Today as we get to Acts 16, we are going to walk right into the story. I love this text so much–so many things happen, and there are so many hyperlinks. It’s beautiful, poetic, powerful, challenging, focusing, and complicated. It’s heavy, like life is.

So as we turn the page from Acts 15 to 16, Paul is compelled to go out on a second missionary journey. Now Paul and Barnabus had had a falling out, which we talked about last week, so Paul connects with Silas, and they go on a journey together, working to live out Jesus’ call in Acts 1:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

Paul and Silas traveled from Jerusalem to Lystra, where Paul had spent considerable time ministering on his first missionary journey, and this is where Timothy joined them.

Timothy was a great picture of the people that were connecting to Jesus as Paul was on his missionary journeys. Timothy had a Jewish mom and a Greek dad. Timothy would have known and experienced the weight of complicated roots or family background. He would have faced complexity in connecting with his Jewishness, with a Greek dad and not being circumcised, but he also would have faced complexity in connecting with his Greekness, with a Jewish mom.

What complexities do people (you) have to navigate as they deal with complicated family history?

Paul, Silas, and Timothy kept heading west with an apparent leading by God:

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. (Acts 16:6-10)

This type of leading rings of what we see in God’s leading His people in the wilderness:

After leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. (Exodus 13:20-22)

God’s leading them was needed and visible, a sign of God’s care, compassion and involvement. God was meeting needs. That direction was happening here too.

How does a person know when God is leading them? How does God accomplish this?

They made their way to Philippi and on the Sabbath went outside of the city to find a place to pray. And here we see something beautiful that it is easy to miss or dismiss, but it is a focal point of the story: a woman connects her family with Jesus as the Messiah.

On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us. (Acts 16:13-15)

The thing of note is that this connection to Christ was through this woman Lydia. This theme of value continues here. It started with Timothy’s value: not a Jew, not a Greek, yet called by Jesus’ commision. And now we see the value of Lydia and her impact in her world.

This is not an isolated moment. There are many important women in scripture that made significant impacts: Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Leah, Miriam, Deborah, Abigail, Rahab, Esther….

But here in this text, with what is about to come in the middle of this narrative, this is significant. We are about to meet another woman who is seen only as a commodity, and when that commodity is no longer monetizable, there was no value. As we walk towards this, Lydia–a woman–is the catalyst to family and culture change.

What does it say to you (us) that Lydia was the catalyst to a family's change? 

Paul, Silas, and Timothy moved on, but we will see that they didn’t abandon Lydia.

As they continued, they were recognized.

In the gospels, Jesus was recognized:

When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” (Matthew 8:28-31)

Now it is happening again. Jesus is still recognized, but now in Paul and Timothy:

Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her. (Acts 16:16-18)

Paul can’t take it any longer: “Get out!!!” And for a moment, peace and quiet.

But this woman of value to these “owners” now no longer had value. They realized that she wasn't going to make them money any more. Paul, Silas, and Timothy had stolen from them by “delivering” her from this skill.

When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.” The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. (Acts 16:19-24)

It became a traumatic moment. Seized, dragged into the marketplace, publicly accused. Attacked, stripped, beaten with rods. Thrown into prison, bound in stocks. Now what?vWhat to feel? What to do? How to respond?

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. (Acts 16:25)

This isn’t the first time that Paul experienced persecution to an extreme. We’ve seen this with Paul and Barnabas already:

Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. (Acts 14:19-20)

So–at least they aren’t being dragged out of the city as corpses?

They also remembered Jesus and what He faced as he was arrested:

The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” And they said many other insulting things to him. (Luke 22:63-65)

They also had to remember the words of Jesus that must have been repeated to them:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. (Matthew 5:38-39)

What is happening when a person worships / loves / appreciates / is reverent towards God while facing unimaginable circumstances?

They worshiped. And all of a sudden the room was shaken. But not just shaken–it was shaken in a way to free them as prisoners.

Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. (Acts 16:26)

What a moment for them. But this wasn’t the first time there was an earthquake leading to freedom. The ultimate moment, that they had to remember, was as Jesus died:

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. (Matthew 27:50-53)

Freedom from sin. Free from being separated from God. Free from the sting of death. Free!

But what a moment for the jailer–he felt something radically different than freedom. It was dark beyond our modern understanding. He assumed that as the gates flew open, the prisoners were gone–which meant he was as good as dead.

The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:27-30)

There are a lot of things happening here. Paul and Silas are not leaving–but they could have.

What does it take to set aside personal freedoms in order to help someone else?

The jailer was transformed by Jesus. How he was treated by Paul and Silas mattered.

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household. (Acts 16:31-34)

There, in the middle of the night, there was teaching about Jesus, caring for one another, a household transformation, a meal and a party. It reminds me of the moment that Jesus went to Zachaeus’ house:

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. (Luke 19:5-6)

There was quick intimacy in relationship with Zacchaeus. There was quick intimacy in relationship with the jailer.

The next morning the leaders asked that Paul and Silas be released–a declaration that they didn’t want to deal with them anymore. Let’s just move on, learn your lesson and now leave.

When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.” 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 16:35-40)

Paul was not going to let this be a moment of their being devalued. This is so complicated. This can be done wrongly with a selfish or prideful heart; maybe this was even wrong–after all, they were not deity–but what they did afterward points to what was happening in their hearts.

Remember, time in prison was not an unheard-of thing in Biblical narrative. It was part of what they knew historically: Joseph, Samson, Jeremiah, Daniel, John the Baptist, Peter, James–they had all spent time in jail.

And while jail was not unusual and injustice was not unusual, in this moment they demanded justice and continued on mission.

As they got out, was there bitterness? Revenge? Was it time to abandon the mission? Nope. They went right back to Lydia, right back to discipling, right back to caring and encouraging.

What has to happen in order to not get distracted from what God has called us to?

I love this narrative–the hyperlinks, the raw realities, the personal resolve in less than ideal circumstances. I love the unlikely characters, God’s involvement, the message of grace, the call for justice, the unwavering commitment.

Acts starts off with Jesus’ call to His followers:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

They burst onto the scene and there were beautiful moments of an almost-utopia as they lived this out. But the complexities, failures and resistance came quickly. But we see this theme: in life’ (or in our world’s) complexities and failures, Jesus is, Jesus is still at work, Jesus is still powerful, Jesus is still effective.

But the word of God continued to spread and flourish. (Acts 12:24)

Let’s end with a conversation to process this. How do you handle moments where you think you’ve followed God lead the best you could and ended up in less than ideal circumstances? Paul, Timothy and Silas were people. They were not deity. And they processed this question. Remember that it felt like God led them to this moment of being jailed–He blocked all the other paths to get them here. They faced it. Now I invite you to do so as we close.

How do you process moments where you think you’ve followed God’s lead, but ended up in less than ideal circumstances? 

Where do you see God when you’re in less than ideal circumstances?

Take It Deeper Questions

• Read Acts 16.
• What type of music lifts your spirit?
• Why did Paul and Silas worship and pray while jailed?
• Why do people forfeit their own rights for the benefit of others?
• What is the most challenging for you in embodying both of those ‘whys’?
• How are you challenged, focused, confused, and/or encouraged by this text?

Bible Reading Plan

• Joshua 3
• Joshua 4
• Joshua 5
• Acts 15
• Acts 16
• Acts 17