Acts 16:31 They said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.’
click here for today’s passage
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…”
Timothy Joins Paul and Silas (vv. 1-5): Paul met Timothy, a young believer with a Jewish mother and Greek father, in Lystra. To avoid offending Jewish communities, Paul circumcised Timothy before taking him along on the missionary journey. The team delivered the Jerusalem Council’s decision to churches, strengthening them.
Guidance by the Holy Spirit (vv. 6-10): The Holy Spirit redirected Paul’s team, preventing them from preaching in Asia and Bithynia. In Troas, Paul received a vision of a Macedonian man pleading for help, prompting the group to sail to Philippi, marking the gospel’s entry into Europe.
Lydia’s Conversion (vv. 11-15): In Philippi, Paul met Lydia, a wealthy businesswoman, by a river where she and other women prayed. She believed the gospel, was baptized with her household, and offered hospitality to Paul’s team.
Exorcism and Imprisonment (vv. 16-24): Paul cast out a spirit of divination from a slave girl, angering her owners who profited from her fortune-telling. They accused Paul and Silas of disrupting the city, leading to their beating and imprisonment.
The Philippian Jailer’s Conversion (vv. 25-34): While Paul and Silas prayed and sang in prison, an earthquake freed the prisoners, though none escaped. The jailer, fearing for his life, asked how to be saved. Paul and Silas shared the gospel, and he and his household believed and were baptized that night.
Release and Confrontation (vv. 35-40): The magistrates ordered Paul and Silas released, but Paul revealed his Roman citizenship, forcing an apology for their unlawful beating. After encouraging the new believers, Paul and Silas left Philippi.
Acts 16 portrays the gospel’s expansion into Europe under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, showcasing God’s power to save diverse individuals—Timothy, Lydia, and the Philippian jailer—through faith in Jesus, even amidst opposition, supernatural intervention, and personal sacrifice.
