|
|
Continuing
with our study on the Acts of the Apostles, at our last meeting we
stopped in chapter fourteen where Paul and Barnabas left Iconium and
went to Lystra and Derbe and looked at the story of the Protomartyr
Thecla who was born in Iconium and was associated with the Apostles at
the time they were there.
So returning to the
Acts we find the Apostles in Lystra. At the gates of this town was a man
who was born a cripple and had never walked. He was probably there to
ask for alms from the people entering. At the gates was Paul preaching
and the crippled man heard what Paul was saying. Paul took notice of him
and perceived that the man believed his words and had faith to be
healed. With a loud voice so that all those present could hear him he
told the man to stand upright and the man leaped up and walked. When the
people saw what Paul had done they shouted that the gods had come down
to them in the likeness of men and they called Barnabas Zeus and Paul
Hermes because he was the chief speaker and Hermes was the messenger of
the gods. In the English translation they are given the Latin names of
the gods Jupiter and Mercurius.
After the Miracle
Paul and Barnabas must have entered the gates, but the people and the
priest of Zeus, who was there because there was a large statue of Zeus
at the gate, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and planned to offer
sacrifice to Barnabas and Paul. When the apostles heard of what was
about to happen, they tore their clothes as was the custom of the Jews
when they heard blasphemy against God, and ran in among the people
crying out why they do these things. They explained: we are also mortal
men with passions just like yourselves, and we have come to you to
preach unto you that you should turn from these vanities and accept the
living God who made heaven, earth and the sea and all things that are
therein. In past times God allowed you gentile nations to walk in your
own ways, but he did not leave you without some witness of himself. He
gave you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling your hearts with
food and gladness. Preaching to them of God they persuaded the people
not to offer sacrifice to them. When Paul preached to the Jews he
preached to them Jesus Christ because they believed in the one true God
and had to be persuaded that Christ was the expected Messiah, but now
preaching to the gentiles who believed in many gods, he preached to them
monotheism, the worship of one God so that they could first digest the
idea of one God before preaching to them of Jesus Christ.
In the
meantime certain Jews had come from Antioch and Iconium. They probably
followed the apostles with the hope of putting a stop to their
preaching. Using the apostles own confession that they are not gods but
mortal men, the Jews persuaded the people at Lystra that they were in
fact sorcerers and that they had used sorcery to heal the crippled man.
Convinced that Paul was a sorcerer they had Paul stoned and threw him
out of the city thinking that he was dead. As the Christians gathered
round him to prepare for his burial, Paul rose up and secretly went back
into the city and the next day he and Barnabas departed for Derbe.
Paul talks
of these attacks on his life in his Epistles. In the Second Epistle to
the Corinthians he says: "Three times was I beaten with rods, once was I
stoned, three times I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been
in the deep," (11:25) and in his Second Epistle to Timothy he writes:
"Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium,
at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord
delivered me." Paul met Timothy at Lystra together with his Mother
Eunice and his grandmother Lois who became his followers but of these I
will mention more in Chapter sixteen.
The Apostles
preached the gospel in Derbe, and with the route they were taking, the
next stop ahead would have been Paul's hometown of Tarsus, but they
returned to the cities they had already been Lystra, Iconium and Antioch
to strengthen the souls of the disciples they had converted exhorting
them to continue in the faith and to teach them through their own
sufferings that to enter the kingdom of God, they must go through much
tribulation. In these towns they ordained Presbyters to carry on their
work and continued on their return journey to Pisidia, Pamphylia and
Perga where they had landed and then to the next coastal town of Attalia
from where they sailed back to Seleucia making their way back to Antioch
of Syria from where they began their apostolic mission. At Antioch the
church came together and the apostles recounted to them all that God had
done with them and how he had opened the door of faith to the gentiles.
Both Paul and Barnabas remained at Antioch for a long period of time.
