Jesus’s Power Displayed in Philippi

She was from the city of Thyatira, which was on the other side of the Aegean, within the province of Asia. Lydia was a seller of purple, which makes sense because Thyatira was the center of the purple dye trade (Polhill, Acts, 348–49). She was most certainly wealthy, for purple goods were expensive, often associated with royalty, and the business was profitable. Her hosting people in her home also implies that she was indeed a woman of means. Lydia was an entrepreneur, setting up business in Philippi. But despite professional success, she was still searching for more.

Luke also says that she was “God fearing”; she was like Cornelius. The description doesn’t mean she was a Christian, but she was seeking God. Perhaps she had read Ezekiel 36:26-29, in which the Lord promises to give a new heart and a new spirit to people. Regardless of whether that prophecy was something she had thought about, she was a beneficiary of it: “The Lord opened her heart” (v. 14).

What does this mean? It means that the God of all grace opened her spiritual eyes so that she could embrace Jesus as Lord (cf. 2 Cor 4:5-6). God worked in Lydia’s heart and gave her new life as she heard the gospel. She wasn’t ultimately won over by Paul’s effective communication skills but by God’s gracious and saving initiative. Lydia was saved in the same way anyone else is converted (cf. Acts 11:18; 13:48; 14:27; 18:27).

So here we have the first mention of someone converting to faith in Jesus on European soil, and that convert is a wealthy lady named Lydia. I can’t help but admire the quietness of this world-changing event. In a setting that may well have resembled more of a picnic than a prayer meeting, Paul explained the gospel and the Lord transformed an individual into a follower of King Jesus. While the scene no doubt lacked drama from the perspective of passersby, the Lord was at work in a big way. He opened Lydia’s heart, and she—like a flower opening to the sun—embraced Paul’s message.

If you aren’t a Christian, let me encourage you to listen to the gospel being preached or at least to read the message on your own in the Bible books of John and Acts. See if the Lord might do something in your heart as a result of your encounter with the good news to cause you to confess Jesus as Lord. If you are a Christian, remember that the Lord still does converting work through faithful messengers of the gospel. Your Lydia is waiting! Trust that when the Bible is taught, God does work in people’s lives.

After Lydia’s conversion, and based on her confession of faith, she is baptized, along with her household—which probably included her servants. The latter must have believed through the witness of Paul and Lydia. If we use the Cornelius narrative to help us understand this household baptism (and the conversion of the Philippian jailer’s household; v. 33), those who were baptized both heard the gospel and believed the message prior to baptism (10:44; 11:14,17). A scan of the baptism accounts in the book of Acts reveals that baptism is based on personal faith.

Lydia not only shared her faith with her household, but she also shared her home with the missionaries. The apostles affirmed her profession of faith and accepted her invitation to come to her home, the location of which eventually became the gathering place for the entire church in Philippi (v. 40). This woman provides a wonderful example of generosity and hospitality at work (cf. 4:32-37). Later Paul would write about the wonderful generosity and support of the church in Philippi (Phil 4:10-20), and it’s not difficult to imagine Lydia as one of the main contributors to whom he referred.

Once again in Acts we see the use of one’s home as a wonderful tool for ministry. This is a reminder that we should all seek to practice hospitality in order to serve the church. Extending hospitality isn’t the same as entertaining, however. Entertaining shows off; hospitality shares. Use your home to serve others, not to wow them with your financial success or decorating abilities or as an escape from socializing.

I can’t help but admire the number of godly ladies in the book of Acts; some of them are mentioned by name. Soon we will read of the leading women of Thessalonica (17:4), women of high standing in Berea (17:12), Damaris in Athens (17:34), and Priscilla in Corinth (18:2). All of these inclusions remind us that the early missionary movement was not directed only at males. This also means that Christianity was never intended to reach only the ladies who stay home, raising families and concerning themselves with household matters. Lydia and the other women I mention appear to have been strong ladies with influence. They played huge roles in extending the ministries of their local churches. The book of Acts highlights the need for all people—male and female—to find their places in God’s mission and to join the work for the good of others and for the glory of God.

Next Luke highlights the missionaries’ encounter with an exotic figure, a young tormented girl. The contrast between this slave girl and Lydia couldn’t be greater. F. F. Bruce suggests Luke made this stark contrast “in order to show how the saving name of Jesus proved its power in the lives of the most diverse types” (Book of Acts, 332).

