Acts Chapter 16 Verses 16-22

Acts 16:16 “And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: 17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation. 18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. 19 And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, 20 And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, 21 And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. 22 And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.” 

“And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:”  We read in the Old Testament what the Lord thinks about divination: Deu. 18:10 “There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, 11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.”  Thus, the Lord says that divination is an abomination unto the Lord.  This woman with the spirit of divination was a slave woman and brought her masters much gain by soothsaying.  Thus the masters were invested in her divining ability. 

“The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation.  And this did she many days.”  I can see how that after a while that Paul must have become somewhat irritated by this unclean spirit in the woman. 

“But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.”  Paul, using the gift that the Lord had given him cast out the unclean spirit.  Of course, this left the woman without the ability to divine any more. 

“And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,”  Paul’s action in casting out the unclean spirit from the woman upset her masters as it affected their pocketbook.  They were no longer able to make money off of her.  Because of their financial loss they caught Paul and Silas and brought them before the rulers “and brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.”  Here we notice that the charges are false and that they did not exceedingly trouble the city, just the woman’s masters.  However, wicked men do not mind telling a few lies and making false charges.  They were out for revenge.  

“And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.”  Paul and Silas being strangers to the city and Jews it probably wasn’t hard to get the multitude to rise up against them.  Moreover, persecution and tribulation abide God’s faithful servants. 

Verses 23-28

Acts 16:23 “And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: 24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. 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.” 

“And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:” Paul and Silas must have been in excruciating pain and would have had open wounds.  Moreover, the jailor had been charged to keep the men safely.  Such a charge would have been taken very seriously by a Roman jailor.  If the prisoners were to escape, the penalty would have been the jailor would have suffered an extremely painful death and often his family were put to death also. 

“Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.”  The jailor knowing the penalty for letting a prisoner escape under such a charge thrust Paul and Silas into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks.  It would have appeared that by nature, it would have been impossible for Paul and Silas to have escaped. 

“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.”  The love of God that Paul and Silas had was in full display as they prayed and sang praises unto God, even though they were in prison, probably in great pain and yet rejoiced in their Savior’s love for them by singing praises unto God.  They were singing with joy in their hearts and thus singing loud enough that the prisoners heard them. 

“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.”  A prison and prison doors and bands are not sufficient to hold the Lord’s prisoners if the Lord decides to loose them. 

“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.”  The jailor seeing and hearing what had happened was ready to kill himself rather than to suffer the wrath of the Roman government.  He counted death by the sword to be far better than what the Roman government would do to him. 

“But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.”  There are many under those circumstances would have allowed the jailor to kill himself so that they could escape.  However, Paul showed his great love for the Lord as he was not willing for the man to suffer death just because of Paul’s circumstances.  He spared the jailor’s life, even though he did not know what lie ahead for himself. 

Verses 29-34

Acts 16:29 “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.”

“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?”  Anytime we read the word, “saved,” we should ask ourselves some questions:                 

1.  “Saved from what?”

2.  “Who is doing the saving?”

3.  “What must be done to bring about the salvation?” 

If we don’t have the answer to these questions it is extremely easy to misapply the meaning. 

First we should ask ourselves what is it that the Jailor wanted to be saved from?  If it were that he desired to be saved from his sins, then why did just the instant before that he was ready to kill himself?  No the Jailor was in a dilemma.  On the one hand he knew the wrath of the Roman Government towards a Jailor who under a charge let a prisoner escape.  On the other hand the Jailor knew that it was an act of God that freed the prisoners, Paul and Silas, from their bonds.  If he let the prisoners go, then he faced cruel execution upon himself and his family.  On the other hand if he did not let the prisoners go, then he felt himself to be under the wrathful anger of God who had just loosed the prisoners from their bands.  Thus we see the question: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 

The answer given him is: “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”  Thus the answer to question 3 above is “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”  The answer to question 2 is “Christ will deliver you.” 

“And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.”  In other words they preached the gospel to the Jailor and his household. 

“And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.”  The jailor and his house believed the gospel message and showed that they believed it in that he washed the stripes of Paul and Silas and he and his house submitted to water baptism. 

Afterwards, “And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.”

Verses 35-40

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.” 

“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.  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.”  The magistrates sent the sergeants to the jailor to tell him to let the prisoners go.  The jailor informed Paul and Silas.  Paul, being a Roman citizen knew that the magistrates had broken the Roman law by beating Roman citizens uncondemned.  Thus, Paul insisted that the magistrates come themselves and fetch them out of prison. 

“And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans.”  When the magistrates heard that Paul and Silas were Romans, they then feared the wrath of the Roman Government.  They had beaten Roman citizens uncondemned.  If they had not been Roman citizens they would not have feared in this manner. 

“And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city.”  The attitude of the magistrates changed when they found out that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens.  Now instead of beating them uncondemned they are pleading with 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.”  We are not told what became of the jailor and his household.  I believe it would be reasonable to assume that they joined up with the household of Lydia in the church at Philippi.