Chapter
fifteen begins with the reason it was necessary for the gathering of the
first Apostolic Synod. Certain men had come from Judea to Antioch and
taught that unless they were circumcised after the manner of Moses they
could not be saved. These men were probably of the Pharisaic Jews who
had converted to the Christian faith but were still stuck in their views
about the Mosaic Law. They insisted that the gentiles must first be
circumcised and then baptized into the Christian faith. They had come to
Antioch from Jerusalem claiming that they had been sent by the Apostles
as their representatives. Hearing that Paul and Barnabas, on their
mission had converted the gentiles without insisting on the Mosaic law,
a big argument broke out between them, and because they couldn't reach a
decision, it was decided that Paul and Barnabas should go with certain
others to Jerusalem to ask the apostles and presbyters about the matter.
So they set off for Jerusalem and on their journey they passed through
Phenice and Samaria spreading the news of the conversion of the gentiles
which caused great joy to the Christians there.
When they
reached Jerusalem they were received by the church and by the apostles
and presbyters and Paul and Barnabas declared to them all the things
that God had done with them. But the Christians from the sect of the
Pharisees who were among them rose up and demanded that it was necessary
for the gentiles to be circumcised and that the apostles should command
them to keep the Law of Moses.
With the dispute continuing the decision was taken to deal with the
matter by calling together the first Apostolic Synod. Although the synod
has come down to us as the Apostolic Synod, the majority of the Apostles
were not present. From Paul's Epistle to the Galatians we know that
Peter and John were present and also James the Lord's Brother, first
bishop of Jerusalem. Also present were the presbyters and from verse 12
and 22 of this chapter we can take for granted that the meeting was open
to the whole church.
The meeting
began with a great amount of disputing, but then Peter rose up to speak.
Having in mind the events that led to the baptism of the centurion
Cornelius and his household which we saw in chapter ten, and which had
become common knowledge in Jerusalem, Peter begins saying: "Men and
brethren, you know how that a good while ago God made choice among us,
that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and
believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving
them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference
between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why
do you tempt God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which
neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that
through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as
they. Hearing Peter the multitude kept complete silence. Then Barnabas
and Paul declared to the synod the miracles and wonders God had wrought
among the Gentiles by them.
When they had
finished, it was the turn of James the Lord's Brother to speak. As the
bishop of Jerusalem and a strict observer of the Mosaic Law his opinion
was considered of great importance. Men and brethren, listen unto me:
Peter has told us how with the case of Cornelius which happened about
ten years ago, God visited the gentiles and accepted them as his people.
To this agree the words of the prophets as it is written by the prophet
Amos: I will return and will build again the tabernacle of David which
is fallen down and I will rebuild the ruins of it and set it up. With
the tabernacle of David the prophet means the house of David and its
descendants the Jewish nation which had began to morally fall apart
during the time of the Messiah because of their subservience to the
Romans. The rebuilding is its spiritual correction by Jesus Christ which
will bring about spiritual descendants of David which are the
Christians. The prophet continues: "That the residue of men might seek
after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith
the Lord, who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all his works
from the beginning of the world." The residue of men are the non Jews,
the gentiles who will believe in the Lord and call themselves after his
name, in other words they will be called Christians and will belong to
the Lord. As the Prophets speak the word of God James comes to the
conclusion that the Prophet Amos and Peter are in agreement. He
therefore offers a solution to solve the problem. He suggests that they
do not burden the gentiles who have accepted the Lord with the Mosaic
Law, but to write to them ordering them to observe certain things of the
law which by not observing them would scandalize the Jewish Christians.
The things James suggested was that the gentiles abstain from pollution
of idols, from fornication, from things strangled and from blood.
