Acts 16:16-40 - Things Are Shaking

Summary:
"What can I do to be saved?" the jailer asks Paul. "What does he mean by 'saved'"? Gregg DeMey (Lead Pastor), Jeff Klein (Pastor of Outreach), and Caryn Rivadeneira (Director of Care and Worship Planning) ask. Listen in as we discuss this, along with thoughts on personal versus household salvation, mysterious fortune-telling Python Spirits, and good outcomes of devastating beatings and earthquakes, and other issues that arise in the action-packed second half of Acts 16.

Today's Hosts
Gregg DeMey, Lead Pastor
Jeff Klein, Outreach Pastor
Caryn Rivadeneira, Director of Care

Questions/Comments:  We'd love to hear from you! Email ASK.

Note: Wade in the Word is a weekly podcast designed to take a deep dive into scripture for the weekend message. Join our pastors, staff, and occasional special guests as we reflect together.

Wade in the Word podcast is a production of Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church, located in Elmhurst, IL. Wade in the Word is produced and audio-engineered by Kyle Olson, Technical Director. For more information about Elmhurst CRC or to find out about other tools and resources to grow you and your family in faith, visit elmhurstcrc.org.

Transcript

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

paul, jailer, worship, people, silas, god, church, household, prison, power, earthquake, jesus, day, magistrates, spiritual, jail, amazing, romans, resistance, physical pain

SPEAKERS

Caryn Rivadeneira, Gregg DeMey, Jeffrey Klein

Gregg DeMey  00:06

Hey folks, welcome to Elmhurst CRC's Wade in the Word weekly podcast, we're going to be in the second half of Acts chapter 16. This week, some amazing stuff that happens in the life of Paul and Silas and some folks in the city of Philippi, and that's let Nika

Caryn Rivadeneira  00:24

love it. Yes, exciting chapter. 

Gregg DeMey  00:27

That was Caryn Rivadeneira's voice, our Director of Care. And Reverend Jeffrey Klein laughing along with us here.

Jeffrey Klein  00:35

Hello there. Good morning. Or maybe Good afternoon. Good evening. I don't know when you're listening Exactly.

Gregg DeMey  00:42

Knowing us I do Klein I would have to think that Acts 16, and 17 are probably among your favorite parts, not only of the book of Acts but of the entire Bible.

Jeffrey Klein  00:50

They are. Ay, ay, ay. There are just a million things I love about him. You know, the fact that he's in a Greek town with no synagogue, and he's just really on the edge is just super exciting. He's out there on the edge ready, she's having a go into this town, and it's pretty cool.

Caryn Rivadeneira  01:10

It's your favorite, favorite place to be right?

Jeffrey Klein  01:12

I love it.

Gregg DeMey  01:14

Alright, if you happen to tune in last week, you did probably hear about when Paul crosses over into the European continent into the city of Philip II and has to depart from his normal strategy, which was going to the town Jewish synagogue First, there was no Jewish synagogue once he made it to Philip II. So they found a place of prayer by a river that had this amazing counter with a woman named Lydia who ends up becoming the first convert follower of Jesus in this new territory. So it doesn't take too long for the spiritual momentum to get rolling. And whenever the spiritual momentum gets rolling, the roadblocks start popping up. So that's where we're going to pick it up Acts 16 verse 16, and probably go through about 24 right now if you'll get us going current

Caryn Rivadeneira  02:00

Sure. Once when we are going to the place of prayer, we are met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us shouting, these men are servants of the Most High God who are telling you the way to be saved. She kept this up for many days. Finally, Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the Spirit, and the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her. At that moment, the spirit left her.

Gregg DeMey  02:33

Now when her owners realize that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. They brought them before the magistrates and said these men are Jews and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept our practice.

Jeffrey Klein  02:53

The crowd join in the attack against Paul and Silas and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged. They were thrown into prison and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully when he received these orders he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stacks

Gregg DeMey  03:12

Alright, so it seemed like there was some great spiritual momentum and then Paul and Silas his day ends up with them getting caned thrown into prison, and having their ankles and wrists chained to probably a stone wall of a prison cell

Jeffrey Klein  03:27

and they're stripped which is like I don't know it's just a detail that you kind of run over but like a good bleeding chain yeah i mean it's it's not a pleasant place to be you know.

Gregg DeMey  03:40

Just want to recognize that the resistance pops up on a number of fronts here so first of all, there's just out and out spiritual resistance. And then when Paul deals with this I think it's awesome that Paul gets so annoyed with this kind of true but also just kind of like horrible advertising falling around. These men are servants of the Most I God, you should listen to them.

Jeffrey Klein  04:03

Yeah,

Gregg DeMey  04:04

I would love to know your voice. I would love to know the tone of voice or was like the Wicked Witch of the West. Yeah,

Caryn Rivadeneira  04:10

I mean, it's such a curious passage and then it was for several days so you wonder like, was there a period of time now like, Oh, great. She's kind of letting people know we are and our

Gregg DeMey  04:19

to quiet right around the corner. Man our sermons.

Jeffrey Klein  04:24

Yeah, it's interesting, though, that the enemy's telling the truth here. Right. Right. I mean, he's, this is not a lie. This is who they are. And this is what they're doing. But it's clear this, this distractive kind of presence

Gregg DeMey  04:37

was super effective, because it's annoying. It's distractive. And then ultimately, when Paul reacts to it, it causes complete chaos. Yeah. So the spiritual resistance kind of morphs into a kind of economic resistance like the owners of this servant girl. You know, are going to have an issue with Paul and Silas because they're so isn't making money is gone and then their complaint quickly morphs into a kind of almost like political or power resistance that Paul and Silas end up before the magistrates and like, tossed into prison because they're breaking the law. So definitely the enemy is up to a bunch of nonsense when the good positive spiritual momentum gets rolling.

