NLT Illustrated Study Bible - Book of Acts - Flipbook - Page 51
A cts 1 6 : 2 6
2007
16:16
Deut 18:1011
1 Sam 28:3, 7
16:18
Mark 16:17
Acts 19:13
16:20
Acts 17:6
16:21
Esth 3:8
16:22
2 Cor 11:25
1 Thes 2:2
16:25
Eph 5:19
16:26
Acts 5:19; 12:10
Paul and Silas Imprisoned and Released
16 One day as we were going down to the
place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a
spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She
earned a lot of money for her masters by tell
ing fortunes. 17 She followed Paul and the rest
of us, shouting, “These men are servants of
the Most High God, and they have come to
tell you how to be saved.”
18 This went on day after day until Paul
got so exasperated that he turned and said
to the demon within her, “I command you in
the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.”
And instantly it left her.
19 Her masters’ hopes of wealth were now
shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and
dragged them before the authorities at the
marketplace. 20 “The whole city is in an uproar
because of these Jews!” they shouted to the
city officials. 21 “They are teaching customs
that are illegal for us Romans to practice.”
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 or
dered 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
himself. But beginning in Acts 16:10—the
point at which Luke joined Paul’s t eam—
he provides a direct eyewitness account.
Acts emphasizes the way the Holy Spirit
empowered and guided the early mission
aries in their witness (1:45, 8) and ends
with Paul still under house arrest in Rome
(28:3031).
We are indebted to Luke for many unique
passages: his full account of Jesus’ birth,
descriptions of Jesus’ ministry to women,
many words about Jesus caring for the poor,
and the only comprehensive account of
the first thirty years of Christian missionary
activity—all carefully documented. Through
Luke’s writings we gain a much deeper
appreciation of the crucial work of the Holy
Spirit in the ministry of Jesus and the early
missionaries.
was to extend hospitality to the visiting
missionaries. Hospitality is an impor
tant Christian virtue (Matt 25:3146;
Rom 12:13; 16:23; 1 Tim 3:2; Titus 1:8;
Heb 13:2; 1 Pet 4:9; 3 Jn 1:58; cp. Gen
18:18; 19:13; 24:2333).
16:1618 The second portrait of a
changed life in Philippi is of a slave girl
who had a spirit that enabled her to tell
the future. • Even though the demon
within her was stating the truth, Paul,
like Jesus, did not permit it to proclaim
the Christian message (cp. Mark 1:25,
34; 3:1112; Luke 4:35, 41). The Lord
had commanded that the gospel be pro
claimed by his disciples, not by oppo
nents (Acts 1:8; 9:15; 26:1518; Matt
28:1820; Luke 24:4649; John 20:21;
see Acts 22:15).
PROPHETS OF ISRAEL
16:1921 As in the ministry of Jesus,
sometimes the Good News threatened
established commercial interests (see
also 19:2527; Mark 5:120). The slave
girl’s exploiters viciously attacked the
missionaries and dragged them before
the authorities as criminals, blamed
them for fomenting a disturbance,
resorted to racial bias (these Jews),
and appealed to the Philippians’ pride
(us Romans; the Philippians prided
themselves on being Roman citizens of
a Roman colony). • customs that are
illegal: By law, Jews were not permitted
to make converts of Romans.
16:2224 All reasonable security mea
sures were taken to ensure that Paul
and Silas didn’t escape after they had
been stripped and beaten with wooden
GOSPELS & ACTS
rods (see 22:2426; 2 Cor 6:5; 11:2325).
As at Christ’s tomb (Matt 27:65), how
ever, human effort did not prevent
divine intervention.
16:25 Paul and Silas, like the perse
cuted apostles in Jerusalem, were joyful,
“rejoicing that God had counted them
worthy to suffer disgrace for the name
of Jesus” (5:41).
16:26 The massive earthquake is
reminiscent of the great earthquake
at Jesus’ resurrection (Matt 28:23).
L E T T E R S O F PAU L
OTHER LET TERS
