Acts 16:11

Therefore, loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis, and from thence to Philippi, which is a chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony... And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a riverside, where prayer was wont to be made... and a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us, whose heart the Lord opened, and she attended unto the things which were spoken of by Paul.

Three very different hearts—open, enslaved, and hard—meet the same God who alone can break through and give new life.

Coming to Philippi

Paul and Silas, on their second missionary journey, came into the region of Galatia and there picked up Timothy, then moved down into the area of Troas on the Aegean Sea. Still in Asia Minor, the Lord spoke through a vision that they should cross into Macedonia—into Europe, the northern portion of Greece. There in Troas they picked up another traveler, Luke, who would ultimately author the book of Acts. Now the team of four—Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke—comes to the city of Philippi.

Philippi was the chief city of that part of Macedonia and a colony of Rome. It was not the largest city in the area—Thessalonica, where Paul would go next, was larger—but God had called them to this region to do a great work. The city was founded by King Philip II of Macedon in 356 BC, the same year his firstborn son was born, the one who would become Alexander the Great. It sat in a rich part of the world, long known for its gold mines.

When Rome came to power, it colonized the region, and Philippi became a key city on the trade routes into the eastern part of the Roman Empire, right on the Ignatian Way. Many traders and sellers came through, and it was a very wealthy city. As a colony of Rome it had an autonomous government—its own magistrates rather than Roman soldiers. The people were proud, wealthy, and eager to keep the peace, because if word of trouble got back to the emperor, he could send soldiers to take over. This is a problem, because as you follow Paul's ministry, many cities he entered, he stirred up trouble.

By the Riverside

On the Sabbath they went out of the city by a riverside, where prayer was customarily made. It was the Jewish custom that in any city where more than ten Jewish males lived, they would build a synagogue. But in Philippi there do not appear to have been ten Jewish men—we see no Jewish men mentioned in this passage at all. It was Paul's manner, when entering a new city, to go first to the synagogue to preach. Finding none, the next place to go on the Sabbath was the nearest river.

We see this pattern elsewhere. During the Babylonian exile, the children of Israel gathered by the river Chebar on the Sabbath to worship, and it was there God gave Ezekiel visions (Ezekiel 1). The same was true of Daniel in Shushan, who went out by the riverside on the Sabbath and received his visions (Daniel 7 and 8). So when Paul's team went to the river, they found no Jewish men, but a group of women who resorted there to pray—God-fearers, seekers of God.

Lydia: The Open Heart

Among them was a woman named Lydia, a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira. That name may ring a bell—Thyatira is one of the seven churches Jesus addresses in Revelation 2 and 3. Paul never traveled to Thyatira in Acts, and we read of no one else bringing the gospel there. So it is very plausible that after Lydia was saved, she is the one who carried the gospel back to her own people.

Thyatira was known for its dyes used to make purple cloth, and Lydia was a seller of purple—a wealthy, well-to-do woman, and a good saleswoman. I believe that because later she constrains Paul and his group to stay at her house, and Paul was a rather stubborn man. She had to be a good saleswoman to constrain him to do anything.

We're told in verse 14 that her heart was opened by the Lord, and she attended to the things Paul spoke. Underline that: her heart was opened by the Lord. In John 6:44 Jesus said, "No man comes to me except the Father which has sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on that last day." Evangelism begins with God. Missions begins with God. From Genesis to Revelation, our God is the missionary God who reaches out to mankind. Man fell in the Garden; God came searching, "Adam, where are you?" Ever since, God is the first mover.

Evangelism Begins With Prayer

Because of this, our evangelism should begin with prayer. Every one of us has friends, family, and co-workers who don't know the Lord, and Scripture reveals they are dead in trespasses and sins. We want them to come to the knowledge of the truth, and that comes only by the Word of God—"faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." Yet you've tried to share with people who seem hardened to it, who are skeptics, who want nothing to do with it. Don't be discouraged—pray. Ask God to break up the fallow, hard ground of the heart. How many of you, before you received the gospel, had a hard heart and were a skeptic? Most of us.

In Matthew 13, Jesus tells the parable of the sower. Some seed fell on the wayside—hard-packed ground—and the birds took it away. Some fell among thorns, which Jesus called the cares of this world, and they choked it out. Some fell on stony, shallow ground, sprang up quickly, but the sun came and burned it out. Only the seed that fell on good ground grew and produced thirty-, sixty-, and a hundredfold. The seed is the Word of God. We all experience these in those we share with—the hard heart, the cares of the world, the one burned out by trials. We long for ground that is ready, but for that we must seek the Lord and ask Him to move, just as He opened the heart of Lydia.

