Introduction

Paul and Silas experienced the typical mistreatment that Romans imposed on non-Romans. Instead of escaping that abuse, they endured it and leveraged their privilege of Roman citizenship to expose how non-Romans were treated unjustly.

Acts 16:16–40

16 HER OWNERS. Her multiple human owners contrast with the true lord/owner: Jesus Christ (Keener Acts 395). Who is/are our ‘masters’? Who dictates our comings and goings?

16 A GREAT DEAL OF MONEY. Given the fees for oracular consultation at stationary shrines, her owners could indeed acquire a great deal of money (Keener Acts 395). How do you see corporations and institutions exploit people today for great profits?

18 PAUL, VERY MUCH ANNOYED. Though the demon declared the truth through this slave girl, nevertheless, she needed to be free to acknowledge Christ on her own, and Paul could not endure seeing her tormented any longer. Praise from entities that oppose God is unacceptable (Maximos et al. 1498). Why is it important for a person to say what is true and do what is right freely, rather than under compulsion? Who do you wish to see liberated and healed?

19 THEIR HOPE OF MAKING MONEY WAS GONE. The word “came out” (16:18) and “gone” (16:19) are the same Greek word exerchomai. Their profits were expelled with the demon. In other words, they would make profits only as long as this young girl remained demonized. But deliverance from demonic bondage takes precedence over economic interests (Keener Acts 403). How would your world change if there was spiritual and economic liberation? Would it hurt your status?

20 THEY HAD BROUGHT THEM BEFORE THE MAGISTRATES. In Roman courts, the accuser’s status was normally higher than the defendant’s. Here Roman citizens believe that they accuse lowly non-Romans (Keener Acts 403-404). What do you know about implicit bias? How is it at work in this passage?

20 THEY ARE JEWS. Although the accusers’ motives were mostly about money, they retaliate for their financial loss by choosing charges guaranteed to arouse patriotic anger, by claiming that Paul and Silas oppose local customs (Keener Acts 403). How good are you at discerning a person’s or an organization’s ulterior motives?

22 THE CROWD JOINED IN ATTACKING. The slave owners incite xenophobic unrest – meanwhile audaciously accusing the defendants of inciting unrest! (Keener Acts 404). What are some ways Christians can resist xenophobia?

22 THE CROWD. The authorities should have put Paul and Silas in custody to be formally tried; but, pressured by the crowds, they publicly beat them without trial (Coleman 1782). Have you seen public opinion sway the judicial system?

22 STRIPPED…BEATEN. Unless the accused were Roman citizens, they were normally beaten before the trial as a means of securing evidence; in practice, lower-class persons had few legal protections. Roman magistrates’ attendants, called lictors, carried rods in bundles, and with these rods they beat the foreigners here. Sometimes, as here, the accused were stripped first. Public beatings served not only to secure evidence but also to humiliate those beaten and to discourage their followers (Keener The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament Ac 16:22). What are some similarities and some differences between the police brutality of ancient Rome and the contemporary U.S.?

Why didn’t Paul say, “Wait a minute. I’m a Roman citizen,” before the whip was unleashed, before his back was beaten, before he was cast into the dungeon, before he was locked in stocks? Why didn’t Paul claim his Roman citizenship earlier? And why did he claim it when he did? (Courson 742)

Paul faced this hardship of being beaten more than once (see 2 Cor 11:25). Law courts were loud and often disorderly, and mobs still louder. Perhaps their Judean experience may have made such protests seem useless; in the provinces, corrupt governors might punish such critics even more harshly (Keener Acts 406-407). Do you ever feel like it is futile to resist, protest, or do the right thing?

Citizenship was difficult to prove quickly. Tarsus should have public records, but Tarsus was some 700 miles away. Perhaps back at Lydia’s home Paul had a testatio, a certified private copy inscribed on the waxed surfaces of a small wooden diptych. Still, we do not know if he replaced it after shipwrecks (2 Cor 11:25), and magistrates were free to reject such evidence and wait for witnesses to travel instead. The accused might also wait in jail until the governor visited Philippi (Keener Acts 407). Share some of the ways in which those without privilege have a harder time proving their innocence.

24 INNERMOST CELL. This is the harshest custody normally reserved for the most serious crimes (Keener Acts 408). Why these prisoners were considered worthy of such precautions is uncertain, but it sets up a contrast with God’s ability to free them in spite of the security measures taken to oppress them (Coleman 1782). How are Christians treated harshly today? How do Christians treat those of other faiths harshly today?

24 STOCKS. Stocks were normally reserved for prisoners of the lowest social status (Keener Acts 408). Stocks were often used for torture as well as detention, with extra holes so the legs could be forced into painful positions (Keener IVP Ac 16:24).

