A Not-So-Boring Story

So many Bible stories are filled with drama and excitement, mystery and danger. Each story has heroes and villains everywhere. If you ever think the Bible is boring, maybe you need to turn off your video games and pick it up again.

My favorite part about reading stories in the Bible is thinking about all the “behind-the-scenes” experiences. I like to picture myself there and ask questions like, “What if..?” or “Then what happened…?”  I guess that’s why I love storytelling so much. It makes those words on the page come alive. It helps us to remember that these are real stories about real people who really lived (is that enough “reals” for you?).

Paul’s Dream, Not the Story He Expected

So, the other day I was reading the story of Paul and Silas in Acts 16:16-33. Why don’t you go grab your Bible, and we can look at it together.  I’ll wait. (What? You don’t have a Bible? That just won’t do! Please email me your mailing address, and I’ll gladly send you one!). In the meantime, you can open a new tab, go to this link, and we can read it together. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+16%3A15-33&version=ESV

This is a story that is a bit comical to me, at least it started that way. Paul and Silas were in Philippi, a city in eastern Macedonia, an area that is now part of Greece. They had gone there because Paul had a dream (or a vision) from a man saying, “Come to Macedonia and help us.” The men assumed it was God telling them to go preach about Jesus to the people there, so they immediately got in a ship and went.

The two men stayed there for several days. There is a great story earlier in chapter 16 about their encounter with Lydia, a successful businesswoman who sold fabric, particularly royal purple that was expensive and only for the elite. But we will talk about that story another time.

A Servant Girl Shouts Paul’s Story

Let’s catch up with the story in verse 16. Paul and Silas are in Macedonia going to a place to pray. On their way there, they are met by a servant girl who was a fortune teller. The Bible calls it a “spirit of divination.” She was a good fortune teller, and her masters made a lot of money on her skill. This spirit in her knew who Paul and Silas were, so she followed the two men everywhere and announced it loudly: “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.”

Now she didn’t just do this for an hour or two and get tired. No,, she followed them around for days! Can you imagine that? Here’s this girl loudly shouting and following Paul and Silas everywhere. I imagine when they entered a house to go to sleep at night, she was waiting for them outside until morning, ready to start her announcement once again.

Enough Already!

I’m glad to know that Paul was just like I would be. He got annoyed. Very annoyed. He probably had a headache, too. I mean, after all, she was telling the truth, so it was a good thing she was saying. But, after someone won’t leave you alone, and you keep hearing the same thing loudly announced right in your ears for days, you would just want to tell her, “Shut up already!” Right? I know I would!

Paul had enough and took it a step farther than me (of course, I have no powers to get rid of evil spirits), and he 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.

Whew. That was a relief. Finally, silence. But that is not the end of the story! The slave girl’s owners were now the ones making the loud noise, yelling angrily when they realized that they no longer had a way to make money from her fortune telling.

A Made-Up Story Gets Ugly

The owners grabbed Paul and Silas and took them to the magistrates. “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city.” (Seriously? They were the ones disturbing the city? I don’t think so.) The men further claimed that Paul and Silas were advocating customs that are not lawful for them as Romans to accept or practice.  They were obviously making up this story, but that didn’t seem to matter to anyone listening.

So, what are Paul and Silas accused of? Very simply, being Jews. Paul and Silas were Jews. Timothy was only half Jewish and Luke was a Gentile. Their accusation was against Jews, so only Paul and Silas were taken. Paul and Silas looked Jewish, and “anti-Jewish” sentiment was high in Philippi. The Roman emperor Claudius had grown angry with Jews and banished them from Rome around this time, and Philippi was a Roman colony.

The charges, which were not true, were assumed to be true of any Jew. The story was that all Jews were generally believed to be troublemakers who advocated practices which were illegal. The charges were therefore believable, and thus there was no need for a trial. This chaotic scene caused the crowd to join in attacking them. (Yes, Paul was a Roman citizen. He could have stopped all this craziness by saying so, but he chose not to. It would have been easier and much less painful! Again, God had a greater purpose for Paul and Silas.)

The Story Turns Painful

I’m sure the angry mob and the danger of an uproar probably persuaded the magistrates to act without even a kangaroo court. They tore the clothes off Paul and Silas’s backs and gave orders to the guards to beat them with wooden rods. After they had inflicted many painful blows upon them, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them safely behind bars. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. He wasn’t going to let these two criminals escape!

