Between the Amphitheater and the Agora (city market) was a small stone jail where Paul and Silas most likely were held. A story that most of us are very familiar with. If not for the sign marking the way, we could have easily missed it, but the prison was one of the top things that we were there in Philippi to see. So we made sure our guide took us there.

 

We took a picture of the sign and then walked down the rocky steps and turned the corner to the entry. It had a metal gate at the entrance that was there to help people like us visualize. I’m not really sure what the original gate would have looked like. We got as close as we could and took a look inside. The jail was much smaller than I had imagined, but we were told this was not the big prison that would be outside of town. This jail was more of a holding area. It was close to the main entrance to the Agora, where it would have been easy and convenient for the magistrates to have Paul and Silas arrested just inside the city entrance, have them publicly flogged, and then imprisoned.

 

 

It all started with a demon. A demon-possessed slave girl, to be exact. Not a great way to start! For some reason, this crazy girl kept following Paul around when he was trying to preach. She would yell and shout and tell people that Paul & Silas were servants of the Most High. It wasn’t a lie. They were. But this girl was out of her mind. She was not credible. Her disruptions were not only hurting the preaching of the Gospel, but she was also just completely annoying. Paul finally had enough of it! He finally put an end to it. He stopped the distractions by casting the demon out of her.

 

Now, this should have been a good thing. Right? Everyone should have celebrated. I mean, who doesn’t want demons cast out? Way out!! But that was not the mindset for her owners. It made them very upset. Why? Because they could no longer make money from her. They evidently had control over her, owned her. And she was able to tell fortunes and predict the future, so they were making boatloads of money. They cared nothing about the girl, only about their pocketbooks. Some things just never change. It’s always about money, isn’t it? When people lose money, it can really make them angry. Very angry!

 

These angry men grabbed Paul & Silas and dragged them before the city officials. It was probably a huge scene that took place. They demanded that they be severely beaten with rods and then arrested and thrown into the city jail, into the inner part of the jail, the place of the worst criminals. Welcome to Philippi, Paul!

 

It didn’t take long for Paul & Silas to make their presence known. They seem to be very good at making an entrance! Love them or hate them, the people knew and had heard about them and had heard about the message they preached.

 

But that is not the end of the story. That is just the beginning! About midnight, praise and worship broke out in Philippi! Where, you ask? In the city! In the jail! Singing was heard. And if I know Paul, it was “Hot and loud” singing! Hand raising and everything!

 

I wonder how many people may have been in town that night. Maybe it was a Friday night, and people were up late hanging out. Maybe people had just left the Amphitheater after a packed-out event, perhaps a Greek tragedy.  I bet the sound of the singing and praising echoed off the hard stone walls and out the window and door of the small jail. A concert of true joy coming from the heart and soul of two men who loved the Lord more than they loved themselves. More worried about spreading the Gospel than about their own hurts and pains endured. The singing and praising were not only beneficial for them and lifted their spirits, it was for others. It helped them focus on God as they praised him and remembered the privilege to suffer with Christ for the Gospel. The worship was also for others to hear. It was for others to witness love in action. Worship has always had a great effect on those who participate and those around! And it certainly did that night!

 

All of the other prisoners would have heard them. The prison guards would have heard them. People outside the entrance to the jail would have heard them. Then, as if loud and joyful singing from the jail cell was not enough to get everyone’s attention and perhaps soften their hearts, God sent an earthquake! Why an earthquake? It was time to break the chains! 

 

Chains fell off of Paul & Silas. Now, you have to understand… The chains didn’t just come loose from the wall, which would make sense as the earthquake shook the walls, but the bindings (think of handcuffs and yokes) opened and came off their hands, feet, neck, wherever fastened. That doesn’t make sense. That is a miracle!!

 

And not only did 2 sets of chains come loose from Paul & Silas, the singing duet, but the chains and bindings fell off every prisoner! WOW! What a Night! Chains, ropes, bindings, bondage, and everything that held them down fell and dropped to the ground. What a POWERFUL testimony, both physically and spiritually.

 

A miracle – not luck! A miracle – not a coincidence. A miracle – not some unexplained phenomenon. It was the hand-of-God type miracle!

 

Here is something to think about. Did you know that people are always watching what you and I do, even when we don’t realize or aren’t aware of it? They are listening to what we say, how we react, and how we live out what we say. Just let us or someone mess up, and the news will spread like wildfire. How we live our lives, the faith that we exhibit, speaks as a witness to what we believe. Their testimony did not waver or fail, but remained steadfast and strong during the worst and hardest times. A great example for us.

 

Our witness can speak its loudest during trials and tribulations.

 

The result of their witness that night? Salvation for many! Isn’t that exactly why God sent Paul to Macedonia, to Philippi?

 

Here’s what happened. The jailer, who is Roman, knew that he was in serious trouble. He was scared. More like, terrified! He knew that if all the prisoners had escaped, then the Roman officials would have him executed for failing his duties by letting prisoners flee. A serious crime, punishable by death! And why would the prisoners not escape when given the chance? Who wouldn’t take off running? So, the jailer thought he was as good as dead. He started to take matters into his own hands and kill himself rather than face the punishment and humiliation from the Roman Empire.

