Footsteps #82

Acts.16:26 “Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! ” NLT. This tells the story of the angel who visited the jail with an earthquake that broke the bonds of the prisoners, opening the doors, and startling the jailer from his sleep. In a panic of shame for allowing the prisoners to escape, he was about to commit suicide, but Paul and Silas cried out to him. 

In the fear from that epiphany, he fell down on his knees and cried, “What must I do to be saved?” The answer, “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, and your household.” After listening to the message about Jesus, they were all baptised. 

By this time the magistrates had found out they had unlawfully flogged Roman citizens and they sent messages to them of apology and asked them to secretly leave the city (v37). Paul demanded a public apology and that they be escorted from Philippi. 

They visited Lydia and then leaving Luke behind they departed. They travelled 80kms to Thessalonica where they stayed a little more than 3 weeks. At this time, we find that a famine was raging which caused the price of wheat to rise 6 times. This is why we have the Philippian church sending gifts of money to Paul while he was in Thessalonica (Phil.4:16) and the book of Philippians was written during Paul’s 1^st imprisonment in thanks and gratitude for their gifts and support. He specifically mentions this gift at the end of his letter. (Phil 1:5, 4:15-18). Paul, during his first imprisonment, was in house arrest and the Roman system did not provide meals or anything else. Prisoners awaiting trial had to buy their own necessities.  

For 3 successive Sabbaths Luke tells us (17:2) Paul preached to the Thessalonians, reasoning with them from the OT scriptures (v3) regarding the life, death, resurrection, official work, and future glory of Christ. The whole biography of Jesus was written in the OT contained in 300 prophecies detailing every aspect of His life and death. This apart from every prophet priest and king being a type of Him who was to come. Jesus is stamped on every page of the OT and embodied in every story.