Reflections on Acts 16

Acts 16 (Contemporary English Version)


1. Paul and Silas went back to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a follower named Timothy. His mother was also a follower. She was Jewish, and his father was Greek.
   
2. The Lord's followers in Lystra and Iconium said good things about Timothy,
   
3. and Paul wanted him to go with them. But Paul first had him circumcised, because all the Jewish people around there knew that Timothy's father was Greek.
   
4. As Paul and the others went from city to city, they told the followers what the apostles and leaders in Jerusalem had decided, and they urged them to follow these instructions.
   
5. The churches became stronger in their faith, and each day more people put their faith in the Lord.
   
6. Paul and his friends went through Phrygia and Galatia, but the Holy Spirit would not let them preach in Asia.
   
7. After they arrived in Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not let them.
   
8. So they went on through Mysia until they came to Troas.
   
9. During the night, Paul had a vision of someone from Macedonia who was standing there and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us!"
   
10. After Paul had seen the vision, we began looking for a way to go to Macedonia. We were sure that God had called us to preach the good news there.
    
11. We sailed straight from Troas to Samothrace, and the next day we arrived in Neapolis.
    
12. From there we went to Philippi, which is a Roman colony in the first district of Macedonia. We spent several days in Philippi.
    
13. Then on the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to a place by the river, where we thought there would be a Jewish meeting place for prayer. We sat down and talked with the women who came.
    
14. One of them was Lydia, who was from the city of Thyatira and sold expensive purple cloth. She was a worshiper of the Lord God, and he made her willing to accept what Paul was saying.
    
15. Then after she and her family were baptized, she kept on begging us, "If you think I really do have faith in the Lord, come stay in my home." Finally, we accepted her invitation.
    
16. One day on our way to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl. She had a spirit in her that gave her the power to tell the future. By doing this she made a lot of money for her owners.
    
17. The girl followed Paul and the rest of us and kept yelling, "These men are servants of the Most High God! They are telling you how to be saved."
    
18. This went on for several days. Finally, Paul got so upset that he turned and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ, I order you to leave this girl alone!" At once the evil spirit left her.
    
19. When the girl's owners realized that they had lost all chances for making more money, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them into court.
    
20. They told the officials, "These Jews are upsetting our city!
    
21. They are telling us to do things we Romans are not allowed to do."
    
22. The crowd joined in the attack on Paul and Silas. Then the officials tore the clothes off the two men and ordered them to be beaten with a whip.
    
23. After they had been badly beaten, they were put in jail, and the jailer was told to guard them carefully.
    
24. The jailer did as he was told. He put them deep inside the jail and chained their feet to heavy blocks of wood.
    
25. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing praises to God, while the other prisoners listened.
    
26. Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the jail to its foundations. The doors opened, and the chains fell from all the prisoners.
    
27. When the jailer woke up and saw that the doors were open, he thought that the prisoners had escaped. He pulled out his sword and was about to kill himself.
    
28. But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! No one has escaped."
    
29. The jailer asked for a torch and went into the jail. He was shaking all over as he knelt down in front of Paul and Silas.
    
30. After he had led them out of the jail, he asked, "What must I do to be saved?"
    
31. They replied, "Have faith in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved! This is also true for everyone who lives in your home."
    
32. Then Paul and Silas told him and everyone else in his house about the Lord.
    
33. While it was still night, the jailer took them to a place where he could wash their cuts and bruises. Then he and everyone in his home were baptized.
    
34. They were very glad that they had put their faith in God. After this, the jailer took Paul and Silas to his home and gave them something to eat.
    
35. The next morning the officials sent some police with orders for the jailer to let Paul and Silas go.
    
36. The jailer told Paul, "The officials have ordered me to set you free. Now you can leave in peace."
    
37. But Paul told the police, "We are Roman citizens, and the Roman officials had us beaten in public without giving us a trial. They threw us into jail. Now do they think they can secretly send us away? No, they cannot! They will have to come here themselves and let us out."
    
38. When the police told the officials that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, the officials were afraid.
    
39. So they came and apologized. They led them out of the jail and asked them to please leave town.
    
40. But Paul and Silas went straight to the home of Lydia, where they saw the Lord's followers and encouraged them. Then they left.

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Accounts in this chapter describe the beginning of Paul's second missionary journey. The stage was set for this journey with the decision by the "Jerusalem Council," the account of which is given in the previous chapter. That decision declared that no burden would be placed on Gentile believers by requiring circumcision. The launching of this second journey is told in the closing verses of chapter 15. It began with a desire by Paul for he and Barnabas to return to the towns where they had preached on their first journey to check up on the believers. This did not happen, though, due to a dispute between Paul and Barnabas over taking John Mark who had deserted them on their first journey. So, instead of the return visits to the towns of their earlier trip, Paul took Silas and began a new missionary journey. Barnabas and John Mark went another direction. Since they headed for Cyprus, it is possible they revisited the towns that were on the first leg of the first journey.

Paul and Silas set out north from Antioch through Syria and Cilicia, devoting the beginning of this journey to the strengthening of churches already established. They went as far as Derbe and Lystra in backtracking Paul's first journey. In Lystra they met Timothy, of whom everyone spoke highly, and Paul wanted to take him along as they continued their journey. It is of interest to note that following the decision of the Jerusalem Council not to burden Gentile believers with circumcision, Paul wanted Timothy to be circumcised before joining he and Silas on this journey. Though this might seem confusing, it is not a contradiction. The council's decision was addressing believers and a requirement concerning salvation. Paul's decision to circumcise Timothy was addressing unbelievers and not a requirement for salvation but an offense to Jewish unbelievers that might hinder them from hearing the gospel message. As Paul stated in his first letter to the Corinthians, "To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by all means save some."

Setting out from Lystra with a new team member it would seem natural to move their gospel frontier into the next regions to the west - Asia and Mysia. But they were "prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message" in those places. It is important that we should take note of this. The Spirit not only leads us concerning where we should be Christ's witnesses, but also where we should NOT give witness. It is possible to be over zealous in our desire to give witness. We cannot assume that everyone or every place that crosses our path is a person or place to give witness. Asia and Mysia were in Paul's path, and, in fact, the team passed through them going to where the Spirit led them. But the Spirit did not permit them to speak their message in those places. We do not help the cause of Christ to speak where He has not directed us to speak. This is especially true regarding where He has specifically directed us not to speak.

So where did the Spirit direct them to go? Through a night vision, the Spirit directed Paul to go to Macedonia. Here we should note another truth about following the Spirit's leading. We are prone to assume that if the Spirit directs us to go to a place with the gospel message that He has prepare the way ahead of us for an open reception to the gospel. As we read the account of the team's obedience to the Spirit in going to Macedonia, we see an open reception to the message by a small group in Philippi. But we also see resistance to their mission which leads to their imprisonment. Though the Spirit worked miraculously through this experience, it was still necessary for them to leave Philippi when their work there was only begun. Did they succeed or fail? By our normal standards we are tempted to say they failed. Yet, a strong church grew up in Philippi from the gospel seeds they planted. We give ourselves too much credit. Unless we can plant the seed, then both water and cultivate it until a healthy plant comes from it, we feel the effort has failed. God didn't need Paul's team to water and cultivate. Their mission was to plant the seed. Others, among the new believers in Philippi, were used for watering and cultivating.