The phrase “spirit by which she predicted the future” literally reads, “spirit python.” According to mythology the Python guarded the temple of Apollo. Over time the word pytho¯n came to mean a demon possessed person through whom the Python spoke (Hughes, Acts, 214). Luke and Paul obviously understand the girl to be demon possessed.

A “pythoness” made clairvoyant predictions and uttered words in all sorts of strange voices. Because the locals considered such fortune-tellers to be inspired by Apollo and the Python, many sought them out to hear their predictions about the future. There was “large profit” in this business (v. 16). Perhaps that’s why instead of feeling sorry for this demon-possessed girl, the owners used her to make money.

Don’t miss that the poor girl featured in this chapter is in double bondage. Her slave owners treat her like property, and she is abused by a demonic spirit.

Satan tried to derail the missionaries’ work in Philippi by attempting to form an alliance with the missionaries for his own devilish purposes. Satan tried to use the slave girl to associate Paul’s message with the occult (v. 17), but the missionaries obviously needed to distance their ministry from this evil work. For many days the slave girl uttered things that were entirely true, but the missionaries didn’t fall prey to the evil scheme behind the girl’s words. In the Gospels demon-possessed people say true things about Jesus, but Jesus rebukes them every time (e.g., Mark 1:24-25; 5:7-8; Luke 4:34-35).

After becoming “greatly annoyed” by Satan’s attempt to associate with the team through the girl—or perhaps out of deep grief for her—Paul frees her with a word in Jesus’s name. In a moment, Jesus casts out the demon at work through the girl; Jesus masterfully crushes serpents.

With this move the power of Christ is displayed. The pythoness is delivered. What a relief this must have been to the girl! She, like the Gadarene demoniac, was suddenly in her “right mind” (Mark 5:15) following an encounter with Christ. We presume that she too—like the Gadarene man—became a follower of Jesus after deliverance (so say Stott, Message of Acts, 265; Hughes, Acts, 215; et al.). She suddenly had a new owner, the only good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, who freed her from spiritual and physical bondage and gave her peace, joy, freedom, and rest.

Contrast the two conversions. Lydia is wealthy; the slave girl is poor. Lydia is a community member of high standing; the slave girl was exploited and abused. Lydia is religious and moral; the slave girl is broken and tormented. Lydia comes to faith through a quiet Bible study; the slave girl gets transformed through a dramatic power encounter. Lydia was presented with Jesus as the Messiah of Israel; the slave girl met Jesus as the mighty Deliverer. These two different ladies both were brought to faith in Jesus—a reminder that the gospel can transform all sorts of people from all sorts of backgrounds. The power that brought the evil spirit out of this girl is the same power that opened Lydia’s heart: it’s the power of Jesus.

Perhaps you want to distance yourself from the powerful encounter involving the girl because you assume it doesn’t relate to you. But this passage should give you hope. If Jesus can free a pythoness, he can break your addictions. He can set you free from negative thinking. Jesus Christ is Lord over all—believe it!

As in the case of the Gadarene demoniac, the slave girl’s deliverance upset the economy (Mark 5:16-17; cf. Acts 8:19-21; 19:24-28), leading to a major disturbance in Philippi. The owners of the girl were about to lose a lot of money, so the angry profiteers made false charges against Paul and Silas. They claimed the missionaries were disturbing the city and advocating unlawful customs. Soon the crowd joined the attack, and the magistrates ordered the men beaten with rods.

It is difficult to imagine undergoing the excruciating torture Paul and Silas endured next. The jailer beat the missionaries, leaving them swollen, lacerated, and sticky with blood. It would have been impossible for the wounded evangelists to lie down on their backs after that. The jailer kept the prisoners as secure as possible in what we might call the dungeon, adding to the punishment by putting their feet in stocks. John Polhill describes this particular device:

Their feet were placed in wooden stocks, which were likely fastened to the wall. Often such stocks were used as instruments of torture; they had a number of holes for the legs, which allowed for severe stretching of the torso and thus created excruciating pain. (Acts, 353)

All of this makes the deliverance of this pair all the more dramatic.