Jeffrey Klein  05:22

And they're really not breaking the law. I mean, they're, they really haven't done anything wrong. But these trumped-up charges get immediately brought, which reminds you of Jesus' day and others, right? When you go back in every time there's this resistance, there's this like, lying spirit that comes around the resistance. And there's, they make up all kinds of things that are going wrong. The Romans had a huge aversion to anything that took away peace in the land. Right,

Gregg DeMey  05:46

right, the huge efficiency of people exactly. So the Jewish people

Jeffrey Klein  05:50

had a reputation of constantly stirring up trouble wherever they went. Because they were always bucking up against the Roman Gentile rules and wanting to keep their selves pure. And so the Romans were tired of the Jews and all their nonsense. And so this is funny that they that's the tack they take is like, well, these guys are stirring up trouble everywhere. They're causing all kinds of problems.

Caryn Rivadeneira  06:12

Yeah, I mean, it's interesting that they don't go I mean that the owners obviously go after the fact that they've impacted their business, their financial lives, but that isn't the charge ultimately, it's that it's causing people or whatever, but I don't know I were I do worry about the slave girl quite a bit. I wonder what became of her because I think it's interesting that this is a time in the scriptures. Usually, it's a great thing when somebody is freed from demons, and hopefully, it was a great thing for her. But ultimately, this would have made her absolutely worthless. And so we don't see that. But I don't know, part of me kind of helps somebody, you know, there is an inter somebody stayed back and talk to somebody, perhaps

Gregg DeMey  06:53

there's a historical novel in there somewhere. Exactly.

Caryn Rivadeneira  06:55

I think that's it. Well, you know, I Well,

Jeffrey Klein  06:59

yeah, there's, I mean, this is interesting that this girl had the spirit, actually the Greek, the spirit of the Python in her, which was the Python that guarded the Delta Oracle, right in the Greek world. So that sounds kind of crazy. But there were these women that were around the Delta, Oracle had huge power because they could predict the future.

Gregg DeMey  07:18

So we got a little whiff of ancient Greek religion here. So there's a part of Greece called Delphi on the mountain and for literally centuries and centuries, Greeks have gone there. And not just like, crazy Greeks, like all the rightmost powerful intelligent Greeks. So like Pythagoras went there, and in his writings, claims he had like supernatural revelations of mathematics. Yeah. Which affects us to this day. There's quite a bit of evidence that in these Delphic experiences that there were some cooked up hallucinogenics

Jeffrey Klein  07:55

that was going along with that working with,

Gregg DeMey  07:58

but yes, the spirit of the Python, like is connected to this whole like receiving Oracle's right like from the beyond kind of experience. And here's this girl. I mean, not in Greece, exactly. But kind of like channeling the spirit and coming head and head with the Holy Spirit,

Jeffrey Klein  08:19

right? Yeah, I actually 91 when, as a college student, we actually went to the Delphi Oracle, with Wheaton College, I was not paying that much attention. So I wish I had more recollection, I remember being a rock on the ground at this point. But we are standing this mountain in this woman's explaining how this is where people came to have their future told their fortunes tall there, you know, the CIO is like, you know, all this history you're talking about? vaguely,

Gregg DeMey  08:45

there's a whole series of caves there actually, where people would go and hang out for days, if not, like weeks and extended periods of time to have these revelatory experiences, right?

Caryn Rivadeneira  08:56

Yeah, I'm just very curious about the use of psychedelics and us and how that relates to modern-day mathematics. And that's something you don't learn in class. I mean, if that was something, the Fagor it's I can't think with time anyway. Yeah. We don't have to go down that trail. But that's, you know, that's, that's interesting.

Gregg DeMey  09:14

No, this is a fascinating rabbit hole, but maybe, maybe for another day. Yeah. So yeah, partly, there's maybe a little bit of morbid curiosity of like, what really happened to Paul and Silas here, it says they're flogged, and I mean, if you have seen like, The Passion of the Christ, and what happened to Jesus, it's not quite identical to that. I think this English translation that we just read, and IV does use the word beaten with rods, so kinda equivalent of like, a horrible caning? Yeah, right. And the Romans were not shy or light about these things. So

Jeffrey Klein  09:57

it would have left scars. Yeah, probably peeled off some skin. Yeah, yeah, they would not have been a thing I think about this thing they would have been laying that jail cell completely naked. Having been had their skin really laid open. And you know, nobody bandaging their wounds or you know, yeah, it would be quite the scene. Yeah, and

Caryn Rivadeneira  10:17

just imagining the cell to it's like again, it's not a modern-day presence cell not that those are glorious things. But again, this is an inner room of some dark dank place. Probably spiders, snakes, rats, I mean, just dungeon, an absolute nightmare. Yeah, nobody cleaning things. So things are festering and yeah,

Gregg DeMey  10:37

yeah. So we modern people have done a pretty good job of removing physical pain from our lives.

Jeffrey Klein  10:43

True. Yeah, I mean, I think about even this COVID thing, like, you know, we're super obviously concerned about infection. That's good. But, you know, these guys like, I mean, the other day, I cut my hand and someone's telling me you wash your hands, wash your hands, you know, sepsis, and I'm like, Okay, these guys are not washing at all. They're laying in a dirty dank place with all these cuts lanes open. And I mean, I don't know, they're just having to trust God's gonna take care of which is crazy, I'm sure.

Gregg DeMey  11:12

The Roman magistrates. antibiotic ointment. Exactly.

Jeffrey Klein  11:17

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. So

Gregg DeMey  11:22

now, in a way though, even though we don't have much physical pain, I would say it's easier for me to take, like physical pain, then. Emotional or psychic pain. Like in some ways, physical pain is just very black and white and clear. Right. And we're much more subtle than nuance. We don't settle arguments by, you know, having a duel with six-shooters out in the street, or by punching each other anymore. Right, right. It's like we say little sideways things or, I mean, the church way is to tell for other people and like, watch it spread a little bit. And you know, see some disaster happen. Yeah.