All the
great events in the lives of the gentiles, in other words those events
which worshiped the false gods, ended with sacrificial offerings which
were followed by meat eating dinners. Of the slaughtered animals only
the feet and the intestines were burnt and the rest were eaten at the
dinners or were sold at the market place. Many of the Christians who
came from the ranks of the gentiles found it difficult to totally break
away from their family and social relationships and often took part in
the dinners. Many also bought the idol meats from the marketplace. For
the Jewish Christians these meats were unclean and a cause for them to
be scandalized when they saw the gentile Christians consuming them.
With the
abstention from fornication James is referring to the idol festivals
which often led to orgies, but can also mean any unlawful sexual
behaviour. From things strangled refers again to animal meats with the
blood still inside the animal which was forbidden to be eaten by the
Jewish law and blood which is the same thing was not to be consumed
because blood was considered the source of life and all life came from
God, that is why with the Jewish sacrifices the blood was offered
separately to God before the animal was offered as a burnt offering. In
the places where this letter will be read there are Jewish Christians
who hear Moses and the law every Sabbath but as they know the law they
don't have need of these observances, but the gentile Christians who
live in the same community need to observe them so that they do not
scandalize the Jewish Christians who read the law. But James rejects the
Jewish Christians' demand that the gentile Christians must be
circumcised.
When James
had finished his suggestion it pleased the apostles, the elders and all
the church that was present and decided to send chosen men of their
company who were well respected among the brethren to go with Paul and
Barnabas back to Antioch with the letters. The men chosen were Judas
called Barsabas and Silas. The letters written by the apostles stated:
The apostles and elders and brethren send greetings unto the brethren
which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: Forasmuch as
we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you
with words, subverting your souls, saying, you must be circumcised, and
keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment: It seemed good unto
us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with
our beloved Barnabas and Paul, Men that have endangered their lives for
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have sent therefore Judas and
Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth. For it seemed
good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden
than these necessary things; That ye abstain from meats offered to
idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication:
from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
In summery
the Apostolic Council decided that as God had put no difference between
the Gentiles and themselves and had given them the gift of the Holy
Spirit, then circumcision was not a necessity for salvation, but all who
believe will be saved through the grace of the LORD Jesus Christ. This
Synod of the Apostles established the way for future synods in the
Orthodox Church. Unlike the Roman Catholic Church where the Pope is
infallible and has the last word, Peter who was probably the acting
chairman of the synod did not say he had decided what was to be
acceptable, neither did James the Lord’s brother who was the first
Bishop of Jerusalem, but all the Apostles and presbyters being of one
accord said “For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us” (Acts
15:28). During their consultations the Holy Spirit was present and
directed the thoughts of the members of the synod who sat and conversed
as equals. This is how the Orthodox Church conducts her synods to this
day. There is a Chairman but he does not make the decisions. All the
bishops are equal whether they be Patriarch, Archbishop, Metropolitan,
or just an assisting Bishop. The Apostolic Council dealt with other
matters of Church life. We have in the Book called the Rudder, a
collection of Church canon laws from all the Ecumenical Councils, some
Local Councils and from certain individuals, also 85 canons supposedly
From the Apostolic Councils. A great many must have originated from the
Apostles, but others were probably added at a later date. They deal
mainly with who can become a bishop, a priest or a deacon, how they
should be ordained and for what reasons they should be deposed from
office.
When Paul,
Barnabas, Judas and Silas came to Antioch, they gathered the multitude
together and delivered the letter which brought great joy to the
gentiles. Judas and Silas remained with the brethren for a while helping
them and supporting them and when they had done what they could they
were released by the brethren to return to the apostles in Jerusalem,
but Silas decided to remain in Antioch.
After some
days Paul proposes to Barnabas for them to go again and visit the
brethren in every city where they had preached the word of God and see
how they had progressed. Barnabas agreed and desired to take his nephew
Mark the Evangelist with them. But Paul was against Mark going with
them, he had accompanied them on their first journey and when they had
reached Pamphylia and saw the rugged and mountainous terrain he lost
courage and returned to Jerusalem. For Paul this was an indication that
he was not worthy of the missionary work that would be required of him
and was adamant that he would not accompany them. But Barnabas was more
sympathetic towards Mark because he was his uncle and knew him better
that Paul. This led to Paul and Barnabas disputing heavily that they
broke off their strong companionship and Barnabas took Mark and sailed
to Cyprus and Paul took Silas and went through Syria and Cilicia.