Peter slept in prison (12:6); Paul and Silas sing in prison. Both sleeping and singing are expressions of faith and peace in the Lord (cf. Job 35:10). Those hearing the men’s raised voices were surely astonished by their example of faith in the midst of suffering. Silas and Paul probably lifted their voices in singing psalms, in quoting Scripture, and in pouring out their hearts in prayer. To all of this the prisoners listen eagerly, and then it happens. God shakes the earth!

Breaking chains is our Lord’s specialty. When chains fall off in this scene, the jailer panics. In fear of the consequences of having to report an empty prison, the jailer prepares to commit suicide. But while Paul and Silas could flee in the chaos following the earthquake, they pause to save this man’s life (v. 28). As the jailer calls for light, he rushes to fall before the missionaries with one question: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (v. 30). This jailer knew of the deliverance of the pythoness, and he had handled the incarceration of the missionary pair. He had probably been listening to their songs when the earth rocked beneath him. This question, then, makes sense.

Paul points the jailer to the only name that saves, to Jesus the Savior of Lydia and the Savior of the slave girl (v. 31; cf. 11:14). He effectively tells this man, “Jesus can transform you, and he can transform your whole family too.” That’s what we must keep telling people: all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved.

Soon the jailer’s whole household hears the gospel, believes it, and is baptized. The jailer, in an act of humility and repentance, not only washes the wounds of the missionaries but also serves the two a meal. This is a sweet picture of transformation! No longer does the jailer view the wounded men as prisoners; he cares for them as brothers in Christ. In this wonderful picture of gospel hospitality, the jailer and his family rejoice in their new life. Perhaps they even sing a few songs from the Prison Hymns Collection Paul and Silas advertised.

This blue-collar Roman jailer, jolted by a miracle, was converted to faith in Jesus through the proclaimed gospel. His story is another reminder that no one is beyond the reach of God’s saving grace. This account also highlights the gospel’s unifying power. Jesus incorporates all kinds of people into his family, intending that the individuals he saves then serve one another as brothers and sisters on a common mission.

Acts 16:35-40

Verse 35 records that at daylight the magistrates order the release of Paul and Silas. We aren’t told why. Likely they just want them to leave town. But when the jailer reports the order to Paul and Silas, Paul declares his Roman citizenship and demands due respect. The officials, he knows, have stepped beyond the boundaries of their authority—a serious offense.

Why does Paul respond by insisting on an official escort? He’s certainly not known for trying to humiliate people. So in all likelihood Paul did it to ensure the safety of the church he was leaving behind in Philippi. By showing that he and Silas had done nothing wrong and that Christianity was no threat to the Roman way of life, Paul helped the church’s relationship with the Roman authorities. He wanted to make sure the church had a good reputation and to protect it from future harassment. Once again Paul’s actions shout of his love for the church.

The magistrates were the lawbreakers in this story. Out of fear they came and apologized to Paul and Silas before escorting them out of the jail.

The missionaries make a visit before heading out of town. They stop at Lydia’s, where those comprising the local church had gathered. Don’t miss that, before this journey to Philippi, there were no spiritual brothers or sisters in Philippi. But now, because of the power of Jesus, Paul and Silas could meet with several members of their spiritual family. Among them, in all likelihood, were Lydia, the slave girl, the jailer’s family, and other converts too. Prior to meeting Christ, these individuals likely spent no time together. But accepting Jesus as Lord changes everything. In Christ people from all types of backgrounds are united as fellow citizens of heaven.

Thus, the first church on European soil is established! In Philippi, in the middle of the “Little Colony of the Kingdom of Rome,” there was suddenly a “Little Colony of the Kingdom of God.” Later Paul would write these words to this beloved church:

I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Phil 1:3-6)

Who knows? Maybe it was the slave girl who read the letter aloud to the congregation. Perhaps the jailer read it. It’s possible that Lydia did. What’s certain is that God did indeed begin a good work in Philippi, bringing many people to faith in Jesus and establishing a beachhead in Europe as he did so.

What a privilege to hear and receive this gospel! What a joy to partner in advancing the gospel with other brothers and sisters who confess Jesus as Lord! Let’s seek God’s guidance. Let’s trust in his power. Let’s declare his salvation day to day, from shore to shore, until the day when Christ returns.