25 PRAYING AND SINGING. Being persecuted unjustly for Christ leads Paul and Silas to joy rather than sorrow (Maximos et al. 1499). Why would this be cause for joy? Does this joy mean that we should remain in unjust treatment? Have you been able to be joyful even in the midst of suffering for Christ?

27 KILL HIMSELF. A jailer who let prisoners escape would be subject to cruel torture and execution (Maximos et al. 1499). When confronted with execution (in this case, for letting prisoners escape), Romans considered suicide a noble alternative (Keener IVP Ac 16:27). How can you grow in your awareness about mental health, depression, and suicide in your community?

33 WASHED…BAPTIZED. Poetically, the jailer washes their wounds, and they wash him in baptism (Keener Acts 413). What is the significance of baptism for you?

34 HE BROUGHT THEM UP INTO THE HOUSE. After being ordered to keep Paul and Silas securely (Acts 16:23), removing them from jail and from their restraints would have been deemed negligence or complicit (Keener Acts 413). Bringing the missionaries into his home (16:34) is risky, especially given the witnesses present (16:28–29). The jailer, recently prepared for suicide in 16:27, now is “ready to risk” “his career and professional prestige”; this is a radical conversion. In short, the man has been “saved” (16:30–31), and has thereby joined the ranks of the oppressed, as Paul had earlier (cf. 9:16) (Keener Acts 412). List out the ways the jailer acts subversively. What are the risks of subversion? 

35 LET THOSE MEN GO. Why do you think the magistrates wanted to release Paul and Silas early in the morning? Perhaps they never intended long-range punishment beyond the initial, public show of force. Perhaps the earthquake, though probably localized, gave the magistrates second thoughts. Pagans usually attributed earthquakes to the activities of deities and viewed earthquakes as portents. Perhaps the jailer sent word about their honorable behavior in the wake of the quake (Keener Acts 414). What ways do you think are effective at keeping corrupt authorities accountable?

37 ROMAN CITIZENS. Roman citizenship in the provinces in this period was a mark of high status (especially because Paul’s family was from Tarsus, not a Roman colony, and thus must have received it for special service or as freed persons of a well-to-do Roman). The Julian law forbade binding or beating Roman citizens without trial. Falsely claiming citizenship was a capital offense (Keener IVP Ac 16:37).

Non-Romans, particularly Jews, lacked the power and influence that was needed to unmask, overturn, and transform an oppressive judicial system. Only insiders – Romans, people of privilege – could do this heavy lifting (Gilliard 87). How do you see Paul and Silas leveraging their privilege to subversively witness their citizenship in the Kingdom of God?

37 DISCHARGE US IN SECRET? The prison was probably close to the forum, so many would see (and circulate word) about the magistrates humbly escorting out those they had beaten the previous day. An honorary escort for a de facto expulsion was not full vindication, but at least local Christians would be able to appeal to “public knowledge” that their foreign founders were acknowledged innocent (Keener Acts 418). How do you see authorities try to conduct their shady dealings in secret? Do you feel like public peaceful protests are appropriate for exposing something sinful and unjust?

CERTAINLY NOT! The missionaries refused to go without a personal apology from the magistrates for their breach of justice. This was not simply a matter of self-vindication nor a matter of insisting on the proper administration of justice. It was especially important for the protection of the young church in Philippi. By being escorted out of the prison by the magistrates, a signal would be communicated to the community at large that the charges had been false. As a result, the community would be more likely to leave the young church alone (Coleman 1782).

Paul does not appeal to his Roman citizenship in order to escape punishment for Christ, which he could easily have done. Rather, he uses his citizenship to have additional opportunities proclaim the gospel (see also 22:22-30) (Maximos et al. 1499). What are some creative ways that you could leverage your own privileges for the gospel?

38 THEY WERE AFRAID. Cicero and Quintilian tell of a Roman citizen who cried out that he was a citizen during a scourging, thereby humiliating his oppressors, who had not properly recognized his high status. By waiting until after the beating to inform the authorities that they were citizens, the missionaries had placed the magistrates themselves in an awkward legal position: now the magistrates, not the missionaries, are forced to negotiate (Keener IVP Ac 16:38).

To beat and imprison Roman citizens without trial (16:37) was itself a criminal offense. The officials, who abused these Jewish preachers for undermining Roman customs (21), now discover that they themselves might need to answer to Rome for abusing Romans (16:37) (Keener Acts 414-415). Reports of their deed could even disqualify them from office and (in theory, at least) deprive Philippi of its status as a Roman colony. This strategy would help secure the future safety of the fledgling Christian community (Keener IVP Ac 16:38). How have you seen Christians expose abuses of power?