According to Paul's Epistles the dispute between them was temporary
because he refers to Barnabas favourably in First Corinthians and
Galatians as also of Mark in Colossians and Second to Timothy.
Chapter
sixteen Paul and Silas come to Derbe and Lystra. At Lystra is a certain
disciple named Timothy who became a disciple together with his mother
Eunice and grandmother Lois during Paul's first visit to the city during
his first missionary journey. His mother was by race a Jewess but his
father whose name is unknown was a Greek. The Christians of Lystra and
Iconium spoke highly of Timothy in spite of his young age: he was about
twenty at the time. Paul wanted to take Timothy with him on his journey
and so took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were there
because they knew that his father was a Greek and did not allow for his
son to be circumcised.
But what is
happening here? Paul was the main activist for the gentiles not to be
circumcised and the Apostolic Synod agreed with him and decided that the
gentiles did not need to undergo this painful procedure to be saved. In
Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, he tells us that when he and Barnabas
went to Jerusalem for the Apostolic Synod, they took with them Titus who
was a Greek and the fanatical Jewish Christians insisted that Titus
should be circumcised, but Paul would not allow it, so why has Paul now
circumcised Timothy? The Apostolic Synod released the gentile Christians
from circumcision and the decision concerned only the gentile Christians
because it was taken for granted that a Jewish Christian was already
circumcised. Timothy had a Jewish mother and even though he was still
uncircumcised the rabbis considered that he was Jewish. Also Timothy was
not simply one of the many Christians; he was to become a preacher of
the Christian faith together with Paul, preaching to the Jews. A Jew or
half Jew uncircumcised and preaching to the Jews was an intense
provocation for the Jews. On the other hand Titus was totally Greek and
preached only to the gentiles.
So Paul,
Silas and now Timothy in their company, continue the journey going to
the other cities Paul had visited in his first journey Iconium and
Antioch of Pisidia teaching the gentile Christians to observe the
decrees ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.
From there Paul probably wanted to go westwards towards the coastal
towns of Asia, but for reasons we are not told, the Holy Spirit forbade
them from going. Paul and his companions therefore turned north to
Phrygia and parts of Galatia where we find Ancyra the present day
Turkish capital. Whether during this journey they preached in these
places is not sure; from the text it seems that they simply passed
through and came to Mysia. From here they planned to go to Bithynia
which is in the northern part of Turkey, but again the Spirit did not
allow them and so passing by Mysia they came to Troas.
During the
night in Troas, Paul has a vision of a Macedonian man beseeching him to
come over to Macedonia and help them. Taking this as a calling from the
Lord to go to Macedonia to preach the gospel there, Paul and his
companion Silas and Timothy set sail and came first to the Island of
Samothracia, and then to Neapolis. But from Troas there now seems to be
another companion with them. If you remember when we first began our
study of the Acts of the Apostles, I spoke to you about the author of
the Acts - Luke the Evangelist. Up until this chapter Luke has recorded
all the facts in the third person in the same way a historian would
record certain facts. But now at Troas Luke suddenly switches to the
first person saying: "loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course
to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis." This can only mean that
Luke has now joined Paul's company and is among those travelling with
him.
From Neapolis they went by foot to Philippi
which is about eleven kilometres from Neapolis. Philippi is the capital
city of Macedonia established by the king of Macedon, Philip II, the
father of Alexander the Great. In 42 BC there was a battle at Philippi
between Octavian and Mark Anthony against the assassins of Julius Caesar
Brutus and Cassius where the latter fell. The city was colonised with
veteran soldiers and when Octavian received the title Augustus from the
Roman Senate it was renamed Colonia Augusta Iulia Philippensis. Philippi
was a "miniature Rome," under the municipal law of Rome and governed by
two military officers who were appointed directly from Rome. Up until
now Paul’s missionary work was concentrated in the Middle East and Asia
Minor and this is the first time that Paul steps on European soil. We
can say that it was the inauguration of the Continent’s Christian era
with Philippi being the first European city to receive the teaching of
Christ.
