THE JAILOR SET FREE! (Acts 16:16-34) Martin Luther wrote one of the most illuminating works of evangelical literature, The Bondage of the Will. In it, - as we were considering on Thursday evening, - he wrote of God s sovereign work in our salvation. Luther wrote, Now, since on God's own testimony, men are 'flesh', they can savour of nothing but the flesh... And if, while the Spirit of God is calling and teaching among them, they go from bad to worse, what could they do when left to themselves, without the Spirit of God? We shall be considering a man in a prison, if he had been left to himself, he would have gone from bad to worse. We read about how he was asleep, but was awakened, and then how he considered taking his own life. Throughout the Bible we find many of God s workers in prison, - Joseph in Egypt, Jeremiah in the jail of the King of Judah, Daniel in Babylon, John the Baptist in Herod s jail and Jesus in the jail of the High Priest and of course, Paul and Silas in the jail in Philippi. It was midnight and they were both singing praises to God, - the rest of the prisoners were trying to sleep and all they could hear was Paul and Silas singing hymns (v.25) In the midst of it all a great earthquake took place. It came on so suddenly (v.26), and was so powerful the foundations of the jail shook. Great fear gripped the inmates and the jailors alike. Something else happened every door in that jail flung open. Those heavy gates keeping the prisoners in were flung wide open! That, you could say, was due to the earthquake yes, but where did the earthquake come from? Isaiah tells us, Is. 29:6 Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise God is in control of the earthquakes Earthquakes shake foundations, they even open some doors but they definitely don t unloose bands, - this was specifically God at work! every one's bands were loosed (v.26). To use what Isaiah says this jailor in the Philippian jail was being visited by God! Just prior to this, he had been sleeping (v.27). The life was almost frightened out of him when he awakened and realised the doors were open and the prisoners bonds were loosed. He panicked, because the authorities would have held him personally responsible for any escaped convicts and he would have
2 been punished by the death penalty So, instead of waiting for the inevitable, he took the sword from out of its pouch and he was ready to fall on it, - he was about to commit suicide! Look again at what was happening Look at the difference between Paul and Silas on one hand, - (v.26) praying and praising, - and on the other hand, the jailor, - scared and suicidal (v.27). He was in a major panic and then Paul spoke up, Wait! Do yourself no harm for we are all here. With that, we are back to the jailor. He called for a light (v.29), - he was in the darkness. The earthquake would have put all the lights out such as they were. The darkness is always frightening especially if you would be surrounded by wicked men in a jail and especially in such a commotion just after an earthhquake! There is no mention of anyone bringing him a light, or of him having a light in his hand He probably didn t take the time to wait. He knew the prison layout, and he knew the path to take He stumbled his way through the darkness and he fell trembling down before Paul and Silas. Even if someone had brought him a light, what use would it have been? It would only have shown up the dilemma he was in but it would not have helped him any! He was lying sleeping and it took an earthquake to waken him He jumped up, and he fell down on his knees. He didn t know what to do! He saw the cell doors open What could you do?! And in an almost uncontrollable panic he decided the only option was to kill himself before anyone else would If the prisoners did not kill him, those in authority over him would! But, what about his family his wife, his children, his friends what about the impact of his suicide upon them? It would have been devastating. But, he wasn t thinking clearly and he drew out his sword and was about to kill himself, and then he was brought good news. Look at him again, he sprang in, eivsphda,w, - he leapt in. Automatically, he jumped up out of his bed and ran to the cells! He was trembling, - he was full of fear, he was terrified. The word used (e;ntromoj) indicates he was traumatised in trauma. He was scared so much there wasn t a word to describe how scared he was! Trembling, he came and collapsed at the feet of Paul and Silas. There, on his knees, he asked the most important question anyone can ever ask, what must I do to be saved?
