Imprisoned

 

I’ve been sharing stories of the Apostle Paul here, and I only have a couple episodes left, so bear with me.

Paul, as well as many of those sharing the faith, was arrested and imprisoned multiple times. It was for the same reason that Jesus was arrested – the Jewish leaders saw him as a threat and the Roman leaders just didn’t want to deal with the disorder they blamed on him.  

So, here we have Paul and his partner Silas in jail in Philippi, in the book of Acts, chapter 16, verses 24-34, from the Good News Translation.

24 Upon receiving this order, the jailer threw them into the inner cell and fastened their feet between heavy blocks of wood.

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was a violent earthquake, which shook the prison to its foundations. At once all the doors opened, and the chains fell off all the prisoners. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he thought that the prisoners had escaped; so he pulled out his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul shouted at the top of his voice, “Don't harm yourself. We are all here!”

Paul knew that the earthquake was an act of God, and he knew that God had a bigger plan. The jailer didn’t know that. All he knew was that if the prisoners escaped on his watch, he rather kill himself, before his bosses would do it in a much less humane way.

29 The jailer called for a light, rushed in, and fell trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas. 30 Then he led them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

         31 They answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your family.” 32 Then they preached the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in the house. 33 At that very hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; and he and all his family were baptized at once. 34 Then he took Paul and Silas up into his house and gave them some food to eat. He and his family were filled with joy, because they now believed in God.

The jailor was so relieved to see Paul and the other inmates still in their cells, that he knew he had witnessed a miracle and was ready to turn his life over to Christ.  

I think we witness acts of God every day. Just because these miracles aren’t as dramatic, doesn’t mean that God’s hand was not there.

(The picture above is at the old Florence County Jail in Florence Wisconsin. Even though it was built in 1889 and does not look very friendly, it was still a much nicer place than the prisons during Biblical times.)