Caryn Rivadeneira  12:03

Yeah, I mean, that's bad, I guess, related to this, we're just talking about that beating, I think I'd still take the guy and none of them are right. But I mean, it's just again, the brutality of this, of this culture and knowing that they could endure this, that this was a likely thing that was going to happen and that they keep doing it. I mean, I think we've talked about this before, but that's why comments like about, oh, we're being persecuted as Christian and stuff like that. I mean, it's, it gets a little bit hard to take when you think of, you know, stuff like this probably still happens around the globe and other places, and we have a really, really easy, yeah,

Jeffrey Klein  12:38

Just when I was with my son and daughter-in-law in Texas, moving them here to Chicago, went to a church meeting. And a guy was there. Dan Bauman, which I did not know, was a Wheaton College grad, a few years after me. And he told his story. He was one of those college students that were arrested in Iraq years ago for spreading the gospel. And he spent nine weeks an Iranian Iraqi Iranian I think it was an Iran Iranian prison and was beaten every day by a guard. And he told his story and he said he prayed for the guards and eventually asked the guard his name on a day like, I don't know seven he said, we know what's your name. And he's the guy you want to name was gonna beat me every day. I mean, the good, the millions, they started talking. But he literally like the Holy Spirit told me to be here for nine weeks. And he was released nine weeks later. But he's, I mean, he's written all these books, I think about it. But it was a pretty compelling thing to sit and listen to it. This is a guy that went to wheat like me, and had this experience of being in Iran trying to spread the gospel and being arrested for this and then having this experience right here, right? That just that as I was reading this yesterday, it's kind of brought to mind this, this experience of listening to Dan tell his story was like, Wow, I can't even relate to this. I mean, the most I've been persecuted I had maybe a kid make fun of me. Or maybe I had some kids, you know, not want to come to my youth group or make fun of my youth group or some church person say something bad about me my sermon. You know, that's my big persecution moment. I remember when I was a young pastor, and the one elder came and said, that's the worst sermon I've ever heard. The most miracles, remember heard, I'm like, well, thank you. But it was like, you know, that's my moment of persecution. It's like, no one's whipping me. No one's knocking me around. No one's locking me in a prison cell. So yeah, I mean, I can't relate to this.

Caryn Rivadeneira  14:26

Right. But to your point, Greg, I mean, I think is I'm gonna negate what I just said, I guess, but there are lots of people who do deal with, you know, yeah, emotional, spiritual abuse. I mean, even just from their churches or from, you know, trying to spread the gospel or people saying you shouldn't be doing this or blah, blah, blah, so it does happen in different ways. Certainly,

Gregg DeMey  14:45

yeah. You had the phrase from earlier in the book of Acts that they count on themselves worthy to suffer frame, like comes to mind in a moment like this, that yeah, that's an amazing, I guess, the spiritual gift of faith that you could Sort of translating the physical pain into you know feeling honored that Jesus would trust you with being connected to him for suffering in a similar way

Jeffrey Klein  15:11

yeah we probably have to have Why do bad things happen to good people classes after this for a while

Caryn Rivadeneira  15:16

probably

Jeffrey Klein  15:17

the best to talk about it

Caryn Rivadeneira  15:19

yeah I mean I wish there was a connection to I guess not you know, just talking about beatings or whatever in you know, the spirituals of the slaves or whatever I mean, that never ceases to amaze me that these were people enslaved by fellow so-called Christians and who regularly were beaten or sent out you know to do horrible work in terrible conditions and would be out there singing to the god they believe they connected with

Gregg DeMey  15:42

well, there there is this dilemma about I mean, human nature that we're, we're comfort seekers, and yet like, in every area of life, it's only through kind of hardship that we end up growing, right so you don't learn stuff unless your brain hurts. Yeah, right you like to make new connections, and like if you want to learn a new language if you don't know about a branch of mathematics and you're trying to learn it, I mean like literally your brain will hurt and there will be remotes or just like I totally don't understand it. And I mean if you want to be in better physical shape, going through the hardship of changing your diet or if you never have run and you start running like you're going to hurt if you never have like lifted any weights and you start lifting like literally your muscles are tearing and the way you build up muscle is through like the breaking down and building up process. So like everything about human nature I think testifies to this is only through hardship that we make progress and grow and yet spiritually we're somehow under the impression that like no if I'm following Jesus God will make everything just smooth sailing yeah that's what it means to be blessed.

Jeffrey Klein  16:54

Yeah and that is a great thing here like these guys are on the mission of God the Holy Spirit sent them here have through a vision think about it they were sent in the last you know verses we read last Sunday in a vision and Paul gets a vision go to this place so he goes in obedience and now ends up in prison beaten and whatever weapon chain it's like wait a minute you sent me here

Gregg DeMey  17:19

Yeah, the flip side is they have so much confidence in that right that they can't get shaken out of them.

Jeffrey Klein  17:24

Exactly they just there's all this is part of the journey this part we're going to go through

Caryn Rivadeneira  17:28

right and especially I mean, you know earlier they were directed away from other places and I guess somewhat is how in my mind I think like they prioritize you know, not to go there because it was dangerous, but clearly, that was not a concern.

Jeffrey Klein  17:41

Yeah, I'm personally gifted whiners. So when I get in these difficult situations, I just whine a lot and kick and scream and groan and complain.

Gregg DeMey  17:49

Seriously, if some big dude has checked up against the boards in a hockey game,

Jeffrey Klein  17:53

or Nike or not launched them

Gregg DeMey  17:55

Oh, yeah, like Oh, stop.

