Scripture: As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.
But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
Acts 16:16-24 ESV [Click here to read the entire chapter.]
Observation: Recapping Yesterday’s Daily Focus, Luke moves the storyline to the next mission op: Philippi. Paul and his team go outside the city proper to search for praying Jews, likely because the small number of the diaspora residing in Philippi could not form a quorum to establish a synagogue. Having walked the half-mile journey to the Gangites River, they meet a group of women praying the Shema. Paul and his cohorts sit down and share the Gospel with them. Luke adds that one woman, Lydia, through the aid of the Lord, paid particular attention to Paul. He further notes that Lydia originally hailed from Thyatira and was a merchant of purple goods, but, more importantly, she welcomed the Gospel, sought baptism for her whole household, and urged Paul and his companion to stay with her.
Today’s reading is scene two of Luke’s account of Paul and his cohorts’ mission in Philippi. While staying with Lydia, they maintained a prayer routine at the Gangites River. On one particular day, they met a slave girl possessed by a spirit of divination who provided her owners a handsome sum through fortune-telling. Daily, she distracted Paul, his team, and the gathering of worshipers by shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation” (v.17). Fed up, Paul commanded the demon to leave the girl, and it did. However, her owners were not happy about the loss of income. So they dragged Paul and Silas into the marketplace before the city magistrates, pointing out that they were Jews, and accused them of disrupting the city’s well-being, citing they promoted unlawful customs contrary to acceptable Roman practices. With the crowd hyped by the accusations, the magistrates stripped Paul and Silas, ordered their flogging with rods, and sentenced them to imprisonment under the jailer’s safe custody. So the jailer placed them in an inner cell and shackled their feet.
Takeaway: A couple of questions arise from this story. First, why did the owners of the slave girl seize only Paul and Silas? Second, why did the owners expressly point out that Paul and Silas were Jews? The answer to both lies in racial prejudice. But this is nothing new for Israelis. Indeed, anti-semitism has existed since the origin of God’s chosen people. With that in mind, the slave owners likely ignored Timothy and Luke because they were of a mixed race and not distinctly Jewish in appearance. But the girl’s masters could easily incite the crowd by pointing out that Paul and Silas are Jews who are a threat to their welfare. Thus, similar to the ire the chief priests aroused among the crowd at Jesus’ trial, these infuriated slave owners spur an angry mob, which provokes the governing authority to accommodate their demands.
There is also an element of irony in this story. The plaintiffs have no qualms about diminishing the welfare of their slave girl. Now that this once-oppressed young woman is free of demon possession, her owners are only concerned about their loss of income. And they have no qualms about causing harm to innocent men who get in their way under the guise of the greater good of their kind (as did the Caiaphas toward Jesus, see John 11:49-50). And like Jesus, Paul and Silas will suffer humiliation and flogging.
Our takeaway? First, fear drives discrimination. While anger foments our attitudes and actions, the underlying emotion is fear of loss (e.g., financial security, physical safety, freedom, or generalized fear of the unknown). Thus, as Christians, we must be honest with ourselves when tinges of prejudice creep into our thoughts. And we would do well to repent of not trusting in the Lord’s provision and protection in these moments, for our sincere repentance sets us free from bondage to our false sense of security based on worldly means.
Secondly, when we set others free from bondage to the forces of evil with our Gospel message and pastoral care, sometimes their friends and family will not be happy with the changes (again borne in fear of loss) and will strike back. So how do we respond? Not with force (Matthew 5:38-42) but with love and prayers (Matthew 5:43-44). We pray for blessings of forgiveness for those who persecute us and for ourselves, which sets us free from the burden of unforgiveness.
In sum, when we are honest with ourselves, repent, and forgive those who seek our harm, we appropriate God’s grace that brings healing to our minds, hearts, and spirits and strengthens us to carry on with the good news.
Prayer: Father God, we thank you for your Son, whose truth sets us free to live his way of life that redeems our suffering and promotes growth. Still, we confess we sometimes succumb to fear of loss that provokes prejudices and stirs anger and unforgiveness. So would you please help us cooperate with your Holy Spirit by being honest with ourselves, repenting, praying for those who persecute us, and persevering through the forgiveness process to free ourselves and others to embrace our glorious Gospel of Grace? Amen.
Rev. Gordon Green, M.Div., M.A. Counseling
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