Acts 16:26, 27
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. 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.
Knowing heads would roll when news of the escape reached his superiors, the jailer said, “I’ll just kill myself now and get it over with.”
Acts 16:28–30
But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
“Not only have I been shaken up by the earthquake under me, but I am shaken up by the fact that you guys didn’t split when you had the chance,” said the jailer.
Why are you in prison? Why are things not happening? Why aren’t things opening up as quickly as you hoped they would? Could it be because there are prisoners and jailers watching, who are about to see what happens in your life when things are shaken up? Could it be because there are people who need to see what’s going to happen to you in the midnight hour? For the most part, prosperity only creates jealousy. But when those around you hear you singing in the day of adversity, like the jailer they will say, “What must I do to be saved?”
Acts 16:31
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
This does not mean, as has been suggested, “If you believe, your whole house will be saved.” No, it means, “You believe and you’ll be saved. And when your family believes, they’ll be saved as well.”
Acts 16:32, 33 (a)
And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes…
You know a person is truly saved when he wants to wash feet and cleanse wounds.
Acts 16:33 (b)—36
…and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go. 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.
After the jailer had held Paul and Silas under “house arrest,” word came to let them go.
Acts 16:37 (a)
But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans…
Thinking Paul and Silas were merely Jews, the magistrates felt completely justified in beating them without a trial. But to have done so to a Roman citizen was a great and grave offense.
Acts 16:37 (b), 38
…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. And the sergeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans.
Why didn’t Paul say, “Wait a minute. I’m a Roman citizen,” before the flagellum was unleashed, before his back was beaten, before he was cast into the dungeon, before he was locked in stocks? Why didn’t Paul claim his Roman citizenship earlier? And why did he claim it when he did? I believe the answer lies in verse 40.…
Acts 16:39, 40
And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city. 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.
Notice that Paul and Silas comforted the brethren. This poses an interesting question: Up until the time Paul and Silas landed in prison, all they had seen were women. Who, then, were these brethren? I suggest they were the prisoners who, in the dungeon with Paul, were converted when they heard his songs of praise. Paul’s mind-set concerning himself was, “Go ahead. Beat me. Throw me in prison. I’ve been looking for some men to work with—now I can begin a jail ministry!” But his mind-set concerning others was, “I am a Roman citizen and I’ll be watching you, so you had better watch your step with my brothers.”
When you and I come to the point where we can say, “I don’t care what happens to me—but when it comes to my brothers and sisters, I’ll go to the wall for them and do whatever I can to cover and protect them,” that’s maturity. Most of us protect ourselves and figure whatever happens to others is God’s will. Paul did just the opposite. No wonder the Lord could use him.
Jon Courson, Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2003), 742–743.
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