WELCOME
PRAYER
WORD TO MUSIC
SILENCE
Acts 16.26-34
February 5th 2017
Milk
Okay we left off last week with Paul, Silas and perhaps others being beaten, and put in stocks in the heart of the prison for exorcising a spirit out of a young maiden.
And while they were there, around midnight, they prayed and sang, so loudly, apparently, that all in the prison could hear them praising God in the storm. Let’s pick it up at verse 26.
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.
Okay back to 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.”
Because it says, Suddenly, we might assume that the earthquake hit as they were singing.
Over the course of history earthquakes were regarded as a symbol of the presence of God, and as an answer to prayer.
We saw this in Acts 4:31.
And apparently it was a method God used to show His protective hand in the lives of the believers in the early church.
We don’t see this occurring much anymore – where God intervenes and liberates believers through earthquakes. Maybe it happens or maybe it was just for that apostolic church.
What I think we can say, however, it what they are calling an earthquake was something a little more.
Why do I say this?
If was a typical earthquake it was small enough to simply open the prison doors (and not destroy the prison itself – and all the prisoners in it) and it was powerful enough to loose the men from their stocks!
It seems to me that it was the presence and power of God in the room doing His miraculous work of liberation – through a special sort of earthquake or maybe through a shaking that actually had no geographical impact.
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.
This is another reason why I question the term earthquake in the traditional sense because if it was, then all of the town at least would have felt it and if it was powerful enough to open the prison doors it would seem really unjust that the guard would have lost his life over an act of God.
So again, the guard woke and found the prison door open, assumed negligence on his part, and drew his sword believing himself responsible for an escape.
By the way, it was more than common for both Romans and Greeks to fall on their swords when confronted with a situation from where there was no escape.
Here in Philippi, as mentioned a few weeks back, Brutus and Cassius (and many others) killed themselves rather than be taken and we know from history that Cato killed himself at Utica. Even the Jews at Massada, seeing no other way out of their predicament took their lives en mass and this may be the result of the barbarism that was alive in well when it came to putting enemies to death in that day – easier to fall on a sword than face the pending treatment of an enemy.
There has been a tremendous judgement upon the act of suicide in Christianity but in my estimation it has little support from scripture.
I do not think that it should be applauded, and I realize that the problem with it is that it takes the power of God and places it in the hands of the individual, but I think every act of suicide ought to be received with love and longsuffering by the survivors leaving judgement in the hands of our maker.
My dad, who is uniquely agnostic and has little understanding of faith, took a rare occasion to ask my opinion of a matter the other day and said:
“Did Jesus give His life up?”
I responded that He had.
“Could He have saved Himself from death?”
Again, I said yes.
“Then didn’t He commit suicide?”
He and my LDS mother were having an argument – he said he had and my mother refused to even hear the claim.
I said, “yes, I think we could say that He did. He gave His life up when He could have saved Himself.”
“Ha!” He gloated, “I knew it. Tell your mother that, will you?”
It occurred to me that I had a golden moment to help him understand a very important principle and so I said.
“And this is the point, Dad. Those who follow Him in their lives as Christians, are called to do the same.”
“To commit suicide?” He scoffed.
“In a sense, yes. We choose to willingly die to our lives here. Scripture tells us to be crucified daily with Him. To be buried with Him. To suffer His death. And we do this every time we are offended and we forgive. Our flesh wants to retaliate but we die to that – we put that fleshly response to death – kill it, so to speak – then live according to the Spirit within us. So His death – or suicide – as emblematic for all of us – to also die to our will and live to His. You get it?”
There was a long pause and He said quietly, almost humbly,
“Yeah, yeah. I get it.”
A great break-through after years of sharing.
Okay, so guard was going to take his life (Verse 28)
28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, “Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.”
Aside from what’s happening in the story isn’t this a great phrase we wish we could send out to all who are standing there with swords in their hands ready to end their lives”
“Do thyself no hard, for we are all here!”
Years ago my older brother made a decision to try and kick a drug addiction cold turkey and for several days faced his demons pretty much alone only to wind up dead.
All of us in the family wish we could have sent this message out to him while in the throes of agony:
“Do thyself no harm for we are all here!”
It’s a message that would perhaps put an end to most suicides in the world, right?
Perhaps it might even help put an end to self-harm of every kind or type.
Somehow Paul knew that the guard had taken his sword out – maybe he saw or heard it. Whatever the signal he cried to him –
“Don’t do it – we are here – still present, with you.”
29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
In the Greek he called for “lights” so several torches were brought perhaps by attendants.
