THE STORY OF THE PHILIPPIAN JAILER.
Paul and Silas were sent by the church at Antioch on
a missionary journey. At a public meeting of the brethren, they were
commended to the grace of God. At first they went through Syria and
Cilicia, confirming the newly-formed congregations. They proceeded on
their journey, and attempted to go into Bithynia; but the Spirit
suffered them not. God was their guide, He the director of apostolic
missions ; and the instruction which they had received from the mother
church at Antioch gave them full liberty to follow the leadings of the
infallible Head and Lord. So Paul passed by Mysia, and came down to
Troas, a great mercantile city and seaport in the Ægean.
Here they paused, and bethought themselves whither they were to go. As
they looked across the Ægean, they
beheld in the distance the hills of Macedonia. Were they to leave Asia,
and enter into Europe? Can you not imagine how that night, ere Paul and
Silas went to rest, they bent their knees in prayer to their heavenly
Master, beseeching Him to guide them, and to make straight their path
before them? And how, after their fervent petition, and after the hearty
Amen which Silas had added to the Amen of brother Paul, they both laid
them down in peace, knowing that God had heard and accepted their
prayer, and would in due time send an answer to their supplications. And
behold, in the silence of night, when deep sleep falleth upon men in
slumberings upon the bed, He openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their
instruction. He who rules supreme in the visible kingdom of nature, is
also Sovereign in the invisible spiritual world; and quietly and
unobserved He sends forth His decrees. Thus, 0 thou mighty and subtle
adversary, proud and cunning Idumean, thou thinkest the new-born King of
the Jews cannot escape thy assassins ; behold, the Father of the holy
child Jesus has sent a messenger to defeat thy purpose, a messenger whom
thy legions cannot see and attack; the angel of the Lord appeared to
Joseph in a dream ! Oh, praise the Lord, all ye His saints, who doeth
according to His will—and it is a will of infinite love and wisdom—-in
the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth!
The vision sent unto Paul was this:—"There stood a
man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and
help us." And when he awoke, he knew it was the Lord who had spoken to
him; and, in the touching entreaty of the Macedonian, he heard the voice
of God, and, as a faithful servant, he cheerfully obeyed it.
So in the morning, when the men of Troas arose to
their trades and occupations, among those who were busy about the
shipping in the harbour were Paul and Silas and young Timothy, whom Paul
had taken with him, and the beloved physician Luke, who seems to have
recently joined them. They were seeking a passage to Europe. Fair ship,
that from the Ægean shore sailed the placid
ocean plains, bringing to Europe the messengers of life and peace, more
precious than all the richly-laden vessels, though they bring gold and
silver and ivory! Did not the angels of God watch her with intense
interest ? Nay, the Lord himself brought the wind of His treasuries and
prospered the voyage of His servants. In two days they were at Neapolis,
and from thence they went to Philippi, which was only ten miles distant.
It was a Roman colony, inhabited by Greeks and Romans, and a small
number of Jews. According to the example and command of Jesus, they went
first to the ancient covenant-people, to the synagogue, which was
outside the city gates, by a river. There they preached the gospel to
the women which resorted thither. Lydia, a seller of purple, an Asiatic
Jewess from Thyatira, listened, and the Lord opened her heart, and she
believed. How simply the Spirit of God tells the wonderful story! "As
Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and
said, Peace be with you;" so He constantly enters the heart of man,
opening it Himself, and bringing with Him the most precious gifts. A
high dignitary in a Christian Church was once asked, at a public meeting
in Berlin, to relate the history of his conversion. He shewed at first
great reluctance to comply with their request; but at last he said, ''
Well, brethren, I can say no more: the Lord drew me, and I could not
help yielding to Him."
Lydia, no doubt anxious that the precious truths
which she had heard should be made known also to her friends and
acquaintances, invited the brethren to abide with her. And they accepted
her invitation, and thus beheld, in the house of Lydia at Philippi, the
first congregation of Christian believers in Europe. Is not "the kingdom
of God like a grain of mustard-seed, which indeed is the smallest of all
seeds; but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and
becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the
branches thereof ?"
But the apostle's quiet activity was soon disturbed.
Paul, moved with pity and compassion at beholding a human being, created
in God's image to enjoy perfect liberty, even by being filled with the
Spirit, enslaved and fettered, possessed with a spirit of divination,
under the bondage of some supernatural, but evil power, commanded the
spirit, in the name of Jesus, to depart from her. The miracle was
performed. The poor woman was free; but, of course, she had thereby
returned to her natural normal state; she could no longer prophesy, for
her mind was now no longer assisted by superior inhabitants of an unseen
world. Thus her masters lost their gain. As long as Paul preached
quietly to a number of earnest Jews and Gentiles, no notice was taken of
him; but as soon as his gospel interfered with the sinful practice of
men and their sinful pleasures and gains, there was a great tumult.
''What! these Jews to meddle with our affairs; to interfere with our
worship; to intrude upon us their fine-spun theories of a mysterious,
invisible, only God; His strange and intolerable ten commandments; to
change our customs which please us so well!—it cannot be endured for a
moment." The whole town was in commotion; the multitude rose against
them. Thus has my heart been like the tumultuous market-place of
Philippi, when Christ's gospel began to interfere with a right eye or
right arm, and said, "Pluck it out; cut it off."
The magistrates, horror-struck at the audacity of the
strangers, rent their clothes, commanded them to be beaten, and to be
cast into prison. The jailer is charged to keep them closely.
And thus, gentle reader, have we at last come to the
jailer. I like, when I read a chapter, to read the one before it. I find
the Word of God requires to be read connectedly and systematically. When
I wish not merely to read, but to see, a Bible narrative, I like
to know all the antecedents, and to begin at the beginning. And so,
though I do not think the matter was
extraneous, even should it be so, in God's garden all the bypaths and
nooks and corners are delightful, and we need not grudge the time, but
enjoy ourselves leisurely. But now let us look at the jailer.
He belongs to a class of men who generally become so
familiar with crime and with suffering that
their perceptions are blunted, their sympathies destroyed, their
consciences seared. But let us not condemn the individual on
account of the character which his class generally bears. Let us
watch his conduct. With rigorous cruelty he fulfils the directions of
the magistrates. Not content with placing the apostles among the other
offenders against the law who were in custody at Philippi, he thrust
them into the inner prison, ''and then forced their limbs, lacerated as
they were, and bleeding from the scourge, into a painful and constrained
position, by means of an instrument employed to confine and torture the
bodies of the worst malefactors." [Conybeare and Howson.] The inner
prisons of ancient times were not like the prisons of our day, when
Christianity has taught us to remember mercy in justice. Christ's gospel
alone introduced clemency into the world. Such names as Elizabeth Fry
and John Howard do not grace the pages of the annals of ancient history.
The inner prison, we are told by antiquarian scholars, were pestilential
cells, damp, cold, and unvisited by the cheery rays of light.
Why did the jailer exceed his commission, and treat
the apostles with such severity? We read of charity, that it "rejoiceth
not in iniquity, but re-joiceth in the truth;" but great and hardened
sinners rejoice in the suppression of truth, and the sufferings and
defeat of the apostles of righteousness. The hardened man hates not
merely the light, but also the light-bearers; he not merely hates
godliness, but he hates all who possess and proclaim it; and he imagines
that, when the disciples are oppressed and bound, he has disarmed the
King himself, whose might is infinite. Thus is it probable that the
jailer was pleased at seeing '' men who pretend to be better than other
people, in the same plight with the very worst offenders," and that his
hatred of righteousness and truth found vent in his cruel treatment of
men of whom he must have known that they were innocent of crime.
Poor prisoners under charge of such a jailer! It is
midnight, all is still, when the voice of song is heard from the inner
prison! Who has ever been heard singing there? Singing in the
inner prison! The merriest bird, whose tiny breast God has filled with
treasures of cheerful melody, would become silent in cage so dreary and
dark. It is the chained prisoners; though their feet were in the stocks,
their souls were unfettered and unchained, free and strong and joyous.
Like larks
they soar up and bathe in the sunshine of God's
favour, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer for Christ.
[Thus has God at all times enabled His servants not
merely to suffer, but to rejoice in afflictions for Christ's sake. John
Bunyan sang—
"For though men keep my outward man
Within these locks and bars,
Yet by the faith of God I can
Mount higher than the stars."]
God giveth songs in the night. What did they sing?
God has provided the pilgrims to 'the heavenly Jerusalem with all that
is needful; He has given them also songs for their pilgrimage to cheer
them in trouble, to encourage them in difficulties, to keep them hopeful
and watchful when they pass through the enchanted ground. Knowest thou
the chief musician whom God has given to His people? That man after His
own heart, who knew life, with its bitterness and joys, its trials and
sorrows, its sunshine and gloom, its mountain heights and dark valleys?
Lovest thou the Psalms? ''The Bible in miniature," Luther called them,
"where thou seest the very heart-life of God's saints." In the night of
affliction, in the storm of temptation, in the anguish of repentance, in
the twilight of doubt, hast thou found in them supplications, and sighs,
and outpourings of heart that thou couldst make thy own? In the joy of
fulfilled wishes, in the ecstasy of gratitude and praise, in the
overwhelming moments when thou wast crowned with loving-kindness and
mercies of which thou wast not worthy, hast thou found in them
hallelujahs, songs of triumph and joy and adoration? Oh yes, Christian,
I know thou hast; for God has given this Book of Psalms to be the
companion of His people, and His Church will use it and sing it till we
learn that new song in heaven. And out of that song-book did the
prisoners doubtless sing. "Oh, let the sorrowful sighing of the
prisoners come before Thee; according to the greatness of Thy power,
preserve Thou those that are appointed to die! The Lord helpeth them to
right that suffer wrong; the Lord looseth men out of prison ; the Lord
helpeth them that are fallen; the Lord careth for the righteous."
