When the jailer awoke and saw the open doors of the prison, he thought the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul shouted loudly, “Don’t harm yourself! We’re all here!” – Acts 16:27-28
I have always enjoyed teaching – or, more accurately, facilitating – especially when it comes to talking with people about the journey we are all engaged in as people committed to a life of faith.
To that end I met with our men’s Bible study group Tuesday morning to reflect on Acts 16. More specifically, the story of Paul and Silas being thrown into jail.
The particular instance that grabbed me this time – in a chapter brimming with pivotal moments – is what happens after the earthquake shakes things up in the prison. The jailer is about to take his own life (because there is no mercy in the Roman world) but Paul stops him by yelling, “Don’t harm yourself! We’re all here!”
Several Power Systems at Play:
There are several power systems at play. 1) The Pax Romana that enforces peace/order via brutality and indifference to suffering. 2) The local authorities who have Paul and Silas beaten and jailed. 3) The mob who turn on Paul and Silas in response to distortions and lies. 4) God’s Kingdom economy, the good news Paul and Silas are promoting. And – finally – 5) A seismic shift in the Earth’s crust generating the earthquake that bursts open the jail.
Paul and Silas, it turns out, are Roman citizens, which makes them a threat to the authorities who mistreat them. They also could have condemned the jailer to his fate by simply walking away after the earthquake (he had, after all, treated them harshly when they came to his jail).
But the most powerful reality that plays out in that pivotal moment is the one people still mistake today for weakness, the power of self-giving love. “This,” Jesus had told his followers, “is all the evidence the world needs to know that you are my disciples.”
Instead of falling in line with the status quo, Paul and Silas offer peace and love. They believe in Christ’s message of peace and love. They do the work of peace and love. They model peace and love. They demonstrate the power of peace and love.
Take-Away:
“What is your take-away from today’s scripture?” I ask as a closing question.
My thought is that Jesus always disrupts the status quo, because he invites us to A) give power away, B) invest in a Kingdom Economy and C) lift up rather than dominate the oppressed.
When Paul and Silas baptize the jailer and his entire household they are extending God’s covenant relationship. In Jesus we do not put down we lift up; in Jesus we do not exclude we include; in Jesus we do not reject we redeem; in Jesus we do not judge we forgive; in Jesus we do not shut out we invite in; in Jesus we do not dominate we serve.
Talk about power! Paul and Silas are chained in the middle of all the overlapping and competing powers – but in that moment it is the power of love – the gift of Jesus – that prevails.
I don’t know about you, but for me this is good news… this is encouraging… this is exactly what the world needs to hear. – DEREK
In Jesus we do not put down we lift up; in Jesus we do not exclude we include; in Jesus we do not reject we redeem; in Jesus we do not judge we forgive; in Jesus we do not shut out we invite in; in Jesus we do not dominate we serve.