Act 16:13-36 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Acts 16:13-36: 16:13-36 Luke gives his readers cameos of three lives touched by the Good News in Philippi: a wealthy woman (16:14-15 ), an exploited slave girl (16:16-21 ), and a middle-class officer (16:23-36 ). 16:13 The Jewish community at Philippi was too small to have a synagogue, which required ten adult males. Instead, Jews met for prayer in an open space by the Gangites (now called Angista) River that afforded privacy, quiet, and water for Jewish purification rites.

Summary for Acts 16:13-36: 16:13-36 ^a Luke gives his readers cameos of three lives touched by the Good News in Philippi: a wealthy woman (16:14-15 ^b), an exploited slave girl (16:16-21 ^c), and a middle-class officer (16:23-36 ^d). 16:13 ^e The Jewish community at Philippi was too small to have a synagogue, which required ten adult males. Instead, Jews met for prayer in an open space by the Gangites (now called Angista) River that afforded privacy, quiet, and water for Jewish purification rites.
Summary for Acts 16:14-15: 16:14-15 ^f The first person changed by Christ in Philippi was Lydia, a successful businesswoman from Thyatira (modern Akhisar), a city of western Asia Minor famous for its woolen fabrics, weavers, and linens. Lydia responded to the message and she and her household were baptized (cp. 16:32-33 ^g).

• One of Lydia’s first acts as a true believer in the Lord was to extend hospitality to the visiting missionaries. Hospitality is an important Christian virtue (Matt 25:31-46 ^h; Rom 12:13 ⁱ; 16:23 ^j; 1 Tim 3:2 ^k; Titus 1:8 ^l; Heb 13:2 ^m; 1 Pet 4:9 ⁿ; 3 Jn 1:5-8 ^o; cp. Gen 18:1-8 ^p; 19:1-3 ^q; 24:23-33 ^r).
Summary for Acts 16:16-18: 16:16-18 ^s The second portrait of a changed life in Philippi is of a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future.

• Even though the demon within her was stating the truth, Paul, like Jesus, did not permit it to proclaim the Christian message (cp. Mark 1:25 ^t, 34 ^u; 3:11-12 ^v; Luke 4:35 ^w, 41 ^x). The Lord had commanded that the gospel be proclaimed by his disciples, not by opponents (Acts 1:8 ^y; 9:15 ^z; 26:15-18 ^aa; Matt 28:18-20 ^ab; Luke 24:46-49 ^ac; John 20:21 ^ad; see Acts 22:15 ^ae).
Summary for Acts 16:19-21: 16:19-21 ^af As in the ministry of Jesus, sometimes the Good News threatened established commercial interests (see also 19:25-27 ^ag; Mark 5:1-20 ^ah). The slave girl’s exploiters viciously attacked the missionaries and dragged them before the authorities as criminals, blamed them for fomenting a disturbance, resorted to racial bias (these Jews), and appealed to the Philippians’ pride (us Romans; the Philippians prided themselves on being Roman citizens of a Roman colony).

• customs that are illegal: By law, Jews were not permitted to make converts of Romans.
Summary for Acts 16:22-24: 16:22-24 ^ai All reasonable security measures were taken to ensure that Paul and Silas didn’t escape after they had been stripped and beaten with wooden rods (see 22:24-26 ^aj; 2 Cor 6:5 ^ak; 11:23-25 ^al). As at Christ’s tomb (Matt 27:65 ^am), however, human effort did not prevent divine intervention.
16:25 ^an Paul and Silas, like the persecuted apostles in Jerusalem, were joyful, “rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus” (5:41 ^ao).
16:26 ^ap The massive earthquake is reminiscent of the great earthquake at Jesus’ resurrection (Matt 28:2-3 ^aq).
Summary for Acts 16:27-36: 16:27-36 ^ar Luke’s third portrait in Philippi is of the Philippian jailer who, shaken by what had happened, responded in faith when challenged to accept the Lord Jesus and be saved. He was baptized with his household and rejoiced in his newfound faith as he reached out with hospitality to the preachers. 16:27 ^as The Roman jailer clearly knew that his life could be forfeited if the prisoners for whom he was responsible escaped. This was standard practice (12:19 ^at; 27:42 ^au; cp. Code of Justinian 9.4.4).
Summary for Acts 16:29-30: 16:29-30 ^av Paul and Silas had impressed the jailer with their cheerful faith (16:25 ^aw), their composure in crisis, and their concern for his well-being (16:28 ^ax). Whatever the jailer’s previous understanding of Paul’s message, God touched his heart, and he cried out for divine help.
Summary for Acts 16:31-34: 16:31-34 ^ay Paul and Silas directed the jailer to a faith in Christ that brings blessing both to him and to his family. The whole household received Christian instruction, and their response was expressed in baptism and the offering of hospitality to Paul and Silas.