Freedom and Fairness

Paul and Silas endured all this. They could have asserted their rights as Roman Citizenship when they were being accused of being Jewish agitators subverting Roman law and order. But instead they gave up their rights and freedoms and endured suffering. 

What happened to them was unfair but their response is shaped by their citizenship of heaven rather than that of Rome. Instead of being angry at their treatment and protesting they pray and rather than planning revenge or scheming to sue, they sing. In the darkness and pain, they turn to the Lord.

Transcript

Day 95

Today we had our first All Staff Zoom call since the summer. My friend Sophie commented yesterday that any staff who read my previous post should be given a “spoiler alert” but as it transpired social media was down for six hours yesterday and in any case we went a little further in the story today. So it was more of a trailer than a spoiler. 

Paul and his team crossing into Macedonia were taken away from the familiar and into the unknown. 

I am not sure what Paul, Silas and Timothy expected when they were fresh off the boat in Macedonia. They sail from Troas to Samthrace and the next day move on to Neapolis (which my auto correct keeps trying to turn into an ice cream flavour) and from there travel to Philippi. This was notable for being the leading city of the district and a Roman colony.  

Paul’s general strategy going to a new city has been to go the synagogue and address the congregation there. In Philippi there is no synagogue and so they go to a place of prayer by the river where a group of women have gathered on the sabbath. You can see the river outside the walls in the artist’s reconstruction of the city. 

Women are the first people in what we now demarcate as Europe to hear the good news of Jesus, just as women were the primary witnesses to the resurrection. Lydia a business woman is the initial convert and invites them to her house where it appears they stay for a while. They continue to go to the place of prayer and encounter a slave girl who tells and sells fortunes. Paul casts a spirit from her which angers her owners. They bring a racially charged accusation and stir up a mob which culminates in Paul and Silas being beaten, thrown in jail and clamped in irons.

Paul and Silas endured all this. They could have asserted their rights as Roman Citizenship when they were being accused of being Jewish agitators subverting Roman law and order. But instead they gave up their rights and freedoms and endured suffering. 

What happened to them was unfair but their response is shaped by their citizenship of heaven rather than that of Rome. Instead of being angry at their treatment and protesting they pray and rather than planning revenge or scheming to sue, they sing. In the darkness and pain, they turn to the Lord.

Luke continues the story in the book of Acts;

“Around about midnight, Paul and Silas were at prayer and singing a robust hymn to God. The other prisoners couldn't believe their ears. Then, without warning, a huge earthquake! The jailhouse tottered, every door flew open, all the prisoners were loose.

 Startled from sleep, the jailer saw all the doors swinging loose on their hinges. Assuming that all the prisoners had escaped, he pulled out his sword and was about to do himself in, figuring he was as good as dead anyway, when Paul stopped him: "Don't do that! We're all still here! Nobody's run away!" 

The jailer got a torch and ran inside. Badly shaken, he collapsed in front of Paul and Silas. He led them out of the jail and asked, "Sirs, what do I have to do to be saved, to really live?" They said, "Put your entire trust in the Master Jesus. Then you'll live as you were meant to live-and everyone in your house included!" (!6:25-30 MSG)

When the earthquake happened and the prison doors flew open Paul and Silas were suddenly free. The jailer facing his likely execution as punishment for allowing an escape to take place is about to take his own life. Paul called out to stop as all the prisoners were still there.

Paul and Silas gave up their freedom for the sake of the jailer. They did not look at their immediate situation through the lens of what was best for them. They responded to injustice and enforced limitations with a concern for others and a commitment to sharing the good news.

Freedom does not mean we have a license to live as we please, it is the ability to make a choice. If our liberty leads us to self indulgence, blindly following the crowd or being captivated by an ideology we are not as free as we would like to think.

True freedom is not achieved by limiting regulation or escaping control. It is the gift of the one who said; “If the Son sets you free you will be free indeed”. It is this new life and freedom that the jailer and his household discovered as Paul and Silas introduced them to Jesus.

In the morning the magistrates sent messengers that Paul and Silas were to be released and should leave. Paul would not have a bar of it.

It is at this point he asserted that he is a Roman citizen. They have been publicly beaten and imprisoned and will not fade quietly away. He demands that the judges come in person which they do and publicly apologise. Instead of leaving straight away as they have been asked Paul and Silas go to Lydia’s house and encourage their friends in the faith and perhaps put down a marker for their future protection.

 Once again they do not think about what is best for them but consider others and the gospel. They leave the city on their own terms not knowing where they are heading next. As has often been the case through the life of the early church the persecution they have experienced serves to move them on to a new place. 

They leave behind a small community with two households who have come to believe in Jesus. From these small beginnings a church will grow which will continues to have a concern for Paul and support his ministry. Some years later he writes them a letter. 

“Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need.” (4:14-16) 

This visit to Philippi becomes a bridgehead for the gospel and a supply line for advancing mission.

Today I am thankful for seeing the faces of so many of the staff team. It was encouraging to hear stories from camp and campus of doors opening as others closed. It was good to have Aida on the call as a reminder of our links with IFES.

I am also grateful for Zoom which we were already using a fair bit before Covid. Despite screen fatigue it has enabled many significant encounters and connections to take place in this season.

To summarise yesterday and today:

Sometimes you have to walk a long way and wait an interminable time before you get on the boat to where you are going. It is worth it when you get there but you might still be in for a few more scrapes and bruises when you do.