Acts 16:29 Study Bible: He called for lights and sprang in, and, fell down trembling before Paul and Silas,

◄ Acts 16:29 ►

Calling for lights, the jailer rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.

Calling for lights
The phrase "calling for lights" indicates the urgency and desperation of the jailer. In the ancient world, prisons were often dark, damp places, and the need for light symbolizes the jailer's desire to bring clarity to a chaotic situation. The Greek word for "lights" here is "φῶτα" (phōta), which can also be understood metaphorically as seeking enlightenment or truth. This moment foreshadows the spiritual illumination that the jailer is about to experience through his encounter with Paul and Silas.

the jailer
The jailer, a Roman official, represents the authority and power of the Roman Empire. His role was to maintain order and ensure that prisoners were securely held. Historically, jailers were often retired soldiers, which implies that this man was likely disciplined and accustomed to following orders. His transformation from a figure of authority to one of humility and submission is a powerful testament to the impact of the Gospel.

rushed in
The action of "rushed in" conveys a sense of urgency and fear. The Greek word "εἰσπηδήσας" (eispēdēsas) suggests a sudden and hurried movement. This reflects the jailer's immediate response to the miraculous events he witnessed, including the earthquake and the unshackling of the prisoners. His haste indicates a recognition that something extraordinary and divine has occurred, prompting him to seek answers.

fell trembling
The phrase "fell trembling" captures the jailer's physical and emotional state. The Greek word "ἔντρομος" (entromos) means to be terrified or in awe. This reaction is significant as it shows a complete reversal from his previous position of power. The trembling signifies a deep realization of his own vulnerability and the presence of a higher power at work. It is a moment of profound humility and reverence.

before Paul and Silas
The jailer's act of falling "before Paul and Silas" is symbolic of submission and respect. In the cultural context of the time, bowing or falling before someone was a gesture of honor and acknowledgment of authority. This act signifies the jailer's recognition of the divine authority and truth that Paul and Silas represent. It also marks the beginning of his spiritual journey, as he seeks guidance from those who have demonstrated the power of God through their faith and actions.

Persons / Places / Events

1. The Jailer
A Roman official responsible for overseeing the prison in Philippi. His encounter with Paul and Silas leads to a significant transformation in his life.

2. Paul
An apostle and missionary, Paul is a central figure in the early Christian church. He is imprisoned in Philippi for casting out a spirit from a slave girl.

3. Silas
A leader in the early church and companion of Paul on his missionary journeys. He shares in the imprisonment and subsequent events in Philippi.

4. Philippi
A Roman colony in Macedonia, where Paul and Silas are imprisoned. It is the setting for the miraculous events that lead to the jailer's conversion.

5. The Earthquake
A divine intervention that shakes the prison, opens the doors, and loosens the chains of the prisoners, setting the stage for the jailer's encounter with Paul and Silas.

Teaching Points

The Power of Worship in Trials
Paul and Silas demonstrate that worship and prayer can transform dire circumstances, leading to divine intervention and opportunities for witness.

Divine Appointments
The earthquake and subsequent events illustrate how God orchestrates circumstances to bring people to faith, as seen in the jailer's conversion.

The Role of Fear and Reverence
The jailer's trembling response highlights the appropriate reverence and fear of God that leads to repentance and salvation.

The Impact of Christian Witness
Paul and Silas' conduct in prison serves as a powerful testimony, showing that our actions in difficult times can lead others to Christ.

Transformation through Encounter
The jailer's life is radically changed through his encounter with Paul and Silas, reminding us of the transformative power of the gospel.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does the jailer's response to the earthquake and his encounter with Paul and Silas illustrate the concept of divine appointments in our own lives?

2. In what ways can we, like Paul and Silas, use worship and prayer to influence our circumstances and the people around us?

3. How does the jailer's request for lights symbolize the spiritual illumination he receives, and how can we be "lights" in our communities?

4. What can we learn from the jailer's fear and trembling about the appropriate response to God's power and presence?

5. How does the transformation of the jailer and his household encourage us to share our faith with others, even in challenging situations?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Acts 16:25-34
Provides the broader context of the jailer's conversion, highlighting the power of prayer and worship in adversity.

