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Paul and Silas: Preaching in Philippi
In Troas Paul had a dream; a Macedonian man with arms outstretched begged him to come and preach the gospel to his people. The dream was so vivid and distinct that Paul understood it to be a divinely inspired message; God was calling him to go to Philippi and without hesitation, he answered that call.
Paul traveled over the Mediterranean with Silas in tow and landed in the small port city of Kavala in Greece. It was Paul’s first foray into Europe and the continent was never the same again. After disembarking in Kavala, Paul and Silas trekked into Philippi along the Via Ignatia. When they arrived in the city the exhausted missionaries realized that there was no Jewish synagogue in the city.
Plan B was to go down to the riverside on the Sabbath where they found a group of women who gathered together regularly to pray. Paul and Silas preached to these women and one of them, a businesswoman named Lydia, accepted the message of the gospel and was converted. Lydia was considerably wealthy, being a seller of the lucrative purple-dyed cloth that sold for a premium, She was baptized and opened her home to Paul and Silas. They accepted her gracious invitation and used it as a base of operations for their work in Philippi.
One day while Paul and Silas were out walking the city streets they attracted the attention of a young woman. Luke, who was most likely with Paul and Silas describes her in this way “And it came to pass as we went to prayer a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying” (Acts 16:16)
The Greek word used to describe this young woman is Pythia which is an allusion to the Pythia or Oracle of Delphi. The Oracle of Delphi was a woman who was imbued with the spirit of divination and served as a soothsayer at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. The Oracle was believed to channel the spirit of Apollo and deliver prophecies from the greek god while in a trance-like state.
The fact that Luke used the word Pythia to describe this young woman implies that she was either one of the main oracles (it is believed that at the height of its popularity the Temple at Delphi had up to three oracles) or she could have been one of the lesser oracles serving under the chief oracle. Whatever may have been her background she found herself enslaved by men who used her to make a quick buck.
When she saw Paul she followed him and his companions crying “these men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation!” At first, Paul and the others ignored her but she refused to be deterred. She continued to follow them day after day until “Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit ‘I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her’” (Acts 16:18)
Paul saw the oracle for what she truly was; a young woman possessed by a demonic spirit. The Bible says that when Paul rebuked the evil spirit it immediately came out of her. It was a miracle of healing that both exposed the specious nature of the Oracle at Delphi but also dissociated the work of the gospel from the temple of Apollo
However, the girl's masters saw the entire debacle in a different light. They had just lost their cash cow and they were not happy. “And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas and drew them into the marketplace unto the ruler” (Acts 16:19)
After a farce of a trial peppered by a host of false accusations, the magistrates commanded that Paul and Silas be beaten and hauled off to jail. The jailor, eager to please his superiors put the bloodied men into stocks and left them on the cold stone floor for the night.
Paul and Silas refused to be beaten down. Their backs were most likely cut to bloody ribbons and their muscles were stiffening with pain. They were cold and tired and hungry. Yet they chose to sing praises to God in a dank Philippian jail.
The entire jail heard them and so did Jesus. In the middle of the night, there was a terrible earthquake that rent the foundations of the prison and shook loose all the locks on the doors. Terrified, the jailor rushed in to find all the doors opened and all the shackles on his prisoners loosed. Devastated and thinking that all his charges had fled into the night the jailor took up his sword to kill himself when Paul cried out with a loud voice saying “Do thyself no harm, for we are all here”
Calling for a light the jailor inspected the jail, found all his prisoners accounted for, and fell down at Paul and Silas’ feet trembling. Bringing them out of their cell he asked a question that would change the trajectory of his life for eternity; “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house” (Acts 16:30-31)
The relieved jailor took them to his house, washed and bandaged their wounds, listened to their preaching, and was immediately baptized. It was a strange way to do evangelism but it worked.
Paul’s encounter with the Pythia in Philippi revealed that God is very careful to distance himself from the word of Satan. The Pythia announcing the veracity of the gospel didn’t help it, on the contrary, her recommendation only served to harm it. The Spirit of God was quick to prompt Saul to take care of the confusion.
When Paul and Silas were wrongfully accused and thrown in jail they chose to respond to their difficult circumstances with faith and gratitude rather than murmuring. Often in life, we find that we can’t control our circumstances but we can always choose how we respond to them.
Finally, Paul and Silas were quick to recognize and capitalize on an opportunity to share the gospel. Exhausted and bloodied as they were they didn’t let their physical discomfort stop them from making an eternal difference in someone’s life. Their attitude towards their trial went a long way towards helping them reach the jailor as well.
God wants to do so much more for and through us than we could ever imagine. Are we ready to let him?
