Freedom in the Prison

I jumped into Acts 16 today, which included Paul's journey sans Barnabus but with Silas and Timothy out west to Derbe, Lystra, and, because Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia asking him to come help them, on to Philippi, which is in Macedonia. There, he found Lydia and other women at the water, and Lydia was baptized and invited Paul and Co. to come stay with her at her home. They stayed there several days, and at one point, there was a demon-possessed slave girl who followed them, and the demon would shout out: "These men are the servants of the Most High God." Paul got so fed up, he turned around, and in Jesus' name, demanded that the spirit come out of the girl. Which... made the girl's owners super mad, so they took the matter to the town magistrates, who arrested Paul and Silas and had them publicly flogged. Then they tossed them in prison overnight.

Throughout the night, they prayed and sang hymns, and about midnight, an earthquake literally shook the doors of the prison open. The jailer was sure he'd be killed as the prisoners all fled for safety, so he was all ready to kill himself, but Paul stopped him. "We're all here." And the jailer was so amazed by what happened, he asked Paul what he had to do to be saved, and he and his whole family believed in Jesus.

The next morning, the magistrates sent officers to release Paul and Silas, and I had to laugh at the message. "Now you can leave; go in peace."

Paul's response was awesome. No way, y'all. Not without a public escort. You publicly flogged us, now you have to publicly show that you were wrong. This wasn't rooted in a vengeful way of thinking, but rather, he responded like that to clear their names for the new believers and converts in Philippi (so say my footnotes). So after the magistrates publicly "blessed" them by escorting them from the prison, Paul and Silas spent a bit more time with Lydia and the new converts, and then they left.

Philippians is one of my favorite books of the Bible, and it was really cool to connect some faces with that book. I went and read through Philippians again, and pictured Paul writing to Lydia and Clement and the jailer and his family and maybe Clement WAS the jailer, who knows. (I read a novel once where the author based the story on that assumption).

So when Paul told the church in Philippi: "Rejoice in the Lord always; I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving. present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus," he was telling them in the context of Roman persecution, and since Philippi was a Roman colony, an outpost set up with Roman legionnaires, the church in the city would have had to face a good bit of unrest. This first visit of Paul to the city is before that persecution, but later is when it comes. And so Lydia and Clement and the jailer and others would have been some of the ones who took hold of this encouragement: "Don't fear. Don't be afraid. Don't be anxious about anything. In everything... by prayer, by petition... with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

Two things really jumped out at me here. This may be a bit of a stretch, but I really liked the symbolism of the earthquake: it lines up nicely with my prayers for the present-day church in America. At midnight, in the darkest hour, there was an earthquake. It shook the prisoners right off their seats. How often have we been praying that the Lord would shake the church awake? In the shaking, the prison doors burst open; they were no longer prisoners, held back, restrained. They were free! In their freedom... did they run away from the ministry opportunity placed directly before them? No, they stayed put, because the jailer and his family needed to hear about Jesus. So while they were free, they stayed firmly entrenched in the place where the Lord had placed them for the purpose He had given them.

The second thing: they may have been afraid; they probably were (although maybe not Paul; he was pretty groovy like that). I can imagine if I were a prisoner sitting in that prison cell, I would have been at the very least a little jumpy over the events of the night. Especially if I were placed there because I was teaching others about Jesus, I would be a little on-edge about what might happen to me.

So I flipped over to Matthew 10, to the story of Jesus sending out the twelve. He's giving a rundown of what to expect, and I was struck by how very much Paul's experience in Philippi mirrored what Jesus was saying here. "Preach this message: The kingdom of heaven is hear." Check. "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons." Check. "Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there (seller of purple cloth, maybe even) and stay at his (or her) house until you leave." Check. "Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues." Check (except Philippi had no synagogue; it was why Paul and Co. went down to the river to teach, and it's where they met Lydia, the seller of purple cloth. So they were flogged in the public marketplace in place of the synagogue). "But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how you will say it. At that time, you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you." Check. Paul gave a clear message to the magistrates of Philippi that held them accountable.

Jesus goes on in that chapter to give a lot of other information and throws this in the middle of it all: "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Such a great reminder: Don't be afraid. This message is book-ended in Philippians with: "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and your minds in Christ Jesus."

That's our secret weapon, y'all. The peace of God that passes all human understanding. Praying for peace for all of us, especially in these turbulent times. Peace beyond understanding. I'm so thankful that my peace doesn't have to rely on these faulty cracked human vessels; it seems a tenuous place to allow our rest to rest. I'm so thankful that our peace is in "the Rock that is higher than I."

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
and put their trust in him (Psalm 40:2-3).