Acts 15:36 – 16:40
1 Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him
This begins what is often called Paul’s 2nd missionary Journey. Paul and Barnabas had separated their missionary work because of a heated disagreement over whether John Mark should go with them.
John Mark went with Barnabas and Silas joined Paul. In addition to Silas and Luke, the young disciple Timothy also accompanied Paul.
From the perspective of evangelism, this was awesome! God now had two missionary teams taking the gospel to different parts of the world!
In Timothy, Paul saw a young man who knew the gospel through his Christian mother. He was probably already a believer since the church spoke well of him. Paul realized that someday he would no longer be able to travel to spread the gospel as he did. One estimate I read suggested Paul journeyed 13,000 miles in his ministry, and that is only if you draw straight lines on the map from one place to the next. So in reality it would have been much farther, mostly by foot!
So he took this young man under his wing, to walk beside him through a life of ministry. Paul was raising up another evangelist.
Later Paul called Timothy his “son in the faith,” and said “I have no other likeminded man” (Philippians 2:20-22). “Likeminded” in Greek literally means “of one soul.” Paul also instructed the Corinthian church that Timothy “is doing the Lord's work, just as I am” (1 Corinthians 16:10).
Q: Do you have a “son in the faith?” Are you raising up disciples for the next generation? Personally, I have had sons in the faith like that in the past, but in my frequent moving over the last few years I haven’t followed through with it. Shame on me. You and I – not the corrupt culture in which we live – are responsible for the current decline in Christianity. In fact, we’re responsible for the corrupt culture in which we live, too.
In order to take Timothy with him, Paul had him circumcised. That looks so strange in chapter 16 when in chapter 15 the elders had just told everyone that circumcision was not required. Why circumcise a full grown man when it wasn’t required? ….
"… because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek."
That is why. It wasn’t required, it was prudent.
The Jews they were going to minister to would know that Timothy’s gentile father would not have had him circumcised at birth, and that would create a distraction. Paul wanted nothing to stand in the way of the gospel. It wasn’t wrong to be circumcised, and this way they would be welcomed by the Jews so they could share the gospel with them.
4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.Timothy and Paul became the messengers of freedom in grace from the law, delivering the decisions of the Jerusalem elders.
6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
This is incredible. Paul just wanted to preach the gospel to unbelievers. This Asia was Asia Minor. modern day Turkey, not modern Asia. It was conquered and settled by Alexander the Great and included familiar places from Paul such as Galatia and Ephesus. It was full of unbelievers.
But the Holy Spirit wouldn’t let Paul and Timothy go there. We don’t know how the Holy Spirit prevented them from going there, and we can only speculate as to why. God knows when hearts are prepared for His gospel. We know later there were many Christians in those regions because Paul wrote letters to them. So maybe the Holy Spirit just wanted them to go where the soil was fertile. So Paul turned west to go to Bithynia, and BAM! They hit yet another spiritual blockade.
I’ll be honest, at this point my faith is going to get weak. All I’m trying to do is God’s work, and it ain’t working.
So God give Paul a dream where a Macedonian man calls them for help. Here’s what’s cool about that… Macedonia was in Europe, and the gospel had never been in Europe!
Q: How does the Holy Spirit guide you? Are you inclined to doubt God’s leadership when you keep hitting a brick wall when you’re trying to follow Him? Do you accept His no as easily as His yes? Do you praise (I didn’t say “trust”) Him for closed doors, or only open ones?
10 And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
This is kind of an odd statement… “since God gave us a vision of a man from Macedonia asking us to come over to help, we concluded that God wanted us to go to Macedonia.”
Brilliant deduction!
Luke joined Paul and Timothy on the journey here.
- In v.6 he wrote “they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia,”
- In v.10 he wrote “we sought to go to Macedonia.” He uses “we” throughout the rest of Acts.
