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Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 16:1

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Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father [was] a Greek:

Act 16:1-12. Paul revisits derbe and lystra, chooses Timothy for a companion in his mission, and circumcises him. They pass through Phrygia and Galatia, and come into Mysia and to Troas. By a vision Paul is called into Macedonia. He crosses the sea and remains some days at Philippi

1. to Derbe and Lystra ] Thus beginning the revisiting spoken of in Act 15:36. See notes on Act 14:6.

was there ] The verb does not make it certain that Lystra, to which is most naturally referred, was the birthplace of Timothy, but only his home at the date of Paul’s visit. He must however have resided there a good while to have earned the favourable report of the people both of that place and Iconium.

named Timotheus ] The Timothy to whom St Paul addresses two Epistles and who was the companion of his labours in this journey until his return into Proconsular Asia (Act 20:4). He was the son of a Jewish-Christian mother, and his father was a Greek, whether a proselyte of the gate or not, we are not told. The mother’s name was Eunice (2Ti 1:4) and the grandmother’s Lois. Timothy is spoken of as a fellow-worker with St Paul (Rom 16:21). From 1Co 4:17 we find that he was St Paul’s messenger to that church, and he is joined with that Apostle in the greeting of 2nd Corinthians. He also went to and fro between St Paul and the church in Thessalonica (1Th 3:2; 1Th 3:6) and must have been at Rome with St Paul, soon after the Apostle’s arrival there, for he is mentioned in the Epistles to the Philippians (Act 1:1, Act 2:19), to the Colossians (Act 1:1) and to Philemon ( Act 16:1). An imprisonment which he underwent is alluded to (Heb 13:23), but we cannot be certain when or where it was. According to tradition (Eus. H. E. iii. 14) he was the first bishop of Ephesus, and is said to have suffered martyrdom at the hands of the populace (Niceph. H. E. iii. 11).

the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed ] More strictly and according to the oldest texts, “ the son of a Jewess which believed.” (So R. V.) Her earnest education of her son in the holy Scriptures (2Ti 3:15) from his early youth marks the character of the woman, and makes it probable that the husband of such a woman was at least a proselyte of the gate. Timothy’s father is so little mentioned that it seems likely he had died early.

a Greek ] i.e. a Gentile by birth. The word was used widely of all who were not Jews.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Then came he – That is, Paul in company with Silas. Luke does not give us the history of Barnabas, but confines his narrative to the journey of Paul.

To Derbe and Lystra – See the notes on Act 14:6.

And behold, a certain disciple named Timotheus – It was to this disciple that Paul afterward addressed the two epistles which bear his name. It is evident that he was a native of one of these places, but whether of Derbe or Lystra it is impossible to determine.

The son of a certain woman … – Her name was Eunice, 2Ti 1:5.

And believed – And was a Christian. It is stated also that her mother was a woman of distinguished Christian piety, 2Ti 1:5. It was not lawful for a Jew to marry a woman of another nation, or to give his daughter in marriage to a Gentile, Ezr 9:12. But it is probable that this law was not regarded very strictly by the Jews who lived in the midst of pagan nations. It is evident that Timothy, at this time, was very young; for when Paul besought him to abide at Ephesus, to take charge of the church there 1Ti 1:3, he addressed him then as a young man, 1Ti 4:12, Let no man despise thy youth.

But his father was a Greek – Evidently, a man who had not been circumcised, for had he been Timothy would have been also.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Act 16:1-3

Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and behold a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus.

Timotheus

1. The first of Pauls missionary journeys reached its furthest limit at Lystra–the most uncivilised place he ever visited. Even here, however, he left a Church which he now found standing steadfast, and among its members a youth of peculiar promise, who bore the now famous name of Timothy.

2. On the mothers side Timothy was a Jew. Both mother and grandmother were devout, and it is therefore surprising that his father was a Greek, and probably a heathen. Mixed marriages were held in horror by orthodox Jews. At Lystra, however, Jews were few, and the rigour of custom must have been relaxed. Timothy had never been circumcised. But what might escape remark in Lycaonia, would prove a scandal elsewhere; and with his usual practical judgment, Paul took and circumcised him before he led him forth to work.

3. The spiritual ancestry of Timothy is as clearly marked as the natural. Prepared for the willing reception of the gospel by the godly education of his childhood, he became Pauls own son in the faith. In the interval between the two visits he had advanced to a character of marked ability and usefulness. Paul, always on the watch for helpers, saw the materials lying ready for a noble missionary life. Him would Paul have to go forth with him. And with this period we connect the numerous allusions to his ordination service. The Church appears gathered in solemn assembly. He makes a good profession before many witnesses. Then the apostle explains the labours and the risks of the Christian warfare, and charges his son to be brave, patient, and believing. The laying on of hands succeeds; and the prayer of the Church rises to heaven on his behalf. Nor in vain; for to that moment is referred the special anointing of the Spirit which fitted the young man for his future ministry. And, amid smiles and tears, we see him going forth into the great world, in the footsteps of the Captain who had chosen him to be a soldier.

4. Timothys work constantly widened in range and in importance. Very young when he went out with Paul, it was fitting that he should at first remain in the background. But, from references in the epistles, we discover how usefully and industriously he was employed. From Corinth he is sent to the Thessalonians, to establish and comfort them in their faith. From Ephesus he is sent to the Corinthians to bring them into remembrance of the truth they seemed to have forgotten. He passed through his apprenticeship in a loyal and loving spirit; and presently rose to be a master, with enterprises of his own. Still comparatively young, he is left at Ephesus with an Herculean task on his hands. He becomes the recognised successor of the great apostle, invested with an authority hardly inferior to his own. When that apostles end draws near, and he seeks someone to be his comforter and executor, it is to Timothy that the summons is sent; and we learn, from the Epistle to the Hebrews, that he was imprisoned for Christ, and, if tradition is to be trusted, he died at last a martyrs death in the streets of his own turbulent Ephesus.

5. With little beyond allusions to guide us, it is difficult to decide on Timothys qualities. His bodily health was feeble, and required stimulants; his natural disposition appears to have been as sensitive as Pauls, and perhaps deficient in forwardness and courage. The situation of affairs at Ephesus was at the time extremely difficult and even dangerous. The bravest might easily have lost heart in such an atmosphere, and would have needed to sustain him every motive which an apostle could supply. Paul did not think meanly of his follower. On the contrary, he speaks of his unfeigned faith, his unwearied service, his strict fidelity. He declares that in all the chosen hand of his fellow labourers there is none so disinterested, so full of sympathy, so much after his own heart. More dazzling names than his are to be seen in the firmament of the early Church; Apollos flames across the sky, leaving behind the brilliant sparks of his Alexandrian rhetoric: but the star of Timotheus brains on with a gentle, gracious, and unfading lustre, holding forth the word of life.

6. Whatever the contrast between Timothys mission and ours, his character is one which, in its strength, its modesty, and its devotedness, may be ours. Character is a building of which God is the architect, and all the designs are His. But the building rises stone on stone, and is the work of many different hands; and it is useful to inquire what influences we can trace as helping to make this man what he was.

(1) One was the Bible. From a child it had been his great lesson book. And now, in this great age of making books, where, by common confession, is there a book that will do for character what the Bible does?

(2) No less helpful were personal influences. The Bible is the best of books; but the character of those who teach it adds immensely to its power. Now the earliest Scripture lessons of Timothy were mingled with the happy associations of hours spent at the feet of his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. When they and he were parted, the same good work was carried on by apostolic hands. How much may be done to impart interest and impressiveness to the Word of God! The desire to see her child become another Timothy lives in many a Christian mothers heart: does not the power to make him so, under the Divine blessing, lie largely in her hands? The Bible class, wisely conducted, becomes the very garden of the Lord, where the young plants are nourished to a full stature and strength.

(3) Yet, after all, the main human force at work in the formation of Timothys character was Timothy himself: for the determining will was his own. (W. Brock, jun.)

Timothy; or maternal goodness

I. Timothys beauty of character is traceable throughout his life. He was not converted from sin and shame in mature life. From a child he knew the Holy Scriptures experimentally, as well as being the founts of doctrine and the rules of conduct. A young man, just budding into strength and freedom, he became a Christian, whose character endeared him to the community of which both his grandmother and mother were distinguished ornaments, and whose gifts, exercised and proved, commanded the Churchs admiration. Every way it is important that the young should feel that their youth belongs to Christ. It is contrary to the spirit and intention of our holy religion to treat them as the subjects of a depravity which must have its way, and consign them to years of separation from God. A young soul may be rendered hopeless of spiritual good through misrepresentation of the actual facts of life. Children naturally fall into what you say they are. The Saviour of men is the Saviour of the young. He who took them in His arms and blessed them, is always longing for the homage and affection of fresh, young hearts. He deprecates one hour spent in the service of evil. The history of Timothy proves the possibility, and shows the beauty of Divine life in youth.

II. the sacred influence of a mothers piety. Eunice was a Jewess–and to the unfeigned faith which dwelt in her is to be traced the spiritual development of Timothy. How many of the most renowned of the Churchs heroes have been born again through the prayers and example of pious mothers! We think of Jochebed, Hannah, Mary, Salome, etc. As a mother is her childs world, it is evident that on her must depend its first impressions. As she is kind and gentle, graceful and sweet, pure and devout, or the reverse, so will her childs life be. How mothers should cultivate their own hearts and watch over their own doings!

III. The home hindrances of Timothys spiritual life. His father was a Greek, which indicates not only the diversity between himself and wife, as of different races, but that his wife believed, and he remained an idolater. This divergence had of necessity to be made manifest to the child. The mother taught him the truths of the religion his father despised. It is a picture on which, even in these days, we are often called to look. There was sometimes sorrow in the house, because there was no spiritual sympathy. The strength of his mothers faith and love were enough to overcome this hindrance. But it is not always so. Sometimes the dead weight of a godless husband or wife is sufficient to drag down and crush the goodness which is allied with it. The waters wear the stones, and sometimes the marriage bells ring the knell of the spiritual life and profession. (W. H. Davison.)

Paul and Timothy

I. Paul took Silas with him, but he could not give up a man like Barnabas and think no more about him. He who can forget old friends is no apostle of Jesus Christ. Besides, Paul was going again to the churches. The people would ask about Barnabas. We ask questions that open graves and heart wounds. The man who has not seen you for years asks you how that sweet little boy of yours is, and it seems to you incredible that a grief that filled your house with darkness had not made itself known to your friend. What must Pauls answer have been? He was a faithful man true as steel: he knew not the genius of equivocation and the fine art of telling lies. We have to account for old associations being ruptured, we have to explain new faces and new relationships.

II. Paul came to Derbe and Lystra, and found a certain disciple named Timotheus. Long ago we read about a young man whose name was Saul. We begin in obscurity, we are pointed at as hardly to be identified. If the foolish tree could be taking itself up in order to show its antecedents, it would soon be killed. All that we have to do is so to lift ourselves up in Gods light and rain, as to bring forth fruit. We may be now nothing more than certain disciples, but we may still be disciples.

III. Timothy was the son of a Jewess and a Greek. Happy man, to stand between two civilisations! What must the boy have been? Two such fires meeting in his blood; two such histories recounting themselves in his memory! How able to look well round him and to understand the mystery of Law and the mystery of Beauty! His religion might go up into superstition, his philosophy might develop into scepticism and sneering; if he touched Christ, he touched One who to the Jew was a stumbling block and to the Greek foolishness, but to the believing Timothy the power of God and the wisdom of God. We ourselves see this double relationship sometimes in life. Your mother prayed–your father never prayed. You are a child of the night and of the day, and you feel it, and sometimes you are plunged in the darkness of the one parentage, and sometimes you are away on the bright broad wings of the other into the light. But is it possible that a Jewess could marry a Greek? I should have said, No, but for what you have done.

IV. Timothy was well reported of. Character is very subtle. Timothy never asked any man to speak well of him, and yet no man could speak ill of the youth. Do not appeal to one anothers charitable judgment for a character, but so live that character will come. Live your character; do not be painted as good men, but paint your own character in your own blood.

V. Him would Paul have to go forth with him. Paul could not do without youth. A young man can run, and is not burdened with a sense of his own respectability. God bless the young life! There are those who would snub the youthful soul, and never permit him to be seen or heard. Paul loved the young, and would never give them up so long as they were true; but if ever they began to prove themselves fickle, he would give them up and their uncle Barnabas with them. A soldier could not do with a coward; only be true, and Paul would be your lifelong friend.

VI. He took and circumcised Timothy. This from Paul, who would not circumcise Titus! But the reason is given (verse 3). It was therefore no breach of the apostles stern policy that, under circumstances so peculiar, he should respect a temporary prejudice. Now they start, Paul, and Silas, and Timotheus (verse 4). Do not be afraid of the word Decrees; they were decrees of liberty. What they signed was the Magna Charts of the Church; freedom centred in God and in the Cross. Christs followers are not lawless; they have decrees to keep. The spirit of authority is the spirit of rest when it brings with it the assurance that the authority is not arbitrary but rational, not local but universal, not imperfect but Divine. VII. So were the churches established, etc. These are the true results which accompany every true mission–edification first, and evangelisation second. (J. Parker, D. D.)

Trained from childhood

As Alexander the Great attained to have such a puissant army, whereby he conquered the world, by having children born and brought up in his camp, whereby they became so well acquainted and exercised with weapons from their swaddling-clothes, that they looked for no other wealth or country but to fight; even so, if thou wouldst have thy children either to do great matters, or to live honestly by their own virtuous endeavours, thou must acquaint them with painstaking in their youth, and so bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. (Cawdray.)

Children, cost of training cheap in the long run

An Englishman visiting Sweden, noticing their care for educating children, who are taken from the streets and highways and placed in special schools, inquired if it was not costly. He received the suggestive answer, Yes, it is costly, but not dear. We Swedes are not rich enough to let a child grow up in ignorance, misery, and crime, to become a scourge to society as well as a disgrace to himself. (The Lantern.)

Early impressions permanent

I stood in a house in one of the Long Island villages, not long ago, and I saw a beautiful tree, and I said to the owner: That is a very fine tree; but what a curious crook there is in it. Yes, said he; I planted that tree, and when it was a year old, I went to New York, and worked as a mechanic for a year or two, and when I came back I found they had allowed something to stand against the tree, and so it has always had that crook. And so, I thought, it was with the influence upon children, If you allow anything to stand in the way of moral influence against a child on this side or that side, to the latest day of its life on earth and through all eternity it will show the pressure. No wonder Lord Byron was bad. Do you know his mother said to him, when she saw him one day limping across the floor with his unsound foot: Get out of my way, you lame brat! What chance for a boy like that? (T. De W. Talmage, D. D.)

Early piety, importance of

The most important ten years of human life are from five to fifteen years of age. The vast majority of those who pass twenty irreligious are never converted at all Dr. Spencer tells us that, out of two hundred and thirty-five hopeful converts in his church, one hundred and thirty-eight were under twenty years, only four had passed their fiftieth year. I have been permitted during my ministry to receive nearly one thousand persons into the Church on confession of their faith, and not one dozen of these had outgrown their fiftieth year. I did indeed once baptise a veteran of eighty-five, but the case was so remarkable that it excited the talk and wonder of the town. Such late repentances are too much like what the blunt, dying soldier called flinging the fag end of ones life into the face of the Almighty. (T. L. Cuyler, D. D.)

Children early taught idolatry

The heathen mother takes her babe to the idol temple, and teaches it to clasp its little hands before its forehead, in the attitude of prayer, long before it can utter a word. As soon as it can walk, it is taught to gather a few flowers or fruits, or put a little rice upon a banana leaf, and lay them upon the altar before the idol god. As soon as it can utter the names of its parents, so soon it is taught to offer up its petitions before the images. Who ever saw a heathen child that could speak, and not pray? Christian mothers, why is it that so many children grow up in this enlightened land without learning to pray?

Mother, influence of

The mother of the Beechers prayed during life and in death, that her children might be trained up for God. One of her journals contains this simple record–This morning I rose very early to pray for my children, and especially that my sons may be ministers and missionaries of Jesus Christ. What has been the result? That for all her children her prayers have been answered. Her five sons are all ministers and missionaries of Christ. One of them she has welcomed to heaven; another is now the most powerful preacher in America; and her daughter, Mrs. Beecher Stowe, is, by her writings, not less widely or favourably known. (W. Landels, D. D.)

Mother, influence of

Someone asked a man of wisdom when the education of a child should be commenced? Twenty years before his birth, by educating his mother, was the reply. (Christian Advocate.)

Mother, influence of

Upon a tombstone erected by a family of children was the inscription Our mother; she always made home happy. When Madame Campan asked Napoleon what was the great want of the trench nation, his reply was Mothers.

Mother, prayers of a

Samuel Budgett was about nine years of age, when, one day passing his mothers door, he heard her engaged in earnest prayer for her family, and for himself by name. He thought, My mother is more earnest that I should be saved than I am for my own salvation. In that hour he became decided to serve God, and the impression thus made was never effaced. (W. Arthur.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

CHAPTER XVI.

Paul, coming to Derbe and Lystra, meets with Timothy, the son of

a Jewess by a Greek father, whom he circumcises and takes with

him into his work, 1-3.

As they pass through the different cities, they deliver the

apostles’ decrees to the Churches; and they are established in

the faith, and daily increase in numbers, 4, 5.

They travel through Phrygia, Galatia, Mysia, and to Troas, 6-8.

Where Paul has a vision, relative to his preaching in

Macedonia, 9, 10.

Leaving Troas, he sails to Samothracia and Neapolis, and comes

to Philippi in Macedonia, 11, 12.

Lydia, a seller of purple, receives the apostles teaching; and

she and her family are baptized, 13-16.

A young woman, with a spirit of divination, dispossessed by St.

Paul, 16-18.

Her masters, finding their gain by her soothsaying gone, make an

attack upon Paul and Silas, drag them before the magistrates,

who command them to be beaten, thrust into the closest prison,

and their feet made fast in the stocks, 19-24.

Paul and Silas singing praises at midnight, the prison doors

are miraculously opened, and all the bonds of the prisoners

loosed, 25, 26.

The keeper being alarmed, supposing that the prisoners were

fled, is about to kill himself, but is prevented by Paul,

27-28.

He inquires the way of salvation, believes, and he and his

whole family are baptized, 29-34.

The next morning the magistrates order the apostles to be

dismissed, 35, 36.

Paul pleads his privilege as a Roman, and accuses the

magistrates of injustice, who, being alarmed, come themselves

to the prison, deliver them, and beg them to depart from the

city, 37-39.

They leave the prison, enter into the house of Lydia, comfort

the brethren, and depart, 40.

NOTES ON CHAP. XVI.

Verse 1. A certain disciple] Bishop Pearce would read the latter part of this verse and the beginning of the next thus-A certain disciple named Timotheus, (the son of a certain Jewish woman that believed, but of a father who was a Greek,) who was well reported of by the brethren, c.

This Timothy was the same person to whom St. Paul wrote those two noble epistles which are still extant. His mother’s name was Eunice, as we learn from 2Ti 1:5. What his father’s name was we know not he was either a mere heathen, or, at most, only a proselyte of the gate, who never submitted to circumcision: had he submitted to this rite, he would, no doubt, have circumcised his son; but the son being without it is a proof that the father was so too. Some MSS. state that Timothy’s mother was now a widow; but this does not appear to be well founded.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Derbe and Lystra; of these cities see Act 14:6.

Timotheus; who was known unto Paul from his childhood, 2Ti 1:5, and accompanied him in many journeys, 2Ti 3:10,11, and is called by him, his work-fellow, Rom 16:21.

A certain woman, called Eunice; being one of them that had believed in Christ in Judea, and had a holy woman to her mother, named Lois.

His father was a Greek: although it was not lawful for a Jew to marry a woman of another nation, yet some think that a Jewess might marry to a stranger, as Esther married to Ahasuerus.

A Greek; of Gentile extraction, and therefore not circumcised; yet he is accounted to have been a proselyte.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

1-5. Then came he to Derbe andLystra; and, behold, a certain disciple was therethat is, atLystra (not Derbe, as some conclude from Ac20:4).

named Timotheus(See onAc 14:20). As Paul styles him”his own son in the faith” (1Ti1:2), he must have been gained to Christ at the apostle’s firstvisit; and as Paul says he “had fully known his persecutionswhich came on him at Lystra” (2Ti 3:10;2Ti 3:11), he may have been inthat group of disciples that surrounded the apparently lifeless bodyof the apostle outside the walls of Lystra, and that at a time oflife when the mind receives its deepest impressions from thespectacle of innocent suffering and undaunted courage [HOWSON].His would be one of “the souls of the disciples confirmed”at the apostle’s second visit, “exhorted to continue in thefaith, and” warned “that we must through much tribulationenter into the kingdom of God” (Act 14:21;Act 14:22).

the son of a certain . . .Jewess“The unfeigned faith which dwelt first in hisgrandmother Lois” descended to “his mother Eunice,”and thence it passed to this youth (2Ti1:5), who “from a child knew the Holy Scriptures” (2Ti3:15). His gifts and destination to the ministry of Christ hadalready been attested (1Ti 1:18;1Ti 4:14); and though some tenyears after this Paul speaks of him as still young (1Ti4:12), “he was already well reported of by the brethren thatwere at Lystra and Iconium” (Ac16:2), and consequently must have been well known through allthat quarter.

but his father was aGreekSuch mixed marriages, though little practiced, anddisliked by the stricter Jews in Palestine, must have been veryfrequent among the Jews of the dispersion, especially in remotedistricts, where but few of the scattered people were settled[HOWSON].

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Then came he to Derbe and Lystra,…. Which were cities of Lycaonia, Ac 14:6 after Paul had gone through Syria and Cilicia; in the last of these places, he had been stoned, and yet goes thither again; none of these things moved him from the preaching of the Gospel, and from the care of the churches, such zeal, courage, and intrepidity was he possessed of:

and behold a certain disciple was there: a converted person, a believer in Christ, one that had learned to know and deny himself, and understood the way of salvation by Christ, and was a follower of him; whether the apostle was an instrument of his conversion, when he was before in these parts, is not certain, though probable, since he often calls him his son; nor is it so evident whether he was at Derbe or at Lystra, though the latter seems most likely, since a report was given of him by the brethren there, and at Iconium, when no mention is made of Derbe, in the following verse:

named Timotheus; or Timothy, the same person to whom afterwards the apostle wrote two epistles: it is a name much used among the Greeks, and his father was a Greek; one of this name, who was an historian among the Greeks, is frequently mentioned by Laertius r; and there was another of this name, the son of Conon, an Athenian general s; and another that was a captain or general of Antiochus,

“Afterward he passed over to the children of Ammon, where he found a mighty power, and much people, with Timotheus their captain.” (1 Maccabees 5:6)

“Now Timotheus, whom the Jews had overcome before, when he had gathered a great multitude of foreign forces, and horses out of Asia not a few, came as though he would take Jewry by force of arms.” (2 Maccabees 10:24)

the name signifies one that honoured God, or was honoured by God; both were true in this disciple of Christ:

the son of a certain woman which was a Jewess, and believed; his mother was a Jewish woman, but a believer in Christ, her name was Eunice, 2Ti 1:5

but his father was a Greek; a Gentile, an uncircumcised one, and so he seems to have remained, by his sons not being circumcised.

r De Vit. Philosoph. l. 3. in Vit. Platon. & l. 4. Vit. Speusippi, & l. 5. Vit. Aristotel. s Aelian. Hist. Var. l. 2. c. 10, 18. & l. 3. c. 16, 47.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Paul’s Adoption of Timothy.

1 Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: 2 Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek. 4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. 5 And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.

Paul was a spiritual father, and as such a one we have him here adopting Timothy, and taking care of the education of many others who had been begotten to Christ by his ministry: and in all he appears to have been a wise and tender father. Here is,

I. His taking Timothy into his acquaintance and under his tuition. One thing designed in the book of the Acts is to help us to understand Paul’s epistles, two of which are directed to Timothy; it was therefore necessary that in the history of Paul we should have some account concerning him. And we are here accordingly told, 1. That he was a disciple, one that belonged to Christ, and was baptized, probably in his infancy, when his mother became a believer, as Lydia’s household was baptized upon her believing, v. 15. Him, that was a disciple of Christ, Paul took to be his disciple, that he might further train him up in the knowledge and faith of Christ; he took him to be brought up for Christ. 2. That his mother was a Jewess originally, but believed in Christ; her name was Eunice, his grandmother’s name was Lois. Paul speaks of them both with great respect, as women of eminent virtue and piety, and commends them especially for their unfeigned faith (2 Tim. i. 5), their sincerely embracing and adhering to the doctrine of Christ. 3. That his father was a Greek, a Gentile. The marriage of a Jewish woman to a Gentile husband (though some would make a difference) was prohibited as much as the marriage of a Jewish man to a Gentile wife, Deut. vii. 3. Thou shalt no more give thy daughter to his son than take his daughter to thy son; yet this seems to have been limited to the nations that lived among them in Canaan, whom they were most in danger of infection from. Now because his father was a Greek he was not circumcised: for the entail of the covenant and the seal of it, as of other entails in that nation, went by the father, not by the mother; so that his father being no Jew he was not obliged to circumcision, nor entitled to it, unless when he grew up he did himself desire it. But, observe, though his mother could not prevail to have him circumcised in his infancy, because his father was of another mind and way, yet she educated him in the fear of God, that though he wanted the sign of the covenant he might not want the thing signified. 4. That he had gained a very good character among the Christians: he was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium; he had not only an unblemished reputation, and was free from scandal, but he had a bright reputation, and great encomiums were given of him, as an extraordinary young man, and one from whom great things were expected. Not only those in the place where he was born, but those in the neighbouring cities, admired him, and spoke honourably of him. He had a name for good things with good people. 5. That Paul would have him to go forth with him, to accompany him, to give attendance on him, to receive instruction from him, and to join with him in the work of the gospel–to preach for him when there was occasion, and to be left behind in places where he had planted churches. Paul had a great love for him, not only because he was an ingenious young man, and one of great parts, but because he was a serious young man, and one of devout affections: for Paul was always mindful of his tears, 2 Tim. i. 4. 6. That Paul took him and circumcised him, or ordered it to be done. This was strange. Had not Paul opposed those with all his might that were for imposing circumcision upon the Gentile converts? Had he not at this time the decrees of the council at Jerusalem with him, which witnessed against it? He had, and yet circumcised Timothy, not, as those teachers designed in imposing circumcision, to oblige him to keep the ceremonial law, but only to render his conversation and ministry passable, and, if it might be, acceptable among the Jews that abounded in those quarters. He knew Timothy was a man likely to do a great deal of good among them, being admirably qualified for the ministry, if they were not invincibly prejudiced against him; and therefore, that they might not shun him as one unclean, because uncircumcised, he took him and circumcised him. Thus to the Jews he became as a Jew, that he might gain the Jews, and all things to all men, that he might gain some. He was against those who made circumcision necessary to salvation, but used it himself when it was conducive to edification; nor was he rigid in opposing it, as they were in imposing it. Thus, though he went not in this instance according to the letter of the decree, he went according to the spirit of it, which was a spirit of tenderness towards the Jews, and willingness to bring them off gradually from their prejudices. Paul made no difficulty of taking Timothy to be his companion, though he was uncircumcised; but the Jews would not hear him if he were, and therefore Paul will humour them herein. It is probable that it was at this time that Paul laid his hands on Timothy, for the conferring of the gift of the Holy Ghost upon him, 2 Tim. i. 6.

II. His confirming the churches which he had planted (Act 16:4; Act 16:5): He went through the cities where he had preached the word of the Lord, as he intended (ch. xv. 36), to enquire into their state. And we are told,

1. That they delivered them copies of the decrees of the Jerusalem synod, to be a direction to them in the government of themselves, and that they might have wherewith to answer the judaizing teachers, and to justify themselves in adhering to the liberty with which Christ had made them free. All the churches were concerned in that decree, and therefore it was requisite they should all have it well attested. Though Paul had for a particular reason circumcised Timothy, yet he would not have that drawn into a precedent; and therefore he delivered the decrees to the churches, to be religiously observed; for they must abide by the rule, and not be drawn from it by a particular example.

2. That this was of very good service to them. (1.) The churches were hereby established in the faith, v. 5. They were confirmed particularly in their opinion against the imposing of the ceremonial law upon the Gentiles; the great assurance and heat wherewith the judaizing teachers pressed the necessity of circumcision, and the plausible arguments they produced for it, had shocked them, so that they began to waver concerning it. But when they saw the testimony, not only of the apostles and elders, but of the Holy Ghost in them, against it, they were established, and did not longer waver about it. Note, Testimonies to truth, though they may not prevail to convince those that oppose it, may be of very good use to establish those that are in doubt concerning it, and to fix them. Nay, the design of this decree being to set aside the ceremonial law, and the carnal ordinances of that, they were by it established in the Christian faith in general, and were the more firmly assured that it was of God, because it set up a spiritual way of serving God, as more suited to the nature both of God and man; and, besides, that spirit of tenderness and condescension which appeared in these letters plainly showed that the apostles and elders were herein under the guidance of him who is love itself. (2.) They increased in number daily. The imposing of the yoke of the ceremonial law upon their converts was enough to frighten people from them. If they had been disposed to turn Jews, they could have done that long since, before the apostles came among them; but, if they cannot be interested in the Christian privileges without submitting to the Jews’ yoke, they will be as they are. But, if they find there is no danger of their being so enslaved, they are ready to embrace Christianity, and join themselves to the church. And thus the church increased in numbers daily; not a day passed but some or other gave up their names to Christ. And it is a joy to those who heartily wish well to the honour of Christ, and the welfare of the church and the souls of men, to see such an increase.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

And he came also to Derbe and Lystra ( ). First aorist active of , late verb to come down to, to arrive at. He struck Derbe first of the places in the first tour which was the last city reached then.

Timothy (). Apparently a native of Lystra (“there,” ), his Hebrew mother named Eunice and grandmother Lois (2Ti 1:5) and his Greek father’s name not known. He may have been a proselyte, but not necessarily so as Timothy was taught the Scriptures by his mother and grandmother (2Ti 3:15), and, if a proselyte, he would have had Timothy circumcised. It is idle to ask if Paul came on purpose to get Timothy to take Mark’s place. Probably Timothy was about eighteen years of age, a convert of Paul’s former visit a few years before (1Ti 1:2) and still young twelve years later (1Ti 4:12). Paul loved him devotedly (1Tim 1:3; 1Tim 5:23; 2Tim 3:15; Phil 2:19). It is a glorious discovery to find a real young preacher for Christ’s work.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

WHEN PAUL FOUND TIMOTHY V. 1-5

1) “Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: (katentesen de kai eis Derben kai eis Lustran) “Then he (Paul) came down also into Derbe and Lystra,” from Syria and Cilicia, in this his second missionary journey. The order of the names of the cities indicates the chronological order of this journey, as in Act 14:20-21.

2) “And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheius,” (kai idou mathetes tis en ekei onamati Timotheus) “And behold a certain, (particular) disciple, a learner, was there (lived there), named, or known as Timothy,” a convert of Paul on his first journey there, 1Ti 1:2; 2Ti 1:2, whom he referred to as his own son in the ministry; an heir to his ministry, Act 19:22; Rom 16:21; 1Co 4:17.

3) “The son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess,” (huios gunaikos loudias) “The son of a Jewish woman,” a special or certain kind of Jewish woman named Eunice, a devout Bible believing and teaching mother; though she was married to a Greek, a thing not sanctioned for men by Jewish Law, Ezr 10:1-44.

4) “And believed;” (pistes) “Of a faithful woman;” a woman of faith and fidelity to God and the Scriptures, 2Ti 1:5; 2Ti 3:14-15.

5) “But his father was a Greek:” (patros de Hellenos) “Yet his father was a Greek,” of native Greece, considered racially as an heathen to the Jews. A Jewess might have a Gentile husband as Esther was married to Ahasuerus, however, the Jewish man could not marry a Gentile wife, Deu 7:2-3; Ezr 10:2-5; Ezr 10:9-12.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

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1. Luke doth now begin to declare what were the proceedings of Paul after that Barnabas and he were separate. And first he showeth, that he took to his company at Lystra Timothy to be his companion. But, to the end we may know that Paul did nothing rashly, or without good consideration, Luke saith plainly, that Timothy was such a man as the brethren did well like of, and that they gave testimony of his godliness; for thus doth he speak word for word. And so Paul himself observeth the like choice, which he elsewhere commandeth to be made in choosing ministers, ( 1Ti 3:0 : 7.) Neither is it to be thought, that those prophecies did even then come to light wherewith Timothy was set forth and adorned by the Spirit, as Paul doth testify elsewhere, ( Tit 1:18.) But there seemeth to be some disagreement in that, in that Luke saith that Timotheus was well reported of amongst the brethren; and Paul will have him to have a good report of those who are without, who is chosen to be a bishop. I answer, that we must principally look unto the judgment of the godly, as they be sole meet witnesses, and do alone rightly discern well and wisely according to the Spirit of God; and that we ought to attribute no more to the wicked than to blind men. Therefore it appeareth that godliness and holiness of life must be judged according to the will and consent of godly men; that he be counted worthy to be a bishop whom they commend. Notwithstanding, I confess that even this also is required in the second place, that the very infidels be enforced to commend him; lest the Church of God come in danger − (172) of their slanders and evil speaking, if it commit [permit] itself to be governed by men of evil report. −

(172) −

“

Obnoxia sit,” be subjected to.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

PAUL AND HIS ASSOCIATES

Act 16:1-40.

IN entering upon this second volume in the study of Acts, we proceed from no point of natural break. That point was passed in the ninth chapter. Since the conversion of Saul, the one Apostle who has been in the ascendant, was that same Saul, now called by his new name, Paul; and when you read, Then came he to Derbe and Lystra, it is another sentence out of the life of the new convert, now the greatest among his brethren.

Personality is the interest in all productions. It is not the landscape in novels, nor the record of battles and revolutions in history that grip and retain attention. It is the individual in the landscape, and it is the hero in the battle that attracts and holds the same. That is why this Book wears its name, The Acts of the Apostles. The personnel of the Book is the point of central and intense interest.

There are five distinct thoughts found in this chapter: The Selection of an Associate, The Direction of the Spirit, The Search for a Church Service, The Dispossession of a Demon, and The Dangers Changed to Defenses.

THE SELECTION OF AN ASSOCIATE

Paul was in search of an associate. And, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek. In that young man the Apostle made a rich find. The search of Paul here has ever been and will long remain the major search of seniors in Gods work. The old man needs youth for companionship. The spirit of man is affected by constant association. If youth is made more sober by fellowship with age, conversely, age is made more youthful by companionship with the young. A man who is content in the company of old men only is old indeed; his youthful days are done; he only lives in reminiscences, and on that account seeks the fellowship of those who have long and retentive memories. But the man who lives for the future, whose vision is on the unborn days rather than the buried ones, absolutely demands junior association. He is in sympathy with their intellectual outlook, their spirit of hopefulness, and especially with their plans and programs. Then, of course, the advance senior, whose life work has been effective, knows that he must find another, not only to carry forward the work which he has so well commenced, but to bring to realization his more far-reaching plans. That is why Christ must be succeeded by Apostles. The things which He began both to do and to teach demanded for their continuance and more satisfactory accomplishment successors. It is true of every intelligent aged man that his eyes are always open, for in promising youth, and in youth alone can he find even a promise of completed endeavors.

This Timothy was justly commended. He was the son of a mixed marriageJewish mother and Greek father, but he was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. The people of those two cities knew him, and it is always a fine thing to bring your commendations from people who know you. There are men abroad who make it their business to secure a commendation from men they never met but once. These are not all book agents; some of them profess to be preachers, and others of them ecclesiastical experts. Some one has defined an ecclesiastical expert as a most ordinary man remote from home. The definition is justified in the face of facts. One of the strange effects of the present controversy in theology is the readiness with which certain partisans recommend their kind. There are bishops and church superintendents not a few who will ask one question and one only of the man in search of a parish, Do you agree with our view of the Bible and Christ? Will you perform the part of a good partisan? In other words, will you back the program? If so, we are ready to commend you. Timothy received his recommendation after another manner altogether. He neither solicited it from strangers, nor secured it from partisans. It was volunteered by his brethren. Doubtless Paul told them that he needed an associate, and with one voice they said, Timothy is the man. He is Biblical, spiritual, sane, dependable, and when they had finished Paul was ready to have Timothy go forth with him; and he took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek, Paul never unnecessarily offended even his stumbling brethren. He was politic without being compromising; considerate without a surrender of conviction. Hence his conduct in this matter.

The cause profited by the combination. Our opening sentence was, Then came he to Derbe and Lystra. Now the pronoun changes. As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the Apostles and Elders which were at Jerusalem. The Apostle is no longer alone. The pronoun he has given place to the pronoun they. The individual has multiplied himself. Two men are better than one. If one should chase one thousand, two shall put ten thousand to flight. So the churches were strengthened in faith and increased in number daily.

There is many a man who is only one-tenth of himself because he has not found a confederate in labor. Charles Spurgeon mightily multiplied his ministry through his great brother who stood for years at his side and shared with him in every service. A. J. Gordon, Bostons first minister, was made a mighty power by the companionship of John McElwain, and A. C. Dixons ministry in Chicago was many times multiplied by his associate Woolley. The principle, then, adopted by Paul has proven a profitable one through the ages.

THE DIRECTION OF THE SPIRIT

They were directed even to the point of restraint. Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the Word in Asia. After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not (Act 16:6-7). The true disciple is both guided by the Spirit and restrained by the Spirit. We put bits in the horses mouth both to restrain and guide, and restraint is sometimes quite as essential, if not more so, than guidance itself. There is many a man who rushes into danger or off to an undetermined duty, who needs to be drawn back by the Holy Ghost. It is a great thing to come to the point where one isnt determined to have his way, to take the part of his own choosing, to visit the city of his preference, to mingle with the people of his pleasure. Strong men are naturally impatient of restraint, but they are often the very men that need the same. Going is a good thing, but its greatest profit is proven when God guides. Doing is essential, but it produces its finest fruit when Spirit-directed.

The Spirit has a place of special direction. And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. We will not discuss this vision now because it is so important that we propose a chapter upon the same, but let us not pass it without remembering that the Spirit can get a hearing better in some places than in others. At your bedside where you are wont to pray; in the study where you are accustomed to prepare the discourse for the people; in the hour and locality of your agony, when you know not what path to take these are places of the Spirits appearance. In these a vision is often born and a clear call is often heard, and the straight course is often marked out for men and women who know God and seek the direction of the Holy Ghost.

He had a definite task awaiting him. The Lord had called us for to preach the Gospel unto them. We will not further elaborate this fact lest we encroach upon the following chapter, but we cannot pass from it without saying, The Spirit seldom directs you to any spot without having there a definite task to be discharged. Think of the day when the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert, and see the task set for Philip, namely, that of teaching the Ethiopian treasurer the way. Had not the Ethiopian, an earnest searcher after truth, been on that South way, Philip would never have been sent thither. Do not fear to go even into an apparently desert place if God appoints it. He will people the desert and empower your ministry when you reach it.

The thirteenth verse suggests another subject:

THE SEARCH FOR A CHURCH SERVICE

And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying (Act 16:16). Different people spend their Sabbaths differently. Some go to the riverside in search of fish. Others go to the riverside in search of green grass and shadowed spots of rest and drinking and eating and outing. Sadly must we admit that the Sabbath is increasingly despiritualized. It is a sport day instead of a day for the soul. The assembly of the saints is forgotten and the lusts of the flesh are pandered to. The attitude a man entertains toward the assemblies of Gods people is a crucial test of his souls estate. Tell me with who thou dost company and I will tell thee who thou art. Recite to me how you spend your Sundays and I will know the state of your spiritual life. By this we know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.

The assembly commonly holds the sincere. The women resorted thither. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, she was there and heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul, Oh, to be able to preach to the individual or to the company that really want to know the truth! That is a privilege indeed! If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it he of God, or whether I speak of myself (Joh 7:7). The reason you get converts out of your congregation is that there are sincere souls that come into it. Lydia was not there to look at the spring bonnets or to meet a beau, but rather to get a blessing upon her soul. This made preaching worthwhile, and such keep the Church of God alive and the Cause of Christianity on the upward climb.

The new convert is often the beginning of a church. The house of Lydia became the assembly place of the saints. She constrained them to come in. There are men who call themselves ministers and who tell me that if they could only get a church they could then do great things. That is easy. Do what an Irish graduate of the Northwestern Bible and Missionary Training School did. Walk into the country seven miles; ask the good farmer and his wife to invite in their neighbors and let you preach in the house; and if you preach in the power and demonstration of the Spirit, you will shortly have a church. This Irish evangelist saw the wife of the farmer converted the first night, a neighbor and his wife converted the next night, and forty-five in that neighborhood baptized at the end of a months meetings in a house, and by the time three months were passed, a beautiful church built and paid for and a whole community lifted into the light and led into unthinkable privileges. But dont imagine that everything can move without a jar. There will be difficulties in the way and even demons to dispossess.

THE DISPOSSESSION OF THE DEMON

And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:

The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.

And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the Name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the market place unto the rulers.

And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,

And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.

And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them,

And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:

Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks (Act 16:16-24).

This malady may have been only a distorted talent. We read, A certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying. Where the language here employed would indicate that the spirit was the spirit of the Pithian Apollo, it approached possibly an expression something akin to our ventriloquism; and being an unusual talent, could be turned to financial profit. It may not have been even supernatural in any sense, since their attributing their talent to python would simply be recognizing their god as the source of the same. But we know now that there are many talents of the ventriloquist nature that take on special proportions in the individual life, and quite often they are profitable. Within bounds, these are not necessarily wrong and may be even desirable. Think of Houdini, the magician! His feats were nothing short of marvelous. Again and again he challenged the leading spiritualists of the land to do anything by the professed aids of spirits that he could not perform by deception or magic. Houdini, had he been willing to deceive himself and others, would have claimed to be in league with the spirit world and brought evidences that would have overwhelmingly convinced the mighty majority; but, as a Christian man, he spurned such a course and employed his unusual talents to uncover the deceptive conduct of those who profited by pretense.

This girls dispossession proved her demonic employment. Her masters were servants of Satan and they were willing to degrade her in the interest of their personal purses. Therein is involved a principle. You will find that a big majority of people in the world that are doing wrong, are doing it at the behest of somebody who prospers through the prostitution. White slavery is commonly in the interest of some bloated indolent who prefers to prostitute other people than to be seriously employed. The illegal sale of liquor is inspired by wholesale indolents. Gambling is encouraged in the profit of the house, and so on. They are veritable masters of iniquity and they have their multiplied minions. We are further impressed here with the fact that

Her employers were flamed with the spirit of patriotism.

They caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,

And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,

And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.

And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.

And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:

Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks (Act 16:19-24).

The biggest crooks of the community are often the loudest champions of patriotism. Their professed loyalty to government is animated by the hope of personal profit. When the Philippine trouble was on between the United States and that country, the most flaming patriots among us were the venders of war material, and even in the frightful World War with Germany, our noblest spirits and our most loyal men and women were mild in their advocacy of our government beside the eloquence of those who were making money out of the holocaust. There is a patriotism that is pure and there is another that is putrid, and the writer has had a man who owned and operated houses of assignation with their drinking attachments, take him to serious task that he was not under all conditions and at all times an advocate of war. That gentleman was also engaged in the business of making war materials. It is a good thing to look into the secret of patriotism before we pass upon the sincerity of it; and yet, this text is interesting in that it takes you on from the dispossession of the demon to

THE DANGERS CHANGED TO DEFENSES

Prison is not a bad place for an Apostle! At least, so Paul and Silas seemed to consider, for at midnight they

prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every ones bands were loosed.

And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.

But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.

Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,

And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

And they spake unto him the Word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.

And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house (Act 16:26-34).

When did Paul and Silas ever have a better night with more excitement in it, attended by more blessed spiritual experiences and better soul-winning success? Prison has no terrors for a true prophet of God.

Prison keepers are always possible converts. You would expect to find them hard men. Their vocation you would imagine would degrade them. The members of society they see, the fellowship they are daily compelled to have, and the repressive measures they are expected to employthese all tend to harden; and as a rule your sheriff and your jail man are not good convert prospects. But who can resist the Spirit of God? What hard heart can ignore an earthquake, and what closed mind is not stirred to some action, at least, by a manifest miracle?

Persecutors are in sore need of a stock of apologies. They seem to have had them here. The jailor apologizes. Apology did not take the form of words, but of deeds:

He washed their stripes: and was baptized, he and all his, straightway (Act 16:33).

He set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house (Act 16:34).

The magistrates apologized and

sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go.

And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace.

But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out.

And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans.

And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city (Act 16:36-38).

It is amazing how quickly some men can change from mighty threateners into meek apologists, and they are always men of one sortmen who have done wrong and been wrong and who know it, and their threats continue until they are discovered and their skin is in danger, and then they speak with a voice as soft as an evening zephyr, as gentle as a rising sea breeze.

This chapter concludes gloriously. And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed (Act 16:40). After all, there is no place like the churchthe house where God is honored, where Christ is worshipped; and the persecuted Apostle seldom suffers as much as his devoted brethren. The latter need the comfort and the former are always able to contribute it.

Let me conclude this chapter by the promise of a special treatment of Act 16:9-10.

Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley

CRITICAL REMARKS

Act. 16:1. Derbe and Lystra (see Act. 14:6) are now visited by Paul and Silas in reverse order to that followed in the first journey. There meant Lystra, not Derbe, as has been wrongly inferred out of Act. 20:4. The son of a certain woman, etc., should be, the son of a believing Jewish woman, whose name was Eunice, the daughter of Lois (2Ti. 1:5), both pious females who instructed him in the Scriptures (2Ti. 3:15), but of a Greek father, whoError! Hyperlink reference not valid. may have been a proselyte, and was certainly uncircumcised.

Act. 16:2. Well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.This may well have been if Timothy had been converted on the occasion of Pauls first visit to the former city, and if since that he had been engaged in evangelistic labours both there and in Iconium.

Act. 16:3. Circumcised him.Whether by Pauls own hand (Meyer, De Wette), or by that of another (Neander) is immaterial. Any Israelite might perform the rite, though no heathen could (see Riehms Handwrterbuch des Biblischen Altertums, art. Beschneidung). On the seeming inconsistency of this act with Pauls refusal to circumcise Titus (Gal. 2:3), see Homiletical Analysis.

Act. 16:4. The mention of the decrees confirms the historic credibility of chap. 15.

HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS.

Act. 16:1-5. Paul and Silas in Lycaonia; or, Meeting with Timothy

I. The missionaries and the Churches.

1. The Churches visited by the missionaries. Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium, which are mentioned in reverse order from that in which they were first introduced

(14), because on this occasion Paul and his companion approached them from Tarsus by travelling, most likely, through the Cilician gates. And if indeed Paul and Silas took this route, and passed through the narrow gorge, under its frowning cliffs of limestone, clothed here and there with pine and cedar, which to the Crusaders presented an appearance so terrible that they christened it the Gates of Judas, how far must they have been from imagining, in their wildest dreams, that their footstepsthe footsteps of two obscure and persecuted Jewswould lead to the traversing of that pass centuries afterwards by kings and their armies (Farrar, The Life and Work of St. Paul, i. 456).

2. The special work done by the missionaries. Twofold.

(1) Confirming the Churches (Act. 15:41), doubtless by preaching (see Act. 15:32; Act. 15:41).

(2) Delivering them the apostolic decrees (Act. 16:4), presumably with exposition and enforcement on the part of both Paul and Silas.

3. The result of their labours in the Churches.

(1) Intensive: establishment or strengthening in the faith, in the belief, love, and practice of the truth.
(2) Extensive: increase in number daily, first of believers and next of Churches.

II. Paul and Timothy.

1. Details of Timothys history.

(1) His birthplace. Not Derbe (Neander), but Lystra (see Act. 20:4).

(2) His parentage. His father a Greek; whether living, or dead, and, if living, whether a proselyte, or a heathen, cannot be told. If alive and a proselyte, he was most likely uncircumcised. His mother a believing Jewess, by name Eunice, the daughter of Lois (2Ti. 1:5), also a Christian disciple. Mixed marriages, condemned by Paul (1 Corinthians 7), were far less strictly forbidden to women than to men (Farrar).

(3) His character well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. Supposing him to have been converted during Pauls first visit to Lystra (Act. 14:8), he would at the time of Pauls second visit be a disciple of three or four years standing, and during the interval may have given ample proof both at Lystra and Iconium of his interest in the cause of the gospel.

2. Pauls desire to have him as a colleague in the ministry (compare 2Ti. 4:5). This may have arisen from a variety of motives. Paul may have

(1) considered him from his talents and graces eminently qualified for the work; or

(2) felt drawn towards him from the fact that he (Paul) had been the means of his conversion (1Co. 4:17; 1Ti. 1:2; 1Ti. 1:8; 2Ti. 2:2); or

(3) recognised in his mixed Jewish and Greek descent, a circumstance calculated to be helpful in propagating the gospel in such mixed communities as were about to be visited; or

(4) wished to have a third companion in place of John Mark, as already he had Silas in room of Barnabas. (See further Hints on Act. 16:3.)

3. Pauls conduct in causing him to be circumcised.

(1) The reason. Because of the Jews that were in those parts; for they all knew that his father was a Greek. In Pauls estimation it would have hindered Timothys and perhaps his own usefulness among the Jews had he accepted as a colleague one of Jewish descent who was not circumcised. In other words, it would have looked strange that Paul should ask of Timothy (a half Jew) less of conformity to the law than was demanded of a heathen who became a proselyte of righteousness.

(2) The consistency. Pauls conduct in circumcising Timothywhether with his own hand or by that of another is uncertainhas been pronounced irreconcilable with his refusal to circumcise Titus (Gal. 2:3). Of course, if Titus was circumcised (Farrar, The Life and Work of St. Paul, i. 412420), the subjection of Timothy to the same ritual requires no explanation; but if, as most hold, Titus was not circumcised, then no apology is needed further than to say, the circumstances were entirely different. To have yielded in the case of Titus would have been to concede the obligatory character of circumcision for Gentiles as well as Jews; to have left Timothy uncircumcised would simply have prevented him from finding access to the Jews. Paul acted on the principle laid down in 1Co. 9:20.

4. Timothys ordination to the work of the ministry. Not mentioned in the Acts, this may be gathered from the pastoral epistles (1Ti. 4:14; 2Ti. 1:14).

Learn.

1. The value of a pious mother.
2. The advantage of early conversion.
3. The influence of a good name.
4. The duty of becoming all things to all men in order to gain some.
5. The benefit that flows from a peaceful disposal of controversies.

HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS

Act. 16:1. A Certain Disciple named Timothy.

I. The son of a pious mother.The advantage of being descended from godly parents. The influence of good mothers. The power of heredity in religion.

II. A student of the word of God.Instructed in the Scriptures from his youth. Value of Bible education. The profit of beginning early.

III. A disciple of Jesus Christ.Circumstances that favoured his conversionhis birth and education in a pious home. What presumably led to his decision for Christlistening to Pauls preaching, possibly witnessing Pauls stoning (Act. 19:19). Advantages of early conversiongreater happiness, longer usefulness, higher advancement in grace.

IV. A preacher of the gospel.A. fitting termination to Timothys career. The noblest occupation a young man can follow.

The Pious Mothers of the Bible.

I. Jochebed, the mother of Moses.

II. Hannah, the mother of Samuel.

III. Mary, the mother of Jesus.

IV. Salome, the mother of Zebedees children.

V. Eunice, the mother of Timothy.

Mixed Marriages.

I. Not permissible to Christians (2Co. 6:14).

II. Seldom beneficial to either party. The Christian more likely to become unchristian than vice vers.

III. Not to be dissolved, if formed before the conversion of either (1Co. 7:10).

Act. 16:3. Pauls Companions on the Second Missionary Journey.

1. Silas, or Silvanus, as Paul constantly names him, was an older man (than Paul), who had already made his appearance in foreign Churches as a prophet and teacher, and Paul constantly speaks of him as an associate of equal rank with himself. A prophet of the mother Church, who in the moment of general falling away steps manfully forward upon Pauls side, must also have been an energetic and whole-souled man, of stronger tenacity than Barnabas and the others, and that Paul always speaks of him as a co-founder with himself of the Churches established in this period shows that he was to the apostle even more than an assistant. Then, if Silas was a sufficient compensation for Barnabas, who had departed to Cyprus, on the other hand Paul contemplated supplying the lack of John Mark through the taking with him of a younger man. For whilst the disciples of Jesus were accustomed to set forth two and two, Paul preferred, for various reasons suggested by the aim of his mission, that his travel company should consist of three. As he formerly journeyed with Barnabas and Mark, and on the present occasion travelled with Silas and Timothy, so worked he afterwards with Titus and Timothy in Macedonia and Achaia, and again with two, Luke and Aristarchus, sailed to Rome.

2. Timothy. The fresh young comrade whom the two older men now took with them was even then famed among the Christian Churches in Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium. Of no apostolic scholar is so concrete a picture handed down as of Timothy. Through the pastoral epistles to Timothy we possess a complete tradition concerning Timothy which nevertheless may perfectly well include in itself elements of true history. But in any case, out of Pauls own letters (i.e., his acknowledged epistles), it is clear that Paul could entrust even difficult commissions to the son of his heart, his beloved son in the Lord. Fixing our eyes exclusively on Pauls own expressions concerning Timothy, we can see that modesty and even shyness were fundamental features in his character, so that Paul occasionally bespeaks for him a friendly reception that he might be able to appear amongst those to whom he is sent without fear (1Co. 16:10). Forceful natures, like Paul, are often conscious of an inward attraction towards such quiet and gentle helpers; and just for this reason Paul rated the modest Timothy far above all his other fellow-labourers (Php. 2:20). Nor was he deceived in him, since in persecution and bonds the younger disciple remained true to him when stronger natures fell away, and even after the apostles death he belonged to the best-known travelling preachers of the second generation (Heb. 13:23). Tradition has endowed Timothy like another Achilles with eternal youth, so that in the epistles to Timothy, which, according to tradition, were composed towards the end of Pauls activity, he appears the same youngling as he had been when first called by the apostle to the holy work (1Ti. 4:12; 2Ti. 2:22). Indeed, so high stood his reputation in the Church at this time, that his future career was said to have been pointed out by prophet voices (1Ti. 1:18); whilst with great earnestness tradition asserted he had been a genuine scholar of Paul (1Ti. 2:2).Hausrath, Der Apostel Paulus, pp. 258260.

Act. 16:5. The Strength of a Church. Consists in

I. The number of its members.
II. The enlightenment of their faith.
III. The cheerfulness of their obedience.
IV. The completeness of their organisation.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

AT DERBE. Act. 16:1 a.

And he came also to Derbe,

IN LYSTRA. Act. 16:1 b Act. 16:3.

and to Lystra: and behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewess that believed; but his father was a Greek.

The same was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.

Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and he took and circumcised him because of the Jews that were in those parts: for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

Act. 16:1 It is here that Luke records a personal word of Gods servant, Timothy. Timothy is the one worker of the many with whom Paul associated whom he personally complimented and commended. (Cf. Php. 2:19-22). Perhaps we should say that only in the case of Timothy did the Holy Spirit see fit to record Pauls commendation. As we look at the life and high standards that were set for this evangelist, we can say with Paul, there is none like him.

