Issachar_Acts16 - The Visual Bible Explorer Series

Chapter 16 Acts 16

Paul Brings Timothy Along (vv. 1-5)

Paul travelled on to Derbe and Lystra, where a Christian named Timothy ^a lived. His mother, ^b who was also a Christian, was Jewish, but his father was a Greek. ^{c 2} All the believers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of Timothy. ³ Paul wanted to take Timothy along with him, so he circumcised him. ^d He did so because all the Jews who lived in those places knew that Timothy’s father was Greek. ⁴ As they went through the towns, they delivered to the believers the rules decided upon by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, and they told them to obey those rules. ⁵ So the churches were made stronger in the faith and grew in numbers every day.

Interesting Stuff:

^a Paul calls Timothy ‘my own dear and faithful son in the Christian life’ (1 Co 4:17), a description which suggests that Timothy was one of his converts during his earlier visit to Lystra. It was thought that Timothy was in his teens at this time.

^b In 2 Ti 1:5, we learn that his mother was called Eunice and that he also had a Christian grandmother called Lois. Evidently, the whole family had been converted.

^c The way the father is described in the Greek and the silence concerning any faith on his part suggests that he was neither a convert to Judaism nor a Christian and was probably already dead.

^d As the son of a mixed marriage, Timothy’s position was unclear. Jews were not supposed to marry Gentiles, but if this did happen, the children were regarded as Jewish and therefore liable to be circumcised. No reasons were given why this did not take place where Timothy was concerned. Since Paul’s mission would bring Timothy into contact with Jews, it was better in Paul’s mind to circumcise Timothy to avoid problems with the Jews since he would be regarded as a Jew in the eyes of the Jewish world.

Questions:

Give a brief description of Timothy (vv. 1-3).

2. Why did Paul circumcise Timothy (v. 3)?

3. Describe what they did after that and the result of their work (vv. 4-5).

Summary of Section:

Paul travelled to Derbe and Lystra where a Christian named Timothy lived.
His mother was also a Christian but Jewish whereas his father was a Greek.
All the believers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.
Paul wanted to take Timothy along with him and so he circumcised Timothy because all the believers in the places they were going knew that his father was a Greek.
As they went through the towns, they delivered to the churches the rules decided upon by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem.
They told the believers to obey them. Thus the churches were made stronger in faith and grew in numbers daily.

Nuggets of Wisdom

Lystra and Derbe were the last Galatian towns that Paul visited on his first missionary journey. So now, Derbe and Lystra are named in the reverse order as Paul approached them from the east.
Luke records two important facts about this visit. One was that Timothy was chosen by Paul as a missionary to accompany him. The second was the communication of the decisions of the Jerusalem council to the churches in those areas.
Wherever the good news of the decisions of the Jerusalem council were taken, the churches accepted them and grew in stability and numbers.

Paul Receives a Vision in Troas (vv. 6-10)

⁶ They travelled through the region of Phrygia and Galatia ^e because the Holy Spirit did not let them preach the message in the province of Asia. ^{f 7} When they reached the border of Mysia, ^g they tried to go into the province of Bithynia, ^h but the Spirit of Jesus ⁱ did not allow them. ⁸ So they travelled right on through Mysia and went to Troas. ^{j 9} That night Paul had a vision in which he saw a Macedonian standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia ^k and help us!” ¹⁰ As soon as Paul had this vision, we got ready to leave for Macedonia, because we ^l decided that God had called us to preach the Good News to the people there.

Interesting Stuff:

^e This probably referred to one area, the Phrygian and Galatian region. It lay westward from Iconium through which Paul would pass on his way to Mysia. The area called Phrygia lay partly in the province of Galatia and the province of Asia (refer to ‘Map of Regions Around the Mediterranean Sea’, p. xxxv). Galatia was a large Roman province that lay to the north of Pamphylia and to the east of Asia. See chap 14, note c for other details on Galatia.

