Timothy Joins Paul and Silas
Acts 16:1-5
Timothy was the son of a Jewish mother and a Gentile father. Paul wanted to take Timothy along on the journey with them. Paul circumcised Timothy because of the Jews who lived in the area and knew Timothy’s father was a Gentile. More and more people were added to the church as Paul, Silas, and Timothy traveled to their towns.
Paul’s Vision of the Man of Macedonia
Acts 16:6-10
The Holy Spirit had kept Paul and his companions from preaching the gospel in Asia. When they reached the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they went down to Troas.
During the night, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him to come over and help them. After the vision, Paul and his team left immediately for Macedonia. They were convinced God wanted them to preach the gospel to the Macedonians as Paul had seen in a vision.
Lydia’s Conversion in Philippi
Acts 16:11-15
Paul and his team sailed and the next day they traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of the district of Macedonia. They stayed in Philippi several days. On the Sabbath, they went outside the city gate to the river where they expected to find a place of prayer. They began to speak to the women who had gathered at the river. A woman named Lydia was there. She was a businesswoman who sold purple cloth. She was from the city of Thyatira.
Interestingly, Lydia worshipped God, but she didn’t know about Jesus, much like the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:27. When Paul began to speak, the Lord opened her heart to respond to his message. She and the members of her household believed and were baptized. Lydia invited Paul to stay at her house. In fact, she persuaded him by saying, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.”
Questions
1. You have probably noticed that after people believed because of Paul’s teaching, they asked him to stay with them. Notice Lydia persuaded him to stay. Why do you think that happened?
2. Describe Lydia.
3. The women were worshipping God at the river because it was a law that unless at least ten men were in the group, women could not worship in the synagogue.
4. From your study of the Book of Revelation, what do you remember about Thyatira?
Paul and Silas in Prison
Acts 16:16-40
As Paul and Silas were going to the place of prayer, a slave girl who could predict the future met and began to follow them. She earned a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes. The slave girl followed Paul and his companion. She shouted that these men are servants of the Most High God who are telling you the way to be saved. This continued for several days until Paul became so troubled that he turned around and talked to the spirit within her. He said, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that very moment, the spirit left her.
The owners of the slave girl realized that their source of making money was gone. They seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. They were taken to the magistrates and accused of throwing the city into an uproar by advocating unlawful customs for them to accept.
The crowd joined against Paul and Silas. The magistrates ordered Paul and Silas to be stripped and beaten. They had been severely flogged and thrown in prison and guards were commanded to watch them carefully. Paul and Silas were put in the inner cell, and the feet were placed in stocks.
About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God while the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a violent earthquake and the foundations of the prison were shaken. Then the prison doors flew open and everybody’s chains came loose.
When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoner had escaped. Paul stopped him just in time by letting the jailer know all prisoners were still there. It was a custom that jailers could be killed if prisoners they are watching escaped. The jailer was so afraid that the prisoners had escaped and he was going to be killed anyway, so he was going to spare the officials the trouble.
After the jailer knew he wouldn’t be killed, he called for lights, and he rushed in and fell down and trembled before Paul and Silas. Then the jailer asked what he must do to be saved. They told him to believe in the Lord Jesus and he and his whole household would be saved. The jailer took them to his own house and his whole family was saved. He fed them and he was filled with joy.
Paul and Silas were taken back to the jail and at daybreak, the magistrate sent officers to the jailer to release the men. Paul said they were beaten and put in jail publicly without a trial even though they were Roman citizens. Therefore, he insisted to be escorted out prison instead of being released quietly. Paul and Silas were escorted out of prison as requested, and they were told to leave the city. So, they went to Lydia’s house.
Questions
1. Discuss the slave girl with a spirit of divination.
2. Why were Paul and Silas put in prison?
3. Describe Paul and Silas’ prison experience?
4. Try to put the events in order of what happened to Paul and Silas from the time they were followed by the slave girl until they were released from jail and went to Lydia’s house.
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