And as they sang and prayed, God answered. Suddenly
there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the earth were
shaken.
"Great is the Lord, and greatly to be feared. In His
hand are the deep places of the earth. God is our refuge and our
strength, a very present help in time of trouble."
The jailer, roused from his sleep, immediately
thought of the prisoners. To his great amazement and horror, he saw the
prison-doors open; and supposing that the prisoners had fled, knowing
that inevitable death awaited him, in his ignorance and wretchedness he
resolved that suicide was better than disgrace.
Paul, calm, collected, unselfish, as a true child of
God, in the midst of the terrible and exciting scene, exclaimed, '' Do
thyself no harm ; for we are all here." Then the jailer laid aside his
sword, called for a light, and rushed into the inner prison. And as he
stood there before Paul and Silas, a fear of a higher kind took
possession of his soul. He remembered all that he had heard before of
the prisoners, who were now so calm, their countenances irradiated with
heavenly peace and confidence; of their doctrine of obedience to God and
love to man — their blameless life of prayer, and purity, and
benevolence ; he called to mind their patience, their meekness, their
gentle submission, their undisturbed tranquillity in the undeserved
humiliations, sufferings, tortures which they had to endure. He trembled
and fell down before them. Here was a greater and mightier earthquake
than that which had shaken the foundations of the prison. When the
eternal world came so near him—when he was so close to death, and that
unknown future, whose shadow had so often flitted across and disturbed
the even tenor of his God-estranged life—and when he saw before him men
who evidently were in possession of a faith which was a reality, a peace
which was from above, a strength which nerved them to look fearlessly
into the jaws of death—the question which lies buried in the heart of
the sinner, be he ever so careless and hardened, broke forth, "What must
I do to be saved ?" It is the most important question for a sinful,
guilty man to ask. Saved is the word—not improved, reformed,
soothed. For he knows that he is lost and condemned. "Sirs," he
exclaimed—"you, who know about these things —you, who are in safety and
peace—you, who know and love God, and are loved and upheld by Him—you, I
ask, what must I do to be saved?" And now, come, friend, and think of
all systems of religion and philosophy, ancient and modern, austere,
sentimental, poetical, transcendental, and tell me what human being can
give an answer to this question — an answer true, sure, decided,
authoritative. Can he be saved, guilt-laden, sin-stained as he is? What
is he to do? How is he to obtain it? You say he is to repent. Will
repentance save him? Can you promise it? What amount of sorrow,
contrition, reformation, is sufficient to secure salvation? The very
utmost that men can say amounts to faint probabilities, uncertainties,
which give no peace to the wounded conscience, no life to the broken
heart, no principle of holiness to the polluted soul, no strength to the
sin-enfeebled man. "What must I do to be saved?"
And clear and strong, as a voice from heaven, sounds
the answer of the apostle—"Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou
shalt be saved." This is a faithful saying, for it is God's truth. It is
worthy of all acceptation, for it brings a message of peace and life
from the heavenly Father himself. Jesus Christ came into the world to
save sinners. He has done it. What required to be done in order to
secure the salvation of the guilty, behold it has been done, for Christ
lived, obeyed, suffered, died, rose again, and ascended. Then believe,
and live! Look unto Him, and be saved! Cling to Him, who was wounded for
thy transgression, and bruised for thine iniquity. Thou shalt be
saved; for God has declared it. He has not merely said so, but the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the glorious confirmation
of our acceptance. Thou shalt be saved immediately; for as soon as thou
believest, the righteousness of Christ is thine. And saved
for ever; because the joy of the Father and the angels
over a sinner that repenteth is a proof that the prodigal, once restored
by Divine grace to the home of love and peace, is to dwell there for
evermore.
The promise, "Thou shalt be saved," has its depths.
"To be saved" means, to be brought out of a state of danger into a state
of safety. But this is only the beginning and foundation. The state of
danger is a state of sin, soul-sickness, estrangement from God. The
state of safety, a life of faith, love, and hope, of fellowship with the
Father and the Son. Our salvation is perfect when we are like Jesus; for
He is the true man, in the likeness of God, and we are to be conformed
to His image. But the moment we believe, we are virtually saved; for we
are begotten again by the Spirit of God, created anew in Christ Jesus,
endowed with a new principle of life. And we must hold fast the
beginning of our confidence, our first act of faith, to the end; for the
just shall not merely commence to live, but shall live by
faith. In proportion as we exercise faith in Jesus, is our peace
deepened, our love strengthened, our hope established, our holiness
increased. What a wonderful salvation is this, which descends into the
lowest depth of guilt with comfort and peace, and carries on its work,
till it has raised us to a height and eminence too lofty for our gaze at
present: "We shall be like Him!"