The apostles
stayed many days at Philippi. On the Sabbath day they went out of the
city to the river side where because the Jews were few they didn't have
a synagogue and considered this place as the place for prayer. Here they
met certain women and they sat down and spoke with them. Among them was
a woman called Lydia who sold purple cloth. She was called Lydia because
she was from Thyatira in the Province of Lydia of Asia Minor. Lydia
worshipped God and he opened her heart that she would pay attention to
the things Paul was speaking of. She believed and was baptized together
with all her household. After her baptism Lydia insisted that the
apostles come and stay in her house.
On another
day as the Apostles went to prayer at their usual time they were met by
a young servant girl who was possessed with a spirit of divination. In
the Greek the spirit of divination is called “πνεῦμα
πύθωνος” in other words “spirit of a python. So what has a python
in common with foretelling the future? According to Greek mythology,
Python was a serpent which protected the Delphi oracle and stood guard
while the Sibyl (diviner) gave out her prophecies as she inhaled the
trance inducing vapours from an open chasm. Apollo killed Python with
his bow and arrows and took charge of the oracle. After killing Python
and taking possession of the oracle, the god of light became known as "Pythian
Apollo". He bestowed divine powers on one of the priestesses, and she
became known as the "Pythia". It was she who inhaled the hallucinating
vapours from the crack in the temple floor, while she sat on a tripod
chewing laurel leaves. After she mumbled her answer, a male priest would
translate it for the supplicant. Delphi became the most important oracle
centre of Apollo.
The spirit
which possessed the servant girl was in fact demonic and with her
various and evasive answers she would satisfy the naïve curiosity of
many who wanted to know what would happen to them in the future. As it
is today so also then, people had to pay a high price for their
curiosity. The servant girl of Philippi became an object of exploitation
from her owners. Urged on by the spirit that possessed her, the girl
followed the apostles and shouted after them proclaiming that they were
servants of the most high God. Her testimony reminds us of similar
testimonies made by others possessed by demons concerning the person of
Christ mentioned in the Gospels of Sts. Mark and Luke. The Lord as also
here with St. Paul, always rejected their testimony and forbade them to
confess and reveal who he was. The reason is given to us by St. John
Chrysostom. He says: “Why did the demon say these things and why did
Paul object? Because the demon did it out of wickedness while Paul out
of wisdom and discretion: he didn’t want the demon to appear as
reliable. Because if Paul had accepted his testimony then the demon
would be able to deceive many of the faithful having as an argument that
even Paul accepts as the truth whatever I say.
The
possessed girl pursued for many days to meet the Apostles and confess
their special quality and mission. Paul, realizing that the wretched
girl was a victim of demonic possession, was tiresome and annoyed by
seeing the truth being proclaimed profanely from lips made to move by
the evil spirit with the intention of taking advantage of the people’s
gullibility and thereby impairing the work of the Gospel. So calling
upon the name of Jesus Christ, he turns to the girl and commands the
unclean spirit to depart from her. Faced with the overwhelming power of
the Lord’s name, the spirit unable to oppose, leaves and sets free the
wretched girl that very same hour.
The casting
out of the divining spirit from the girl resulted in her not being able
to practice her soothsaying art and as a consequence her owners losing
the means of their moneymaking. Seeing that they had lost all hope of
their earnings and that the Apostles were to blame, the men arrested
Paul and Silas and dragged them to the market place before the rulers.
