a16:16-18
bMark 1:25
d3:11-12
eLuke 4:35
gActs 1:8
h9:15
i26:15-18
jMatt 28:18-20
kLuke 24:46-49
lJohn 20:21
mActs 22:15
n16:19-21
o19:25-27
pMark 5:1-20

‏ Acts 16:16-21

Summary for Acts 16:16-18: 16:16-18  a 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  b, 34  c; 3:11-12  d; Luke 4:35  e, 41  f). The Lord had commanded that the gospel be proclaimed by his disciples, not by opponents (Acts 1:8  g; 9:15  h; 26:15-18  i; Matt 28:18-20  j; Luke 24:46-49  k; John 20:21  l; see Acts 22:15  m).
Summary for Acts 16:19-21: 16:19-21  n As in the ministry of Jesus, sometimes the Good News threatened established commercial interests (see also 19:25-27  o; Mark 5:1-20  p). 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.
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