3 What good is there in having a prison officer sleeping on duty? You might say, he was taking a break and he lay down and fell asleep for a few moments but the purpose of being a prison officer is to stay awake and keep guard over the prisoners. The man was obviously not doing his job, - he was failing in what he was supposed to be and what he was supposed to be doing! The criminals he was charged with looking after were dangerous men and the city relied on the jailor to keep them safe but he wasn t doing his job for he was sleeping. God made you and I for a purpose and that purpose was for Him. The first man, Adam, was given the duties of caring for God s creation, but his primary task was to give glory to God. That is why God created us. However, sin lulled every human being into a deep sleep of death that confines us from giving Him that glory. As long as we are asleep, - or dead in trespasses and in sin, - we are not carrying out the function for which we were created. Let s look into the prison This jailor was not doing the duties he was tasked with. He was among wicked men, - men who deserved to be there You had to watch them all the time! But there were also jailors in the prison, and they were there because it was their livelihood their living. And here is a jailor and it seemed as if it was going to take his life, literally! And look again As far as God was concerned, neither the men on the inside, - the criminals, - nor the men on the outside, - the jailors, - had any thought of Him! This man had no thought of God for he was a pagan,, and an unbeliever. There was no difference, you see, between any of them for on both sides of the prison bars, all were the same for all have sinned. So, when you look at it like that, - from God s perspective, - if you are not saved, you are in a prison a prison of unbelief, and you cannot get out! The prisoners knew they were in prison but the jailor did not realise he was in a prison also. He was a different type of prisoner, but a prisoner all the same. In fact, I don t reckon any of the prisoners considered suicide, so in many ways the jailor was in a greater dilemma than the ordinary prisoners! Try to imagine the fear which gripped him when he was wakened out of his sleep! He would have been scared senseless! Doors flying open, the ground shaking, prisoners unloosed, noise everywhere, - this man must have been frantic with fear! He wouldn t have been able to think straight, - he would have been trembling from head to foot!
But I ll tell you what this earthquake did it was the best thing that ever happened to him because it wakened this man out of a sleep! We are talking about this sleep again. It was a deep sleep. It was so deep a sleep that it seems he slept through the earthquake (v.27)! And it might not even have been the earthquake that wakened him, for it seems as if it was all the commotion that followed which wakened him, 26 the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. That is what seems to have wakened him, - not necessarily the earthquake itself! He must have been some sleeper! He must have been hard to waken, but he did waken for God wakened him! And when he wakened he saw the crisis he was in and there was nothing he could do about it. Now, if he had steadied himself he would have seen there was no mass breakout, - we are all here, said Paul (v.28). But he was in such a panic for from his perspective he was facing imminent judgment and death. He had nowhere to flee nowhere to run. If the prisoners didn t get him, the authorities would. He was in a terribly desperate situation! But God was in control As an unbeliever, when God begins to work in your heart, you recognise the perilous state you are in and there is nothing you can do to get yourself out of it. There is nowhere to run nowhere to escape from the conviction of sin. There is no way you can save yourself I know I have done wrong, but where can I run to hide from it?! This man could see no way out except through the taking of his own life which would bring an even greater dilemma. But wait, when God works in your heart He begins by showing you your condition before Him your unworthiness and the terror that awaits you that you can do nothing about it. If you like, God awakens you out of a sleep to the condition you are in outside of Christ not knowing Him as Saviour and the terrible consequences should you not accept Him as your Master. This prison guard fell on his knees trembling. The whole prison could have fallen around him but he was on his knees. He could not move. He had a business to do with God for God was working on him! 4