Act. 16:2-3 What a lesson can here be learned. Since Paul has been in Lystra and Derbe, ever since Timothy had gone under the waters of baptism he had been laboring in the kingdom of God. Timothy was not looking to becoming a companion and co-laborer with the apostle; he was only interested in serving God where he found opportunity. But when Paul saw him thus laboring and heard from the brethren how he served the Lord, him would Paul have to go forth with him.

Before we say anything further on these verses in Chapter sixteen, please remember that Paul had just a few brief days before finished a heated discussion with Peter over the matter of circumcision, and but a few days before this he had returned from a council on the subject in Jerusalem,
Lo, the hand of the apostle is found in the act of circumcision. The apostle Paul circumcised Timothy. How can it be? Had he not withstood Peter to the face on the division of the Jews and the Gentiles? Was not this rite he was now performing the expression of such division? How can it be that Paul would do such a thing? Such exclamations might be expected from some; but not from those who read the text carefully, nor from those who have perused the epistles of Paul:

To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, not being myself under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law (1Co. 9:20-21).

Here indeed we have an application of the principle set forth. And so it is with our Heavenly Father. Only when we feel and know that He has identified Himself with our sufferings, sorrows, temptation can we love Him as we do. When we realize that He understands because He in the person of His Son was tempted in all points like as we are, was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief can we go to Him and feel that our souls are in competent hands. So with you and with me, dear friend, we must become as a Jew, enter into the burden of the soul, into the sorrow of that heart, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Then we will know what Paul meant when he said: It is more blessed to give than to receive.

540.

What churches were visited in the journey through Syria and Cilicia?

541.

Lystra was the home town of which Christian worker?

542.

What is different in the words of Paul regarding Timothy, than in those regarding other workers?

543.

What lesson can we learn from Timothy in Lystra?

544.

Why wasnt it inconsistent for Paul to circumcise Timothy? What lesson can we gain?

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

XVI.

(1) A certain disciple was there, named Timotheus.We read with a special interest the first mention of the name of one who was afterwards so dear to the Apostle, his true son in the faith (1Ti. 1:2). On his probable conversion on St. Pauls first mission in Lystra, see Notes on Act. 14:6; Act. 14:19. We have to think of him as still young; probably, as his youth is spoken of some twelve years later in 1Ti. 4:12, not more than eighteen or twenty; but in the six years that had passed since St. Pauls departure he had been conspicuous for his devotion and unfeigned faith. He had been trained to know the sacred Books of Israel from his childhood (2Ti. 3:15); and the fact that he had obtained a good report from the brethren at Iconium as well as Lystra shows that he had been already employed in carrying on intercourse between the two churches. The way in which St. Paul writes to him, and of him, implies a constitution naturally not strong, and, in after life, weakened by a rigorous asceticism (1Ti. 5:23), emotional even to tears (2Ti. 1:4), naturally shrinking from hardships and responsibilities, yet facing them in the strength of Christ (1Co. 16:10). The name Timotheus was not uncommon. It is found in 2Ma. 12:21-24, as belonging to a general defeated by Judas Maccabeus, and appears in early Christian inscriptions in the Vatican Museum. Its meaning (one who honours God) made it a suitable name for the child of a proselyte.

The son of a certain woman.Literally, of a certain woman, a faithful (or believing) Jewess. The adjective is the same as that used by Lydia of herself in Act. 16:15. 2Ti. 1:4, tells us that her name was Eunike, and her mothers Lois. They were both devout, and had trained the child in the Law (2Ti. 3:15); and this makes it probable that the father was a proselyte of the gate. He naturally thought it sufficient that his child should grow up under the same religious conditions as himself, and they had either thought so, or had yielded to his will.

His father was a Greek.Literally, of a Greek father. The adjective is used, as in the New Testament generally, to express the fact that he was a heathen. (See Notes on Act. 11:20; Mar. 7:26.) It seems, on the whole, probable that he was still living.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

Chapter 16

A SON IN THE FAITH ( Act 16:1-5 )

16:1-5 Paul arrived at Derbe and Lystra and, look you, there was a disciple there called Timothy. He was the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was Greek. The brethren in Lystra and Iconium were witnesses to his worth. Paul wished him to go out with him and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in these places, for they all knew that his father was Greek. As they made their way through the cities they handed over to them the decisions which had been arrived at by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, that they should observe them. The churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in number every day.

It was five years since Paul had preached in Derbe and Lystra but when he returned his heart must have been gladdened for there had emerged a young man who was to be very dear to him. It was only natural that Paul should be looking for someone to take Mark’s place. He was always well aware of the necessity of training a new generation for the work that lay ahead. He found just the kind of man he wanted in young Timothy. On the face of it, it is something of a problem that Paul circumcised Timothy for he had just won a battle in which circumcision had been declared unnecessary. The reason was that Timothy was a Jew and Paul had never said that circumcision was not necessary for Jews. It was the Gentiles who were freed from the ceremonies of the Jewish way of life.

In fact by accepting Timothy as a Jew, Paul showed just how emancipated he was from Jewish thought. Timothy was the son of a mixed marriage. The strict Jew would refuse to accept that as a marriage at all; in fact, if a Jewish girl married a Gentile boy or a Jewish boy married a Gentile girl, he would regard that Jewish boy or girl as dead. So much so, that sometimes a funeral was actually carried out. By accepting the child of such a marriage as a brother Jew, Paul showed how definitely he had broken down all national barriers.

Timothy was a lad with a great heritage. He had had a good mother and a good grandmother ( 2Ti 1:5). Often in the days to come he was to be Paul’s messenger ( 1Co 4:17; 1Th 3:2-6). He was at Rome with Paul when the apostle was in prison ( Php_1:1 ; Php_2:19 ; Col 1:1; Phm 1:1). Timothy was in a very special relationship to Paul. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians ( 1Co 4:17) he called him his beloved son. When he wrote to the Philippians he said that there was no one whose mind was so much at one with his own ( Php_2:19-20 ). It seems very likely that Paul saw in Timothy his successor when he had to lay down his work. Happy indeed is the man to whom it is given to see the result of his training in one who can take up the burden when he lays it down.

THE GOSPEL COMES TO EUROPE ( Act 16:6-10 )

16:6-10 They went through the Phrygian and Galatian territory, but they were prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the word in Asia. When they had gone through Mysia they tried to go into Bithynia.; and the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to do so. So they passed by Mysia and came down to Troas. During the night a vision appeared to Paul. A man from Macedonia stood and urged him, “Cross over into Macedonia and help us.” When he saw the vision he immediately sought to go forth into Macedonia for we reckoned that God had called us to tell the good news to them.

For a time all doors seemed shut to Paul. It must have seemed strange to him that he was barred from the Roman province of Asia by the Holy Spirit; it contained Ephesus and all the recipients of the letters to the seven churches in the book of the Revelation. Bithynia, too, was shut to him. How did the Holy Spirit send his message to Paul? It may have been by the word of a prophet; it may have been by a vision; it may have been by some inner and inescapable conviction. But there is the possibility that what kept Paul from journeying into these provinces was ill-health, the consequence of that thorn in his flesh.

What makes that quite likely is that in Act 16:10, suddenly and without warning, there emerges a “we” passage. The story begins to be told not in the third person but in the first person. That tells us that Luke was there, an eye-witness and a companion of Paul. Why should he so suddenly emerge on the scene? Luke was a doctor. What is more likely than that he met Paul then because Paul needed his professional services, having fallen ill and so being barred from making the journeys he would like to make? If this is so, it is suggestive to reflect that Paul took even his weakness and his pain as a messenger from God.

It was the sight of a man from Macedonia which finally gave Paul his guidance. Who was this man Paul saw in the vision? Some think it was Luke himself, for Luke may have been a Macedonian. Some think the question should not be asked since dreams need no explanations like that. But there is a most attractive theory. There was one man who had succeeded in conquering the world. That was Alexander the Great. Now it would seem that the whole situation was designed to make Paul remember Alexander. The full name of Troas was Alexandrian Troas after Alexander. Just across the sea was Philippi, called after Alexander’s father. Farther on was Thessalonica called after Alexander’s half-sister. The district was permeated with memories of Alexander; and Alexander was the man who had said that his aim was “to marry the east to the west” and so make one world. It may well be that there came to Paul the vision of Alexander, the man who had conquered the world, and that this vision gave Paul a new impulse towards making one world for Christ.

EUROPE’S FIRST CONVERT ( Act 16:11-15 )

16:11-15 When we had set sail from Troas we had a straight run to Samothrace. On the next day we reached Neapolis and from there we came to Philippi which is the chief city of that section of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We spent some days in this city. On the Sabbath day we went outside the gates along the riverside where we believed there was a place of prayer. We sat down and were talking with the women who met together there. A woman whose name was Lydia, who was a purple seller from the city of Thyatira, who reverenced God, listened to us. God opened her heart so that she gave heed to the things said by Paul. When she and her household had been baptized she urged us, “If you judge me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay there.” And she pressed us to do so.

Neapolis–the modern Kavalla was the seaport of Philippi. Philippi had a long history. Once it had been called Crenides which means “The Springs.” But Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander, had fortified it as a barrier against the Thracians and had given it his own name. At one time it had possessed famous gold mines, but by Paul’s time these were worked out. Later it had been the scene of one of the most famous battles in the world, when Augustus won for himself the Roman Empire.

Philippi was a Roman colony. Roman colonies were usually strategic centres. In them Rome planted little groups of army veterans who had completed their military service. They wore the Roman dress, spoke the Roman language and used the Roman laws no matter where they were. Nowhere was there greater pride in Roman citizenship than in these outposts of Rome.

In Philippi there was no synagogue from which to start. But where the Jews were unable to have a synagogue they had a place of prayer and these places of prayer were usually by the riverside. On the Sabbath Paul and his friends took their way there and talked with the women who met in that place.

The extraordinary thing about Paul’s work in Philippi is the amazing cross-section of the population that was won for Christ. Lydia came from the very top end of the social scale; she was a purple merchant. The purple dye had to be gathered drop by drop from a certain shell-fish and was so costly that to dye a pound of wool with it would take the equivalent of 150 British pounds. Lydia, wealthy woman and merchant prince that she was, was won for Christ.

Her immediate reaction was to offer the hospitality of her house to Paul and his friends. When Paul is describing the Christian character he says that the Christian should be “given to hospitality” ( Rom 12:13). When Peter is urging Christian duty upon his converts he tells them, “Practise hospitality ungrudgingly to one another” ( 1Pe 4:9). A Christian home is one with an ever-open door.

THE DEMENTED SLAVE-GIRL ( Act 16:16-24 )

16:16-24 When we were on our way to the place of prayer.. it happened that a certain slave-girl who had a spirit which made her able to give oracles met us. By her soothsaying she provided much gain for her owners. As she followed Paul and us she kept shouting, “These men are the slaves of the most high God and they are proclaiming the way of salvation to you.” She kept doing this for many days. Paul was vexed at this and he turned and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I order you to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

When her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone they laid hands on Paul and Silas and dragged them to the city square to the magistrates. So they brought them to the chief magistrates and said, “These men, who are Jews, are disturbing the whole city and are proclaiming customs which it is not right for us who are Romans to receive.” The crowd came together against them. The chief magistrates tore off their clothes and ordered them to be scourged with rods. When they had laid many blows upon them they threw them into prison with instructions to the jailer to guard them securely. When he received such an order he flung them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks.

If Lydia came from the top end of the social scale, this slave-girl came from the bottom. She was what was called a Pytho, that is, a person who could give oracles to guide men about the future. She was mad and the ancient world had a strange respect for mad people because, they said, the gods had taken away their wits in order to put the mind of the gods into them. She was probably also gifted with a natural turn for ventriloquism. She had fallen into the hands of unscrupulous men who used her misfortune for their gain. When Paul cured her of her madness, these men felt not joy at a fellow-creature’s restoration to health but fury that their source of revenue was gone. They were astute men. They played on the natural anti-semitism of the mob; and they appealed to the pride in things Roman which was characteristic of a Roman colony and they succeeded in having Paul and Silas arrested. Not only were they arrested; they were put in the inner prison in the stocks. It may be that not only their feet but their hands and their necks also were held in the stocks.

The tragic thing is that Paul and Silas were arrested and maltreated for doing good. Whenever Christianity attacks vested interest trouble follows. It is characteristic of men that if their pockets are touched they are up in arms. It is every man’s duty to ask himself, “Is the money I am earning worth the price? Do I earn it by serving or by exploiting my fellow men?” Often, the greatest obstacle to the crusade of Christ is the selfishness of men.

THE PHILIPPIAN JAILER ( Act 16:25-40 )

16:25-40 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. Immediately the doors were opened and everyone’s bonds were loosed. When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison standing open he drew his sword and he was going to kill himself, for he thought that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted to him, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.” He called for a light and rushed in. He fell in terror before Paul and Silas and brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you and your house will be saved.” And they spoke the Lord’s word to him together with all in his house. And that very hour he took them and washed their weals and he and his household were immediately baptized. He brought them into his house and set a meal before them and he rejoiced with all his house when he had believed in God.

When day came the chief magistrates sent their officers saying, “Let these men go.” The jailer brought the message to Paul, “The chief magistrates have sent word that you are to be released. So now, go out and go your way in peace.” But Paul said to them, “They beat us and they put us into prison although we never had a trial and we are Romans. And now are they going to put us out secretly? Certainly not! Let them come themselves and bring us out.” The officers told the chief magistrates what Paul had said. They were afraid when they heard that they were Romans. So they came and requested them and brought them out and asked them to leave the city. When they had come out of prison they visited Lydia. They saw the brethren and exhorted them and went away.

If Lydia came from the top end of the social scale and the slave-girl from the bottom, the Roman jailer was one of the sturdy middle class who made up the Roman civil service; and so in these three the whole gamut of society was complete.

Let us look first at the scene of this passage. This was a district where earthquakes were by no means uncommon. The door was locked by a wooden bar falling into two slots and the stocks were similarly fastened. The earthquake shook the bar free and the prisoners were unfettered and the door was open. The jailer was about to kill himself because Roman law said that if a prisoner escaped the jailer must suffer the penalty the prisoner would have suffered.

Let us look at the characters.

First, there is Paul. We note three things about Paul. (i) He could sing hymns when he was fast in the stocks in the inner prison at midnight. The one thing you can never take away from a Christian is God and the presence of Jesus Christ. With God there is freedom even in a prison and even at midnight there is light. (ii) He was quite willing to open the door of salvation to the jailer who had shut the door of the prison on him. There was never a grudge in Paul’s nature. He could preach to the very man who had fastened him in the stocks. (iii) He could stand on his dignity. He claimed his rights as a Roman citizen. To scourge a Roman citizen was a crime punishable by death. But Paul was not standing on his dignity for his own sake but for the sake of the Christians he was leaving behind in Philippi. He wanted it to be seen that they were not without influential friends.

Second, there is the jailer. The interesting thing about the jailer is that he immediately proved his conversion by his deeds. No sooner had he turned to Christ than he washed the weals upon the prisoners’ backs and set a meal before them. Unless a man’s Christianity makes him kind it is not real. Unless a man’s professed change of heart is guaranteed by his change of deeds it is a spurious thing.

-Barclay’s Daily Study Bible (NT)

Fuente: Barclay Daily Study Bible

2. Paul at Derbe and Lystra Timothy called Through Phrygia, Galatia, and Mysia, to Troas , Act 16:1-8 .

Paul now, with a companionship ready to second his own heroic spirit, starting from ANTIOCH, revisits his four posts of Christianity in Asia Minor, and then for awhile pauses, soon to plume himself for a bolder flight. He starts forth thence, Spirit-guided, and finds his way to the Hellespont, dividing the continents, and crosses over into Europe. He plants the first known Church in Europe. PHILIPPI in Macedonia, enjoys that imperishable precedence. Thence, cutting through Southern Greece, he visits ATHENS, the home of ancient classic genius, and CORINTH, the abode of the most voluptuous Grecian refinement. Thence returning, passing through Ephesus, he rallies back to the centre whence he took his first commission, and his second starting-point, ANTIOCH, Act 18:22.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

1. Came he Paul is now viewed by Luke as the man; Silas as his second, and Timothy will soon be his minister, as John Mark was once invited to be.

Derbe and Lystra Leaving Antioch by crossing over the bridge of the Orontes, our apostle, with his new coadjutor, passes into his native Cilicia through what was called the Syrian Gates, being a narrow gorge between the mountains, affording the sole entrance. (See map.) His present mission at his native province done, he would pass out through the Taurus range by the Cilician Gates, another memorable gorge. He would then enter the great Lycaonian plain, and soon find his late founded Churches, commencing at the point of his former termination, Derbe.

Timotheus (See note on Act 14:20.)

A Greek Though the law forbade a Jew to take strange or foreign wives, it was not stringent against a Jewess’ marrying a Gentile husband, like Esther.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

PART THIRD.

CHRISTIANITY AMONG THE GENTILES. From Chapter Act 13:1, to End of Acts.

Through the remainder of his work Luke’s subject is the evangelization of the Gentiles, and his hero is Paul. His field is western Asia and Europe; his terminal point is Rome, and the work is the laying the foundation of modern Christendom. At every point, even at Rome, Luke is careful to note the Gospel offer to the Jews, and how the main share reject, and a remnant only is saved. And thus it appears that Luke’s steadily maintained object is to describe the transfer of the kingdom of God from one people to all peoples.

I. PAUL’S FIRST MISSION From Antioch, through Cyprus, into Asia, as far as Lystra and Derbe, thence back to Antioch, Act 13:1 Act 14:28.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘And he came also to Derbe and to Lystra: and behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewess who believed, but his father was a Greek. The same was well reported of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium.

Eventually therefore he came to Derbe and Lystra. And there he came across a young man who would be closely connected with him for the remainder of his life. Often in the days to come Timothy was to be Paul’s trusted messenger (1Co 4:17; 1Th 3:2-6). He was at Rome with Paul when Paul was in prison (Php 1:1; Php 2:19; Col 1:1; Phm 1:1). Indeed Timothy and Paul had a very special relationship like father and son. When Paul wrote to the Corinthians (1Co 4:17) he called him his beloved and faithful child in the Lord, probably indicating that Paul had led him to Christ. When he wrote to the Philippians he said that there was no one whose mind was so much at one with his own (Php 2:19-20). Happy indeed are those who enjoy such close affinity with each other. He would later write to him two letters for guidance in his important ministry.

It must be considered possible that his disagreement about taking Mark had made him think about his own responsibility for enabling young men to mature. He may well have thought things over and recognised that perhaps Barnabas had been right after all in insisting on helping Mark. Timothy also would prove to need encouragement and nurturing. And in the event two young men instead of one would grow and be established as Christian teachers whose impact on the future of the church would be great.

As we learn here Timothy was a half-Jew. The mention of so small a place as Derbe may suggest that Timothy actually came from Derbe (as would later Gaius), although it may equally have been Lystra. We cannot be sure (‘there’ could apply to either). Timothy was clearly well known in the churches of both Lystra and Iconium, and well thought of in both, so that he probably ministered acceptably in both cities. Paul saw in this young man the person that he could become.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The Expansion Of The Word In Cyprus and Asia Minor, With Satan’s Counterattack Being Defeated at an Assembly In Jerusalem, Which is Then Followed By Further Ministry (13:1-18:22).

Jerusalem having forfeited its Messiah and its right to evangelise the world, the torch now passes to Antioch. For in his presentation of the forward flow of ‘the word’ Luke now had to find the next great forwards movement and he found it at Syrian Antioch. From there at the instigation of the Holy Spirit (the Holy Spirit too has as it were moved to Antioch) Barnabas and Saul are to be sent out and will successfully and powerfully minister, first to Jews and then to Gentiles throughout Asia Minor, achieving great success, while confirming the dictum that ‘we must through much tribulation enter under the Kingly Rule of God’ (Act 14:22). Having suffered for Christ’s sake, these Apostles will then finally report God’s great successes back to Antioch. It will then be followed after the Gathering at Jerusalem by a second round of missionary activity reaching into Europe.

The first section of Acts (chapters 1-12) had dealt with the going forward of the Good News from Jerusalem, resulting finally in Jerusalem having rejected its last chance and being replaced in the purposes of God. As we saw it followed a chiastic pattern (see introduction to chapter 1)..

This next section of Acts deals with the going forward of the Good News from Antioch and also follows a chiastic pattern covering the twofold ministry of Paul, with two missions from Antioch sandwiching the Gathering at Jerusalem of the Apostles and elders in order to decide the terms on which Gentiles can become Christians, thus emphasising the freedom of the Gentiles from the Law of Moses. It analyses as follows:

a Paul and Barnabas are sent forth from Antioch (Act 12:25 to Act 13:3).

b Ministry in Cyprus results in their being brought before the pro-consul Sergius Paulus who believes their word (Act 13:4-13).

c Ministry in Pisidian Antioch results in a major speech to the Jews with its consequences, including a description of those who desire to hear him again (Act 13:14-52).

d Successful ministry in Iconium results in the crowd being stirred up and their having to flee (Act 14:1-6).

e A remarkable healing in Lystra results in false worship which is rejected and the crowds being stirred up by the Jews. Paul is stoned and flees the city (Act 14:7-21).

f Ministry in Derbe is followed by a round trip confirming the churches and return to Antioch (Act 14:21-28).

g The Gathering in Jerusalem of the Apostles and elders of Jerusalem and the Antiochene representatives resulting in acknowledgement that the Gentiles are not to be bound by the Law or required to be circumcised because God had established the everlasting house of David (Act 13:15).

f Paul and Silas (and Barnabas and Mark) leave Antioch to go on a round trip confirming the churches (Act 15:36 to Act 16:5).

e A remarkable healing in Philippi results in true worship which is accepted (the Philippian jailer and his household) and in Paul’s stripes being washed by a Roman jailer. The authorities declare them innocent and they leave the city (Act 16:6-40).

d Successful ministries in Thessalonica and Berea result in the crowds being stirred up and their having to flee (Act 17:1-14).

c Ministry in Athens results in a major speech to the Gentiles with its consequences including a description of those who desire to hear him again (Act 17:15-34).

b Ministry in Corinth results in their being brought before the pro-consul Gallio who dismisses the suggestion that their actions are illegal (Act 18:1-17).

a Paul returns to Antioch (Act 18:18-22).

We note here from ‘c’ and parallel the movement from Jew to Gentile in the proclamation of the word. Athens is no doubt partly chosen because although small, its reputation was worldwide.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas The main point of Act 16:1-5 is the account of Timothy joining Paul and Silas while they were ministering in Derbe and Lystra.

Act 16:1 Comments – Timothy’s mother was a Christian. The Greek reads, “a Jewish woman of faith.”

Act 16:3 Comments – Timothy had to forsake family and friends in order to follow Jesus. He was circumcised so that he would be more readily accepted by the Jews.

Act 16:5 Comments – What made the church become established in the faith and grow in number? Verse 4 says that they received the Word of God and kept the word, “they delivered them the decrees for to keep.”

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

The Church’s Organization (Perseverance): The Witness of the Church Growth to the Ends of the Earth Act 13:1 to Act 28:29 begins another major division of the book of Acts in that it serves as the testimony of the expansion of the early Church to the ends of the earth through the ministry of Paul the apostle, which was in fulfillment of Jesus’ command to the apostles at His ascension, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Act 1:8) However, to reach this goal, it required a life of perseverance in the midst of persecutions and hardship, as well as the establishment of an organized church and its offices.

Outline – Here is a proposed outline:

1. Witness of Paul’s First Missionary Journey (A.D. 45-47) Act 13:1 to Act 14:28

2. Witness to Church at Jerusalem of Gospel to Gentiles (A.D. 50) Act 15:1-35

3. Witness of Paul’s Second Missionary Journey (A.D. 51-54) Act 15:36 to Act 18:22

4. Witness of Paul’s Third Missionary Journey (A.D. 54-58) Act 18:23 to Act 20:38

5. Witness of Paul’s Arrest and Trials (A.D. 58-60) Act 21:1 to Act 26:32

6. Witness of Paul’s Journey to Rome (A.D. 60) Act 27:1 to Act 28:29

A Description of Paul’s Ministry – Paul’s missionary journeys recorded Acts 13-28 can be chacterized in two verses from 2Ti 2:8-9, in which Paul describes his ministry to the Gentiles as having suffered as an evil doer, but glorying in the fact that the Word of God is not bound.

2Ti 2:8-9, “Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel: Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.”

Paul followed the same principle of church growth mentioned in Act 1:8, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” He first placed churches in key cities in Asia Minor. We later read in Act 19:10 where he and his ministry team preaches “so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks”.

Act 19:10, “And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.”

In Rom 15:20-28 Paul said that he strived to preach where no other man had preached, and having no place left in Macedonia and Asia Minor, he looked towards Rome, and later towards Spain.

Rom 15:20, “Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation:”

Rom 15:23-24, “But now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you; Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company.”

Rom 15:28, “When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain.”

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

The Witness of Paul’s Second Missionary Journey (A.D. 51-54) In Act 15:36 to Act 18:22 we have the testimony of Paul’s second missionary journey.

Outline Here is a proposed outline:

1. Paul and Barnabas Split Up Act 15:36-41

2. Timothy Joins Paul and Silas Act 16:1-5

3. Paul at Philippi Act 16:6-40

4. Paul in Thessalonica Act 17:1-9

5. Paul in Berea Act 17:10-15

6. Paul in Athens Act 17:16-34

7. Paul in Corinth Act 18:1-17

8. Paul Returns to Antioch Act 18:18-22

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Paul and Silas in Asia Minor. Act 16:1-10

Timotheus, the Christian disciple:

v. 1. Then came he to Derbe and Lystra; and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek;

v. 2. which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.

v. 3. Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters; for they knew all that his father was a Greek.

Paul and Silas had entered Asia Minor in the extreme southeastern corner, through the pass known as the Syrian Gates, or Beilan Pass, in Mount Amanus. From the Cilician lowland, where Paul may have passed through Mopsuestia, Adam, and Tarsus, the journey went up over the rugged and beautiful Taurus Mountains and through the pass known as the Cilician Gates to the great Lycaonian plain. Derbe being the nearest city to the Cilician frontier, the first stop was made here. But the apostle evidently did not tarry long in any city which he visited, since he had a definite plan in mind. For at Lystra, where he had spent some time on the first journey and had also been stoned by the mob, chap. 14:8-20, there was a certain disciple by the name of Timotheus, one of those converted by Paul on the previous visit. His mother was a Jewess that had retained her faith, but his father was a Greek, and evidently not a proselyte. Marriages with heathen were forbidden by the Jewish law, Deu 7:3; Exo 34:16; Ezr 10:2. But the prohibition was not strictly observed, especially not among the Jews outside of Palestine, where colonies had been established for many years, and where the Jews had accommodated themselves to, and accepted all but the religion of, their fellow-citizens. Here marriages of Jewesses with influential Gentiles were by no means uncommon. Timothy had been instructed in the Holy Scriptures from infancy, 2Ti 1:5; 2Ti 3:14-15, and. like many another true Israelite, had soon learned to know the proper application of the prophecies to Jesus Christ of Nazareth. And he was well spoken of, not only in his home ‘town, Lystra, but even at Iconium, the brethren of the congregations all having the very highest opinion of his Christian character. These and other qualities recommended the young man very highly in the eyes of Paul, who wanted him to become a companion and an assistant on his journey. Young men that have a good reputation in the Christian, congregation for soundness of Christian character, and otherwise show ability and willingness for the work, are in great demand in the vineyard of the Lord. Having made the necessary arrangements by which Timothy was to accompany him, Paul first performed the rite of circumcision in his case. This was not necessary from a Scriptural standpoint; it had expressly been rejected at the meeting in Jerusalem and had not been done in the case of Titus, Gal 2:3-4. But in this case Paul showed his tact and wisdom. The Jews in that entire region, knowing Timothy’s parentage, would be apt to take offense at his preaching and ministering, and thus hinder his work there and elsewhere. Thus Paul became a Jew unto the Jews, a Greek unto the Greeks, in order that he might gain both Jews and Greeks, 1Co 9:20-21. wherever a Christian, and especially a Christian preacher or missionary, is able to remove a cause of offense without denying the truth of, the Gospel, he should do so by all means, for it may mean souls won for Christ.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

EXPOSITION

Act 16:1

And he came also for then came he, A.V. and T.R.; to Lystra for Lystra, A.V.; Timothy for Timotheus, A.V.; of a Jewess for of a certain woman which was a Jewess, A.V. and T.R.; which for and, A.V. For Derbe and Lystra, see Act 14:1-28. and notes. This time St. Paul visited Derbe first, whereas before he came from Lystra to Derbe (Act 14:6, Act 14:8, Act 14:21). Was there; viz. at Lystra (see 2Ti 3:11). A certain disciple; i.e. a Christian (Act 11:26). From St. Paul’s speaking of Timothy as “my own sou in the faith” (1Ti 1:2; 2Ti 1:2), and from his special mention of Timothy’s mother Eunice (2Ti 1:5), it is probable that both mother and son were converted by St. Paul at his first visit to Lystra, some years before (Act 14:7). Timothy. It is a Greek name, meaning “one who honors God” (formed, like Timoleon, Timolaus, Timocrates, etc.). It was a not uncommon name, and occurs repeatedly in the Books of the Maccabees (1 Macc 5:6; 2 Macc 8:30, etc.). Another form is Timesitheos. Timothy is uniformly spoken of by St. Paul in terms of eulogy and warm affection (see, besides the passages above quoted, Rom 16:21; 1Co 4:17; 1Co 16:10; Php 2:19-22; and the general tone of the Epistles to Timothy). A Jewess; viz. Eunice (2Ti 1:5), also a Greek name (equivalent to Victoria), though borne by a Jewess. A Greek; i.e. a Gentile (see Hark Act 7:26; Act 14:1; Act 17:4; Act 19:10; Rom 1:16; Rom 2:9; 1Co 10:32, etc.; Col 3:11). Had his father been a proselyte, it would probably have been said that he was (Bengel).

Act 16:2

The same for which, A.V. This is an improvement, as making it plain that it was Timothy, not his father, who was well reported of. For the phrase, see Act 6:3; Act 10:22; Luk 4:22. At Lystra and Iconium; coupled together, as in 2Ti 3:11. It appears, too, from Act 14:19, that there was close communication between Icouium and Lystra. The brethren at Iconium would, therefore, naturally know all about young Timothy.

Act 16:3

He took for took, A.V.; that for which, A.V.; parts for quarters, A.V.; all knew for knew all, A.V. Circumcised him. The Jewish origin of Timothy on his mother’s side was a sufficient reason for circumcising him, according to the maxim, Partus sequitur ventrem. And it could be done without prejudice to the rights of Gentile converts as established in the decrees of which St. Paul was bearer. Because of the Jews; not the Christian Jews, who ought to know better than trust in circumcision, but the unbelieving Jews, who would be scandalized if St. Paul had an uncircumcised man for his fellow-laborer (see 1Co 10:20).

Act 16:4

Went on their way for went, A.V.; which had been for that were, A.V.; that for which, A.V.

Act 16:5

So for and so, A.V.; the Churches were strengthened for were the Churches established, A.V. In number; i.e. in the number of their members (comp. Act 2:47; Act 5:14; Act 6:7; Act 11:21). For the phrase, , “They were made firm in the faith,” comp. Col 2:5, , “The steadfastness of your faith.” The word is used in its physical sense in Act 3:7, ..., “His feet and anklebones received strength,” became fast and firm instead of being loose and vacillating.

Act 16:6

And they went for now when they had gone, A.V. and T.R.; through the region of Phrygia and Galatia for throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, A.V. and T.R.; having been for and were, A.V.; speak for preach, A.V. The region of Phrygia and Galatia. But Phrygia is always a noun substantive, and cannot be here taken as an adjective belonging to : and we have in Act 18:23 exactly the same collation as that of the A.V. here, only in an inverted order: . Even if the is properly omitted, as in the R.T., before , the passage must equally be construed as in the A.V. The Galatians were Celts, the descendants of those Gauls who invaded Asia in the third century B.C. This passage seems to show conclusively that Derbe and Lystra and Iconium were not comprehended by St. Paul under Galatia, and were not the Churches to whom the Epistle to the Galatians was addressed; and forcibly suggest that the Galatian Churches were founded by St. Paul in the course of the visit here so briefly mentioned by St. Luke. Asia is here used in its restricted sense of that district on the western coast of Asia Minor, of which Ephesus was the capital. It is in this sense that it is used also in Act 2:9; Act 6:9; Act 19:10, etc.; Rev 1:11. St. Paul apparently wished to go to Ephesus. But the time was not yet come. It was the purpose of the Holy Ghost that the Galatian Churches should be founded first, and then the Churches of Macedonia and Achaia. The apostles were sent, did not go anywhere of their own accord (comp. Mat 10:5, Mat 10:6).

Act 16:7

And when for after, A.V. and T.R.; come over against () for come to, A.V.; and the Spirit of Jesus for but the Spirit, A.V. and T.R. But the phrase, “the Spirit of Jesus,” occurs nowhere in the New Testament, and is on that account very improbable here, though there is considerable manuscript authority for it. It is accepted by Meyer dud Alford and Wordsworth, following Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, etc.

Act 16:8

Passing they came for they passing came, A.V. They would have gone north to Bithynia, where, we know from 1Pe 1:1, there were many Jews. But the Spirit ordered them westwards, to the seacoast of Troas, that they might be ready to sail for Macedonia. In like manner Abraham went out not knowing whither he went (Heb 11:8). Truly the footsteps of God’s providence are not known!

Act 16:9

There was a man standing, beseeching him, and saying for there stood a man and prayed him, saying, A.V. Thus was ushered in the most momentous event in the history of Europe, the going forth of the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem to enlighten the nations of the West, and bring them into the fold of Jesus Christ. Paul saw dud heard this in a vision in the night. It is net called a dream (Bengel), but was like the vision seen by Ananias (Act 9:10), and those seen by Paul (Act 9:12; Act 10:5; Act 18:9). A vision () is distinguished from a dream (, Act 2:17). It is applied to things of a marvelous character seen objectively, as to the Transfiguration (Mat 17:9)and to the burning bush (Act 7:31).

Act 16:10

When for after, A.V.; straightway for immediately, A.V.; sought for endeavored, A.V.; go forth for go, A.V.; concluding fur assuredly gathering, A.V.; God for the Lord, A.V. and T.R. Concluding; , only here in the sense of “concluding or “gathering.” In Act 9:22 it is “proving.” In Eph 4:16 and Col 2:2 it means to “join together.” In classical Greek to “bring together” in the sense of” reconciling,” sometimes of” agreeing” to a proposition. In the LXX., to ,’ instruct,” “teach” (1Co 2:16). In this verse we first remark the very important introduction of the pronoun we into the narrative, marking the presence of the historian himself, and showing that he first joined St. Paul at Tread He went with him to Philippi (Col 2:12), and there he appears to have stopped till St. Paul returned there in his third missionary journey on his way from Achaia to Jerusalem (Act 20:5, Act 20:6), where we find him still with the apostle (Act 20:17, Act 20:18). We again find him with St. Paul at Caesarea, while he was a prisoner there (Act 27:1), and he accompanied him on the voyage to Rome, which is the last place where we heir of him (Act 27:2, Act 27:3. etc.; Act 28:2, Act 28:11, Act 28:14-16; Col 4:14; Phm 1:24). It is quite characteristic of Holy Scripture that things are told, or appear on the face of the narrative, without any explanation. Who Luke was, what brought him to Troas, how he became a companion of St. Paul, whether as his medical adviser or otherwise, we know not. His Christian modesty forbade his speaking about himself.

Act 16:11

Setting sail therefore for therefore loosing, A.V.; made for came with, A.V. (, elsewhere only in Act 21:1); Samothrace for Samothracia, A.V.; day following for next day, A.V. In the New Testament this latter phrase only occurs in the Acts.

Act 16:12

A city of Macedonia, the first of the district, a Roman colony for the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony, A.V.: this for that, A.V.; tarrying for abiding, A.V. A city of Macedonia, etc. This is a difficult sentence. The natural way of construing the words undoubtedly is, as in the A.V., “which is the chief city of the [or, ‘ that’] district of Macedonia, and a colony.” The only difficulty in the way of so taking it is that when AEmilius Paulus, as related by Livy (xlv. 29), divided the conquered kingdom of Macedonia into four districts (regiones or partes), Amphi-pelts was made the capital of the district.in which Philippi was situated. But the epithet does not necessarily mean the capital; it is found on coins applied to cities which were not capitals. Besides, in the interval of above two hundred years between AEmilius Paulus and St. Paul, it is very probable that the city of Philippi, with its gold-mines and its privileges as a colony, may have really become the capital. And so Lewin, following Wetstein, understands it. We know that in the reign of Theodosius the Younger, when Macedonia was divided into two provinces, Philippi became the ecclesiastical head of Macedonia Prima. It had been made a colony by Augustus Caesar, with the name “Col. Jul. Aug. Philip.,” i.e. Colonia Augusta Julia Philippensis (‘Dict. of Greek and Roman Geog.’). It must, therefore, anyhow have been a place of first-rate importance at this time. Those, however, who do not accept this explanation, couple with , “which is the first colony-city,” etc, Others take in a local sense, “the first city you come to in Macedonia” (Conybeare and Howson, Alford, Bengel, etc.). The R.V. seems to take together, and as a further description of ita most awkward construction. Alford renders it, “which is the first Macedonian city of the district.’ But the natural way of construing a passage is almost always the best, and nothing prevents us from believing that St. Luke, who knew Philippi intimately, was strictly accurate in calling it “the chief city of the district of Macedonia,” i.e. the district in which it was situated. That is the technical name of the division of a province appears from the title , applied by Josephus to a certain Apollonius, governor, under Antiochus Epiphanes, of the district in which Samaria was included (‘Ant. Jud.,’ 12. Luk 5:5). The ancient name of Philippi was Dates first, then Krenidesthe springs, or wells; and the word used by Livy of the districts of Macedonia, pars prima, secunda, etc., is an exact translation of It received the name of Philippi, from Philip, the father of Alexander the Great, who extracted a great revenue from its gold-mines. Its great historical celebrity arises from the battle in the plain of Philippi, in which the republican party, under Brutus and Cassius, received its death-blow from Octavius and Antony. (For a full description of Philippi, and of the privileges of a colony, see Conybeare and Howson, vol. 1.311, etc., and Lewin, vol. 1. Act 11:1-30.) This. Alford, following certain manuscripts, reads , “in the city itself,” as distinguished from the place outside the city, where the was. But, perhaps, St. Luke uses the word “this” from Philippi being the place of his own residence, and where he may have drawn up the narrative on the spot.

Act 16:13

Sabbath day for sabbath, A.V.; we went forth without the gate for we went out of the city, A.V. and T.R. ( for ); we supposed there Was a place of prayer for prayer was wont to be made, A.V.; were come together for resorted thither, A.V. By a river side. By the river side is the natural way of expressing it in English. The river is not the Strymon, which is a day’s journey distant from Philippi, but probably a small stream called the Gangas or Gangites, which is crossed by the Via Eguatia, about a mile out of Philippi. The neighborhood of water, either near a stream or on the seashore, was usually preferred by the Jews as a place for prayer, as affording facility for ablutions (see Josephus, ‘Ant. Jud.,’ 14.10, 23; and other passages quoted by Alford). The phrase, , should be rendered, not as in the R.V., but more nearly as the A.V., where a prayer-meeting(of the Jews) was accustomed to be held; i.e. this particular spot was the usual place where such Jews or proselytes as happened to be at Philippi met for prayer. It also appears from Epiphanius (‘ Hear.,’ 80, 1, quoted by Alford) that the Jews usually had their , whether buildings, or open spaces, , outside the city. The wayside crosses are of the nature of .

Act 16:14

One that for which, A.V.; to give heed for that she attended, A.V.; by for of, A.V. A certain woman, etc. Whether her personal name was Lydia, or whether she was commonly so called on account of her native country and her trade, must remain uncertain. Thyatira was in Lydia. Lydian women, from the time of Homer downwards, were famous for their purple dyes; and it appears from an inscription found in Thyatira, that there was there a guild of dyers, called (Lewin, 2:214). One that worshipped God ( ); i.e. a proselyte. So in Act 13:43 we find the devout or religious proselytes. And so , the devout women. And so, in Act 18:7, Justus is described as one who worshipped God (see too Act 17:4, Act 17:17). In Act 10:1 Cornelius is spoken of as . It has been suggested that possibly Euodias and Syntyche (Php 4:2) were of tile same class, and converted at tile same time as Lydia. There is certainly a coincidence between the mention of the women in Act 10:13 and the prominence given to the Philippian women in Php 4:2, Php 4:3. It is well observed by Chrysostom, on the latter part of this verse, “The opening of tile heart was God’s work, the attending was hers: so that it was both God’s doing and man’s” (camp. Php 2:12, Php 2:13). To open () is applied as here to the heart (2 Mace. Php 1:4); to the eyes (Luk 24:31); to the cars (Mk 17:34, 35); to the understanding (Luk 24:45); to the Scriptures (Luk 24:32); “Corclausum per se. Dei est id aporire “(Bengel).

Act 16:15

When she was baptized; showing that St. Paul, as St. Peter (Act 2:38, Act 2:41; Act 10:47), as Philip (Act 8:38), as Ananias (Act 22:16), as our Lord himself (Mar 16:16), had put holy baptism in the very forefront of his teaching (camp. Heb 6:2). And her household (comp. Act 16:33; 1Co 1:16; 2Ti 4:19). This frequent mention of whole households as received into the Church seems necessarily to imply infant baptism. The exhortations to children as members of the Church in Eph 6:1, Eph 6:2, and Col 3:20, lead to the same inference. Come into my house, etc. A beautiful specimen of true hospitality; comp. 1Pe 4:9; Heb 13:2; 1Ti 5:10; 3Jn 1:5-8; also 2Ki 4:8-10, where, however, the Greek word for “constrained” is , not as here , which only occurs elsewhere in the New Testament in Luk 24:29. In the LXX. it is used in 1Sa 28:23; Gem 1Sa 19:3 (Cod. Alex.) 9 (in a different sense); 2Ki 2:17; 2Ki 5:16. Her large hospitality does not bear out Chrysostom’s remark as to her humble station of lift,.

Act 16:16

Were going to the place of prayer for went to prayer, A.V. and T.R.; that a certain maid for a certain damsel, A.V.; having for possessed with, A.V. The place of prayer. The of the R.T. undoubtedly means “the place of prayer,” the proseuche. They went there, doubtless, every sabbath. What follows happened on one occasion after Lydia’s baptism. A spirit of divination ( , A.V.; , R.T.). ” denotat quemlibet ex quo datur,” “any one of whom inquiry may be made” (Bengel). It was a name of Apollo in his character of a giver of oracles. Delphi itself, where his chief oracle was, was sometimes called Pytho (Schleusner, s.v.), and Pythius was a common epithet of Apollo. The name Python came thence to be applied to a ventriloquist (Hebrew )), or to the spirit that was conceived to dwell in ventriloquists and to speak by them, just as in Hebrew the ventriloquist was sometimes called (or if a woman), the owner of a spirit of divination, or simply ), a diviner (see 1Sa 28:7 (twice) for the first use, and Le 1Sa 20:27; Deu 18:11; 1Sa 28:3; for the second). In some passages, as 1 Kings 28:6 and Isa 29:4, it is doubtful whether ) means the ventriloquist or the spirit. The feminine plural ) (Le 19:31; Isa 20:6; 1Sa 28:3, 1Sa 28:9; Isa 8:19) seems always to denote the women, who, like the damsel in the text, practiced the art of ventriloquistic necromancy, whether really possessed by a spirit or feigning to be so. The word is only found here in the New Testament. The LXX. usually render ) by . Gain (), literally, work, craft, or trade; then, by metonymy, the gain proceeding from such trade (Act 19:24, Act 19:25). By soothsaying (). So one name of these ventriloquists was .

Act 16:17

Following after cried out for followed and cried, A.V.; servants for the servants, A.V.; proclaim unto you for show unto us, A.V. and T.R. This testimony of the spirit of divination to the doctrine of St. Paul is analogous to that of the unclean spirits who cried out to Jesus, “Thou art the Son of God”; and St. Paul’s dealing with the spirit of divination was similar to that of our Lord’s with the evil spirits in the cases referred to. What was the motive of the damsel, or the spirit by which she was possessed, for so crying out, or St. Paul’s for so silencing her, we are not told. Perhaps she interrupted him, and diverted the minds of those to whom he was preaching. And he did not like the mixture of lies with truth. The motive of secrecy which was one cause of our Lord’s rebuke to the spirits would not apply in the case of St. Paul.

Act 16:18

She did for did she, A.V.; for many for many, A.V.; sore troubled for grieved, A.V.; charge for command, A.V.; it for he, A.V.; that very for the same, A.V. Command (, as in Act 1:4; Act 5:28; and Act 5:23 of this chapter, etc.). The only other instances of exorcism by St. Paul are these recorded in Act 19:12 and Act 19:15. The question of possession by spirits is too large a one to be discussed here. It must suffice to notice that St. Paul in his action (as our Lord before him had done), and St. Luke in his narrative, distinctly treat possession, and expulsion by the power of Christ, as real.

Act 16:19

But for and, A.V.; gain for gains, A.V. (, as Act 16:16); bald hold on for caught, A.V.; dragged for drew, A.V.; before for unto, A.V. The rulers ( ); the archons. Meyer thinks these were the city judges, or magistrates (who always had their court in the , or forum), by whom Paul and Silas were sent to the praetors () for judgment. So in Luk 12:58, the litigants go to the , first, and he sends them on to the , or judge, who orders them for punishment. This seems a more probable explanation than that commonly adopted (Howson, Alford, Renan, Lewin, etc.), that the and the mean the same officers. No reason can be conceived for Luke’s calling them if he meant , or for naming the office’s twice over when once was sufficient. Nor is it likely that officers of such high rank as the duumviri, or proctors, as they had come to be called, should be always in the forum, to try every petty case (see articles “Colonia, Duumviri,” and “Praetor,” in ‘Dict. of Greek and Roman Antiquities’). It seems, therefore, that Meyer’s explanation is right. At Athens the general term was applied to inferior magistrates, as well as to the nine archons (‘Dict. of Greek and Roman Antiquities’ “Archon”). Verse 20.When they had brought for brought, A.V.; unto for to, A.V.; they said for saying, A.V. The magistrates; , i.e. the praetors. Philippi, being a colony, was governed by Roman magistrates called duumviri, corresponding to the two consuls at Rome. But we learn from Cicero that in his time the duuraviri in the colonies were beginning to be called praetors, a little previously used only at Rome (‘De Leg. Agrar.,’ 34), and to be preceded by lictors ( of verse 35). Two inscriptions have been found in which the duumviri of Philippi are mentioned.

Act 16:21

Set forth for teach, A.V.; it is for are, A.V.; or for neither, A.V. Romans; in a special sense, as members of a colony.

Act 16:22

Rent their garments off them for rent off their clothes, A.V.; beat them with rods for beat them, A.V. Beat them; , marking that they were beaten by the lictors, or (see Act 16:35). The phrase rent off () is only found here in the New Testament, but it is frequently used of stripping off garments, in classical Greek and in 2 Macc. 4:38; and by Josephus (‘Ant. Jud.,’ 6. 14:6) of David rending his garmentsa circumstance not mentioned in the Bible narrative (1Sa 30:1-31 : 4).

Act 16:24

Cast for thrust, A.V. In the stocks; Greek , sometimes called . The was of different forms, and used as a punishment. Sometimes it was a kind of heavy wooden collar put on the neck of a prisoner, whence the phrase, ,” To make fast his neck in the pillory.” Sometimes it was what Aristophanes calls , “stocks with five holes,” two for the feet, two for the hands, and one for the neck. Here, as in Job 13:27 (where the LXX. word is , Hebrew , a stake, or log), it is simply” the stocks.” Thus Paul and Silas, first stripped and 1,catch, then put in the inner prison, and further made fast in the stocks, were treated with the utmost possible rigour and severity. See St. Paul’s vivid reminiscence of the outrage (1Th 2:2, ).

Act 16:25

But about for and at, A.V.; were praying and singing hymns for prayed and sang praises, A.V.; were listening to(imperfect) for heard, A.V. Prayed, etc. Their proseuche was now the dungeon and the sleeks. But, though they were but two, the Lord was in the midst of them, according to his promise, and manifested his gracious presence in the striking deliverance which follows. Were listening to them; , found only here in the New Testament. But the substantive, , hearkening (“to hearken,” A.V.), occurs in the LXX. of 1Sa 15:22. What a scene I The dark inner dungeon; the prisoners fast in the stocks, their backs still bleeding and smarting from the stripes; the companionship of criminals and outcasts of society; the midnight hour; and not groans, or curses, or complaints, but joyous trustful songs of praise ringing through the vault! while their companions in the jail listened with astonishment to the heavenly sound in that place of shame wad sorrow.

Act 16:26

Prison-house for prison, A.V., as Act 5:21, Act 5:23. All the doors were opened. This would be the natural effect of the earthquake. Bands (). St. Luke always follows the Attic usage of , in the neuter (romp. Act 20:23; Luk 8:29). St. Paul follows the Hellenistic usage of , in the masculine (Php 1:13; see Jer 2:20; Jer 5:5; Hab 3:13). In many instances (genitive and dative) it is, of course, impossible to determine whether the word is masculine or neuter.

Act 16:27

The jailor being roused for the keeper of the prison awaking, A.V.; sleep for his sleep, A.V.; drew for he drew out, A.V.; was about to kill for would have killed, A.V.; escaped for been fled, A.V. This readiness to kill himself rather than incur the disgrace of failure in his charge is characteristic of the Roman soldier (comp. Act 27:43).

Act 16:29

And he called for lights for then he called for a light, A.V. ( is the accusative plural, though not a very common form; is often used in the sense of “a lamp,” or, as we say, “a light”); trembling for fear for came trembling and, A.V.

Act 16:31

Jesus for Jesus Christ, A.V. and T.R.; thou and thy house for and thy house, A.V.

Act 16:32

They spake the Word, etc., unto him for they spake unto him the Word, etc., A.V.; with for and to, A.V. Observe that Paul and Silas preached the Word of God’s saving health to the penitent and contrite jailor before they thought of having their own smarting wounds washed and dressed. Observe, too, that they spake the Word of life to illuminate his soul before they administered the sacrament of baptism.

Act 16:33

Immediately for straightway, A.V. Washed their stripes. Mark the jailor’s faith working by love. He and all his. The phrase seems purposely adapted to include family, slaves, and all under his roof. If the conversion of the jailor and his house was sudden, the circumstances which led to it were of unusual powerthe earthquake, the loosing of the prisoners’ bands, the midnight hour, the words of grace and love and lifo from the apostle’s mouth.

Act 16:34

He brought them up and set for when he had brought them he set, A.V.; rejoiced greatly for rejoiced, A.V. (, a stronger word than , Mat 5:12; 1Pe 1:6); with all his house, having believed in God for believing in God with all his house, A.V. The word . rendered “with all his house,” occurs only here in the New Testament. But it is used by the LXX. in Exo 1:1 and elsewhere, and by Josephus, etc. The more classical form is or . The A.V. gives the meaning better than the R.V. The faith and the joy were both common to the jailor and his house.

Act 16:35

But for and, A.V. The magistrates; i.e. the printers or duumviri, as in Act 16:22 (where see note). The sergeants; i.e. the lictors (Act 16:22, note).

Act 16:36

Jailor for keeper of the prison, A.V., as Act 16:27; reported the words saying for told this saying, A.V. and T.R.; come forth for depart, A.V.

Act 16:37

Publicly for openly A.V. , Act 18:28; Act 20:20); men that are for being, A.V.; do they now cast for now do they thrust, A.V.; bring for fetch, A.V. Men that are Romans. We have exactly the same phrase in Act 22:25, on a similar occasion, where also is the only other example of the word , uncondemned. with a like meaning (“untried,” “without trial”), is common in classical Greek. The Latin phrase is indicta causa. By the Lex Valeria, “No quis magistratus civem Romanum adversus provocationem necaret neve verberaret,” every Roman citizen had a right to appeal (provocare) to the populace against any sentence of death or stripes pronounced by the consuls or any other magistrate; and by the Lex Porcia, no Roman citizen could be scourged. Silas, it appears from the phrase, “us men that are Romans,” was also a civis Romanus. But nothing more is known about it. It does not appear why their exemption as Roman citizens was not made good before; but probably the magistrates refused to listen to any plea in their haste and violence.

Act 16:38

Reported for told, A.V.

Act 16:39

When they had brought them out they asked for brought them out and desired, A.V.; to go away from for to depart out of, A.V.

Act 16:40

Departed; i.e. from Philippi, according to the magistrates’ request in Act 16:39. This is much clearer in the T.R. and A.V. than in the Revised Text and Version, because the same word, , is used in both places. The R.T. in Act 16:39 destroys the reference, and rather suggests that they merely” went out “of Lydia’s house, which they had “entered into.” It appears from the first verse of Act 17:1-34. (“they had passed,” etc.) that St. Luke stopped at Philippi, and probably made it his head-quarters till St. Paul’s last journey from Macedonia to Jerusalem, some six or seven years later (Act 20:6). What became of Timothy we are not expressly told, only we find him at Beroea in Act 17:14 and 1Th 3:5; and at Corinth (1Th 1:1; 2Th 1:1; 1Th 3:6). Probably he accompanied St. Paul, but is not named, being still only a subordinate person in the mission.

HOMILETICS

Act 16:1-5

The choice of a fit person.

The ordination of Timothy to be a minister of God, and St. Paul’s fellow-laborer in the gospel of Christ (1Ti 4:14; 2Ti 1:6; 1Th 3:2), was a great event in the Church’s history. The character of her individual bishops and priests has always been a matter of paramount importance, and in nothing do we see the wisdom of the great apostle more conspicuous than in the choice of his fellow-laborers, He who refused Mark, because he was not sure of him, discerned in Timothy, young as he was, that simplicity of purpose, and that sober and docile zeal in the service of Christ, which made him a fit instrument for the most arduous missionary work. Many qualifications concurred in Timothy. There was his thorough grounding in the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures through the pious care of his mother and grandmother, which gave strength to his own faith, and made him capable of reasoning with the Jews. There was his Jewish birth on his mother’s side, which, when he was circumcised, would make him acceptable to the circumcision; and there was his Gentile birth on his father’s side, which would enable him to sympathize with the Greeks, and would dispose them to listen to him. There was his early acquaintance with the afflictions of the gospel, which he had seen so bravely borne by the apostle at Iconium and at Lystra, and which he had dared to share by taking upon himself the Christian profession in the very heat of the persecution; and there was his warm attachment to St. Paul as of a son to his father. All this Paul saw in him, and foresaw that, of all his missionary band, none would exceed Timothy in devotedness to the Lord’s work, and in singleness of aim for the Church’s good (Philippians it, 19-22). The event fully justified his expectations. Not Luke, the beloved physician; not Silas, the faithful brother and indefatigable evangelist; not Titus, his “own son after the faith,” were greater helps and comforts to him than this young disciple from the rude community of Lystra. In him he had one like-minded with himselfalways ready for work, always seeking the things that are Jesus Christ’s; never ashamed of the gospel, ready to endure afflictions as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. The great day will reveal the value of Timothy’s service in the kingdom of God. The lessons for us to learn are: for the bishops of the Church, to give their utmost care to make choice of fit persons to serve in the sacred ministry of the Church; for the persons chosen, to throw their whole heart and soul into the work, that it may be well and worthily done; for the Church at large, to pray very earnestly that God would raise up faithful, wise, and earnest men to preach his gospel, to feed his flock, and so to build up his kingdom that the Churches may be “established in the faith, and increase in numbers daily.”