In ancient times the market place was the main town square which was not
only the place for moving merchandise but also the place where people
gathered to hear public and political debates and also where court
hearings were conducted. We know that with Paul were the apostles Silas,
Timothy and Luke, but we see that only Paul and Silas were arrested.
This is possibly because Luke and Timothy were not actually present when
Paul cast out the demon or because they were Greeks and were given some
respect.
Paul and
Silas were brought before the Generals. The English text says that the
Apostles were brought before the magistrates. In fact these men were
more than just magistrates. In Greek the text reads “καὶ
προσαγαγόντες αὐτοὺς τοῖς στρατηγοῖς” in other words they were
brought before the Generals (in Latin Praetors). In Roman times these
generals were high ranking officials who had both the civil and military
authority so in this sense they were also magistrates.
The charges
made against them by the servant girl’s owners were that Paul and Silas
were troublemaking Jews who caused a disorder in the city by preaching
and teaching customs which were unacceptable to the Romans. Of course it
is clear that the main reason for accusing the Apostles was not the
public interests but the personal interests of the accusers which had
been injured. In any case, with the accusation of causing a disturbance,
it allows us to come to a conclusion that Paul’s preaching to the
Philippians had already found a significant response from the occupants
of the city.
The
accusation that the Apostles were Jews shows how much the Jews were
hated that the Roman Emperor Claudius had them all expelled from Rome.
(Acts 18.2) For the Romans the religions of other nations were tolerable
and the gods of the lands they had conquered were protected, but it was
forbidden to teach these strange deities among the Romans and especially
to cause a public disturbance with the intention to proselytise. Neither
was it permissible to the Romans to abandon their own religion and
embrace other religions. This view is supported by the other accusation
that these customs were unacceptable to Roman society. These customs
concerned the Jewish way of life with different religious practices and
especially circumcision which to the Romans was laughable. It is worth
noting that no discernment is made between the Jew and the Christian.
The Apostles were persecuted because they were Jews while at the same
time we know how hostile the Jews also were towards them.
Having heard
the public accusations against the Apostles, the Philippians who had
gathered at the market place turned against them. This was a declaration
of the hatred and aversion the Romans felt for the Jews. The treatment
of the Apostles by the Generals was particularly harsh with the intent
to disgrace. They tore off their clothes and ordered that they should be
beaten with rods. The punishment of being beaten with rods, and
especially in public, was considered dishonourable and was never given
to Roman citizens. Paul, for reasons we don’t understand, could have
declared himself a Roman citizen which he was and escape the
dishonourable treatment he received at the hands of the Philippians.
When later writing to the Thessalonians, Paul hints at the things he
suffered by the Philippians saying “But even after that we had suffered
before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi.” (1
Thess. 2:2)
Without
trying to show that he is an eyewitness to Paul’s and Silas’ suffering,
Luke gives us details of their harsh treatment. They were beaten many
times, they were imprisoned and the jailor was given strict instructions
to personally guard them. Obeying the Generals’ orders, the jailor who
in this case seems to have been in charge of the prison, places the
Apostles in the inner prison, in other words the part of the prison
which was reserved for the isolation of the worst criminals and from
which escape was impossible. And for further security, had their feet
locked in the wooden stocks.
At midnight
Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the other
prisoners heard them. The midnight prayer of the Apostles had an
unexpected and alarming continuance. Quite out of the blue, a strong
earthquake shakes the prison building from its foundation. All the doors
were immediately opened and all the chains and stocks from every
prisoner were loosed. In a certain way, the earthquake comes as an
answer from God to Paul’s and Silas’ prayers; as an intervention by God
who makes his presence perceptible and expressing his anger for all that
has been done against his servants of the Gospel.
