such a severe earthquake that the foundations of the jail shook; all the doors flew open, and the chains of all were pulled loose.”
Acts 16:25-26 (NAB)
The events in the story of this 16th chapter of Acts, all began with a slave girl, possessed by a spirit of divination. An occult spirit gave her fortune telling abilities, which greatly profited her master, since it would be comparable to having access to the predicted outcome of every sports bet and winning lottery numbers.
One day, Paul was interrupted from his preaching by this young lady, so he turned to her, and commanded the spirit of divination to come out of her. She immediately lost her fortune telling abilities, which infuriated all the men who made their money off of her for years.
While accused of disturbing the peace, they really only disturbed someone’s profit. The crowd convinced the police to have them arrested, beaten, and thrown into prison. Bruised and bleeding, with their feet in the shackles of a Roman prison cell, Paul and Silas couldn’t do anything else, so they decided to sing songs of praise to God, which they did throughout the night.
While they were singing, a severe earthquake struck the prison, breaking their shackles, and setting Paul and Silas free. The jailer who was guarding them, woke up to the rumbling of an earthquake, and seeing the prison doors opened, he drew his sword to kill himself.
Paul shouted to the jailer not to harm himself, as they both stayed by his side. The jailer fell to his knees and asked how he can be saved and they invited him to believe in Jesus. Paul and Silas prayed with him, and then the jailer brought the two men back to his home, where he tended to their wounds and fed them a meal. The jailer and his whole family believed in Jesus, and they celebrated their new found faith, through the night.
During that same night, the Roman police authorities learned that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, and by law, were entitled to a fair trial, which they did not receive. Realizing two citizens were illegally beaten and thrown into prison, the Roman authorities tried to conceal the error, by dropping all charges as quickly as possible.
Paul, being an educated man, was aware of his rights, and not at all indifferent to the injustice that was done to them. He responded, “They beat us publicly, and threw us in prison, but now, they are going to release us secretly? By no means. Let them come and lead us out.” (Acts 16:37)
So the next day Paul and Silas received public acknowledgement from the authorities that they were wrongfully imprisoned. The whole community learned that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, and were appeased for being illegally beaten without a trial.
After being released, Paul and Silas went straight to the home of Lydia, a wealthy businesswoman and dealer of rare purple dyed cloth, who was their friend and a devout Christian. Lydia dedicated herself to helping the church, and she welcomed Paul and Silas to stay in her home, for as long as they needed.
Throughout all these events, the first enemy that Paul encountered was the spirit within the fortune teller, who interrupted Paul’s preaching that day. Our enemies are not always the people we see, but the spirit who works through people. By casting out a spirit of divination, Paul and Silas became an obstacle to the greed of men, who used that slave for their financial profit. Greed led from one injustice to another, as in the illegal beating and imprisonment of Paul and Silas.
Through Paul’s example, we learn that there’s a time to submit to authorities and a time to speak up for our rights under the law. We also learn that there is power in having a mindset of praise, a response that breaks through the shackles of worry and anxiety, bringing comfort and blessing in the end.
The slave girl was set free from all the powers that once controlled her, the gospel was preached to a large crowd, and a jailer and his family rejoiced in salvation found through their new faith in Jesus.
Lydia’s home represents the church as God intended it to be, a safe haven of comfort and restoration for those who are mistreated or experience injustice.
Lord, help us to keep a mindset of praise, facing adversity with strength and courage, and may our hearts always be open to the wounded or mistreated among us. Amen