 

But, before he could harm himself, Paul stopped him. Can’t you just see good ol’ Apostle Paul? Poor guy, he wasn’t much to look at to begin with, but after the flogging and rough events of the night, he would have been extremely dirty and bloody, and frankly, a mess. But that didn’t stop him from approaching this clean-cut, neatly dressed, dignified, and powerful Roman guard who had authority over him.

 

Just picture this with me…As the overly distraught guard lifted his sword up in the air to do the deed, Paul intervened. He dramatically stopped the sword in midair. His hand grabbed the forearm of the guard, and time momentarily stopped like a clip in a motion picture. Paul looked him in the eye as he looked back with total disbelief. “What was he doing?” he thought. “Why did he stop me?” he wondered.

 

While his hand was still holding tight to him, Paul paused for a dramatic cinematic moment. Then, after a few seconds had passed, Paul broke into a big smile (I just hope he had all his teeth). He lowered the guard’s arm and assured him that all the prisoners were still there. The overwhelmed guard felt weak in the knees, opened his hand, and released the sword. The falling weapon was kicked to the side as Paul placed his hand on his shoulder as a friend, as someone who cared. (A perfect movie clip if ever there was one!)

 

The guard turned and looked just to his side to see, stepping out of the fog of dust and dirt, Silas and all of the prisoners. Everyone was still there. Everyone accounted for. Not one was missing. That is a miracle, wouldn’t you say? It definitely was for that prison guard!

 

So, question for you? The prisoners who had not met Paul before that night or had no connection to Paul stayed. Why?  Why did they stay? Why did they not run? They could have. They had an opportunity. I wonder if they had already figured out that Paul was different than anyone they had ever met. He was a true man of God. The true God! They must have realized that they were much better off with him because God was with him. Maybe they were curious about or perhaps believed the words that Paul preached and sang about that night. There was no reason for them to hang around, but they did… So, don’t you just wonder what in the world happened to them after that night? Did they become part of the Philippi church? Did they want to know more about the God that Paul spoke about? If they didn’t, they should have! Just saying!

 

Okay, so back to the story. (I wandered) No one had fled the scene. No prisoner had escaped. Evidently, this was a big surprise to the Roman guard. I’m thinking, “Why didn’t he look first before going to such extremes?” (Glad we never jump to conclusions!) But, maybe the earthquake caused a lot of noise from the earthquake, rocks falling, chains falling, and maybe people screaming and yelling. Maybe there was a thick cloud of dust as the rock wall crumbled. Maybe it was dark in the prison at night. Maybe he was not in the prison, but just outside, just a few feet away. Perhaps a few minutes had passed after the earthquake and before he got his senses back to reality, until he actually walked down the steps to the prison to check. Perhaps not a sound was made. No one was screaming or making any sounds of trying to break loose. The prison was quiet, too quiet. So he just assumed they had escaped, as anyone would. I don’t know for sure, the Bible doesn’t say, but he obviously was clueless that everyone was still there.

 

Now, here is when the “aha moment” happened.  He had seen how they had been mistreated, beaten, and imprisoned. The jailer had heard Paul & Silas preach, sing, and worship all night. He had witnessed the earthquake and the chains falling off every prisoner. He had witnessed Paul’s concern for him. That is when it all clicked. He knew that something was different about these two men. His response? “What must I do to be saved? I want what you got!“

 

Paul explained the Gospel Good News to the Roman guard who probably knew nothing about God. He had only experienced the fake gods and the statues of the day. The gods that were made of wood and stone, who could neither speak, move, or had any power. He believed because of the faithful witness of these two men. Their God was different. Their God was the real God, and he wanted to know the real God. He was gloriously saved and baptized that night. And not just him, but his whole family! He couldn’t wait for the Gospel to be shared with his family. So, he took them into his home, fed them, and cleaned their wounds. What a story!!!

 

Have you ever considered that it wasn’t just Paul & Silas that were released from “chains” that night? It took a reliable witness to speak of salvation. It took an earthquake from God to loosen his own chains of sin.

 

 

Once the officials of Philippi find out all the events of the night and are informed that Paul is a Roman citizen, things changed. Roman citizens were not to be beaten or treated unjustly. That was the law. That sort of treatment could only be administered to those who were not Roman citizens. The magistrates were scared. They had committed a very serious offense and were worried about the consequences. So, the tables turned. They were not putting Paul back in prison. They were not filling out any report forms. They wanted the whole thing to just go away. They wanted Paul to go away. So, they begged Paul to leave the city. Leave Philippi! Please!

 

So, he did. He said goodbye to the Roman jailer and his family. He said goodbye to Lydia and the other friends that he had made at the River. He said goodbye to the newly established church of Philippi, a church that would always have a very special place in his heart. He would stay in contact with the first church he started in his calling to Macedonia. 

 

Even though things started well in Philippi, even though great things happened, even though the Gospel was spread, and lifelong relationships were made, things quickly turned bad. It was not for Paul to stay long in Philippi. God had other places for him to go. There was more road to travel. There were more trials to endure. There were more people to encounter. There was more Gospel to be preached. 

 

Paul turned his sights to the next city along the Via Egnatia. The city of Thessaloniki would be next. It would be a city that would hold many troubles as well, but that was the journey that God asked him to travel.