^f Asia was a Roman province that lay to the west of Galatia and includes the smaller districts of Mysia and Phrygia. Its capital was Ephesus (see chap 6, note s).

^g Mysia was the northwest part of the province of Asia.

^h Bithynia was another Roman province that lay to the east of Mysia. As Paul’s party moved northwest along the borders of Mysian territory, they decided to go on into the area of Bithynia in order to evangelise the strategic cities and important ports along the Black Sea, all of which were interconnected by an elaborate Roman road system. But, as Luke tells us, the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to do so because He had other plans for them.

ⁱ The ‘Holy Spirit’ was used at times interchangeably with ‘God’ and here it is used interchangeably with the ’Spirit of Jesus’.

^j Troas was a Roman colony and an important seaport for trade between the Roman colonies to the east and Macedonia to the west. At some time, perhaps on Paul’s second or third missionary journey, a church was started in Troas. This is because Paul ministered to the believers there when he returned from his third missionary journey on his way to Jerusalem (20:5-12).

^k Macedonia had become a Roman colony in 148 B.C. It lay to the north of Achaia (Greece).
^l This is where the ‘we’ passages of Acts begin. The conclusion is that Luke is informing the reader that he had joined the group at Troas.

Questions:

Why did they travel through the region of Phrygia and Galatia (v. 6)?

2. What happened when they reached the border of Mysia (vv. 7-8)?

3. Describe what happened that night in Troas (v. 9).

4. What conclusion did Paul and his companions come to (v. 10)?

Who were his companions at this time (vv. 3, 10; 15:40)?

Summary of Section:

Paul and his companions travelled through the region of Phrygia and Galatia because the Holy Spirit did not let them preach the message in the province of Asia.
When they reached the border of Mysia, they tried to go into the province of Bythinia but the Holy Spirit did not allow them.
So they travelled right on through Mysia till they reached Troas. That night Paul had a vision.
In his vision, he saw a Macedonian standing and begging him to go over to Macedonia and help them.
They got ready to leave immediately for Macedonia because they decided that God had called them to preach the gospel to the Macedonians.

Nuggets of Wisdom

Luke does not explain what Paul’s plans were for the continuation of his missionary journey, or whether he had any. But the most important aspect of Paul’s second missionary journey was that during it, the seed of the gospel was sown for the first time in European soil, i.e., in Macedonia. It had not been in Paul’s mind but it had definitely been in the mind of God because that was where the Spirit guided Paul and his companions to.
Luke makes it very clear that although Paul’s progress was directed by God in a variety of ways, they also had to discern for themselves what God was saying to them. After the double pro- hibition, barring them from entering Asia and Bithynia and then leading them to Troas, followed by the night vision calling for help, they concluded that God was calling them to preach in Macedonia.

Lydia Is Converted in Philippi (vv. 11-15)

¹¹ We left by ship from Troas and sailed straight across to Samothrace, ^m and the next day to Neapolis. ^{n 12} From there we went inland to Philippi, ^o a city of the first district of Macedonia; it is also a Roman colony. We spent several days there. ¹³ On the Sabbath we went out of the city to the riverside, where we thought there would be a place where Jews gathered for prayer. ^p We sat down and talked to the women who gathered there. ¹⁴ One of those who heard us was Lydia ^qfrom Thyatira, ^r who was a dealer in purple cloth. She was a woman who worshipped God, ^s and the Lord opened her mind to pay attention to what Paul was saying. ¹⁵ After she and the people of her house had been baptised, she invited us, “Come and stay in my house ^t if you have decided that I am a true believer in the Lord.” And she persuaded us to go.

Interesting Stuff:

^m Samothrace was an island in the northeastern Aegean Sea lying between Troas and Philippi. It was a convenient place for boats to anchor rather than risk sailing at night.

ⁿ Neapolis was the seaport for Philippi, 16 km (10 miles) away.

