23 And when they had given them a great number of blows, they put them in prison, giving orders to the keeper of the prison to keep them safely: 24 And he, having such orders, put them into the inner prison with chains on their feet.
25 But about the middle of the night, Paul and Silas were making prayers and songs to God in the hearing of the prisoners; 26 And suddenly there was an earth-shock, so that the base of the prison was moved: and all the doors came open, and everyone's chains came off. 27 And the keeper, coming out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, took his sword and was about to put himself to death, fearing that the prisoners had got away. 28 But Paul said in a loud voice, Do yourself no damage, for we are all here. 29 And he sent for lights and came rushing in and, shaking with fear, went down on his face before Paul and Silas, 30 And took them out and said, Sirs, what have I to do to get salvation? 31 And they said, Have faith in the Lord Jesus, and you and your family will have salvation. 32 And they gave the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And that same hour of the night, he took them, and when he had given attention to their wounds, he and all his family had baptism straight away. 34 And he took them into his house and gave them food, and he was full of joy, having faith in God with all his family.
35 But when it was day, the authorities sent the police, saying, Let these men go. 36 And the keeper said to Paul, The authorities have given orders to let you go: come out now, and go in peace. 37 But Paul said to them, They have given us who are Romans a public whipping without judging us, and have put us in prison. Will they now send us out secretly? no, truly, let them come themselves and take us out. 38 And the police gave an account of these words to the authorities, and they were full of fear on hearing that they were Romans; 39 Then they came and made prayers to them, requesting them, when they had taken them out, to go away from the town. 40 And they came out of the prison and went to the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brothers they gave them comfort and went away.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Acts 16:23-40
Commentary on Acts 16:16-24
(Read Acts 16:16-24)
Satan, though the father of lies, will declare the most important truths, when he can thereby serve his purposes. But much mischief is done to the real servants of Christ, by unholy and false preachers of the gospel, who are confounded with them by careless observers. Those who do good by drawing men from sin, may expect to be reviled as troublers of the city. While they teach men to fear God, to believe in Christ, to forsake sin, and to live godly lives, they will be accused of teaching bad customs.
Commentary on Acts 16:25-34
(Read Acts 16:25-34)
The consolations of God to his suffering servants are neither few nor small. How much more happy are true Christians than their prosperous enemies! As in the dark, so out of the depths, we may cry unto God. No place, no time is amiss for prayer, if the heart be lifted up to God. No trouble, however grievous, should hinder us from praise. Christianity proves itself to be of God, in that it obliges us to be just to our own lives. Paul cried aloud to make the jailer hear, and to make him heed, saying, Do thyself no harm. All the cautions of the word of God against sin, and all appearances of it, and approaches to it, have this tendency. Man, woman, do not ruin thyself; hurt not thyself, and then none else can hurt thee; do not sin, for nothing but that can hurt thee. Even as to the body, we are cautioned against the sins which do harm to that. Converting grace changes people's language of and to good people and good ministers. How serious the jailer's inquiry! His salvation becomes his great concern; that lies nearest his heart, which before was furthest from his thoughts. It is his own precious soul that he is concerned about. Those who are thoroughly convinced of sin, and truly concerned about their salvation, will give themselves up to Christ. Here is the sum of the whole gospel, the covenant of grace in a few words; Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. The Lord so blessed the word, that the jailer was at once softened and humbled. He treated them with kindness and compassion, and, professing faith in Christ, was baptized in that name, with his family. The Spirit of grace worked such a strong faith in them, as did away further doubt; and Paul and Silas knew by the Spirit, that a work of God was wrought in them. When sinners are thus converted, they will love and honour those whom they before despised and hated, and will seek to lessen the suffering they before desired to increase. When the fruits of faith begin to appear, terrors will be followed by confidence and joy in God.
Commentary on Acts 16:35-40
(Read Acts 16:35-40)
Paul, though willing to suffer for the cause of Christ, and without any desire to avenge himself, did not choose to depart under the charge of having deserved wrongful punishment, and therefore required to be dismissed in an honourable manner. It was not a mere point of honour that the apostle stood upon, but justice, and not to himself so much as to his cause. And when proper apology is made, Christians should never express personal anger, nor insist too strictly upon personal amends. The Lord will make them more than conquerors in every conflict; instead of being cast down by their sufferings, they will become comforters of their brethren.