Thursday, November 5, 2020

The Acts of the Apostles, the history of the early church, by Luke the physician - Acts 16:25-40 comments: Paul, Silas, and the Philippian jailer

 


Acts 16:25 ¶  And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 26  And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. 27  And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. 28  But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. 29  Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 30  And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 32  And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. 33  And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. 34  And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

 

Paul and Silas faith would not allow them to lament the turn of events and they praised God in their terrible situation, a lesson to us all. They witnessed for God by their singing of praises, possibly from the Psalms, and the other prisoners heard them. A discernible, a great earthquake happened which changed the dynamics. Every prisoner’s chains were loosened from them. The jailer and his family and the jail were in the same house like Potiphar’s in Genesis in Joseph’s story. A jailer who lost his prisoners would be executed and perhaps his family, as well. See a previous situation.

 

Acts 12:19  And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode.

 

Seeing the doors open, the jailer thought it better to die by his own hand than suffer execution for his failure. But, Paul pleaded with him not to take his own life as all of the prisoners were there and no one had escaped.

 

Now, here we have one of those statements or questions in the Bible that may have two meanings. 95% of the time in the Bible when the world salvation or saved is used it is a reference to a physical danger. Just do a word study from Genesis on. Here the jailer could be asking how he could saved from his situation and Paul promises him twofold, temporal salvation and eternal salvation, along with his family. The jailer took care of Paul and company and was baptized believing and rejoicing in the Lord that night.

 

I cannot tell you how many times I am grateful that my eternal salvation also meant a temporal deliverance. Were God not protecting me there were several times in my life where I should have died from my foolishness and sin. But, God saved me and He saved me, gave me new life and delivered me from danger. 

 

You may not believe that the jailer here was concerned about he and his family’s fate but it is clear that he was in grave danger if the prisoners had escaped.

 

And thy house is a problem for us if you don’t believe he and his family were in danger. Were you promised that if you received Christ that your family got an automatic pass? That it was a guarantee they would all be saved? I think you can find many people who have come to Christ whose family rejected them and never accepted Christ as their Saviour.

 

Here, though, and I am speaking now in regard to eternal salvation, we have a statement, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Apply this to eternal salvation we have believe on. Is that different than believe in? Well, whether it is or not we have the definition at least of what believing on means in John’s Gospel.

 

John 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

 

Clearly, to believe on Christ means to believe what He said about Himself, believing Him. He made clear statements listed in John.

 

John 10:30  I and my Father are one.

 

John 14:1 ¶  Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2  In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go

to prepare a place for you. 3  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

 

    4 ¶  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 5  Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. 8  Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9  Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 10  Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11  Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.


Acts 16:35 ¶  And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go. 36  And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace. 37  But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out. 38 

And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans. 39  And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city. 40  And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.

 

Would it were so that the authorities today were as concerned about violating our rights as citizens as these provincial magistrates were. Being a Roman citizen carried some weight in this world as we will soon see again as at one time being an American meant something around the globe.

 

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