Jeffrey Klein  17:58

Just say like when it goes to ministries, I remember going to I remember being a speaker and I had these three amazing weeks in Colorado and California, right in a row of camp. It was amazing. And then I went to Washington DC. And the first night I remember saying, well, we got to pray over each other and the people in the group saying, Well, I'm not going to let him lay or hint his hands on me. And then she sends and this team that I was working with, had already come to conflict and didn't like each other. So here I am trying to like get us to pray for the week. This is the beginning of what became a week of just terrible resistance like it was just after three amazing weeks of ministry. I was like oh this speaking these amazing and they get to Washington DC It was like oh my goodness, this is terrible. And I remember just like not handling that really well. like, come on God you sent me here What's going on? You know, like, Why all this resistance and you know, I think I've learned I'm probably a little more battle-hardened now. But back in the day, it was like, I could wind pretty well in those situations. Like, what are you thinking sending me here? You should always many places where there's going to be spiritual,

Caryn Rivadeneira  19:06

or I'm going to succeed. Exactly. Yeah.

Gregg DeMey  19:09

Well, let's see if Paul and Silas wind, shall we? Yeah, a bit. Verse 25.

Caryn Rivadeneira  19:14

All right. About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God and the other person prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly, there was such a violent earthquake, that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once the prison doors flew open and everyone's chains came loose. The jailer woke up and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, because he thought the prisoners escaped. Paul shouted, don't harm yourself. We are all here.

Gregg DeMey  19:45

Then the jailer called for lights rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

Jeffrey Klein  19:56

They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. You and your household. Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. at that hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed their wounds. Then immediately he and all his household were baptized jailer brought them into his house, said a meal before them. He was filled with joy, because he had come to believe in God, he and his whole household.'

Gregg DeMey  20:25

Well, that is quite a turnaround. Yeah. As someone who has felt called to serve the church through music and worship for a number of years, this probably is my favorite estimate. Because like just when things are looking the bleakest through the confidence that God had spoken to them and give them a vision that they were just where they're supposed to be, they are wholeheartedly willing to worship in the midnight hour, while chained up, battered, bloodied, bruised, naked, they're singing hymns to God and praises to Jesus anyways. A wonderful detail that the other prisoners are like listening in now, I am a little wondering, like, Where's Luke in the situation? Like, is he observing? Right, this is one of the wheat passages, but then it goes into Paul and Silas mode.

Jeffrey Klein  21:19

Yeah, Luke and Timothy are not mentioned here. They're not arrested, maybe because they were Greeks. I mean, you know, that's one of the speculations. I mean, Luke definitely was a Greek. Timothy probably would have looked like a Greek or would have had some of that because his father was a Greek. I don't know. But yeah, they're not arrested. They're not put in jail here. So,

Gregg DeMey  21:37

so so wonderful, I mean, I believe in the spiritual realm that when we are willing to praise God anyways or grumble, hallelujah. Shout out to us. Great title from Karen's writing career. Yeah. That's when things get shaken up, and barriers begin to fall. And in this passage, like that had not only happened spiritually but like it manifests itself in such a powerful way physically, like literally the chains fall off the prison walls fall down, like all of the resistance, like God, like when to use it out of existence.

Jeffrey Klein  22:12

Yeah, I mean, I love this. I love the fact that worship can break chains. You know, crackdown walls, take people out of prison, right? win battles. So sometimes we sit here on Sunday morning, I'm not sure what we think we're doing, necessarily, but it's like when you worship when the Community of Christ comes into the worship. There are things happening in the heavenly I believe. There are things happening in people's hearts and lives that are like beyond and maybe can happen through a sermon in the house can only happen through worship really going after the Lord in worship. That's, I love that. I mean this and this is not just this is not the only time the Bible this happens, right? There's Joseph sending the choir out, back in Second Chronicles, and he sends them out ahead and the whole enemy of Israel falls before the choir. Yeah, I really love that.

Gregg DeMey  22:58

Joshua and the people of Israel marching on Jericho.

Jeffrey Klein  23:01

Exactly. He keeps going right. So this is a theme in the scripture that worship actually has the power to bring freedom to bring to break chains to, you know, to Yeah, break down prison walls. I mean, think about people just coming to worship here that might that alone might change their heart in life.

Caryn Rivadeneira  23:20

Well, and you know, where this is literally happening. It's the metaphor for us as well, though. I mean, like you're saying, it's just what it has the power to do. And I hope most of us have had that experience where we are worshiping whether collectively or if it's just on our own in a moment. I think about when we worship with the people of Angola, obviously, we're in very different settings, but it's like you become becomes very clear this reality that we are people of the kingdom of God, and this is it's otherworldly, so, you know, they're still literally in their cells, perhaps more literally still here and yet, it just becomes clear.

Gregg DeMey  23:53

I want to do a little theological pickiness here, but like, I mean, it's not our passion or enthusiasm, or like our worship, per se that opens these things up. It's like the power of God is obviously sure always there total and God has given us the freedom and honors we just when we open ourselves up, especially like in a sacrificial sort of way that when that connection is made like that's when tremendous things

Jeffrey Klein  24:20

Yeah. Does our worship release the power of God? Does it have the total do that? That's the question

Caryn Rivadeneira  24:26

and once you get opens us up to it, right? Like we realize it's there. And we realize God is everywhere. But yeah, releasing is an interesting one.

Gregg DeMey  24:34

So how easy would it be for Paul and Silas not to worship in this moment?