Act 16:6-15

The call.

The great difference between sacred and profane history is not so much that the events are different, or the human motives of the actors are different, or even that God’s providence works differently, but that the secret springs of the will of God, directing, controlling, and overruling, are in sacred history laid bare to view by that Holy Spirit of God who knows the things of God. In ordinary life the servant of God believes that his steps are ordered of God, and that the providence of God, which ordereth all things in heaven and earth, orders them for his good. But he is not preceded in his own goings out and in his comings in by a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night, as the journeyings of the children of Israel were. In like manner, when we read the history of the marvelous diffusion of the everlasting gospel among the various nations of the earth, and mark how in one part of the globe the successful missionary has selected some particular country for his evangelizing labors, and has founded there Churches full of light and love, while other countries have either been untrodden by the foot of the evangelist, or have yielded no return to the labors of the preacher of glad tidings, we recognize the directing will of Almighty God, albeit, no visible sign or word indicated where the net was to be cast into the deep waste of waters, and no voice of the Holy Ghost erected a barrier of prohibition. If we ask for some reasons why this difference should existsay in the case of St. Paul-it will not be difficult to find several satisfactory ones.

1. It was of great importance to establish in the Church with certainty the conviction that the Lord Jesus Christ was still carrying on from his throne in heaven the work for which he left the bosom of the Father, and was incarnate, and suffered, and rose again. In the terrible odds under which a handful of simple, unlearned men had to contend against all the powers, all the intellect, and all the vice, in the world, it was of infinite moment that the voice and the wisdom and the power of their exalted but unseen Lord should be manifested from time to time working with them and for them, and thus assuring them of the victory. Hence the rushing wind, and the tongues of fire, and the leaping cripple, and the down-stricken liars, and the heavenly visions, and the opening of the prison doors, and the angelic ministrations, and the blinded sorcerer, and all the other puttings forth of the power of Christ. Hence, too, the immediate orders of the Holy Ghost: “Separate me Barnabas and Saul;” “Preach not the Word in Asia;” “Go not into Bithynia;” “Preach the gospel in Macedonia;” “Be not afraid; hold not thy peace, for I am with thee, and no man shall hurt thee in this city.” But these tokens of Christ’s close watch over his Church in the fulfillment of her mission were not for Paul and Barnabas only; they were for the servants of Christ in all ages and in every place. They needed not to be repeated. They have established forever the truth of the Lord’s promise, “Lo! I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”

2. We have intimated above that the ordinary mode by which the purpose of God is manifested, that such or such a country should not be evangelized at such or such a time, is by the failure of the missionary’s effort. It is a good discipline for the Lord’s servants to work here and there without knowing where their labors will be blest, and where they will be fruitless; and to learn by such experiences how entirely ineffectual their best exertions are unless the Lord give the increase. But in the case of one like St. Paul, whose immense labors were to be crowded into a short space of time, this ordinary process may have seemed to the Divine wisdom too slow, and withal too wasteful. No other Paul would be forthcoming, when his life dropped, to take up and carry on his apostolic work; and therefore we may suppose that, to economize Paul’s labors, God dealt with him in the extraordinary way of direct injunctions and prohibitions. He was sent at once to sow the seed in the ground that would receive it. He was peremptorily hindered from sowing it where it would not bear fruit. And thus the Church derived the largest possible amount of benefit from his devoted work.

3. We may note one more reason. The great harvest of souls reaped by St. Paul in the very places where he was sent is another proof of the omniscience of the Holy Ghost, and that the apostle’s several missions were really ordered and directed by him. When Simon Peter, at the Lord’s bidding, after a night of fruitless toil, let down the net and enclosed such a multitude of fishes that the net brake, and the overladen ships were in danger of sinking, it was manifest that he who had given the command was indeed the Lord. And so, when at the call of the Holy Ghost Paul went to Antioch, and Cyprus, and Pisidia, and Galatia, and Macedonia, and Achaia, and preached the Word there, and everywhere there sprang up flourishing Churches, the countless disciples at Antioch, and Lystra, and Iconium, and Philippi, and Thessalonica, and Corinth were so many distinct witnesses that he had indeed a call, and that he who called him was with him where-ever he went. It is an immense encouragement to us to be assured by the success of so many of our missions at the present time that those who labor in them have received their secret call from Jesus Christ our Lord.

Act 16:16-40

Truth and falsehood.

The domains of truth and falsehood are in their own nature entirely distinct. This cannot be more emphatically expressed than in the inspired words which speak of God as the God of truth, and of Satan as the father of lies. The two realms are not only distinct, but contrary the one to the other. No greater injury has been done to the cause of truth than by the employment of weapons of falsehood in its defense. And, on the other hand, the most effective weapons used in defense of falsehood have been those which were taken from the armory of truth. The section before us exhibits a remarkable example of the champions of truth and falsehood, and of the characteristic weapons of each. To take first the case of the masters of the soothsaying girl. With them it was a simple matter of gain. What their Pythoness taught, what direction her soothsaying took, whether her divination supported Judaism, or heathenism, or Christianity, was all one to them, so that their own gains were great. They were good friends and well-wishers to Paul and Silas as long as their own profits were consistent with the spread of the gospel. But when the damsel was silenced, and the silver stream of the rewards of divination was dried up, their anger knew no bounds. With the keen fury of disappointed avarice they turn against those whom before they seemed to honor and respect. But how shall they wreak their vengeance against these “servants of the most high God”? It would not do to speak the simple truth and say, “These men who ‘ show unto us the way of salvation,’ have robbed us of our gains in the name of Jesus Christ. Help us to punish them.” It would not do to say, “The only fault we have to find with them and their teaching is that we are no longer able to delude simple people, and cheat them out of their money.” And so they look about for some nobler, and thereby more effective plea. “Are we not Romans? Is not Rome the mistress of the world? Is not Philippi a Roman colony? Is it fitting that the imperial majesty of the city should be despised and insulted here in the midst of the fasces of the lictors, and in the very presence of the praetor? Or again, Is not law the very bond which binds the world together? Is not law that which all good men honor and obey? Are not the noble Roman people a law-abiding people? And shall a few ignoble and despicable Jews dare to teach customs and persuade men to observe laws contrary to the laws of Rome, and contrary to the duty of Roman citizens? Out upon such lawless insolence! In the name of the majesty of Rome, rise up, ye people, and put these intruders down. In the name of holy law, rise up, ye magistrates, and chastise these presumptuous offenders against the law! Vindicate the fair fame of Philippi, and silence these blasphemers against the truth!” So spake these lying champions of their own sordid interests; and with the weapons of righteousness wielded by their unrighteous hands, they gained a short-lived victory. And now for the champions of truth. Paul and Silas, as they are portrayed in the simple, lucid narrative of the Acts of the Apostles, stand before us as two men of transparent integrity, living for one objectthe presentation of truth to the minds of men for their present and eternal good. We cannot detect in them one single selfish purposeneither the love of gain, nor the love of power, nor the love of praise, nor the love of ease. What we can detectit stares us in the faceis an intense love of God, an entire devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ, an unquenchable charity for the souls of their fellow-men, both Jews and Gentiles, and a calm, steady hope of the appearing and kingdom of their unseen Lord. We see also a sense of duty urging them to every step they take, and prompting every word they speak. Well, they preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. They convince, they convert, they receive their converts into the Church of God, all the while leading lives of blameless purity, quietness, and order. Then they are seized, they are ignominiously beaten with many stripes, they are dragged off to prison, their feet are made fast in the stocks, and they are left alone in the dark. But it was no darkness to them. In the exercises of prayer and praise the light of Heaven illuminated their souls. The gospel which they believed and preached was no less precious in its promises, its hopes, its power, its present light and joy, in that inner dungeon, than it had been by the water-side or in the crowded synagogues of Antioch. The Master whom they served was no less glorious, no less worthy of all their love and all their service, than he had ever been. They knew that his truth would endure from generation to generation. They were not moved from their steadfastness. Then came their wonderful deliverance. And how did they use it? In preaching the same truth to their jailor, in repeating it to the house of Lydia, in carrying it forth from city to city, and being never silent, but continuing to bear witness to the truth as long as their life endured. And are they silent now? I trow not. The truth has not changed; but in heaven it is seen more fully, in more unclouded lustre, in fuller proportions of breadth, and length, and height, and depth; and they that know it there have fuller powers of thought and speech with which to magnify it than the most gifted of them possessed on earth.

HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON

Act 16:1-5

The Church’s duty and reward.

I. THE DUTY OF THE CHURCH.

1. To encourage and develop Christian talent. When Paul went to Lystra he found the Church there speaking well of a young disciple, Timotheus. This convert was “well reported of by the brethren” (Act 16:2), and “him Paul would have to go forth with him” (Act 16:3). The Church praised him who was praiseworthy; and the minister trusted and encouraged him who was trustworthy, leading him on to higher things, and placing him in a position in which his consecrated powers would have freer range and extended usefulness. The Church of Christ seldom does better than when it nourishes youthful piety, and paves the way for the exercise and development of growing talent.

2. To make timely concession. “Him Paul took and circumcised because of the Jews” (Act 16:3). Paul thought these men wrong in their views, but he consulted their sensibilities for the sake of concord and progress. The true triumph is, not to work well with those with whom we are in full sympathy, but to co-operate, without friction, with those between whom and ourselves there is variance of view or difference of disposition. There is no possibility of rendering any considerable service in the cause of Church organization, without a large measure of the conciliatory spirit, and without a considerable amount of actual concession. Not the man who carries his point by obstinate persistency, but he who yields at the right time and in the right spirit is commended of his Lord.

3. To be faithful to all compacts. (Act 16:4.) Probably Paul and Silas might have safely said nothing about the decision at Jerusalem; the people of Asia Minor would have heard nothing about that. But they were scrupulous to carry out the compromise in all its particulars. Fidelity to an undertaking is a clear and urgent Christian duty; the Church or the minister who should slight it would be doing something which is not only unworthy but discreditable, displeasing to Christ, injurious to itself or himself.

4. To keep in view consolidation and extension: to preserve a fair and wise proportion between these different branches of Christian work. Under the hand of Paul and Silas the Chinches of Asia “were established in the faith, and increased in number” (Act 16:5). The missionaries were not more desirous of extending the line of active evangelization than of securing the ground which they had taken. This is Christian wisdom. The two complementary works should always go together; one will minister to the other; one cannot shine without the other.

II. THE REWARD OF THE CHURCH. This is twofold.

1. To glean individual results. True and keen must have been Paul’s gratification to find such a disciple as Timothy at Lystra. Well was he recompensed for the cruel stoning he received in that town by gaining such a “beloved son” and valuable helper in his work of faith and love. And it is the individual results of the Christian teacher’s labor which are his most appreciated reward now. The recovery of that lost one; the decision of that vacillating one; the consecration of that promising one;these are his joy and crown.

2. To witness general progress. To find that “the Churches are established,” and that they are “increasing in number;” to know that the cause of Christ is advancing, that his kingdom is coming, that his name is being honored, and his praises sung by those who had been ignorant of his dying love;what joy, what intense and pure satisfaction, is this! Other sources of delight may pass, or they may leave a stain rather than a tint behind them; but this is a gladness that abides, and which purifies and ennobles the heart of him who is made happier thereby.O.

Act 16:6-10

The call of God and the appeal of man: a missionary sermon.

Christian life, when it has any strength and vigor, is an expansive thing. It pushes out in all directions. It asks what it can do to extend the kingdom of God, what is the sphere in which it can best exercise its missionary zeal. It must be guided by two things

I. THE CALL OF GOD. Paul and Silas went whithersoever they were directed. They forebore to go to some places because the way was closed by the Divine hand (Act 16:6, Act 16:7); they went to others because “they assuredly gathered that God had called them” (Act 16:10). God does not vouchsafe to us now such plain and indubitable signs of his will as he granted in apostolic days; we have no such visions and voices as they had to guide them. Nevertheless he does direct our steps. He either calls us or “suffers us not” to go where we had designed to work, by some method, of his Divine procedure.

1. He may enlighten our minds by enlarging our faculties; so that, though we are not conscious of any special influence, we see clearly what is the right and wise course to pursue.

2. He may inspire us with such promptings that we feel assured that we are being moved by his own hand.

3. He may, by his providential ordering, shut us out from, or shut us up to, the path in which he would not, or would, have us walk. It is for us to inquire reverently what is his will, which way he does not desire us to take, when he calls us to preach the gospel, and then promptly and cheerfully to obey.

II. THE APPEAL FROM MAN. (Act 16:9.) Thin vision appeared to Paul In the night.” We need not wait for the night in order to have a vision and to hear a voice, in which men will cry, “Come over and help us.” If we had but the car to hear” the still, sad music of humanity,” we should have borne to us on every wind the pitiful plaint of the sin-stricken children of men. We should hear:

1. The cry of conscious spiritual distress. There are those who know the hollowness of their old superstitions, or are vainly looking out for the truth; from those who are groping in the darkness, we may well hear the cry,” Who will lead us into the light of life?”

2. The prayer of inarticulate distress. There are countless multitudes that hunger and thirst for they know not what. They have empty, aching, longing hearts, with boundless-capacities. These hearts are unfilled, unsatisfied, and they are inarticulately but earnestly pleading for the bread of life, of which if any man cat he shall never hunger more. There are also the vast multitudes of the sufferingof the sick, of the lonely, of the disappointed, of the bereaved. These are praying us, with silent but strong supplication, to send the knowledge of the Divine Comforter, of him who alone can bind up the broken heart and heal its wounds.

3. The appeal of pitiful degradation. The advocates of slavery used to contendfor lack of better argumentthat those who were in bonds were contented with their condition. As if this were not the very heaviest indictment against the cause they pleaded! Surely the fact that slavery made men and women satisfied with degradation and dishonor was the most damaging impeachment which could be framed! And it is the fact that so many thousands of those who were created for purity, wisdom, worship, righteousness, eternal life, are satisfied with the darkness and death of sin,it is this which constitutes the most eloquent appeal to take them that enlightening truth which will awake them from their shameful apathy, inspire them with a manlier and nobler hope, and satisfy them with a treasure which cannot fade, with a joy that abides for ever, with a life which is eternal and Divine. Unchristianized humanity stands ever before the eyes of a living Church and pleads with a powerful if not a passionate entreaty, “Come over and help us!”C.

Act 16:11-15

The opened heart; or, the power of Divine gentleness.

Promptly obedient to the heavenly vision, Paul and Silas went “with a straight course to Samothracia,” and by Neapolis to Philippi. There, eagerly awaiting a sacred opportunity, they “abode certain days.” They availed themselves of the weekly gathering “at the river-side,” where women, who everywhere are the most devout, were wont to meet for prayer. The whole narrative suggests the by-truths:

1. That we should instantly carry out the will of Christ when we are distinctly assured of it.

2. That we should chemise the largest and likeliest sphere”the chief city” (verse 12)for our activity.

3. That those who are least honored of man are they who find most solace in the service of God.

4. That those who go reverently to worship are in the way to secure a greater blessing than they seek. God reveals himself in unexpected ways to us, as now to Lydia: going to render the homage of a pure heart, she returned with a new faith in her mind, a new hope and love in her soul, a new song in her mouth.

5. That holy gratitude to God will show itself in a generous, constraining kindness toward mana kindness that will not be refused (verse 15). But the lesson of our text is the truth which we learn concerning the gentle power of God in opening the closed heart of man: “Whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul” (verse 14). We may regard

I. THE FACT THAT HE DOES WORK THUS UPON US. If we appeal to our own consciousness we find that it is the case. Often God’s Spirit so touches and moves the human soul, that it is only just aware, at the time, that it is being wrought upon; or he so operates that we can only tell, by comparing past things with present, that we have changed our spiritual position. It is found by us to be the fact that the Lord is not in the storm, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire, but rather in the “still small voice.”

“Silently, like morning light,
Putting mists and chills to flight;”

he lays his hand upon us and touches the deepest springs of our nature. Any faith which does not include the action of God’s gentle power in awakening, enlightening, renewing, reviving, the souls of men is utterly inadequate and completely fails to cover the facts of human experience.

II. THE WAY IN WHICH HE WORKS. God opens our hearts in different ways.

1. Sometimes it is by making us gradually sensible of our own unworthiness, and therefore of our need of a Divine Savior.

2. Sometimes by drawing our thought and love upward, higher and higher, from the true and pure and gracious that are found in the human, to him who is the true and pure and gracious Friend Divine.

3. Sometimes by constraining us to feel dissatisfied with the seen and temporal, and to seek our joy and our treasure in the unseen and eternal.

III. THE MEANS BY WHICH HE WORKS. These are manifold: the sacred Scriptures; the services of the sanctuary; the friendship of the holy; the opening, enlarging experiences of life; the trial which, though not startling and terrible, is yet arresting and revealing.

IV. THE EXCELLENCY OF HIS WORK. Some may suppose that they have more to be thankful for when they can point to one quickening and arousing circumstance in their life, sent of God to awaken and change them. But there is as much of the Divine in the opening of the flower by the light of the morning as in the upheaval of the lava by the fires beneath the crust of the earth; and there is as much of Divine power in its gentler action on the soul as there is in its more palpable and more terrible manifestations. It is open to us to think that there is even greater kindness shown in the former than in the latter. It behooves us

(1) to recognize the reality of his gentle power;

(2) to bless him most gratefully for his exercise of it upon ourselves;

(3) to seek that he would put it forth on those with whom we have to dochildren, etc.;

(4) to watch for its operation in them, and to co-operate with God therein.C.

Act 16:16-25

Five truths from Philippi.

We learn

I. THAT SACRED TRUTH IS SOMETIMES FOUND ON IRREVERENT LIPS. (Verse 17.)

1. Sometimes in mockery, as with this poor Philippian slave. She probably caught up the words she heard Paul use, and in the spirit of ribaldry uttered them again. So men have sometimes preached or sung in the spirit of mere raillery and indecent mirth.

2. Sometimes in insincerity; when those who have no care to secure a livelihood by honorable means resort to religion as a source of income. It is melancholy to think of the thousands who have adopted the preacher’s function as a worldly calling, on whose lips the sacred truths of the gospel would be as ill placed as on those of this damsel of Philippi.

3. Sometimes in inconsiderate enthusiasm; when they who are animated by a desire to do good, but allow themselves to act without due thought, use the most sacred terms with a freedom which is very near to flippancy. In all cases the irreverent use of Divine names and heavenly truths is to be strongly if not sternly deprecated.

II. THAT SELFISHNESS WILL NEVER WANT A GARMENT WITH WHICH TO HIDE ITS UGLINESS. (Verses 18-21.) The masters of this poor woman, when they found that “the hope of their gains was gone,” determined to rid themselves of men who were actually sacrificing their temporal interests to the cause of truth and of humanity! So they incited the mob, and brought Paul and Silas before the magistrates, and played the part of indignant citizens, whose religious equanimity was being shamelessly disturbed (verses 20, 21). They would not have ventured to show themselves as they were, in the nakedness and ugliness of utter selfishness; so they borrowed the flag of patriotism to cover themselves withal. The worst of this kind of sophistry is that men in no great time deceive themselves, even if they do not deceive their neighbors. Sin soon imposes on itself; it thinks itself benevolent and humane when it is mercenary and cruel.

III. THAT ERROR IGNORANTLY IMAGINES IT CAN EXTINGUISH TRUTH BY FORCE. The magistracy of Philippi, well sustained by the violence of the mob (verse 22), caused truth, in the person of its advocates, to be beaten and imprisoned. It doubtless imagined that there would be an end of this new and “pestilent” doctrine. But as the names of these prisoners were to be honored long ages after those of their judges had been forgotten, so the truths which they proclaimed were to be preached and sung many centuries after those bonds were broken and those dungeon walls had crumbled. How vain the magistrates’ court, the scourge, the gaol, the scaffold, when it is the living truth of the Divine Redeemer of mankind which men are trying to stifle or to slay (Php 1:12-14).

IV. THAT FAITHFUL SERVICE OF CHRIST IS SONGFUL EVERYWHERE. Songs in the sanctuary are as natural as they are common; that is to say, when we are worshipping that God who is our God, even the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Their devotees could not praise the “gods of the nations,” because there was nothing in their character to call forth reverence, trust, gratitude. But the followers of Jesus Christ find in him everything for which to pay homage and to present thanksgiving; But it is not only in the act of Divine worship, but at all times, that “his praise is m our mouth.” Even in prisonin such a prison as that of Philippi, and after such lacerating blows as they had enduredPaul and Silas “sang praises unto God.” They rejoiced that they were “counted worthy to suffer shame for his Name” (Act 5:41; see Mat 5:10-12). And if the faithful servants of Christ could “lift up to God the voice of praise” in the dungeon, those who are engaged in his service now should carry about with them everywhere the spirit of sacred song. We should, we can, cherish the spirit of gratitude and holy joy in the home, in the place of business, in the social circle, in every sphere of our activity. For as there is no engagement in which we should not be honoring Christ, in which we should not be realizing his presence and enjoying a sense of his Divine favor, so is there none in which we may not find a source of satisfaction, in which we may not find a reason for holy song.

V. THAT ABOUNDING CHRISTIAN LIFE OVERFLOWS TO THE BENEFIT OF ALL. “And the prisoners heard them” (verse 25). Not that Paul and Silas sang for their benefit, but that abounding happiness in suffering for Christ overflowed and made itself felt by all around. How these men, whose mouths, if opened at all, doubtless poured forth oaths and curses, must have been struck with surprise, and perhaps smitten with shame, to hear these two prisoners singing psalms of praise! If our Christian life be not the poor, ill-fed, shallow streamlet it may be, but the well-fed, strong, swift, ever-flowing river it should be, then shall we live to bless others even when we are only acting to express our own souls.C.

Act 16:26-34

God in the earthquake.

God does not always manifest himself “in the still small voice” (1Ki 19:1-21.); there are times when he makes himself known in other forms. We learn from our text

I. THAT GOD IS SOMETIMES, IF NOT OFTEN, IN THE TERRIBLE. (Act 16:26.) “By terrible things in righteousness,” as well as by gracious things in mercy and in love, does he answer us. He is in the earthquake and in the fire and in the great and strong wind, sometimes. He was, here. The earthquake was the moving of his hand, the utterance of his voice, the expression of his mind. It was his condemnation of human injustice and cruelty; it was his declaration on behalf of human innocence and worth. As in nature we have the solemn as well as the pleasant, the fearful as well as the delightful, the storm as well as the sunshine, so in God’s providential dealings with us, and also in his revelation of himself in Jesus Christ, we have the awful and the stern as well as the benignant and the merciful, the rebuke as well as the invitation, punishment as well as reward, death as well as life.

II. THAT GOD‘S AIM, IN THE TERRIBLE, IS TO AWAKEN THE SLUMBERING SOUL. “The keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep” (Act 16:27). It was the sleep of sin from which this earthquake called him, rather than from bodily slumber. God aroused his spirit thus; and from a guilty, deadly unconsciousness of all that is most precious in the human heart, he awoke to “newness of life.” “God doeth it that men should fear before him” (Ecc 3:14). God sends the earthquake; he shakes the very ground under men’s feet; he makes their life-prospects to rock and quiver; he threatens with loss, or he permits terrible bereavements, to compel men to think of those things which otherwise they would continue to disregard, to make men see the solemn realities which are about them, to place judgment and eternity in full view before their eyes.

III. THAT SPIRITUAL AGITATION STILL ASKS THE OLD QUESTION AND RECEIVES THE OLD REPLY. Let men say what they will about “refined selfishness,” it will always remain true that a man’s first duty to God is the duty he owes to himself; that the first thing a man awakened by God has to do is to consider how he can come into a right and happy relation to the God with whom he has to do; in other words, to ask him how he can “be saved,” how his sin can be forever and himself be taken back into the favor and the service of the living God. And the answer of Paul will always be the reply of the Christian teacher. The earnest seeker after salvation must be directed to a Divine Savior, in whom he can “believe.” For us to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ is to accept him for all that he offers to be to usto accept him

(1) as the Savior in whom we trust for Divine mercy;

(2) as the Friend to whom we give our heart;

(3) as the Lord to whom we dedicate our life.

IV. THAT THE ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST IS TO BE FOLLOWED BY DISCIPLESHIP AND PROFESSION. The converted jailor, so far from being satisfied with his first change, gave his mind to the further and fuller understanding of the truth (Act 16:32); moreover, he showed the sincerity of his conversion by being baptized into the Christian faith (Act 16:33), by carrying with him all the members of his household, and by offering hospitality to those whom he had treated as criminals and now welcomed as friends. We, too, if our faith be genuine, shall

(1) be eager to learn more of Christ and of his holy will;

(2) make profession of our change of heart and life;

(3) do all we can to befriend and further those who are the ambassadors of Christ.

V. THAT FAITH IN CHRIST TURNS PASSING PLEASURE INTO ABIDING JOY. “He rejoiced” (Act 16:34). He had often laughed and been merry before; now joy takes up its home in his heart. “.Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.”C.

Act 16:35-40

Christian remonstrance.

We may learn

I. THE PITIFUL END OF PRECIPITANCY. (Act 16:35, Act 16:38, Act 16:39.) These magistrates of Philippi had hastily adopted the opinion of the clamorous multitude; they had made no sufficient investigation; they had not ascertained the citizenship of the prisoners at the bar; and now they have to pay for their precipitance. They send a sneaking message to the prison, “Let those men go; ‘ thus virtually confessing themselves in the wrong. Then when Paul refused to be thus dismissed, and placed himself in the position of one whose legal rights had been violated, they were fain to come in person, and beg of their own prisoners to go on their way! To such dishonor did a hasty and unfaithful use of their power bring these men. They who are in any office, whether in sacred or secular affairs, should remember that rashness is certain to suffer in the end, that precipitancy in judgment conducts to the shame of him who judges, that we should take ample time and make full inquiry before we condemn and punish. Otherwise judging others, we condemn ourselves and bring down the blow on our own head.

II. THE CHRISTIAN DUTY OF REMONSTRANCE. Paul refused to be ignominiously dismissed, having first been illegally punished. He uttered an indignant, a fervent remonstrance (per. 37). He declined, being innocent and wronged, to be treated as if he were guilty and as if he had nothing of which righteously to complain. It is often our Christian duty to act in the same way. In this matter there are:

1. Two laws to which we may make our appeal: either the law of man, which the magistrates of Philippi had now broken, and which Paul claimed they should have regarded; or the law of God, the law which makes its demand on every human conscience, requiring truth, equity, respect, etc. When this is palpably violated, we may make our appeal to it against the iniquity and ill usage of our fellows.

2. Three laws by which we must be bruited.

(1) The law of purity. We are not at liberty to indulge in remonstrance if there is nothing in our mind but self-assertion; the spirit by which we must be animated is a sense of wrong having been done, and of a righteous resentment of that wrong. A remonstrance which is nothing more than an attempt to recover something for ourselves, into which the feeling of pure indignation against evil does not largely enter, is not worthy of the name; that is only a contention.

(2) The law of innocence. We must take care that we have clean hands, or we shall not be in a position to upbraid others. Too often there are faults on both sides, and those who use the language of remonstrance are open to damaging retort. Only the innocent are at liberty to “reprove, rebuke, and exhort” (see Rom 2:17-23).

(3) The law of considerateness. We must consider what is the probable effect of remonstrating. If the outpouring of our indignation, though it Would relieve our own mind, would endanger the comfort, the liberty, or even (as is possible) the life of others, then we should restrain ourselves and be silent. If remonstrance, though it should bring down bitterness or even blows on ourselves, is likely to benefit others, then it becomes our Christian duty to let loose our tongue and give play to our indignation. The question to be considered isWill utterance honor Christ and benefit our fellows? According to that verdict let our behavior be.

III. THE DIGNITY OF INNOCENCE. These magistrates will always present to the Christian eye the picture of undignified officialism; first hastily condemning, and then ignominiously retreating. Paul and Silas will ever be to us the types of true dignity; first patiently suffering, then loftily refusing to be secretly dismissed, then composedly uniting and comforting the disciples, and then quietly departing. They who have God on their side are in a position to be above the fretting and fuming of the world, to possess their souls in patience and in calmness.C.

HOMILIES E. JOHNSON

Act 16:1-8

Paul and Timothy.

In the intercourse of the great apostle with Timothy, and the history of the latter, we have an interesting episode.

I. THE YOUNG DISCIPLE. His case shows:

1. The blessing of a pious mother. The mother’s love gives force to all her lessons, sanctity to the curliest of life’s recollections. “Knowing of whom thou hast learned them.”

2. The blessing of Christian society. He enjoyed the testimony of the brethren in Lystra and Iconium. Not only the good influences we receive from Christian brethren, but the certificate which their good will and commendation affords us, is to be considered.

3. The blessing of sound instruction. He had an apostle for his teacher. There were things he had “heard and been assured of” from those weighty lips.

4. These advantages turboed to account, tie was the pride and consolation of his mother, and the more so as her husband was an unbeliever. He was an ornament to his community, as we may see from the Epistles to Timothy, from Php 2:22 and 1Co 16:10; and a joy and support of the apostle.

II. SPECIAL ENCOURAGEMENT FOR CHRISTIAN MOTHERS.

1. How many examples have we not of devout mothers in the Old and New Testaments! Hannah, the mother of Samuel; Mary, the mother of Jesus; Salome, the mother of Zebedee’s children; Eunice, the mother of Timothy. And with these may be compared Monica, the mother of Augustine.

2. A mother’s prayers are as guardian angels about the life of her child; and the godly son possesses the happy harvest of a mother’s tears.

3. The mother’s early influence is the best preparation for future service. Paul laid stress upon it; and the happy connection between himself and the discipleso fruitful for both and for the worldrested upon the early foundation laid by the mother.J.

Act 16:9-15

The journey to -Macedonia: the happy beginning.

The transplantation of the gospel into Europe was a great epoch. We see the seed-corn of the kingdom germinating and growing from small beginnings.

I. THE PROVIDENTIAL INDICATIONS. It came, as on many occasions to prophets and men called and sent of God, in a vision of the night. The Macedonian appears and cries, “Cross into Macedonia, and come to our aid!” From the ‘Confessions’ of St. Patrick, the evangelist of Ireland, a dream is cited, in which, by a letter addressed to him, with the inscription, “The voice of the Irish,” he was called as a missionary to Ireland, where he had spent some years of his youth, having been captured and enslaved by pirates. Let us regard this vision as an allegory of the constant cry of the heathen world, “sitting in darkness and the shadow of death,” to the loving sympathy of Christian hearts. “Christians, help poor Patagonians!” is the refrain of a plaintive mission song. It is a cry that rises from the lands of the West to the lands of the East in this narrative; and again it becomes, in the course of history, a cry from the East to the West. It may sound again from now so-called Christian lands, should our candlestick be removed from its place, and the gospel light pass over to those who prove themselves more worthy to enjoy it. May we know the day of our visitation!

II. THE HAPPY CONSEQUENCES.

1. There was quick apprehension of the Divine command. They gathered (Luke glides into the narrative) that God had called them to preach. The presence of the Divine Leader, manifesting itself in such indications, is everything in these new enterprises. “Jesus, still lead on!” He was already before them in Macedonia, and the vision assured them of this. Here is a great lesson. So soon as we are assured of the direction of the Divine will, let us be prompt to obey.

2. They enjoyed a straight course to their destination. If a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes his enemies to be at peace with him, and the winds and waves to be calm as he proceeds. Their confidence grew at every step of their cruise. “‘Hearty welcome! ‘ cried Europe” (Bengal).

3. The arrival. They came to Philippi, the chief city of that part of Macedonia. The arrival at a great city for the first time is an impressive moment in one’s life. Who can see the dome of St. Peter’s in the distance the first time without a thrill? The city is the epitome of mankind. Great cities have great vices, but likewise contain eminent virtues and flowers of piety. Poets, prophets, and apostles have generally found their sphere in the busy town life.

4. The leading of events. The sabbath day came, and the Christian missionary band repaired to the banks of the river. How good the simple devotional habit! We are ever in the way of getting good and doing good when in the way to prayer. How simple and natural the true method of fulfilling a Divine call!

“The trivial round, the common task,
Will furnish all we ought to ask.”

We do not need to create opportunities; they lie to our hand. Work is always waiting for willing and called workers. All places are suitable for prayer: the field (Gen 24:63), the shore (Act 21:5), the prison (Act 16:25), and here the river.

5. The woman‘s heart conquered to Christ. Not by conversion en masse, but by gaining the hearts of individuals, does the gospel proceed. The kingdom of God is like seed sown in the ground. When it takes root in but one life, how great may be the results! The noble Church at Philippi, which gave the apostle so much joy, sprang from the conversion of Lydia. How beautiful is the description: “Her heart the Lord opened” ] The teacher’s voice strikes vainly upon the ear, until God opens the heart. But the heart may refuse to open and the word runs, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man will,” etc. True works of a heart divinely and graciously opened are named. Here is humilityshe submits herself to the judgment of Christians more advanced. Teachableness, thankfulness to God, busy love and kindness, the setting of a good example. She dedicates her house, with herself, to the service of Christ.J.

Act 16:16-18

The witness of evil to the good.

I. THE SOOTHSAYING DAMSEL. Here was a girl living upon imposture, and bringing gain to her masters out of traffic in fancies and lies. Magic and soothsaying trades upon the imagination and wishes of the popular mind. Instead of leading the mind to the truth, it leads the mind to the habit of postponing truth to device and interest. Iris the very opposite temper to that of true Christianity.

II. HER WITNESS TO THE TRUTH. It was doubtless involuntary, extorted from her by overpowering conviction. So does the truth not seldom come from strange lips. The girl felt the contrast in these men to herself. Here were servants of God; she was the servant of lucre and self-interest. They with truth upon their lips, and their lives in their hands; she with cunning lies and deceits, framed to defraud men of their substance and injurious to their souls. They lead on the way to salvation and blessedness; she, to disappointment and ruin.

III. THE CONDUCT OF THE APOSTLES. It gives a rule to us. There can be no fellowship, and therefore no pact nor even momentary compromise, between light and darkness. Truth needs no such help, and never have such devices been known to forward its course. Compliments are to be distrusted by the worker for God. The tinder of vanity is ever ready to be inflamed. The temptation is to put down to our own merit that which is the work of Divine grace. Jealousy against evil is disarmed, watchfulness relaxed. Good men may thus be seduced from the service of God into that of men, or worse. Before firmness and loyalty to conscience the evil and seducing spirits flee.J.

Act 16:19-34

Joy in tribulation.

“All that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution.” “We must through much tribulation enter the kingdom.” The truth of these Pauline sayings had often been tested by experiences, of which this at Philippi was one of the most significant. Here, too, was one of the places where he learned to say, “Thanks be to God, who always maketh us to triumph!

I. SELF–INTEREST IN ARMS AGAINST THE TRUTH. So oftenespecially in our dayare men’s interests and profits on tile same side with Christianity; we need to be reminded that godliness and gain (in the immediate and lower sense) are not identical.

1. The root of opposition to the truth. They saw their hope of gain was gone. Wherever men strike a blow against pure morality, sound and unrefuted principles of teaching, we may rely upon it some “vested interest” is at bottom the cause. The progress of the gospel has put an end to many false callings, and, let us hope, will put an end to many more.

2. The weapons of falsehood. False accusations, misrepresentations. Malice knows that the most effective mode of attack is the indirect. If you cannot disprove a man’s arguments, you may blacken his character. If his private life is blameless, try to show that his principles are dangerous to society. If he speaks unwelcome truth, accuse him of breaking up the general peace and good feeling (1Ki 18:17; Amo 7:10). The wolf in the fable! Crafty use of catch-cries is another instrument of passion and malice. The great Roman name and power is assailed, and that by hated and despicable Jews! This the first time that Roman law is invoked against the Christian. Observe the half-truth in the arguments of malice. Christianity does make men restlessit frightens the evil out of false repose. It does unhinge old customs, and was destined to overthrow the Roman pride. Thus was the multitude excited, as often under such circumstances, and, amidst howls of rage and gusts of indignation, the apostles are roughly handled, their garments torn; they are beaten and cast into close confinement.. So do malice and passion often appear to gain their will, while they are preparing for themselves a defeat.

II. INWARD JOY AMIDST OUTWARD DARKNESS; INWARD LIBERTY IN BONDS AND PRISON. At midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns. What seems to be the gate of death and of hell may be converted by prayer and song into the gate of heaven, the avenue to Paradise. ‘Tis not the place that sanctifies the spirit, but the spirit that sanctifies the place. Great the triumph of the spirit, to sing, not within the safe walls of the church, but behind the barred doors of the dungeon! Sweet are “songs in the night”! It is suffering which wrings the very soul of music from the heart; and to the prayers thus uttered, a deep Amen echoes in heaven.

III. DIVINE POWER MADE MANIFEST TO SENSE AND SPIRIT.

1. The earthquake. This was the outward answer to the prayer and song. Heaven and earth are moved at the prayer of the holy. As it trembled awfully through the prison, opening doors and loosening bonds, hearts also were smitten and flew open at the touch of God.

2. The agitation of the soul. The jailor wakes, at first to anguish and despair. The prisoners have escaped; he is a lost man! There is a sudden temptation to suicide, and at the eleventh hour crime is averted and salvation received. “Do thyself no harm: for we are all here!” Those who love allegorical treatment of texts may find matter here. Duty and the will of God are firmer bonds than handcuffs and the stocks. “We are all here” cry the servants of God, with the witness of our word, the pattern of our life, the intercessory prayer of our love. But a new fear, more awful than the former, seizes on the jailor’s soul: “What must I do to be saved?” When it comes to this question in earnest, the soul is ripe for salvation. One such cry brings all the mercy of Heaven down.

3. The great question. It is not unprepared for. He had heard the apostles praying. Doubtless seeds of filth, dropped into his mind on some former occasion, now germinated and swiftly broke into life. As the earth breaks forth into greenness after a thunderstorm, so was new life born in the man’s soul in the midst of the dread earthquake.

4. The great answer. Believe! “‘Faith’ is all your wisdom,” said the skeptical emperor Julian. True! and let us abide by it. Affiance in the Holiest and Divinest, for time and for eternity; this and this alone is wisdom. Faith in the ever-blessed One makes blessed. In him we obtain a Divine Friend in the home; a holy domestic order; sweet domestic peace; assured domestic stability; a portion in the heavenly home.

5. The great decision. It is rather implied than expressed; shown by practical results than by words. Faith works in the jailor’s heart by love. His thankfulness to Christ is shown by attentions of thoughtful kindness to his servants. The stern keeper of the stocks is transformed by the magic of love into the physician and the host. The jailor has become a “prisoner of Jesus Christ.” Having washed his now honored guests from the stains of outward defilement, he receives at their hands the baptism of spiritual purity. The scene closes amidst purest jay. Thus do the darkest places and most repulsive associations become glorified and idealized by the Spirit of the living and loving God. The prison becomes a chapel; a dread place of judgment; a school of penitence and faith; a home of love and kindness; a place of new birth and new life.J.

Act 16:35-40

Unexpected deliverance.

I. THE SECRET WORKING OF THE HEART UNDER DIVINE POWER. The decision of the magistrates to let the apostles go free is not explained. Paul and Silas had given no account of themselves. But the conscience of the magistrates had been smitten. While his servants suffer in silence, God conducts their affairs. The coincidence must have struck the jailor, and filled his heart with joy. Sore would have been the trial to the jailor’s new faith had he received command to throw his now honored guests into stricter confinement. Such coincidences, although nothing can be demonstrated from them, may nevertheless well convey to the believing heart the sense of an ever-working Divine love.

II. THE PROTEST OF THE APOSTLES. To slink out of prison at the bidding of the jailor, as if they were escaped convicts, was not agreeable to Paul’s sense of right. They were Roman citizens. Cicero, in eloquent words, had said that it was a crime to flog a Roman. In this case they had been beaten, imprisoned, thrust into the stocks, treated with every harshness and indignity. Paul stands upon his rights as a Roman citizen: “Let them fetch us out!” Christian meekness requires us to reserve our strength, to subdue our anger, and to prefer the good of another to our own pleasure; but not to connive at injustice and submit to wrong. The Christian ought to maintain his honor and insist upon his rights, when his reason is not wounded self-love, but injured sense of right and zeal for God’s honor; when his course is not that of a rude independence, but that of right and calm self-vindication; and if his object is not the overthrow of the oppressor, but his conviction and improvement.

III. THE HONORABLE DISMISSAL. Alarmed at the attitude of Paul, the magistrates send to beg the apostles to depart. Thus they receive their dismissal, “Go in peace!” from the lips of friend and foe alikefrom the friends to whom they have brought peace and salvation; from the foes who dare not touch the anointed of God; from the Master himself, who has been with them in their trouble, whose promises have sustained, and whose providence has watched over and delivered them.J.

HOMILIES BY R.A. REDFORD

Act 16:1-5

Paul’s second missionary journey commenced.

I. ENLARGED WORK THE FRUIT OF ENLARGED CAPACITY AND EXPERIENCE.

1. In his own spiritby faithful service and abundant grace received.

2. In his higher standing among his brethren. The sympathy and confidence expressed by the Churches of Antioch and Jerusalem lifted up Paul’s spirit to a higher level.

3. In the clearer course opened by the settlement of the controversy as to the position of the Gentile converts.

II. INSTRUMENTS PREPARED TO MEET GREATER DEMANDS. Timothy specially gifted to be Paul’s companion. His Greek education. His mother’s and grandmother’s piety. His father possibly a proselyte. He himself Paul’s son in the faith. Silas more Jewish. The Holy Spirit guides us when we seek out helpers in dependence on higher wisdom. The young minister had the confidence of the Churches, where probably he had exercised his gifts. Those who are selected as candidates for the ministry should be approved and well reported of, and in some degree tried. Paul’s own judgment was sustained by that of others.

III. IN ALL WORK DIFFICULTIES AND SCANDALS SHOULD BE SHUNNED, even at the cost of suppressing personal feeling. When it was a question of maintaining principle, Paul would not consider Jewish prejudice; when it was a question of conciliating and preparing the way for the gospel, he would put his own broader views in the background. An example showing that promises and conciliation can be mingled in the same character; a warning against self-assertion.

IV. THE INFLUENCE OF A WELL–MAINTAINED CHURCH ORDER ON THE STABILITY AND PROSPERITY OF SPIRITUAL WORK. There was no despotism of Jerusalem over the Gentile Churches, but these were decrees ordained; not the decrees of those who sought dominion over the faith of others, but the decisions of wise, good, inspired men, who spoke under the influence of the Spirit. We should obey the will of the Spirit, whether we hear it from Jerusalem or from any other quarter. A true, humble, and zealous desire to be strengthened and to increase will be the best preservative against schism. There is no inconsistency between liberty and reverence. They support one another.R.

Act 16:6-10

A true epoch in the history of the gospel: advance from Asia to Europe.

I. SUPERNATURAL GUIDANCE LED THE WAY.

1. The messengers naturally inclined to continue their work within narrower limits. Much against advancing West. Unknown region. Great demands in the more educated heathenism of Europe. Possibly the Jewish element was powerful in Asia, and therefore some religious basis to work upon. But all such considerations put aside when the mind of the Spirit manifested.

2. The Spirit of Jesus clearly pointed the way Westward, whether by miraculous indications, or by providential circumstances too plain to be misunderstood. Troas was reached in a waiting, inquiring state of mind.

3. The decisive commandment was given by vision to Paul. Not a mere dream, but a prophetic vision, which, being accompanied by a supernatural impression of its Divine origin and meaning, left no doubt on the mind.

II. THE CHANGE OF THE SPHERE OF LABOR from Asia to Europe fruitful in results.

1. On the Gentile worldin the direct assault on heathenism in its stronghold.

2. On the character of Paul himself. He was fitted for a higher work than preaching to the semi-barbarous tribes of Asia Minorwhere great as the success was, it would be necessarily almost limited to the region where it was obtained. To touch Greece was to open a thousand doors to the world at large.

3. On the development of the Christian Church. It was necessary that Christianity should reveal to the world its superiority to all merely human systems of philosophy; that it should satisfy the intellectual as well as the spiritual wants of man. Had Paul never visited Europe, we should not have had his Epistles to the Romans and Corinthians, nor probably that to the Ephesians; for his own views of the Church were raised to a higher level by his contact with the larger world of thought and life.R.

Act 16:9

The cry of a perishing world after Christ.

“And a vision,” etc.

I. HUMANITY WITHOUT THE GOSPEL. The Macedonian life representative.

1. The social failure of Rome. The corrupt state of society. The loss of liberty. The lack of real advancement. Help required in every department of men’s lives.

2. The intellectual failure of Greece. Contradictions of philosophy. Neglect of the poor and ignorant. Follies of heathenism. Worship of human nature itself. Awful vices by the side of wonderful development of mental faculties.

3. The spiritual destitution of the world. Idea of God. Degradation of the masses. Comparison between the state of the Greek world and the state of the Jewish. Nothing like synagogues.

4. The Macedonian a type of the moral helplessness of men, both in heathen nations and in the heathenish portion of Christendom. “Come over and help us.“

II. THE CHARGE OF THE SPIRIT TO THE CHURCH.

1. We must shut our ears to all other voices but that of the Holy Ghost; as, e.g. reasonings about the future destiny of the heathen; attempts unduly to exalt the uninspired books of heathen religions; exaggerations of difficulties and discouragements; pretended special regard to home claims. “Look to the marching orders.“ “Go over and help them.“

2. As God speaks to his most eminent servants, let the voice of the Spirit command us through them. If they tell us an enterprise is charged upon them, we must support them with all our might. If Livingstone says Africa is open, then follow his lead, even though at great cost, and let there be no looking back.

3. The missionary enterprise is a great lesson to the Church to find its blessedness in listening to the cries of needy souls. An extended sphere demands a deepened faith and zeal. If we cannot go over with a true gospel and with a self-denying spirit, let us stay at home; if we carry the power of God with us, then we shall find, in the fullness of the Gentiles brought in, not only the reward of a satisfied conscience, but the elevation of our own faith and the glory of our Jerusalem. A larger Christianity has been taking the place of the old and narrow religion of former days, since the Spirit was poured out, and we sent the Word forth to the ends of the earth. We help ourselves when we help others. Wonderful signs of the times, showing that God is opening the minds of men to the universal claims of the gospel. All things uniting to say, “Go into all the world,” etc.R.

Act 16:11-15

(or Act 16:14)

The opened heart.

“And a certain woman named Lydia,” etc. Study of personal history specially helpful. A few broad strokes make up the picture. Fill in the outline from human nature and experience. Describe the circumstances. Philippi a local metropolis. In the midst of perishing heathenism a germ of spiritual life. Country market-place outside the gate. Devout women, Jewesses and proselytes. The Old Testament read there. Prayer offered. Without Christ they could not be made perfect. Influence of praying women. The contrast. The great heathen city, the small gathering of pious souls waiting for consolation. An image of the world with the true Church beside it waiting to take possession. “Stone cut out of the mountain.” Apostles sent to lift up the little one into a thousand. Lydia the first convert from Europe. The message came as an answer to prayer.

I. THE GOSPEL WAITING TO FIND A PLACE IN THE HUMAN HEART.

1. Devoutness, religiousness, not all that is required. Apostles preached Christ to religious people. Christianity a positive system of truth, which must be known and received. The moral side of it not separable from the spiritual. This specially seen in the mission of the Church to the world. If Lydia was herself to preach to her neighbors, she must be taught.

2. Attention to truth a work in the heart. Curiosity, habit, sentiment, all may fall short of bringing the mind to lay hold of truth. Personal application. The spring of affection opened. Love of Jesus shed abroad. Faith fixed on its objects.

II. THE GRACE OF GOD WORKING THROUGH HUMAN AGENCY. Paul preached; the Lord opened the heart.

1. The distinction must be recognized in all ministrations.

2. The record of the apostolic ministry an example. The greatest preachers may fail. If they succeed, to the Lord’s Name be the praise.

3. We are cast by such a mystery on prayer.

4. The opened heart is the pre-requisite to the changed and consecrated life.R.

Act 16:16-18

The kingdom of light revealing itself.

On the borders of Europe where many false spirits were at work. Divination and soothsaying, the resort of men in their blindnessa testimony at once to their moral helplessness and their recognition of a higher power. The credulity of men was made a source of sordid traffic both by philosophy and false religion. Hence the trouble in the mind of Paul. It was not for his own sake, but for the gospel’s.

I. TRUTH NEEDS NO FALSEHOOD TO HELP IT. The Church of Rome has acted very differently. Had it not been stopped, the gospel would have been regarded at Philippi as another form of divination. Simplicity the greatest strength.

II. THOSE THAT ARE RESTING ON THE ROCK CAN AFFORD TO WALT. “After many days“ the spirit was cast out.

III. The kingdom of Christ brought into collision with the kingdom of Satan reveals ITS VICTORIOUS MIGHT. So throughout the history. “That very hour.” The Name of Jesus Christ exalted, all the more for the evil device against it. Mercy to the deluded and miserable. Judgments to the deceivers. The swine and the spirits perish together.R.

Act 16:19-40

The first European persecution.

I. It was in no way instigated by Jews, hut it proceeded from RULERS AND MAGISTRATES, under the instigation of HEATHENISH ERROR. An important distinction. Christianity, when it enlarged its sphere of operations, had to encounter the opposition of:

1. The state.

2. False philosophy regarding it as folly.

3. Heathen priestcraft, fearing the loss of their profitable superstitions.

II. The method of persecution was generally through LAWLESSSESS AND UPROAR. There was no trial, no proper charge. Only the multitude against them.

III. The gospel brought into light WHAT WAS GOOD IS THE ANCIENT WOULD, and drew it to itself. Roman order and discipline is here distinctly on the side of the persecuted, and the persecutors are afraid. So henceforth, when the gospel is seen at work in Europe, we find the Roman law serving it.

IV. God speaks among the heathen by the voice of his PROVIDENCE and of NATURE. The earthquake assisted the cause of truth. A wonderful testimony to the whole city and neighborhood.

V. The conversion of the Philippian jailor a GLORIOUS CONSUMMATION OF THE PERSECUTION. So alwaysthe wrath of man praises God.

VI. THE CONTRAST of the praying and singing prisoners and the terrified authorities a striking testimony to the truth. Lydia and her companions prayed too. The little Church at Philippi, increased by the whole occurrence, “comforted them and departed.” “Filling up that which is behind of the sufferings of Christ for his body’s sake, which is the Church.”R.

Act 16:25

Light in the darkness.

“But about midnight,” etc. Power of facts to speak for Christ. The miracles of Christ accompanied his message. “Believe the works.” We must push this evidence of facts on unbelievers, because they are not prepared to open their hearts to the truth.

I. A BRIGHT EXAMPLE OF FAITH.

1. It overcame fear, shame, suffering.

2. It lay hold of the futurepraying and praising, under the influence of hope. The time was midnight, but there was morning in their souls.

3. It was faith which was proved by experience; they remembered past deliverances. “His love in time past,” etc.

II. GOD WORKS WITH HIS PEOPLE.

1. He opens their lips, when the world would shut them. The inner prison and the stocks cannot silence truth. The audience is therethe prisoners and the Roman jailor.

2. Fellow-workers called in. “The earth helped the woman” (Rev 12:16). God is doing much under the surface of events. Streams of providential government unite with streams of spiritual influence. The revival of intelligence and humanism preceding the Reformation. The two great currents of the eighteenth century, spiritual and political; and now science helps the advancement of Christianity.

3. Leave God to find opportunity for us. Be patient, and hope to the end. The trouble of Christianity to the world works out peace.R.

Act 16:29, Act 16:30

A remarkable conversion.

“Then he called for a light,” etc. The significance of the jailor’s case, as a Roman, and almost instantaneously converted, as illustrating the comparative religious freedom of a Roman colony, the openness of the Gentile mind to impression, the yearning of the heart after a true religion prevailing at that time in the better class of people.

I. AWAKENED ANXIETY.

1. A realization of personal dangers and need.

2. A forsaking of all other refuges.

3. An appeal for help to those who, by their confidence and peace, showed that they had a better hope.

II. SINGLE–MINDED INQUIRY.

1. Different from mere curiosity or speculation.

2. Ready humbly to wait for brotherly sympathy and direction.

3. Casting the will as well as the mind on the truth. “What must I do?”

III. RISING FAITH.

1. Salvation possible, therefore sought after.

2. Self-surrender at the feet of the messenger, as expressing desire for the message.

3. Doubtless “the way of salvation,” of which the city bad heard, was something definitely before his mind as something to be found. Why is not such earnestness universal?R.

Act 16:34

Household salvation.

“And he brought them,” etc. The family greatly honored in the Bible. Patriarchal religion the religion of families. The household the unit of the Jewish nation. All true redemption of society must be through individual conversion, but by way of natural relationship.

I. THE HOUSEHOLD JOY.

1. A new beginning. Contrast with the old.

2. A new securityboth against the evils of a disordered earth and the infirmities and sins of human life.

3. A new fellowship. A family may be a Church; daily worship, common service; mutual joy, development of individuality in the light of faith.

II. THE HOPE OF THE WORLD.

1. Rapid spread of religion when household faithfulness is maintained.

2. Education is the basis of Christian teaching.

3. The young the hope of the Church.

4. The representative character of Christian profession. We cannot assume responsibility for children, but we can surround them with a circle of light. Our baptism should be their baptism, not instead of the baptism of the Holy Ghost, but in view of it.R.

HOMILIES BY P.C. BARKER

Act 16:1-5

Apostolic devotion owned.

The opening two little words of the fifth verse must not be neglected. The fifth verse does not merely summarize the incidents narrated in the preceding four verses. It connects them as effects with their just causes, or with that which was in part, and as matter of fact, their just cause. Observe, then, that

I. THE LOVE OF APOSTOLIC HEARTS ESTABLISHES FAITH IN THE HEARTS OF OTHERS AND INCREASES THE SPREAD OF IT.

II. THE KINDLY PASTORAL VISITING OF THOSE OF SUPERIOR KNOWLEDGE, AND WHO HAVE BEEN SET AND CALLED OF GOD, AS LEADERS, ESTABLISHES THE FAITH OF WHOLE CHURCHES AND INCREASES THEIR NUMBER.

III. THE ACTIVE ZEAL OF THE OLDER AND HONORED LEADERS IN SEEKING AND ENCOURAGING YOUNG RECRUITS THROWS ENERGY INTO EXISTING FAITH AND PROVIDES DIRECT MEANS FOR PROPAGATING IT.

1. Paul selects Timothy, observing him to be the right sort.

2. Paul recognizes the need of new blood and young blood, and lets the Churches see that he does so.

3. Paul suggests the circumcision of Timothy, as son of a Jewish mother, that no time should be unnecessarily lost in removing objections on the part of the Jewish elements in the Churches he was visiting.

IV. AN EQUITABLE ADMINISTRATION OF THE DECISIONS OF THE “APOSTLES AND ELDERS,” AND A JUST ATTENTION TO ECCLESIASTICAL ORDER, STEADIES THE FAITH RESIDENT IN THE CHURCH AND PROMOTES THE GROWTH OF IT ELSEWHERE. (Act 16:4.) To try to “put a yoke upon the neck” of any Church is to “tempt God” (Act 15:10). To give it true liberty is like giving it air and light.B.

Act 16:6-12

The Spirit’s course.

