The jailer has been a good host to Paul and Silas following his conversion during the night. Now it is morning and the magistrates inform the jailer that the men are to be released.
"When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: 'Release those men.'" (Acts 16:35) The magistrates feel that a severe beating and a night in jail are enough to teach Paul and Silas a lesson.
"The jailer told Paul, 'The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace." (Acts 16:36) The magistrates want Paul and Silas to leave town immediately and to do so quietly.
Paul is unwilling to leave quietly. He chooses this time to announce the Roman citizenship of himself and Silas. "But Paul said to the officers: 'They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.'" (Acts 16:37) Paul could have brought up this fact when he and Silas were first seized and dragged into the marketplace, but the Lord had plans for them at the jail. If anyone had asked the men about their citizenship they would have told the truth, but because they looked so Jewish no one even thought to ask. Anti-Jewish sentiment was so prevalent in the pagan world that the Gentiles at Philippi didn't care how poorly they treated the two men.
It was a serious violation of Roman law to treat Roman citizens the way the magistrates and some of the populace treated Paul and Silas. If this news gets back to the authorities the magistrates are in danger of losing their positions and having to pay heavy fines or even serving a prison term. The magistrates are horrified when the officers report back to them. "The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed." (Acts 16:38)
"They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city." (Acts 16:39) Now, instead of ordering the men to leave the city, the magistrates request them to leave along with many apologies. They want them gone before Rome hears about this fiasco. They are not in a position to demand that they depart, and I suspect they practically beg them to go.
"After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia's house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left." (Acts 16:40) I think Luke and Timothy and the others from the missionary team were staying there. They were probably praying, along with the new believers, for the release of Paul and Silas. After comforting and encouraging the new believers in the faith, the missionaries head for Thessalonica where we will find them tomorrow. Their back are still sore and oozing from the beating they received the day before, but Paul and Silas rejoice knowing that a church has begun at Philippi. Their stay there has not been in vain. Souls have been saved and souls are going to continue to be saved through the testimonies of those who have come to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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