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Acts 16:27-40
When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.
35 But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” 36 And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” 37 But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” 38 The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. 39 So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. 40 So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.
Phoenix Bougainvillea-4 | Phoenix, AZ | February 2024A good friend of mine was elected to an important ministry position. He was among some 40 or more others so elected. At the first meeting each of these men chose their seats, claiming their place at the table. The next day he came in and one of his colleagues had taken his spot. When he asked the man to move, he refused. So my friend took matters into his own hands. He took the chair the man was sitting in and moved it aside to another spot, and took the chair from that spot and moved it to his then-vacant spot. I got a chuckle out of that. But it was a very real power play that didn’t work out like the seat usurper had intended. There were dynamics at play that made it necessary for my friend to assert himself. Harmless, really. But necessary.
The stakes are much higher with Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail. When the magistrates send the police telling Paul and Silas to go, Paul will have nothing of it. He is going to make a point of this. He is no wimp. He will not be discarded casually. The people responsible for this injustice will come and apologize. Paul and Silas are Roman citizens by birth. They had rights that were violated. They would not go quietly into the night – or morning for that matter. They demand an apology. And they get it.
Why draw this line? Why make a big deal out of it? Why do they require an apology? I suspect the reason is far beyond Paul and Silas’ bruised egos. I believe it had to do with the way forward for the mission of God. They hadn’t finished their mission. There was more they were going to do. There were more cities to visit – all of which would be in the Roman Empire. Their citizenship would protect them and allow their missionary work to continue. They would not be easily put aside.
All this is made clear by the manner in which they leave the city. They don’t walk out of the jail and immediately on to Corinth or back to Antioch. They go back to Lydia’s house and the other believers there. Once they had encouraged them – and only after doing so – they leave. We’ll see in the next chapter that they go through Amphipolis (now called Amfipoli) and Apollonia (the location of which is not certain, although possible locations have been identified) and on to Thessalonica (now called Thessaloniki). We’ve visited Philippi as well as other cities of Paul’s missionary journey. These are real places.
God’s providence shines through all of Paul’s missionary work. It is for the sake of Paul’s wellbeing and even more for the sake of the gospel message. Followers of Jesus need never be bullied. Standing up for the sake of the gospel is sometimes necessary. Sometimes it may bring trouble. But sometimes even governmental regulations can aid and protect God’s servants. I thank God for those brave men and women who will not be sidelined in their witness to Jesus.
David Bahn - Reflections 
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