So in this first individual we see number one: the open heart. She was ready and willing to receive the implanted word, and immediately there was fruit. Look at verse 15: after she and her household were baptized, she besought Paul, saying, "If you have judged me faithful to the Lord, come into my house and abide there." And she constrained them. Baptized, and filled with the fruit of hospitality.

The Enslaved Heart

"Now it came to pass," verse 16, "as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying." As Paul's team stayed at Lydia's house, they would daily go to a certain place to pray, and one day they were met by a woman possessed by a demon. By this demon she had knowledge she could have no other way, able to tell people something of their fortunes and futures.

We have such people today—fortune tellers, soothsayers, horoscope readers. Many are tempted to turn to them and spend a great deal of money on it. I mentioned a few months back that this is one of the biggest growing industries in the economic downturn, because people want to know if 2010 will be better than 2009. The Old Testament clearly forbids seeking after fortune tellers and diviners; it is against the law of God. Not every soothsayer is demon-possessed, but this woman was.

This is number two: the enslaved heart. She was a slave both physically—she had masters who gained much from her divination—and worse, spiritually. She followed Paul, crying out, "These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation." Interestingly, what she said was true. But not all press is good press. This woman was known in the city as someone a few tools short of a toolbox—not the kind of witness you want. It's like having a convicted felon volunteer to testify in your trial. What she said was true, but it was not a good witness, and it hindered the work God was seeking to do.

Cast Out in the Name of Jesus

If it happened once, it might not matter much. But after many days, verse 18, Paul was grieved—I think he was probably pretty ticked off. He turned and said to the spirit, "I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ, come out of her." And it came out that same hour, in that very moment.

Notice several things. Paul spoke directly to the spirit, and he commanded it in the name and authority of Jesus Christ—not "in the authority given to me, Paul the apostle." Jesus had power and authority to cast out demons, and He told His disciples to do so in His name. I get very concerned when I hear people, especially in some charismatic branches, saying, "I bind this, I cast this out," without truly seeking the Lord.

In the little book of Jude we read that Michael the archangel contended with Lucifer over the body of Moses, yet he did not bring a reviling accusation against the enemy. Instead he said, "The Lord rebuke you." He relied on the power and authority of God. This matters, because not far from here in Acts we meet the sons of Sceva, who went about saying, "In the name of the Jesus that Paul preaches, we command you to come out." A spirit answered, "Paul, I know. Jesus, I know. But who are you?"—and the possessed man beat the tar out of them.

Spiritual entities are very real. Scripture speaks of principalities and powers, rulers of the darkness of this age. "We wrestle not against flesh and blood" (Ephesians 6), and therefore we put on the whole armor of God. We need to rely on His power and strength whenever we confront any spiritual entity. We often don't recognize this in the United States, but on our mission trips to other parts of the world you will see these spiritual hosts of wickedness in high places.

When the woman was set free, there was immediate fruit—she was in her right mind. But her masters were furious, because their hope of gain was gone. Perhaps you've seen this in your own life: people you used to associate with are upset by the transformation in you. John writes in 1 John that they think it strange you no longer run with them. Old business partners liked the old you, who was willing to lie or act unethically; now you are a man or woman of integrity, and they're upset that you won't do what you used to do.

Dragged Before the Magistrates

So they caught Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers, saying, verse 20, "These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city." It was clear by their dress and speech that they were Jews. In AD 49 Claudius Caesar expelled all the Jews from Rome. It's very possible that Philippi, being a colony of Rome—really a miniature Rome—adopted the same decree. Paul and Silas arrived around AD 50 or 51, just two years later, dressed and speaking like Jews, and bringing a message completely contrary to the Roman worldview.

"They teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans." Two thousand years ago the Caesars were seen as divine and were worshiped. Paul and Silas were preaching that Caesar is not God—that Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The magistrates wanted to maintain control and avoid a riot, lest word reach the emperor and Rome bring the city under direct rule. So they dealt with them harshly.

Verse 22: the multitude rose up, the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten, and after many stripes they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely. He thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in stocks. In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul describes his persecutions. Five times he received from the Jews forty lashes minus one—the Jewish law forbade exceeding forty, and out of mercy they gave thirty-nine. That's 195 lashes. But three times, he says, he was beaten with rods—Roman punishment—and this seems to be the first. The Romans had no merciful limit; they beat the prisoner until they decided to stop.

The Hard Heart of the Jailer

Now we meet the third individual: the jailer, the man with the hard heart. He shows no mercy. He takes these bloodied, bruised men and thrusts them into the depths of the prison. The Roman stock was not like the medieval two-plank device; it had multiple holes designed to force the prisoner into a very uncomfortable, even split position.

How would you respond to such adversity? At midnight—verse 25—Paul and Silas were not ranting and raving for their lawyer. They prayed and sang praises to God, and the other prisoners heard them. In a place that likely never heard a joyful word, only groaning and cries, here were two clearly innocent men worshiping God aloud. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations were shaken, all the doors opened, and everyone's bands were loosed. I believe the epicenter was probably right under the prison.