^o Philippi was a city in eastern Macedonia named after Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. Macedonia had four districts, and Philippi was in the first of these. It was a Roman colony and many retired soldiers from the Roman army settled there, but few Jews. Its fame in earlier days came from its fertile plain and gold in the mountains to the north. Philippi’s importance during the NT period resulted from its agriculture, its strategic commercial location on both sea and land routes, its still functioning gold mines, and its status as a Roman colony. In addition, it had a famous school of medicine with graduates throughout the then-known world.

^p A synagogue could only be established where there were at least ten men. Since there is no mention of a synagogue, it is probable that there were very few Jews in Philippi. Thus the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles probably gathered by custom to pray along the river bank. It was probably outside the town because the authorities would not allow the Jews to meet inside it. The nearness to a river might have been so that water would be available for the Jewish ritual purification.

^p Lydia was a businesswoman. Her name may be associated with her place of origin, the district of Lydia in the Roman province of Asia.

^r Thyatira was in the Roman province of Asia. It was famous for making purple dyes and for dyeing clothes, industries that were mostly carried on by women at home. Lydia had most likely come to Philippi to carry on her trade.

^s Lydia was a Gentile who, like Cornelius (see 10:2), believed in the true God and followed the moral teachings of Scripture. She had not, however, become a full convert to Judaism. She was likely either a widow or unmarried. Some of the women gathered for worship were relatives and servants living in her home, all of whom were baptised.

^t From such small beginnings the church at Philippi began. To judge from his letter to the Philippians, it was one of Paul’s most- loved congregations. Luke, as suggested above, was probably involved in the establishment and growth of this church. Soon, it seems, Lydia’s home became the centre for Christian outreach and worship in Philippi.

Questions:

Where did Paul and his companions go after leaving Troas (vv. 11-12)?

2. What did they do in Philippi (v. 13)?

3. Describe one of the women that Paul talked to there (vv. 14-15).

Summary of Section:

Paul and his companions left by ship from Troas and sailed straight across to Samothrace, and then onto Neapolis the next day.
From there they travelled inland to Philippi, an important city in Macedonia and stayed a few days there.
On a Sabbath, they went out of the city to the riverside where they thought there would be a place where the Jews gathered for prayer.
They met some women and sat down and talked to them. One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a dealer in purple cloth.
She was a woman who worshipped God. God opened her mind to what Paul was saying and she became a Christian.
After she and her household were baptised, she invited and persuaded them to go and stay in her house if they had decided that she was a true believer in the Lord.

Nuggets of Wisdom

Luke devotes more space to Paul’s mission in Philippi than he does to any other city on his second and third missionary journeys. And this was despite the brief stay there.
The arrival of the missionaries in Philippi led to a successful evangelism among the women associated with the Jewish faith. Although the message was shared by Paul, it was God’s initiative in opening up Lydia’s heart to respond.

Paul and Silas Are in Prison in Philippi (vv. 16-40)

