We will approach the world differently if our goal is to introduce people to Jesus and his redemption. This means we don’t take advantage of others when you are presented with the opportunity. Instead we surprise them with grace, generosity, and the gospel.
16 One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.”
18 This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her.
19 Her masters’ hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace. 20 “The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!” they shouted to the city officials. 21 “They are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice.”
22 A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. 23 They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. 24 So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.
25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. 26 Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! 27 The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. 28 But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!”
Acts 16:16-28 NLT
This is a story of exploitation. This slave girl was being exploited by her masters because she had a demon spirit that could help her tell the future. They were making a lot of money off the girl, and she was able to discern who Paul and Silas were when they arrived. You might recall that demons would call out to Jesus when they saw him, identifying him as the Son of God. When this demon in the girl called out in front of Paul and Silas, they knew what was happening.
Eventually, Paul was moved to demand that the demon come out of the girl, which ended her calling out, along with her ability to tell the future for her masters. As we read in the story, this resulted in their arrest and torture.
Remember back at the beginning of the book, Peter and John were arrested and miraculously were freed from jail. We are not surprised to see this happen again here. An earthquake was sent by God to shake the foundations, opening the doors and shaking loose their chains.
What strikes me as interesting about this situation, though, is that Paul and Silas did not escape. Nor did the rest of the prisoners who were freed. They did not take advantage of the situation. Quite the opposite of the exploitation of the masters over the girl, in this case Paul and Silas stayed put, honouring the jailer, who was responsible for them.
They saved his life, and if we read further, we’ll find out that they helped him save his soul also. They led him to faith in Jesus as a result of the situation. What do you think would happen if you were determined to not take advantage of others when you are presented with the opportunity. What if, when someone makes a mistake or accidentally creates a situation in your favour but not in theirs, you choose to be gracious and generous toward them?
With Paul and Silas, it opened the door to sharing the gospel. And that’s what life is about. If we can bring redemptive conversations into the lives of the people we interact with, using opportunities to introduce Jesus rather than lift ourselves up, God will be honoured, and the kingdom will grow…
Amen.
Marc Kinna
marckinna 