11 So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. 13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.
It was the Sabbath, but they didn't go to a synagogue, they wen to a riverside. This tells us that there were few if any Jewish men in that town because Jewish law required that a synagogue be erected if there were at least 10 Jewish men there. Otherwise they would worship where there was “living water,” meaning at least a trickle of water. That’s why they gathered at the river. It’s surprising, though, that the gathering at the river was composed of women.
14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 15 And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
I think we see here why Paul & Co were prevented by the Holy Spirit from going to Asia or Bithynia. Lydia’s heart was open to the gospel.
Lydia (possibly “Lydia from Lydia," because Thyatira was on the border of a place called Lydia) was a wealthy woman. From biblical times until the 19th century,
purple dyes were extracted from tiny snails, drop by drop. That made purple very expensive, so Lydia’s customers were wealthy. Plus, she had a house large enough to have guest quarters for them to stay in.
Lydia was a Gentile who worshiped the God of the Jews, aka a “God fearer.” God opened her heart to hear the gospel because she was ready for that. She and her whole household were baptized.
16 As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” 18 And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour. 19 But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.
It sure looks like this psychic slave girl was saying the right things. Why would the demons be telling such truth? My assumption is that the demons didn’t want cast out of her. They knew if Paul & Co heard them doing the fortune telling thing that they would exorcise her. So they told the truth in an attempt to not be cast out. But cast out they were.
20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21 They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.”
Romans were very tolerant of all religions. People of all faiths were free to worship freely, and they could proselytize other nations. However, it was a felonious offence to attempt to proselytize a Roman. That was the charge made against Paul and the gang by the owner of this fortunate-telling slave who was losing revenue due to Paul’s preaching.
22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
The crowd probably attacked these disciples because the “fortunes” the fortune teller was telling were more carnally pleasing.
Which of the following is easier to sell?
- "You will have great health, a happy marriage, and inherit a fortune from a distant rich uncle”
- "You are a sinner, destined for eternal damnation. But if you will believe upon this man that your Roman leaders killed a couple of decades ago, you will be saved."
So the crowd attacked them and the magistrate had them beaten with rods. That beating will be important later.
They were put in the “
inner prison,” a part of the Roman prison that was deep inside, where prisoners were shackled and had no source of light.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,
I pray to God that I would have this “praise reflex” if I’m ever severely persecuted for my faith. And I pray that I see everything, even horrid imprisonment, as a new venue for making disciples.
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 everyone's bonds were unfastened. 27 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.
I feel certain Luke forgot to include that the jailer felt a warm stream running down his pants leg.
Prisoners with every opportunity to leave chose to stay right there? Who does that? If he didn’t kill himself for prisoners escaping on his watch, the Roman government would have done it for him. I guess he thought suicide felt like the best of two bad alternatives.
I think I’d have probably escaped, wouldn’t you? My faith and mission probably wouldn’t have been strong enough to consider that by staying in place, another soul could be saved.
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?”
The jailer might have learned about salvation from the hymns Paul and his companions sang at midnight. Or, he might have just been asking – after personally “bringing them out” of the prison – how he could be saved from the consequences of his actions when the officials arrived. Either way, he felt hopeless and could tell that Paul, Silas, and Timothy had a confidence he didn’t. They were unafraid. They knew about hope.
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.
The jailer asked how he himself could be saved. The disciples took it further and told him how he and his whole household could be saved. Prisons in that day were attached to the jailer’s home, so his family no doubt came out to check on him after the earthquake. The disciples taught the Good News to all of them, and all believed, were baptized, and were saved. What a wonderful night in prison!
I once heard a teacher joke that when Paul first arrived at a new city, he stopped to ask directions to the nearest prison so he could check out his accommodations during his visit
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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.”
Wow! It was strictly against Roman law to bind or scourge a Roman citizen, so those magistrates broke a law and would themselves be severely punished for it, but that wasn’t Paul’s mission. He used this as yet another opportunity to spread the gospel to those who had not heard it.
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.
These missionaries returned to Lydia’s home to check in with the brothers there because a church congregation had formed at her home, then off again into the whole world to preach the gospel.
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