Acts 16:25-34 "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God..."

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, ‘Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.’ The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They answered, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God” (Acts 16:25-34).

Comment:

The framework of this story—the “supernatural” escape from an apparently escape-proof prison—would have been very familiar to the Greek readers to whom Luke (the author of Acts) addressed his words. Euripides and Ovid, in particular, both told almost identical stories about other gods. The great significance of this version, I think, is that it leads in a unique and unexpected direction. If Paul and Silas had triumphantly left the prison behind them and moved on, the story would be similar to other versions. But Paul's understanding of the message of Jesus calls for a very different outcome. It would not be acceptable, according to the spiritual truth Jesus represents, for Paul and Silas to be free at the expense of the innocent jailer, who would be blamed and punished—likely put to death—for the escape. Instead the disciples “served” the jailer, reassuring him that they would not leave. Their concern for his wellbeing so astonished and moved the man that he wanted to know more about the teachings for which they had been imprisoned. And when he and his family came to know more, they were "baptized without delay."   In that world—and, indeed, often in our own as well—religion is seen as an expression of power—an all-powerful God doing battle against his enemies. No wonder religious figures often end up as political prisoners—their followers become a threat to the existing power structure. Paul is demonstrating something very different—a God of infinite love to who even a lowly jailer is precious, and the welfare of a single man matters more than the dramatic clash of religious beliefs. Paul himself wasn't always able to maintain his focus purely on the love of Jesus' message and life—and certainly we fall short of it, individually and collectively, all too often. But it's important, and encouraging, to know that it is possible, and it can lead to a positive outcome.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed