“The Philippian Jailer”

(Acts 16:25-34)

I. Introduction.
A. Orientation.
1. We saw how the Lord opened the door for a church to be established in Philippi.
a. How the Lord continued to open and close doors, directing Paul and his
companions further and further towards the west.
b. How He gave Paul a vision: the man of Macedonia beckoning to him to
come over and help.
c. How when they came to the city, they didn’t find a group of men, a
synagogue, or even a particular man, but a place of prayer where women had
gathered to worship.
d. How Paul took advantage of that situation by preaching the Gospel to them.
e. And how the Lord opened Lydia’s heart to receive Jesus Christ.
f. The Lord will do His will through His people, and even though we don’t
know exactly what the Lord wants us to do, we know that if by His grace we
push forward, He will lead us by His Spirit where He wants us to go.
f. We should also not despise the day of small things; you never know what the
Lord will do through our efforts.

2. We also saw that when the kingdom moved a step forward, Satan began to fight
back. Satan doesn’t take the subduing of his kingdom lying down.
a. When he saw the kingdom of God advance into Macedonia, he moved his
servant – the demon possessed fortune teller – into place to try and frustrate
God’s plans.
(i) She followed them day after day, crying out in a loud voice who they
were and what they were doing.
(ii) Whether she was trying to gain more clout for herself, discredit them by
her associating with them, or just trying to frustrate them, Paul finally
reached the point where he did something about it.
(iii) He turned to her and commanded the spirit to come out of her in the
name of Christ, and it obeyed.

b. When he saw that this tactic failed, he tried another.

(i) He stirred up her owners against them – Paul had taken away their ability
to make money through her.
(ii) They dragged Paul and Silas before the chief magistrates and accused
them falsely.
(iii) Paul and Silas had their robes stripped from them, they were beaten
many times with rods, and then they were thrown into prison and their feet
were fastened in the stocks.
(iv) But this attack wouldn’t stop them either; because the Lord was planning
to use this situation further to build His church.
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B. Preview.
1. This morning, let’s look at how the Lord used these circumstances again to
advance His kingdom.
a. Paul and Silas were not discouraged by what had happened – they began
praising God.
b. As they did, the Lord sent a great earthquake that opened the doors of their
cells and caused their chains to fall off.
c. The jailer awoke and was going to kill himself since it appeared that his
prisoners had escaped.
d. But instead of losing his life that day, he actually gained it forever, and the
church in Philippi gained some new members.

2. Let’s consider three things:

a. First, we can rejoice in the worst of times if we know we are doing God’s
will.
b. Second, God will continue to work with us during those times, if we’re only
willing to continue to do His will.
c. Finally, we can expect to see the fruit of changed lives through the power of
Gospel, and God glorified, if we persevere.

II. Sermon.
A. We can rejoice in the worst of times if we know we are doing God’s will: Paul
and Silas were in prison and yet were able to worship God.
1. How many times have we had difficulty worshiping God when things are going
well?
a. How many times do we struggle to read our Bibles, to pray, to come to
worship God on the Lord’s Day?
b. Sometimes persecution can help strengthen us in these areas, sometimes it
can weaken us, depending on our spiritual condition.
c. But I hope we all see that whether in good times or in bad, we should always
worship the Lord.

2. Paul and Silas were able to worship the Lord in spite of what they had gone
through: “But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns
of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25).
a. They must have been hurting and somewhat humiliated by the treatment they
received, but they were not downcast.
(i) They were praying, perhaps that the Lord would use their circumstances
to His glory.
(ii) They were singing hymns of praise to God, thanking Him that everything
was happening just as He intended.

b. They were encouraged by the fact that it is a blessing to suffer for the Gospel,
to bear in their bodies the blows meant for Jesus (Gal. 6:17).
(i) The Spirit of glory and of grace was resting on them (1 Pet. 4:14).
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(ii) They could expect greater rewards in heaven.

c. They also knew that their conduct would be a witness to others around them,
either for good or bad.
(i) Bearing up patiently under abuse in the presence of others for the sake of
the Gospel speaks louder than any words.
(ii) The other prisoners were listening and undoubtedly were affected by
what they heard.
(iii) We don’t know how the Lord used this in their lives, but we do know
how He did for the jailer.

d. Their greatest encouragement must have come from the fact that they were
honoring the One who laid down His life for them.
(i) Suffering for the Gospel is one of the ways we bring the greatest honor to
Christ, and yet it is something we avoid more than anything else.
(ii) We know that every time we have suffered for Him, the Lord has done
something for us or through us for which to praise Him.
(iii) We need to pray that the Lord would give us greater love, courage, and
faith, so that fear will not stop us from serving the Lord as we should.

B. But here’s another reason we can rejoice when we suffer for His sake: God will
continue to work with us during those times, if we’re only willing to keep doing
His will: Paul and Silas did not become discouraged and give up, but trusted the
Lord, and as a result, the jailer and his household were saved.
1. The Lord responded to the prayers and praises of Paul and Silas: “And suddenly
there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were
shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone' s chains were
unfastened” (v. 26).
a. He responded with a miracle: A great earthquake, the foundations of the
prison were shaken, the doors were all opened, everyone’s chains were
unfastened.
b. Remember, the purpose of the miracle is to draw attention to the truth of
God’s Word that He might glorify His name, and that’s how He used it here.

2. This miracle was not meant to free Paul and Silas, but to draw attention to His
Son, Jesus Christ.
a. At first glance, it might appear that the Lord was opening the gates and
moving the jailer out of the way so they could escape:
(i) “When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his
sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had
escaped” (v. 27).
(ii) The jailer was about to end his life: Since the penalty for letting your
prisoners escape was death anyway, he thought he would spare himself the
humiliation that accompanied it.

b. But this was not a miracle of judgment: it was a miracle of mercy:

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(i) “But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Do not harm yourself, for
we are all here!” (v. 28). He didn’t want the jailer to die, but to live.
(ii) Paul knew the Lord had a purpose for him in his imprisonment.
(a) He had concern for the jailer, whether or not he was one of God’s
elect – we are to love our neighbor as ourselves: It would have been
sin on his part to have desired the jailer’s death.
(b) Especially when you consider the outcome of this event – the jailer
was in fact one of Christ’s lost sheep and became a brother in Christ.
(c) And this was at least one of God’s purposes in allowing Paul and Silas
to be arrested in the first place.

(iii) The jailer, of course, didn’t know what the Lord was doing. He just
thought that his death warrant had been served – it actually was – he just
didn’t know with what kind of death he was to die – he had to die so that
Christ might live in him.

c. And now the Lord had the jailer’s attention.

(i) An earthquake, the open cells, the prisoners freed from their chains, and
yet everyone present? All of these things made it clear that he was in the
presence of the Holy God.
(ii) His conscience was already bearing witness to his sins. How much had
he sinned against this Holy God? How angry He must be.
(iii) And yet how merciful? The prisoners were still there. Paul had stopped
him from killing himself.
(iv) “And [so with hope and yet in fear] he called for lights and rushed in,
and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, and after he
brought them out, he said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’” (vv. 29-
30).

d. Seeing his humbled state, Paul and Silas offered him mercy, the mercy that
only comes believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.
(i) “They said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and
your household’” (v. 31).
(ii) Thankfully the day of mercy was still at hand, and it was offered to him.
(iii) All he had to do was believe: believe on the Lord, trust in Him to carry
away his sins, trust in Him for the righteousness to stand before God, and
trust in Him for the grace to live a life of obedience.
(iv) By God’s grace, that is what he did, and the day that would have ended
in his death became the day he was born again to eternal life.
(v) This is what the Lord will do for everyone who turns from their sins and
trusts in Him.

C. Finally, we can expect to see the fruit of changed lives through the power of
Gospel: The jailer whose job it was before to make sure the messengers of the
Gospel’s stay in prison was secure and miserable, now begins to set his heart to
advance that Gospel.
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1. First, he brought Paul and Silas into his house that they might preach the Gospel
to them as well:
a. “And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in
his house” (v. 32).
b. The result was that they were also converted (v. 34).

2. Second, he ministered to the needs of those he had once afflicted:

a. “And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds” (v.
33).
b. Perhaps he was making restitution for what the hasty judgment and abuse
they had received.

3. Third, he and his household all received baptism.

a. “And immediately he was baptized, he and all his household” (v. 33).
b. Jesus commanded that all who believe in Him should be baptized (Matt.
28:19), and the jailer submitted to that command.

4. Four, he brought them into his house and showed them hospitality.
a. “And he brought them into his house and set food before them” (v. 34).
b. He did as Lydia had done earlier, doing what he could to meet their needs.

5. Finally, he rejoiced in the goodness the Lord had shown him and his family:
“And [he] rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with his whole household”
(v. 34).
6. Where there is true conversion, there will always be the fruits of righteousness
that follow.
7. To sum up:
a. Satan attacked these servants to try and stop the progress of the Gospel, and
all he succeeded in doing was giving the Lord another opportunity to promote
it.
b. Satan has limited wisdom and knowledge; he can see further down the road
than we can, but not as far as God; but even though he knows that God can
trump him anytime He wishes, he still goes about trying to thwart God’s
plans.
c. It’s good to know that he can’t, but that God will overrule all that he does for
His glory.
d. May the Lord encourage us in this same confidence, so that no matter what
we have to face as we seek to promote His Gospel, we can know that He will
use it for His glory as well. Amen.