PAUL AND SILAS RELEASED

Acts 16:35-39 And when it was day, the magistrates sent the sergeants, 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 sergeants 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.

The verses preceding the lesson text tell us that on the previous day that the magistrates, mentioned here, had given in to the accusations of the masters of the damsel,out of whom Paul had cast a spirit of divination. Their judgment resulted in Paul and Silas being beaten with many stripes and cast into prison, in the safe custody of the jailer. At midnight a great earthquake shook the foundations of the prison, opened its doors, and loosed the fetters, which bound the prisoners. Realizing the prisoners could have escaped but did not do so, the jailer knew his physical life had been saved from severe punishment that would have resulted if they had fled from the prison. Realizing also that Paul and Silas were men of God that taught His message of eternal salvation, the jailer humbly fell at the feet of Paul and Silas with this pleading question regarding his soul: Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And after hearing God's plan of salvation explained to him, he immediately obeyed, washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

The following morning the magistrates sent the sergeants, saying, Let those men go. Certainly one would think their sentence would have been longer than merely an overnight stay. Why the magistrates had a change of mind and rescinded their longer, and more severe, prison sentence is not given. It is possible that the jailer had told them about the earthquake and recounted the events that followed, including the fact that he had been baptized into the body of Christ for the forgiveness of his sins, and had become a Christian. Whatever the reason, when the sergeants came and told them that they were free to go, Paul refused to do so, giving them this reason: 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.

In Barnes' Notes he gives three things, which brought about Paul's complaint against these magistrates. First, as a Roman citizen, he had been beaten unlawfully. Second, his scourging had been made before the townspeople as a disgraceful, public spectacle. And, thirdly, he was condemned by the magistrates without a trial, to which he was dutifully allowed as a citizen of Rome. All of these circumstances violated the laws under which a Roman citizen was to be protected as well as judged. Similarly, Paul, once again, used his citizenship in his defense against charges of condemnation, saying that he was free born as a citizen of Rome (See Acts 22:25-28). Some say that Paul's citizenship was inherited because his father was a Roman citizen. Others say that Paul's citizenship was the direct result of being born in Tarsus, which was a Roman colony. Regardless, his citizenship of Rome could be established and confirmed. And as a citizen of Rome, he was privileged, without exception, to be governed by Roman law.

Because he and Silas were publicly condemned, beaten, and imprisoned, Paul demanded public vindication to avoid any untoward reproach upon the gospel message of salvation, which he proclaimed, or upon the newly founded church of Christ in Philippi. When told of Paul's demands, the magistrates, having violated the rights of a Roman citizen, feared for their lives. Therefore, they came to the prison, released Paul and Silas, and desired them to depart out of the city. Unrepentant sinners desire all preachers and teachers that proclaim God's message of eternal judgment to depart from them. So was our Savior in the country of the Gergesenes, when the people came out to meet Jesus, (and asked) ...that He would depart out of their coasts (See Matt. 8:28-34). Verse 40 tells us that, having established a church of Christ in Philippi, they returned to the house of Lydia, ...seen the brethren, ...comforted them, and departed.