It may be laid down as a canon, that the facts marking periods of special gifts and special inspiration and special “dispensations” point to principles available for other periods in the whole history of the Church and the world. What might otherwise seem among the driest historical or sometimes almost geographical statements are accordingly threaded together by an invisible bond of connection, which lends them abundant interest. And here, from the apparently bare narration that is given us of where Paul and Silas went, where they did not go, and where they wished to go but were overruled, we may learn

I. THE REALITY OF THE SPIRIT‘S PROFFERED CONDUCT OF THE CHURCH.

II. THE ABSOLUTE ERROR INVOLVED IN NOT SEEKING, OR NOT FOLLOWING, THE TRACKS OF THE SPIRIT.

III. THE CLEAR DIRECTION THE SPIRIT MAY BE RELIED ON TO GIVE TO A REALLY FERVENT LOVE, EARNEST PURPOSE, AND ACTUAL ZEAL.

IV. THE CONFIDENCE THAT MAY BE INSPIRED, AMID ALL THE WEAKNESS OF A MERE HUMAN HEART, IN THE UNERRING AND UNFAILING ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE SPIRIT.

V. THE “COMFORT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT” FOR THOSE WHO SURRENDER THEIR GOINGS AND THEMSELVES TO HIS LEADING. Devout musings, holy feelings, and right resolves will be as much and more to them than” vision” or dream? Nor would that comfort be least gratefully felt and acknowledged, when across the famed straits Paul heard an unusual voice, in the accents of an all too unusual prayer. At a moment’s glance he saw why he had been prevented from halting, nor suffered to turn to the right hand or to the left, that he might the rather now come direct to Europe, and there preach and plant the gospel. And to see the meaning of all was comfort and “joy of faith” for him.B.

Act 16:14, Act 16:15, Act 16:40

The day that looked like the day of small things.

It may be said, indeed, that “the kingdom came not with observation” into Europe. To the silence, modesty, and unostentatiousness of its first steps, nothing seems wanting. The notoriety came, again, not from the studied purpose of its heralds, who did their bidding in so pacific a manner, but from the vain attempt to crush them. Let us notice in some detail what we know from the present passage of Christianity’s very first rooting of itself in Europe. Observe

I. THE OPPORTUNITY THAT WAS EMBRACED BY THE APOSTLE. ‘We must judge that there was little or no choice open to him. We are glad even to take up the position that this, too, was of God. It may be worded, therefore, in this way, that the opportunity Paul used was that which Providence offered. With how many is it the case that opportunity is the very thing which is slighted, unheeded, altogether ignored! The opportunities that life offers, that our existing position offers, that God therein offers, are those that we despise, oh-earning of others, which for that very reason, if for no other, may well be withheld! Let us honor, then, the God who sent and the servant who faithfully used this opportunity, by looking at it somewhat minutely.

1. Landed in Europe, some” certain days” seem to have counted for little at Philippi; the only record of them this: “We were in that city abiding certain days?

2. The sabbath day comes, and there is no fine building into which to enter to preach; there is no respectable synagogueJudaea is far away now; there is no excited and eager crowd as at Antioch to be harangued, with all the skill of the inspired logician and the Heaven-born orator and the faithful gospel preacher. Dull will the hours of this sabbath pass compared with those of many other of late years fresh in the recollection of Paul.

3. The day is nevertheless to be made use of and to be turned to account. And Paul and his companions resolve to join the humble prayer-meeting of a party of women, outside the city and by the river-side. The occasion is unique, pretty nearly as much so as could be. It must be taken from the tenor of the narrative that there were few, if any, men there. But Paul and his companions neither seem to view themselves nor to be viewed as intrusive. And they sat down and in a most informal manner “spake to the women.” It were the essence of preaching sometimes rather to speak; and to speak to a few, and to speak appropriately to them and pointedly and unassumingly and kindly. This was the day, and this was the place, and these were the persons, and this was the manner of Paul and his friends, which made up the opportunity that looked so humble.

II. THE FROST SHOW OF RESULTS. There is one woman among the little group who is to become the first known Christian convert in Europe. And she came from Asia. By all appearance she was a proselyte, and knew and worshipped one God, according to her light and scanty opportunity, among a mere disunited remnant of Jewesses, if it were so indeed. And she was presumably a woman who did a good business, and had a ‘house,’ to the hospitality of which she could pressingly invite the new-comers, and invite them to stay there, too, days together (Act 16:15, Act 16:18, Act 16:40).

1. Lydia is a woman not altogether shut off from light and knowledge.

2. She is a woman who owns to her own conscience and does “worship God.”

3. She is one of no bigoted conservative prejudice, and she “listens” patiently, respectfully, to what the strangers said.

4. For all that, her heart was as yet sealed, shut. There may be some light, some knowledge, some movement and life of conscience in a Person, and yet the heart itself be shut to the pure truth of God and of the soul.

(1) Sin may keep shut the heart.

(2) The pride of nature may obstruct it.

(3) Stolid habit may fearfully close it.

(4) The simple “love of the world” may effectually exclude all better, higher things from the heart. And something of this kind was the state of Lydia. Nature had closed her heart, or nature had not availed to open it, and at this time it was in some material sense shut. And the one first result of this occasion was now seen. “The Lord,” with his omnipotent power and with his facile grace, “opened the heart of Lydia “opened it so that “she attended to the things which were spoken of Paul.” It is evident that the change that took place within, under the touch of the Lord, led her to attend with ear, with mind, with heart, and with life. For “she and her household” are baptized speedily.

III. A FURTHER GLIMPSE OF RESULTS.

1. A generous heart is unlocked. More than one prophet’s chamber is found, and more than a meal or a day’s entertainment.

2. A very graceful way of showing generosity is exampled. Lydia does not proffer hospitality in any patronizing tone. She begs to be allowed to render it; and rests her urgency on Paul’s faith in her sincerity.

3. Lydia becomes installed in that place as one who may be “counted faithful “to give an asylum for the persecuted, and a home to the released prisoners (Act 16:40).

4. A strangely significant type is given of that elevation of women which Europe should ere long be destined to witness, and which has been just due to one presencethe presence of Christianity. Since the time of Lydia, what influences for good in the Church of Christ, what very Saviors and leaders of the Church, humanly speaking, have women been, whose “hearts the Lord has opened”! Thus the gospel began its course in Europe, thus for “many days” silently, thus condescendingly. And as the Master himself seldom more significantly marked the character of his own condescendingness than in condescending to do the apparently little, to heal only one out of a multitude, to “choose” only a “few,” to fill for a long time but a small space in the eye of the world, so has his true Church and its humbler history rejoiced to share his lot; and when it has done so, has then most testified its own approximation in likeness to him.B.

Act 16:16-39

An illustrious triple triumph of Christianity.

Soft as the step with which Christianity entered the fair fields of Europe, and kindly as the welcome given to it then, its uniform lot was not long in making its appearance. It soon wakens close attention, it rouses strong opposition, it vindicates its genius and rights, and the luster of its moral victory must often have been felt by the faithful apostles enough of itself to compensate for the persecutions and sufferings they encountered. Rarely was there a more consummate instance of the kind than that here recorded. Let us notice

I. THE RISE OF THE OPPOSITION, AND VICTORY THE FIRST. The first note of discord was sounded by an agent unusual but not altogether unknown, and it was unintentionally occasioned by that actor in the whole scene.

1. The damsel possessed by the spirit of divination, possibly responsible in the first instance for being thus the victim of evil powers, may be held to be not responsible in her present conduct.

2. The utterances of spirits of evil by means of her bodily organs of speech need not be supposed to be necessarily the utterances of mockery, or of any evil design to prejudice those who might have listened to Paul, had he and his companions not been advertised by an agent of so unwelcome a kind. It is said Christ” suffered not the devils to speak because they knew him.” And the possessed slave spoke what she spoke because she was under the influence of those who really discerned and knew of what sort Paul and Silas were. 3. The objection of Paul may have been due

(1) to a repetition, which of itself might turn seriousness into mockery;

(2) to the deep grief, that he would inevitably feel that the words of truth should be now, not the utterance of intelligent and converted human beings, as such, but of human powers usurped, and though under the domination of superior Tower, not under the governance of superior goodness, but the contrary.

4. Paul is empowered to speak the command of dispossession, with which the “many days'” cry stopped, and the evil spirit went, and her” right mind” returned to the slave. And from the barest facts of the painful but wonderful incident we learn how tyrannical is the usurpation of the powers of evil; how nevertheless the powers of evil do sometimes press into the service of the truth; how their unsought aid (if aid it be) is refused by the Spirit of truth and by the true themselves, who will not encourage the evil that good may come; on the other hand, how their designed injury is baulked; but finally how, from all the humbling mournful scene, a victory “in the Name of the Lord Jesus” was won by Paul. Whatever it was that was most offensive in what had been taking place was summarily ended, human powers were disenthralled, a whole market of human iniquity was soon closed, if not bankrupt, and the true power was exalted and magnified.

II. THE OPPOSITION ITSELF, AND VICTORY THE SECOND.

1. The opposition was not on account of the religious views or preaching and teaching of Paul and Silas. They were Gentiles and Romans who were the opponents now, not, as so often hitherto, Jews. The cause of the opposition was most radical to the human heart. The miserable slave had been gain to cruel masters, never so cruel as when cruel to humanity, and as her gainfulness was gone their opposition was come, and was decided and determined and bitter, and withal disingenuous. They pleaded they were Romans, and they forgot to make sure that there was not a sense in which Paul and Silos were Romans to whom it was yet more necessary to show respect. But the cause was stated to consist in what Paul taught as a “Jew.”

2. The opposition was conducted in every sort of disregard of justice and order. Angry people and rulers, and magistrates and multitude, are mingled together against a couple of men who had brought a possessed slave to her right mind; and stripes and imprisonment, and innermost prison and stocks, are their punishment, and, it is supposed, the silencing of them.

3. The opposition, instead of silencing them, had taken the means to keep them awake even at midnight, when perhaps every one of their enemies slept. What can they do but pray? But prayer sometimes brings very ready, very present help, and they sang praises, and though the jailor heard them not, other suffering prisoners did. And God above heard, and brought speedy and full deliverance. No stone of the prison building but it moved, no locked door but it opened, no fetter but it was loosed. And immediately the second great victory began to be apparent.

(1) The cause of Paul and Silos is one for which miracle and earthquake and Heaven will appear.

(2) The jailor’s life is saved by prisoners forsooththose whom be had fastened so securely and so hastily a few hours before.

(3) A greater, better life is roused in that jailor, so that his hands to wash the stripes, and his house and his meat and his very heart, are all at the feet of his prisoners, and “he and all his” numbered among the followers of Christ! Wonders like these passed all Philippi had ever dreamed of before.

III. THE ENTIRE COLLAPSE OF THE OPPOSITION, AND VICTORY THE THIRD,

1. When God’s judgments are abroad in the earth, the very air is rife of their rumor. The magistrates, before ever day dawned, had heard, if it were only a whisper, what moved them more than the earthquake. They send simplest order that the men be “let go.” It is not only humble hearts moved to salvation, that own to the interposition of Paul’s God and Savior; hearts proud, unchanged, and haply unchangeable quake to their center, and will try the shortest way and the least-observed way or any way, if they may feel free again to breathe, and free from what is to them the most dread incubus.

2. But the hour of the supreme triumph of the servants of Christ had arrived. They show no hurry to go. They have been silent when the market-place howled around them. But when an almost deathly stillness prevailed that day-dawn, and those who were about spoke with hushed and bated breath, a very few, very quiet, but very authoritative words of Paul’s lips finally complete the transformation of the scene. What a contrast, and what a proud hour for truth, when Paul pronounces on certain magistrates a sentence of more moral grandeur and far-reachingness, than all the sentences they for centuries have pronounced! You can hear those words, and the climax of them, “Nay verily!” Certainly all the rest “went indeed by saying.” Nor can we doubt that to God Paul and Silas gave the glory; to Jesus, Master, King, Captain, they gave the glory; to the energetic Spirit of light and power and conversion, they gave the glory; nor took one atom of the proud satisfaction to themselves when the “magistrates came” in person, “and besought” them and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city.” What triple triumph Jesus won in Philippi of Europe, when he disenthralled the body and the mind of the slave, when he made the jailor’s heart and life all his own, and when he sent the magistrates on their knees to the scourged, imprisoned, but now dictating Paul and Silas!B.

HOMILIES BY R. TUCK

Act 16:1

The character of Timothy.

This young man was so closely associated with the Apostle Paul, and with such complete sympathy shared his thoughts and his work, that he deserves a careful study, and his character will be found to have points of interest from which important practical lessons may be drawn. He is introduced to us in this passage, but we must assume the fuller knowledge of him that is conveyed by historical references in the Acts and Epistles, and by the letters of counsel addressed by St. Paul to him personally. Of him Canon Farrar says, “He was, in fact, more than any other, the alter ego of the apostle. Their knowledge of each other was mutual; and one whose yearning and often lacerated heart had such deep need of a kindred spirit on which to lean for sympathy, and whose distressing infirmities rendered necessary to him the personal services of some affectionate companion, must have regarded the devoted tenderness of Timothy as a special gift of God to save him from being crushed by overmuch sorrow.” Timothy was brought to Christ by St. Paul’s preaching, and the way in which the apostle reminds Timothy of his sufferings at Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra (1Ti 3:10, 1Ti 3:11), suggests that Timothy was an actual “witness of St. Paul’s injurious treatment; and this at a time of life when the mind receives its deepest impressions from the spectacle of innocent suffering and undaunted courage. And it is far from impossible that the generous and warm-hearted youth was standing in that group of disciples who surrounded the apparently lifeless body of the apostle at the outside of the wails of Lystra.”

I. THE ADVANTAGES OF TIMOTHY IN A GODLY ANCESTRY. It is certain that he was of a naturally amiable and affectionate disposition, and had this advantage from his birth. His mother, and her mother before her, were amiable and pious women, and transmitted their natural grace to this young man. It is often observed that children bear the disposition of their mothers; and just such a gentle tone of character as Timothy showed has often been traceable to such a godly ancestry as he had. It may seem as if women had but little work to do; but what a noble mission is theirs if their patient culture of natural disposition gives their children the vantage-ground of amiable and attractive character! Few blessings resting on our life surpass that of the hereditary influence of good and godly ancestors.

II. THE ADVANTAGE OF A WISE AND CAREFUL EARLY TRAINING. “Of a child he had known the Scriptures.” Show how this involved

(1) an early awakening of the intelligence;

(2) a guardianship of his youth and young manhood from folly and temptation;

(3) a preparedness for the fuller light and truth brought to him by the apostle;

(4) a fitness for the Christian ministry to which he subsequently became devoted.

It may also be shown he was the influence of his early teachers tended to encourage

(1) a studious habit;

(2) a cultivation of the passive graces almost to the disadvantage of the active. No more beautiful characters are found on earth than those who are naturally amiable, and whose amiability is sanctified by Divine grace.

III. THE CHARACTERISTIC EXCELLENCES OF HIS SANCTIFIED MANHOOD. From the Epistles written by St. Paul to him we gather what were the leading features of his character.

1. Great affectionateness of disposition, which made him cleave closely to any one he loved, and enabled him to make cheerful sacrifices for them.

2. Great steadfastness and trustworthiness, so that St. Paul found he could always rely on him. He acted from principle, not mere impulse; and had a strong sense of duty.

3. A studious habit of mind, which, no doubt, made him valuable to St. Paul for his writing work, but became a snare to him, as unfitting him, to some extent, for public ministerial duties. Out of this, and the consequent frailty of his health, came a shyness and timidity which St. Paul urges him to overcome. It has been well said that Timothy is a beautiful example for young men, as “one of those simple, faithful natures which combine the glow of courage with the bloom of modesty.”R.T.

Act 16:6-10

The leadings of the Holy Ghost.

Apart from any doctrine of the personality and work of the Holy Spirit, there is a practical realization of his presence, and gracious working in us and by us, which is a source of continuous strength and comfort to the believer. It is this which we find illustrated in the passage now before us. The apostolic conception of the Holy Ghost has not been adequately studied apart from doctrinal theories. It is forgotten that the apostles were Jews, and that help towards the apprehension of this Divine gift and indwelling they must have sought in their Old Testament associations. The Spirit of God in the prophets must have been to them the model and the foreshadowing of their larger gift. And this must have been their chief thought. All Christ’s people are prophets; the Spirit of God dwells in them all, and is the Inspiration of all they say and the Guide of all they do. Their idea of the old prophets is well expressed by St. Peter (1Pe 1:21), “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost;” and his words precisely convey the idea which is to be entertained concerning the apostles and first missionaries. In the passage before us the Holy Ghost as the actual present Guide of the apostles, directing them where they may go and where they may not go, is presented to us. Lives that are truly and fully consecrated to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ are taken out of men’s own control and committed to the charge of the Holy Spirit; and those who realize such a full consecration find no practical difficulty in following the Divine lead. Reviewing the incidents narrated in these verses, it will be seen that St.. Paul expected no external revelations and no miraculous guidances. In whatever way he realized the presence and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, it was a way in which we may realize it too; and we may set forth two of the ways which are common features of Divine leading in all generations.

I. THE HOLY GHOST LEADS BY INWARD IMPULSES. Men’s actions are decided upon more subtle motives and considerations than they usually imagine. Perhaps it would be found that very few of them depended upon decisions of the intellect. Some result from careful judgment; some from self-will or passion; some from emotion; and into many men are led by the passing influences of the hour. Men are acted upon by many influences, which reach the mind, the heart, or the will. But the supreme inward influence is that of the Divine Spirit. He has access to every part of our inward being. He can

(1) suggest thought for consideration;

(2) direct the judgment to wise decisions;

(3) move the will to fitting resolves;

(4) tone the feelings to right harmonies;

(5) and preside over the plans which are formed.

It is by missing this relation of the Holy Ghost to the very springs of action within us, that menChristian menso often doubtingly ask, “But how can we know that we are doing what God would have us do?” Openness to God’s inward lead is surely followed by God’s response in an inward leading; and when we are set right towards God we may feel sure that the decisions of our judgment and the resolves of our will are divinely controlled and ordered. St. Paul followed the inward feeling that he must not go into Mysia, etc.

II. THE HOLY GHOST LEADS THROUGH PROVIDENTIAL CIRCUMSTANCES. These will always be found to match the inward leadings, and they help to give us assurance that we are following in the way that we should go. Nothing is more surprising in our lives than the opening of providential doors. If we will but

(1) wait,

(2) watch, and

(3) pray,

the path will surely clear before us, and the Divine finger point us, and the Divine voice in circumstances say, “This is the way, walk ye in it.” We may, on this matter, fall into errors which may seriously depress us.

1. We may mistake providences for accidents, and so fail to see God in them.

2. We may cherish the unbelieving notion that God does not work by things.

3. We may take up notions of natural law which deprive us of faith in God’s living working.

4. And we may fail to wait for God’s providential openings, and try to force our own way; so grieving that Holy Spirit which dwelleth in us.R.T.

Act 16:14

The opened heart.

“Whose heart the Lord opened.” Describe the joy that St. Paul must have felt in this first sign of the Divine blessing attending his labors in a new sphere. If God was with him, opening the hearts of the people, then his labor could not be in vain. Review the circumstances under which the apostle had been brought to Philippithe night vision at Macedonia, etc. Explain that Philippi was the first city, regarded geographically, not politically. Show the distinction between a synagogue and a proseuche. Commend St. Paul’s sabbath habits; and describe the scene at the river’s side. It is interesting to note that the first Christian convert made in Europe was a woman, and a most important part of the work of Christianity in Europe has been the elevation of woman. Fixing attention on the sentence taken for a text, we notice

I. THE BRINGING OF A SOUL TO CHRIST IS THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT. The Lord, the Spirit, is the Opener of hearts. Such opening is the necessary beginning of the work of grace. Mother, friend, minister, have the simple power of agency; none of them can, by any endeavors, reach to the heart and effect the saving change. Illustrate by the way in which the florist produces new colors and new varieties of flower. He carefully puts the pollen grains on the top of the pistil, but he cannot get them down the pistil to fructify the seeds below. The mysterious power of nature can alone accomplish that. Or illustrate by the peculiar kind of stone which may be smashed to pieces, but, if set aright to the blow, will split into useful slabs. God alone can set men right for the influence of the preached Word. It is our duty to bring saving truth and sinful souls together, but with the Lord alone is the opening to receive. Show how this may become an encouragement to all Christian workers who can see that God is working with them, and that in some of those whom they seek to bless the work of grace is evidently begun.

II. GOD THE SPIRIT HAS VARIOUS WAYS OF BRINGING SOULS TO CHRIST. That which describes the work of grace in the heart of Lydia is not said of any one else it was just the way in which the Spirit was pleased to deal with her. We find that in creation God always acts on fixed principles, but he is never trammeled by the necessity for expressing those principles in fixed forms. Landscapes, plants, trees, countenances, minds, all take form upon definite and invariable vegetable, or animal, or mental laws; but no two of them are alike in their form. Infinite diversity is quite compatible with vital unity. It is equally true in the new creation. God has laid down certain principles on which the return of souls to him must be arranged. There must be

(1) penitence,

(2) humility,

(3) faith;

but the exact way in which these are to find expression is left undefined. Show, then, how improper it must be to make any one man’s experience a necessary model for another man; and consequently how injurious Christian biographies may become to young seekers after God, if such seekers take up the idea that they must think and feel and act precisely as others have done. The workings of the Divine Spirit in man are divinely free.

III. THE GENTLENESS AND THE GRACE OF DIVINE DEALINGS ARE SEEN IN THE ADAPTATION OF METHODS OF CONVERSION TO INDIVIDUALS. Some can only hear God when he speaks in the loud tones of earthquake, storm, or fire. But it is equally true that others pay no heed until there comes to them the “still small voice; “and therefore the voices of God are so graciously varied to men. Illustrations of the variety and adaptation of God’s methods may be taken from Scripture. Shepherds from the Bethlehem plains were guided to the infant Savior by direction of the holy angels; and star-gazing Magi were guided by the sign of the heavenly light. Godless and persecuting King Manasseh was humbled in the dust, put in a prison-house, and prepared by affliction to listen to his fathers’ God. The eunuch of Queen Candace was led by Divine providence, and prepared by studious and meditative habit, to see in Jesus of Nazareth the Messiah-Savior of Old Testament prophecy. St. Paul was brought to faith by a sudden and overwhelming revelation suited to convince a man of so impulsive a character. The jailor at Philippi was broken down by terror, and plucked from the very edge of a self-inflicted death. And Lydia felt the constraining power of the story of the Crucified. In each case the grace of Divine dealing may be shown in the adaptation to character and circumstances. Apply to:

1. Those who have long known the power of God opening their hearts to the truth. What is now needed is the full acceptance of faith.

2. Those just conscious of new feelings and desires. Whence do they come? They must be the Spirit working in you. Whither do they tend? Surely to the faith in Christ that saves.

3. Those who fear that they have had no inward movings of the Spirit of God. Perhaps they are only unnoticed. Maybe that even now you are ready to hear of Christ, the living Savior, who wants your love and trust.R.T.

Act 16:17

The witness of evil spirits to Christ.

This poor slave-girl was subject to some kind of convulsive or epileptic fits. Brain-disease, and the various forms of hysteria, were very imperfectly understood in the olden times. “Nothing was less understood in antiquity than these obscure phases of mental excitation, and the strange flashes of sense, and even sometimes of genius, out of the gloom of a perturbed intellect, were regarded as inspired and prophetic utterances.” General opinion associated such forms of disease with possession of some spirit, good or bad; and it is curious to note that the great physician Hippocrates attributed epileptic diseases to possession by Apollo, Cybele, Poseidon, etc. “At this period, and long before, people of this classusually womenwere regarded as prophetesses, inspired by the Pythian Apollo.” “As a fortune-teller and diviner, this poor girl was held in high esteem by the credulous vulgar of the town.” “The fact that St. Luke, who in his Gospel describes like phenomena as coming from doemonia, evil spirits, unclean spirits, should here use this exceptional description, seems to imply that either this was the way in which the people of Philippi spoke of the maiden, or else that he recognized in her -phenomena identical with those of the priestesses of Delphi, the wild distortions, the shrill cries, the madness of an evil inspiration. After the manner of sibyls, sorceresses, and clairvoyants of other times, the girl was looked on as having power to divine and predict, and her wild cries were caught up and received as oracles.” Remembering the well-established doctrine that the Bible is not given as a revelation of science, medical or other, we are able to recognize in this narrative simply the general opinion of the age concerning spirit-possessions, and we need not affirm that either our Lord, or the apostles, in dealing with such cases, seal for us the truth of this explanation of them. In view of the common sentiment, it was not well that such persons should be allowed to witness to the Christian teachers. Their witness may have been true enough, but it was certainly liable to be misunderstood. no wholly satisfactory explanation has yet been given of the devil-possessions recorded in the New Testament, but this much we may fully admitthere was a remarkable accession of spiritual-evil force in the early Christian age.

I. OUR LORD‘S TREATMENT OF THESE PHENOMENA. For the apostles followed the example of their Lord. One striking instance may be referred to (Mat 8:28-34). Our Lord

(1) delivered the victims from the evil power; making this an illustration of his moral and spiritual mission; and

(2) he resisted the association of his work with the witness of disease, mania, hysteria, or evil possession. It was necessary that every association of the conjurer should be dissociated from Christianity. Its appeal is to the sober reasonings of the mind and the normal and natural demands of the heart. The gospel is for men in their senses; and it properly refused then, and refuses still, all testimony from ecstasy, spiritualism, jugglery, oracle, or any unnatural forms of excitation. A truth may be sadly disgraced and misrepresented and prejudiced by its champions, though it does not therefore cease to be the truth. The witness of evil spirits too certainly bears for men an evil tone, so Christ refused to permit it.

II. THE APOSTLES‘ TREATMENT OF THESE PHENOMENA. Something may be due to St. Paul’s personal annoyance at the constant repetition of these clamorous cries, which hindered his work, and very possibly disturbed him when talking in the proseuche. He may also have felt great pity for the poor suffering girl; but no doubt his chief reason for putting forth the miraculous power entrusted to him was the misapprehension of his character and his work which her witness was likely to produce. Men might be led by her to think that he was possessed by some of the gods, or was a messenger of some of the idols, and so his work would be hindered, as it had been at Lystra. We must remember that the apostles’ message was directly antagonistic to paganism and idolatry, and they were right in jealously guarding it from so perilous an association with it. Impress, in conclusion, that Christianity makes its appeal to the intelligence, conscience, and affections; and, then and now, it needs, and it will bear with, no adventitious or questionable aids.E.T.

Act 16:25

Christian triumph over circumstances.

It is hardly possible to exaggerate in describing the sufferings of St. Paul and his companion on this occasion. The frailty of St. Paul’s frame and the sensitiveness of his nervous constitution must be taken into account. Moreover, he appears to have hardly recovered from a very serious illness. Canon Farrar says, “It was the first of three such scourgings with the rods of Roman lictors which Paul endured, and it is needless to dwell even for a moment on its dangerous and lacerating anguish. We, in these modern days, cannot read without a shudder even of the flogging of some brutal garotter, and our blood would run cold with unspeakable horror if one such incident, or anything which remotely resembled it, had occurred in the life of a Henry Martyn or a Coleridge Patteson. But such horrors occurred eight times at least in the story of one whose frame was more frail with years of suffering than that of our English missionaries.” With their wounds untended, St. Paul and Silas were roughly thrust into the inner prison, a foul and loathsome dungeon, there to sit for hours with cramped limbs, shivering in the dampness and cold. Everything in their circumstances was against them, and yet “with heroic cheerfulness they solaced the long black hours of midnight with prayer and hymns.” They would doubtless sing well-known psalms, and selections may readily be made of such as would precisely suit their purpose. It is a remarkable incident. It is a triumph of character; a triumph of grace; a sublime declaration of what Christ’s realized presence can be to the suffering believer. He can give “songs in the night.” Making the incidents the subject of meditation, we observe

I. THE UNITY OF BODY AND SOUL. A unity so complete that the one never can suffer without the sympathetic suffering of the other. If the soul be depressed or distressed, the nervous condition of the body is sure to respond. Vigorous bodily health can never be known when the mind is diseased or the soul overworn and troubled. And, on the other hand, depression of soul comes oftentimes out of pain of body; and as long as the pain is limited the depression continues. It is singular to note that a prolonged little frailty is more trying to the spirit than a sudden and intense distress or pain. The soul seems to make a great effort to meet a great occasion, but fails to resist a continuous wearying influence. Illustration may be taken from various classes of physical and mental sufferers. It may be shown how often spiritual doubt and distress are found to be due to the sympathy between the body and the soul. And, in view of this, the infinite tenderness of God’s dealings with us may be urged. Most gracious God, “he knoweth our frame, he remembereth that we are dust! ‘

II. THE DIVORCE OF BODY AND SOUL. It can be said that “as the outward man perishes, the inward man is renewed day by day.” The records of the afflicted will bear out the statement that, under two circumstances or conditions, the soul may force itself free of the body and rise above bodily reach in the power of its own life.

1. When pain is extreme. Illustrate from martyrology, or from records of great sufferers. There seems to be a possibility of pain reaching such an extreme as to swing the body loose from the soul, and leave the soul free to sing. This we may, perhaps, see in the ease of St. Paul; the very intensity of his suffering in part explains his triumph.

2. When the soul-life is strong. Swelling into power under sudden impulse, as in the martyrs; nourished into a holy fullness of vigor, as in the afflicted and diseased, and as in St. Paul.

III. THE FULFILLMENT OF DIVINE PROMISES IN THIS MASTERY OF THE SOUL OVER THE BODY. Such promises in the Old Testament as, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee,” etc. And in the New Testament as, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Impress what a holy witness is made for God by all Christian sufferers who can win calmness, submission, and peace, and even sing their “songs in the night.”R.T.

Act 16:30

The jailor’s question.

It puts into a single sentence the great cry of the human soul. And yet see how difficult it is to get the soul to realize this its greatest need, and to utter this its greatest cry.

I. MANY OF YOU ARE NOT QUITE SURE YET THAT YOU NEED TO BE SAVED. That is the gravest hindrance to the preaching of Christ to you. You attach very little meaning to the expression. You say, “Saved! Saved from what?” You need to be saved from two things:

(1) the penal consequences of your sin; and

(2) the moral power of your sinfulness.

That is, you need to be saved from all that is gathered up in the word hell, and from all that is gathered up in the word self. You are not your own; you are a creature of God’s. Your first duty is to love, trust, and obey God. To help you God has made his will known with sanctions. Do you think he will fail to keep his sanctions? His “Law is holy, his commandment is holy, and just, and good; and The soul that sinneth, it shall die. Moreover, you are as one stricken with a foul disease, the leprosy of sinfulness, You need to be saved from a foulness that pollutes you, from delusions which vainly seek to shatter you, and from bondages which you are powerless to break. How can a. man be just before God, a sinful man be clean in the presence of his Maker? Verily you need to be saved.

II. EVEN WHEN AROUSED TO ANXIETY, MANY TURN ANYWHERE FOR REFUGE RATHER THAN TO CHRIST. Many are like Lotthey will not do just what the angel-messenger commands, they will seek for some little city near to which they may flee; but there are no Zones now for seeking sinners, they must flee to the mountain. Show some of the subtle refuges in which awakened souls try to find shelter and rest; e.g. waiting for deeper conviction; intenser effort to make themselves good; devotion to the externalities of religion; expecting to get more feeling, etc.

III. EVEN WHEN DRIVEN FROM OTHER CONFIDENCES, AND LED TO CHRIST, MANY OF US CAN SCARCELY BE SATISFIED WITH “ONLY BELIEVE.” The very simplicity of the gospel terms of salvation we turn into a hindrance. Yet this is the gospelGod, of his free mercy, is willing to pardon, deliver, and receive all who seek him, solely on the ground of what his Son has done for them, and is in relation to them. And God is pleased to make their justification depend on their believing in his Son. “God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life,” etc. “By this Man is preached unto us the forgiveness of sins.” Does any man now ask, “What must I do to be saved?” The old answer is ever new, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”R.T.

Act 16:31

The faith that saves.

Introduce by a review of the incidents connected with the text. Both the prisoners and the jailor heard the songs and prayers of the apostles; and the jailor had in all probability heard of the testimony of the Pythoness (Act 16:17), so he was in a measure prepared for sudden conviction. There are historical hints of a serious earthquake occurring in this district at this time, and the effects described,loosening doors from their jambs and staples from the walls,are quite such as might be caused by earthquake. The anxiety of the jailor was aroused by the certainty that his own life would be forfeited if any of his prisoners had escaped. No allowance would be made for the extraordinary cause of such escape. Suicide was the Roman’s way of escaping from what he esteemed to be disgrace. St. Paul’s words, “We are all here,” exactly met the occasion, and removed the man’s fears. Then came a tumult of emotions. The man seemed to feel that God was there, and these men were his servants. In a sudden impulse he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” St. Paul sets before him Jesus, and says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” What is this faith that saves? We observe that our Lord always asked for it, or expected to find it, or reproached men for the lack of it. To the blind man he said,” Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” To the Syrophoenician woman he said, “O woman, great is thy faith.” Of the centurion he said, “I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” Of the men who let the sufferer down through the roofing, it is said, “When Jesus saw their faith.” Of the people at Capernaum the sad remark is made, “He did not, many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” And the apostles also required faith. “All that believed had all things common.” “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.” “Faith cometh by hearing.” “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness.” “The just shall live by faith.” “Perceiving that he had faith to be healed.” Faith is seldom won by mere descriptions of what faith is. Such descriptions too often only hinder and bewilder. Faith is most surely won by setting forth the great Object of faith, Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, and able to save unto the uttermost. From the text we note two points.

I. THE FAITH THAT SAVES IS FAITH IN A PERSON. Illustrate from the appeal at Pentecost. “That same Jesus both Lord and Christ” (Act 2:36). The application of the sermon connected with the healing of the lame man is, “God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you” Act 3:26). Philip drew near to the eunuch, and “preached unto him Jesus.” Peter said to the sick AEneas, “Jesus Christ maketh thee whole.” To Paul of Tarsus the Person Jesus appeared and spoke. At Athens Paul declared that God would judge the world by one Man whom he had appointed. The object of saving faith is

(1) not any scheme of doctrine;

(2) not any historical record;

(3) not any finished work,

conceived as distinct from a living person with a present power. A salvation that was a mental apprehension of a form of truth could not suit everybody. Trust in a person is possible to everybody. So Christ’s own way of salvation is this: “He that hath the Son of God hath life.” And the apostles’ way is: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” But it may be urged that we must know something about Jesus if we are to trust him. It may be answered that the essentials of a saving knowledge are very few and very simple. They are these: Jesus was the promised Messiah; Jesus lived a life of innocence and self-denial; Jesus died on the cross, a sacrifice for sin; Jesus rose from the grave that he might have power to redeem; and Jesus lives, able to save us now. It is Christ himself lifted up who draws all men unto him.

II. THE FAITH THAT SAVES IS FAITH WITH THE HEART. Minds believe doctrines, hearts trust persons. It is necessary to distinguish carefully between faith in a thing and faith in a person. We believe things on reasons which can be submitted to the intellect. We believe persons because we feel their goodness, their character. Illustrate by the trust of a child in a father; of a patient in his physician; of a wife in her husband. It is that kind of faith or trust which the Lord Jesus seeks to win as the condition in us to which he may respond with his saving grace. If we “know him” well, we shall find in him just the goodness which will make our faith in him easy. Do you say, “Is the Lord Jesus really one whom I may fully trust”? See him taking the children in his arms. See him speaking so tenderly to the woman who was bathing his feet with her tears. See him talking to Mary in the Bethany home, whose “eyes were homes of silent prayer.” See him standing up on the great day of the feast, and yearning over the multitude, and calling them to come to him, and drink, and live forever. See him on his very cross praying for his murderers. Surely we can trust him. Our hearts respond to such goodness. He is worthy of our love. Appeal that Jesus is really God manifest, God revealing himself to your soul. He would win your love. What will your response to him be?B.T.

Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary

Act 16:1. A certain disciplenamed Timotheus See the passages in the margin, and the preface to the first epistle to Timothy.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Act 16:1-2 . . . .] See on Act 14:6 .

] does not refer to both cities, as Otto, Pastoralbr. p. 58, strangely assumes, but to the last named, Lystra. Here Timothy, whose conversion by Paul is to be referred to Act 14:6 f., was at that time residing ( ); probably it was also his native place , [46] as may be inferred from Act 16:2 ( ) compared with Act 16:3 ( . . . ). Usually (even by Olshausen and Neander, but not by de Wette and Baumgarten) Timothy is supposed to be a native of Derbe (on account of Act 20:4 ; but see remarks on that passage); is referred to (very arbitrarily), and Act 16:2 is explained to mean that, besides the (presupposed) good report of his native city, Timothy had also the good report of the neighbouring cities of Lystra and Iconium; a very forced explanation, which Theophilus and the other first readers certainly did not hit upon!

. . . ] The name of this Jewish-Christian was Eunice. See 2Ti 1:5 . is the adjective (Joh 3:22 ), as also and , Act 16:9 . Whether the father was a pure Gentile or a proselyte of the gate, the language employed (see on Act 11:20 ) and the lack of other information leave entirely undecided.

. ] as in Act 6:3 .

] see on Act 13:51 . What were the peculiar circumstances, which had made Timothy honourably known in Iconium as well as in the place of his birth, we do not know.

[46] With this Khler also agrees in Herzog’s Encyk . XVI. p. 168; Huther and Wiesinger leave it undecided; but Wieseler, p. 25 f., endeavours to uphold the usual view. But see on Act 20:4 .

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

B.ON THE ROAD PAUL ASSOCIATED TIMOTHEUS WITH HIMSELF, and, after visiting the congregations which had been recently established, travels rapidly though asia minor, to troas.

Act 16:1-8

1Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain [om. certain]1 woman, which [who] was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: 2Which [Who] was well reported of by the brethren that were at [brethren in] Lystra and Iconium. 3Him would Paul have to [Paul desired, , that this man should] go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which [who] were in those quarters [places]: for they knew all that his father [for all knew of his father, that he] was a Greek. 4And as they went [But as they journeyed] through the cities, they delivered2 them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of [delivered to them for their observance the decrees which had been made by] the apostles and elders which were at [elders in] Jeru salem. 5And so [Thus, then, ] were the churches [congregations] established in the faith, and increased in number daily. 6Now [But] when they had gone throughout3 [through] Phrygia and the region of Galatia [the Galatian region], and were forbidden of [restrained by] the Holy Ghost to preach [from preaching] the word in Asia, 7After they were come to [And came towards] Mysia, they assayed to go into [they attempted to journey to]4 Bithynia: but [and, ] the Spirit [of Jesus]5 suffered them not. 8And [Then, ] they passing by Mysia came down to Troas.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Act 16:1-2. Then came he to Derbe and Lystra.Timotheus [whose name is sometimes written in our Bible with an English termination, Timothy (Alex. ad. loc).Tr.] was, without doubt, a native of Lystra and not of Derbe, for the former name is the nearest antecedent to . This view is supported by Act 16:2, in which Lystra is again mentioned, along with Iconium, while Derbe is not named. This is also the opinion of de Wette, Winer, and Meyer, although, according to the usual supposition (which Neander also entertains), Derbe was his native city.Timotheus was already a , when Paul, in the course of the present journey, came to this region; it may therefore be assumed that he had been converted during the first missionary journey [through the agency of Paul, who calls him his son in the Lord, 1Co 4:17; 1Ti 1:2; 2Ti 1:2, perhaps in Antioch in Pisidia; see 2Ti 3:10-11 (Alford).Tr.]. He was the offspring of a mixed marriage, inasmuch as his mother (named Eunice, 1Ti 1:5), was a Judo-Christian, while his father was a , a pagan. [ is an adjective (Joh 3:22), as well as . (Meyer).Tr.]. There is no indication whatever here found that the latter had embraced the Christian religion; it may, on the contrary, be inferred from the words: , Act 16:3, that he was still a pagan at that time, and that he had neither become a Jewish proselyte, nor been converted to Christ, (Luthers version: his father had been a Greek, conveys a wrong sense).

Act 16:3. a. Him would Paul have to go forth with him.Paul resolved () that Timotheus should leave the house of his parents (), and proceed with him on his missionary journey. The motives which influenced him in selecting precisely this individual, are not stated in direct terms. The connection, however, indicates that one motive, at least, was furnished by the high regard () which the Christians in Lystra and Iconium entertained for Timotheusa regard which was doubtless justified alike by his character, by his godly and upright walk, and by his gifts. Moreover, the very circumstance that, on account of his descent, he was equally allied to the Jews and to the pagans, may have aided in determining the apostles choice. [Supposing Timothy to have been converted during Pauls first visit to Lystra, he had now been a disciple three or four years. (Hackett, ad. loc.); see, further, 1Ti 4:14; 1Ti 6:12; 2Ti 1:6.Tr.]

b. And took and circumcised him (Timotheus).The expression . . seems to indicate that the apostle did it personally, and not through the agency of a third party (Neander); like every Israelite, he was fully authorized to do it. It must necessarily be supposed that Timotheus voluntarily submitted to circumcision. What was the apostles motive in performing this act? It had a reference to the Jews of those cities, who well knew that the father of Timotheus was a pagan. Accordingly, the motive cannot be traced to any disposition to yield to Christians who entertained Pharisaic or Judaistic views, and still less to any belief on the part of the apostle that circumcision was per se necessary to salvation. He was influenced solely by considerations connected with the unconverted Jews of that region, who would unquestionably have taken offence, and been less accessible, if Timotheus, as the son of a pagan, and uncircumcised, had actively engaged with Paul in the work. [Paul conformed to the principle stated in 1Co 9:20. (de Wette).Tr.]. Besides, a Jewess was not at liberty, according to strict Jewish views, to marry a pagan, and the children who were the issue of such marriages, were regarded as bastards; see Ewald, Gesch. d. a. Z. p. 445, and, below, Doctr. etc. no. 1. [Intermarriage with the heathen was forbidden by the law (see Deu 7:3; Ezr 10:2; Ezr 10:44; Neh 13:23); but some suppose a distinction between strange wives and strange husbands, founded on the cases of Esther and Drusilla (Act 24:24). (Alexander, ad. loc.).Tr.]

Act 16:4-6. a. And as they went through the cities.Paul delivered the decrees of Jerusalem which were to be observed, when he revisited the cities of Pisidia, Lycaonia, and Pamphylia; he was accompanied, on this occasion, by Silas and Timotheus. These decrees and the renewed intercourse of the congregations with the apostle, strengthened the believers spiritually, and promoted their external growth. Bengel here makes the happy remark: rarum incrementum, numero simul et gradu.

b. The party continued their missionary journey; after leaving Pisidia, they crossed the mountain range of Taurus, and, proceeding in a northerly direction, went to the midland districts of Asia Minor. They visited Phrygia (the Phrygia Major of the ancient geographers) and Galatia; the latter received its name from certain Gaulish or Celtic tribes, which, during the third century before the Christian era, had left Thrace, and, after inundating Asia, had established themselves in this region. [For Galatia, see Conyb. and H., Life etc. of St. Paul, I. 262. London. 1854.Tr.]. Although the narrative mentions these provinces only in a cursory manner, we can, nevertheless, assume that, during the present journey, Paul established those congregations in several Galatian cities, to which, about the year 55 A. D., he. addressed his important Epistle. [This very cursory notice of a journey in which we have reason to think so much happened (see Act 18:23; Gal 4:13 ff.), seems to show that the narrator was not with him (Paul) during this part of the route; an inference which is remarkably confirmed by the sudden resumption of circumstantial detail with the use of the first person, at Act 16:10. (Alf.)Tr.].

Act 16:7-8. But the Spirit suffered them not.Paul intended, as it seems, to proceed at once from Galatia and Phrygia, in a westerly direction, to Asia, i.e., Asia proconsularis, or, to the western coast, namely, to Mysia, Lydia, and Caria. But he and his attendants were restrained by the Holy Ghost(by some intimation or internal direction) from entering this region, and there preaching the Gospel. When they had, therefore, reached the eastern boundary of the latter, they continued their journey in a northerly direction as far as Mysia, where this northwest angle of Asia Minor touches Bithynia and the coast of the Bosphorus and the Black Sea, intending to enter the latter district; but, here again, they were turned back by the Spirit of Jesus [see note 5, appended to the text.Tr.], and were restrained from preaching the Gospel there. [Under these circumstances they perceived that they were directed to proceed to the west, to Greece, and it was this course which the Spirit really indicated. (Meyer).Tr.].With respect to the grammatical construction, the most simple method seems to us to be that of regarding the three participles in Act 16:6-7, , as expressing a certain sequence in the order of time; and this interpretation is also the most natural, in a geographical point of view. They were, accordingly, induced to pass along the borders of Mysia, Act 16:8, i.e., along the southern borders of Mysia Minor, and down the coast of the gean sea to the sea-port of Troas, on the south of the promontory of Sigum. [Little Mysia belonged to Bithynia, Great Mysia, on the other hand, belonged to the province of Asia. (de Wette).Troas as a district, though geographically a part of Mysia, and politically a part of the province of Asia, was yet usually spoken of as distinguished from both. Thus Ptolemy treats it as distinct from Great Mysia and Little Mysia. He calls it also by the name of Little Phrygia. (Conyb. and H. I. 300, and no. 4.)Tr.].

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. The circumstance that Paul should have circumcised Timotheus, while, as he himself states in Gal 2:3, he would not, when he was in Jerusalem, permit his attendant Titus to be circumcised, has given very great offence to some writers. They suppose that if the statement in the present passage were true, the apostle would have betrayed great weakness and inconsistency of character, and they therefore assert that the present narrative is absolutely incredible. (Baur, Paulus, p. 129 ff. note; Zeller, Apostgesch., p. 239 ff.). But the two cases differ so widely in their whole nature, that they cannot possibly be placed in the same category. In Jerusalem, Paul found Judaizing Christians before him, to whom he was not at liberty to yield; here, on the other hand, he had respect to the unconverted Jews of Asia Minor, whom he was apprehensive of repelling, if an uncircumcised missionary assistant had stood at his side, but to whom the circumcision of the latter might open an avenue for the Gospel. Moreover, circumcision was demanded in the former indispensable to salvation; the language employed, admitted of no other construction. Under such circumstances, it became a duty which Paul owed to the truth of the Gospel, not to yield. But here, the motive which actuated him proceeded from the peculiar circumstances in which he was placed, and was not derived from any supposed religious necessity. (Comp. my [Lechlers] Apost. u. nachap. Zeitalter, 2d ed. p. 419. note 1). [This note of the author, exhibits the foregoing views, and is chiefly occupied with remarks on the objections of Baur and Zeller.Tr.]. The Formula Concordi (p. 792, ed. Rech.) already explains the distinction with accuracy:Circumcisionem Paulus alias (in libertate tamen Christiana et spirituali) observare aliquoties solebat, Act 16:3. Cum autem pseudoapostoli circumcisionem ad stabiliendum falsum suum dogma (quod opera legis ad justitiam et salutem necessaria essent) urgerent, eaque ad confirmandum suum errorem in animis hominum abuterentur, ingenue affirmat Paulus, quod ne ad horam [Gal 2:5] quidem ipsis cesserit, ut veritas evangelii sarta tectaque permaneret.

2. Paul was guided by the Spirit of God, when he directed his steps from the interior of Asia Minor to the sea-coast, opposite to Europe. , (Act 16:6) cannot mean the holy spirit of prudence which judged correctly of the circumstances (de Wette), but designates, in accordance with the doctrine and language of the whole book, the objective Spirit of God, whose communications, however, are received within the sphere of the human spirit, and who can announce His will, His divine and holy determination, positively or negatively, to the soul. The guidance of the Holy Ghost is not, in the present case, of a positive natureHe does not command, (as, for example, in Act 13:2; Act 13:4); His influence assumes a negative formHe hinders, keeps away from, ( ); the latter act seems to have been even more earnest and energetic in character than the former.The Spirit is, in a single case, Act 16:7, [see note 5, appended to the text.Tr.], named . The Spirit of the glorified Redeemer, who truly lives and reigns, directly interposed on this occasion, when the Gospel was to be carried beyond the confines of one quarter of the globe, and brought to Europe; He restrained by his irresistible intimations, so that ultimately no other route remained open, except the one which conducted to the sea-coast, and thence to Europe.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

Act 16:1. Then came he to Derbe and Lystra.This was the soil which Paul had moistened with his blood, Act 14:19; but how abundant were those fruits of his sufferings, which God afterwards enabled him to witness with joy. He here finds a number of disciples, when he revisits the spot, and among them, his own Timotheusthe trophies of his sufferings, the seals of his apostleship. (Ap. Past).Timotheus, the son of Greek.Who could have expected such a blessing from this unequal marriage? It is probable that his father either was already dead or had forsaken his wife, so that the believing mother enjoyed the more freedom in bringing up her son in the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. She had not, on the other hand, been able to effect his circumcision in his infancy. How many an orphan might be found in the world, bedewed with the tears of a devout mother, and growing up as a plant of the Lord! (Rieger).The true disciples and servants of Jesus, are not in every case the sons of learned and devout fathers.It was often only the prayer or blessing of a godly mother or grandmother, which first enkindled the flame of a living knowledge of Jesus in a youthful heart. (Ap. Past.).

Act 16:2. Well reported of by the brethren.This is far more honorable than a testimonium which a candidate obtains by low arts from people of the world. (Ap. Past.).The child Jesus increased in favor not only with God, but also with man [Luk 2:52]; so God often prepares his agents by the formal testimony which a young man receives from others, and which often exercises a great influence on his future career. (Rieger).

Act 16:3. Him would Paul have to go forth with him.Besides the favorable testimony of others, Paul must have had a presentiment that he would find no one who was so entirely like minded as Timotheus [Php 2:19-20]. (Rieger).When we deny ourselves, and consequently seem to sustain a loss, but when our motives are pure, God provides a recompense in another and a better object. Paul declined, from a pure motive, to take Mark with him; God now gives him Timotheus, who is both more competent, and more steadfast. (Starke).Circumcised him, because of the Jews.This act was not contrary to the apostolic decree of Jerusalem, for the latter only declared that circumcision should not be forced on any one, as if it were necessary to salvation. Paul acted in each case solely in the interest of the Gospel. When he had reason to apprehend that the latter would suffer injury, he resisted the attempt to enforce the law of circumcision; but when he hoped that the cause of the Gospel would be promoted by it, he could direct another to be circumcised; and in other respects also, he could become to the Jews as a Jew. The act of an individual may often seem to proceed from carnal wisdom, or provoke the charge of fickleness, and may, nevertheless, have been performed in accordance with the same principle of faith or love. (Rieger).Paul circumcised Timotheus, in order to abolish circumcision, that is, in order to open an avenue for the Gospel to the Jews. (Chrysostom).It is just as if I should now go among the Jews in order to preach the Gospel, and should find that they were weak; I might, in that case, be willing to submit to circumcision, and to eat or to abstain, even as they do. But I would do all this in no other case, and no longer than while I could be with them and labor for the Gospel. (Luther).Thus, in our own day, Gtzlaff, the missionary, became a Chinese among the Chinese.

Act 16:4. Delivered them the decrees for to keep.Salutary decrees and ordinances should be diligently observed, or else they resemble a bell without a clapper. (Starke).He became as a Jew unto the Jews [1Co 9:19 ff.], until faith was awakened in their souls; he took a deep interest in the believing Gentiles, announced their perfect freedom from the Jewish law, and directed their attention solely to the grace of the Lord Jesus, until he saw both Jews and Gentiles united in the same spirit of faith. (Ap. Past.).

Act 16:5. And so were the churches established in the faith.It is often only necessary that a single difficulty should be removed, in order to see the divine blessing widely diffused.The progress of the Gospel was checked, as long as the dread of the burdensome law of Moses prevailed among the congregations. They exhibited a vigorous growth, as soon as Paul removed this obstacle. Let us diligently watch over Our congregations, and ascertain the particular false opinion, or the prevailing folly or sin, in consequence of which our sermons seem to be unattended by a blessing.And increased in number daily.A rare increasein numbers, and, at the same time, in the measure of faith. (Bengel).

Act 16:6. And were forbidden of the Holy Ghost.Although the grace of God in Christ Jesus is intended for all men, He has, nevertheless, appointed a particular day of visitation for every country, every city, every individual.It is, consequently, our duty, to submit, in all humility and faith, the appointment of the seasons of the awakening of countries and nations, to the wisdom of God; but it is also our duty, in our particular office, to walk in the path in which God goes before us, that is, to consider whether there be not some soul near us that specially needs our aid or exhortations, and ascertain the spot in which we may labor with the greatest success. And yet we are not to be guided by our own wishes, but to obey the directions of the Spirit of God. (Ap. Past.).He who is resolved on succeeding, in opposition to the drawing of God, and the call of his Spirit, exhibits an indiscreet activity, which may often receive the praise of men, but which is of less avail before His searching eye. (Rieger).The apostle was here restrained by the Holy Ghost; at another time, he was hindered by Satan, 1Th 2:18. Hence, any unwillingness which may be felt to preach the Gospel in a particular place, cannot always be traced to the Spirit of God. (Ap. Past.).It is very desirable that all the preachers and candidates for the ministry, should give heed to the restraints and to the intimations of the Holy Ghost; the church would then obtain the services of the right men in the right places. (Besser).

Act 16:8. And they to Troas.The restraint to which, apparently, the cause of Christ was subjected, was the means of promoting its progress anew, although the manner in which such a result would be produced, was still unknown to them. This exact statement is of special importance to us who are Europeans. It appears that the act of transplanting the Gospel to our part of the world, was not in conformity to a plan devised by men, and one which the Lord simply permitted; the apostles were, on the contrary, impelled to it against their own purposeit proceeded in a direct manner from the authoritative will of the Lord. (Williger).The name Troas (Troy) reminds us of the first famous contest between Europe and Asia, in hoary antiquity. From the places where the heroes of Greece once fought, the soldiers of Christ now go forth to the holy war, the object of which is the conquest of Greece and the whole world. (Besser).

ON THE WHOLE SECTION, Act 16:1-8.

Timotheus a model, as a youth on whom grace has been bestowed: I. The grace bestowed upon him: (a) his mother, a devout Christian, Act 16:1; (b) his associates, believing disciples, Act 16:2; (c) his teacher, Paul the apostle. II. The change wrought in him by grace: he became (a) the joy and comfort of his mother, as contradistinguished from her unbelieving husband, Act 16:1; (b) an ornament and a blessing to the Church, 1 and 2 Tim.; 2Co 1:19; Php 2:22; 1Co 16:10; (c) the hope and support of the apostle, 1Th 3:2; 2Ti 1:4. Php 2:20 ff.

The blessing which attends religion in the young.
The elevated position of devout mothers in the kingdom of God: (Hannah, the mother of Samuel; Salome, the mother of Zebedees children; Eunice, the mother of Timotheus; Monica, the mother of Augustine, etc.).

The mothers prayers, the guardian angels of her children.
Timotheus, the well trained up son, or, The joyful harvest which follows after a mothers tears: I. His mothers tears, no doubt, flowed (a) while she educated him, at a time when he was under the control of a heathen father; (b) when, as a youth, he departed from her in order to engage in a dangerous missionary service. But, II. A joyful harvest arrived: (a) the cheering progress which he made at home, (Act 16:2) in his early years; (b) his subsequent noble ripening for the service of the Lord.

Paul and Timotheus, or, The blessed bond which unites a noble teacher and a faithful disciple: it is blessed, I. For the disciple; II. For the master; III. For the world.