In that situation, I would think that was the answer to my prayer—let's get out of here! But the keeper of the prison awoke, saw the doors open, drew his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing the prisoners had fled. A guard whose prisoners escaped was guilty of a crime punishable by death, so he figured he might as well save them the trouble. But Paul cried with a loud voice, "Do thyself no harm, for we are all here." Amazingly, when their bonds broke and the doors opened, they did not flee. They stayed.

"What Must I Do to Be Saved?"

The jailer called for a light, sprang in trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas. He brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Some look at this and say Paul didn't preach repentance to Gentiles. But this man was already repentant—on the ground, crying out. God gives grace to the humble. They answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Put your trust, your confidence, in the Lord Jesus Christ.

They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all in his house, and immediately there was fruit. That same hour of the night he washed their stripes, and he and all his household were baptized straightway. He brought them into his house, set a meal before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. Like Lydia, he was baptized and showed hospitality—cleansing their wounds and rejoicing.

The open heart, the enslaved heart, the hard heart—God is able, by His grace and His word, to break through. He can set people free and give new life, and He desires to do so, as we see in these three individuals in Acts 16.

Roman Citizens and Due Process

When day came, verse 35, the magistrates sent word: "Let those men go." But Paul said, "They have beaten us openly, uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privately? Nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out." The magistrates knew the men were innocent and just wanted to quietly remove them. But Paul was a Roman citizen—born one, from the city of Tarsus, holding dual citizenship.

It's amazing he didn't announce his citizenship while being beaten. Roman citizens had rights others did not: the right to vote for the Senate, the right to due process—they could not be punished without trial—and the right to appeal to the highest court, to Caesar himself, which we'll see Paul do later. So he says, in effect, "You cannot do this to us and sweep it under the rug."

When the magistrates heard they were Romans, they feared, knowing they had broken the law and could be in great trouble—perhaps even losing their city. Like good politicians, verse 39, they came and besought them, brought them out, and asked them to leave the city. Paul and Silas went to Lydia's house, encouraged the brethren, and departed.

Knowing When to Move On

This brings up an important truth. In Matthew 10, Jesus told His disciples that if a city does not receive them, they should dust themselves off and move on to the next city. The leaders of Philippi said, "Get out." So Paul and his team moved on to the next city, as we'll see in Acts 17.

We all have people with hard hearts, hearts filled with the cares of this world, unwilling to endure the trials of following the Lord. We bring them the gospel, and they say, "I don't want to hear it. Leave me alone." We're tempted to badger and pester them—but take the truth the Lord gave and let them be. Let the Lord deal with them by His word. It's okay to be rejected.

But I always leave that individual with this: I tell them, "All right, you don't want to hear it. But Hebrews 10 says that because of your choice, the only thing you have to look forward to is a certain and fearful expectation of coming judgment—death and damnation. Just thought I'd let you know." I want to leave at least a sour taste in their mouth. If we force the gospel down people's throats, they want nothing to do with us, and in a crisis they won't turn to us. But if we leave the truth with them and they reject it, when they come to a crisis they'll likely seek us out.

Luke Stays Behind

Paul and Silas departed Philippi—but not before a church was planted and lives changed. Paul had seen a vision of a Macedonian man saying, "Come over and help us." Who knows—perhaps that man was the Philippian jailer. The church at Philippi became a great support to Paul's mission and a great encouragement to the body of Christ.

Notice one more thing. Back in Acts 16:11 the text says "we journeyed from Troas to Samothracia... to Neapolis"—Luke had joined them in Troas. But in Acts 17:1, "Now when they had passed through..." Circle the word they. It's believed that Luke, after traveling only from Troas to Philippi, stayed on in Philippi when Paul, Silas, and Timothy continued to Thessalonica. There was a fresh work there, and it's likely Luke became the pastor of that church. He was a Gentile, so he had no issue with the people of Philippi; it was the Jews—Paul, Silas, and Timothy—who had to leave. By God's divine providence, Luke stayed to help that church grow in the knowledge of the truth.

May we also grow, learning from this passage how the Lord works in the open heart, the enslaved heart, and the hard heart. And may He make us willing to endure hardship and difficulty to bring the gospel wherever He calls us.

Closing Prayer

Father, I thank You for this passage of Scripture, and I ask that You would make application from it to our lives today. Lord, give us the strength and boldness to step out, to step up, and to give forth Your word. As we live in a dark day, in a dark nation that needs Your light, would You shine brightly through Your church? And would You bring people out of darkness into Your marvelous light through the preaching of this body? For we ask it in Jesus' name, and all God's people said, Amen.