Demon Possessed Slave Girl: Paul and Silas are Thrown Into Prison

 

Sometimes a biblical passage will touch on economic issues.  For example, on his second missionary journey (Acts 15:39-18:22), Paul plants a church at Philippi.  There, Paul and Silas meet a slave girl who has a spirit by which she predicts the future.  She continues to bother the missionary team until finally, Paul commands the evil spirit to come out of her.  Her enraged owners then drag Paul and Silas into the marketplace, where the magistrates order them to be stripped, beaten, and imprisoned for causing trouble.  All this happens because the demon-possessed slave girl had been earning a lot of money for her owners (prostitution).  However, when the evil spirit left the girl, the money left her owner’s pockets, and they took their revenge on the missionaries.

 

You also need to pay attention to political issues that may surface in the biblical passage.  In the Acts 16 episode, notice what happens to Paul and Silas.  After spending some time in prison (where God does some very exciting things), the magistrates ask the missionaries to leave their city.  Here is the rest of the story (Acts 16:36-40):

 

The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released.  Now you can leave.  Go in peace.”

But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison.  And now they want to get rid of us quietly.  No!  Let them come themselves and escort us out.”

          The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed.  They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city.  After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and encouraged them.  Then they left.

 

Since it was illegal to publicly beat and imprison a Roman citizen, especially without a trial, the Roman officials acted quickly to apologize for their actions.  Paul and Silas probably demanded an escort out of town in order to make a public statement about their innocence for the benefit of the church in Philippi.

 

References:

Grasping God’s Word

J. Scott Duvall

J. Daniel Hays