Jeffrey Klein  24:37

totally crazy,

Gregg DeMey  24:39

like amazing just to be lame excuses to just like, pass out and like, just let me lie here for a couple of weeks and heal up like I'm not even going to move. But they get over it. I mean, I could think of probably 40 things that should have gotten in their way. At this point. There's no frustration. There's no like We're gonna give up like Paul did you really have that dream? I mean what were you thinking? Like? Yeah all of that self-doubt or blaming or self-incrimination or how could you bring me to this place Paul, you idiot. And I think of the things that get in our way of worship here in 2021. And relatively they are like small little things like chump change compared to the things that could have gotten in the way here. And I mean I'm hoping and praying like at Elmhurst CRC as we come together like like we'll be in a season of transcending all of these little things because I mean you can come into a sanctuary on Sunday morning and just look at what instruments are playing and think like hmm, I don't like that person. Or the first song comes up you're like, oh, seriously the song and like that's all it takes. And I mean, sadly, that blocks the power of God and it's like I don't know like stabbing yourself in the arm with a pen so entry

Jeffrey Klein  26:05

entering it is important Yeah, I remember I you know, a lot of camps you start out the kids don't sing. They sit there they don't know the songs they have no desire to say they have no reason to sing so I used to tell the counselors this verse and some others say look, we need to worship we need to be upon our feet worshiping because our worship will set the example for the kids and we'll release the power of God I think on this campus week right and so the counselors and I, we would just have this pack we're going to get up and just go after the Lord and the kids will sit and look at us like we're whatever who cares but we're going to go out to the Lord so I know when I come Sunday morning that's what I try to do is just go after the Lord I mean, I don't like all the songs but I try to enter in and just enter know whatever songs we're

Gregg DeMey  26:52

singing indeed. Anybody here likes

Jeffrey Klein  26:55

all the songs Yeah, you're not gonna like all the songs, right? So

Caryn Rivadeneira  26:58

they're not going to connect with you in a certain way or whatever. The one thing though, that I just feel like because it's true I mean, obviously Well, it says you're praying and singing hymns to God but I also think it's fair to imagine that when they probably first got shoved into the cell and you know chained up It's not wrong to imagine that they would have spent some time crying and being a little crabby and hurting and that this could be a process I mean does say about midnight I don't we have no idea what time they were arrested but so it's I always feel concerned like if somebody is if you're in a really bad situation and you're literally in pain physical or mental mental the Bible is also very clear through lament which we've talked about all the time you know, just read the book of Psalms like it's okay to to whine a little bit and cry like you need to but it's it's the direction that they took you know, so it's for sure I think it's fair to imagine that maybe they had a moment maybe they didn't maybe they're just such spiritual powerhouses that they were like this is

Jeffrey Klein  27:53

a good point but it's about me it's about midnight

Caryn Rivadeneira  27:57

hours and then they were like you know what, we got to change this app and you know, just kind of put in that little plug for whining.

Gregg DeMey  28:06

know for sure that pattern Express dozens and dozens of times in the song of like releasing things and then coming around the cornerback to praise and another hallelujah like that is a thing.

Jeffrey Klein  28:20

Now speaking of making outreach simple if you could have an earthquake come down and then a person just goes okay, well Am I sad would be saved Just tell me this dummy makes our lives more simple right? Rarely does it happening that our neighbors are like screaming across the driver Hey, can you just tell me how to be saved? Right? I mean, the awesome

Gregg DeMey  28:44

yes, so this jailer is brought to a moment of desperation, right? I mean, his job is his life probably is to at the jail standing and keep all the prisoners inside and this earthquake has caused epic failure. So as opposed to Paul and Silas I mean, when confronted with abject failure his reaction is not to you know, sing praise to Caesar. You know, he's, he's so desperate he's about to kill himself. Yeah, right. That's and

Jeffrey Klein  29:11

and think about the power of Paul and Silas they somehow the other prisoners don't leave now. They keep them there with them. So Paul is a leader, even in jail with a bunch of real criminals. And he convinces in this day and that run off I mean, I don't know I'm assuming I'm making some assumptions there. But it just seems like someone was leading this charge to keep these and Paul yells out Don't worry, we're all here every one of us, we're all here don't take your life. What? And then he takes him to his house and I don't know you just there's a million logistics. I think about like, what do you do with all these other prisoners that are the prison is clearly been mangled by the earthquake. And I don't know. This is crazy.

Gregg DeMey  29:51

Yeah. So when the jailer asked the question, what do I have to do to be saved? I mean, that seems like a question that hits a bunch of different levels.

Jeffrey Klein  30:02

Oh, that's true. Yeah.

Caryn Rivadeneira  30:04

Yeah. I mean, because you know, we read that today and we think of being saved as what do I need to do to get to heaven? I don't think that in most of the New Testament, that was actually what they were thinking. And so for him, right, is that a literal thing of now? Yeah, what do I do that they're not going to come to kill me for this? Do they, you know, is it true? It's the life thing, you know, how does my life change? But it is interesting how we read it is modern-day kind of Christians that he's asking, What do I need to do, to go to heaven and be with Jesus? And I think that that's probably not the question he had on this mind.

Jeffrey Klein  30:37

Like the first thing. Yeah, yeah. Well, why would he know that? I asked that question. Right? Yes. Right. He's just trying to figure out how to get his life sorted outright, in this moment when things have all gone haywire?

Gregg DeMey  30:48

Yeah. I mean, I think the first level is just like, why should I not kill myself? Like, the Romans are gonna kill me tomorrow? Right, right. Like, how can I get out of this?

Jeffrey Klein  30:59

Yeah, good. Yeah.

Gregg DeMey  31:01

So interestingly, I mean, Paul, obviously mentions Jesus right off the bat, then probably gives him the fuller gospel talk about Jesus' identity and his death and resurrection, and how some kind of resurrection is possible for this guy just hypothesizing here. But before the jailer and his family are baptized, it does say that the jailer takes Paul and Silas and cleans their wounds, yeah, and washes them up. So it's this wonderful reciprocal thing like they've been treated like dirt. And then this jailer, like, kind of cares for them and offers them this act of healing. And then, through their own baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit like this much more profound, like washing an act of healing. But the reciprocal nature of that is really beautiful.

Caryn Rivadeneira  31:49

Yeah, yeah, it's super sweet. And I think especially I mean, I don't know how high level a jailer would have been, but I imagine he would have had servants or something. So the idea that he was doing the washing even feels profound to me, because it's a very tender, but probably also low-level act that normally I guess they would have somebody else do. I don't know, man, it's really sweet.

