Acts 16 Study Notes

16:22-24 The chief magistrates acted rashly under the influence of the crowd. Paul and Silas were stripped . . . beaten, and thrown into jail before the charges against them were investigated.

16:25 Rather than being depressed or plotting escape, Paul and Silas displayed confidence in what God had in store for them. This was a powerful testimony to the other prisoners.

16:26 Luke does not say so, but clearly the violent earthquake was an act of God in response to the prayers and praises of Paul and Silas. The jailer understood this (v. 29).

16:27 If prisoners escaped, their Roman guards or jailers were forced to serve their sentences. Believing his prisoners had escaped, the Philippian jailer preferred a quick death over imprisonment or execution.

16:28 We are not told how Paul knew what the jailer was about to do. There may have been just enough light, Paul may have had prophetic insight, or he may have heard enough to surmise what was about to happen.

16:29-30 The jailer fell down trembling because he realized the earthquake was supernatural. This prompted him to ask the most important question in the book of Acts: What must I do to be saved? He was spared from death in the quake, spared from suicide by the discovery that the prisoners had not fled, and now wanted to be spared from God’s future judgment.

16:31 Paul and Silas had a direct answer for his straightforward question: Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household. On household baptism, see note at v. 15.

16:32 Paul’s initial response to the jailer was succinct and to the point. That Paul then spoke the word of the Lord may indicate that he followed his initial answer, which was aimed at bringing the jailer to saving faith, with a more detailed explanation aimed at building the new disciple’s understanding of God and the Christian life.

16:33 Baptism for the jailer and all his family followed almost immediately upon their profession of faith in the Lord. On household baptism, see note at v. 15.

16:34 The jailer’s joy is palpable. What looked like a life-threatening disaster became the joyous beginning of his new life in Christ. He and his family became part of the growing church at Philippi, a church that was dear to Paul. When Paul later wrote that he thanked God every time he remembered the Philippians, this man and his family may have come to mind (Php 1:3).

16:35-36 At dawn the chief magistrates ordered that Paul and Silas be released. It is possible that the magistrates ordered Paul and Silas released because they realized they had overreacted in jailing them in the first place. It is also likely that the magistrates experienced the earthquake and were told about the events at the jail, thus prompting them to fear God’s judgment.

16:37 Paul knew the laws regulating punishment of Roman citizens. Having been illegally beaten and denied trial, he refused to be released and pretend nothing had happened. Paul’s Roman citizenship is mentioned here for the first time in Acts (see 22:25-29; 23:27; 25:11). Roman citizens were exempt from certain kinds of punishment (e.g., crucifixion) and were entitled to due process prior to punishment. The question arises as to how Paul would have proven his citizenship. There probably was a register in Tarsus that recorded his citizenship, but citizens also often carried small wooden tablets (some of which have been found), something like a modern passport, that they used to prove their citizenship. Perhaps Paul carried such a document.

16:38 The fear of the magistrates is understandable. Philippi was a Roman colony that followed Roman law. Many people in the town would have known about the rights of a Roman citizen.

16:39-40 Though not obligated to do so, Paul and Silas chose to count the apology as amends for the wrongs they had suffered. Many times it is best for the Christian to forego demanding full justice.