5 As far as the jailor was concerned, his life was over, - he had nothing more to live for death stared him straight in the face but as far as God was concerned, his life was only about to begin! Instead of dying the death of a coward, God was about to make him into His child. The Bible teaches what is known as conviction of sin, - when the Holy Spirit works within you and you realise the awfulness of how you have offended the righteous law of God. It is a very personal matter when God deals with you in this manner. You don t realise it at the time, but it is His intention to set you free, - to save you but first of all, you awaken out of a sleep and recognise the danger of your sinful predicament, and when you begin to see yourself as God sees you you tremble, because you acknowledge with such a great fear your total inability to stand in His presence and your sense of guilt, shame and sin brings you to your knees. Yes, this jailor was on his knees! Frightened, trembling, powerless, he was begging for mercy, v.30 what must I do to be saved? In front of everyone, - prisoners and fellow-jailors alike, - he was on his knees! He didn t run to the prisoners who stood in their cells, - they would have known what to do for they could have given him some ideas but he didn t run anywhere, - neither to the prisoners or to the other jailors Because of God s irresistible grace, he ran to the only two men in that place who could help him. How, - out of all those prisoners, - did he know to run to Paul and Silas? It was dark, and the doors of the prison cells were wide open He could have bumped into anything, or he could have gone to anyone but, in God s grace and mercy, God took him past the obstacles and the barriers to ask the only two men in that place the only question worth asking, what must I do to be saved? When God works in the heart of a sinner He brings them through all the obstacles. Some of the obstacles they have erected some of the obstacles others have erected but when God begins the work of salvation, He always achieves His purpose Look at this man again he asked for a light (v.29). We don t know if he was given a light or not, but what good would a candle have been that night the earthquake shook?! Instead, the Lord working brought him through the darkness and out of the darkness and onto his knees! It is a tremendously painful process repenting of your sin. If it was left up to us, - on our own, - we would never do it, but when the Holy Spirit shows us
6 the state of our heart He brings us to that place where we must do it and we must call out, what must I do to be saved? If you are not saved you need to be saved. Another way Jesus put it was this, ye must be born again. If that man would have stayed in the darkness, he would have died in the darkness but God lifted him out of it! The jailor could have thrust his sword into his heart in the resting quarters where his bed was. He could have done without running to Paul and Silas, and he could have killed himself when first he realised how bad things were. But he didn t, for God kept him to where he would receive the Gospel. Yes, even in the earthquake God was in control. Even in the darkness God brought the man to find the light not the flicker of a human candle, but the light of the Lord Jesus Christ. And even in the prison, God set free the prison guard as he cried out to God for forgiveness from his sin. Yes, there is a good ending to this true story. The prison guard was told, v.31 Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. He could have gotten up, looked round him, saw nobody had escaped, breathed a huge sigh of relief, and he could have stabilised the situation but he didn t for it was God Who sent the earthquake, and it was God Who had brought him out of the darkness, and it was God Who brought him to his knees, and it was God Who put it within his heart to cry, what must I do to be saved? He could not escape God! What must I do to be saved? That is not a question you would ask unless God showed you that you needed to ask it! While the man was asleep God was at work! And while the man was spiritually asleep, - dead, - God was also at work! And that explains how the good ending came to this man s story. If it had been left to the man alone, it would have been altogether different, - a wife would have been widowed, and children would have been fatherless and a soul would have been lost. The jailor did believe and he did bring Christ into his life and into his home because he discovered the answer to that most important of questions, What must I do to be saved? That is the only way to have a good ending to cry out to God to take away your sin and to change your life. Personal belief is not simply that Jesus died, but personal belief is that Jesus died for me and for you.
7 Some prisons don t have walls with prison guards and barbed wire Luther explains how if you are not saved you are nonetheless like a prisoner in bondage. You are in your own type of jail out of which there seems to be no escape unless and until you seek the freedom in knowing Christ as your Saviour. He has promised, Jn. 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. No matter how dark the prison, the light of God s grace always always overcomes the darkness and shines through so that by believing in the Lord Jesus, the sinner will always always be saved. That is His promise, and He alone has the power to keep His Word! Out of my bondage, sorrow, and night, Jesus, I come! Jesus, I come! Into Thy freedom, gladness, and light, Jesus, I come to Thee! Amen.