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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”
The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city.
After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them.
Then they left.
Acts 16:37-40
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
A lot had happened in well less than 12 hours time.
Wounded, shackled, and sitting in an inner prison cell of their Philippian jail cell, Paul and Silas experienced a severe earthquake around midnight. The quake was so strong the scriptures tell us that the foundations of the prison shook, opening up the cell doors and breaking the stocks, putting the prisoners in a place where they could have escaped but they didn’t. Nearly taking his own life, the jailer learned that the apostles were still in their cell and immediately he asked them how he could be saved. You’ll remember that Paul told him that all he needed to do was believe in Jesus and he could find salvation.
So the jailer took Paul and Silas to his home where he treated their wounds and fed them. In return, Paul and Silas shared more of the word of the Lord with the household before baptizing them. All this happened before daylight in what were some amazing, divine early morning hours.
And then this happened at daybreak.The scriptures tell us that the jailer received word from the magistrates to let Paul and Silas go. He delivered the following message to the apostles:
“The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.” Acts 16:36
It was a great culmination to an early morning run of spiritual awakening and salvation found. It could have easily been the end of chapter 16 and left us (the readers) with a real feel good moment. But as we see in today’s passage, the Holy Spirit was far from done. There was still one more opportunity left, one more encounter that couldn’t be left wasted.
So what happened?
Well, Paul was not satisfied with just being left go like that without having a chance to air a grievance with the Roman authorities who had mistreated him and Silas so badly…and for no good reason. And so looked at the officers and made the following demand:
“They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.”
When Paul’s statement went to the magistrates, they were alarmed. When they tried the apostles, based on the false accusation of the slave owners, they never inquired about Paul and Silas’ background. Now, they learned that they had beaten and abused Roman citizens.
Yes, the apostles were Jews. That was their religious background before they came to Christ. But Paul was born a Roman citizen and he pronounces his origins later in this book (Acts 22:28). It’s believed that Silas was Roman as the Latin form of his name was Silvanus which would suggest he was a citizen of Rome. In both instances, the Lex Porcia forbid Roman citizens from being subjected to severe punishment similar to the beating levied on the apostles. If the magistrates were reported for what they had done, they would have been subject to Roman discipline, possibly losing their positions of authority so you can see where they were eager to try and make things right with Paul and Silas.
So we read where the magistrates “came to appease them” before personally escorting them from the city and requesting they leave. The scriptures tell us that Paul and Silas complied with the request but not before returning to Lydia’s house for one more bout of fellowship.
Okay, so what was going on here? Why didn’t Paul and Silas just leave when they were permitted to do so?
The answer is simple.
They didn’t leave because the Holy Spirit, the right Spirit, still had something for them to do.
Don’t think Paul was acting on a whim here. He did what he did because the Lord purposed him to do so. An act of injustice had occurred. He and Silas weren’t given a fair trial at all. The Roman magistrates didn’t even allow the apostles to testify and defend themselves. They didn’t ask any questions to determine Paul and Silas’ full nationality background. No, they took a false accusation as ground truth and abused two innocent men of the Lord. It was that action that couldn’t go unchecked.
And so the Holy Spirit gave Paul the words to speak, words that put the magistrates on notice for their actions. Think of it as the Lord holding the Roman authorities accountable for what they had done. They weren’t going to get away with the dispatched officers else face Paul and Silas. The escorting was going to be done in person.
So this is what happened. The magistrates had to apologize to the apostles personally and of interest, note that Paul and Silas didn’t berate them. They didn’t spend time condemning what had happened. They didn’t threaten to report the magistrate for the inappropriate punishment they experienced.
Friends, that’s called grace and believe me, it wasn’t something the Roman authorities would have exercised or experienced much. Frankly, I would even submit to you that it was amazing grace given what Paul and Silas had gone through. But that’s how the right Spirit, the Holy Spirit works. He always puts us where the Lord wants us to be, at the time the Lord wants us to be there, to do what the Lord wants us to do. All we need to do is put him, the Holy Spirit, first in each and every circumstance.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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