Philippians 1:12-14
Paul later writes to the church in Philippi, reflecting on how his imprisonment has served to advance the gospel, a theme that begins with the events in Acts 16.

Matthew 5:14-16
Jesus' teaching on being the light of the world connects to the jailer's request for physical light, symbolizing the spiritual illumination he receives through Paul and Silas.

Sermons

The Day that Looked Like the Day of Small Things	P.C. Barker	Acts 16:14, 15, 40
An Illustrious Triple Triumph of Christianity	P.C. Barker	Acts 16:16-39
Joy in Tribulation	E. Johnson	Acts 16:19-34
The First European Persecution	R.A. Redford	Acts 16:19-40
God in the Earthquake	W. Clarkson	Acts 16:26-34
A Remarkable Conversion	R.A. Redford	Acts 16:29, 30
A Man in Two Conditions	C. H. Spurgeon.	Acts 16:29-34
The Conversion of the Jailer	D. Thomas, D. D.	Acts 16:29-34
The Philippian Jailer	J. Buchanan, D. D.	Acts 16:29-34
The Philippian Jailer	T. Snow, A. M.	Acts 16:29-34

People

Lydia, Paul, Silas, Timotheus, Timothy

Places

Asia, Bithynia, Derbe, Galatia, Iconium, Jerusalem, Lystra, Macedonia, Mysia, Neapolis, Philippi, Phrygia, Samothrace, Thyatira, Troas

Topics

Calling, Face, Fear, Fell, Lights, Paul, Rushed, Rushing, Shaking, Silas, Sprang, Trembling

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Acts 16:19-40

1651 numbers, 1-2

Acts 16:25-34

6029 sin, forgiveness

Acts 16:26-30

5828 danger

Acts 16:26-34

8427 evangelism, kinds of

Acts 16:29-32

2426 gospel, responses

Acts 16:29-34

4942 fulness
6629 conversion, examples

Library

Paul at Philippi
'And on the sabbath day we went forth without the gate, by a river side, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which were come together.' --ACTS xvi. 13 (R.V.). This is the first record of the preaching of the Gospel in Europe, and probably the first instance of it. The fact that the vision of the man of Macedonia was needed in order to draw the Apostle across the straits into Macedonia, and the great length at which the incidents at Philippi are …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

How to Secure a Prosperous Voyage
'And after [Paul] had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them. 11. Therefore ... we came with a straight course.'--ACTS xvi. 10, 11. This book of the Acts is careful to point out how each fresh step in the extension of the Church's work was directed and commanded by Jesus Christ Himself. Thus Philip was sent by specific injunction to 'join himself' to the chariot of the Ethiopian statesman. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

The Riot at Philippi
'And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, 20. And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, 21. And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. 22. And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. 23. And when they had laid many …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

The Great Question and the Plain Answer
'He brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31. And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shall be saved.'--ACTS xvi. 30, 31. The keeper of a Macedonian jail was not likely to be a very nervous or susceptible person. And so the extraordinary state of agitation and panic into which this rough jailer was cast needs some kind of explanation. There had been, as you will all remember, an earthquake of a strange kind, for it not only opened the prison doors, but shook …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Household Salvation
To allure and encourage you to long for family religion, I have selected this text this morning. God grant it may answer the purpose designed. May many here have a spiritual hunger and thirst, that they may receive the blessing which so largely rested upon the Philippian jailer. Note in our text five things. We have a whole household hearing the word, a whole household believing it, a whole household baptized, a whole household working for God, and then, a whole household rejoicing. I. Observe, first, …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

Lydia, the First European Convert
WE MAY LAUDABLY EXERCISE CURIOSITY with regard to the first proclamation of the gospel in our own quarter of the globe. We are happy that history so accurately tells us, by the pen of Luke, when first the gospel was preached in Europe, and by whom, and who was the first convert brought by that preaching to the Savior's feet. I half envy Lydia that she should be the leader of the European band; yet I feel right glad that a woman led the van, and that her household followed so closely in the rear. …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

