Acts 16:14 goes on to say, “And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple-dyed goods, from the city of Thyatira, who worshipped God, was listening, whose heart the Lord opened to give heed to the things spoken by Paul.” The Lord here, who opened the heart of Lydia to give heed to the gospel preaching, must be the Spirit, who is the Lord Himself (2 Cor. 3:17). We do not know whether Lydia was a Jewish lady or a God-seeking Greek, since many of the Greek women, especially of the upper class, were seeking God. The first person gained by the Lord in Europe was not a man but a woman.
Acts 16:15 says, “And when she was baptized and her household, she entreated us, saying, If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and remain there; and she urged us.” Here we see that baptism immediately followed believing, as the Lord commanded in Mark 16:16. Lydia, after believing and being baptized, entered into fellowship with the apostle and his co-workers, the fellowship of the Body of Christ, as evidence of her salvation. At her invitation, they came into her house and remained there. This was the first house the Lord gained in Europe through His gospel and for His gospel (v. 40).
Acts 16:16 goes on to say, “And it came about that as we were going to the place of prayer, a certain maiden having a spirit of Python met us, who brought her masters much profit by divining.” The spirit in this verse was not a fallen angel but a demon (Mark 1:23, 32, 34, 39; Luke 4:33), one of the spirits of the living creatures who lived in the preadamic age and were judged by God when they joined Satan’s rebellion (see Life-study of Genesis Message 2). The fallen angels work with Satan in the air (Eph. 2:2; 6:11-12), and the unclean spirits, the demons, move with him on earth. Both act evilly upon man for the kingdom of Satan. The possession of people by demons signifies Satan’s usurpation of man, whom God created for His purpose.
In Acts 16:16 the maiden had a spirit of Python and brought profit to her masters by divining. The name “Python” was used to denote a prophetic demon, and was also used of fortune tellers. Divination is the art or practice that seeks to foresee or foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge by the aid of supernatural powers.
According to verses 17 and 18, “This woman followed after Paul and us and cried out, saying, These men are slaves of the Most High God, who are announcing to you a way of salvation. And she was doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly disturbed, and turning, he said to the spirit, I charge you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out from her! And it came out that very hour.” The woman with this evil spirit became a frustration to Paul’s preaching. Paul tolerated the situation for some time. But eventually he cast out the evil spirit. As verse 19 indicates, after the demon had been cast out from the woman, she could no longer bring profit to her masters.
Acts 16:19 says, “When her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they laid hold of Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.” Literally, the Greek word rendered “gone” here means “gone out.” To be sure, the woman’s masters were Gentiles, who were angry that their means of making a profit was gone. They caused trouble to Paul and his co-workers, stirring up the city against them. “And having brought them to the magistrates, they said, These men who are Jews are throwing our city into confusion, and they are announcing customs which it is not lawful for us who are Romans to accept nor to do” (vv. 20-21). The magistrates in verse 20 were the Roman praetors.
Verses 22 through 24 say, “And the crowd rose up together against them, and the magistrates tore off their garments and ordered them to be beaten with rods. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they threw them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them securely, who, having received such a charge, threw them into the inner prison, and secured their feet in the stocks.” Literally, the Greek word translated “stocks” means “timber” and denotes an instrument of torture with holes to hold the prisoner’s wrists, ankles, and neck. The same word is used for the cross in 5:30; 10:39; Gal. 3:13; and 1 Pet. 2:24.
When the apostles were put into the inner prison, the Lord had an excellent opportunity to vindicate Himself as the Lord of the kings. Verses 25 and 26 say, “And about midnight Paul and Silas, while praying, were singing hymns of praise to God; and the prisoners were listening to them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and instantly all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.” While Paul and Silas were praying and singing, the Lord shook the prison, and all the prisoners were released from their bonds. When the jailer saw the doors of the prison opened, he “drew his sword and was about to do away with himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped” (v. 27). But Paul shouted out to him, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” (v. 28).