Jeffrey Klein  32:12

Yeah, I find it interesting that he also connects in some way with Paul and Silas, he comes in and rushes and falls trembling before them, which is pretty crazy. Like, there's a lot of other windows how many prisons or I mean, it's, I don't know, who knows how many prisoners are in this prison. But the fact that somehow, he ends up going to their feet and falling on his knees before them is pretty fascinating. Yeah.

Gregg DeMey  32:35

So just to think about the power dynamics, I guess, in the story. So went a little short stint of noticing like the UP IN and OUT dynamics of the spiritual life in these chapters, right. And this is one where I think the up dynamic is really in the spotlight. Because again, Paul and Silas are like, kind of under the political some of the Romans at this point. So there's, you know, definitely that human political power hierarchy that is exerting itself onto the story. And I think so often, like when we look up, like that's the ceiling for us like we see the pinnacle of human power, like who's president or whatever, and we get so excited, not happy, excited, but just like, that gets us going, right, and we fail to cast our vision to the high, the much higher ceiling, the infinitely higher ceiling of God. And that's what happens here. It's like the jailer has power, the Romans have power. And then through this amazing act of worship, it's like all the walls of the human structure fall down. And all that's left is the like, I thought, Oh, my gosh, dynamic of there's this amazing god that's infinitely beyond all the human stuff. And I think the jailer recognizes that and therefore, you know, false trembling before, the human ambassadors who are, you know, representing a great king, that's way higher than Caesar.

Jeffrey Klein  34:08

That's amazing. I wonder if there's any great stories out there vain goal or something, there's got to be around worship, around the power of worship in that name. And when I was there a couple of years ago, I mean, I was amazed at these guys. Just, first of all, their ability to play instruments is same, but then on top of that, just they're going after the Lord, you know, in worship, in spite of their circumstances, and clearly, most of them will tell you well, yeah, I definitely belong here. Right? I mean, I mean, I definitely did something to deserve what I'm getting in terms of punishment. But then this worship breaks out that's just like, whoa. I don't know. I don't.

Gregg DeMey  34:54

My sense and goal is I mean, worship in prayer. Yeah, like woven together. Yeah, but I think prayer is maybe the more frequent portal for this, like, prayer is a form of worship rather than singing together. Because even though there are great spiritual gifts for music, and worship, and all kinds of skill and talent there, they can spend a relatively small amount of time, like in music and worship and rehearsing. So it's still amazing, I think, but just the amount of the opportunity for praying together I think is much greater,

Jeffrey Klein  35:30

much greater because they're able to gather in different places and do that, right. Sure.

Gregg DeMey  35:37

Oh, so one last thing after this baptism scene, I think it's no accident that Luke points out that they all go in the middle of the night and have a meal together. And there's great joy around the table. So, you know, is Luke self consciously, you know, kind of giving a thumbnail of the sacraments? Like, I don't know if he's self consciously doing that. But it's like, right there. It's, it's like there's this Yeah, baptism scene immediately that rolls into, like, sharing supper together as Jesus people.

Jeffrey Klein  36:10

Yeah. And we have a household again. Yeah. So we have Lydia's household. I know earlier was Cornelius, his household. Now it's the flipping jailors household. And so the head of the household, you know, doesn't matter whether it's male or female, the right lady was probably the head of her household. And boom, you know, they're having this whole thing and the whole household acknowledges Jesus in some way and comes to be followers and gets baptized. And so this would be crazy today if we like Hey, you, you found Jesus and now we're gonna read your whole house, everybody that would be

Caryn Rivadeneira  36:43

a different way of seeing it for sure. I know that that I think is probably hard for some people to imagine but I mean, it's, it's right here. And it's pretty clear that it's it becomes this household thing, which, again, to me speaks of the bigness and inclusiveness of God and you know, sort of how

Jeffrey Klein  37:00

a communal, communal, totally individualistic, it's like every person's got to pray this prayer to be part of the kingdom of God but then there's this like this communal household thing happening where this head of household acknowledges Jesus is Lord, and then somehow the house permeates Yeah, it's permeated with this idea, right? It's pretty well.

Gregg DeMey  37:25

Ravi, perhaps our modern individualistic thinking is just a bubble off could be from like there's truth to it, but it's just not the whole truth. Right exactly. There might be deeper truths

Jeffrey Klein  37:39

Yeah, there might be more Yeah, there might be deeper truths about the community have faith and be a part of a community of faith, and yeah,

Caryn Rivadeneira  37:46

yeah, I mean, I think actually this should give comfort to parents I'm thinking of especially when they worry oh my god I don't know if my kid has his personal relationship or they and not that we shouldn't be concerned we want our kids you know to acknowledge Jesus I'm not I'm not saying we don't but there is a strange comfort in this that it might be okay more okay than we think and maybe that's heresy to speak of But

Jeffrey Klein  38:11

yeah, I don't know that. I know it gets dicey but just an interesting conversation to have that we get is not another whole rabbit hole this this passage is lots of rabbit holes

Caryn Rivadeneira  38:19

so many rabbit holes

Gregg DeMey  38:22

there's a Python Donald is gonna say this

Caryn Rivadeneira  38:25

funny cuz there's a Python, right?

Gregg DeMey  38:28

All right, let's take this home to the end of the chapter the the human power dynamics reassert themselves here at the end.

Jeffrey Klein  38:36

When it was daylight, the magic magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order to release those men. The jailer told Paul, the magistrates of order that you and Silas be released, now you can leave going peace.

Gregg DeMey  38:51

But Paul said to the officers, they beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and then threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No, let them come themselves and escort us out.