By what means can we, in the service of the divine word, be lawfully made all things to all men [1Co 9:22]? Act 16:3. I. When we carefully consider the spiritual wants of the hearers before us; but also, II. When human considerations do not cause us to be unfaithful to divine truth. (Lisco).

Seasons of grace in the kingdom of God (for nations, congregations, individual souls, Act 16:6-7): I. The coming of such seasons, not hastened by the will of man; II. Not retarded by any power of man.

To every thing there is a season [Ecc 3:1], illustrated in the history of the kingdom of God on earth.

Compulsion is of no avail in the kingdom of the Spirit.
Apparent obstacles in the kingdom of God, in reality the means by which its progress is promoted.

A mans heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps. (Pro 16:9; Pro 21:2).

Footnotes:

[1]Act 16:1. [ after ., of text. rec., from G. H., fathers, etc. is omitted by Lach., Tisch., and Alf., in accordance with A. B. C. D. E. Cod. Sin., many minuscules, versions, and fathers.Tr.]

[2]Act 16:4. [For , of text. rec., Lach., Tisch., and Alf. read , with A. B. C. (). E., and Cod. Sin. The reading of D., in the whole verse, varies considerably from that of the other MSS.See Winer: Gr. N. T. 14, 1. cTr.]

[3]Act 16:6. [Lach. and Tisch., with whom Meyer concurs, read, not , as in text. rec. from G. H. and most minuscules, but , with A. B. C. D. E. and also Cod. Sin., etc. Alford, with whom de Wette is inclined to concur, rejects the latter as an emendation to avoid the repeated participial clauses. Lach. and Tisch. also insert after in Act 16:7, with A. B. C. D. E. and Cod. Sin., which Alf. omits in accordance with G. H.Tr.]

[4]Act 16:7. a. B is fully attested [by A. B. C. D. E. Cod. Sin., fathers], whereas . B. [of text. rec.] is supported by only two later manuscripts [G. H.E is adopted by all the recent editors; .B is either an error of the copyists, occasioned by .M. M. which precedes, or is an intentional explanatory alteration. (Meyer).Tr.]

[5]Act 16:7. b. The text. rec. has merely [in accordance with G. H.], while the five oldest manuscripts [A. B. C (corrected).: , (original). D. E. and Cod. Sin., with Syr. Vulg. etc.] exhibit . I, which is undoubtedly the genuine reading. [I is inserted by recent editors generally, and unhesitatingly acknowledged by Meyer, de Wette, etc.Tr.]

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

CONTENTS

We are here first brought acquainted with Timothy. Paul hath a Vision to call him to Philippi. The Lord opens the Heart of Lydia. Paul and Silas are imprisoned. The Jailor is converted, Paul and Silas depart from Philippi.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: (2) Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. (3) Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek. (4) And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. (5) And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.

It is astonishing, after what is related in the preceding Chapter, and after what we read of Paul’s sentiments concerning circumcision, Gal 5:2 , that the Apostle should have so temporized in relation to Timothy. But how sweetly do all the infirmities of men, yea, and great men too, when the Lord the Spirit is our teacher, preach the glories and perfections of Christ, and our complete need of him.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

The Baffling of the Spirit

Act 16:7

Paul was on his second missionary journey when he was hindered thus by the Spirit of his Lord. He had made up his mind to go northward to Bithynia, when somehow he was Divinely checked. How the door was thus shut on him we are not told: it is one of the wise reticences of Scripture. Perhaps he was warned by some prophetic voice, or visited by irresistible conviction. On the other hand, if one prefer it so, we may think of the pressure of circumstance or health, for Paul would never have hesitated to find in these the checking power of the Holy Ghost. Whatever form the prohibition took, you may be sure it was very dark to the Apostle. Paul was not at all the kind of man who took a delight in being contradicted. When he had set his heart on going northward, not selfishly, but in the service of his Lord, it was a bitter experience to be so checked, and to have the door shut in his face.

But the point to note is that though it was dark for Paul, it is bright as the sunshine of a summer morn for us. He was never more wisely or Divinely guided than in the hour when he thought that he was baffled. What would have happened to him had the door been opened and he suffered to go into Bithynia? He would have turned away home again through lonely glens, with his back to the mighty empires of the West. He would never have landed on the shore of Europe; never have lifted up his voice in Athens; never have preached the riches of his Saviour beside the Roman palace of the Csars. Paul was a true Jew in this respect: he had no ear for the calling of the sea. He would a thousand times rather have lived in inland places than by the surge and thunder of the ocean. And it was only when every other path was barred that he was pushed unwillingly to Troas, where for him and for Europe everything was changed by the vision of the man from Macedonia. He was checkmated, and yet he won the game. He was thwarted, and it led him to his crown. Eager to advance with his good news, there rose before him the Divine ‘No Thoroughfare’. And yet that hour when he was hindered so was the hour when God was honouring him wonderfully, and leading him to such a mighty service as at his highest he had never dreamed of.

G. H. Morrison, The Return of the Angels, p. 268.

Bithynia and Jerusalem (A New Year Sermon)

Act 16:7 ; Luk 9:51

‘They assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit of Jesus suffered them not.’ ‘He set His face stedfastly to go to Jerusalem.’ We take Bithynia and Jerusalem as places in the geography of the spirit. At the beginning of a new year it is well to think where we are, about the aim and drift of our lives. The year, for multitudes of us, has been good. Many can close it with the voice of passionate praise, and in every Christian heart there should at least be a religious joy and gratitude. Life may have been higher and richer for us than we figured it in our early dreams, or, more likely, it may have been darker, and full of frustration. We love our own wills and our own forecastings often better than the better thing that has taken their place. At this stage the most successful see many failures, while others make no secret even to themselves of the fact that they have not succeeded. The kind, deceiving light no longer deceives, and the misfortunes of the past and the terrors of the future often come upon us with a fresh and sudden rush of feeling at a time when we ought to be strongest. Those who know us merely from the outside know very little. ‘It is in the soul that things happen,’ and we have appeared unto men to rejoice when the storm was loudest in our spirits. Take the life history suggested by these phrases, and see whether it has not a parallel and a lesson for us at this new year.

I. We assayed to go into Bithynia, and we could not There was an obstacle against which we beat our wings in vain. We can define Bithynia for ourselves. It recalls our aspirations, our disappointments. Most likely it means the land of outward prosperity, or it may mean the land of love, or it may mean that land in which we felt that our best work could be done. However it may have been, we were foiled. All that could be done was done, but as wave after wave falls baffled from a rock-bound coast, so all we did came to nothing. The charges of the fierce and condensed will were repulsed. Perhaps we imagine that now we see what we should have done in order to succeed. But we did not succeed, and we shall see at last that we were not meant to succeed. How large a part of life this word covers we assayed to go into Bithynia! If we could say with the sacred writer, ‘the Spirit of Jesus suffered us not,’ all might be lightly borne, but there may be twenty-five hard years between the first part of the sentence and the second. We assayed to go into Bithynia, that is all we are able to say. But the Kind Spirit suffered us not. When we can say that, the sting is drawn from the pain. But how hard it is to say it with a full and joyous sense of its truth!

II. What are we to say and do meanwhile? Let us follow the way of Jesus, who set His face steadfastly to go unto Jerusalem. Jerusalem, our dear Mother, is within our reach. It is not possible for us to attain it by way of Bithynia, as we had once hoped to do. By a rougher road and through gloomier lands we must betake ourselves to the city. But we are to seek it, and we may find it, and finding it we shall have all. So, then, we are not to chafe with restrained passion, and far less are we to suffer the passion to darken into despair. These dreams, we say, are vanished and outworn, but there is one goal we may reach. It may all end with us God grant it may in the light and triumph and peace of the city of the morning.

Nor is this journey to be pursued with mere resignation, without hope of happiness in this world. There is something that touches the heart in the homesickness of the great mediaeval writers. The appellation of man, Viator the Traveller, the application of the word Patria as a technical name for heaven, the use of such words as illic and ibi without any other explanation, as if there could be but one there to a Christian, are very notable. But life outside of Bithynia is full of merciful wonders, of gladdening surprises. Even here those who stand still may see the salvation of the Lord. There is to be no weariness of life. Dr. Maclaren has pointed out the significant connexion of the words, ‘We have an Altar…. We have no continuing city.’ We have no continuing city, that is true, but we have an Altar, and therefore we have enough for life and for praise. Much that surrounds us is not of the everlasting order, but the Altar is the Altar to which we can have recourse continually, and of which we are to eat.

Nevertheless it remains, ‘They that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country’. We are to seek Jerusalem, and to be found it must be sought. He set His face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem the words spoken of the earthly city are as true of the heavenly. That is, we must choose one life-object, and collect and concentrate our forces round it.

W. Robertson Nicoll, Sunday Evening, p. 315.

References. XVI. 7. Newman Smyth, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xlv. p. 99. A. Rowland, ibid. vol. xlvi. p. 83. Expositor (6th Series), vol. vii. p. 93. XVI. 7, 8. R. H. Coats, Baptist Times, vol. liv. p. 515. XVI. 8. J. M. Gibbon, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xliii. p. 283. XVI. 8-10. A. M. Fairbairn, ibid. vol. li. p. 273.

Visions

Act 16:9

It is not expressly said that this vision given to Paul was supernatural; but that it was so is certainly the most natural inference from the words of the historian in the tenth verse: ‘Immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us to preach the Gospel unto them’. We cannot, therefore, place quite on a level with that anything of a similar nature that may come to ourselves. But yet within certain limits we may speak of those beckonings toward future labours in life, or achievements in character, which may be given to us in God’s ordinary Providence, which become our ideals for the time, and after which we strive with all the earnestness and enthusiasm of our souls as visions not unlike that which was here given to Paul. Now concerning these visions, we may learn two things from the case of Paul in my text.

I. The first is that they commonly take their colour from the character, history, and habits, of the individual before they come to him. It is to the heart already ambitious that the visions of conquest and imperial honour come. Just as the landscape shapes itself differently according to the disposition of the spectator, seeming to one enfolded in melancholy and to another bright and jubilant with gladness, so the vision is as the soul that sees it. What a man is, therefore, has a great deal to do with determining the sort of visions which will be forceful, or if you will forgive the word, fateful in his life.

II. Visions of the kind of which I have been speaking, very largely dominate the lives of those who have received them. A man is ruled by his ideals. Now if these things be so, if our ideals dominate our lives, and if our ideal are themselves rooted in our character, habits, and history, what a powerful motive have we in these considerations for giving good heed to the character which we acquire, the habits which we form, and the history which we make. Suffer me now to gather up and preserve for you, as pointedly as I may, a few important principles worthy of being constantly remembered. (1) It is bad to have no ideal in life, for then your life will be little better than mere existence. (2) But it is worse to have a bad ideal. (3) It is a sad thing when a man has overtaken his ideal. Let us see to it, therefore, that we adopt an ideal that we shall never lose by overtaking, and that is to be found alone in the character and example of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is absolute perfection.

The Cry of the Heathen

Act 16:9

It seems strange, at first sight, that you should have here this appeal, ‘Come over… and help us’. It is Europe appealing to Asia, ‘Come over… and help us’. There was a time, doubtless, when we should not have been astonished at the appeal. Long before the time that Homer sang of Achilles and Agamemnon, Asiatic monarchs consolidated mighty empires, Asiatic sages tried to solve the mysteries of human life. But this was now all past and gone. The balance of power had passed over from the sons of Shem and the sons of Ham to the sons of Japheth. Rome had at this time long ruled the world. Greek art had spread beauty and culture. Greek philosophy had laid the foundations of many truths. And yet in this man of Macedonia, see cultured Europe crying out to despised Asia, ‘Come over… and help us’. And was it not just the help which this man of Asia could bring that Europe wanted at this time? It is so in all ages. The best help that you can give to any nation is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Greek art, Greek philosophy, Roman power all wanted this help which the Apostle Paul alone could give. Here is the cry, ‘Come over… and help us’. In what spirit are we to go?

I. We are to go, in the first place, in the spirit of faith. It is no use our going to save men unless we firmly believe that which we profess to believe. It is good advice which an American preacher gives to his young men: ‘Young men,’ he says, ‘believe your beliefs and doubt your doubts, but never fall into the habit of doubting your beliefs and believing your doubts’.

II. In the second place, you must go in the spirit of obedience, absolute surrender. We speak of crosses. Now you will never find crosses (in the plural) in the Bible. There is only one cross in the Bible, and that cross is selfsacrifice for your brother’s sake, it is the cross which Jesus Christ endured, it is the cross which He calls all His followers to take up, to sacrifice themselves for the sake of their brethren.

III. And, thirdly, you must go in the spirit of love. You must not go as a member of a superior nation. As the great General Gordon said to the three missionaries whom he welcomed at Khartoum: ‘If you want to win my people you must love my people’. And the world is calling out for such men.

E. A. Stuart, The New Commandment and other Sermons, vol. vii. p. 73.

Act 16:9

The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel was founded in the reign of William III. Dr. Stoughton says that there was prepared in 1701 ‘a symbolical seal, representing a ship in full sail, with a gigantic clergyman, half-mast high, standing by the bowsprit with an open Bible in his hands, whilst diminutive negroes, in an attitude of expectancy, are sprinkled on a hilly beach. Overhead is one of those awkward scrolls, devised to convey words uttered by the persons introduced; and here it contains in Latin the Macedonian prayer, which the little blacks are supposed to be offering: “Come over and help us”. At the top is a face surrounded by sunrays, apparently intended to denote the presence and benediction of God vouchsafed to the undertaking.’

History of Religion in England, vol. v. p. 261.

References. XVI. 9. T. J. Lawrence, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lv. p. 387. H. R. Heywood, Sermons and Addresses, p. 174. Christian World Pulpit, vol. lii. p. 67. Preacher’s Magazine, vol. xix. p. 133. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. iv. No. 189. F. W. Macdonald, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lix. p. 142. XVI. 9, 10. T. Davies, Sermonic Studies, p. 143. J. Warschauer, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lxxiii. p. 341. XVI. 10. Expositor (4th Series), vol. iii. p. 230. XVI. 10-17. Ibid. vol. vii. p. 343. XVI. 11. Ibid. (6th Series), vol. ix. p. 31. XVI. 12. E. White, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xliii. p. 374. Expositor (5th Series), vol. vi. p. 320; ibid. vol. x. p. Ill; ibid. (6th Series), vol. i. p. 105; ibid. vol. ii. p. 335. XVI. 13. Ibid. vol. iv. p. 29; ibid. vol. v. p. 22. XVI. 13, 14. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. ix. No. 544. XVI. 14. F. Bourdillon, Plain Sermons for Family Beading (2nd Series), p. 146. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxxvii. No. 2222. XVI. 14, 15. H. Woodcock, Sermon Outlines (1st Series), p. 83. XVI. 19. B. J. Snell, The All-Enfolding Love, p. 113. XVI. 23. Expositor (4th Series), vol. x. p. 17. XVI. 28. J. Reid, Preacher’s Magazine, vol. xix. p. 73. XVI. 29. H. S. Holland, Old and New, p. 23. XVI. 29-31. F. D. Maurice, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 255. A. Bradley, Sermons Chiefly on Character, p. 94. XVI. 30 H. S. Holland, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xliii. p. 337. C. Perren, Revival Sermons in Outline, p. 278. R. W. Hiley, A Year’s Sermons, vol. iii. p. 35. R. W. Church, Village Sermons, p. 47. T. Arnold, Sermons, vol. i. p. 1. W. E. Skinner, A Book of Lay Sermons, p. 261.

Paul and Silas

Act 16:30

We read that one of the early Methodists, John Nelson, was flung into a filthy dungeon at Bradford. He says: ‘My soul was so filled with the love of God that it was a paradise to me. I wished my enemies were as happy in their houses as I was in the dungeon.’

A New History of Methodism, vol. 1. p. 315.

Assurance of Salvation

Act 16:30-31

I. To be saved by Christ means that He brings in His hand to the penitent soul a pardon signed and sealed for the offences of the past. It may be admitted at once that no one understands the full meaning of the Atonement, and that no genius has as yet been able to construct a theory which leaves no difficulty to the thoughtful mind. Nevertheless, thank God! we receive our pardon not from any theory of the Atonement, but by reason of the fact of it; and even if no other statement had been made by the Saviour when He came, this should have been enough ‘The Son of man is come to give His life for many,’ for the sins of the whole world.

II. Belief in our Lord Jesus Christ admits us into a fresh power of life. Heaven is not full of merely pardoned felons, but of holy saints, and we become holy by the life of Christ within us.

III. A living faith in Jesus Christ lights up the valley of the shadow of death, and dissipates the pessimism of the man who seems to see everything lying under the dominion of ruthless chance. Do we ask how this great moral miracle comes to pass? Simply because Christ Himself is to the faithful as a great rock in a weary land.

Bishop Winnington-Ingram, Under the Dome, p. 86.

References. XVI. 30, 31. A. Maclaren, After the Resurrection, p. 281. J. Warschauer, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lxxiii. p. 243. XVI. 31. J. T. O’Brien, The Nature and the Effects of Faith, p. 1. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. vi. No. 293. F. B. Woodward, Sermons (1st Series), p. 22. O. Bronson, Sermons, p. 165. XVI. 32-34. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xvii. No. 1019. XVI. 33. J. Wright, The Guarded Gate, p. 67. XVI. 33, 34. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxxviii. No. 2275. XVII. 1. F. D. Maurice, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 269. Expositor (6th Series), vol. iv. p. 33. XVII. 1-3. T. Binney, King’s Weigh-House Chapel Sermons, p. 113. XVII. 2, 3. G. F. Irwin, The Record, vol. xxvii. p. 732. XVII. 3. Expositor (4th Series), vol. ii. pp. 110, 256; ibid. (6th Series), vol. ix. p. 123. XVII. 6. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. iv. No. 193. R. S. Drummond, Faith’s Certainties, p. 361.

Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson

Chapter 53

Prayer

Almighty God, our heart is full of praise, and our tongues would bless thee in thine own house, in the morning light of thine own day. This is our joy in Christ thy Son; in him alone have we liberty, because in him alone we have pardon and purity. We would that our liberty might grow into our highest joy, so that, though standing in the decrees of God, we might feel upon us the warm sunshine of infinite love. We would be thine, and therefore truly our own. We would derive our proprietorship from God, and hold ourselves at thy gracious bidding; thou art Sovereign, but thou art also Father, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, whom he revealed and represented, and to whom he called us by the words of his teaching and by the pathos of his death. By thy good Spirit we have accepted and obeyed the call, and now we are all here before God to acknowledge our sin, to mention our mercies by name, and to praise the Lord with a loud and unanimous hymn for all his tender compassions. Thou hast kept our house about us, our table has been spread, the birds have sung in our roof-tree, and the fire has gone up to heaven whence it came, as if consciously obedient; in our bed we have found sleep, and our tired eyes have been brightened again by rest; the staff is not broken, there is still meal in the barrel, and oil in the cruse; thou hast blessed us, and we will bless thee, yea, our whole life shall be a doxology never ceasing, always increasing. We are the guests of God, we eat at his table, we sleep in his arms, we awake within the circle of his love, and we go in and out because of his almightiness. Break our hearts where they are hard! Destroy our will where it is not thine own; put thy sword through every evil desire, and cut in two every purpose that is not rooted in wisdom and in love. May the weak man or woman become strong; to the perplexed give an unexpected answer of grace; to the heavy-laden give strength that shall carry the burden as a plaything; to those who are out of the way, burdened with darkness that has no limits, cold with winter wind blowing from all points of inclement heaven, send warmth from thine own hidden fire; to those who cannot pray in words send the spirit of supplication. Thou knowest us altogether, and in that fact we find our rest. We are here but for a little time. To-morrow we shall be gone, and the place that knoweth us now shall know us no more for ever; the air is full of farewells; the earth opens itself to offer the hospitality of death, and we are hastening like a post, flying like a shuttle, vanishing like a cloud; there is no figure in all thy universe to represent the instability of our present life! We now take hold of hands, and take hold of hearts, and as one man, standing at the Cross, invoking the name that is above every name, we give ourselves to thee! Seal us, give us the spirit of adoption, help us to say with the heart, Father! let the last cruel link of Satan’s iron chain fall away from our life, and give us liberty! Amen.

Act 16:1-5

1. And he came also to Derbe [reversing his former progress along the same road, which he now entered upon through the “Cilician Gates,” a huge fissure in Taurus, 80 miles long] and to Lystra: and behold, a certain disciple was there [at Lystra, see Act 14:19 ], named Timothy, the son of a Jewess [Eunice, 2Ti 1:5 ], which believed [G. a “female Jewish believer”], but his father was a Greek [G. “Greek”].

2. The same was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.

3. Him would Paul have to go forth with him [Silas for Barnabas and Timothy for young John Mark]; and he took and circumcised him [did it himself, as every Jew might, Luk 1:59 ], because of the Jews [the illiberal party among the Jews forbad Jewesses as well as Jews to marry Gentiles, and accounted the offspring of such as did illegitimate. They had therefore not circumcised Timothy, while those of their party who had joined the Jerusalem Church insisted upon the circumcision of the Gentile Titus. The liberal Jews, on the contrary, allowed Jewesses to marry Gentile husbands, and circumcised their male offspring on the principle ” partus sequitur ventrem .” These would be the kind of persons Paul hoped to convert. So far from being inconsistent, Paul was as emphatically opposed to Judaistic bigotry when he circumcised the Jewish youth Timothy as he was when he refused to circumcise the Gentile youth Titus [ Gal 2:3 ] that were in those parts [see Act 15:21 ]: for they all [both parties of the Jews] knew that his father was a Greek.

4. And as they went on their way through the cities, they delivered them the decrees [ Luk 2:1 ] for to keep, which had been ordained of the apostles and elders [cf. Act 15:1 and Act 15:2 , with Act 15:24 ] that were at Jerusalem.

5. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.

Incidental Aspects of Apostolic Life

PAUL took Silas with him, but still there was a sense in which he must have been alone. He could not give up a man like Barnabas and think no more about him; we cannot shake off our old associations and pay no heed to the sweet and tender memories of the time that is gone. He who can forget old friends is no Apostle of Jesus Christ. Besides, Paul was going, as he himself phrased it, “again” unto churches where he had ministered, and into churches which he himself had founded. The people would ask questions whatever he himself might resolve to do; they would wonder who the stranger was; they would ask about Barnabas. Here is a side of life that we may but indicate, and dare not attempt to reveal or exhaust. Awkward questions are asked about old friends, old service, and old associations. A man suddenly asks you how you like your church life now, and you have to say, perhaps, that you have given it up. The man is then sorry that he asked the question, nevertheless it cut you in your very soul like a sword with two edges, so that the drawing out of it was as cruel as the putting of it in. We ask questions that open graves and heart-wounds and memories we wish to seal up and leave until the fuller light shall come which shall bring warmth and comfort as well as revelation. The man who has not seen you for years asks you how that sweet little boy of yours is, and it seems to you incredible that a grief that filled your house with darkness had not made itself known to him who was your friend. You say he has passed through the gate into the city. Your friend is sorry that he touched your wound almost ruthlessly, but he meant it in love, and you excuse him. Paul could not go over the old ground without the Churches saying “And Barnabas?” What must Paul’s answer have been? He was a faithful man, true as steel, pure as gold refined: he knew not the genius of equivocation and the fine art of telling lies. In such questions and such answers he might find the chastening and correction needed by his fervid temper. We have to account for old associations being ruptured, we have to explain new faces and new relationships. Happy would Paul have been if he had said: “We have agreed to part, we thought it better for the interests of our common cause. Barnabas has gone in one way, and I have gone in another, and when we meet, will not the day be Sabbath day, and our conversation warm as the love of heaven?”

Paul came to Derbe and Lystra. “And behold, a certain disciple was there named Timotheus.” Long ago we read in these pages that the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man whose name was Saul. Thus we begin. We begin in obscurity, we are pointed at as hardly to be identified, to be seen rather as men in the shape of clouds, than really living figures. A tree does not show its roots. If the foolish tree could be taking itself up in order to show its antecedents, it would soon be killed. Our root life must be hidden, and all that we have to do is so to lift ourselves up in God’s light and rain, as to bring forth leaf and bud and blossom and luscious strengthening fruit. “Herein is my father glorified, that ye bring forth much fruit.” We may be now nothing more than” certain disciples” named without a name, revealing an unknown name to show that it was a name unknown. But we may still be disciples, scholars, learners, students, inquirers, eagerly waiting for more light, and sometimes almost irrationally impatient with the sun for not shining more brightly upon the page we are anxiously perusing. We can never be more than “disciples”; the saints are disciples, so are the angels, yea, the archangels that by Divine sovereignty were permitted to break up Divine solitude are still disciples! The point can never stretch itself across the whole line, the finite must ever be position without magnitude, sustaining no appreciable relation as to magnitude to the Infinite! We shall always be obscure in the universe. Timotheus attains to great fame in the little place that gave him birth, and becomes quite a well-known man in larger spaces; but in relation to the universe, the empire of stars and planets, the kingdom of constellations and of sky upon sky full of radiant cities of God, why, Paul himself is an unknown name! We find our joy in discipleship. It is enough for us to have the Book, to be reading it; and whenever we turn over a page we celebrate a birthday. Read on, poor old pilgrim; trim thy glasses, dull with the dew of tears, and look again; thou shalt have young eyes by-and-by, and begin to read quite freshly; there is no old age in heaven!

“The son of a certain woman which was a Jewess… but his father was a Greek.” Happy man, to stand between two civilizations! This was an honour which in his early years Timotheus could not appreciate; but could any relationship be sublimer? Greek for a father, and Jewess for a mother! What must the boy have been? Two such fires meeting in his blood; two such histories recounting themselves in articulate eloquence in his memory! What his inward ear must have heard! What stirrings there must have been in his soul! How able to look well round him and to understand, distantly and somewhat indistinctly, it may be, the mystery of Law and the mystery of Beauty! His religion might go up into superstition, his philosophy might develop into scepticism and sneering; if he touched Christ, he touched One who to the Jew was a stumbling-block and to the Greek foolishness, but to the believing Timothy the power of God and the wisdom of God. We ourselves know somewhat of this double relationship in life. Your mother prayed your father never prayed; or your father was a believer and your mother had no faith. You are a child of the night and of the day, and you feel it, and sometimes you are plunged in the darkness of the one parentage, and sometimes you are away on the bright broad wings of the other into the light. To the world, not understanding that your mother was Jewish and your father Greek, you are a contradiction and a mystery. But is it possible that a Jewess could marry a Greek? I should have said, No, but for what you have done; you make it possible to believe that a Jewess may have married a Greek. I have know a religious man marry a woman who never prayed; that is a greater miracle than a Jewess marrying a Greek. I have known a Christian woman marry an alien who had sung her hymns in hypocrisy that he might impose upon her credulity. There is, therefore, no difficulty whatever, after English experience, in believing that long centuries since a woman who was a Jewess married a man who was a Greek.

Timothy “was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.” Character is very subtle. Timothy never asked any man to speak well of him, and yet no man could speak ill of the youth. We must not ask for characters, we must so live as to be indisputably trusted and honoured. Do not appeal to one another’s charitable judgment for a character, but so live that character will come. Character grows; character has its own seed in itself; character is not put on; it develops, increases, shows itself without ostentation, and throws a subtle claim upon confidence without ever pandering for patronage. Young man, you who are as young as Timothy was at the time of the text, your character is known. Do not suppose you are living in darkness; men say of you, “We cannot account for it, but that young man excites suspicion”; we cannot lay our finger upon one thing he ever did, to our knowledge, that is wrong, but ” and then come the indications which cannot easily be put into words, but which are so expressive as to leave no doubt of the speaker’s deepest meaning. On the other hand, thank God, every hill has a sunny side. Men are regarding other youths one by one, saying, “He is true,” “He is honest,” “He is to be trusted,” “He is energetic,” “He is persevering”; “We cannot give you dates and facts, but our whole feeling about him is that he is sound as an oak.” Live your character; do not be painted as good men, but paint your own character in your own blood. The true man cannot be hidden though he be in a bush; he will burn through it and attract the notice of wandering men and speak to them the Divine mysteries.

“Him would Paul have to go forth with him.” Paul could not do without youth. Had not Paul Silas along with him? Yes; but he said, I must have a young voice near me; I like the ring of young speech. I wanted to bring Mark, who was young enough, but I could not bring myself to accept his association, any more than I could persuade myself to bring a staff that was broken in the middle; but I love youth. A young man can run, a young man is not burdened with a sense of his own respectability; a young man is here, and there, and yonder, and back again before we know well what instructions we have given to him. God bless the young life! Paul must have a boy with him, a disciple, one who was spelling out letters and words of one syllable, but whose young blood was aflame with sacred and sacrificial enthusiasm. He proved himself to be an Apostle by his love of the young. There are those who would snub the youthful soul, who would not permit him to be seen or to be heard. Paul loved the young, took them with him, and would never give them up so long as they were true; but if ever they began to shake in his hands and prove themselves fickle, he would give them up and their uncle Barnabas with them. He must have steadfastness, faithfulness, resoluteness; a soldier could not do with a coward; only be true, and Paul would be your lifelong friend.

He took and circumcised Timothy. This from Paul, who would not circumcise Titus! But the reason is given: “because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.” Timotheus was partially of Jewish descent; it was therefore no breach of the Apostle’s stern policy that, under circumstances so peculiar, he should respect a temporary prejudice. Now they start, Paul, and Silas, and Timotheus. “And as they went through the cities they delivered them the decrees for to keep that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.” Do not be afraid of the word “Decrees” in this connection. We have seen what those decrees were; they were decrees of liberty. What they signed was the Magna Charta of the Church; not a set of opinions, dogmas, superstitions, and decrees which were to bind down the human mind and fetter and overweight men’s aspirations, but they were decisions pointing in the direction of ever-widening liberty and light. It was freedom centred in God and in the Cross of Christ. Christ’s followers are not lawless; they have decrees to keep. The spirit of authority is the spirit of rest when it brings with it the assurance that the authority is not arbitrary but rational, not local but universal, not imperfect but Divine.

“So were the Churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.” These are the true results which must accompany every true mission. The results are two in number edification first, and evangelization second. The word was established, the numbers increased. That is a true report of true work. Men must go from church saying, That is right; this Gospel is better than was at first imagined; this truth is larger, warmer, fuller than our awakened fancy had conceived it possible. Every Sabbath day must find us at its close a Sabbath day’s journey nearer home. “The number was increased.” In every Christian discourse there should be some word of welcome to outsiders. The guest table is not yet filled; David’s place is empty. There is a chair for you; why do you not come to the King’s table? Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. Why spend your strength for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Why try to feed upon the wind? Why sow seed upon the wide sea as if you could turn the troubled waters into a harvest-bearing field? Why attempt to do the impossible? Hear Christ’s great and sweet word, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Thus when the sun sets today and stars come trooping out one by one an assembly of light we shall be able to say, speaking to our reigning Lord in the high heavens, Thy saints are established, and their number is increased!

Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker

XXIII

PAUL’S SECOND MISSIONARY TOUR,

OR THE GOSPEL CARRIED INTO EUROPE

Act 15:40-16:40 .

The second missionary tour of Paul includes all of that part of Act 15:40-18:22 . Let us trace on the map this entire tour. Starting at Antioch they passed through a part of Syria, Cilicia (following the line on the map), then to Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, Pisidia, and then to the Galatian churches proper, Pessinus, Ancyra, and Tavium, then over against Mysia, where an attempt was made to go into Bithynia and into Mysia, but the Spirit forbade, and they came on down to Troas, across from Troas, having passed Mysia to the seaport to Philippi, then from Philippi they went to Thessalonica and to Berea. There Paul leaves his company, part of which comes to Athens by sea; from Athens he goes to Corinth, and from Corinth he sails to Ephesus, from Ephesus he returns to Caesarea, to Jerusalem, and then to Antioch again. That outlines the tour.

Luke’s account of this tour is found in Act 15:40-18:22 . There are many parallel accounts in Paul’s letters, which will by the tour was about three and a half years, about A.D. 51-54. The great general event of the tour is the carrying of the gospel into Europe. The preceding events, though of great moment and covering much time, are briefly sketched that the author may hasten to his chief theme. We are dependent on Paul’s letters for a knowledge of those details, otherwise we could not construct a connected narrative, and even these do not supply details for much of the tour.

A striking characteristic of this tour is the addition to Paul’s party from time to time of famous fellow workers, each of whom will be noticed in proper connection. Equally striking is the fact, developed in this tour, and everywhere manifest in the next tour, that the questions decided at Jerusalem and Antioch, while authoritatively settled, were not practically settled. It was a bitter and desperate fight throughout Paul’s life, and in some form had persisted through all Christian history, and is a living issue today of very great magnitude.

In the study of this tour, we must also decide in some way or other, and as well as may be, certain historical questions involving no little textual critics, relative to the work in Galatia. The decision depends upon the weight of probabilities, and leaves room for honest differences of judgment. We cannot hope to consider all the matters of this tour in one chapter. This would be to leave the reader without a clear understanding of some of the most important matters in the Bible. We must take time for study sufficiently thorough to enable one to teach a Sunday school class at least in this part of the New Testament.

This tour originated in a suggestion of Paul to revisit the brethren in all the cities evangelized on the first tour to see how they fared (Act 15:36 ). We have already noted (Act 14:21-23 ) a return visit to all the churches established then, to confirm them; to exhort them to continue in the faith, to warn them to expect tribulation, and to provide them with a local ministry. This he did not consider sufficient. They were babes in Christ, without experience or training enough to safely care for themselves. And the lesson has already been emphasized that convert culture was stressed by Paul as an essential and important part of missionary work. He did not consider missions to be like marking and branding cattle, and then turning them out to scatter over a fenceless range. They needed to be horded, fed, and rounded up enough to know where home was. It was economy to strengthen weak churches.

All mission work, in order to become permanent and self-sustaining, calls for general evangelists, not free lances given to sentimental slush, but men of character, mighty in doctrine, and sound in church polity.

Moreover, Paul was eager to carry to these churches the decision of the Jerusalem conference; to hedge against similar trouble on his beloved mission field. It was this care for all the new churches established that constituted the bulk and weight of Paul’s crushing burden. Two fires burned unquenchable in his soul: “I must go forward to the regions beyond; I must go back and see how they fare behind me.”

The reader will observe that Paul, when he started on this tour, had no thought of Europe. But Luke, writing afterward, barely glances at this confirming work, and rushes the narrative into Europe. How little do any of us know when we start out where we will land! Be like Paul; let the Spirit guide. Hold your life loosely in his hands.

What was accomplished in Syria and Cilicia is given in Act 15:40-41 . In two verses Luke disposes of the work in Syria and Cilicia, “confirming the churches.” These churches were probably planted by Paul in his early ministry (Act 9:30 ; Act 26:20 ; Act 11:26 ). What was accomplished in the churches of Lycaonia and Phrygia, viz.: Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, is given in Act 16:1-5 . In two verses (Act 16:4-5 ) Luke tells us that as they went through these cities, they delivered to them, to be observed by them, the decision of the Jerusalem Conference, and so the churches were established in the faith, and increased daily. But one far-reaching event at Lystra he notes more particularly Paul’s finding of Timothy, the good report of him by two churches, his circumcision by Paul, and his accession to the mission band. Both Titus and Timothy were fruits of the first missionary tour. From Paul’s letters we gather very important additional matter about this great evangelist, who was nearer to Paul’s heart than any other co-laborer of his life. Let us sum up the general facts about him: His father was a Greek; his mother was a Jewess (Act 16:1 ). His mother’s name was Eunice and his grandmother’s name was Lois. They were devout people, and had carefully instructed the child in the Holy Scriptures (2Ti 3:15 ). When Paul preached at Lystra, on the first tour, the grandmother was first converted, then the mother, then the boy (2Ti 1:5 ). Paul calls Timothy “my beloved child,” “my true child in faith” (2Ti 1:1 ; 1Ti 1:2 ). “My beloved and faithful child” (1Co 4:17 ).

On his return to Lystra, Paul finds Timothy very active in Christian service in his own home church (Act 16:1-2 ). Certain prophets in the church had foretold by inspiration that he would be a great preacher (1Ti 1:18 ). The churches at Lystra and Iconium, where he had labored, united in his commendation (Act 16:2 ). As Paul had long desired a companion to take the place vacated by Mark, he selected Timothy for this place, and that his ministry might not be handicapped among the Jews, he circumcised him (Act 16:3 ). And on the approval of the churches, he was ordained by a regular presbytery, Paul participating, to the office of an evangelist (2Ti 4:5 ). As the hands of the presbytery were laid upon him, the gift of the Holy Spirit came upon him. There is no New Testament evidence that he ever became a pastor, notwithstanding the postscript to 2 Timothy in the common version, or did other work than that of an evangelist, often, however, acting in this capacity as the apostolic delegate, with all the authority of such delegation, as at Ephesus (1Ti 1:3 ). He was a kingdom preacher rather than pastor of a particular church. From this ordination till Paul’s death, he was the most beloved, the most faithful, and the most efficient of all, Paul’s co-laborers. Paul’s love toward him, care for him, and appreciation of him were unbounded, and bear this testimony: “As a child serveth a father, so he served with me in the gospel” (Phi 2:22 ).

The modern young preacher cannot do better than to study Timothy, and Paul’s exhortations to him, to find a model of ministerial character and fidelity. An orderly summary of his further connection with Paul is as follows:

1. Becoming Paul’s inseparable companion, except as directed elsewhere by Paul, he labored with his great leader in that trying period of sickness and success among the Galatians, described in Gal 4:15-20 .

2. At Philippi (Phi 2:22 ; Act 16:12-40 ).

3. At Thessalonica and Berea and was left at Berea (Act 17:14 ).

4. Rejoins Paul at Athens, and was sent back to Thessalonica (Act 17:15 and 1Th 3:2 ).

5. Rejoins Paul at Corinth (Act 17:15 ; Act 18:5 ; 1Th 3:2 ), and brings the news from Thessalonica that occasions the first letter to that church, Timothy being associated with him in sending the letter. The second letter follows.

6. Timothy remains with Paul throughout the rest of this tour, and on the third tour till he was sent to Corinth during the great meeting at Ephesus (1Co 4:17 ; 1Co 16:10 ).

7. From Corinth he returned to Ephesus with the news that led to the second letter to the Corinthians.

8. Near the close of the Ephesian meeting, Paul sends Timothy to Macedonia (Act 19:20 ), where Paul joined him.

9. At Corinth he sends salutations in Paul’s letter to the Romans (Rom 16:21 ).

10. With Paul, Timothy returns from this third tour (Act 20:4 ), yet Timothy went ahead as far as Troas, and they were there together.

11. From Troas, Timothy and the rest of Paul’s company go by sea to Assos (Act 20:13-14 ), and take up Paul, who had traveled thither by land from Troas.

12. It is probable that Timothy did not go with Paul beyond Miletus on this return trip, as intimated in Act 20:4 , but he was with Paul in his first Roman imprisonment and joined in the letters to the Philippians, Philemon, and Colossians (Phi 1:1 ; Phi 2:10 , Phm 1:1 ; Col 1:1 ). But was arrested there, and so not associated with the letter to the Ephesians. Shortly, however, he was liberated, as mentioned in the letter to the Hebrews (Heb 13:23 ).

13. In the last tour of Paul (not mentioned in Acts) Timothy was left at Ephesus (1Ti 1:3 ), while Paul went the last time into Macedonia.

14. Paul was again arrested, taken to Rome and there, just before his martyrdom, wrote the second letter to Timothy (2Ti 1:2 ).

In considering the work in Galatia, we are bound to take up that historical question that involves some textual criticism, viz.: Where were the churches of Galatia to which Paul wrote his letters, and when did he establish those churches? Dr. Ramsay’s contention is that Paul in speaking of Galatia, simply means a Roman province, not confining it to the ethnological founders; that it covered Galatia proper, part of Pisidia, and a part of Lycaonia, and, therefore that the churches of Galatia to which he wrote the letters were the churches of Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch in Pisidia, and hence the work done there, if that contention be correct, is the work that we have already discussed in the first tour.

That is a new contention, and a whole book of great research is devoted to sustaining that proposition, and one of the texts cited to support it is this passage in Act 16:6 . We do not get the thought from the King James Version. The Greek of that is this: “When they had gone through the Phrygian [an adjective] and Galatian country.” Dr. Ramsay says that that text proves his contention; that to call it the Galatian country some people might think it meant ethnological Galatia, that is, Galatia, according to the population; but to call it the Phrygian and Galatian country, it would mean that part of Phrygia which Galatia was made to include under the Roman Empire, and would prove that the churches of Phrygia and Galatia were the churches of Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch.

That is a strong point, but my objection to it is that Luke does not follow, even half the time, the names according to a map of the Roman Empire. He follows one according to peoples. His Galatia is Galatia proper; hence he has his Lycaonia, and he has his Mysia, following the ethnological peoples of the places. Nearly all commentators contend that the churches of Galatia were churches in Galatia proper. Here are the three great towns: Pessinus, Ancyra, and Tavium; they belonged to Galatia proper. If those commentators were right, and I think they were, then Paul’s whole work in Galatia is summed up here by Luke in half a verse: “When they had gone throughout Phrygia and Galatia.” That is all he says about it. He doesn’t tell what is done. He doesn’t belong to the party then, but he joins the party a little later, just before they go over to Philippi. He just touched the most important points until they got to this place, where Luke joined the party. From that time on he puts the bulk of the work in Europe.

Galatia is the same as Gallia. When Caesar says, “Gaul is divided into three parts,” that is the same as if he had said, “All Galatia is divided into three parts.” The inhabitants of this body of country were genuine Gauls. In modern times we would call them French. They were Celts, a very different class of people from the Germans. They are a lively, cheerful, dancing, singing, mercurial people. They are the people that settled Wales, and they have these characteristics there today. They also settled Ireland, and that’s the Irishman of today lively in imagination, but not stable. They are quick to take up a thing, and just as quick to turn it loose.

What led Paul to preach to those people? An overwhelming sickness took possession of him, probably that acute disease of the eyes. His suffering was very great. He tells about it in his letter to these churches, and he says that they were very good to him. They received him as though he was an angel from heaven he says, “You were so compassionate with me that you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me, so that I could have seen better.” The meeting there was attended with all those demonstrations that signified the recent meetings in Wales great enthusiasm. People came up shouting; they may have had some shakes, as in the early Methodist meetings; surely it was a regular storm meeting over there. That is the way they received him. Another fact is that some Judean people teachers came over and told these people that Paul was not an ordained apostle; that he never saw Jesus Christ in the flesh; that he was subordinate to others, and to the Jews, and there were a great many who said, “His gospel is not first-class. If you want to get the right thing, you hear James, or Peter.” And those Galatians mercurial fellows that they were went over to that other crowd. Paul hears about it, and he writes his letter, saying:

“O foolish Galatians, who did bewitch you, that you should turn away from that which I have preached unto you, and turn to the weak and beggarly elements of the world? I would like to ask you a question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by works of the law, when I was among you, or did you receive it by faith, and having commenced in the Spirit, is it right now to try to consummate it in works according to the old ceremonial Mosaic law? That is incongruous. If you commence in the Spirit, you must go on in the Spirit!” He says, “These people have made merchandise of you. When I was among you, I set Christ before you, as evidently crucified, and you accepted it as if an angel from heaven had preached it. Now I stand in doubt; it looked as though you were converted people, but I am not sure of it now. If you were converted people, how could you turn back so quickly?” Gal 4 shows us what his work up there was, which Acts doesn’t mention at all. Luke just puts it in half of a verse.

Timothy was with him there. The letter to the Galatians is a flashlight from heaven. It contains more parts of the history of the New Testament than any other equal amount of the Word of God. That is the reason Luther hugged that book to his heart. He based his reform on the letter to the Galatians. So Paul had great success in Galatia.

There is a strange guidance of the Holy Spirit on this tour. The record of it is set forth in Act 16:6-8 . Physically, Paul was nearly dead. He had been very sick, almost unto death, in that Galatian meeting. Now he starts from it to come down to Proconsular Asia. The Spirit says, “No, you can’t go there this time.” He will go there next time, but he does not let him go there this time. Then when he gets up to the province of Mysia, he says that his mind inclined him to go into Bithynia. The Spirit barred the way, saying, “Not now.” And so passing from Mysia without stopping, not knowing where he will go, they come down to Troy.

There was a time when Greece invaded Troy and wiped it off the face of the map. See Homer and Vergil. Now Paul goes to Troy, very sick, and he sees in a dream-vision away across the Aegean Sea a colossal, gigantic figure Macedonia. It is Greece appealing to Troy; it is Europe calling to Asia for the gospel; and he sees that figure with outstretched hands and hears him say: “Come over into Macedonia and help us. We belong to the human race; we have had no gospel.” Maybe that is why the Spirit would not let him go into Bithynia and would not let him go into Asia, but brought him to the edge of the sea, across which is Macedonia.

It was the most stupendous event in history, apart from the crucifixion of Christ the carrying of the gospel into Europe. After the work in Asia and Africa had surely passed away, Europe took up the work until “the course of empire took its way” across the ocean and brought the gospel to America, and now America is taking it up and is carrying it into all parts of the world. This event revolutionized history.

There was a remarkable accession to the party at Troas. It was Luke, who was a physician. Paul calls him “the beloved physician.” Unquestionably he also was an evangelist. Paul wants him to join the party to take care of his broken down body. Luke becomes a traveling surgeon with Paul, and we know that he went with Paul over to Philippi; that he remained there till Paul comes back there to return to Asia, and that Luke went with him all the way to Rome, the physician still with him with him when arrested in Jerusalem, with him in Caesarea, and probably at Caesarea Luke wrote his Gospel. Paul was there two years with him. Luke was with him on that voyage to Rome.

Take your Bible and look up the word “Luke” and, gathering all together, sum it up. But the books do not follow in order of time. For instance, Romans, then 1 and 2 Corinthians; they come first in the Bible, but 1 and 2 Thessalonians come first in time, then 1 and 2 Corinthians, then Galatians, and next Romans. If you can get your books arranged right, and connect them on that plan, you will get the order. There is no difficulty in that question, except the order. Now you see from that a very important accession to the party is Luke. They cross the sea and come to Neapolis, the seaport, and then come on to Philippi.

The Romans, having conquered the Greek Empire, divided this country into provinces, making Philippi one of the chief cities. Achaia represented that part of Greece that is the Peloponnesus, almost an island, where Athens and Corinth are. Philippi was a city of some importance before the Romans got possession of the country, but after they had conquered it, the Romans themselves had a big fight with each other after Julius Caesar was assassinated. Augustus Caesar became emperor, but not until the downfall of the other triumvirate. Augustus Caesar associated himself with men to help him gain the empire. When Julius Caesar was assassinated, Brutus and Cassius (who were among the conspirators) raised a war in order to make Rome a republic, as it used to be, and the last fight for the republic was at this town called Philippi. After the battle was lost, Brutus and Cassius committed suicide on the field of battle, and on account of the great triumph, the Romans made that city a colony.

I have already described a Roman colony thus: It consists of a body of citizens of the people of Rome, who, in a body, retain their names on the muster rolls of Rome, and the city is governed just exactly like the city of Rome. That accounts for the fact here that magistrates governed the city, and they were followed by lictors, who executed the will of the magistrates, and each lictor carried a bundle of rods. When they punished, they did not bother with scourging. When you see the account of being punished with rods, that is Roman; when forty stripes save one are given, that is Jewish. Philippi was a Roman city, then, and very few Jews were there. How do we know? Because no synagogue was there. All that they had was a little prayer chapel, just outside of the city on the river bank. The King James version says, “Where prayer was wont to be made.” The Greek says, “Where was a prayer-chapel.” There were not enough people to have a synagogue, and they had to content themselves with a little prayer-chapel outside the city. This shows that very few Jews were there. It was like a little mission station, away out of the city, with about one and a half men in it, and twelve women. That explains how that, when they went to the first meeting, they found women there.

There were some marvelous events in connection with the work in Philippi. The first event is the first conversion in Europe. Paul went to that prayer meeting and found some women there, and commenced talking to them, and the record says that the Lord opened the heart of Lydia so that she attended to the things spoken by Paul. Lydia was a visitor from Thyatira, over in Asia. She was a fine business woman, and her business took her there. She was a Jewish proselyte. Let the preachers please notice:

“Whose heart the Lord opened to give heed unto the things which were spoken by Paul.”

That shows that our greatest need in preaching is to get attention. When a colonel gives out his first word in drilling a battalion, it is, “Attention, battalion!” We have to get good attention before we can get them to do anything. A preacher goes into a city immersed in politics, or business, or pleasure; they do not know anything about him; he gets no attention. Here comes the antecedent work of the Holy Spirit. Where does Lydia’s attention come from? The Lord opened her heart. Here we see just how it was done. Do not say that because Lydia attended to Paul that the Lord opened her heart, as so many want to construe that other scripture, saying, “All that believe are ordained to eternal life,” which reads: “And as many as were ordained to eternal life, believed” (Act 13:48 ). Take notice that God hits first every time that grace, from its incipiency to its consummation in glory, carries out the work of salvation. It does not start with us.

If salvation had waited for us to start it, it never would have been started. It always starts with God.

And Lydia was baptized. The work looked like it would stop just on the fringe of the town, in a little Jewish prayer meeting. If the devil had not been so big a fool, it would have stopped right there. But the devil had possession of a maiden who was demon-possessed, and this maiden was a fortuneteller, a sorceress, a diviner, and seeing the value of her power, no matter who did the work, they did not care about that whether God or the devil they saw that money could be made out of that maiden. They formed a syndicate and bought her, and her value to them was that the demon possessed her mind. Oh, the greed of money! That men would form a company, patronizing the work of the devil to rake in a big pile of shekels! For under the devil’s influence this maiden wanted to be associated with such men as Paul, Luke, Silas, and Timothy, and as they would go to prayer meeting, she would follow along after them. The people would see them, and she would turn to the people and say, “These men just ahead are the great power of God.” She wanted to be associated in mind with these workers. And there is not a business on the earth that will not call you a good fellow if you just stand before the people as if you were a “hail, fellow, well met.” If you wink at whiskey-selling, at gambling, at the vices, at the sabbath-breaking, they will cover you with flowers, and the newspapers will notice you, saying, “There is a broad preacher.”

But Paul was not willing to be associated in the public mind with the devil, and he commanded the devil to come out, and when the demon came out she was not worth a cent to them. Their capital that they had invested was all gone. When men see their capital going, no matter what kind of evil business it is invested in whenever they see that business knocked in the head by the gospel they are going to fight and not be very scrupulous. So they grabbed these preachers and took them before the magistrates. They did not say a word about casting that demon out of the maiden, but they came and made this accusation: “These men, being Jews, have greatly disturbed this Roman city, and teach customs not lawful for us to observe, being Romans. The grass will grow in Philippi if you let these men go on; the whole business of the town will be killed.” You get a city stirred up on that, and it will howl. And the magistrates had the lictors to take Paul and Silas and beat them whip them like slaves. They then put them in jail, charging the jailer to keep them safely. That night, at midnight, with no light, their feet in the stocks, their backs bruised, death coming tomorrow, they prayed. That is a time for men to pray. They can do nothing. God can do anything. They pray, and right in close connection with that prayer comes an earthquake. The infidel will tell you that it was a coincidence; faith will tell you that the earthquake was God’s answer to the prayer. That is the way he had of answering it. The prison doors were all thrown open, and that jailer, supposing all the prisoners were gone, put his sword toward his heart. He was a Roman, and had received a charge; his prisoners were gone; he would kill himself when all hope was lost: “Brutus and Cassius committed suicide right out there on the battlefield and why may not I?” and with the point of the sword on his heart comes the word of the gospel “Do thyself no harm.” Man has no right to harm himself. Other people may harm you, then you cannot help it. A man may set fire to your house while you are away, but don’t you go home and set fire to it. Some vile whisperer may put shame on the honor of your wife or sister, but don’t you do it. Never put your signature to your own dishonor. Let the world do what it will, but don’t you be the author of your own shame.

I took that as a text in the prohibition campaign of 1887, and preached all over Texas on it: That a man had no right to harm himself, because of his relations to other people; because he could not make it stop in himself. That jailer had a family, and if he had killed himself, that family would have waked up that night and stood barefooted in his blood. The jailer, trembling and astonished, came in and fell down before Paul and Silas. “Since I may not harm myself . . . what must I do to be saved?” And as quick as lightning comes the answer to the question, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and your family can come in at the same door, if only they believe.” “Come in and all thy house, into the ark,” said God to Noah.

I have thought a thousand times of that scene. At midnight, that man was lost. At midnight, he was saved. At midnight, salvation came to him, and to every member of his family. They all believed; they all rejoiced; they were all baptized. What a mighty change since they went to bed that night. Went to bed lost woke up next morning everyone in the kingdom of God. I suppose that if the devil had known what was going to happen, he never would have pestered those people, but would have let the meeting fringe just outside the city with a few Jewish women.

This is the only place in the Bible where the question is plainly asked: “What must I do to be saved?” And there is the answer: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” Be saved, right there and then, and forever. I note also that this was not a Jewish persecution. There were very few Jews there, and they had no influence. It was a Roman persecution.

The church established here was the dearest to Paul of all the churches he established. It sent contributions to him more than once. So I say that it was really a missionary church.

Just here the question arises, how do you account for Paul being beaten with rods? His Roman citizenship would have saved him if he had claimed it. Sometimes he claimed it, and sometimes he did not. If he had just said, “I am a Roman citizen,” they would not have dared to beat him with those rods; but he did not claim half of his rights, and it was best for the gospel that he did not. That finishes chapter 16. From there they went to Thessalonica.

QUESTIONS 1. What are the scriptures for Paul’s second missionary tour?

2. Trace on the map this entire tour.

3. What the time covered by this tour, what the great event of this tour, and from what source do we get the details of this tour?

4. What striking characteristic of this tour?

5. What equally striking fact developed in this tour and everywhere manifest in the next tour?

6. In the study of this tour what historical question must we decide, and upon what does the decision depend?

7. What was the object at the outset, and what real distinction between this and his former missionary tour?

8. What was accomplished in Syria and Cilicia?

9. What was accomplished in the churches of Lycaonia and Phrygia, viz.: Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch?

10. What great accession to this party at Lystra, and what the history of this great evangelist?

11. Give an orderly summary of his further connection with Paul.

12. What was the work in. Galatia, what Dr. Ramsay’s contention, and what the author’s objection to it?

13. Who were the Gauls, the inhabitants of Galatia; what their traits?

14. What Paul’s rebuke to this people found in his letter to them?

15. What can you say of this letter, and what use made of it by Martin Luther?

16. Give an account of the strange guidance of the Holy Spirit on this tour.

17. What is the real meaning of Paul’s “Man of Macedonia?”

18. What remarkable accession to the party at Troas, and what the New Testament account of this man?

19. Give a history of Philippi.

20. What can you say of its government?

21. How may we know that there were few Jews there?

22. What are the marvelous events in connection with the work in Philippi?

23. What is the infidel’s explanation of the earthquake at Philippi, and what the Christian’s explanation?

24. Is a man ever justifiable in committing suicide, and why?

25 What pointed question here as to the plan of salvation, and how did Paul answer it?

26. Was this a Jewish persecution, and what the proof?

27. What was the character of the church established here, and how was it regarded by Paul?

28. How may we account for Paul being beaten with rods, since he was a Roman citizen?

Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible

1 Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek:

Ver. 1. But his father was a Greek ] Both by nation and religion. This was an unlawful marriage, Exo 34:10-17 Deu 7:1-5 , and might be a means to humble the good woman, when once she came to a sight of her sin. David had his best children by Bathsheba, as Solomon, Nathan, of whom came Christ, &c. God can turn our sins to our good and comfort, as the skilful apothecary can make of a poisonous viper a wholesome treacle. a

a Old Pharm. A medicinal compound, orig. a kind of salve, composed of many ingredients, formerly in repute as an alexipharmic against and antidote to venomous bites, poisons generally, and malignant diseases. D

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

1. ] We have Derbe first, as lying nearest to the pass from Cilicia into Lycaonia and Cappadocia. Paul probably travelled by the ordinary road through the ‘Cilician gates,’ a rent or fissure in the mountain-chain of Taurus, extending from north to south through a distance of eighty miles. See various interesting particulars in C. and H. i. p. 301 ff. and notes.