And he sprang in trembling. Now this suggests that the guard was aware of something supernatural occurring for there would really be no other reason for him to come in trembling.
It seems like he heard their prayers – which could have requested God’s deliverance – and he also heard their songs and then BOOM a sudden shake that opened the doors and loosed their stocks.
Perhaps he was amazed at the fact that Paul and Silas were still present, or that they were calm and inviting.
In the end, though we are not told why, this guard perceived the presence and power of God in these men.
And trembling, he fell down before them.
Now, we are missing something, it seems, between his falling before them in verse 29 and his bringing them out (of the prison cell) in verse 30.
Perhaps Paul and Silas brought the man to his feet, telling him that they were only men – which is what Peter had done earlier and in a similar situation.
We don’t know what occurred but what we do know is the guard brought Paul and Silas out from the cell and said:
30 “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
The word sirs here is the exact same word we could translate Lord. It’s like master. And the guard asks Paul and Silas the single most important question a person on this earth could ever ask BEFORE coming to truth:
“What must I do to be saved?”
Seven words . . . full of meaning. Seven words that have helped form hundreds of responses.
What must I do to be saved?
“Repent, turn from your sin, have faith, be baptized, (oh and confirmed), receive the sacraments, communion, obey the commandments, be holy, speak in tongues, endure to the end, follow the prophets, read the Bible, go to church, give to the church, be active in the church, share the Good News, pay your tithes, never blaspheme the Holy Spirit . . . and on and on and on.
We need to talk about this in the context of the passage and then in the context of our lives today all relative to the Bible.
First, let talk about this guard. What would cause him to come and ask Paul and Silas this specific question? I doubt it very much that it came from out of the blue.
So, some would say it was the earthquake. Or the combination of the earthquake with the fact that Paul and Silas didn’t leave. Not enough. There has to be more.
Why were Paul and Silas in the jail in the first place? They cast a demon out of a popular prophetas maiden and were charged with teaching her “the way of salvation.” I am sure the jailer knew that these were the charges against them – charges that got his mind whirling.
Could it be that in addition that the jailer also saw that they were scourged beyond measure, put in stocks, and were then praying and singing at midnight in this state?
Sure. And could it be that all of this helped set the stage of the jailors heart? Could it be that he was reflecting on what he heard these men were charged with and compared it with what he actually saw and heard from them?
And could it be that the final earthquake and their miraculous release from their stocks IN ADDITION TO THE FACT THAT THEY CALMLY REMAINED AND DID NOT FLEE that this man was shaken to his core and realized, by the spirit, that he was perhaps more of a prisoner in his own life than these two Christian men in his charge?
I think so.
Now we understand perhaps the trembling, and the question, “What must I DO to be saved?”
In our lives it often works the same way. We step out, we do the works of God. We may even be punished for them. And those around us watch from afar – in silence – uncertain of what we have come into through faith.
They may wait to hear our praises at midnight, and see our reactions when opportunities arise to be opportunists. But at some point in their lives, perhaps when they are most fearful, or convicted, or ready to take their own lives they too will come to us and with all of that background ask:
“What must I do to be saved?
We can’t believe the jailor was asking what he must do to be saved from Roman punishment. All the prisoners were present so that wasn’t what he wanted to be saved from.
The response of the apostles – which we’ll get to in a minute – shows that they evidently understood his question as referring to his eternal salvation.
So here, in a scene that could have caused most men to be crying in misery (from their beating, imprisonment, lack of sleep) the jailer finds men singing and praising God, unwilling to escape though set free, and at peace – and He wanted this same thing in His life – to be saved from the effects of this world, from his terrors, to peace and assurity.
We have no idea of the man was thinking in terms of eternality when he asked the question.
And he in all probability he had no notion of the predicted end of the age swiftly moving their way.
I think he wanted to be saved from himself and he wanted to be saved to peace and truth the way Paul and Silas were.
What must I do to have this same peace with me? To be saved from “this?”
I know as believers we tend to couch things in our worldview and that the jailer was asking, How can I escape hell and live with God after this life?
Could be . . . but the story seems to suggest that He merely wanted what these men were promising and teaching (like to the maiden) and what they themselves possessed (which he has now witnessed).
Often, even in our day, people have no idea about who God is, who Jesus is, what the Gospel is really about and all the implications that come with it.
More often than not they simply want to be saved from themselves, from this world around them, from the unrest, uncertainty, and most of all from the chains that hold them bound – which are the results of sin and bad decisions, and the lies the world has told them.