The “inner prison” was probably a strongly built underground room, one that had  no window, no light, no fresh air, and no bathroom. In this inner prison they placed the men in “stocks.” According to archeology, the wooden stocks that they used in those days had a series of holes that got wider and wider, and the idea was to spread the legs of the individual as far as they could go in order to induce cramping. And then they would chain their wrists to the wall. The inner prison was the worst place to be. The story goes that only the worst prisoners were put there. It was a place no one ever wanted to go.

They had been beaten, they were bleeding and in great pain, put in stocks in a stinking, dark prison. Their suffering wasn’t because they did something wrong. They had delivered a young slave girl from a demon. They were living obedient holy lives, and they were suffering. This is undeserved suffering. Some might end the story right here and blame God for their pain and suffering. But that would be wrong.

A Surprising Twist to the Story

What did they do? What would  you have done? I might have questioned Paul about his “vision” to  come to Macedonia. “Are you sure that was really a message from God? I mean, this is not a good outcome!”  I certainly wouldn’t blame them if they were fearful, confused, and bitter over what had happened. But rather than complaining, they were praying and singing praises to God. Yes, praises!

Can you picture the story? It was late at night, midnight to be exact; all of the candles or oil lights were out. It was, therefore, pitch black inside the prison, especially in the innermost part where Paul and Silas were kept in maximum security. In that darkness, the other prisoners heard the sounds of Paul and Silas praising God.

How Could They Sing?

In verse 25 it says, “And the prisoners were listening to them.” Wow! That’s some testimony! The word “listening” here is the Greek verb epakroaomai. This verb was rarely used in the New Testament; and it’s a word that suggests the idea of “listening intently.” The prisoners who heard them singing knew what had just happened to these men, and here they were singing about God. These criminals were listening to every word they were saying.

Joy in the midst of suffering and sorrow will always get the attention of those around you. That prison had witnessed cursing, it had witnessed groaning and cries, it had witnessed pleading and groveling; but it had never witnessed anything like this. You bet those other prisoners were listening. I imagine it was a story they would tell over and over again to others.

The Unexpected Happens

Then something happened. There was a huge earthquake. Apparently earthquakes were common in Macedonia. These men were underground, so most likely an earthquake would have buried them beneath stones and rubble. But this earthquake did something unusual, because God was at work. The jail doors were opened, and all of the prisoners were released from their shackles. Not just Paul and Silas, but everyone. Even those guys who had been jailed for murder or robbery or other serious crimes were suddenly free.

Now, if you had miraculously been set free from your prison shackles and the prison door was wide open, what would you do? I think I’d jump up and quickly hightail it out of there. Afterall, I would have a valid story to tell. Right?

But the prisoners did not do that. Think about that a moment. They had been in the presence of something holy which was more valuable to them than their freedom. No one left.

The Story Becomes a Testimony

The jailer, awakened by the earthquake, knew he was in trouble. Afterall, the magistrates had ordered him to keep Paul and Silas safely in jail. He just knew all of the prisoners were gone. The only option for an honorable jailer was to fall on his sword and die.

Paul, in that pitch dark prison, knew what the jailer was about to do. I’m sure God gave him a clue. He quickly shouted,  “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” The jailer called for the lights and rushed in. Then, trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas. He brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Then they shared the story of Jesus with him and his household. They were all baptized at once. And in verses 33-34 it says, “he cleaned their wounds and 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.”

When My Story Meets God’s Story

I also wonder what happened with the other prisoners. We don’t know what they did after they served their time. I would like to think that this experience influenced their choices in the future. They were touched by the story of God in that prison. That had to change them. What was the rest of their story? Maybe, they sought out those “Christ followers” to find out more. Maybe their lives were changed, too. I wish I knew! I guess we won’t know the answer until we get to Heaven, will we?

What a great story! God knows the things that keep us in our own prison – shackled by our sins and struggles. We want to be free. We know there has to be more to this life than what we are living. God has an answer for you, dear one. It’s simply Jesus. When we put our trust in him, we can sing praises even in the dark times, because we know the one who is greater than the dark. It is only in him that we find freedom, joy, peace, and everything that will give our lives meaning and purpose.

Prayer:

Dear Father,  Sometimes the struggles in this life seem too much to bear. Thank you for reminding us that you are always faithful, and we do not have to go through this life on our own strength. Help us to always turn to you where we will find true peace. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.