In verse 30 the jailer said to Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do that I may be saved?” They replied, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household” (v. 31). The word “household” indicates that the family of the believer is a complete unit for God’s salvation, like the family of Noah (Gen. 7:1), the families partaking of the Passover (Exo. 12:3-4), the family of the harlot Rahab (Josh. 2:18-19), the family of Zaccheus (Luke 19:9), the family of Cornelius (Acts 11:14), the family of Lydia (16:15), the family of the jailer here, and the family of Crispus in 18:8.
Paul and Silas “spoke the word of God to him together with all those in his house” (v. 32). Then “taking them with him in that very hour of the night, he washed their stripes” (v. 33a). Literally, the Greek words rendered “washed their stripes” mean “washed them from their stripes.” According to 33b, “he was baptized immediately, he and all his household.” As in the case of Lydia, baptism was practiced immediately after the jailer and those in his household had believed, that they might be saved.
Verse 34 continues, “And he brought them up into his house and set a table before them; and he exulted, having believed in God with all his household.” The jailer, after believing and being baptized, also came into fellowship with the apostles, the fellowship of the Body of Christ, as a token of his salvation.
It may seem strange to us that the jailer and his household believed, were baptized, and were brought into the fellowship of the apostles all in the same night. What a wonderful conversion! I hope that we shall see such conversions today where people believe and are baptized and brought into the fellowship of the Body of Christ.
Acts 16:35 says, “Now when day came, the magistrates sent the deputies, saying, Release those men.” Here the “deputies” were the Roman lictors, those who held the rod to clear the way for the magistrates and to execute punishment on the criminals.
In verse 36 the jailer reported to Paul the words of the magistrates: “The magistrates have sent that you may be released. Now therefore come out and go in peace.” In verse 37 we have Paul’s strong reply: “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Romans, and have thrown us into prison; and now they are thrusting us out secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out.” Here Paul did not behave like a lamb that was being brought to the slaughter. On the contrary, he claimed his rights as a Roman citizen. Some who read Paul’s word here may say, “It seems that in this situation Paul was not very spiritual. He acted like a lion, not like a lamb. We may also say that he was not a ‘dove’ but a ‘hawk.’” For years I could not understand Paul’s behavior at this point in Acts 16.
Gradually through my own experience of suffering persecution, criticism, and opposition, I came to realize that we should not always give in. We have tried to be faithful and honest followers of Jesus. We have tried to walk in His footsteps, suffering persecution as He did. Eventually I learned that this is not always wise, and that it is not always God’s intention that we react to persecution and opposition in this way.
Actually, in 16:35-39 the question is not whether Paul should have been a dove or a hawk. The important matter here was Paul’s evangelical work. Paul realized that for the sake of the future of this evangelical work it was necessary for him to claim his rights as a Roman citizen. The Roman government was a government of law, and this government protected its citizens. Therefore, Paul was wise in having the attitude described in verse 37, for this was a help to the future of his work. This attitude made it impossible for the Roman officials to think that they could treat Paul in any way they desired because he was a Jew.
In verse 37 Paul seemed to be saying, “No, we are not willing to go out secretly. We are Romans, and we have not been judged guilty of any crime. First you put us into the inner prison, and now you ask us to go out secretly. We refuse to do this. Let the magistrates come and escort us out of the prison. We shall not slip away like escaped criminals. We want to be brought out of the prison in a way that is worthy of Roman citizens. Therefore, ask the magistrates to come and accompany us out of prison.”
The record of Acts 16 indicates that the Roman magistrates had no choice except to fulfill Paul’s request. “The deputies reported these words to the magistrates. And they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans. And they came and entreated them, and bringing them out, they asked them to depart from the city” (vv. 38-39). Here we see that the magistrates accompanied Paul and Silas out of prison as Paul had asked. Verse 40 concludes, “And they went out from the prison and entered the house of Lydia; and when they saw the brothers, they encouraged them and went out.”
In 16:35-39 Paul was not spiritual in a religious way. In this situation he was not a religious dove; instead, he was a right-claiming hawk. For the future of his evangelical work, Paul claimed his rights as a Roman citizen. Without vindicating ourselves in any way, we can testify that we have learned of Paul to claim our rights as citizens and to appeal to today’s “Caesar”—the law of this democratic country—to deal with evil books that libel us. We live in a country of law, and in this constitutional country there are laws against defamation. For the sake of his evangelical work, Paul claimed his rights as a Roman citizen and appealed to Caesar. In like manner, for the Lord’s interest, not for our personal profit, we claim our rights as citizens and appeal to the law as our “Caesar” today.