We often want to first fill their minds with ideas about coming punishment or future heavenly mansions when in reality what gets them to want what we have is the notion of liberation of what IS here and now than what is coming.
Again, I doubt very much this jailor was aware of the threat of hell or the promise of Christian heaven but I am certain he was very well aware of his failures, his coming short, his unrest, his fears, his sins and crimes and the need for forgiveness.
We all are, no matter how hard people try to suggest otherwise.
So He asked Paul and Silas, “What must (can) I do to be saved?”
The word translated saved in English is the Greek, “sodzo” and it means, of course, saved, but it also means just as strongly, “to do well,” “to be made whole,” “to be preserved,” “to be healed.”
And what did Paul say? How did he respond to the question answered by so many today in so many different ways?
Before we read his answer what would YOU say to someone who asked the question of you?
If they asked:
What must I do to be saved from my sin?
What must I do to be saved from myself?
What must I do to be saved from life’s misery and woe?
What must I do to be saved from afterlife loss and punishment?
What must I do to be saved from destruction at the end of the world?
To all these questions Paul and Silas’s answer to the jailer fits the bill. And what do they say?
31 And they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
When we look back to Peter talking to Cornelius and his house this is essentially the same thing he said to them in Acts
10:43
“To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.”
The term believe comes from the Greek, “pist-yoo-o” and it means to place your trust in.
When talking about salvation and being saved we are talking about putting our trust in Him.
When talking about being saved from our sin we are talking about putting our trust in Him.
When we are talking about being saved from the chaos of this world we are talking about placing our trust in Him.
When we are talking about forgiveness of sin we are talking about placing our trust in Him.
When we are talking about overcoming this world we are talking about placing our trust in Him.
When we wonder about our place before God here and after this life we are talking about placing our trust in Him.
Faith in Him, placing our trust in Him and Him alone, IS THE SAVING GRACE of all things that trap us, hold us bound, take our peace, threaten our safety.
Faith . . . in . . . Him.
The trembling guard was told to believe on Him. He was not told to pray, not told to say a sinners prayer, not commanded to recite words, nor was he interviewed for worthiness.
The question was asked. The response simple, clear and concise – “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.”
Apparently the man understood what it meant to believe as there was no question about what this meant.
The men also said, “And thy house,” which mean, “and thy family.”
Some suggest that the fact that he believed would also save his family. This may have been the case through a prophetic utterance but it was not a system or method whereby a parent is saved and the rest of the family comes along.
Peace and salvation comes individually and is not transferred from the patriarch or matriarch to the children by inheritance – though it could be transferred though the influence of their new found lives in Christ.
What Paul says to the jailer seems to be, “the same salvation is equally offered to your family.”
Again, it could not mean that his family would be saved simply by HIS believing; but that the offer Paul gave Him was extended to them as well as to himself – that they might be saved as he was.
Now, we must also admit that even in this day and age, but even more then, when a father comes to faith the likelihood that that family will follow in behind is typically increased.
So this may also be part of what Paul meant. Now between verse 31 and 32 a span of time seems to pass OR we are unaware of some extenuating circumstance. Listen to what verse 32 says:
32 “And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.”
In other words Paul and Silas then took the time to speak to the jailer “the Word of the Lord,” or the good news and its principles. This makes sense: The Jailer has asked, “What must I do to be saved”? Paul tells him to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and then they taught him the principles of the faith – who Jesus was, what He taught, what He did, who He was, and how he was resurrected from the dead.
But the line where we are missing something is when we read, “And to all that were in his house.”
So either a space of time passed where they were able to travel to the jailers house to teach his family too – or the house was there in the jail, OR possible and for some reason the family came to the jail at that hour of the night.
Of course we don’t know – but we don’t have all the story here. What we do have is the fact that the good new WAS shared with all that were in his house (or his family). Verse 33
33 And he (the jailer) took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
Notice a few things: First of all the man was transformed to some extent or another because He went from taking these men and placing them in the darkest cells and in stocks to . . . washing their wounds.
From severity to service. Amazing, a jailer possessing the very heart of Christ.
We also note that the apostles did not do something here. Did you catch it? They did not heal themselves or each other.
Interesting, isn’t it?
In fact we have no record of Jesus healing Himself (although we have no record of Him being injured or ill either) nor do we have record of Him healing the apostles when they were injured or ill (that I can think of – if I’m wrong please correct me). This is not to say that He didn’t heal His apostles – but we’ve no record of it. The closest we get is Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law.
To me, this may have something to do with a principle I believe exists in the faith – which is:
Individually we trust in God to provide our needs but when it comes to others we do all we can to help them get theirs.