] At Lystra : which, and not Derbe, was in all probability the birth-place of Timotheus: see on ch. Act 20:4 . This view is confirmed by Act 16:2 .

He had probably been converted by Paul during his former visit, as he calls him his son in the Lord , 1Co 4:17 ; 1Ti 1:2 ; 2Ti 1:2 ; perhaps at Antioch in Pisidia, see 2Ti 3:10-11 . His mother was Eunice, his grandmother Lois, both women of well-known piety, 2Ti 1:5 . Whether his father was a proselyte of the gate or not, is uncertain: he certainly was uncircumcised . He would be, besides his personal aptness for the work, singularly fitted to be the coadjutor to Paul, by his mixed extraction forming a link between Jews and Greeks.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Act 16:1 . : only in Luke and Paul, nine times in Acts, four times in Paul, Act 18:19 ; Act 18:24 , Act 20:15 , Act 21:7 , Act 25:13 , Act 26:7 , Act 27:12 , Act 28:13 , 1Co 10:11 ; 1Co 14:36 , Eph 4:13 , Phi 3:11 . But whilst in St. Paul it is used in a figurative sense, it is used eight times by St. Luke of arriving at a place and making some stay there, cf. 2Ma 4:21 ; 2Ma 4:44 . The fact that the verb is thus used frequently in the second part of Acts and not in 1 12 is surely easily accounted for by the subjects of the narrative (Hawkins, Hor Synoptic , p. 147). .: if we read before ., also (see critical note): “he came also to Derbe and to Lystra”. The purpose was implied in Act 15:36 , but here places mentioned in the inverse order of Act 14:6 since coming from Cilicia through the “Cilician Gates” St. Paul would visit Derbe first, see Hastings’ B.D., “Derbe” (Ramsay). The two places are grouped together as a region according to the Roman classification (Ramsay, St. Paul , pp. 110, 179). The second before . marks that while Derbe is mentioned as a place visited, Lystra is the scene of the events in the sequel. : indicating the surprising fact that a successor to Mark was found at once (so Weiss); whilst Hort still more significantly marks the form of the phrase by pointing out that St. Luke reserves it for sudden and as it were providential interpretations, Ecclesia , p. 179, cf. Act 1:10 , Act 8:17 , Act 10:17 , Act 11:7 : however disheartening had been the rupture with Barnabas, in Timothy Paul was to find another “son of consolation,” cf. Hort’s comment on 1Ti 1:18 in this connection, u. s. , pp. 179 185. It must not however be forgotten that there are good reasons for seeing in Timothy not the successor of Barnabas (this was Silas), but of Mark. It could hardly be said of one in the position of Silas that he was like Mark a , on a mere subordinate footing, whereas on the other hand the difference of age between Barnabas and Timothy, and their relative positions to St. Paul would have naturally placed Timothy in a subordinate position from the first. , i.e. , at Lystra, most probably. The view that reference is made not to Lystra but to Derbe arises from supposing that in Act 20:4 the word refers to Timothy and not to Gaius, the truth being that Timothy is not described because already well known. Certainly the fact that his character was testified of by those of Lystra, as well as St. Paul’s reference to Lystra in 2Ti 3:11 , seems to favour Lystra as being at all events the home of Timothy, if not his birthplace. There is no reason why the Gaius mentioned as of Macedonia, Act 19:29 , should be identified with the Gaius of Act 20:4 . Gaius was a very common name, and in the N.T. we have apparently references to four persons bearing the name. Blass however refers in Act 20:4 to Timothy. . . . .: such marriages although forbidden by the law, Ezr 10:2 , were sanctioned under certain conditions, cf. Act 24:24 in the case of Drusilla, wife of Aziz, king of Emesa (see also C. and H., p. 203), who became a proselyte and actually accepted circumcision. In the Diaspora such marriages would probably be more or less frequent, especially if the husband became a proselyte. In this case even if he were ranked as one, it could only have been as a “proselyte of the gate,” otherwise Timothy would surely have been circumcised. We cannot argue from the fact that the boy had been trained in the Jewish Scriptures that his father was a proselyte, for the early training of the child was evidently, the work of the mother, 2Ti 3:15 . But such a duty according to Jewish law rested primarily upon the father, and the fact that the father here is described as a Greek, without any qualifying adjective as in the case of the wife, indicates that he was a heathen, see Weiss, in loco ; Edersheim, Jewish Social Life , p. 115. The mother, Eunice (on spelling see Hastings’ B.D.), may conceivably have been a proselyte, as the name is Greek, as also that of Lois, but . seems to indicate that she was a Jewess by birth. Whether she was a widow or not we cannot say, although there is some evidence, see critical note, which points to the influence of some such tradition. On the picture of a Jewish home, and the influence of a Jewish mother, see Edersheim, u. s. : Lydia uses the same term of herself in Act 16:15 . Both mother and son were probably converted in St. Paul’s former visit, and there is no reason to suppose with Nsgen that the conversion of the latter was a proof of the growth of the Church in the Apostle’s absence.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Acts Chapter 16

The apostle has now fully and freely entered on his fresh missionary excursion, as well as on his visitation of the assemblies already formed. Silas is his chosen companion, no longer Barnabas. All things work together for good in the hand of divine love; whilst governmentally each shall bear his own burden: grace does not fail, but moral responsibility is untouched also.

From Syria and Cilicia Paul journeys to Lycaonia. ‘And he came unto Derbe and unto Lystra, and, behold, a certain disciple was there, by name Timothy, son of a Jewish believing woman, but of a Greek father; who was borne witness to by the brethren in Lystra and Iconium. Him Paul would have to go forth with him, and he took and circumcised him because of the Jews that were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek’ (vers. 1-3).

Little is said of the other results from the apostle’s visit to Derbe and Lystra. Our attention is concentrated on a ‘young disciple’ there. He was therefore not converted at this time, but, doubtless, during the former visit of the apostle, who speaks of him as his ‘true child in faith’. Timothy he had begotten in Christ Jesus through the gospel. The circumstances were peculiar. He was the son of a believing Jewess, Eunice, but of a Greek father, with an exceptionally good testimony from the brethren in those parts. This led to a remarkable step on the part of the apostle: he circumcised him ‘on account of the Jews’ there, ‘for they all knew that his father was a Greek’ or Gentile.

Now this was in no way the requirement of the law, which, on the contrary, in strictness placed Timothy by his birth in a painful and outside position. It was really an act of grace on the part of the same apostle who would have utterly repelled the circumcision of Titus; for Titus was a Gentile. Still less is it inconsistent with the recent council at Jerusalem; for the question there was whether the Jewish yoke was to be placed on the Gentiles that believed. It was decided, we have seen, that no such compulsion was authorized or desirable. Here, it was the child of a Jewess against whom Jews would have had a feeling because of his father. In all probability the father was now dead, of whom we never hear as alive, and who in that case, might have perpetuated the uncircumcised condition of his son. If the father no longer lived, Paul could act the more freely, and the same champion for liberty who refused compulsion in the case of Titus, himself took and circumcised Timothy.

It is of great moment that we learn to submit our souls to the largeness of divine truth. The principles which governed the cases of Titus and Timothy were quite distinct, because their nature and circumstances were wholly different. But there was a centre in which the two principles found harmony. They were alike expressions of Christian liberty; in neither instance was the apostle under law but under grace. What can be more instructive for us? We are always liable to the exact reverse: flesh and law habitually work together, as on the other hand we are called to the grace and truth which came by Jesus Christ.

We may learn from this to avoid and resist the notion that there can be but one principle to govern our conduct. It is not so, if the relationships and the circumstances of the parties wholly differ. Wisdom in that case would rather seek from God’s word the Spirit’s instruction for our guidance in each case respectively. Nature and tradition constantly tend to a dead level, which is as far as possible from the wisdom of God, in which we are called to judge and act. A principle however true and sound, as for instance not to circumcise Titus, might entirely fail to meet Timothy’s case whom grace circumcised to stop the mouths of Jews though the letter of the law would rather have put him away than circumcise him. Routine is sure to mislead in the things of God. An eye single to Christ and His grace will discover the true way, and grace knows where to be inflexible and when to yield. It was the wise procedure of one who, free from all made himself bondman to all that he might gain the more; who became to the Jews as a Jew in order that he might gain the Jews, to those under law as under law (not being himself under law) in order that he might gain those under law, to those without law as without law (not as without law to God but as lawfully subject to Christ) in order that he might gain those without law.

What an admirable lesson was this, practically, for Timothy, henceforth to be the companion and fellow-worker of the great apostle of the Gentiles, whatever the immense gap between them! The step, too, was taken in connection with his going forth with Paul who sought to cut off occasion from them that sought occasion. Grace where there is no demand can go far to meet such as have honest difficulties; whilst it resents and refuses every effort to impose what is unauthorized by God and is inconsistent with itself (1Co 9:20 , 1Co 9:21 ).

We may here recall the important facts for which we are indebted to the two Epistles which the apostle wrote long after to Timothy; for they really had the most influential bearing on the course which was opening for his young companion. First, there were prophecies which went before as to Timothy (1Ti 1:18 , 1Ti 4:14 ), and this not only as marking him out but indicating the gift of God to be imparted. The history simply gives us the apostle’s wish and mind as to him, but the apostle’s letter shows that there were prophetic intimations, presumably from more than one, respecting the work to which he was divinely designated; not unlike the way in which Barnabas and Saul had been called and separated to their first missionary work and journey. Even the apostle did not act without these remarkable interventions, of which he reminds his beloved child when he first wrote to enforce the commission entrusted to him and to define his duties in that charge, ‘that thou mightest war by them (i.e., the prophecies) the good warfare’, though this would be vain without ‘having faith and a good conscience’ It would brace his spirit to remember that God had designated him to a work of such difficulty and peril.

Secondly, a positive gift of God, or cavrisma, had been communicated to Timothy by the imposition of the apostle’s hands (2Ti 1:6 ), the elderhood having also joined in laying on their hands at the same time (1Ti 4:14 ) as not only witnesses but as having fellowship with the apostle’s act. The believer in God’s word needs no argument to prove that such a power of the Spirit is wholly distinct from any qualities previously possessed by Timothy, though no doubt all he had before was the vessel in and through which the gift wrought. But such a phrase, like so many common among evangelical, as well as Catholic, ‘sanctified intellect’, is wholly misleading, because it expresses the error of human nature rehabilitated or improved by grace, denies the judgment of the fleshly mind in the cross to which faith thoroughly bows, and leaves out the special energy of the Spirit according to the gift of Christ. This Timothy then received and in the way Scripture describes: which none should doubt because of the powerless, not to say profane, imitation of some bodies in Christendom from early days till now. With Timothy it was a special way for a special work. It is error and ignorance to generalize it, and to assume that others did not receive gifts, carivsmata, without any such laying on of hands; as it is also to aver that the Holy Ghost was given to the faithful only after a similar sort. That He was so given in peculiar circumstances by imposition of apostolic hands is true; that it was always so is to neglect the still weightier instances of Acts ii. and x. So with the gifts; they were given in sovereign grace without any such act ordinarily; and this is of all moment for the saints at all times since, when there were and could be no apostles to lay hands on any. But superstition is as blind as rationalism, though seemingly more reverent.

‘And as they passed through the cities, they delivered them the decrees to observe, which had been ordained by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem’ (ver. 4). This is particularly recorded of the apostle and his companions; and it is the more to be noticed because, when the questions discussed at the council came up for solution in the Epistles these decrees are never referred to. Here again we have to discern the wisdom of God. The decrees were given where Jewish influence prevailed. They were of the highest value to settle the doubts of those who looked up to Jerusalem and especially to the apostles and elders there. If in Jerusalem the chiefs and the church as a whole condemned wholly the imposing of circumcision on Gentiles, who were entitled to press it elsewhere? Certainly not such as had reverence for those whom the Lord had set up in Jerusalem.

In the First Epistle to the Corinthians and in that to the Galatians, the question is argued on the broad ground of the gospel, without reference to the decrees. Here again there is no inconsistency whatever. The decrees were admirably in season and place for those to whom they were given; and Paul was conspicuously zealous in giving assemblies already formed where Jews abounded these decrees to observe. But when he wrote his Epistles in the subsequent exercise of his apostolic power, he solves the question altogether apart from the decision at Jerusalem by the truth of Christ and His work now fully revealed.

‘The assemblies then were being strengthened in the faith and increased in number daily’ (ver. 5). Thus did the Lord use the action of grace for helping on His testimony. Agitation is eminently destructive not only of the confirmation of the soul but the going forward of the work among fresh converts. Faith is nourished by grace, not by questions gendering strife, any more than ‘by meats’ as the apostle somewhat contemptuously speaks of Jewish controversies, ‘wherein they that walked were not profited’ (2Ti 2:23 ; Heb 13:9 ). And grace is inseparable from Christ Who is ‘the same yesterday, and today, and for ever’. Questions apart from Him are met by diverse and strange teachings which only distract the senses. It is good that the heart be established by grace. This was what the apostle walked in to the profit of those that heard him. Faith was strengthened and fresh assemblies sprung up more and more, or, at the least, their numbers increased daily. Such is the beautiful picture drawn by the Spirit of God; and such the encouragement given to the apostle with his companions in labour.

We know how universal was the field opened for the work of the gospel: Go ye into all the world, said the Master to the apostles, and preach the gospel to the whole creation (Mar 16:15 ). This general order, which ever abides, does not, however, supersede the direction in detail which the Holy Spirit knows how to supply to the Lord’s glory. He will have the servant subject to Christ and exercised livingly about His will: a matter of the deepest moment for all who would serve Him thoroughly, and as obligatory now as of old though we may lack some of the means of intimation. This truth remarkably appears in what follows as it does elsewhere.

‘And they1 went through the Phrygian and Galatian country, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia, and 2having come over against Mysia, they attempted to proceed into2 Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus2 permitted them not; and passing by Mysia they came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul by night: There was a certain man of Macedon standing and beseeching him and saying, Come over into Macedonia and help us. And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia,3 concluding that God3 had called us to preach the gospel to them. Having therefore sailed away from Troas we took a straight course unto Samothrace, and on the morrow unto Neapolis, and thence unto Philippi, which is a city of Macedonia, first of the district, a colony. And we were in this city staying certain days’ (vers. 6-12).

1 The highest authorities (ABCDE) with adequate support of the cursives and versions, et al, support the finite verb against the participle in HLP and the mass of cursives, and Text. Rec.

2 The more ancient read the copulative against the majority and Text. Rec. as they give instead of , and add .

3 The authorities are more divided as to the article here, the best omitting it. So they are between ‘God’ and ‘the Lord’, but the oldest support the former.

It is not only in the unconverted that man’s will is treated by scripture as evil: the believer now, as living in the Spirit, is exhorted to walk in the Spirit, and the power is vouchsafed in the Spirit given, though His power will not act in positive blessing save to Christ’s glory in dependence on Him and obedience to His word. So it is of high moment to remember that it is not otherwise in the work of the Lord, where the labourer is constantly exposed to the danger of being guided by fair appearances or of following what pleases his own mind, or it may be the suggestions of others whom he respects. The Lord is jealous, as valuing our subjection and fidelity and confidence in Himself, that we look to Him Who does not fail to act by the Spirit that His will be known and done. The work is His, and He only is adequate to its direction in gracious wisdom and power: we are at best only His journeymen in that work. How happy to work as well as walk by faith, guided by His eye and succoured no less than sent here or there by His grace! In a world given up to self-will and all its baneful ways, how sweet to Him that His servants do not forget their absent Lord any more than their own blessedness in having Him to make His will plain, that their hearts refer to Him, that their faith expects from Him all needed to glorify Him and to preserve themselves from straying!

So was the work of Paul and his companions ordered of the Lord, and it is here set out in the written word, that we may labour in the same spirit of faith, and neither forego the like favour nor reduce scripture to a dead letter. ‘And they went through the Phrygian and Galatian country, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.’ The allusion to Phrygia and Galatia as the combined sphere of their visitation is full of interest as a fact; but how striking the absence of detail where our curiosity would have demanded a great deal! In the Epistle to the assemblies of Galatia we have not only the fruit of sowing the gospel seed there but circumstances revealed of high value and solemn warning. Of Phrygia we know scarce any particulars, save that Paul and Silas did then go through that region as well as Galatia, ‘having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia’.

Was this province of Asia then wholly barren? Was it hopeless soil? From the beginning of the gospel, witnesses thence (Act 2:9 , Act 2:10 ) had heard the mighty works of God spoken in their tongue and in that of Phrygia among many others, yet here Phrygia is visited, Asia is not, while in the all-wise direction of the Lord the region of Galatia and Phrygia sees the apostle going through it in order, ‘stablishing all the disciples’ and not evangelizing only (Act 18:23 ). Also Paul visits Ephesus after Apollos had wrought there not in vain, and to his own learning the way of God more carefully, and there the apostle brings on the little nucleus of disciples into full Christian truth and privilege (Act 19 ), and carried on the work for more than two years, first in the synagogue, then in the school of Tyrannus, so that, not the capital only but the province also, ‘all they that dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks’, and that word, not without special powers wrought of God by the hands of Paul, ‘mightily grew and prevailed’. He Who knew all hearts, and alone can employ any mouth to God’s glory, the Holy Spirit forbade their speaking the word in Asia now. Those who believe in man may show their real unbelief in God by cavilling at the present prohibition; those whose confidence is in His grace will admire His admirable care in leading to the right place of testimony then, and in working later in the place now prohibited when He deigned in His goodness to create a fruitful oasis if not more than one in that desert. He knows infallibly, as even an apostle did not, and He it is Who is still here to guide the work to the praise of the Name of Jesus. As He knows the time to sow, so He ensures a harvest at the right season.

Nor was this the only prohibition about the same time. For ‘having come over against Mysia, they attempted to proceed into Bithynia; and the Spirit of Jesus permitted them not’ (ver. 7). Here the evidence is as plain as possible to those who justly estimate scripture of the personal action of the Spirit in correction even of the apostle’s proposed movements. ‘They attempted to proceed into Bithynia’, where we know (1Pe 1:1 ) sojourners of the dispersion, i.e., Christian Jews were, as well as in Galatia and proconsular Asia, but this was not now the mind of the Lord for His service. And an expression is employed, more than usually, though by no means uniquely, connecting the Spirit with the Lord, which has therefore so much the more appropriate force in the passage, ‘and the Spirit of Jesus permitted them not.’ The Spirit is as we all know a divine person and may be spoken of simply as the Spirit, or the Holy Spirit; He may be introduced in a general way as the Spirit or the Holy Spirit of God, or as the Spirit of the Lord, i.e. Jehovah. Again, He may be specially designated, where truth required it, as the Spirit of the Father, of the Son, of Christ, or as here, of ‘Jesus’, in each case securing an appropriateness not to be reached otherwise. Scarce anything shows or produces more looseness of conception among Christians than the neglect of these fine and wonderful distinctions found in no other books with any approach to scripture, but found in every book of scripture where the subject matter admits of them and in perfection, whoever may be the inspired writer, and whenever written, so as to point to one unerring and divine Spirit, the true Author. ‘The Spirit of Jesus’ blends the personal interest of the glorified Man Whose Name it was their heart’s desire and the great object of their life to make known, subject to His will, with the power of the Spirit Who is the energy that works in the new man.

‘And passing by Mysia they came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul by night: There was a certain man of Macedon standing and beseeching him and saying, Come over into Macedonia and help us. And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them’ (vers. 8-10).

Thus the Lord helped His servant in a positive manner. They all needed direction for their work, and Paul alone saw the vision: a favour frequently shown him, and of the highest character, which no creature has a right to expect. Grace gave him revelations also. But though set in a very different place in the assembly the condition and wants of which are so far apart from the primitive state, God never fails for present difficulties. It is we who fail in waiting and counting on Him, though the prime directory of His written word is complete as it was not then. But special honour was put on one who was behind none in position, and whose labours were most abundant and blessed. All were immediately impressed by the apostle’s vision and turned their eyes and steps toward Macedonia.

But it is well to notice that the language is ‘we’, and not ‘they’ as heretofore. Luke thus modestly but without doubt lets us see that he at Troas joined the apostle’s company. That the inspired writer was a personal witness from this point is surely not a slight matter; but no error can be more profound in principle than the human notion that a higher character begins to attach to his account. Not so: inspiration excludes all question of degrees of assurance or of authority. It is equally of God, whether the writer witnessed what he wrote, or not. The Spirit of God alone secures absolute truth, which no seeing, hearing, or research could effect. Man cannot rise to the divinely given, save as a receiver. He may be indefinitely exact but is necessarily human. God, as He knows all, communicates what is due to His glory in love to His own.

In fact there is no more minuteness in what is conveyed during the writer’s presence. Conversations, differences, journeys, preachings, were given when he was absent, no less than when with the apostle’s companions. How comforting this quiet evidence that in the inspired word we have to do, not merely with good men doing their best, but with a God Who cannot err or lie! He provides us with His account through man of these spiritually instructive facts. Later in the history we learn that they made a little stay in the Troad where at least there was an assembly (Act 20 ); but there was no indecision now, no tarrying by the way: the gospel must be preached forthwith in Macedonia.

‘Having therefore sailed away from Troas we took a straight course unto Samothrace, and on the morrow unto Neapolis, and thence unto Philippi, which is a city of Macedonia, first of the district, a colony. And we were in this city staying certain days’ (vers. 11, 12). The description is most exact. It would not have been true to call it the chief city or capital of Macedonia; but of that part or district it was: a Roman colony too, not a Greek, which had a somewhat important bearing on the incidents that follow, of which we have so graphic a sketch. There Roman armies had engaged in deadly strife, not with strangers, but with one another. There the fate of the moribund republic was decided. There the coming empire of the world began to dawn, an empire which was to last as no predecessor had done, though it had the unenviable distinction of contact with the Lord of glory not only in His despised birth but in His crucifixion of shame; as it alone, after succombing long and notoriously, is destined to live again for a brief but awful space of lawlessness closing in a vain, blasphemous and destructive opposition to His appearing from heaven in glory.

But there were far other and happier reasons which made the entrance of the gospel and the founding of the church in Philippi full of holy interest. The work began in face of an ensnaring spirit of evil and of an adverse unrighteous world, with singular simplicity, with joy rising high and loudly above sorrow and shame, with a display of divine grace no less than divine power. There was nothing exactly like this at Antioch, Corinth, Ephesus, Rome, Thessalonica, though each no doubt had characteristics of admirably suited and special favour. Philippi too went, not without severe trials and peculiar difficulties but as a whole in spiritual power, to ripe experience beyond known parallel without so painful a brand of declension as we know befell the once fair and bright assembly in Ephesus. God would have us learn how the good seed took root and bore fruit at Philippi. Let others boast in the old almanac of man’s tale as vain and unreliable in the ecclesiastical as in the secular sphere. Here the believer can rest in the certain truth of God and profit by that which He Who knows all gives for our refreshment or our admonition. We see alas! how fading was that which grace made so good and true and faithful in its measure, for where is that assembly now? how was it in the next generation after Paul’s Epistle to all the saints there? If it had stood as the Latin church, it had like Rome been but a pillar of salt with every truth falsified (save perhaps those elements which the Athanasian creed owns), and every way of grace changed into judaizing. This would have been but deeper dishonour of Christ; and the assembly at Philippi, as in almost all the apostolic plantations, has passed away, that men might learn, were they not blinded by worldly wisdom and the fleshly mind, that the power and even the truth of the church of God rests not in an ecclesiastical succession, but in the living energy of the Holy Spirit working in the bond of Christ’s confessors who are worse than nothing as a witness if untrue to Him, who are just of price in God’s sight as they do His will and reflect His grace.

The gospel entered Europe apostolically with genuine simplicity. Two inspired men were among those who introduced it, an apostle, the greatest of them indeed, and a prophet not the least of them, or as he is popularly styled ‘the evangelist’, Luke. Very likely he may have been an evangelist in the true scriptural sense of the term. Certainly upon such as Paul and Luke were built the saints now called of God (Eph 2:20 ), as to them was revealed the mystery of Christ (Eph 3:5 ). The foundation was well laid, even Jesus Christ; yet what a holy absence of pretension do we see here!

‘And on the sabbath day we went forth outside the gate1 by a river where2 prayer [or, place of prayer] was wont to be; and we sat down and spoke to the women that had come together. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, that worshipped God, heard, whose heart the Lord opened to heed the things spoken by Paul. And when she was baptized and her house, she besought, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and abide. And she constrained us’ (vers. 13-15).

1 The most ancient MSS., ABCD, good cursives, et al., give , instead

of , (city), as in the Text. Rec. following most.

2 Some ancient authorities give ‘where we supposed there was a place of prayer’, as in the Revised Version.

There was no synagogue, it would seem, in the city, once called ‘The Fountains’ but now Philippi from his name who had annexed the district from Thrace to his ancestral Macedonia, and drew largely the treasures of this world from gold mines in the neighbourhood. By that river-side outside the city gate, among the women that assembled, one at least received richer treasure and so drank as to have within her a fountain springing up into eternal life. The good physician who writes was not a painter save graphically. Think of a philosopher, or even a rabbi, speaking to the women of what God is and gives, of the grace and truth which came by Jesus Christ! Even the disciples once on a time wondered that the Lord talked with a woman, for He first vindicated the solemnity of a lost soul, the blessed value of a saved one, be it of man or woman. And here the choicest of His servants is found, not alone but with a few of kindred mind and heart, ministering Christ and dispensing the mysteries of God to the assembled women.

Among these one attracts our attention in the narrative, Lydia, of Thyatira, a seller of that dye for which these Lydians were far famed in Homer’s day (Iliad. . 141), as ‘the dyers’ may be illustrated by the inscription found in the ruins of Thyatira. She was not an idolater, but a worshipper of God, and so betook herself to the little band of Jews that met on the sabbath for prayer, separate from the heathen corruptions around, at a river-side, a spot convenient for the Jews and made use of for purifying. This seems to decide that it was the little and less known Gangas, rather than the Strymon which was more remote. Lydia was hearing, and the Lord opened her heart to attend to the things spoken by Paul: she received Him that came by water and blood, believing on the name of Jesus Christ.

It is well to observe the special form of the work of grace in souls: two never seem precisely alike. It is not merely that men differ, but that the Spirit of God gives a fresh character in the case, while all had been once alike lost sinners, and the same Christ is all and in all. Each, however, has his own individuality, and God does not withhold honour from the weaker vessel but shares His joy in love by detailing the peculiar circumstances of such a one as here before us. No doubt her conscience was exercised, she repented toward God. If this had not been before, it was now, for there is no vital operation in the soul without that self-judgment which owns our sins and ruined state, and turns to God’s mercy as the sole spring of saving hope. But the glad tidings or gospel of God presents the Christ already dead and risen, that the guilty may have remission of sins not promised only but preached to them, and every believer may know himself justified from all things – exactly what the law could not effect for its most zealous votary

But here we are not told of such pungent grief and anxiety as in the Jewish converts at Pentecost confronted with their guilt in rejecting their own Messiah; nor of such great fear as smote all that heard of the judicial death of Ananias and Sapphira nor of the great grace which multiplied disciples in the face of persecutions for such as taught and preached the Lord Jesus. The Lord wrought on Lydia, opening her heart to pay heed to the discourse of Paul. It was not prayer only that day, but God’s answer in the testimony of grace which in Christ supplies every want and flows, yea, overflows, evermore to His glory.

Made a disciple, Lydia was baptized as became her (Joh 4:1 ). Such was the Lord’s command to His servants. Only the males among the. Jews were circumcised; disciples, both men and women, were baptized (Act 8:12 ). Not only Lydia was baptized but her household also: ‘And when she was baptized and her house . . .’ What is meant thereby? We do not hear of children or of husband; she may have been a widow. without a family or never married. She had a household, and we hear (ver. 40) of the brethren there, believers therefore, and probably not men only but women. Of little ones we hear nothing; and the divine account, which is full and minutely exact to admiration in other respects, not even implies anything of the kind, so that the temerity of tradition, of intellect, of will, that would from this account extract a ground for supposing infants in this case at any rate, is as bold and manifest as unjustifiable.

Hence Meyer, the ablest modern commentator of the Lutheran body, says honestly, in opposition to all his ecclesiastical prejudices, ‘When Jewish or heathen families became Christians, the children in them could have been baptized only in cases in which they were so far developed that they could profess their faith in Christ, and did actually profess it; for this was the universal requisition for the reception of baptism: [see also vers. 31, 33; Act 18:8 ]. On the contrary, if the children were unable to believe, they did not partake of the rite, since they were wanting in what the act pre-supposed. The baptism of children is not to be supposed as an apostolic institution, but arose gradually in the post-apostolic age, after early and long-continued resistance, in connection with certain views of doctrine, and did not become general in the church till after the time of Augustine. The defence of infant-baptism transcends the domain of exegesis, and must be given up to that of dogmatics.’ Others of high eminence might be added, themselves paedo-baptist, who frankly own that neither here, nor later in the chapter, nor in 1Co 1 is there the least proof that any were baptized except confessors of Christ, and that the baptism of infants has no scriptural warrant.

But this by the way. Lydia’s heart, opened of the Lord, went out toward His servants. She ‘besought [us] saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and abide. And she constrained us.’ The love of Christ was there and made her, little knowing the value of her gracious importunity in His sight, to be a fellow-helper with the truth (3Jn 1:8 ).

Another lesson of far-reaching practical moment ought to be evident: the profound indifference not only to souls but to the Lord in that refusal to ‘judge’, which pleases the flesh and characterizes the world-church, be it Catholic or Protestant, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, or aught else that is not based on the Christ of God confessed and the Holy Spirit given of God (Mat 16:16-18 ; Act 11:17 ). No doubt men plead that we must not judge, or that we must exercise a judgment of charity: both pleas alike are ignorant, perverse and evil. Certainly we ought never to be censorious, never to impute bad motives where evil conduct is not manifest. But it is equally unbelieving and heartless, for such as know that faith in God’s testimony to Christ is the turning point of the passage from death into life – life eternal, to abandon or neglect discrimination in this respect. Our solemn judgment, if guided by the word, is that death is the condition of all, our judgment of charity and our joy are, that they only live through and of and in Christ who by grace hear His word; as thereon we exhort them in His name that they should not henceforth live unto themselves but unto Him that for them died and rose again.

From such a judgment as this Lydia did not shrink but rather humbly challenged it as due to the Lord. Paul and his company acted on it, and the Holy Spirit has recorded it for our admonition. There was assuredly therefore no lack of love in Peter’s judging Simon the Samaritan from his own words, and this, though a baptized man, to be in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity (Act 8:20-23 ). It was rather indeed the painful side, but in the circumstances absolutely indispensable, in that judgment of love which the knowledge of God entails on His servants; and woe be to those who, to gratify the world or for selfish ease and advantage, relinquish so plain and indisputable a duty to their Master! This did not Peter any more than Paul.

‘And it came to pass as we were going unto prayer [or, the place of prayer], that a certain maid haying a spirit of Python met us, who brought her masters much gain by divinations. She, having followed Paul and us, cried, saying, These men are bondmen of the Most High God who announce to you [or, us] salvation’s way. And this she did for many days. But Paul, being distressed, turned and said to the spirit, I charge thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And it came out the same hour’ (vers. 16-18).

As the better authorities ( ABCE, et al.) insert the article with ‘prayer’ in verse 16, it is allowed that ‘the place of prayer’ is the more likely meaning. But if so here, it would go far to commend the same sense in verse 13, the article being there properly absent as it was a previously unknown and unmentioned place. The incident recorded was weighty in itself and in its consequences. Satan essayed a new means of mischief, not assailing the gospel but patronizing it and this for many days. Distressed thereby the apostle at length turned and enjoined the evil spirit to leave her, which came to pass in the name of Jesus.

Alas! not so have the servants of the Most High God acted in Europe They have accepted, instead of eschewing, the favours of the enemy, to their own shame and ruin and to their Master’s dishonour. In Asia the gospel was resisted, calumniated, and persecuted. No Python followed its preachers, nor was the cry heard, These men are bondmen of the Most High who announced to you salvation’s way. Open opposition, not flattery, was the devil’s way. But Europe later had no Paul to cast out the unclean spirit, an unholy compact at last prevailed, and servants of God claimed honour to Jesus from the homage of the world. But it was hollow lip-service, as the event in Philippi soon proved. The world is at enmity with God essentially and always; and nothing is so far from its prince’s heart than the honour of His Son. A liar and its father, he hates detection; and his rage came out when the faithful apostle, who had at first slighted his overtures, cast out in Jesus’ name the power from its instrument of imposture.

An act of such uncompromising decision as well as power roused the enemy acting on human covetousness. But it is well to note that the apostle did not act in divine energy till Satan’s persistence made it a duty.

‘And when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone,1 they laid hold on, and dragged Paul and Silas into the market-place before the rulers, and when they had brought them unto the praetors, they said, These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city, and set forth customs which it is not lawful for us to receive or practise, being Romans. And the crowd rose up together against them, and the praetors rent their garments off them, and commanded to beat [them] with rods. And, having laid many stripes on them, they cast [them] into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely, who, having received such a charge, cast them into the inner prison and secured their feet into the stocks’ (vers. 19-24).

1 Literally, ‘gone out’; it would seem in allusion to the going out of the demon

Defeated in his effort to mix himself up with God’s work, the enemy flees to his ordinary and natural opposition through human interests and passions. Covetousness is a mainspring of the world’s activity, ‘covetousness, which is idolatry’ (Col 3:5 ). Those whose hope of gain vanished with the cast-out spirit lawlessly apprehended Paul and Silas, and dragged them into the market-place, where the local rulers then, even more than now, were found. It may be noticed that here only the inspired historian specifies the magistrates in Philippi with the Greek term which answers to praetors: a striking evidence of minute accuracy, for the city was a colony, and a colony was but Rome on a small scale, with its two chiefs (sometimes modified by need, but in general duumviri). We shall see the city governors of Thessalonica quite differently designated in the next chapter, but there too with similarly characteristic accuracy as here. Compare also Act 13:7 , Act 13:12 ; Act 18:12 ; Act 19:31 for other instances of such exactitude.

‘And when they had brought them unto the praetors, they said, These men, being () Jews (or, as Mr. Humphry suggests, “being Jews to begin with”), exceedingly trouble our city, and set forth customs which it is not lawful for us to receive or practise, being () Romans.’ This was calculated, and no doubt intended, to arouse the mob, the more sensitive on the score of Roman pride and privilege, because they were not unmixedly Roman, and such as might be Romans, though tolerant of other religionists one with another, were jealous of anything like aggression on themselves. The appeal was not in vain. ‘And the crowd rose up together (i.e., with the masters of the dispossessed slave) against them, and the praetors, rending their garments off them, commanded to scourge them with rods.’ It may not be necessary to hold with Bengel that the duumvirs stripped Paul and Silas with their own hands; but the special expression employed () and the general scope and intrinsic sense, exclude the notion that the magistrates rent () their own clothes. It is certain that they gave command to beat them with rods, though uncondemned: an open violation of Roman law, which exposed themselves to severe punishment, had proceedings been instituted. ‘And having inflicted on them many stripes, they cast [them] into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely, who, having received such a charge, cast them into the inner prison and secured their feet into the stocks.’

Such was man, civilized man, high and low, carried away into most manifest injustice, without the form even of trying the holy, harmless, and self-denying servants of the Lord, at the call of the basest who had lived by the oracles or divinations of their female slave under Satan’s power.

Had God nothing to do?

‘But about midnight, Paul and Silas in praying were singing praises to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and the bands of all were loosed’ (vers. 25, 26). Could any facts more dearly indicate Whose purpose and hand had wrought on behalf of His injured ministers? An earthquake, men could readily argue, might happen, and with the most singular coincidence of circumstances; but who ever heard of an earthquake so great as to shake, not windows or walls, not chains or bolts only, but the foundations of an extensive building? And withal so nicely adjusted as to cast down nothing, nor injure a soul! Only all the doors were forthwith opened, and everyone’s bands were loosed! It was the same divine power which had delivered Simon Peter, though chained to two soldiers, on the eve of his execution (Act 12 ); the same power which had extricated the apostles from a prison-house, shut in all safety, with the keepers standing at the doors (Act 5 ).

Here a deeper purpose was in hand, and a great earthquake heralded it; and Paul and Silas, who had been praying to God in hymns, remained in the prison to declare His wonderful works; yea, those whose naturally strongest desire had otherwise been to make their escape and renew their lawless life were so overawed that not one stirred from the opened prison. It was the God of all grace, Who answered the prayers and praises of His prisoners, Who knew how to control the wicked, and Who was guiding His servants for His glory. For He was now about to do more, and most worthily of the name of His Son; and to do this so as to win to Himself as hardened a heart as beat within the prison walls.

Let us too hear. ‘And the jailer, being roused out of sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm, for we are all here. And he called for lights, and sprang in, and trembling for fear fell down before Paul and Silas, and led them forth, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus,1 and thou shalt be saved, and thy house’ (vers. 27-31).

1 The mass of witnesses adds ‘Christ’ as in Text. Rec., but the most ancient with some good cursives, the Vulg., et al., do not accredit it.

We can understand the horror of the jailer, and his first impulse, as a heathen, to make away with himself, inferring from the open doors the flight of the prisoners, and therefore (according to the stern law De Custodia Reorum) with no other prospect for himself than a violent stroke of judicial shame. But conceive the overwhelming effect on his conscience when the apostle averted his suicidal hand by the loud assurance that the prisoners were all there! Light from God penetrated his dark heart on the instant. with a deep desire for mercy, before he got the lights he called for. He needed no more intimation where to turn for the truth he wanted, no more dealings of God to prove His hand was in all that had just occurred, and that He was really with those who had been so harshly thrust into prison with mockings and scourgings. Had not the Pythoness notoriously designated them as servants of the Most High God, who proclaim salvation’s way? The depths of his soul were broken up; and as his sins rose from every hiding place, he felt instinctively that now was the moment to find God. So he sprang in, and, all of a tremble, fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them forth to inquire of the great salvation.

For salvation in any lesser sense is not to be thought of. The earthquake was soon all over, the prisoners were all safe; what had he to fear from Roman justice? But God had awakened his soul, and his sins troubled him. Not death from man, but divine judgment at the close of all was before his eyes, and God’s servants, for whom He had just been interposing miraculously, were there to tell him the way of salvation. Whatever learned men may think, who, never having felt the burden of their sins, catch at words, and waste their time on questions dubious or not, the jailer’s burning anxiety was about the salvation of his soul. The strange utterance respecting his two holy prisoners could not but rise before him in his then awe-stricken frame of mind. It was really God Who was at work in his conscience, as He had wrought otherwise in the prison. Not a moment was to be lost, so, having led forth the two prisoners, he says Sirs, what must I do that I may be saved?’ Eternal salvation was the urgent want of his soul, as he honestly owns.

Nor was the answer of the Lord’s servants less prompt. Thanks be to God, it may and it ought always to be so, when the soul is thus in earnest. For the righteous foundation on which salvation rests is already laid, and so perfectly that to add anything, to wait for aught else, is to dishonour God and to hinder the sinner. The atoning work is done and accepted of God, Who therefore sends His glad tidings to the guilty, without respect of persons. It is no question of promises on man’s part or of amelioration as a ground of divine favour. Man was once let alone till his violence and corruption became insupportable, and judgment swept all away, save the few who trusted God in the ark provided for them by grace. Man was then tried fully by God’s law, with every religious help possible but, as God indicated beforehand, all was vain, save to prove that man could not be saved on any ground of moral worth or religious ordinance. What remained? Nothing but a Saviour sent from God to be a propitiation for sins. The Saviour has already come, has already died, and is now risen and glorified. Yea, God has sent from heaven the Holy Spirit thereon to declare the glad tidings by His servants. Therefore Paul and Silas could say with absolute confidence, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house.’

Such is the grace of God in the gospel. It brings salvation for all. It is no longer laid up in shadows. It has appeared to the world. It summons all men everywhere to repent, but none receives the remission of his sins save through faith; and the Lord Jesus is the object of that faith. No doubt He has suffered for our sins: else there could be no sovereign proclamation on God’s part, nor such a righteous blessing for man. But faith goes with grace, and excludes any and every desert of men; as the righteousness revealed in the gospel is God’s, founded upon the accomplished work of Christ.

But it is all-important to see and hold fast the fact that the gospel presents the person of Christ, and not His work only. The soul is called to ‘believe on the Lord Jesus’. This could not purge the conscience without the shedding of His blood; it could not give peace or liberty, unless He were not only delivered up for our offences, but raised for our justification. But it is on the Lord Jesus that we believe. Thus alone is the soul set in a right attitude from the first, and that object of faith abides to the last.

‘Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved.’ This gave joy and assurance to the jailer’s soul, as we shall see by and by. So it was intended of God, Who is the God of peace, not of uncertainty, and would bring the believer into the communion of His own mind. ‘Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ Faith is the principle, and not human righteousness but God’s revealed unto faith; for there is no other ground which grace or truth could accredit Anything else would exalt man, in the way either of his own merits, or of ordinances done by others for him. God’s righteousness revealed by faith unto faith excludes everything of the sort. Christ alone is, and abides, the only efficacious ground – the Lord Jesus Who has already offered His one sacrifice on the cross. All scripture on this infinite theme is but the development of that which was made known to the jailer in these pregnant words, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house.’

It will be seen that salvation is no less open to the jailer’s house than to himself. Jew or Gentile makes no difference, old or young, bond or free, but on the same terms of faith. In scripture there is no such notion, whatever the precious privileges attached to the head of a house, that he believes for them, or that they are to be saved because he is saved by faith. On the contrary the idea is a fleshly licence, based on letter, not spirit, as dangerous for the soul as it is subversive of fundamental truth. No wonder that it shelters itself under the dark shade of ordinance with appeal to feeling and imagination without scripture, though boasting loudly of its own spiritual intelligence. Even Dean Alford forgot the Book of Common Prayer in his allegiance to God’s word, and declares that [and thy house] does not mean that his faith would save his household – but that the same way was open to them as to him: ‘Believe and thou shalt be saved, and the same of thy household.’ So too Meyer, in the face of as great or yet greater prejudices, exploded an error opposed to the gospel and the truth generally, and says that the epanorthosis extends or belongs in effect to and . For, be it noted, the verse speaks not of an institution like baptism, but, of salvation, and we do well to speak seriously of what is so serious. But human levity in divine things is as incredibly common as deplorable.

But as yet, as far as I am aware, this heterodoxy is only whispered in private, or at most, taught where the ignorant and blinded votaries of party are present to hear. Its advocates do not venture to affirm it where it would be sifted to their shame, and rejected by those who still hold the truth. It will be seen in the inspired word which follows, how daringly these enthusiasts overlook the context in their haste to avail themselves of the most superficial appearance to give their favourite notion currency. This however we may leave till the rest of this scripture comes before us in due course. But it is the characteristic of error to despise what is most certain, solid, and blessed in a vain chase after shadows, and to rejoice more for one pervert, than for ninety and nine repentant sinners.

Let it be carefully weighed: the question of the jailer, the answer of the Lord’s servants, was not about the sign but about the reality of salvation soul-salvation, as Peter calls it (1Pe 1:9 ). And this is here, as elsewhere, bound up with faith; which of all things is personal, as is the repentance it implies. Believing for others, even so close as one’s household, in order that they should be not baptized merely, but thus saved, shows not only the poverty in resource of this pretentious school, but their hardihood in advancing questions, so dangerous for souls, on such slender grounds.

The assumption which underlies the theory, in the minds of the more moderate, probably is that the jailer’s house consisted only of children, young enough to be irresponsible: otherwise (of which extravagance some are not ashamed) it would be convicted of slighting repentance toward God, and faith in our Lord Jesus more flagrantly than any orthodox Christian sect: for which of the sects does not demand some such profession in candidates of riper years? No wonder therefore that all godly, or even sober, interpreters of the divine word repudiate those shifts of hard-driven controversialists. But scripture enables us to carry this disproof to the uttermost; for it is added (in ver. 32) that they spoke the word of the Lord to him ‘with all that were in his house’, as if the Holy Spirit by express anticipation had designed to leave no possible plea for teaching so strange. Those only who could hear the word were then concerned; none else was by the call itself included within the terms of the blessing, whatever grace might effect afterwards, if indeed any remained to be called and blessed.

‘And they spoke to him the word of the Lord’ [or, God]1 with all that were in his house. And at that hour of the night he took and washed [them from] their stripes, and was baptized, he and all his immediately. And having brought them up into his house, he set meat [a table] before them, and rejoiced with all his house, having believed in God (vers. 32-34).

1 Some ancient authorities read ‘God’, but the best sustain the Text. Rec., save in preferring ‘with’ to ‘and to’, though in sense equivalent.

The jailer took them ‘that hour’ of the night, however unseasonable it might seem; for such is the force, rather than ‘the same’ which is not said, though of course the latter also was true. But we must correctly reproduce what was originally written and meant. After washing their stripes he and all his were baptized without delay, it would seem in the precincts of the prison proper. Then he brought them ‘up’ into his house, apparently over the prisoners’ quarters, attended to their bodily refreshment, and rejoiced with all his house, having believed in God.

Undoubtedly the Greek phrase for ‘with all his house’ is adverbial; but this makes no difference for the sense substantially, either here or anywhere else. Thus all the family of every man pertaining to Jacob (Exo 1:1 ) came from Palestine into Egypt: the heads of each house did not come with Jacob in lieu of the members. It was equally true of all, though the heads only were specified. So here the jailer rejoiced, yet not representatively for his family; but they too as really in their measure as he, though his joy as believing in God is duly specified, It is intended that we should understand the joy of faith in the case of all. A beautiful picture of the reality and activity of God’s grace in this world, and this with the whole house of a hardened pagan; and of such it is repeatedly predicated. For is He the God of Jews only? Is He not also of Gentiles? Yes, of Gentiles also; since God is one Who shall justify circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through their faith, not annulling law thereby, but establishing it, for law never was so vindicated as in the death of the Lord Jesus; and hence the believers, once guilty, enter into peace and joy.

Such is the triumph of God’s righteousness for all who submit to it, yet it is no promise in suspense, still less a sham, but a reality of blessed and effectual grace for none but those that do submit, whatever may be one’s desire and hope for others. It is sweet to see thoughtful love and hospitality at once in motion, when faith purifies the heart. The restraining and controlling hand of law is a great boon in a sinful world; yet what is it at best compared with the working of divine grace, even in one but just born of God?

‘And when it was day, the praetors sent the lictors, saying, Let those men go. And the jailer reported the saying unto Paul, The praetors have sent that ye be let go: now then go out and proceed in peace. But Paul said unto them, They beat us openly, uncondemned, men being Romans, and cast us into prison; and now do they cast us out privily? No indeed: but let themselves come and bring us out. And the lictors announced these words to the praetors and they were afraid when they heard they were Romans. And on coming they besought them, and bringing out entreated [them] to go out of the city. And when they went out of prison, they entered into [the house of] Lydia, and when they saw the brethren, they exhorted them and departed’ (vers. 35-40).

Another evidence of a Roman colony appears here in the lictors employed as subordinates by the praetors, which is disguised in the vague name of ‘serjeants’, as the higher officials under that of ‘magistrates’.

The passionate or time-serving concession to unjust clamour had now passed away, and word was dispatched next morning to dismiss the abused prisoners of the day before. The jailer naturally repeated his orders, glad doubtless to release them. But Paul was now as firm in a dignified way for the vindication of the gospel, and even of the law, of which they were the unworthy administrators, as he and his companion before in uncomplaining meekness had borne their lawless violence. If there is a time to keep silent, there is a time to speak; and the Spirit alone can guide as to either, for which the word alone suffices, for it warrants both, each in its due season. Here we see the two injunctions carried out in the same transaction, and both turning to the glory of the Lord.

It was not invariably so even with such honoured servants. Their own spirit might, and occasionally did, act without the sure guidance of God; as when the high priest was rebuked and Caesar was appealed to, each time with consequences less or more serious, as it may be shown when the history comes before us. Here beyond controversy the silent suffering of Paul and Silas was a mighty and striking testimony to the practical grace which our Lord would have to characterize His own. ‘For what glory is it,’ says another apostle, ‘if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? But if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable [lit., grace] with God’ (1Pe 2:20 ). To this saints, as such, are called. Peculiarly does it become those to practise it who teach it, as did the blessed pair then at Philippi. They were reproached for the name of Christ, and were partakers of His sufferings without a murmur, nay, with prayers and hymns of joy that they were counted worthy to bear wrong and shame for His Name.

But now that they had thus endured, it was fitting that it should be proved that Paul and Silas were not evildoers punished justly with scourging and prison and the stocks, but that the guardians of the law had been guilty of flagrant, manifest, and inexcusable unrighteousness against the preachers of the gospel. The time was come when the praetors sent to let them go, and Paul saw this, not at first the jailer. Therefore said the apostle to them, ‘They beat us openly, uncondemned, men being Romans, and cast us into prison; and do they cast us out privily? No, indeed; but let themselves come and bring us out.’ Their exposure was complete, though only the officials and their victims might know it. There was not the semblance of resentment, not the least desire to injure them, and exact from men who lay absolutely in the power of those they had wantonly injured. But it was unanswerably demonstrated, that, in the conflict between the officials of Roman law at Philippi and the ministers of the gospel, the latter were no less honoured by the gracious power of God than the former had utterly failed to repress the mob, and had even become the ringleaders in cruel infraction of that law they were bound to enforce.

The lictors bring back Paul’s words to the praetors, who when they heard the sufferers were Romans could not hide their fear, but came and besought their prisoners. It was a humiliation on their part, as undeniable a triumph for those charged with God’s gospel, who had suffered only as Christians with the Spirit of glory and of God resting on them.

Certainly the preachers of grace were not disposed to swerve from grace, least of all now that the truth was clear; nor had they any wish to put dishonour on any human institution, but rather to be patterns in that subjection to it for the Lord’s sake, to which they were conspicuous in exhorting others. They were easily entreated, having never thought of a prosecution.

‘And when they brought them out, they asked [them] to go out of the city. And they went out of the prison into [the house of] Lydia; and when they saw the brethren, they exhorted them and departed.’ They exercised their indisputable title to liberty by a visit, on quitting the prison, to Lydia, where they saw ‘the brethren’. These would seem to be her household of whom we heard in verse 15. Of none others in that holy bond of relationship do we read at this time in Philippi. These they exhorted or comforted, as well there might be need, and the Lord’s servants could happily do in the defence and confirmation of the gospel. As they had rejoiced in their bonds, they took their leave: a lovely picture in their own persons, of that superiority to circumstances which the apostle in his Epistle at a later day impressed on all the saints there, for their blessing and ours.

Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Act 16:1-5

1Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, 2and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. 3Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to observe. 5So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily

Act 16:1 “Derbe and to Lystra” These cities are located in the southern part of the Roman Province of Galatia (modern Turkey). Paul visited this area on his first missionary journey (cf. Act 16:14).

“And a disciple was there” Luke uses the term idou to introduce this phrase. It was a way of showing emphasis. Timothy will become a major participant in Paul’s ministry.

“the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek” From 2Ti 1:5 we learn that his grandmother was also a Jewish believer or a faith-oriented Jew. His grandmother was named Lois and his mother was named Eunice. His mother, and possibly grandmother, became believers on Paul’s first mission.

Act 16:2 “he was well spoken of” This is an imperfect passive indicative. People spoke well of Timothy again and again. One of the qualifications for a church leader was “no handle for criticism,” within both the believing and unbelieving communities (cf. 1Ti 3:2; 1Ti 3:7; 1Ti 3:10).

“in Lystra” Timothy’s hometown was Lystra. However, some Greek manuscripts of Act 20:4 (and Origen’s writings) imply that Derbe was his hometown.

Act 16:3 “Paul wanted this man to go with him” Notice that Paul calls Timothy. This was not Timothy’s choice alone (cf. 1Ti 3:1). In a sense Timothy becomes Paul’s apostolic delegate or representative.

“had circumcised him” Paul wanted him to be able to work with Jews (cf. 1Co 9:20; Act 15:27-29). This was not a compromise with the Judaizers because

1. of the results of the Jerusalem Council (cf. Act 16:15)

2. he refused to circumcise Titus (cf. Gal 2:3)

However, Paul’s actions surely confused the issue! Paul’s methodology of becoming all things to all men in order to win some (cf. 1Co 9:19-23) makes people and their salvation priority!

“father was a Greek” The imperfect tense implies that he was dead.

Act 16:4 Paul and Silas reported (i.e., imperfect active indicative) on the results of the Jerusalem Council (cf Act 15:22-29). Remember these “essentials” were for two purposes:

1. fellowship within the churches

2. Jewish evangelism (as was Timothy’s circumcision)

Act 16:5 This is another of Luke’s summary statements (cf. Act 6:7; Act 9:31; Act 12:24; Act 16:5; Act 19:20; Act 28:31). Paul had a heart for discipling (cf. Act 14:22; Act 15:36; Act 15:5). Evangelism without discipleship violates the Great Commission (cf. Mat 28:18-20) and results in “spiritual abortions”!

“churches” See Special Topic at Act 5:11.

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

came . . . to = arrived at. Greek. katantao. Occurs nine times in Acts, four times in Paul’s epistles. Always accompanied by eis, except Act 20:15.

named = by name.

Timotheus. From this time closely associated with Paul in the ministry (Rom 16:21). He was probably one of his converts at his previous visit (Act 14:7). Compare my own son in the faith (1Ti 1:2, 1Ti 1:18; 2Ti 1:2). In six of Paul’s epistles Timothy is joined with him in the opening salutation. His name, which means honour of God, or valued by God (time and theos), suggests the important part he was to take in the revelation of God’s eternal purpose.

son. Greek. huios. App-108.

certain. Texts omit.

and believed = a believer. Greek. pistos. App-150. Eunice (2Ti 1:5), as well as her mother Lois, had instructed Timothy in the Holy Scriptures from his infancy (2Ti 3:15).

Greek : i.e. a Gentile (Greek. Hellen). His influence doubtless prevented Timothy’s being circumcised when eight days old.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

1.] We have Derbe first, as lying nearest to the pass from Cilicia into Lycaonia and Cappadocia. Paul probably travelled by the ordinary road through the Cilician gates, a rent or fissure in the mountain-chain of Taurus, extending from north to south through a distance of eighty miles. See various interesting particulars in C. and H. i. p. 301 ff. and notes.

] At Lystra: which, and not Derbe, was in all probability the birth-place of Timotheus: see on ch. Act 20:4. This view is confirmed by Act 16:2.

