Acts 16:22-30 (NLT)
22 A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. 23 They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. 24 So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. 25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. 26 Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! 27 The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. 28 But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!” 29 The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.30 Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
What a powerful story! Many things began coming to mind when I read it. However, the part that initially started pulling me at me wasn't everything that happened while they were in jail; it was something that I saw for the first time after they got out.
As I read it again, the first half of the story began to come to life. This wasn't your typical Wednesday night church service. It was midnight! While everyone else in town had likely been asleep for 3 or 4 hours and were exhausted after a long day’s work, Paul and Silas were praising Jesus! They weren’t praising Him for their promotion at work or for getting through the day. They started an all-night revival after getting beaten with rods during the day. They literally took the "light" of Jesus into a very dark place. The jailer didn't just put them in the regular cell; they got a complimentary upgrade to the "inner dungeon”. The thought of a candle shining in a dark cave and John 1:5 came to mind.
John 1:5 (NLT)
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.
This was a very dark place, but that was about to change because the party was just getting started. Getting beaten with rods was the RSVP required to get in the door. It was a praise and worship marathon, and I imagine those chains sounded like tambourines as they rattled back and forth across that rock floor as they praised the Lord. I wonder if the earthquake was the rock within that hillside joining in with Paul and Silas and giving its shout of praise to The Great I Am.
Isaiah 55:12 (NLT)
You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands!
As Paul and Silas led the worship service in the inner dungeon, the prison gates flew open, chains fell off, and any other night those prisoners would have likely bolted out of there faster than lighting. But not tonight! They weren't going anywhere. It wasn't because they couldn’t (the doors were opened and the chains had fallen off); I believe it is because they didn't want to! Verse 25 says "...the other prisons were listening" and it didn't take them long to realize that one day in His presence is better than a 1000 elsewhere. The light of Jesus turned that prison upside-down that day! There was more than just the physical "...chains of every prisoner [that] fell off". Which brings me back to the part of this story that originally drew me in: They had a “get out of jail free” card the whole time and chose to never use it. When everyone else would have "checked out" they chose to "check in”!
Acts 16:37-39 (NLT)
37 But Paul replied, “They have publicly beaten us without a trial and put us in prison—and we are Roman citizens. So now they want us to leave secretly? Certainly not! Let them come themselves to release us!”38 When the police reported this, the city officials were alarmed to learn that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. 39 So they came to the jail and apologized to them. Then they brought them out and begged them to leave the city.
Father,
Thank You for Your unfailing love and for Your light that shines in the darkness. Lord, fill us with Your presence, Your love, Your light, and Your goodness. Father, we pray in the mighty name of Jesus that we would be overflowing with Your love, that we would shower all of those who are around us with Your eternal spring that is within us. Help us to not overlook a single opportunity to tell others about You, and leave nothing behind that would bring glory and honor to Your name. We love You Lord and thank You in advance for the work You continue to do in us and through us! Amen.
22 A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. 23 They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. 24 So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. 25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. 26 Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! 27 The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. 28 But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!” 29 The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.30 Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
What a powerful story! Many things began coming to mind when I read it. However, the part that initially started pulling me at me wasn't everything that happened while they were in jail; it was something that I saw for the first time after they got out.
As I read it again, the first half of the story began to come to life. This wasn't your typical Wednesday night church service. It was midnight! While everyone else in town had likely been asleep for 3 or 4 hours and were exhausted after a long day’s work, Paul and Silas were praising Jesus! They weren’t praising Him for their promotion at work or for getting through the day. They started an all-night revival after getting beaten with rods during the day. They literally took the "light" of Jesus into a very dark place. The jailer didn't just put them in the regular cell; they got a complimentary upgrade to the "inner dungeon”. The thought of a candle shining in a dark cave and John 1:5 came to mind.
John 1:5 (NLT)
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.
This was a very dark place, but that was about to change because the party was just getting started. Getting beaten with rods was the RSVP required to get in the door. It was a praise and worship marathon, and I imagine those chains sounded like tambourines as they rattled back and forth across that rock floor as they praised the Lord. I wonder if the earthquake was the rock within that hillside joining in with Paul and Silas and giving its shout of praise to The Great I Am.
Isaiah 55:12 (NLT)
You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands!
As Paul and Silas led the worship service in the inner dungeon, the prison gates flew open, chains fell off, and any other night those prisoners would have likely bolted out of there faster than lighting. But not tonight! They weren't going anywhere. It wasn't because they couldn’t (the doors were opened and the chains had fallen off); I believe it is because they didn't want to! Verse 25 says "...the other prisons were listening" and it didn't take them long to realize that one day in His presence is better than a 1000 elsewhere. The light of Jesus turned that prison upside-down that day! There was more than just the physical "...chains of every prisoner [that] fell off". Which brings me back to the part of this story that originally drew me in: They had a “get out of jail free” card the whole time and chose to never use it. When everyone else would have "checked out" they chose to "check in”!
Acts 16:37-39 (NLT)
37 But Paul replied, “They have publicly beaten us without a trial and put us in prison—and we are Roman citizens. So now they want us to leave secretly? Certainly not! Let them come themselves to release us!”38 When the police reported this, the city officials were alarmed to learn that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. 39 So they came to the jail and apologized to them. Then they brought them out and begged them to leave the city.
Father,
Thank You for Your unfailing love and for Your light that shines in the darkness. Lord, fill us with Your presence, Your love, Your light, and Your goodness. Father, we pray in the mighty name of Jesus that we would be overflowing with Your love, that we would shower all of those who are around us with Your eternal spring that is within us. Help us to not overlook a single opportunity to tell others about You, and leave nothing behind that would bring glory and honor to Your name. We love You Lord and thank You in advance for the work You continue to do in us and through us! Amen.