Caryn Rivadeneira  39:07

Sorry, I love that sorry for laughing. The officers reported this to the magistrates and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. They were alarmed. They came to a piece of them and escorted them from prison requesting them to leave the city. After Paul and Silas came out of prison. They went to Lydia's house where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them then they left

Gregg DeMey  39:31

Alright right so Paul, Paul's the actually what Roman citizens here, carved out of his sleeve. A little curious like, why did not do that before to save silence in himself an epic beatdown

Jeffrey Klein  39:47

is a fascinating thing that he doesn't even bring this card out until now. stop stop stop is Romans, right? And then Meanwhile, it's like most of us would have been just thrilled to get out of jail. We've been going through this whole ordeal all night and now we're finally going to just be released and be out of trouble you know we're not going to go to court we're not going to put any more in punishment and so we just are like okay thank you

Gregg DeMey  40:10

for letting this hilarious I mean by the time the order comes to let them out of jail the jail doesn't exist

Jeffrey Klein  40:19

destroyed by an earthquake Paul's

Gregg DeMey  40:21

probably been washed up got a new set of clothes performed a household of baptisms and had an awesome meal and then the word comes from the people who think that they're in charge you can let them go now actually Mr. bossy pants you might not have all the keys to the situation

Caryn Rivadeneira  40:41

yeah I mean it's a lot of cheek I think you noticing like actually, they should come to escort us out I mean that's like yeah, I mean that's nerdy. But again what you've just what they've just experienced with God is they have time and time again you know not that we want to be prideful but it's you're standing on a very solid rock so

Gregg DeMey  40:59

I don't know that Paul was thinking this but in a way like Paul could have gotten himself out of the situation and by not getting himself out of the situation it gave god yeah. Total latitude to do something.

Jeffrey Klein  41:12

Yeah

Gregg DeMey  41:13

miraculous

Jeffrey Klein  41:14

the Philippian jailer his whole household wouldn't be followers of Jesus had he not gone through this whole ordeal right. So

Gregg DeMey  41:21

So did Paul have like a word from the spirit like Hey, don't do that right now like right who can say I just like it would be human nature I think I would instinctively like if there's something that could save me physical pain or trouble like of course I'm going to say that out loud. Officer, I'm on the way to the hospital right now.

Jeffrey Klein  41:38

Yeah yeah, it's amazing trust in the sovereignty of God really that Paul is like well, God's in charge I'm gonna lean into what he's doing and just linear where he's at work and he must have you think I just feel like he must have had some insight from the spirit to go to let himself go through this or there are some things ahead I don't know maybe not maybe he was just flying blind but it seems like to bring this out now seems like wait a minute, and he's clearly it's awesome how he wants to get in these guys face he wants them to face him right these guys have put him in jail and I'm beaten and all this. He wants to make sure you can rub it in their face and say hey, you know what? You guys have done the wrong thing here and I'm gonna let you off the hook I'm going to go away quietly but I could you're in big trouble

Caryn Rivadeneira  42:22

Do you think that this also helped the jailer though did this the idea that like he was a Roman-like if they needed to appease him Does that kind of make it like by the way leave this guy alone? I mean, it doesn't say that. Oh, yeah. No,

Gregg DeMey  42:32

it makes the jailers failure. pale in comparison compared to Yeah, right. Totally. so wonderfully. The Greek word for magistrate here is strata Goss, from which we get obviously strategy or stratagems or my favorite board game as a child

Jeffrey Klein  42:51

strategy go I love that game. Right?

Caryn Rivadeneira  42:53

Thinking stratosphere

Jeffrey Klein  42:56

was amazing.

Gregg DeMey  42:58

So just there's kind of a delicious irony here that these are the people who both have the power and the strategy and they're like it must have been the biggest oh crap moment ever. They got this word back in their offices of like, we've you know really got our town back under control things and decency and good order here and like, right now, so all of their strategies like completely tumble like the walls of the jail, and they have to go I mean, escort Paul and Silas from that's great.

Jeffrey Klein  43:32

Yeah, I wonder like, how does an earthquake even affect the town like is part of their motivation. They're just trying to now Oh,

Gregg DeMey  43:41

Bad Juju, man, get out of this hole.

Jeffrey Klein  43:43

earthquakes happen in the middle of the night. And rock the jail, so it wants to rock the rest of the town.

Caryn Rivadeneira  43:50

Let's try I was thinking it is very localized. But yeah, like if

Jeffrey Klein  43:53

these guys were like, okay, these guys who just get him out of here, right? They just gotta go. Yeah, who knows? I don't know. I just wanna how that played into it if it played it at all.

Caryn Rivadeneira  44:06

That's a good point. I never thought about that. But yeah, I feel like that's always such an important thing is to remember like picture the whole place and everything that's going on, because that is sort of a bad habit. We just get in this one little thing. And it's like, no, it's the town. This is affecting. Yeah, people and

Jeffrey Klein  44:19

lots of people fill the pies under an earthquake of some state, right? So the

Caryn Rivadeneira  44:23

Lydia's house seemed to be okay,

Jeffrey Klein  44:25

but true. So maybe, or maybe it was just a local earthquake that God sent to the jail itself. And that's it. Yeah.

Gregg DeMey  44:32

So a couple of other little details at the very end here, like, Paul for sure is in the habit of not just being used to make things happen, but then doing repeat visits to sort of care and shepherd and check-in and before he leaves town, he does go to Lydia's house, again, don't really know how many days or weeks would have passed. But already there's not only Lydia there, but there are other brothers and sisters who are there, right. So somehow in a very short amount of time Like there's a bunch of people following Jesus already in before Paul leaves town makes a point to go there spend time together, encourage them, and then they leave town.

Jeffrey Klein  45:11

So a church has been planted basically in a short few days right by find this person of peace and then his households and yeah,

Gregg DeMey  45:21

yeah, remind me again what city is this? I'll have man Philippi and is there a book called Philippians?

Jeffrey Klein  45:28

That's amazing. Must have written back to these people. That's

Gregg DeMey  45:30

amazing. Like he continued to care about them.

Jeffrey Klein  45:33

Yeah. Yeah, it's amazing.