¹⁶ One day as we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had an evil spirit u that enabled her to predict the future. She earned a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes. ¹⁷ She followed Paul and us, ^v shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God! ^w They announce to you how you can be saved!” ^{x 18} She did this for many days, until Paul became so upset that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I order you to come out of her!” The spirit went out of her that very moment. ¹⁹ When her owners realised that their chance of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them to the authorities in the public square. ^{y 20} They brought them before the Roman officials ^z and said, “These men are Jews, and they are causing trouble in our city. ²¹ They are teaching customs that are against our law; ^a’ we are Roman citizens, and we cannot accept these customs or practise them.” ²² And the crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas.
Then the officials tore the clothes off Paul and Silas and ordered them to be whipped. ^{b’ 23} After a severe beating, they were thrown into jail, and the jailer was ordered to lock them up tight. ²⁴ Upon receiving this order, the jailer threw them into the inner cell and fastened their feet between heavy blocks of wood. ^c’
²⁵ About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶ Suddenly there was a violent earth-quake, which shook the prison to its foundations. At once all the doors opened, and the chains fell off all the prisoners. ²⁷ The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he thought that the prisoners had escaped; so he pulled out his sword and was about to kill himself. ^d’ ²⁸ But Paul shouted at the top of his voice, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
²⁹ The jailer called for a light, rushed in, and fell trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas. ³⁰ Then he led them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ^{e’
31} They answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your family.” ³² Then they preached the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in the house. ³³ At that very hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; and he and all his family were baptised at once. ³⁴ Then he took Paul and Silas up into his house and gave them some food to eat. He and his family were filled with joy, because they now believed in God.
³⁵ The next morning the Roman authorities sent police officers with the order, “Let those men go.”
³⁶ So the jailer told Paul, “The officials have sent an order for you and Silas to be released. You may leave, then, and go in peace.”
³⁷ But Paul said to the police officers, “We were not found guilty of any crime, yet they whipped us in public – and we are Roman citizens! ^f’ Then they threw us in prison. And now they want to send us away secretly? Not at all! The Roman officials themselves must come here ^g’ and let us out.”
³⁸ The police officers reported these words to the Roman officials; and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were afraid. ³⁹ So they went and apologised to them; then they led them out of the prison and asked them to leave the city. 40 Paul and Silas left the prison and went to Lydia’s house. There they met the believers, spoke words of encouragement to them, and left. ^h’

Interesting Stuff:

^u The literal translation is ‘a spirit, a python’. It referred to the snake which was killed by the Greek god Apollo according to the Greek legends. This mythical snake was worshipped at the Temple of Apollo. The term ‘python’ came to be used of persons through whom the python spirit supposedly spoke. Since such persons spoke involuntarily, the term ‘ventriloquist’ was used to describe them.

^v The ‘we’ section ends here and begins again in 20:5.

^w This was a common title among both Jews and Greeks who used it for their deities. However, it was not used of God in the NT either by Jews or Christians.

^x While being ‘saved’ for Paul and the Jews referred to deliverance from sin, to the Gentiles it meant release from the powers that governed the fate of humans and of the world.

^y This was the town square which was the business centre of the city.

^z Other versions translate this term as ‘magistrates’.

^a’ If a religion failed to receive Roman approval, it was considered an illegal religion. Judaism had legal recognition, but Christianity did not.

^b’ They were beaten with rods.

^c’ These were used not only for extra security but also for torture.

^d’ If a prisoner escaped, the life of the guard was demanded in his place (see 12:19). To kill himself would take away the shame and distress.

^e’ The jailer had probably heard that these were preachers of a way of salvation (v. 17). Now with the earthquake and his own near death, he wanted to know about the way.

^f’ According to Roman law, a Roman citizen could travel anywhere within Roman territory under the protection of Rome. He was not subject to local laws unless he consented, and he could appeal to be tried by Rome, not by local authorities, when in difficulty. Public beating for a Roman citizen would have been illegal, let alone beating without a trial. To beat and imprison a Roman citizen without a trial was a serious offense.

^g’ Paul and Silas were asking for an escort not only for their own sakes to establish their innocence but also for the sake of the church in Philippi (to provide some measure of protection for the few believers meeting at Lydia’s home) and its future.

^h’ After leaving the prison, Paul and Silas met with the small body of Christians at the house of Lydia and encouraged them in their new faith. Then they left with Timothy to go westward toward Thessalonica. Apparently, Luke stayed behind at Philippi, for only later (20:5) does the second ‘we’ section begin again at Philippi.

Questions:

Who were they met by as they were going to the place of prayer (v. 16)?

2. What was different about this girl (v. 16)?

3. What did she do for many days (vv. 17-18)?

4. What did Paul do in the end (v. 18)?

5. Name the other city in which Paul demonstrated the same power.

6. Describe what happened to Paul and Silas as a result of the change in the girl (vv. 19-24).

7. What did Paul and Silas do in the prison (v. 25)?

Describe what happened to the prison (v. 26).