In other words we trust that God will care for us but along the way we strive to be used by God to care for others.
I am convinced that this is the order of the faith.
Paul says in Philippians 2:3-4
“Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”
Then in 1st Corinthians 10:24 we read: “ “Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s well being.”
Later in the chapter, speaking of sharing the Good News, said:
1st Corinthians 10:33 Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.
It’s kind of central to Christ and Christianity – seek to uplift and serve and help others BEFORE you focus on yourself – and trust that God will care for you.
Romans 15:1-3 says,
1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
2 Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good to edification.
3 For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.
Not easy in this world and certainly not the way the world operates
I’ve mentioned this before but someone produced a Christian phrase a few years back that made me laugh and pretty much reflected the mindset of a people who do not understand the Word.
The phrase – worn on wristbands and t-shirts was – “I am second.” According to scripture the phrase should have read, “I am last.”
I tend to think this is why we do not read of Paul healing himself – or even Silas. When we think about it, if the Gospel was set up for everyone to serve themselves first, then there wouldn’t be many opportunities for others to give of themselves.
In other words had Paul healed his own wounds, the jailor, newly converted, would have lost the chance to clean Paul’s wounds – an act that Christ Himself would have done – which is the call on our lives – to be Christ to our neighbors.
And after caring for his former prisoners, they baptized him – and his family.
Again, this was the custom – baptize as soon as it was possible. I am committed to the idea that water baptism then was a very important gesture to the world around them; that for a person to be baptized was truly the identifier by which they would be known to the community at large.
In our day, and the world in which we live, water baptism does not carry the same signification as we don’t really know (except in small towns) who is baptized etc.
But for them in that day for someone to receive or accept water baptism it would be like having an X tattooed on their forehead announcing to all that they were followers of Jesus of Nazareth.
So where I do believe the blessings and even the powerful symbol of water baptism has an important place in the world today to people personally I’m not so sure it bears the same public significance as it did back in that day.
Finally, it Seems that all of this took place either in the prison or at the home of the Jailer – the teaching, the cleaning of the wounds, etc.
Add in we read of no travels to a river or lake it seems that these baptisms were not by immersion – unless the jailor had a body of water close enough to perform them.
Religion has caused many of us to think of water baptism as ONLY IMMERSION but it very easily (and in harmony with other scriptures) could have been by sprinkling or splashing or pouring over the person).
And what happens after a baptism! The party, of course! The celebration! Last verse of the day
34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them (the Greek for meat is food), and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
In the jailor we see another sign of change – he invited these former criminals into his house! His heart opened in hospitality.
Paul says to the Saints at Rome, in a description of how they ought to be, he wrote:
Romans 12:12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
13 Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
The writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 13:2:
“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
The Word hospitality and the words, “entertain strangers” are the same in the Greek – FILOX-EN-EAH.
It’s a compound word created by PHILO
(meaning friendly) and XENOS (which means strangers.)
The Apostle Peter says:
1st Peter 4:9 “Use hospitality one to another without grudging.”
Bottom line, the presence of PHILOXENIA is not only a directive to believers but appears to be an indicator of those who believe.
For starters, we have to admit this – it’s a biblical tenant.
For there to be a story of the Good Samaritan there has to be the principle of hospitality.
For there to be the story of feasts, and parties, and wine into water there has to first be the presence of philoxenia.
I want to wrap today up by talking about hospitality from the place of someone who is personally very guarded in his personal life.
We all know people who throw their doors open to anyone (and everyone) anytime and all the time. I envy them of this ability.
In my life this is a very difficult task. And if you are like me I want to share a couple of concepts.
First, hospitality takes work but when you step forward and actually exercise it the reward is all yours.
My family gets irritated with me at times because sometimes I will surprise them with guests – from the street – especially on holidays.
Guests from the street. Now understand, I don’t personally want to invite them into our home, or to join us for dinner, but Christ in me will not allow me to refrain. I have to reach out in His name.
But it takes extra-effort, extra work and time and money to be hospitable. It places others ahead of self. And this is why it is linked so closely to the author and finisher of our faith.
I mean, imagine if God wasn’t hospitable – He’d never want anyone to come into His kingdom, right?
So hospitality is a very Christian, a very Godly trait – there’s just no getting around it.
And so let me encourage you – while encouraging myself – to entertain entertaining – especially those who are rarely invited to be entertained.
Let’s consider reaching out and sacrificing our comfort and peace and time and money for the benefit of others.
Not easy – especially for some – but well worth it to our own walk and to the recipients of our warm welcome.
Insights, Questions? Comments?
Prayer