He had probably been converted by Paul during his former visit, as he calls him his son in the Lord, 1Co 4:17; 1Ti 1:2; 2Ti 1:2; perhaps at Antioch in Pisidia, see 2Ti 3:10-11. His mother was Eunice, his grandmother Lois,-both women of well-known piety, 2Ti 1:5. Whether his father was a proselyte of the gate or not, is uncertain: he certainly was uncircumcised. He would be, besides his personal aptness for the work, singularly fitted to be the coadjutor to Paul, by his mixed extraction forming a link between Jews and Greeks.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

We remember at the end of our study last week there arose a contention between Paul and Barnabas who had been close companions on the first missionary venture of the church. But because Barnabas was insisting on taking his nephew John Mark, who deserted Paul and Barnabas on the first trip, Barnabas was wanting to take him on the second trip and Paul was objecting because of his defection on the first trip. They had a dispute over this, contention so great that Barnabas took Mark and headed off for Cyprus, and so Paul took Silas and they headed for Asia Minor.

So in chapter 16,

Then he [Paul and Silas] came to Derbe and Lystra ( Act 16:1 ):

Derbe was one of the few places where Paul had a very peaceful, uneventful kind of a ministry. It didn’t end with a riot or with Paul getting jailed or stoned or anything. He was able to leave town very peacefully which was unusual for his ministry. But then they came to Lystra where Paul was stoned and thought to be dead, and drug out of town thinking that he was dead.

and, behold, there was a certain disciple there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, who was a believer; and his father was a Greek ( Act 16:1 ):

Now this second-coming of Paul to Lystra was probably some five years after his first visit when he was stoned. Coming back to that place where he had planted a church five years later. It was no doubt extremely encouraging to Paul to see that there was a church continuing in that area. They were going on in the Lord.

Jesus said to His disciples, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should be my disciples and you should bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain” ( Joh 15:16 ). And a very important part to any ministry is the remaining fruit. It’s not really how many people you can get excited and make a commitment to Jesus Christ. Five years later, how many people are still going on with the Lord? That’s what really counts. And coming to Lystra, they found this certain disciple, Timothy, who probably had accepted the Lord five years earlier under Paul’s ministry there in his first journey. But now, of course, in the five years he’s grown up, he’s matured, and here he is a faithful disciple. His mother a Jewess, his father a Greek.

And he received good reports about Timothy from the brethren that were there in Lystra and Iconium ( Act 16:2 ).

He came highly recommended. And Paul wanted Timothy to join them. Now, earlier Paul had Mark on the journey. It was handy to have these young men with a lot of energy and enthusiasm going along. And also, I believe there was that desire to disciple Timothy.

I think that discipleship is a very important part of the ministry when God has blessed and used a person in the ministry. I think that if they are wise, will always be looking towards the next generation.

I have a very keen interest in young people, in young people who have those God-given abilities, anointings upon their lives. I like to invest time with them, because they are going to be carrying on when we’re carried off. And I’m concerned that the work of God go on. And so Paul, no doubt, had asked Timothy to go, thinking of the fact that he wasn’t going to be there forever and the training of these young men to carry on the work once they are gone.

So Timothy became a companion of Paul. In six of Paul’s epistles, as he opens the epistle, he includes Timothy in the greetings. Paul writes two epistles to Timothy. Paul speaks of the help that Timothy was to him. He asks that they would send Timothy to him speedily, bringing some of the documents and all that he was desiring. And so there came a very close relationship between Paul and Timothy, who Paul called, “my own son in the faith.” So Timothy was one of Paul’s converts, but then he was also tutored by the apostle Paul.

Paul would have him to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek. And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem ( Act 16:3-4 ).

Now what were these decrees from the apostles in Jerusalem? That you as a Gentile don’t need to be circumcised to be saved. And so it is interesting that Paul had Timothy circumcised when they are then going right out and telling the Gentiles you don’t have to be circumcised in order to be saved. This was the decision of the church in Jerusalem.

Then why is it that we have a paradox? Why would then Paul see that Timothy was circumcised? I am certain that it was just that beautiful adaptability of Paul not wanting to create a greater havoc that already existed among the Jews who knew that Timothy’s father was a Greek. And so rather than just having a hassle with them, it was, “Go ahead and do it, what difference does it make? It doesn’t matter. Go ahead.” And for the sake of these contentious brethren, go ahead and be circumcised. It was as Paul wrote later, “I have learned to become all things to all men, that I might gain the more” ( 1Co 9:22 ). To the Jew I became as a Jew. To those that are free from the law, I became as one who is free to the law. All things to all men.

And I think that this is just a part of Paul’s philosophy, and I think that it is a good philosophy. As he wrote to the Romans, “Live peaceably with all men, as much as lieth in you” ( Rom 12:18 ). As far as is possible on your part, live at peace with all men. And if some issue comes up and it is no big deal to you, go along with it instead of, you know, making a big issue and creating a big scene over it. Just be cool and flow with it, you know. And this was Paul’s philosophy, just to get along as best as possible.

Now when it came to a thing of conscience or faith, then you stand your ground. Now when the church in Jerusalem was trying to throw the law upon the Gentiles, Paul stood his ground. When Peter there in the church of Antioch who was eating with the Gentiles until certain brothers came down from Jerusalem and then Peter separated himself and wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles and it caused a division there in Antioch, Paul said, “I withstood him to the face because he was at fault.” Creating this division by his separating himself from the Gentiles, as though there were in Christ some division between Jew and Gentile.

So on a matter of principal, a matter of conviction, stand your ground. But where there’s no big deal, flow with it. Go for it. You know, just to keep peace among the brethren. I think that was, no doubt, Paul’s philosophy behind the circumcision of Timothy when they are carrying the very message from the church in Jerusalem, you don’t have to be circumcised if you’re a Gentile and keep the law in order to be saved. So just because they knew that his father was a Greek, Paul had him take the right of circumcision just to keep peace. So they went through the cities delivering the decrees from the church in Jerusalem.

And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily ( Act 16:5 ).

The early church was a powerful church; it was a successful church. And as we will soon see, it was a church that was under the direct governing power of the Holy Spirit. He was guiding the activities of the early church and I believe that that was the reason for success. It was a tragic day when in the church man decided to substitute the work of the Holy Spirit with his own work.

Paul wrote to the Galatians later, “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that you would so soon turn from the truth. Having begun in the Spirit, will you now be made perfect in the flesh?” ( Gal 3:1 , Gal 3:3 ) And I’m sure if Paul were writing to the general church today, the whole church, he would write an epistle to the church of Jesus Christ of the twentieth century, “O foolish people! Who hath bewitched you that you should turn from the truth? The church having begun in the Spirit, do you think that you can perfect it, complete it in the flesh?”

And yet, when we look at the church today and we see all of the man-made programs, all of the fleshly hype, I’m hyped to death when I turn on television or when I listen to the radio, or some thank you brother whoever-you-were put me on the mailing list of some of these high powered evangelist who have more gimmicks than I can believe to get me to send them an offering!

I can’t, you just can’t believe…well, I don’t want to get into that. Now, these churches, without the programs, the pressures, without all of these modern conveniences and assists that we have today were increasing daily just as the result of Word of God being taught and the fellowship of the body growing. Their numbers increased daily.

Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, after they were come to Mysia, they attempted to go to Bithynia: but the Spirit would not allow them. And passing by Mysia came down to Troas ( Act 16:6-8 ).

Now Paul is trying to move north into Asia, but every attempt he makes is being blocked by the Spirit. Now it is interesting that it tells us that the Spirit forbade them to go and preach the Word in Asia. The Spirit would not allow them to go to Bithynia. How is it that the Spirit forbid them? By what process? It is interesting they do not tell us by what process. Was there a word of prophecy that came? Surely Paul would have had to been assured that the prophecy was from the Lord because he was a strong-willed person. How did the Spirit forbid them? We really don’t know.

Many believe that the Spirit forbid them through Paul’s sickness, that Paul was just too sick to travel. Now you remember when Paul wrote to the Galatians, he said, “You remember how that when I was with you,” (notice they were passing through Galatia here), “how I ministered to you out of great weakness, physical infirmity. And you showed such great love and concern for me because of my physical infirmities.” I think that does give us a very strong hint of the method of the Lord in stopping Paul. It is interesting, as I said, he was a very stubborn kind of a person. I mean, he was one that was hard to stop.

When he wanted to do something, he was going to do it no matter what. When he was determined to go back to Jerusalem, there was no stopping him. His friends, when the prophecy came and said, “You know, you’re going to be in prison when you get to Jerusalem,” and his friends began to weep and said, “Paul, don’t go. They’re going to throw you in jail!” He said, “Hey, what do you mean by these tears? Are you trying to dissuade me? Don’t you realize that I’m not afraid of being thrown in jail? I’m ready to die for Jesus in Jerusalem.”

So you just don’t stop those fellows with a tap on the shoulder and say, “I don’t think you ought to go there.” Paul’s an unstoppable kind of a fellow. And this is a good characteristic in one sense. Surely he would not have been able to endure all of the hardships of his missionary ventures had he not had this strong, powerful spirit. Yet our strong points can also be our weak points. And if this strong point is not totally yielded to God, then it can become a weak point in my life. And it means that when God wants to direct me, He has to get pretty tough.

And it is possible that Paul was so determined to go to Asia that God had to put him on his back and make him so sick he couldn’t get out of bed. And after several days in bed not able to roll over, he said, “Well, the Spirit forbid us to go to Asia. And so then we attempted to go to Bithynia, but the Spirit would not allow us. So we went on to Troas.” So there at Troas, Paul had a vision.

And there appeared to Paul in the night; a man of Macedonia, and he prayed to him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us ( Act 16:9 ).

So Paul in the night vision saw this man from Macedonia crying for help.

And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go to Macedonia ( Act 16:10 ),

Now notice, here we had a plural pronoun, we. You remember that Luke is the author of the book of Acts. This is the first time the personal pronoun is used. So it is no doubt here at Troas where Luke met Paul, and it is very possible that the reason why Luke met Paul is because Luke was a physician and Paul was so sick he was about to die. That’s one possibility.

There are others who believe that Luke was the man that Paul saw in his vision crying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Whatever the case may be, now Luke turns to the personal plural pronouns, because at this point, Luke became a companion with Paul. Notice it in the rest of the verse. “And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go to Macedonia,”

assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel unto them ( Act 16:10 ).

So we see the we and the us as Luke joins Paul’s party at this point. God directing Paul’s ministry by a vision is one of the ways by which God can direct people into their various ministries. I do know of a man, Dr. Edwards, who was the president of a bank in San Jose who committed his life to Jesus Christ and who really felt called of God to serve the Lord. And thus, he began to take courses in study, though he was a bank president, to leave the bank, to retire from the banking business and to go full time into the ministry.

And as he was preparing himself and waiting upon God, he received one night a vision of this old gray haired man standing behind a plow with a field that was only partly plowed. And this old man called to him and said, “Come to Panama and help me harvest the souls that are here.” And so he took that as a call of God, studied the Spanish language and then went down to Panama to carry to gospel to the Panamanians.

He established a very successful work in Panama City, and one evening he received a call from one of the doctors at the hospital there in Panama and he said, “We have an old man who doesn’t seem to have any friends or family and he’s dying, and we thought it might be well if there were a minister here to just talk to him. He seems to be delirious.”

And so Dr. Edwards went to the hospital, and when the nurse led him to the room, to his amazement, the old man was the man he saw in his vision. And he became very curious about this old man. And so he began to inquire and they found out that he was a cumberlan Presbyterian missionary. They really didn’t know much of what was accomplished through his work there, but Dr. Edwards was so amazed that here’s the very same man he saw in his vision in San Jose when he felt the call of God to go to Panama. And he felt really that he was completing the harvest that this man had begun. He had established just a few mission stations out in the bush of Panama.

So God is not limited by His means. I have never had a vision nor was I directed by a angel or vision or whatever to go into the ministry. God’s call upon my heart was different. I just felt a strong urge to go into the ministry. God just placed a deep desire in my heart to commit my life to Him. And so I always thought it would have been exciting had the Lord sent some angel along or had given me some vision, and there had been some dramatic experience of which I could testify to you tonight of how God came to me in the night hours and suddenly the room began to glow with a strange incandescence, you know. And I heard this voice say, “Chuck…I want you!” You know, but nothing like that happened to me.

It was interesting when I was in Bible college, I met several young people who did testify of these kind of experiences. And I was always extremely fascinated by their testimonies. However, just as a point of interest, all of those fellows who had these remarkable testimonies, I don’t know any of them who are still in the ministry today. I think that emotions are great. To have a strong emotional experience in your relationship with God is wonderful. I have had some pretty powerful emotional experiences in my worship of God. But yet, it is more important, even than a powerful emotional experience, is to found my life upon the Word and my faith upon the Word.

Our faith has to be established in fact. God’s Word is the fact upon which my faith is established, and that way my faith never wavers because God’s Word never changes. Now, if I am founding my faith in some experience that I have had, then I’m in dangerous water. Because I may get another contrary experience or the experience can fade. Emotions can wane, but the Word of God remains, and thus, my faith must be established in God’s Word. And my ministry must be established according to the Word of God, not according to some exciting, remarkable fiery letters in the sky that I saw at one time when I was watching a sunset.

So Paul was directed by this vision. He sought immediately to answer it.

Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis ( Act 16:11 );

The winds were with them, and they headed straight across from Troas to Neapolis, which was the port city of Philippi. It took them only two days. They had good winds. They were carrying them the direction they wanted to go. Later Paul made this same crossing. It took five days. But God is guiding him now to Macedonia, he endeavors to obey the call of God. The winds are with him and he comes right across to Macedonia.

Sometimes as we’re serving the Lord the winds are with us. Things go smooth. We’re cooking right along. Other times, hey, it’s a heavy push all the way. You know, it seems like you’re rowing all the way, the wind is against you. But it doesn’t mean that I’m out of the will of God because it’s difficult now. And I cannot really just say, “Well, God, which direction do You want me to go?” And try to determine which way is the wind blowing and then head that direction.

And from Neapolis they went to Philippi ( Act 16:12 ),

Which of course was a Roman colony. Philippi was an important city in history. This is where Brutus was defeated by Marc Anthony in that critical battle there at Philippi.

they were in that city abiding certain days ( Act 16:12 ).

So they’re now in a whole new environment. They’re into Greece; they’re into Europe. It’s different from the Asian culture, and they’re just there for several days really doing nothing.

But on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither ( Act 16:13 ).

Now the fact that there was no synagogue in Philippi indicates that there were not ten adult Jewish males in the town. Whenever in any city there were ten adult Jewish males, they would have a synagogue. In the towns where they had less than that number adult Jewish males, not enough to have a synagogue, then they usually would meet by a river for prayer and they would go through the sabbath prayers by a river. And so Paul found out where they were meeting and he went down, and evidently there weren’t any Jewish men believers, just women that were there. And so Paul sat down and he spoke to the women which had gathered there by the river to pray.

And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, who was from Thyatira [she was actually from Asia], which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken by Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she begged us, saying, If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide. And she constrained us ( Act 16:14-15 ).

Now notice she was a seller of purple, and I might say she no doubt was a very successful businesswoman. Notice the way she puts the pressure on Paul and the party. “Now if you have counted me worthy, then come and stay at my house.” Well, you know, if you don’t stay then you’re saying, “No, woman, you’re not worthy, you know.” And so she puts it in such a way. She no doubt was a very good sales person. She was surely able to put the pressure on Paul and the party. “If you judge me to be faithful to the Lord then come and stay at my house. And she constrained us.”

And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel who was possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by her soothsaying: the same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. And when her masters saw that the hope of their profits were gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the market place unto the rulers, and brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, are Jews, and they are exceedingly troubling our city, and teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely: who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks ( Act 16:16-24 ).

So opposition arises, and this time from a little different reason. There was this girl possessed by a spirit by which she could tell fortunes. There were men who controlled her. They made a lot of money off of her fortune telling ability. In those days people had a strange respect for the insane. They believed that the gods had taken their minds from them and replaced them many times with the minds of the gods. And so the people had sort of a strange reverence towards the insane.

This young lady, possessed by this spirit, able to tell fortunes, able to divine things, was declaring the truth about Paul and his company. She said, “These men are servants of the most high God and they show unto us the way of salvation.” Now she’s really advertising for them. What she is saying is true. But Paul doesn’t want Satan running his advertising campaign. Again, I think that there is a danger of the church seeking to emulate the world in its advertising campaigns. Doing it the way of the world, following the worldly patterns. It is indicative of the church today in many quarters to hire professionals to come in for church growth programs. And there are professionals who will come in and they get a percentage for as many members as they can add to the church, they get so much for each member they can add to your church.

There are those professional fundraisers who will come into the church, and they will raise the church budget for you by going around contacting all of the people and putting the pressure on them for their pledges to give so much to the church this year. And then you set it all up on a computer program and if you don’t get your pledge in this month, you start getting letters, you know, “We missed your pledge. The church is depending upon your promise to give so much and our whole spending is predicated upon that and you have missed.” And you start getting all this kind of stuff. And it’s really following the worldly patterns.

Paul wanted nothing to do with advertisement from this quarter. So he commanded the spirit to come out of her. He was grieved over this experience. It was a hard thing. And so when those men who were profiting off of her ability saw that she was healed, they were upset. Isn’t that terrible that men would be so mercenary that they would be upset because this young girl was set free from this tragic experience that she had being possessed by an evil spirit. At any rate, Paul’s in jail. Thrown into the dungeon, the inner prison. His feet are fast in the stocks.

And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them ( Act 16:25 ).

I imagine that they weren’t too happy with them singing at midnight, and they probably wondered what kind of nuts have they thrown in here! But yet what a witness to these men! They had been beaten; they had laid many stripes upon them. It doesn’t say anything about them washing the blood off their backs, but just thrown into this filth infested dungeon, tied to the stocks. And rather than just, you know, here you are, you’re so far from home, you’re in a different culture, you’re in a different territory. You don’t know what you’re future is. It’s midnight and usually that’s the darkest hour of the day, and here they are praising the Lord, singing together, praises unto God and praying.

And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awake out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and was going to kill himself ( Act 16:26-27 ),

Because if the prisoners escaped, he was held responsible for them and would have been put to death.

And he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. So he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? ( Act 16:27-30 )

You know, I believe that the Lord allowed Paul and Silas to be put in jail just to reach this man. And when you get to heaven and you say, “Do you think that that’s fair, Paul, that God allowed you to get beat like that and thrown in prison just so that jailer could get saved? Do you think God’s fair doing that to you?” I think as Paul would point out, “Well, there he is over there and there’s his family. Not only was he saved, but his whole family. Hey, you bet! I’d gladly do it in order that I might have him as my eternal brother here in God’s kingdom.” And I really believe that God was just reaching that Philippian jailer. And that was the reason why he allowed Paul to be in prison.

“What must I do to be saved?” Paul said, “Join the church; pay your tithes.”

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved ( Act 16:31 ),

You mean, that’s all? That’s all. Believing in Jesus Christ. God has made it so simple. There’s no excuse for anyone not being saved. Paul added,

and thy house ( Act 16:31 ).

Now there are some people who take this as a promise of the scripture, claiming their salvation’s family because Paul added, “and thy house.” I do not believe that this is solid enough scriptural base to establish a doctrine. I believe that Paul could have been speaking here a word of prophecy. There are indications that even Paul’s own house was not saved. I do believe that we are to pray and to believe God for the salvation for our families. And I strongly encourage each of you to continue to pray for those, your loved ones, your kin, who are not yet saved. And to believe and trust God for their salvation. But I do not believe that you can use this as a scriptural base to claim their salvation as some do. Because it says,

And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house ( Act 16:32 ).

So they witnessed not only to him, but to his family.

And he took them the same hour of the night [that is, the jailer took them], and washed their stripes; and he was baptized, he and all of his ( Act 16:33 ),

So his whole family was baptized.

And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all of his house ( Act 16:34 ).

So there was salvation of all of his house, but they all believed and all were baptized.

And when it was day, the magistrates sent the sergeants, saying, Let those men go. And the keeper of the prison told this to Paul, he said, The magistrates have sent to let you go: therefore depart, and go in peace ( Act 16:35-36 ).

And here is Paul’s stubbornness coming out now. Oh, I really more than excuse Paul, I say, “All right! Go for it Paul!” He’s doing what I would have no doubt done under the same circumstances.

But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they think they will just let us go privately? No way; but let them come themselves and fetch us out. So the sergeants told these words to the magistrates [the judges]: and they feared, when they heard that they were Roman citizens ( Act 16:37-38 ).

The actions that were taken against Paul were thoroughly unlawful to take against a Roman citizen. Now this was a Roman colony. They prided themselves in being a Roman colony, following Roman justice. But my, if word gets back to Rome that they have beaten and thrown in prison a Roman citizen without any charges against them, they could be immediately dismissed from their positions of authority. So they were really afraid. And Paul had them where he wanted them. Let them stew.

And so they came and begged them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city ( Act 16:39 ).

Hey, fellas, do you mind just leaving town?

And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed ( Act 16:40 ).

Now a good strong church was established in Philippi. And later as Paul is in prison in Rome, he writes to the church in Philippi. And having dealt here with the beginning of the church in Philippi, as extra credit this week, read the epistle to the Philippians. And these are the people that grew out of this work that Paul established in Philippi. “

Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary

Act 16:1. [ , a certain disciple) Paul already previously had preached the Gospel in that place.-V. g.]-, a Greek) There is not added, a believer.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Act 16:1-5

PAUL REVISITS THE CHURCHES: TIMOTHY

Act 16:1-5

1 And he came also to Derbe and to Lystra:-The journey of Paul on the second missionary tour appears to have been by land northward from Antioch around the northeastern point of the Mediterranean Sea and thence westward to Tarsus. Derbe was the last point that Paul and Barnabas had visited on their first missionary tour; Lystra was the place where they had stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. (Act 14:19.) Paul and Barnabas had left Lystra and gone to Derbe, but Paul is not afraid to return to Lystra. Lystra and Derbe were cities of Lycaonia. Timothy, or Timotheus, one of Pauls earliest converts (1Ti 1:2), was the son of a Jewess and a Greek (2Ti 1:5), who had been trained by his mother, Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois, in the Old Testament scriptures (2Ti 3:15). Timothy had been converted at Lystra and had been pressed into the service by the Christians there. (1Ti 1:18.) He had been given a gift by the elders of the church at Lystra and was now invited by Paul to accompany him on this tour. (1Ti 4:14.) Pauls work took him among Jews as well as Gentiles, and the Jews would have looked upon Timothy as an apostate had he not been circumcised, so Paul, to avoid offense, circumcised the young man. Timothy afterward worked with Paul (Rom 16:21), and was his messenger to the Corinthian church (1Co 4:17) and to the church at Thessalonica (1Th 3:2-6.) He was at Rome with Paul. (Php 1:1 Php 2:19; Col 1:1; Phm 1:1.) Timothy suffered much for the truth with Paul. (Heb 13:23.)

2 The same was well reported of-Well reported of is from the Greek emartureito, and means a continuous witness ; Timothy had good witness of his Christian life in his hometown of Lystra and also in Derbe; he had exercised his gifts and graces for the ministry and had been commended by the brethren. The phrase used here to describe Timothy is the same as that used to describe Cornelius (Act 10:22) and Ananias (Act 22:12). Timothy had been silently preparing himself for his work in the world by his work at Lystra and Iconium. Probably four or five years had elapsed since Paul had preached the gospel in these cities.

3 Him would Paul have to go forth with him;-Paul saw that Timothy would be not only a good gospel preacher and a great help to him, but that he would be a help to Timothy. The apostles desired to train younger men who could carry on the work after they had passed away; the elders and older ones in the church today should train the young men to carry on the work of the Lord. Later Paul wrote to Timothy and said: The things which thou hast heard from me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. (2Ti 2:2.) Silas had taken the place of Barnabas, and Timothy is to take the place of Mark. Paul took Timothy and circumcised him; anyone could perform this rite. Paul did not do this as a Christian act, for he had contended that it was not necessary to circumcise either Jew or Gentile in order to become a Christian. The decision at Jerusalem had made it clear that the Gentile could become a Christian without circumcision, and that a Jew did not have to cease practicing circumcision in order to be a Christian; circumcision had nothing to do with becoming a Christian or with living the Christian life. Timothys father was a Greek or a Gentile, and while his mother and grandmother were faithful in teaching him the Old Testament, yet he had not been circumcised. He had now been a Christian for four or five years, but had not been circumcised. The conduct of Paul here was an instance of his accommodation to Jewish prejudices, and did not involve any departure from his previous views of Christian duty and Christian liberty.

4 And as they went on their way through the cities,-Wherever Paul and Silas went they delivered the decrees which had been ordained of the apostles and elders that were at Jerusalem. This shows Pauls loyalty to the church at Jerusalem and to the other apostles. However, Paul did this because it was the will of God that it should be done. The word decrees here is from the Greek dogmata, and that is from the Greek verb dokeo, which means to give an opinion. It is used of public decrees of rulers (Luk 2:1; Act 17:7), and of the requirements of the Mosaic law (Col 2:14). Here it is used to designate the regulations or conclusions reached at Jerusalem. These decrees would encourage Gentile Christians, or encourage Gentiles to accept the gospel; they would also instruct the Jews as to the will of God on this question. Some claim that the word implies that Paul left copies of these decrees wherever he went.

5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith,-Strengthened is from the Greek esterounto, and means to make firm and solid. It is used here and in Act 3:7 Act 3:16-only three times in the New Testament. The blessings of God rested upon the work of Paul, Silas, and Timothy, and the churches increased in number daily. The number of churches and of members was increased, for both ideas may be contained in this verse. The results of the work of Paul and his company were that the churches were confirmed in the faith, established in the truth of the gospel, and the number of churches and members were daily increased.

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

Here begins the account of Pads second journey. At Lystra he found Timothy. His action in the circumcision of Timothy is startling in view of the recent decision of the council. Some charge him with inconsistency, and yet perhaps it was a proof of a larger and deeper consistency.

The beginning of this journey is noted for a remarkable experience. The Spirit compelled Paul to a course against his own inclination. At the end of that journey the man of Macedonia appeared to him, and the movement toward Europe began. They came to Philippi, a Roman colony. There they first went to a Jewish place of prayer, and found there a Gentile woman who worshiped, whom, with her household they baptised.

At last Paul and Silas found themselves in prison, and then occurred that wonderful revelation of Christian courage. In prison they sang with their feet fast in the stocks. They were delivered supernaturally, and the first result was winning the jailor for Christ. It is interesting here to see Paul making use of his earthly citizenship in demanding that his rights should be respected by the magistrates. Undoubtedly, he did this in the interest of others. To suffer wrongfully, without protest, is likely to issue in perpetuation of the wrong and involving others in suffering.

Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible

Guided to New Fields

Act 16:1-13

Paul had a wonderful influence over young men. Timothy, Titus, and Mark bore his impress. When circumcision was insisted upon, as in the previous chapter, no one opposed it more stoutly than Paul; when it conciliated Jewish prejudice, he was quite willing to concede it, since in itself it was a matter of perfect indifference. As the stoning of Stephen was the first step toward winning Paul, so his own stoning at Lystra on the former occasion, as we have noted, probably gave him Timothy.

Our path through life will often be indicated by the fact that the doors which lead off the straight track are barred and bolted, so that we have no option save to go on. Paul was blocked first on the left, that he should not go into the province of Asia; then on the right, that he should not go into Bithynia. Finally he reached Troas, and stood face to face with the ocean that lay between him and Europe.

Here he had a vision which made a deep impression upon him. He saw a man of Macedonia standing in an attitude of entreaty and saying, Come over into Macedonia and help us. Note that word, concluding, Act 16:10. God often leaves us to infer our course. He does not ignore His own great gift of reason.

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

It was on Pauls second visit to Lystra, Iconium, and Derbe that the brethren commended Timothy, who had been converted through Paul, as one whom they believed to be called of God to give his life to the ministry of the Word. This young man was of mixed parentage, his mother being a Jewess, but his father a Greek. So in order not to offend Jewish prejudices, Paul circumcised him, something he would never have agreed to had Timothy been, like Titus, a Gentile. Paul took Timothy along, after the local brethren had expressed their fellowship by prayer and the laying on of hands. In answer to their prayers, God gave him some special gift, which we understand was the gift of pastor, for in after years Timothy always manifested a true shepherd heart. Later in writing to the Philippians, Paul said of Timothy, I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christs. But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel.

What a splendid testimony for the older preacher to give concerning the younger! Many ministers of the gospel are far more concerned with getting on in the world, furthering their own interests, than they are about the people of God. It was different with Timothy. His one yearning desire was to be used by God for their blessing.

So Paul made no mistake in taking this young man with them. He was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium, and he proved to be a valuable helper in the years that followed. And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.

Led By a Vision (Act 16:6-15)

After they had ministered in these cities they turned north and thought of going into Asia; that is, a limited area of Asia Minor in which were located in later years those seven churches spoken of in the book of Revelation. They intended to go into this district, but they were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia. What does that mean? Had not the Lord Jesus told them to go into all the world? Certainly. Well, was not the gospel, for Asia as well as for every other part of the world? Yes. But there is often a specific time for certain work to be done, and the Spirit of God saw that the time had not yet come to enter Asia. Later on, Paul went to Ephesus, the chief city of Asia, and had a glorious ministry. Hundreds, even thousands, throughout the city were converted. But this was not yet the Lords time. It is a wonderful thing for the servant of God to be guided by the Lords Spirit and move each moment in His will.

So they turned aside to the district called Bithynia, just over the border, but once more they were hindered. The Spirit of Jesus in some way spoke to them and forbade them to enter. And why not? In the next verse we have the answer. And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. Troas was a seaport looking across the Aegean to Greece. Remember, the apostles had not yet visited Europe. So far as we know, no one had yet carried the gospel to that continent.

And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. In the morning he related the vision to his companions, and Luke wrote, Immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them (10). Note the pronouns we and us. Luke became a member of the missionary group at Troas, and from this time on is identified with the work. He and the others concluded it was Gods way of telling Paul and his companions that the time had come to cross the Aegean to enter into Europe and carry the gospel to-shall I say?-our forefathers.

People sometimes remark, I am not interested in missions to the heathen. There is plenty of work to be done here, piously adding, Charity begins at home. Yes it does, but it is a pity if it also ends there. And how thankful we should be that thousands of years ago somebody did believe in missions and so carried the gospel to our forefathers that they might be brought to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The apostles decided immediately to act upon Pauls vision. Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis. They had landed in Europe, and from thence took the Roman military highway to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony.

A Roman colony was a city that had been granted special privileges by the Roman government because of some service rendered to the empire. All freemen in such a colony were regarded as having all the rights of Roman citizens. It was similar to a little bit of Rome in a distant country. The apostle Paul saw in this a beautiful illustration of the Christians position in this world. Later he wrote about it in his letter to the Philippians: Our [citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. They would understand that very well, for though they lived in Macedonia, their citizenship was in Rome; and though we live in this poor world, our citizenship is in Heaven! We belong to Heaven and have all the privileges of heavenly citizens.

We, wrote Luke, were in that city abiding certain days. At first, it seemed as though no one was interested in their message. Many missionaries have the same disappointment. Paul heard the man in the vision say, Come over into Macedonia and help us, and he surely had reason to believe that when he reached Macedonia he would find some anxious people waiting to receive him. But there was nothing like that. They abode certain days, with no one asking for help or seeking them out, with no evidence that any man or woman was a bit concerned about them.

Young people sometimes hear a fervent missionary from a distant field tell of the need of young men and young women for work in Africa or China or in some other country. They say, I must answer the call. They arrange to leave everything here and go out to the mission field, only to find nobody wants them. And they say, Isnt that strange? They were pleading that we come, and instead of wanting us they are ready, in some instances, to kill us. Was the missionary wrong? Did he give a false impression of conditions? Not at all! The heathen do not realize their need often until the preaching of the true God gives them a sense of their real condition. Nevertheless it is that very need that calls for someone to help.

So while the Macedonians needed help, there was no one to actually say, We welcome you and are anxious for the message you have come to give. Finally, the apostles located a little company at a place of prayer. And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made. That tells us it was a Jewish prayer meeting. It was the custom of the Jews, if ten men could be gathered together, to have a synagogue in a Gentile city. But if not enough were available, they would go where they could get flowing water for their cleansing rites, and there establish a place of prayer.

So Paul went to this prayer meeting, but nobody was there but a few women! All the men were absent. How many prayer meetings are just like that! Men often think they are too busy to come together and wait upon God in prayer, but a few faithful, devoted women will carry on alone. So Luke wrote, And we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.

Paul was not indifferent to the soul needs of these women. He was thankful to find a few in Philippi ready to hear the Word. One was a Gentile, perhaps a proselyte, of the city of Thyatira. Thyatira was one of the leading cities of Asia. The Spirit of God had forbidden Paul to go to Asia, but He had this woman from Asia waiting for Paul in Macedonia. She doubtless had learned from the people of Israel of the true and living God. Her heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. There was no great crisis in her life. She had already been seeking the truth, and now when Paul unfolded the gospel, without any excitement, without any outward evidence, the Lord opened her heart and she received the message and trusted the Savior.

She was baptized. Thus she took the public place of identification with Christ. And her household. We are not told who the members of her household were, except that in verse 40 we read of the brethren there. Lydia was a business woman, a seller of purple, and she probably had a number of men working for her. Apparently all of them opened their hearts to the Word. Lydia offered her own home as a home for the missionaries, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And we are told, she constrained us. Thus the gospel had entered Europe and the work of evangelizing Macedonia was started.

The Apostles Persecuted (Act 16:16-24)

Next we see Satans efforts to patronize the gospel, and the results of this. If Satan cannot stop the work of the Lord by out-and-out persecution, he will try to hinder it by condescension. And just as soon as the church of God accepts the patronage of the world it becomes subservient to the world. The apostle Paul was very jealous that nothing be allowed which, in the slightest degree, would indicate that the church of God had any connection whatever with the powers of evil. We see this in the next incident here recorded.

And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying. It was a very common thing in the ancient world at the time the gospel was first being carried to the various countries, to find such characters as this young woman. They believed themselves to be in touch with heathen gods and thought they were actually possessed by the spirit of a god. Many people flocked to these fortunetellers for their advice in matters relating to business, or marriage, or to affairs having to do with the government of kingdoms, and so on.

After all, we have not progressed very far. Today we find the same characters. Even in our land, with all its enlightenment, there are literally thousands of people who scarcely make a move without consulting a clairvoyant, or spirit medium, someone who is supposed to have special illumination because of contact with the unseen world.

This woman in Philippi believed she was possessed of the spirit of the god Apollo. It says in the King James version that she had a spirit of divination. The margins of some Bibles read a spirit of Python. Python was a serpent sacred to Apollo. The people believed that Apollo himself spoke through this woman, who was thus enabled to give counsel. When under the power of this spirit she was not conscious of what she was saying; in a kind of cataleptic state, she was dead to all around her. Actually we know from Scripture it was a demon and not a god at all; yet people flocked to her for help, and actually believed she was putting them in touch with the heavenly spheres. She heard Paul preaching the gospel and undoubtedly it was suggested to her by Satan that she associate herself with him and his companions. She was just a poor female slave, and the money that came to her for fortunetelling went into the hands of men who owned her, body and spirit.

The young woman followed Paul and us [notice Luke is still of the company], and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation. That is very significant when we realize the woman was under the control of a demon. Even Satan himself believes in the reality of Gods salvation and here attempts to take the position of a patron of the work of the Lord by saying, These menshow unto us the way of salvation.

Day after day she followed them, always making the same statement, endeavoring to give the impression that she, in some sense at least, was affiliated with them. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. We have many instances in modern days of missionaries working in pagan lands where they have come in contact with people who seem to be just as truly possessed with demons as this young woman was. On many occasions these servants of God have cast out those demons, using these same words.

I remember a dear servant of God telling of a woman who continually raved and blasphemed against God. He and others felt she was under the power of a demon, that she had worse than a diseased mind, worse than a heart at enmity against God. They finally met together in special prayer and when this woman began blaspheming God as usual, Gods servant rose up and said, I command you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, come out of this woman and enter no more! The next moment the woman fell at his feet in a fit. He said it reminded him of what he had read in Scripture, The devil threw him down, and tare him, but from that time on she was never so affected again.

Demon possession is a very real thing, and the power in spiritualism today consists in this: not that God allows spirits of the dead to come back and speak through mediums but that demons take possession of these mediums and speak through them. The church of God needs to be on guard against those who are seeking to imitate the work of the Lord. The name of Jesus drove out the demon from this woman, for Jesus is conqueror and victor over Satans host. Whenever the power of Christs name is invoked, He can be depended on to vindicate the glory of His name.

Now that the demon was gone out of the woman, she could no longer go off into trances, therefore her masters were indignant. The money that had come through the use of the demons awful power over this girl no longer flowed into their coffers; their profits were gone. And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city. Notice they did not know anything about Christianity; they did not recognize Paul and his companion as Christians-but as Jews. So it was an outbreak of anti-Semitism. They are Jews; get them out of the way! Oh, how often that cry has been sounded!

If there is trouble here or there, men are always looking for a scapegoat for it. During World War II many put all the blame upon the Jews! It is so much more convenient than to confess our own sins! Our trouble comes not because of any particular people, Jew or Gentile, but results from departure from God. He is dealing in judgment with the nations of this world because of their rejection of His testimony. Let us humbly confess our sin and failure before God and thus seek deliverance from the worlds prevailing distress and grave suffering.

The possessed girls masters put the blame on Paul and Silas, not because they were Christians, but because they were Jews, and so should be dealt with. These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. I imagine the very people who accused the apostles would not have been so proud to acknowledge themselves as Romans before their country was taken over and dominated by the Romans; but now they glory in what should be their shame.

And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes. This was the Eastern way of saying, We have come to our wits end; we dont know what to do in a case like this, Then they were taken and beaten and thrown into prison. We are not told of any definite trial, or of an opportunity given to explain matters and clear themselves of the charges preferred against them. The brutal jailer, when he received them, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. Their backs were torn and bleeding as a result of the dreadful flagellation, but the jailer did not so much as wash their stripes.

The Jailers Conversion (Acts 16:25*40)

What would we do in circumstances like that? Note what they did: At midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. These dear men, afflicted, miserable, unable to sleep, could not move without anguish. Yet as they sat in that dungeon their hearts went out to God, presenting their case before Him, and assured He heard, they lifted up their voices in glad thanksgiving for His grace. And we are told, the prisoners heard them.

What a challenge that is for us when we find ourselves in difficult circumstances! We have perhaps never yet had to endure conditions so bad; but have we learned to lift our hearts in thanksgiving to God no matter what our circumstances? We read, In everything give thanks. Someone may say, I can give thanks for blessings, but not for trials and testings. But Scripture says, In every thing give thanks-And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Perhaps someone is reading this who is passing through great trial. I know that some are going through deep waters, and my heart goes out in sympathy, for I too have gone through the floods and been almost overwhelmed. I too have passed through fires of affliction. But I can assure you there is no circumstance in which the believer can be found where the Lord is not able to sustain him and lift him above trial and enable him to rejoice. We are told to glory in tribulations. There is a Savior for you and you may find deliverance, peace, rest, and joy in Him.

It does not take much character, nor much Christianity, to be happy when everything is going our way. But when everything goes wrong-when poverty, sickness, bereavement, or misunderstanding is our lot-to be able to rejoice in the Lord then is Christian victory! That is what we see in the prison experience of Paul and Silas.

They presented the first sacred concert ever held in Europe. Just two artists, the concert hall a dungeon, neither piano nor organ to accompany; yet these two artists had such effect that they brought down the house! Soon the whole prison began to shake. That was the most successful sacred concert I have ever heard of. As they sang, suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and every ones bands were loosed.

You may think it far-fetched, but I have an idea that if there were more joy in tribulation, more triumphing in trouble in our own day, we would see more shaking by the power of God. The unsaved people of the world are watching Christians, and when they see Christians shaken by circumstances, they conclude that after all there is very little to Christianity. But when they find Christians rising above circumstances and glorying in the Lord even in deepest trial, then the unsaved realize the Christian has a comfort to which they are strangers.

You may have heard the story of the Christian who one day met another believer whose face was long as a fiddle and asked, How are you? The man replied, Well, I am pretty well under the circumstances. To which the other replied, Im sorry you are under the circumstances. Get above the circumstances! Dont allow yourself to be under them. Christians should never be under the circumstances. Paul and Silas were not. They were above them.

As they prayed, God took hold and began to shake the prison until He had loosened the very doors open and the fetters off the prisoners limbs. The keeper of the prison-this hard man who had thrust them into the dungeon, this man so insensible to the things of God that it looked as though no power could reach him and bring him to repentance-awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. You see, under the Roman law he was responsible for these prisoners. If he lost them, he lost his life. So rather than face the executioner himself, he sought to take his own life, but Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.

I wonder how it was that Paul realized the condition of things. It does not seem there was any possibility of his seeing beyond that dungeon to the jailers own apartment. Yet he appeared to know and he spoke out at the right moment. Doubtless he was guided by the Spirit of God.

How often God has guided His servants, giving the right message at the right time! Somebody told me of a poor, wretched, miserable man under the power of strong drink, fighting for long against it. He finally thought he might as well give up trying. Then happening to tune in the radio he heard a voice say something like this, Remember, if you are absolutely hopeless, Jesus is ready to save you! He thought, Why, that is for me. As he continued to listen, the gospel message came in power and he dropped on his knees beside the radio and his soul was saved.

The Philippian jailer was soon to learn the joy of the gospel message. When he heard the warning cry of Paul, he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas. Their stocks became their throne and he, their jailer, lay suppliant at their feet! He then brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? He knew they had something he needed, and he was anxious to learn the secret of the One who had given them not only songs in the night, but songs from a dungeon death cell. Their answer came back quick and clear-Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. No beating about the bush. No going into a labored explanation of Christian doctrine, or of the nature of the church, or of sacraments. Clear and incisive was their message, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ [put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ] and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Bishop John Taylor Smith used to tell how, when he was a Chaplain-General of the British Army, the candidates for chaplaincy were brought to him and given a hypothetical situation to deal with. Now, I want you to show me how you would deal with a man. We will suppose I am a soldier who has been wounded on the field of battle. I have three minutes to live and I am afraid to die because I do not know Christ. Tell me, how may I be saved and die with the assurance that all is well? If the applicant began to beat around the bush and talk about the true church and ordinances and so on, the good Bishop would say, That wont do. I have only three minutes to live. Tell me what I must do. And as long as Bishop Smith was Chaplain-General, unless a candidate could answer that question, he could not become a chaplain in the army.

I wish that were true of our own army. What answer would you give to a man with only three minutes to live? Can you find a better one than this?-Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.

There are so many who say, I do not understand which is the true church. Never mind! Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Then some say, I do not understand the true nature of the sacrament of the Lords supper. Never mind! Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, but my life has been so wicked. I feel I ought to make restitution first for the sins of my past. Never mind! Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. I am so afraid I might not hold out. Never mind! This is Gods message to any poor sinner today: Put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, and your house. The same offer is for your house as for you. When God saves you, it is evident He wants to save your whole house.

And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. I think they had all been getting dressed, his wife and children, and maybe some of his servants. They all crowded in to hear these strange preachers who a little while ago were cast into prison and were now pointing them to Christ.

And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes. I imagine he said, I am ashamed of the way I treated you. Let me make you as comfortable as I can. Let me show my gratitude. And was baptized, he and all his, straightway. The whole household was brought to Christ that night! The apostles found the man of Macedonia at last who in a vision said, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.

And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

There is just one more incident, and with this the chapter closes.

When it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go. And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace (Act 16:35-36).

Evidently the magistrates, looking into the matter, had come to the conclusion that these men were not law violators and so said, We must get them out of the way. But Paul said, as it were, We represent the Lord Jesus Christ and do not want to be branded as violators of the law of the land so long as we are innocent, and therefore we want to be cleared of any such charge. Let them come themselves and take us out.

It was not pride that led Paul to make this demand. It was a proper sense of the dignity of his calling as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans [freeborn citizens of the Roman empire were entitled to trial and should never have been cast into prison uncondemned]. And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city (38-39).

And so Philippi, the first city in Europe to receive the good news of salvation, seemed about to close its doors to the gospel. Instead of the magistrates saying, Now we have set you free, go throughout our city and proclaim the glorious message, they said, Please leave our city. We do not want your message.

They went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed. This was the nucleus of the church at Philippi.

So the gospel entered Europe, and we can be thankful that from that day to this the message of grace is still going out in that continent. Although we live on a different continent, we enjoy the message today because it was brought to Europe so long ago.

Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets

Act 16:9

Before every well-done work the vision comes. We dream before we accomplish. What is all our boyhood, that comes before our life, and thinks and pictures to itself what that life shall be, that fancies and resolves and is impatient-what is it but just the vision before the work, the dream of Europe coming to many a young life, as it sleeps at Troas, on the margin of the sea? The visions before the work; it is their strength that conquers the difficulties and lifts men up out of the failures, and redeems the tawdriness or squalidness of the labour that succeeds. The aspect of the man of Macedonia reveals the real state of the case with reference to the essential need of the human soul for the gospel.

I. The first need is a God to love and worship. If you are not to lose that highest reach of love and fear where, uniting, they make worship, must you not have God? Woe to the man who loses the faculty for worship, the faculty of honouring and fearing not merely something better than himself, but something which is the absolute best, the perfect good-his God! The life is gone out of his life when this is gone. There is a cloud upon his thought, a palsy on his action, a chill upon his love. Because you must worship, therefore you must have God.

II. But more than this. Every man needs not merely a God to worship, but also-taking the fact which meets us everywhere of an estrangement by sin between mankind and God-every man needs some power to turn him and bring him back, some reconciler, some saviour for his soul. There is an orphanage, a home-sickness of the heart which has gone up into the ear of God, and called the Saviour, the Reconciler, to meet it by His wondrous life and death.

III. Man needs spiritual guidance. The power of the Holy Spirit! an everlasting spiritual pressure among men! what but that is the thing we want? The power of the Holy Ghost, by which every man who is in doubt may know what is right, every man whose soul is sick may be made spiritually whole, every weak man may be made a strong man-this is God’s one sufficient answer to the endless appeal of man’s spiritual life.

Phillips Brooks, The Candle of the Lord, p. 91.

A Cry for Help.

I. Each one must have been struck with the beauty and the tenderness and the depth which there is in that word help. “Help us.” It implies that there is, which I suppose there is in every living creature under heaven, a feeling consciously or unconsciously which looks out for help. Every one has his aspirations; in every one there is a standard higher than he can reach, a sense of something beyond him, which he sees and admires and wishes to be and cannot. It is the immortality of the man-it is the relic of the lost image-it is the cry of the void of a heart which once was filled. Weakness, miserable weakness, is the child of sin, and there are times when the hardest and the proudest feel it. You may assume it, every one who has not God sometimes has the thought, though it does not clothe itself in words-“Help us.”

II. We hold that if a heathen man lives up to the light of his natural conscience, by that light of conscience he will be judged, and if he have obeyed it, he will not be condemned. But then the objection meets us, If this be so, is it not better to let the heathen alone? For if a man who follows the light of reason will not perish, and if to refuse Christ be the condemnation, and the responsibility therefore of knowing Christ so tremendous, surely they are safer as they are! If we, with all the assistance which we derive from education, from the piety of those about us, from the Bible, from the means of grace, find it so very difficult to do what is right, and to act out the dictates of our better mind, what must the difficulty be to a heathen, who has none of these, but all the counteracting influences of evil about him! Is not the gospel practically essential to the heathen, to enable him to fulfil the condition, on which alone he can escape eternal punishment? What the heathen want is help. There is a power abroad in the world to which nothing is really an antagonistic force but Christ only. Let us then obey the more than mortal voice by which the little good that is in everything everywhere in itself pleads silently, in Christ cries loudly, “Come over and help us.”

J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons, 2nd series, p. 51.

References: Act 16:9.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. iv., No. 189; Three Hundred Outlines on the New Testament, p. 115; J. Oswald Dykes, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xv., p. 296; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. vi., p. 124. Act 16:9-40.-New Outlines on the New Testament, p. 89. Act 16:13, Act 16:14.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. ix. No. 544. Act 16:14.-J. Burton, Christian Life and Truth, p. 44; J. C. Postans, Christian World Pulpit, vol. iv., p. 404; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. vi., p. 85.

Act 16:14-15

The Conversion of Lydia.

I. Lydia was listening: “And a certain woman named Lydia, heard us.” Great stress is laid in the Bible on hearing: “Faith cometh by hearing.”

II. Lydia listened attentively. She paid heed-eagerly laid hold of the great truths enunciated by the Apostle. If you lay hold of the truth, the truth will lay hold of you. Once the hearers of the gospel reach this stage of close, anxious attention, this eager grasping of the truth, there is every reason to believe they will be led on to a full and saving knowledge of it.

III. She listened attentively in her heart: “Whose heart the Lord opened to attend.” Life before light-hearts before heads: that is the fundamental principle of the gospel.

IV. Lydia was listening attentively with her heart opened.

V. Lydia listened attentively with her heart opened wide by the Lord. The text shows that the opening of her heart was (1) gradual, (2) gentle.

J. C. Jones, Studies in the Acts, p. 280.

Reference: Act 16:16.-W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit, vol. iv., p. 227.

Act 16:29-31

Note:-

I. What a “manifold wisdom” is the wisdom of God! how infinitely various are His ways in the work of the conversion of souls and the bringing of sinners to Himself! One is never more struck with this than in comparing the two records of conversion which this chapter contains and which befel in the same city-the conversion of Lydia and the conversion of the Philippian jailer. The first, what a quiet work!-the evening dews do not light more gently, more imperceptibly on the earth than did the doctrine of the Lord light and distil upon her heart. He that hath the key of David with a touch of the key caused the chambers of her heart to fly open, so that she attended unto the things spoken of Paul, and almost without an effort, for so it would appear, was born into the kingdom of God. Contrast this with the mighty though brief birth-pang with which the jailer was born into the same kingdom, the earthquake of fear which shook his soul, the agony of terror out of which he cried, “What must I do to be saved?”

II. And what is the lesson which we may draw from this comparison and contrast? It is this. Let none of us make rules for conversion, either in our own case or in that of others; how it should come about, and what exactly are the successive stages of the process through which one who is brought to God must pass; so that if any has not passed exactly through these we will not believe that the work has been wrought in him at all. No man is in this matter in all things a pattern to others. God is greater than our rules; He refuses to be shut in by them. There is a boundless, inexhaustible originality in His methods of dealing with souls. All which concerns thee-and this does concern thee more than everything besides-is this, namely, that the thing itself shall have been done, and that thou shalt have indeed asked the great question, “What must I do to be saved?” and that thou shalt have received into thine heart of hearts the all-including, answer, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,” and shalt have so received it, that out of this there shall be now unfolding itself in thee a life of conformity to the will of God, thou walking in all those good works which He had prepared for thee to walk in.

R. C. Trench, Sermons in Ireland, p. 142.

References: Acts 16 Preacher’s 30.-Monthly, vol. iii., p. 306; T. Arnold, Sermons, vol. i., p. 1. Act 16:30, Act 16:31.-J. Burton, Christian Life and Truth, p. 146; J. Natt, Posthumous Sermons, p. 152; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. vii., p. 55. Act 16:31.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. vi., No. 293; Christian World Pulpit, vol. vi., p. 127; vol. viii., p. 147; H. Robjohns, Ibid., vol. xvi., p. 280; Homiletic Quarterly, vol. ii., p. 233; E. Cooper, Practical Sermons, vol. ii., p. 47. Act 16:32-34.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xvii., No. 1019.

Act 16:40

The Gospel brought into Europe.

We have in this story:-

I. The old lesson of the power of small things, or rather the power of the earnest heart and steady purpose working by means of common things. Although the Apostle has come by Divine sanction to far-famed Philippi, he comes like an ordinary traveller, goes out quietly to the banks of the little stream, where he has heard that there is prayer, and even then he does not preach, but sits down and talks to the listening women. How many Christian people still have no other opportunity than just such as this, and could not use a greater if it were given. All they can do is to talk to a few simple folk, women or men, or young people. But how great the results may be! How one becomes many, and simplicity becomes grandeur! Call nothing little, call nothing common; if you can speak to fellow-mortals of Christ’s grace and the Father’s love, know that you are standing at the source of rivers of immortal life.

II. It is a notable thing that the first European convert is a woman. Lydia is a kind of personal Jerusalem-she is the mother of us all. She stands here at the gate of the Western continent, is the first to receive the blessing and to send it on. In that fact we have the pledge and actual beginning of woman’s elevation. She is no longer to be drudge, slave, plaything to man. She is to enter the kingdom by his side. Christ’s gospel is a kingdom of souls, of sacrifice, of virtues; and they stand highest in it who have the simplest faith, the largest charities, the tenderest hearts.

III. We have in the deliverance of the slave-girl another typical and prophetic circumstance. It would be almost universally allowed that the two most important social revolutions produced by Christianity are the amelioration of the condition of woman and the abolition of slavery. And here in Philippi we have the second as well as the first.

IV. The conversion of the jailer, who was probably a Roman soldier, points to the influence that the Christian religion was destined to exert over law and political institutions and prevailing idolatries and civil governments. This conquest over a soldier and servant of Rome is indicative of the subjection of the great empire herself under the sway of the Cross.

V. The order of the conversions is worthy of notice. The proselyte, the Greek, the Roman-that has been the order of the diffusion of Christianity throughout the world; and it is so in principle at this day. We expect our first successes among those who have had some religious advantages, our next among the susceptible around, and our last among the men of the world.

VI. Observe also the recognised importance of the family in this wonderful narrative. There are three converts, and two of them bring their households with them. The family is to be, in God’s plan, one organic whole, not a number of separate and jarring individualities.

VII. Finally, Jesus Christ stands out here, as everywhere, to be worshipped, trusted, loved, and followed. Believe on Him, and thou shalt be saved. Honour Him, and He will give thee honour. Open to Him thy house, and He will fill it with the fragrance of His presence.

A. Raleigh, From Dawn to the Perfect Day, p. 265.

Fuente: The Sermon Bible

CHAPTER 16

1. In Derbe and Lystra again. Timotheus (Act 16:1-5).

2. The Preaching forbidden in Asia (Act 16:6-8).

3. The Vision of the Man from Macedonia (Act 16:9-12).

4. The Gospel in Europe (Act 16:13-40).

Read in connection with the first verses of this chapter 1Ti 1:18; 1Ti 4:14; 2Ti 1:5-6; 2Ti 3:15. The circumcision of Timothy, the offspring of a mixed marriage, was not demanded by the law. Paul in circumcising Timothy manifested his liberty; he acted graciously, not wishing to put a stumbling block in the way of the Jews (see 1Co 9:20).

They travel on through Phrygia and Galatia but were forbidden to preach in Asia. This was at that time a large province in Asia Minor with many flourishing cities. It was not Gods purpose to have work done at that time. They followed divine guidance obediently. Later Paul spent three years in Ephesus, the capital of that province, and all Asia heard the Word. They also wanted to visit Bithynia, but were not allowed to do so. Bithynia heard the Word at another time perhaps through Peter (1Pe 1:1-2). All this shows clearly how the Holy Spirit is an infallible guide in Christian service. He must point out the way and the places as well as the time when and where the Word is to be spoken. Then follows the vision of the Man from Macedonia. This Macedonian cry is answered at once. From the tenth verse we learn that Luke, the author of this record, joined the party. This is seen by the changed pronoun from they to we. Then they reached Philippi. On the small river Gangites the first opportunity to minister is given. We wonder if Paul looked for the man he had seen in his vision. There was no man present. A company of women had gathered in the place where prayer was wont to be made. Lydia of Thyatira is the first convert of Europe. She was a true worshipper of God like Cornelius. And it was the Lord who opened her heart. Satans opposition is seen once more in the demon-possessed damsel. Satan is a cunning being full of wisdom. He tried through this damsel to establish a friendly relation with the servants of the Lord. But the Gospel does not need such support. After her conversion Satan changed his tactics. They were beaten with many stripes and cast into prison, their feet held in the stocks. What followed is familiar to all. God had worked in mighty power delivering His servants and saving the jailer and his household.

Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)

44. A SPIRIT FILLED MINISTRY

Act 16:1-8

The supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit by which the apostles were confirmed as the messengers of Christ (Heb 2:4) ceased when the canon of Holy Scripture was complete and the apostles had all died (1Co 13:10). The Bible is the perfect, complete Revelation of God. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it (Rev 22:19). Since there are no inspired apostles today writing out a new word of revelation from God, there is no need for those gifts of a supernatural, miraculous nature by which the apostles were identified as apostles.

However, the ministries of God’s servants today are just as truly Spirit filled ministries as were the ministries of his servants in the apostolic era. Every true gospel preacher, being called and directed in his labors by God the Holy Spirit, exercises a Spirit filled ministry as he preaches the gospel of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. Act 16:1-8 gives us an example of such a ministry. This chapter begins with Paul and Silas coming to Derbe and Lystra. It is the beginning of Paul’s second missionary journey. We are told nothing more about Barnabas, but Paul and Silas continued to faithfully preach the gospel of Christ, being led by God the Holy Spirit in all things. That is what a Spirit filled ministry is. It is a ministry dictated by the Holy Spirit, a ministry controlled by and in submission to the Spirit of God (Eph 5:18). In these eight verses Luke shows us four things that characterize a Spirit filled ministry.

A MAN PREPARED BY GOD (Act 16:1-3) – Wherever you find a Spirit filled ministry you will find a man prepared by God for the work of the ministry. No man is called of God to preach the gospel who has not been prepared and qualified by God for the work (1Ti 3:1-7). When Paul came to Derbe and Lystra, he found a young man named Timothy, whom he ordained to the work of the gospel ministry (1Ti 4:14; 2Ti 1:6). Neither Paul nor Timothy knew how the Lord might be pleased to use him, but Timothy was a young man whom God had called and gifted for the work of preaching the gospel.

The Lord began his preparation of Timothy in his earliest years by his special providence. Timothy’s mother, Eunice, was a Jewish woman who was a believer. His grandmother, Lois, had also been converted by the grace of God. From his earliest days of childhood Timothy had been taught the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make sinners wise unto salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (2Ti 1:15; 2Ti 3:15). Eunice gave her son the name “Timothy”, which means “honored of God”. Like Hannah of old, Eunice got her son from the Lord and gave him to the Lord. From his boyhood he was taught the Word of God.

It should be the greatest concern of parents to instruct their children in the gospel of Christ and train them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph 6:4). If parents would train their children as they ought, they must…

1. Train them in the way the should go not the way they would go (Pro 22:6).

2. Discipline their children firmly and consistently, insisting that they behave the way they should (Pro 22:15; Pro 23:12-14; Pro 29:15).

3. Walk before their children in the way of faith and obedience, showing them the way by example (Gen 18:19).

4. Pray for God’s wisdom, direction, and grace in training their children, and for his merciful blessings upon the training they give (Gen 17:18).

5. Commit their children to the hands of God (1Sa 1:24-28).

There is in Timothy’s parents a display of God’s marvelous providence and grace. Though his mother and grandmother were both believers, his father was an unbelieving Gentile. Eunice’s marriage to him was an act of disobedience to God (Deu 7:3; 2Co 6:14). But providence took the sinful union of an unbelieving man and a believing woman and prepared a messenger of sovereign grace! As God overruled David’s adultery with Bathsheba and gave them Solomon, so he overruled Eunice’s disobedience and gave her Timothy. Thank God, he does not remember the sins of his people against them! Indeed, as John Trapp put it, “God can (and often does) turn our sins to our good and comfort.” Like a wise physician, our Lord takes the most deadly poison and makes it a medicine for our health.

In the fulness of time Timothy was also prepared by grace for the work to which God had ordained him. He who preaches grace to others must first experience grace in his heart, and Timothy did. He was a devoted disciple of Christ, a man of blameless reputation in the community where he lived, and “well reported of by the brethren” (1Ti 3:7). It is apparent that Timothy was willing to serve God’s cause in any capacity. That service which Mark despised as shameful, Timothy counted an honor (Act 13:5; Act 15:38). God uses men like that!

Timothy was further prepared for the work of the gospel ministry by his willful submission to a man of proven faithfulness (Act 16:3). Before a man can lead men, he must learn to follow. Before Elisha could be a prophet he had to set at the feet of and serve the prophet Elijah. And before Timothy could be entrusted with the care of the churches he had to prove his care for the churches by serving Paul. He even submitted to the painful ordeal of circumcision, simply because Paul, God’s faithful servant, said it would be best for the gospel’s sake (1Co 9:19-23). Timothy was a man prepared by providence, grace, and obedience for the work of preaching the gospel.

A MESSAGE PROCLAIMED FROM GOD (Act 16:4) – That man who preaches by the Spirit of God is God’s messenger, God’s ambassador to men. He has a message from God and faithfully delivers it (2Co 5:18-21). They all have the same message, the gospel of Christ. And they are all to be heard, received, and treated as God’s ambassadors. They constantly declare “the decrees” ordained of the apostles by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (Act 15:11; Act 15:18): The Scriptures alone! Christ alone! Grace alone! All God’s servants preach God’s gospel: Ruin by the Fall, Redemption by the Blood, and Regeneration by the Holy Spirit. A Spirit filled ministry is a ministry characterized by the message of God’s free and sovereign grace in Christ.

A MINISTRY PERFORMED BY GOD (Act 16:5). Paul and Silas went about preaching the gospel. They did not employ entertainers to make the gospel more appealing, have puppet shows to reach the children, host ball teams for the men, or organize bowling leagues for the women. They simply preached the gospel and waited for God to work, and he did (2Co 10:4-5). “Some were converted by their ministry, others confirmed. This is still the fruit of faithful preaching” (John Trapp). This much is certain: Anytime a man preaches the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit something happens for the glory of God (2Co 2:14-17).

A MESSENGER PROPELLED BY GOD (Act 16:6-8). Faithful gospel preachers are led, directed, motivated, and inspired in their work by the Holy Spirit. God’s servants will not allow either their own desires or the influences of men to determine the course, place, or message of their ministry. Paul wanted to go to Asia, but the Holy Spirit would not allow it. He tried to go to Bithynia, but was providentially hindered. It was the purpose of God that the gospel be carried to Troas and then to Macedonia. There are some places in this world where God’s servants are “forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word.” “This was a heavier judgment upon those coast,” wrote Trapp, “than to be denied a harvest, or the light of the sun. Prize the preaching of the gospel as a singular privilege. They that are without a teaching priest are without God (2Ch 15:3).” Blessed beyond measure are those people to whom God sends his servants to faithfully preach his Word (Amo 8:11-12; Isa 52:7).

Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible

to Derbe: Act 14:6, Act 14:21, 2Ti 3:11

named: Act 17:14, Act 18:5, Act 19:22, Act 20:4, Act 20:5, Rom 16:21, 1Co 4:17, Phi 1:1, Phi 2:19, Col 1:1, 1Th 1:1, 1Th 3:2, 2Th 1:1, 1Ti 1:2, 2Ti 1:2, Heb 13:23

which: 2Ti 1:5, 2Ti 3:15, 2Ti 3:16

but: Act 14:1, Ezr 9:2, 1Co 7:14

Reciprocal: Joh 12:20 – Greeks Act 14:20 – Derbe Act 15:40 – chose 2Co 1:1 – Timothy 2Co 11:26 – journeyings 1Ti 5:25 – the good

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

THE CALL OF TIMOTHY

Then came he to Derbe and Lystra; and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus Him would Paul have to go forth with him.

Act 16:1-3

We now enter upon what is called St. Pauls Second Missionary Journey. Leaving Antioch, in company with Silas, recommended by the brethren to the grace of God, St. Paul entered upon his second missionary journey. He had already twice visited Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium, and now he proposes to visit them a third time. Assuming that when in Cilicia he would visit Tarsus, his native place, it would take about three days to go from Tarsus to Derbe. This time he reverses the journey, and goes to Derbe first, which was the last visited in the former visit (ch. Act 14:20-21). But the Apostle did not stay long here, but went on to Lystra, where he was stoned. He would not forget that: would recall the scene, tell it to Silas, and refer to the kindness of the disciples, especially of two Jewish women who belonged to the company. These two Jewish women were Lois and Eunice, the mother and grandmother of Timothy. It was probably to their house that St. Paul went on arriving at Lystra.

I. Gods remedy for St. Pauls disappointment.St. Paul had left Antioch oppressed by the separation, oppressed by the illness which for a long season now had hampered his path, but God, in the midst of his weariness, opened His hand and let rich blessing flow from it. He knew too well the struggle which His servant had passed through, knew that a stand for the right, which entails the loss of friendship, is far bitterer than any perils of waters or perils of robbers, and, therefore, He Who had taken away gave yet more richly to His servant. Timothy, who had been but a youth when Paul was at Lystra on his first journey, was now well reported of, not only by the Church of Lystra, but also by that of Iconium, and was recommended to St. Paul for further service. From this time forward St. Paul was accompanied by one who, as a son with a father, served him faithfully until the very eve of his martyrdom. Is it not ever so? God sympathises with the disappointment of his servants and, where there is really faithful service, gives strength, grace, and companionship even more richly.

II. Timothys characteristic.From a child he had known the Holy Scriptures, and had thus became wise unto salvation. The greatest leaders in the Church, the men who have inherited the finest type of character, are usually found among those who from their childhood up have been surrounded by the highest influences, have learned the true perspective of life, have seen the vision of eternal truth, and instead of rebelling against it, instead of yielding to the inborn impulse against established order, have apprehended the truth thus put before them, and have moulded their life in accordance with it.

III. All things to all men.It is in connection with the call of Timothy that we find a striking illustration of the principle which bids us become all things to all men if by so doing we may save some. St. Paul knew and taught that circumcision was nothing, yet in the present instance, in order that Timothy might minister more efficiently to Jews as well as Greeks, he circumcised him himself and removed what might have been a cause of stumbling. Then having circumcised Timothy he ordained him for the work of the ministry and rejoiced in the special gift of the Holy Ghost, which, as we can see from after references to his ordination, was given him at that time. Thus, St. Paul bids him stir up the gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of my hands, and again, neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery (1Ti 4:14). What a strange thrill this echo of a far-away ordination service gives us!

IV. A son in the faith.Prepared for the willing reception of the Gospel by the godly education of his childhood, Timothy became St. Pauls own son in the faith. From references in the Epistles we see how useful Timothy was to St. Paul. From Corinth he was sent to the Thessalonians, to establish and comfort them in their faith, and from Ephesus he was sent to the Corinthians, to bring them into remembrance of the truth they seem to have forgotten. He passed through his preparation for the ministry in a loyal and earnest spirit, and afterwards, it is believed, became Bishop of Ephesus.

Illustration

No name is so closely associated with St. Paul as that of Timothy. Not only were two Epistles addressed to him, but he is associated with St. Paul in the superscription of five (1, 2 Thess., 2 Cor., Phil., Col.); he was with the Apostle during great part of his second missionary journey; he was with him at Ephesus; he accompanied him in his last voyage to Jerusalem; he helped to comfort his first imprisonment at Rome; he is urged in the Second Epistle addressed to him to hasten from Ephesus and to join him in his second imprisonment before it is too late to see him alive. Some sixteen years had elapsed between the days when Paul took Timothy as his companion at Lystra, and the days when, in the weary desolation of his imprisoned age, he writes once more to this beloved disciple. Yet even at this latter date St. Paul addresses him as though he were the same youth who had first accompanied him to the hallowed work.

Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary

THIS CHAPTER OPENS with Paul back at Derbe and Lystra, back, that is, to the scenes where he had suffered the stoning. In those very places he now finds Timothy, who was to become in his latter years such a comfort to him. A happy illustration of how Gods government acts in favour of the godly. We are apt to think of it only as acting against the ungodly. Out of the place of Pauls sufferings sprang one of his greatest comforts.

Now as Timothys father was a Greek he had not been circumcised, and he would not have been acceptable in Jewish circles. Paul knew this and circumcised him; an action which on the surface seems totally at variance with his attitude in regard to Titus-see Gal 2:3-5. But there the whole truth of the Gospel had been made to hinge on the question whereas here there was no question at all involved. In Timothys case it was just a matter of removing something which would have been a hindrance in his service for the Lord, and Paul was not concerned to maintain for himself an appearance of consistency which would have been only skin-deep. Here was a God-given helper in the work, and it was expedient to remove all that would hinder his labours.

Pauls somewhat lengthy sojourn in Asia Minor on this second journey is dismissed in five short verses (5-8). It comprised labours of a pastoral sort, for they went through regions where churches were already established through his earlier labours, and these they instructed to observe what had been settled at the conference in Jerusalem, and they were established and increased in number. Then they went into new regions, Phrygia, Galatia and Mysia, and in these of course they did the work of evangelists. This evidently was the occasion when he had so wonderful a reception from the Galatians, to which he alludes in Gal 4:13-15. It was also a time in which God exercised very strong control over his movements. When Mysia was reached, Bithynia lay to the north or north-east, and Asia to the south. In both directions he would have gone, if permitted. In the former case he was directly forbidden by the Holy Spirit, and in the latter the Spirit did not suffer him to go, which apparently indicates guidance of a less direct kind, and more by way of circumstances.

Troas was on the sea coast of Mysia, and here Paul was given positive guidance as to his movements by means of the vision of the man of Macedonia. So here within the compass of five verses we find Divine guidance conveyed to Paul in three different ways, twice of a negative sort and once of a positive sort. This should furnish some guidance to any who, very desirous of Divine direction, expect to receive it in some one way of their own choosing.

Accepting the vision as giving them Gods direction, Paul and his helpers immediately obeyed, and verse Act 16:11 shows that God turned the winds in their favour and they had a very rapid passage; for we see, in Act 20:6, that when years after he took the journey in the reverse direction it occupied five days. At Troas, Luke, the writer of the book, evidently joined Paul, for in verses Act 16:4, Act 16:6, Act 16:7, Act 16:8, it is uniformly they, whereas in verse Act 16:10 the pronoun suddenly becomes we, and that and us continue well into the account of the doings at Philippi.

Philippi had the status of a Roman colony, so the Roman element was strong there, and perhaps correspondingly the Jewish element was weak. No synagogue existed, and all that was to be found was a spot outside the city by a river where prayer to the true God was offered. That spot they sought out, and finding only some women assembled they sat down and spoke to them. That did not seem a very promising beginning, but Paul was the kind of man that accepted and utilized small things. He attempted no formal preaching but just sat down and talked in an informal way. This humble beginning had a great ending. A church was established which above others was filled with grace and was a comfort to him.

The work began in the heart of Lydia, which was opened of God. The words, which worshipped God, indicate that she was a seeker, and had become a proselyte, and now in the Gospel which Paul preached she found the full thing which she sought. The work was quiet but very real, for she was baptized and her household, and she at once identified herself with the Lords servants by opening her house to them.

The next incident was the encounter with the female slave who had opened her heart to some dark agent of the devil. She made a pretence of approving Paul and his helpers, and this might have pleased some, who might have argued, Well, we are servants of God, and if she likes to advertise us, let her! Paul however was not short-sighted like this. He saw that the devils patronage is no gain but a disaster, and he refused her testimony by commanding the evil spirit to come out of her. The spirit had to obey, and her masters knew that their money-making scheme was spoiled. This raised their ire, and Paul and Silas were dragged before the magistrates on a charge worded so as to raise Roman prejudice against them. This stirred the crowd, and also moved the magistrates to excited and un-Romanlike action. No proper trial was held; they were flogged and cast into prison.

Under these circumstances even the jailer acted with extra severity, and night descended upon them in this sorry plight. Were they tempted to falter and doubt, thinking that the vision of the Macedonian man had been a little too visionary? Perhaps; for they were men of like weakness to ourselves. But, if they did, faith soon triumphed, and at the darkest hour they were not only praying but singing praises to God. Suddenly God intervened, and not only by the earthquake. doors are more often jammed tight by earthquakes than opened; and no ordinary earthquake strikes the shackles from prisoners.

Knowing the severity of Roman law in regard to the custody of prisoners, the jailer was on the verge of suicide when Pauls shout reached his ears. The fact that he called for a light, (verse Act 16:29), shows that they were all in the dark. How did Paul know what the jailer was about to do? Pauls sudden call was evidently inspired by the Spirit of God, and it came as a voice from God to the jailer. Here at last was the Macedonian man! He was trembling: he was on his face before his prisoners! Soon he was asking the great question, which since has been asked by millions of convicted sinners. He received the immortal answer, which has been used to the enlightenment and salvation of countless souls.

We often quote Act 16:31, but too often we omit the last three words. God loves to identify a mans house with himself and include them in His offer of blessing. Why do we not more often embrace this fact in our faith? We have already had in the chapter the converted woman and her house: now we have the converted man and his house. This surely is most encouraging for all heads of houses who may be reached by the grace of God; since there is no respect of persons with God, and what He is to one He is to all.

The jailer believed, and showed his faith by his works without a moments delay. Then, though it was still night, he and all his were baptized straightway. This is pretty clear evidence that baptism is not an ordinance which is intended to be a confession of ones faith, and therefore to be observed in public. Had it been that, what an opportunity was missed here! How effectively the thing might have been done the next day when public opinion had veered somewhat in favour of Paul! All must have been confusion in the city after the earthquake, yet the jailer and his house had the links cut with the old life without any delay: for baptism signifies dissociation, through the death of Christ.

When the magistrates relented the next day, Paul seized the opportunity to point out to them how they themselves had transgressed, seeing he and Silas were Roman citizens. He did not push the point further, or in any way retaliate. Their way was smoothed however, and they had time to see the brethren and exhort them before taking their departure. From the Epistle to the Philippians we may see how well the work progressed after their departure.

Fuente: F. B. Hole’s Old and New Testaments Commentary

Act 16:1. Paul had been in this city before and taught many people (chapter 14:20, 21). Timothy is the other form of this disciple’s name, of whom we will hear later.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Paul revisits LystraHe takes Timothy with himHe travels through Asia Minor, 1-11.

Act 16:1. And behold. The interjection behold marks the importance which the writer of the Acts attaches to the solemn adoption of Timothy by Paul. Wordsworth happily speaks of the incident as a gift from Heaven to Paul in the place of what he had lost in his separation from Barnabas and Mark.

A certain disciple was there, named Timotheus. It was during the first visit of Paul and Barnabas at Lystra that Timotheus must have been converted. Paul speaks of him (1Ti 1:2) as his own son in the faith. His mothers name was Eunice. She appears to have belonged to a Jewish family, either connected with those Babylonian Jews whom Antiochus settled in Phrygia three centuries before, or else brought into Lycaonia by some of those mercantile or other changes which affected the movements of so many Jewish households at this period (see Conybeare and Howson, Sketch of the Family, St. Paul, chap. 8). Her unfeigned faith, as also that of the grandmother Lois, is specially commented upon in 2Ti 1:5.

His father was a Greek. These mixed marriages, although very rare in Palestine, were common enough in remote districts like Lycaonia. It is not improbable, however, that the father was a proselyte. The strict Jews regarded the offspring of such marriages as illegitimate.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

The latter end of the foregoing chapter gave us a sad account of a dissension and difference arising between Paul and Barnabas, upon which they parted; Barnabas sails for Cyprus, but what success he had there the scripture says not. St. Paul goes through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches, and doing good service for God in his peregrinations and travels.

Here observe, That St. Paul and Silas, before they set forth to their work, were in a solemn manner (by prayer) recommended by the brethern to the grace of God, Act 15:40.

And accordingly their labours are succeeded and blessed. Barnabas and Mark set forth Cyprus; but we read not of any solemn recommendation of them by the brethern to the grace of God; nor a word of any success they had in their work: teaching us the great necessity of fervent prayer to precede, accompany, and follow the preaching of the gospel. Let ministers pray, and people pray, and engage all the prayers they can for the success of their ministry.

Lord, let me steep that seed I sow amongst the people in tears and prayers before I scatter it! O pour out thy Spirit with thy word, that it may be mighty through God for pulling down the strong holds! Verily there is so little efficacy in ordinances, for want of fervent wrestlings with God in prayer.

Observe next, The places which Paul and Silas in their travels first came unto; namely, Derbe and Lystra, where he finds young Timothy, whom he takes along with him, and breeds him up for a gospel-minister, calls him his fellow-worker and companion in his travels.

Note farther, The account here given of Timothy’s birth and parentage; his mother Eunice was a believing Jewess; his father was a Greek, a Gentile; for which reason Timothy was not circumcised, because it was not lawful for the mother to have her child circumcised against her husband’s consent.

Now St. Paul, intending to take Timothy along with him as his companion in preaching the gospel, that his ministry might be the more acceptable to the Jews, who knew him to be uncircumcised, because the son of an uncircumcised father, he takes him and circumcises him; but at the same time Titus, who was a Gentile, both by father and mother, him he would not circumcise; neither suffering the yoke of circumcision to be laid on the Gentiles, which God had never imposed, nor would be seen to countenance those who held circumcision necessary to salvation.

O what an admirable pattern has this great and humble apostle left to posterity! he became all things to all men, and either used or refused indifferent things, according as the use or disuse of them tended to the church’s education, and men’s salvation.

From whence learn, That in things not absolutely necessary to salvation, Christians ought to act prudentially, and either do, or not do, some things of lesser moment, according as it may promote, and best conduce to the church’s peace and edification.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

The stoning at Lystra might have discouraged some men from returning. However, Luke told Theophilus that Paul and Barnabas went back through the city as they were strengthening the churches at the end of their missionary tour.

Then, Paul returned again with Silas and discovered a young convert with great potential. Timothy, the son of Eunice, a Jewish convert, and a Greek father, was highly recommended by the brethren. Because Timothy had been raised as a Jew, Paul had him circumcised. This robbed any contentious Jew of at least one argument he might have thrown up in the apostle’s face when he entered the synagogue to teach (compare 1Co 9:20 ).

Paul then left with Timothy and Silas to carry the message from the meeting at Jerusalem to all the churches with which the apostle had previously worked. In this way, he prepared them to fend off the potential attacks of the Judaizers. Luke reported that the churches were strengthened in the faith and continued to grow in number ( Act 16:1-5 ).

Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books

Act 16:1-3. Then When he had passed through the regions of Syria and Cilicia; came he to Derbe and Lystra At which places he had preached the gospel in his former progress. And a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus As Paul (2Ti 3:10-11) speaks of Timothy as having been a witness of his sufferings at Lystra, and we read nothing of any remarkable sufferings which he endured in this his second progress through these parts, it is probable that Timothy was converted by him in his former journey, and was a spectator of what he then suffered at Lystra,

(see chap. Act 14:19-20,) and that Paul then began to have some acquaintance with him. The son of a certain believing Jewess, but his father was a Greek These circumstances are mentioned as worthy of note, because he afterward became a very considerable person in the church, as well as a faithful and useful friend to the apostle. Who was well reported of, &c. Was spoken of; by the brethren at Lystra and Iconium As an eminently serious and devout young man, who had been remarkable for his early piety, having been trained up by his good mother and his grandmother in an acquaintance with the Holy Scriptures from his childhood, 2Ti 1:5; 2Ti 3:15. Him would Paul have to go forth with him As an assistant in his work, being directed herein by the Holy Ghost, 1Ti 1:18; and, to qualify him for the office, he conferred on him the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, and had him solemnly set apart for the ministry by the presbytery, or eldership, of Lystra, 1Ti 4:14. For, in his former journey, he and Barnabas had ordained elders in every city. Withal, designing to employ Timothy in preaching to the Jews, he circumcised him; because he knew the Jews would not have respected him as a teacher, if they had taken him for an uncircumcised Gentile. This is that Timothy, whose teachableness and tears made such an impression on the apostles mind, that he never forgot them, 2Ti 1:4; who attended Paul in many of his journeys; and who, in respect of his love to Christ, and zeal for the advancement of the gospel, was like-minded with Paul, Php 2:20; so that he was his genuine son; and, as a son serveth with his father, so he served with the apostle in the gospel. On all which accounts, he was of such consideration among the disciples, and also so exceedingly esteemed by Paul for his knowledge and piety, that he allowed him to join him in some of those epistles which he wrote to the churches: while, at the same time, the apostle so greatly honoured him, as to write to him two most excellent letters, found in the canon of Scripture, which bear his name.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

XVI: 1, 2. Without giving the least detail of Paul’s labors in Syria and Cilicia, Luke hurries us forward to his arrival in Derbe and Lystra, the scenes respectively of the most painful and the most consoling incidents which occurred on his former tour. His chief object in this seems to be to introduce us to a new character, destined to play an important part in the future history. (1) Then he came down into Derbe and Lystra, and behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, son of a believing Jewess, but of a Greek father; (2) who was well attested by the brethren in Lystra and Iconium. Not only the mother, but also the grandmother of the disciple was a believer; for Paul afterward writes to him: I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, that first dwelt in thy grandmother Lois, and in thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded also in thee. From this it seems that both the mother and grandmother had preceded him into the kingdom; for it is clearly of their faith in Christ, and not of their Jewish faith, that Paul here speaks. With such an example before him, it is not surprising that the young disciple should be found well attested by all the brethren who knew him. The fact that he was thus attested not only at Derbe and Lystra, within the vicinity of his residence, but also in the more distant city of Iconium, renders it probable that he was already known as a public speaker.

On the occasion of Paul’s former visit to Lystra, we learned that while he lay dead, as was supposed, after the stoning, the disciples stood around him. Timothy was doubtless in the group; for he was Paul’s own son in the faith, and must have been immersed previous to the stoning, as Paul left the city immediately after. The scene occurred just at the period in Timothy’s religious life, the period immediately subsequent to immersion, when the soul is peculiarly susceptible to the impress of noble example. The recesses of the heart are then open to their deepest depths, and a word fitly spoken, a look full of religious sympathy, or a noble deed, makes an impression which can never be effaced. In such a frame of mind Timothy witnessed the stoning of Paul; wept over his prostrate form; followed him, as if raised from the dead, back into the city; and saw him depart with heroic determination to another field of conflict in defense of the glorious gospel. It is not wonderful that a nature so full of sympathy with that of the heroic apostle to extort from the latter the declaration, I have no one like-minded with me, should be inspired by his example, and made ready to share with him the toils and sufferings of his future career.

Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)

Acts Chapter 16

There is perhaps no example of this more remarkable than that which Paul does with regard to Timothy. He uses circumcision in all liberty to set aside Jewish prejudice. It is very doubtful whether, according to the law, he ought to have been circumcised. Ezra and Nehemiah shew us the strange wives sent away; but here, the mother being a Jewess, Paul causes the child of this mixed marriage to follow the rule of the Jews and submit to that rite. Liberty fully recognises the law in its place, although itself exempt from it, and distinctly states, for the assurance of the Gentiles, the absence of all pretension, on the part of the Judaean Christians, to impose the law upon Gentiles. Paul circumcises Timothy, and does not give subjection for an hour to those who would have compelled Titus to be circumcised. He would become a Jew to the Jews from love; but the Jews themselves must renounce all pretension to impose the law on others. The decrees given at Jerusalem are left with the churches-a plain answer to every Jew who desired to subject the Gentiles to Judaism. The decrees, we may remark, were those of the apostles and the elders.

It is the Holy Ghost alone who directs the apostle. He forbids him to preach in Asia (the province), and will not suffer him to go into Bithynia. By a vision in the night they are called to go into Macedonia. Here the historian meets them. It is the Lord who calls them into Macedonia. It is well to note here that, while the gospel is sent under Pauls ministry to the whole creation under heaven, yet there is specific direction as to where we are to go.

Here the apostle goes first to the Jews, even when it was only a few women who came together by the river side-a place, as it appears, usually chosen where there was no synagogue. A Greek woman, who worshipped the God of Israel, is converted by grace. Thus the door is opened, and others also believe (Act 16:40). Here Satan tries to tamper with the work by bearing a testimony to the ministers of the word. Not that this spirit acknowledged Jesus-he would not then have been an evil spirit, he would not have thus possessed the damsel. He speaks of the agents, in order to have a share of the glory, and of the most high God-compelled perhaps by the presence of the Spirit to speak, as had been the case with others by the presence of Jesus, when His power was before their eyes. The testimony of Satan could not go so far as to own Him Lord; and if Paul had not been faithful, it would have mixed up the work of the enemy with that of the Lord. But it was not a testimony to Paul that Paul sought, nor a testimony rendered by an evil spirit, whatever might be the appearance of its testimony. The proof which the evil spirit had to give that the power of God was present, was to submit to it by being driven away. It could not be a support to the work of God. We see in this circumstance the disinterestedness of the apostle, his spiritual discernment, the power of God with him, and the faith which will have no other support than that of God. It would have been useful to have a testimony rendered to his ministry: the reasonings of the flesh might have said, I did not seek it. Persecution would have been avoided. But God will have no other testimony than that which He bears to Himself. No other can be a testimony from Him, for He reveals Himself where He is not known; faith waits only on Him to render it. Paul went on without troubling himself about this malicious attempt of the enemys, and possibly in wisdom avoiding conflict where there was no fruit for the Lord, until by its persistency the apostle was forced to attend to it. The Spirit of God does not tolerate the presence of an evil spirit when it makes itself actively manifest before Him. He does not lend Himself to its devices by giving it importance through a voluntary interposition; for He has His own work, and He does not turn away from it to occupy Himself about the enemy. He is occupied, in love, about souls. But if Satan comes in His way, so as to perplex these souls, the Spirit reveals Himself in His energy, and the enemy flees before Him.

But Satan is not without resources. The power which he cannot exercise in a direct way, he employs in exciting the passions and lusts of men in opposition to that power against which he cannot himself stand, and which will neither unite itself to him nor recognise him. Even as the Gadarenes desired Jesus to depart, when He had healed Legion, so the Philippians rise up tumultuously against Paul and his companions at the instigation of the men who had lost their dishonest gains. But God makes use of all this to direct the progress of His own work, and give it the form He pleases. There is the gaoler to be converted, and the magistrates themselves are to confess their wrong with respect to the messengers of God. The assembly is gathered out, a flock (as the epistle addressed to them bears witness) full of love and affection. The apostle goes to labour elsewhere. We see a more active, a more energetic, testimony here than in the similar case that happened to Peter. The intervention of God is more striking in Peters case. It is the old Jerusalem, worn out in everything except hatred, and God faithful to the one who trusted in Him. The hatred is disappointed. Paul and Silas sing, instead of quietly sleeping; the doors burst suddenly open; and the gaoler himself is converted, and his family. The magistrates are obliged to come as supplicants to Paul. Such is the result of the tumult. The enemy was mistaken here. If he stopped their work at Philippi, he sent the apostles to preach elsewhere according to the will of God.

We must not pass over in silence this energy which embraced whole houses, and subdued them to the Christian faith. We only see it, however, when it is a question of bringing in the Gentiles. [24] But Cornelius, Lydia, the gaoler of Philippi, are all witnesses to this power.

Footnotes for Acts Chapter 16

24: We see however, in the case of Lydda and Saron, what is more analogous to the introduction of a people. They heard of the miracle done to Aeneas; and the town and neighbourhood turned to the Lord. Saron is a district along the coast.

Fuente: John Darby’s Synopsis of the New Testament

TIMOTHY ENTERS THE MINISTRY

1-3. God gave Paul Timothy at Lystra, where they stoned him, a memorable fact, as Timothy was his favorite preacher throughout all his ministry, and, of course, Gods greatest blessing to him, though received at the place where they stoned him, thus reminding us that calamities are but blessings in disguise, and that where the devil fights hardest God gives us the brightest victory. Timothy has a wonderful record, involving doubt as to his ever having lost his infantile justification, owing to the invaluable blessing of his godly mother Eunice and grandmother Lois, who from his infancy had taught him the Holy Scriptures, which made him wise unto salvation. Hence we have no record of his conversion, doubtless lost sight of in his early childhood. Here we see a significant fact that, while Paul everywhere defended the Gentile converts against the imperious demand of the Jews to impose on them the Mosaic ordinances, here he circumcised Timothy simply to gratify the Jews, so that he would be the more useful among them, illustrating his favorite maxim, All things to all men, that he may save some. We should be perfectly limber on all questions of church rites and ceremonies, to receive them or forego them pursuant to the glory of God through our humble instrumentality, led by the Spirit.

Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament

Act 16:1-2. Then came he to Lystra, as in Act 14:6. In their former labours in that city, Lois a jewess, her daughter Eunice, and Timothy her son, had embraced the faith. Now, they found Timothy growing in grace, and in the knowledge of the Lord. His grandmother Lois had instructed him in the scriptures from a child; and the spirit of prophecy had already designated him for the sanctuary. Timothy, though now very young, was of good report; but his father being a Greek, had not consented that Timothy should be circumcised. This lovely youth, the future hope of the church, accompanied Paul to Jerusalem, Act 20:4, and also to Rome, where for a time he suffered imprisonment. Heb 13:23. He finally seemed fixed at Ephesus; his record is on high, antiquity being silent of other particulars.

Act 16:3. Him would Paul have to go forth with him to the work of the Lord, and took and circumcised him, as a proselyte of righteousness. Timothy could otherwise have had no access to the jews. If this then was an act of prudence rather than a legal obligation, the circumcision of Timothy differs from that of Abraham, which was to him a seal of righteousness by faith. To Paul, the ceremonial law was not an obligation of conscience. Therefore to the jews he became as a jew, that he might gain the jews; to the gentiles, without the law, he lived as without the law, that he might gain them; to the weak and scrupulous in regard of meats and drinks, he became as weak. He became all things to all men, respecting rights in themselves indifferent, that he might save some. 1Co 9:20-22. Christian prudence, in the simplicity of wisdom, shines bright in the ministerial character.

Act 16:4. They delivered them the decrees to keep. These were the regulations of life and discipline. A short and happy code, no doubt, and well adapted to the circumstances of the church. These dogmas were of a religious, a moral, and a prudential nature, like the letter to the gentiles in the preseding chapter.

Act 16:6. Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia, and Galatia, that is, the old Phrygia, which comprised all the country west of Galatia, as in Strabo, lib. 13., and was bounded on the south by Lycaonia, ancient Troy being one of its cities, they were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, because the Lord pressed and hurried them away to the new and great harvest fields of labour in Macedonia, and in all the ancient cities of Greece. The churches of Asia had pastors who could feed the flock; but it required apostles to bring the south of Europe to the faith of Christ. This great field of labour Luke traverses with only two or three words. The extent of ground from Antioch to the Hellespont, is seven hundred miles. Where is the journal of all those labours; labours full of glory, full of conflicts, clothed with power, and crowned with harvests of success. That St. Peter followed Paul and Barnabas on the same ground is apparent, as Eusebius admits, Hist. Ecc 1:4, for Peter addresses his first epistle to the strangers scattered abroad throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, (a province, as in the map) and Bithynia. This he could not have presumed to do, had he not been their pastor. St. John also followed in the same direction, but chiefly among the seven churches situate in the province of Asia. After his liberation from the isle of Patmos, he returned to Ephesus, but according to Eusebius, he made excursions into the provinces, constituting bishops, setting churches in order, and appointing pastors. In one of those excursions, the story of his reclaiming the young man who had become captain of a band of robbers, occurs. Euseb. cap. 23. The church of Ephesus had been planted by St. Paul, then the chief city of Consular Asia. John made it the final place of his abode, and here he slept in peace.

Act 16:12. Philippi, once the metropolis of the Greek empire, which king Philip, father of Alexander the great, had improved, and called by his own name.

Act 16:13. On the sabbath day by the river side, where the jews, unable to get a synagogue, had a proseucha, or place of prayer.

Act 16:14. Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira in minor Asia. Rev 1:18. Lydia had come from thence to Philippi, a city of Greece, to sell purple, a celebrated dye used by the Romans in dyeing their splendid robes; and hence their emperors and nobility were clothed in purple and fine linen, as the papal harlot is clothed in scarlet. The purple dye was produced by a species of shell fish on the shores of the Mediterranean near to Tyre and Sidon, and formed an article of sale in ancient times. Eze 27:16. It is mentioned by Moses as one of the colours pertaining to the tabernacle, and must have been known to the Egyptians. Jdg 8:26. Dan 5:7. A shell fish called murex, or purpura, float on the sea in large shoals, and when they retire beneath the surface they leave a bright reddish purple behind them, which when collected and mixed with the alkali of ammonia produces a deep and beautiful purple. The sale of this article was very lucrative, and several women of Tyre dealt largely in it. Lydia was one of these, and probably frequented the markets at Philippi, as well as in other places; and might also occasionally reside in that city.

Whose heart the Lord opened, to wait for his word in faith and prayer, and with her family to listen to the word with attention and delight. The Lord opened her ears, as in Psa 40:6. The Lord opened her mind, as the flowers open to the sun, to receive the truth in love. The Lord opened her heart to receive all the promised sweetness and comfort of the word, in regenerating and sanctifying influences. The Lord emboldened her at all hazards to make an open profession of the faith, and to receive his servants into her house.

Act 16:16. A certain damsel, possessed with a spirit of divination: , a spirit of Python. The women who delivered oracles in the heathen temples, are by Herodotus in forty places called pythonesses, as stated in the notes on Lev 19:31. Isa 41:23. Python is but another name for Apollo. Cicero, on the nature of the gods, mentions four of that name; and Plato, in his Cratylus, ascribes to Apollo four principal faculties. The art of divining, as in the text, music, medicine, and archery. He killed a serpent of prodigious magnitude, as the poets are pleased to say. But this girl really had an evil genius which told her things that could not be known in the course of human events. Augustine denies that Satan can know future things; but he fully allows the reality of some heathen oracles. The foretelling of rain he accounts for on the principle, that evil spirits could mark the rising of vapours in the sea earlier than men, and draw praise to themselves by announcing rain in the time of drought. So also these spirits could sometimes announce a victory, or the defeat of an army before any letter could arrive. Thus when mankind worshipped demons in the visible form of idols, it was just in providence partially to surrender them to their power.

Act 16:20. Brought them to the magistrates: , prefects, pretors, military captains. The magistrates here were military men, this city being now a Roman colony.

Act 16:22. The multitude rose up together against them. Mobs in Jerusalem, in Asia minor, and now in Greece, are of the same family. The magistrates, supposing Paul and Silas the ringleaders, rent off their clothes, and gave them the castigation of the lictors. John Albert cites here many testimonies of the severity with which this punishment was often inflicted.

Act 16:40. When they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed. Satan was rather too late with his work; a church of brethren, as well as sisters in Lydias house, was already founded. The apostles could sing out of prison, as well as in it, Thanks be to God who always causeth us to triumph in Christ Jesus. John Albert has a note on the former part of this verse. : they entered in to Lydia. Castellio says, ad Lydiam diverterunt; they turned away, or entered into the house of Lydia, as the English reads; a metonymy, which puts the possessor for the possession, as in 1Co 12:12, where Christ is put for the church.

REFLECTIONS.

This chapter, which leads us to contemplate the introduction of the gospel into Greece, strikingly marks the care of providence in the early progress of the faith. When Paul was undecided whether to pass into Greece or to take some other route, behold, in the wakeful visions of the night, a man of Macedonia stood over against him, and with an honest suppliant aspect implored him to come over the channel and help them. He seemed to say with serious looks, Do come over the Bosphorus and help us, for Satan has gained an almost total ascendency over our morals and worship. We have philosophy in abundance, and are lost in ignorance; we have gods without number, but worship not the true God; and we all follow the vices and superstitions of the age. Do come and help us with better principles, that we may lead better lives.

Satan was very much alarmed at the introduction of the gospel into Greece. The messengers of Christ were only three, Paul, Luke, and Silas; nor does it appear that they had either much money, or any letters of recommendation; yet Satan trembled and was embarrassed how to act. He had persecuted and dispersed the saints in Judea, and they had travelled everywhere preaching Jesus; and the persecution had accelerated the propagation of the faith. Satan therefore resolved for once to vary his method, and try what applause would do. He prompted the Pythoness to follow the apostles everywhere, saying, these men are the servants of the most high God. They are doctors come from Asia, and special servants of heaven. Therefore hearken, good people, to their sermons, for they are come to show us the way of salvation. The inference Satan intended was, that the people should silently say, and are these doctors of Asia thy friends? Are you both in one secret? Then we will take care to have nothing to do either with them or with thee.

In the masters of this Pythoness we see the covetousness, the malice, and the insidious wickedness of the human heart. When they saw that Paul had delivered her from the power of the devil, and that she could now tell nothing out of the common way, they resolved on revenge. And did they come to the magistrates and make a fair and honest complaint? Did they give glory to God by relating the miracles, and the loss of their infernal traffic? No, no; but they had recourse to charges of sedition, tumult, and the danger of the state, the usual pretenses of religious persecutors. These were the royal pleas which would blind justice, excite attention, and bring the rod on the backs of the innocent. So vice triumphs for the moment, but righteousness reigns for ever.

The comfort and the hope of the gospel can support believers in the worst of times. Paul and Silas were beaten and sore, their feet were fast in the stocks, and their bodies couched in the lowest cell. And were they not gloomy and dejected? No: but unable to sleep by reason of their sores, they prayed at midnight, and while praying their cup of comfort overflowed. Their Master approached with so much of heaven in his train, that prayer was changed into praise. The songs of paradise resounded through the cell. The doors and bolts were afraid; they all gave way to admit the King of glory. The massy fetters no longer encumbered the feet of the felons. All was light and liberty within. The prison, for once, became the palace of the Lord, and a jubilee attended his presence.

There is an awful difference between good and bad men in the day of visitation. The jailer heard the noise, and awoke. He saw the gates open, and concluded the prisoners were fled. Conscious of the peril to which he was exposed by their supposed escape, he sunk into all the horrors of anguish and despair. He blamed his gods, and cursed his fate. Hear how he raves. My life must now go for their lives, or I must languish in fetters all my days; my family is ruined, and I am for ever undone. Then drawing his sword, he adds, I have no way to attest my innocence but by putting a period to my existence, which I will this moment do: and yet he hesitates and defers. He fears to plunge his soul into greater and surer miseries. How happy then are the men who have counsel and comfort in the providence of God in the day of trouble. A work of terror and alarm often terminates in a gracious conviction of sin. Paul cried with a loud voice, Do thyself no harm, we are all here. All here, the trembling jailer would reply; all here! Surely this work is not human, but divine. Then, worse still, worse for me. I thought my temporal affairs were ruined; but now my soul is ruined. I have lifted up my arm against the Lord, and against his servants. Alas, what must I do what must I do to be forgiven?

We see the excellent temper inspired by true religion. Paul and Silas not only forgave this man, but directed him to believe on the Lord Jesus, the only Saviour and helper of the troubled mind. Hence all penitents in trouble of conscience, should keep a steady eye on the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. Let them continually look to his person, and offices, and grace; and as a little infant keeps trying and trying to walk till he can step along, so let every one endeavour to venture on the Saviour till he can believe with the heart unto righteousness.

There is an unspeakable degree of love among young converts. The jailer brought into his house the dishonoured apostles, washed their stripes, and nourished them with food; and all his family embraced the salvation of God. Oh how different was the night from the day. How different this brotherhood from the perjuries, the cruelties and stripes of the preseding day. Wherever the love of Jesus reigns in the heart, it makes the little circle of society resemble the paradise above.

Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Act 15:36 to Act 16:5. Shorter Account of Pauls Journey In Asia Minor.The editors hand is apparent throughout this section. We know from Gal 2:13 the real reason of Pauls difference with Barnabas, which was one of principle; here it is reduced to a personal matter. Instead of Titus, who (Gal 2:3) was not compelled to be circumcised, we have Timothy, who was circumcised by Paul (Act 16:1-3). In Act 16:4 Paul acts as a delegate of the Jerusalem church, handing to the faithful, city by city, the judgments of that church, to which in his epistles he pays no regard. In Act 16:5 the result of the journey is summed up in a general statement such as that at Act 12:24; cf. Act 9:31, Act 11:21; and at Act 16:6 we find we are in the substantial and authentic narrative of the Travel-document, which thenceforward supplies the thread of the story.

Act 15:36. The statement of time is vague; the object stated for the new journey keeps up the continuity of the narrative; Paul may be supposed to have had larger ideas. The difference with Barnabas and that with Mark were afterwards forgotten (Act 13:13*); here the Gr. states, with an emphasis lost in RV, that Paul had a very strong objection to Mark as a companion; he would take anyone but him. He chose Silas, the Jerusalem prophet and leading man, who was his close companion up to Corinth, took part in founding the church there (2Co 1:19), and is associated with Paul as fellow-writer of 1 and 2 Th., after which he appears no more with Paul, but with Peter (1Pe 5:12). Of the journey the account is meagre; it has been told already. The land route is chosen this time, Barnabas taking Mark by the former sea route. Cilicia is traversed, but there is no mention of Tarsus. Derbe, the last stage of the former journey, is now the first, Lycaonia being entered from the south. Companions of travel are enlisted on the way, in particular Timothy (see Moffatt, EBi. 5074). He is a native of Lystra (but see Act 20:4*), and is favourably known among believers there and at Iconium. Pauls circumcising him is contrary to the principle stated in Gal 5:2, and is thought by many eminent scholars to be an invention of the editor to counteract what is said about Titus in Gal 2:3. It is more credible, however, that the circumcision did take place, Timothy being half a Jew by birth, as Titus was not, and Paul seeking to avoid offence to the Jews among whom he was to travel. Act 16:4 belongs to the editors scheme and is scarcely historical. The phrases are those used to describe imperial rescripts (cf. Luk 2:1); the apostles and elders as a supreme authority have ordained them.

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

Coming to Derbe and Lystra, where he and Barnabas had been persecuted before, Paul was favorably impressed with the young man, Timothy, who had evidently been converted through Paul on his first visit (Cf.1 Tim.1:2). Though of a timid nature (2Ti 1:6-8), he was evidently considered by Paul as a dependable worker, having a good report of the brethren. This is always an important matter if one is concerned about doing the work of the Lord. But Paul also considered the consciences of the Jews in this case. Timothy, though having a Gentile father, was the son of a Jewish mother. Since he had not been circumcised, Paul took care of this matter before taking Timothy with him in the work. Thus Paul was becoming as a Jew toward the Jews (1Co 9:20). On the other hand, he would not allow Titus, a Gentile, to be circumcised when Jewish believers demanded that Gentile believers should submit to this (Gal 2:3-5).

As well as confirming the assemblies, they bring them the information from Jerusalem concerning the gathering of the apostles and elders, for these assemblies were largely Gentile. Their work continued to be greatly blessed of God, with assemblies established in the faith of God as well as being increased in number daily. These amazing results emphasize the way in which God had prepared Paul as eminently fitted to carry the gospel to Gentiles.

However, they were not to expect God to work in the same way everywhere: they must be distinctly led of God in where they went as well as in what they did. They are spoken of as having passed through Phrygia and the regions of Galatia, but with no mention of results there. Yet it seems as though the Galatian assemblies must have been established at this time, though they soon after accepted from others the insidious Judaizing doctrines of legalism which occasioned Paul’s epistle to them (Gal 1:6).

Having come to Mysia, they planned to go into Bithynia, but this was not God’s leading, though we are not told why: the Spirit of God stopped them. The apostles had been told to “go into all the world and preach the gospel,” and yet they could not take this command as a warrant for going wherever and whenever they desired: they still had to depend on God’s leading, though pliable enough to be willing to go to any place in the world.

They “came down” to Troas, which implies that Luke, the writer, was there at the time. There seems no doubt that God arranged this matter so that Luke could be present to accompany them to Philippi, where evidently Luke remained when Paul and Silas left (v.40). But Luke says nothing of his own work. Paul received his vision only after coming to Troas, a vision of a man of Macedonia urging them to come to help them. Though Paul might think there was more work for him to do in Asia, yet God made clear to him that he should go to Europe. To have a Gentile companion for this was certainly a wise provision given him of God, for Luke writes, “we endeavored to go into Macedonia.” They had no question as to God’s leading in this. The weather was evidently favorable for them to sail from Troas directly to Samothracia, then to Neapolis, and finally to Philippi. Yet they stayed in the city for some days before the Lord opened the way for their proclaiming His Word.

Since there was apparently no synagogue in the city of Philippi, Paul and his company took advantage of what opportunity they could for announcing the gospel. Hearing of a women’s prayer meeting by the riverside taking place on the Sabbath, they went out and sat down among the women and spoke to them of the Lord Jesus. At least one woman responded favorably, her heart being opened by the Lord. Lydia had come from Thyatira in Asia Minor, a seller of purple, possibly connected with “a guild of dyers” mentioned on inscriptions from that period in Thyatira. She worshiped God, likely indicating her to be a proselyte of Judaism.

She was baptized and her household, though nothing is said of how the hearts of those in the household were affected. Her attitude was most commendable, however, for she asked them, on the basis of whether they considered her to be faithful to the Lord, to stay in her house. Her whole heart was in this, and it does not need to be mentioned that they accepted her constraining invitation.

A distressing experienced followed this, that led to great blessing. A girl possessed by a Satanic spirit of divination, and who was taken advantage of by avaricious promoters, followed Paul and his companions, advertising them as servants of the most high God, come to show the people “a way of salvation,” not the way. It is always Satan’s method to draw attention to the servants rather than to their Lord. Paul bore with this unseemly activity for many days, but finally commanded the evil spirit in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of the girl, which took place the same hour.

Her promoters were of course angry at losing the means of their wicked financial gain, and forcibly brought Paul and Silas to the court (Luke and Timothy possibly not being with them at the time). Their charge had nothing to do with their actual reasons for arresting them. The girl had declared Paul and Silas to be the servants of the most high God, but their accusers first denounce them because they were Jews, and secondly, because they said they were greatly troubling the city, then thirdly, that they taught customs which these alleged to be unlawful for Romans to receive or observe. They have no specific charge of criminal activity.

This was actually rabble rousing, and the crowd joined in, probably mainly because Paul and Silas were Jews. It may be, in fact, that they had purposely not arrested Luke because he was a Gentile. The magistrates, influenced by the fickle crowd, unjustly commanded that they should be beaten with many stripes, before any suggestion of a trial. Then they were put in prison, in custody of a jailor who was given strict orders to keep them safely. He therefore put them in the closest confinement the prison afforded, with their feet held fast in stocks.

But at midnight the prison echoed with a most unusual sound, the prisoners hearing Paul and Silas praying and singing praises to God. Far from being discouraged by their sufferings, they acted on the Lord’s words, “Rejoice and be exceeding glad” (Mat 5:11-12).

God too responded in an unexpected way, causing a sudden tremendous earthquake to shake the foundations of the prison, with the result that all the prisoners were released from whatever restraints that held them. It is amazing, however, that none of them attempted to escape.

The jailor, likely complacent in thinking the prisoners secure, was asleep, but the earthquake evidently awakened him. A startling sight met his eyes, the doors of the prison being open. Of course, he would expect all the prisoners to have escaped, and that his life would be forfeit for negligence in keeping them secure. He was therefore ready to commit suicide with his own sword. It hardly seems likely that Paul saw him in the dark, but Paul was nevertheless guided of the Spirit of God to call loudly to keep him from his purpose, telling him that all the prisoners were still there. How did Paul know this too, except by the Spirit of God?

The jailor called for a light, and springing (rather than just walking) into the prison, fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. This was an unusual attitude for a hardened prison official! But God was working in his heart, so that he was brought under the solemn conviction that he was a lost man. The character and testimony of these unusual prisoners had clearly affected him, and he asks, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

The answer to the jailor’s question is simple in this case, an answer that can only be appreciated by one who realizes himself to be guilty or lost, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved and thy house” (v.31). The Lord had deeply worked in the man’s soul to bring him to genuine repentance. This is always necessary if there is to be any desire for or knowledge of salvation. Faith in the Lord Jesus would save him, not only from his own guilt, but from the ungodly world with which he was identified, and would save his house from this situation too. The fact of his being brought to God puts his entire house in a sanctified (or separated) position, as 1Co 7:14 plainly teaches. In this way the house is saved, though it remains imperative that each individual in the house must personally receive the Lord Jesus in order to have eternal salvation.

Paul and Silas spoke more of the Word of God to him and to all who were in his house, though it was the middle of the night. The effect of the Word was striking: the jailor in unaccustomed compassion washed their stripes to ease the severity of the pain. He and all his were baptized, taking the outward position of Christian profession. The jailor knew there was no reason to return Paul and Silas to the stocks, but took them into his own house and fed them, all his house rejoicing because he had believed in God (v.34).

In the morning the magistrates sent orders to release Paul and Silas (v.35). They knew no charge could be sustained against them, yet had without trial ordered them to be scourged, and wanted to dismiss the matter as quietly as they could. When the jailor told them they were free, Paul objected because of the evident dishonesty of the magistrates, and insisted that the magistrates come themselves, since they had openly beaten them (v.37). This was a lesson the magistrates needed, though it would in some measure humble them to have to ask the prisoners to leave.

They had beaten them because they were Jews. Now they learn that they are actually Romans (Jewish, but of Roman citizenship), and the magistrates fear that there might be serious repercussions for them. Their fearfulness impelled them to entreat Paul and Silas not only to leave the prison, but the city (v.39). It is good to see that Paul and Silas were not at all defiant, but submitted to this urging, as being the true servants of God.

They take time, however, to return to Lydia’s house, there seeing the brethren and encouraging them before they leave. Luke says nothing of himself, but it is clear that he remained in Philippi, for in verse 40 and in Chapter 17:1 he uses the word, “they,” not “we,” as in verses 10 and 13.

Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible

Verse 1

Derbe and Lystra. He had visited these cities before, and been exposed to great danger through the hostility of the Jews.

Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament

16:1 Then {1} came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a {a} Jewess, and believed; but his father [was] a Greek:

(1) Paul himself does not receive Timothy into the ministry without sufficient testimony, and permission of the brethren.

(a) Paul, in his second epistle to Timothy, commends the godliness of Timothy’s mother and grandmother.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

The churches of Galatia 16:1-5

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

Paul and Silas probably crossed the Taurus Mountains at a pass called the Cilician Gates (modern Gülek Bogaz). Alexander the Great had marched east through this pass to conquer the vast Persian Empire four centuries earlier. [Note: Blaiklock, p. 120.] This route would have led them into the kingdom of Antiochus that was west of Cilicia, to the south of Galatia, and to the east of Pamphylia. They proceeded on into Lycaonian Galatia, to Derbe, and then to Lystra.

At Lystra a young believer named Timothy impressed Paul. Many Bible students have assumed that Timothy was from Lystra and had trusted Christ during Paul’s first trip to that town (cf. 1Co 4:17). The text does not state these facts, but they are certainly strong possibilities. Mixed marriages between Jews and Gentiles were more common outside Palestine than within it. [Note: Bruce, Commentary on . . ., p. 322.] Timothy’s mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois were both sincere Jews and had instructed Timothy in the Hebrew Scriptures (2Ti 1:5; 2Ti 3:15). [Note: See Levinskaya, pp. 12-17.] This young man now filled the place that John Mark had occupied on the first journey, before Mark returned to Jerusalem. Timothy was to become one of Paul’s closest friends and most faithful fellow workers.

"He [Paul] was always well aware of the necessity of training a new generation for the work and for the days that lay ahead." [Note: Barclay, p. 129.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

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