The Cry of the Heathen
And now, beloved, having thus prefaced our discourse, we have another observation to make before we proceed to a full discussion of the text. What an instance of Divine sovereignty we have in our text! He who is wise can see sovereignty everywhere in the work of salvation, but how clearly is it present here. Bithynia must not hear the gospel; the apostle desires to go and preach it there; but as yet, it seems, God does not intend that Bithynia should be evangelised. He desires to tarry in Asia, and …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 4: 1858

The Heavenly Father
ACTS xvi. 24-28. God that made the world, and all that therein is, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands . . . For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. I told you last Sunday of the meaning of the days of the week; but one day I left out--namely, Tuesday. I did so on purpose. I wish to speak of that day by itself in this sermon. I told you how our forefathers worshipped …
Charles Kingsley—The Good News of God

Note
THERE is a passage in an old writer which throws so much light on some points mentioned in this paper, that I make no excuse for giving it to the reader in its entirety. It comes from a work which is little known and less read. It has done me good, and I think it may do good to others. "When a man is awakened, and brought to that, that all must be brought to, or to worse,' What shall I do to be saved!' (Acts 16:30-31), we have the apostolic answer to it: ' Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou …
John Charles Ryle—The Upper Room: Being a Few Truths for the Times

Saving Faith.
And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.--ACTS xvi. 30,31. This is one of the most abused texts in the Bible, and one which, perhaps, has been made to do quite as much work for the devil as for God. Let every saint present, ask in faith for the light of the Holy Ghost, while we try rightly to apply it. Let us enquire:-- 1. Who are to believe? 2. When are they to believe? 3. How are …
Catherine Booth—Godliness

Directions to Sinners.
Text--What shall I do to be saved.--Acts xvi. 30. THESE are the words of the jailor at Philippi, the question which he put to Paul and Silas, who were then under his care as prisoners. Satan had, in many ways, opposed these servants of God in their work of preaching the Gospel, and had been as often defeated and disgraced. But here, at Philippi, he devised a new and peculiar project for frustrating their labors. There was a certain woman at Philippi, who was possessed with a spirit of divination, …
Charles Grandison Finney—Lectures on Revivals of Religion

Measures to Promote Revivals.
Text.--These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city and teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.--Acts xvi. 20, 21. "THESE men," here spoken of, were Paul and Silas, who went to Philippi to preach the Gospel, and very much disturbed the people of that city, because they supposed the preaching would interfere with their worldly gains. And so they arranged the preachers of the Gospel before the magistrates of the city, as culprits, and charged …
Charles Grandison Finney—Lectures on Revivals of Religion

The Missionary on the Sea Shore.
"And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: There stood a man of Macedonia and prayed him saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us."--Acts 16:9. "Wei schaumt so feierlich zu unsern Fuessen." [65]F. de la Motte Fouque. transl., Jane Borthwick, 1858 Dark mighty Ocean, rolling to our feet! In thy low murmur many voices meet, The sound of distant lands brought strangely near To Fancy's ear. From shores unknown comes the sweet Sabbath bell, New languages the old glad tidings tell, We hear the …
Jane Borthwick—Hymns from the Land of Luther

Chrysostom Evades Election to a Bishopric, and Writes his Work on the Priesthood.
About this time several bishoprics were vacant in Syria, and frequent depositions took place with the changing fortunes of orthodoxy and Arianism, and the interference of the court. The attention of the clergy and the people turned to Chrysostom and his friend Basil as suitable candidates for the episcopal office, although they had not the canonical age of thirty. Chrysostom shrunk from the responsibilities and avoided an election by a pious fraud. He apparently assented to an agreement with Basil …
St. Chrysostom—On the Priesthood

The Christian's Peace and the Christian's Consistency
PHILIPPIANS i. 21-30 He will be spared to them--Spiritual wealth of the paragraph--Adolphe Monod's exposition--Charles Simeon's testimony--The equilibrium and its secret--The intermediate bliss--He longs for their full consistency--The "gift" of suffering Ver. 21. +For to me, to live is Christ+; the consciousness and experiences of living, in the body, are so full of Christ, my supreme Interest, that CHRIST sums them all up; +and to die+, the act of dying,[1] +is gain+, for it will usher me in …
Handley C. G. Moule—Philippian Studies