8. How did the jailer react to what happened (v. 27)?

9. Describe what happened to the jailer and his family (vv. 28-32).

10. What did they do for Paul and Silas (vv. 33-34)?

11. Relate what happened to Paul and Silas in the morning (vv. 35-39).

12. What did Paul and Silas do after leaving the prison (v. 40)?

Summary of Section:

One day as Paul and his companions were going to the place of prayer, they were met by a slave girl who had an evil spirit that enabled her to predict the future.
She earned a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes.
She followed Paul and his friends around, shouting that they were servants of the Most High God who announced to those listening how they could be saved.
She did this for many days until Paul became so upset that he ordered the spirit to come out of her in the name of Jesus Christ. The spirit obeyed immediately.
When the owners realised that they could no longer make their money from this girl, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them to the Roman authorities in the public square.
They brought them before the Roman officials and told them that Paul and Silas were Jews who were causing trouble in their city. They accused them of teaching customs that were against their Roman customs and the crowd joined in the attack against them.
The officials tore the clothes off their backs and ordered them to be severely whipped. They were then thrown into jail.
The jailer was ordered to lock them up tight. So he threw them into the inner cell and fastened their feet between blocks of wood.
About midnight when Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns with the other prisoners listening to them, a violent earthquake took place which shook the prison to its foundations.
At once all the prison doors opened and the chains fell off all the prisoners.
When the jailer woke up and saw the opened doors, he wanted to kill himself with his sword because he thought the prisoners had escaped.
Paul shouted to him not to kill himself and that they were all there. The jailer called for a light, rushed in and fell trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas. He then asked what he must do to be saved.
They asked him and his family to believe in the Lord Jesus. Then they preached the word of the Lord to him and all in the house. The jailer washed their wounds and they baptised him and his family at once.
He took them to his house and gave them food to eat. He and his family were filled with joy because they now believed in God.
The next morning, the Roman authorities sent police officers with the order to let them go. But when the jailer told Paul and Silas that they were to be released, they refused to go.
Paul told the officers that they were not found guilty of any crime and yet were whipped in public and thrown into prison. Moreover, they were Roman citizens. He refused to be sent off secretly and wanted the Roman officials to come and let them out themselves.
When the police officers reported these words to the Roman officials and they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were afraid.
So they went and apologised to them. Then they led them out of the prison and asked them to leave the city.
After they left, they went to Lydia’s house and met the believers. Paul and Silas spoke words of encouragement to them and then left.

Nuggets of Wisdom

The slave owners were very clever. They not only concealed the real reason for their anger but they presented their legal charge in such a way that they appealed to the crowd’s anti-Jewish feelings (anti- Jewish feelings were common throughout the Roman empire) and their racial pride as Romans. Their charge against Paul and Silas was that they were Jews causing a public disturbance and introducing an illegal religion which went against Roman customs and thus disturbing the Roman peace. The accusations of causing a riot and introducing an alien religion or cult that had not received public approval from Rome were serious.
However, the arrest and imprisonment could not stop the progress of the gospel but rather helped it. One would expect that after such brutal treatment, Paul and Silas would be complaining about their plight. Although they were suffering from pain and shock from the flogging, Paul and Silas were ‘praying and singing hymns to God’. And God demonstrated His power and vindi- cated his servants by sending an earthquake to release them from their chains.
The gift of salvation, offered to the jailer, was also offered to his whole household, including servants. They, however, also had to hear the Word themselves, believe and be baptised. The jailer’s faith did not cover them.
Paul did not want to depart before receiving a public apology because most likely he did not want the author- ities to similarly treat missionaries like them in the future without checking their status. He might also have wanted to prevent the Philippian church from facing such treatment from the authorities in the future.
As a result of Paul’s visit, there was formed a church with which Paul had an exceptionally warm relationship as seen in the tone of his letter to the Philippians.