Paul goes to jail--part 4

PAUL GOES TO JAIL—PART 4

 

 

 

     I enjoy the hymns and I also enjoy the modern worship songs. But my favorite is Christian rock music. There is one band called Day of Fire that I would regularly blast through my truck stereo in high school. They have one song that I relate to called “Strange.” It is not a loud song, and it is only a minute long. Here are the lyrics:

 

Rather be strange, rather be ugly

Rather be not quite right then part of the lovely

Rather be plain, pushed aside and lonely

Than to be carried by all the fakes and phonies

 

‘Cause Hollywood is burning down

Hollywood is burning down like Babylon

Like Babylon, rather be strange

 

     The reason I share these lyrics is because I believe Paul and Silas embody them in Acts 16. Not only in the sections we have already studied but also in our passage today.

 

     Acts 16:35-40(CSB)

 

When daylight came, the chief magistrates sent the police to say, “Release those men.”

 

The jailer reported these words to Paul: “The magistrates have sent orders for you to be released. So come out now and go in peace.”

 

But Paul said to them, “They beat us in public without a trial, although we are Roman citizens, and threw us in jail. And now they are going to send us away secretly? Certainly not! On the contrary, let them come themselves and escort us out.”

 

The police reported these words to the magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. So they came to appease them, and escorting them from prison, they urged them to leave town. After leaving jail, they came to Lydia’s house, where they saw and encouraged the brothers and sisters, and departed.

 

 

This is the Word of God.

For the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

 

     Paul had cast a demon out of a slave girl, only that made her less valuable to her owners. She could tell fortunes courtesy of the demon. Once the demon was gone, so was the ability. After a circus that counted as a court hearing, Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into jail.

 

     The morning after an earthquake and the miracle of the jailer finding Jesus, the magistrates have a change of heart. Verse 35 records that the magistrates sent the place with the orders, “Release those men.” Was it because of the earthquake? Did the magistrates make a divine connection between it and the apostles? Possibly, but I think the phrase “those men” gives us a clue. The magistrates, Romans in general, thought the Jews were dogs. There could be an element of contempt in the statement from the magistrates. They know Paul and Silas had received an unjust trial, and perhaps they wanted to make it right without looking at the men they had wronged.

 

     Paul was Jewish, a former Pharisee, but he was also a Roman citizen. So was Silas for that matter. The apostle knew his rights as a Roman citizen, rights which had been overlooked or unheard by the magistrates. Roman law prohibited Roman citizens from being bound or beaten with rods. And Paul knew he had a right to a trial. When the magistrates attempt to send the apostles away, Paul responds in verse 37 by saying, “Certainly not! On the contrary, let them come themselves and escort us out.”

 

     Verse 38 says that the magistrates were afraid when they learned that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. They had good reason to be afraid. First, the emperor would not be pleased to learn they ignored the process of law. This was considered an insult to every Roman citizen. Second, if Rome learned of the magistrates' inability to maintain the “Pax Romana,” they would be removed from power. In verse 39, Luke records, “They came to appease them, and escorting them from prison, they urged them to leave town.”

 

     What do the apostles do? They show mercy and submit to the request. Of course, Paul and Silas recognize that this is the best way forward for the Kingdom. If the apostles stayed and caused more riots, it would hinder the work of the young church at Philippi. The only way the work would continue was if Paul and Silas left.

 

     Before Paul and Silas leave, they spend time encouraging the believers. No doubt, they told them to stay firm in their faith and continue sharing the message of Jesus. They would station Luke with them, perhaps to help the church organize and stay true to the apostles’ teachings. Luke would be there to disciple the slave girl, the jailer with his household, and Lydia with her household.

 

     In Galatians 5:22-23, Paul is writing to another church, imploring them to live out the fruit of the Spirit. If these believers were filled with the Holy Spirit, it would be evidenced by the attitude of the Holy Spirit. They would express this attitude through their love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. But notice Paul is not asking them to do something he would not live out himself.

 

     We see Paul and Silas living out the fruit of the Spirit all through Acts 16. And it is especially evident in our passage today. The apostles held the magistrates accountable, but they chose to express the Holy Spirit in them toward the judges. They offered kindness, leaving the area. And they demonstrated the Holy Spirit in them by encouraging the Philippian church and empowering them to carry on the work. Jesus had built his church through the faith of the apostles, and the apostles trusted Jesus to carry it to completion without them.

 

     You and I can be filled with this same Holy Spirit. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, He will give expression to His presence in us through His fruit. His expression through us will give testimony to our citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven. And the kingdoms of this world are powerless before the Kingdom of the Almighty.

 

     Our lives will scare those who live according to the ways of sin because it gives expression to the Higher One, whose ways are good. They may hold all the power around and over us, but they have no power in us. And that terrifies them. But instead of using that fear to preach fire, hell, and damnation to them, we offer them love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness while demonstrating self-control. And we can testify to when God offered us that fruit of life through Jesus.

 

     When we live in expression of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, rendering the world powerless in us, this encourages the body of believers. They might be struggling or fearful, but then they see us burning from the Holy Spirit within, and a spark jumps from us to them. And their dry bones become engulfed in the flames of revival.

 

     Jesus saved you and me from our sins. He has given us His Holy Spirit to live free from sin and the patterns of this world. We are to use our freedom in the Holy Spirit to express the life-breathing fruit of the Holy Spirit to those around us.

 

     And the truth is, living this way will make us weird. Weird to those who are conformed to the patterns of this world, and even those in the church who refuse to live in this freedom given to them by Jesus.

 

     Will you be weird? Will you allow the Holy Spirit to fill your heart? And will you let your life be an expression of His life-giving fruit?

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