The Martyrs of Lyons and vienne (Ad 177)
Many other martyrs suffered in various parts of the empire under the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Among the most famous of these are the martyrs of Lyons and Vienne, in the south of France (or Gaul, as it was then called), where a company of missionaries from Asia Minor had settled with a bishop named Pothinus at their head. The persecution at Lyons and Vienne was begun by the mob of those towns, who insulted the Christians in the streets, broke into their houses, and committed other such outrages against …
J. C. Roberston—Sketches of Church History, from AD 33 to the Reformation

Scotland and Ireland
The only thing which seems to be settled as to the religious history of Scotland in these times, is that a bishop named Ninian preached among the Southern Picts between the years 412 and 432, and established a see at Whithorn, in Galloway. But in the Year of St. Ninian's death, a far more famous missionary, St. Patrick, who is called "the Apostle of Ireland," began his labours in that island. It is a question whether Patrick was born in Scotland, at a place called Kirkpatrick, near the river Clyde, …
J. C. Roberston—Sketches of Church History, from AD 33 to the Reformation

Whether Since Christ's Passion the Legal Ceremonies Can be Observed Without Committing Mortal Sin?
Objection 1: It would seem that since Christ's Passion the legal ceremonies can be observed without committing mortal sin. For we must not believe that the apostles committed mortal sin after receiving the Holy Ghost: since by His fulness they were "endued with power from on high" (Lk. 24:49). But the apostles observed the legal ceremonies after the coming of the Holy Ghost: for it is stated (Acts 16:3) that Paul circumcised Timothy: and (Acts 21:26) that Paul, at the advice of James, "took the men, …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Pædobaptism. Its Accordance with the Institution of Christ, and the Nature of the Sign.
1. Pædobaptism. The consideration of the question necessary and useful. Pædobaptism of divine origin. 2. This demonstrated from a consideration of the promises. These explain the nature and validity of Pædobaptism. 3. Promises annexed to the symbol of water cannot be better seen than in the institution of circumcision. 4. The promise and thing figured in circumcision and baptism one and the same. The only difference in the external ceremony. 5. Hence the baptism of the children …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Children Devoted to God. Gen. 17:7,10; Acts 16:14,15,33.
Children devoted to God. Gen. 17:7,10; Acts 16:14,15,33. [For those who practise infant Baptism.] Thus saith the mercy of the Lord, "I'll be a God to thee; I'll bless thy num'rous race, and they Shall be a seed for me." Abram believed the promised grace, And gave his sons to God; But water seals the blessing now, That once was sealed with blood. Thus Lydia sanctified her house, When she received the word; Thus the believing jailer gave His household to the Lord. Thus later saints, eternal King! …
Isaac Watts—The Psalms and Hymns of Isaac Watts

Acts 17:16-17. Athens.
[9] "Now, while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry." Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him." --Acts 17:16-17. PERHAPS the reader of this paper lives in a town or city, and sees more of bricks and mortar than of green fields. Perhaps you have some relative or friend living in a town, about whom you naturally feel a deep interest. …
John Charles Ryle—The Upper Room: Being a Few Truths for the Times

Conversion, Its Nature and Necessity.
Closely related to the doctrine of the power, or efficacy, of the divine Word--as considered in the last chapter--is the doctrine of conversion. It is the subject of conversion, therefore, that we now purpose to examine. It is an important subject. It deserves a prominent place in treating of the Way of Salvation. It is also an intensely personal subject. Each one who desires to be in the Way of Salvation is personally interested in it. The eternal destiny of every one who reads these pages is closely …
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church

The Law Established through Faith
Discourse I "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: Yea, we establish the law." Romans 3:31. 1. St. Paul, having the beginning of this Epistle laid down his general proposition, namely, that "the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;" -- the powerful means, whereby God makes every believer a partaker of present and eternal salvation; -- goes on to show, that there is no other way under heaven whereby men can be saved. He speaks particularly …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

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