But again, let us listen to the apostle's answer:
"Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy
house." Poor jailer! and hast thou a house—a wife, who gives thee
the affection of her heart—and children, who cling to thee, and. look to
thee as their guide and model! Thou poor, godless, prayerless man, who
hast allowed thyself, in thy recklessness, to be hurried along on the
road to destruction, bearest thou the sacred name of father? Knowest
thou not that these children look up to thee as if thou wert the only
man in the universe, the very type and model of what a man ought to
be?—that thy words and doings are regarded by them as worthy of all
imitation? '' Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,
and thy house." Thou wilt be a light, and guide, and blessing to them;
and the Lord will hear thy prayer, and bless thy example ; and they also
will be brought into the fold of Jesus.
Hast thou not come to Jesus yet, dear reader? and has
God given thee souls to watch over and train?—and I know thou lovest
them: do ponder over this gracious promise:—"Thou shalt be saved, and
thy house!"
The apostles, we are told, spoke unto him the word of
the Lord, and to all that were in his house; and they heard it, and
believed. They understood it. So do you. Christ died for the
ungodly— Jesus came to save that which is lost. They had heard it only
once. You a thousand times. They believed—that is, they did not
make God a liar; but thought His word worthy of all trust and
confidence. They believed, because they thought themselves bad enough
for Jesus. Most people say, they do not think themselves good enough
to come to Christ. But they do not express their thoughts and feelings
correctly. They do not think themselves bad enough; they do not hold
their case to be a desperate one; they still imagine they will be able
to pay some portion of their debt. As soon as people think themselves
bad enough for Jesus, for a Saviour who only undertakes lost, condemned,
leprous, bankrupt sinners, they believe.
They believed and were baptized straightway. Wherever
there is faith, the sign and seal of the covenant ought not to be
withheld, Thinkest thou thyself justified in coming to Christ, and
resting on His bosom, then why hesitate to sit down at His table, and
fulfil His dying request: "This do in remembrance of me?"
The jailer's house is now changed into a church of
God. Behold him filled with shame and contrition, and yet hope, and
peace, and consolation. Just look at him, washing the disciples'
stripes. Is not his very countenance changed? Are these the same hard,
selfish, creel features? Pause here, and adore. The love of Christ is
shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost. As one of God's elect, he
has put on bowels of mercy, compassion, kindness, humbleness of mind,
meekness. He is in Christ, and, therefore, a new creature. Old things
are passed away; behold, all things are become new. Is it not true,
''Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved?" Is
not faith the victory that overcometh the world?
Look at that scene in the jailer's house, on that
early morning. He set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God,
with all his house. The apostles, through whom God had given them the
knowledge of the truth, sat down with them. The angels of God were near
them, partakers of their joy. Oh, it must have been a glorious sight!
But still more glorious shall it be, when, with Abraham, and Isaac, and
Jacob, and all the innumerable multitude of ransomed sinners, the Lord
Jesus Christ shall sit down in the kingdom of His Father; and their joy
will be full, and their blessedness everlasting: when the promise, "Thou
shalt be saved," shall be perfectly fulfilled ; when there shall be no
more trace of that sin which reigned unto death, but where nothing but
grace shall abound unto eternal life.
He came trembling—call it not selfish, ignoble fear.
It is more selfish and ignoble to drown the misgivings, and forebodings,
and anxious thoughts of the conscience in the cares and pleasures of
this life, than to forget our own salvation in trying to be useful to
others. For it is said, "Love thy neighbour as thyself;" and to
be at peace with Him is the only foundation of true love and
unselfishness. Call not this fear selfish and ignoble; for there was in
it the beginning of repentance—turning from sin unto righteousness, from
self unto God; there was in it a seed sown by the Divine Sower. Remember
that Jesus—the truth and the love of God—has shewn unto us whom and what
we are to fear and bear in mind,—that He thought it necessary to
speak to us of that fire which is unquenchable, and that sentence which
is final. Look at this trembling jailer, and learn from him how fear may
be changed into peace, trembling into joy, the spirit of bondage into
the spirit of adoption, the unknown God into Abba, Father, the despised
Nazarene and His followers into a beloved Saviour and brethren. Hear the
word "Believe," as an invitation of mercy, and the command of our
heavenly Father. Askest thou, "What shall I do?" as the Jews asked, ''
What shall we do, that we might work the works of God ?" Then the answer
of Jesus is to us as it was to them: ''This is the work of God, that ye
believe on Him whom He hath sent." A. S.