The great
earthquake awoke the prison guard and the first thing he notices is that
the prison doors were open and he is desperately concerned. The thought
passes his mind that the prisoners had escaped and especially Paul and
Silas whom he had been charged by the Generals to take special
precautions for their confinement. The thought terrifies him because he
knew only too well that in such a case he would be severely punished. He
prefers to kill himself judging that suicide would be an honourable
death compared with the humiliation of a trial and the sentence of death
by execution. So having decided to put an end to his life he draws out
his sword. It is clear that the jailer acts out of extreme fear without
first verifying the thoughts that passed through his mind. He had just
been shock woken from sleep and wasn’t thinking with a clear head. Also
at that hour it was completely dark which didn’t allow the prisoners to
make a fast escape even if they wanted to. Everything just happened so
fast that even the other prisoners must have been in a state of shock.
Paul
realizes what the jailer is about to do. Probably because his
desperation was accompanied with cries or even because the door was open
and Paul, who had been awake and his eyes had acclimatized to the
darkness, could see the jailer from where he was. So seeing the knife in
the jailers hand ready to commit suicide, Paul shouts in a loud voice to
stop him from killing himself, reassuring him that no one had escaped
and that they were all still there.
Paul’s words
stop the jailer from carrying out what he was about to do, but he is not
completely convinced. So he asks for light probably from one of his
servant who helped him at the jail and jumps into the cell to verify the
situation with his own eyes. Sure enough the apostles and all the other
prisoners were all there. This suddenly fills him with terror because he
understood that the miracle happened for the sake of the two apostles.
He was surprised by their courage because they could have escaped, but
didn’t and because Paul stopped him from putting an end to his life.
Seeing this miracle, he remembers all the things for which they were
accused – that they were preachers of an unknown and strange God. At
that moment he is convinced that before him were two devout and loyal
servants of a true God and is overwhelmed with awe and fear and falls at
the feet of Paul and Silas. It is the great moment of grace and very
shortly he will embrace the Christian faith.
After the
moment of fear had passed, the jailer comes to and leads the Apostles
out of the prison and using the title Sirs, which is an expression of
the great respect he now had for the two apostles, he asks what he must
do to be saved. To the jailer’s question, the apostles immediately reply
that a precondition for salvation is to believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, in other words, the recognition that Jesus is the one true Lord
and God. By believing in Christ the Jailer would not only be saved but
also his whole household. For the jailer to believe he had to be
instructed in the new faith to know the word of the Lord, to know of his
person and his work. The apostles therefore do not delay; they
immediately set about teaching the jailer and all his household.
After
hearing the Gospel of the Lord, the jailer took the apostles and washed
their bodies which were covered in blood from the wounds that had opened
during their beating. This act shows the love and the honour which the
jailer now felt towards his teachers in the faith. After being
instructed in the faith, the jailer and all the members of his house
were baptised. All this probably happened in the courtyard of the
jailer's house which was next to the prison. The jailer then led them
into his house and set food before them rejoicing in his new found
faith.
When it was
day the Generals sent soldiers to the prison with the order that the
prisoners should be set free. This sudden change probably came after the
Generals considered that it wasn't lawful to have them imprisoned
without a trial. The jailer told Paul of the Generals' decision and told
him to depart and go in peace. But Paul sent his own message to the
Generals saying: We are Roman citizens and you have beaten us in public
and cast us into prison without a trial and now you want to secretly set
us free. No chance! If you want us out of the prison then come
yourselves and bring us out. Paul took this stand because he wanted
their acquittal to be public just as their punishment was. Also because
he wanted to make a statement that the first Christian sermon in Europe
was not preached by some wandering vagrants but by Roman citizens who
were unjustly treated. When the Generals heard that Paul and Silas were
Roman citizens they were seized with fear as there would be consequence
to pay if they took their claim directly to Rome. So the Generals came
in person to the prison and pleaded with them to come out of the prison
and to leave the city. The apostles agreed and came out of the prison
and went to Lydia's house where they comforted and encouraged the
brethren there and then departed for Thessalonica together with Timothy.
Luke stayed behind because he stops speaking in the first person and
returns to the third person until the twentieth chapter where he meets
up with Paul again.
|
|
|