Gregg DeMey  45:37

So kind of interesting to me, like, obviously Lydia is the first convert that churches meeting at her house don't want to go down the rabbit hole of like, men and when women and leadership in the church but it's like very clear that from day one, and Philip by God was using this particular woman, Lydia to be part of starting this new church and part of the hospitality and hosting and leadership of this church. So in Philippians, chapter four, Paul has mentioned to other ladies who were leaders of the Philippian church and not that everything was going well because I think what he writes is I plead with you Odia and Cinta ki to be of the same mind in the Lord. So possibly there was a little bad blood or like division going on between those particular leaders in the early church

Jeffrey Klein  46:38

Yeah, so even in the earliest churches, right we always think of that I always sometimes idealize these churches too much like I get reading this and like oh we can only be like to be like if we could just get a shirt like this Yeah,

Gregg DeMey  46:50

no two years later people are fighting

Jeffrey Klein  46:53

so basically humans involve the church using a cause issue right so here you have even in Philippi where this amazing these going on, somehow people still find a reason to argue even though after Paul leaves in this case, these two women are named, they're at each other's throats whatever. You know, it's just fascinating really. So we shouldn't idealize this this is just like the church we belong to right? There's amazing moments and then there are moments of like yeah, we don't get along and we're not really on the same page and right really like each other

Caryn Rivadeneira  47:23

and fairness I always think I mean in the early church I mean for hundreds of 1000s of years after I mean there's a lot to figure out you know I mean there was just they didn't have what we have they did not have the New Testament you know they're just trying to go with some teachings and you know, probably people were somebody was taking notes but I mean so you imagine they would have been having not the same mind all the time. Whether they were behaving nicely to one another as another thing but

Jeffrey Klein  47:50

yeah, it's an interesting point. There weren't any theologically trained pastors leading this Philippian show I mean, they had very little right who was going on what they had heard from Paul, and maybe the Hebrew Scriptures right that were definitely in print probably are at least around you can least get them but the whole Yeah, the whole New Testament which is new to them too, right and still being scribbled down and you know, parchment somewhere, or pieces of paper or whatever. So crazy

Gregg DeMey  48:16

indeed at least they would have had the book of Philippians and shortly would

Jeffrey Klein  48:19

have made a good point regarding the letter and they would add that they can just go with that. But then you realize how that this letter would be super important to them, right? This would be like receiving a like whoa, this is from Paul, we need to read this or that but they read this over and over again to each other right and dug through the words and I mean, that'd be like a life-giving thing where you didn't have any like train person or whatever do this right. That'd be pretty amazing. He had a letter like whoa, this is amazing. Paul just wrote as Let's read this

Gregg DeMey  48:51

Yeah, I confess I would love to do a deeper dive on Philippians now and just think of you know, where Paul takes them in that letter compared to the events of Acts chapter 16? I mean, I've done that more casually like in the back of my head, but that would be a worthwhile pursuit.

Jeffrey Klein  49:13

It would you wrote down a few on our little notes here I think some really that that struck me when he talks about rejoicing in the Lord always. Paul actually had modeled this in the Philippine jail right he rejoices in the Lord always which is cool and you know that let your gentleness be evident to all so instead of punching the jailer or fighting his way out, he's like, yeah, I'm just gonna keep singing praises and, and then, you know, this, whatever is true, whatever is noble whatever is praiseworthy, right? Think about these things, which I'm sure would be a huge skill to have when you're in a jail cell.

Gregg DeMey  49:48

Or even the end of that rejoice in the always rejoice in the Lord always. So if the flippy and jailer is in that early group of Christians and the peace of Christ will guard your mind. Yeah, like, you know, literally was a prison guard. Right? Yeah.

Jeffrey Klein  50:07

Yeah. So that's that is pretty amazing. That's a pretty cool connection. Thank you Pastor Greg. Seriously, thank you. Oh, it was good. I

Gregg DeMey  50:16

You guys are so welcome in the notes. I

Jeffrey Klein  50:18

mean, I think it was a cool thing. I think that down I was like, Oh, that's sweet. That's cool.

Gregg DeMey  50:23

Well, this is the shallow end of the pool, though. I think I'm just sure I know. There are a few little portions of Philippians chapter four, but it's a book. And like Paul's contrast in chapter three of, you know, everything being like rubbish. Yeah. Apart from, knowing Christ, Jesus. Yeah.

Caryn Rivadeneira  50:45

Yeah, I mean, I think it's just also so helpful to remember that the letters of Paul are written to actual people and an actual place about actual circumstances, you know, and not just like, theory or something. He wasn't just like, oh, let me think about something. You know, I just so making these connections, again, sort of imagining the people gathered in Lydia's house or whatever, listening to this and reading the jailer there. Yeah. Maybe giggling at the word guard. And that's fun to imagine.

Gregg DeMey  51:13

So, all right, well, Sunday is coming. And I'm eager to preach a message on this. Yeah. It's always a challenge. Like how do you get down to 20 minutes what's like, most essential, because you could preach two dozen messages on this. There are like so many.

Jeffrey Klein  51:30

I was not successful at that last Sunday. So I just point out, way more than 20 minutes, and I had more to say, but I was like, Guys, guys stop so

Gregg DeMey  51:40

heavily. It's the Holy Spirit who makes it work anyway, right? As Paul says, like, of course, you weren't impressed by my eloquence or my words in person.

Jeffrey Klein  51:50

But that's not what it's about. Yeah, True. True.

Gregg DeMey  51:54

But we can do though, is to give God our hearts and wherever you happen to worship, whether it's at home on Livestream, if it's another congregation, whether it's here at ECRC in the sanctuary, to come with as many barriers knocked down and just the willingness to 100% worship God because when you get a bunch of people together, or even two or three, like that's when amazing, spiritual breakthroughs happen and the walls start to wobble and even crumble down. And from part, I want to see more of that in the land of the living.

Jeffrey Klein  52:28

Yeah, yeah, indeed. All right.

Gregg DeMey  52:31

Thanks, guys. Peace, everybody. Thanks to Billy and Kyle who are always helping us behind the scenes. Alright, peace.