25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. 29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 And 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 shalt be saved, and thy house.
32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. 34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
(Acts 16:25-34 KJV)
Matthew Henry’s Commentary
Verses 25-34: The misery, pain, and wretched condition in which these two innocent prisoners might be supposed to lie, would lead us to expect many a doleful groan: but, wonderful to tell! We find them happier in their filthy prison than their persecutors on beds of down.
1. At midnight Paul and Silas prayed, committing themselves cheerfully to God, and looking up to him for strength to bear whatever more might be laid upon them; remembering, no doubt, their persecutors, and begging God to forgive them, not forgetting their inhuman jailer; and they not only prayed, but sang praises unto God, rejoicing in their bonds, that they were counted worthy to suffer for their Master’s name, and were filled with such divine consolations as made them forget all the horrors of a prison, and brought down to that dreary mansion a taste of heavenly felicity; and the prisoners heard them; so loud, so hearty, were their praises, not ashamed of their Master’ name and service. Note, (1.) Prayer is an ease to the heart in every affliction, and joint sufferers should unite their supplications. (2.) Our trials should never untune our hearts from praise; in the midst of all, we have much, very much, for which we should be thankful. (3.) Psalm-singing is a blessed gospel ordinance, and we should never be ashamed of being heard in our families, though foolish and wicked men may ridicule the service.
2. God miraculously gives a token of his presence with them, and of his acceptance of their prayers and praises. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, a testimony of God’s displeasure against their persecutors, and of his appearance on behalf of his suffering ministers, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed; an intimation to the prisoners that the gospel which these faithful preachers declared, was designed to deliver their souls from the more grievous bondage of guilt and corruption.
3. The jailer himself becomes a convert.
(1.) Awoken by the terrible shock, and starting from his bed, he saw, with astonishment, the prison doors wide open, and supposing all the prisoners fled, for whose escape his own life must pay, in the first transports of despair he drew his sword, to put an end to his life, in order to avoid a more dreaded public execution.
(2.) Paul who, probably by a divine revelation, knew the fatal resolution the jailer was about to take, with a loud voice stays his uplifted arm, saying, Do thyself no harm; for we are all here. Paul and Silas thought not of escaping, and the rest were held by a invisible power, fast as the chains which bound them. Note, The gospel word is, Do thyself no harm; all God’s warnings, rebukes, and calls, are purely to rescue us from the ruin into which we were running, and to save us from sin, the cause of all our miseries.
(3.) The jailer, whose conscience the convictions of sin had now shaken more terribly than the earthquake the prison’s foundations, called for a light, and sprang in eagerly; and came trembling, under the most fearful sense of his dreadful guilt, and fell down before Paul and Silas, with deepest respect and veneration, and brought them out of the horrid dungeon where they were, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? He now felt all the wickedness of his past conduct, particularly his cruel behaviour to these messengers of God, and confounded at his provocations, eagerly begs their forgiveness and direction, how he may obtain pardon at the hands of God. Note, (1.) God’s Spirit works in different ways on different persons; some, like Lydia, are gently led to Christ; others pass first through the most dreadful terrors, sometimes brought to the gates of despair, and even tempted to self-murder; and yet even this works together for their good, in order to make Christ more precious to their souls. (2.) They who have despised and ill-used God’s ministers before, when seized by convictions of sin, will entertain very different apprehensions of them, and address them with very different language. (3.) To a soul convinced of sin, all other considerations are swallowed up in that one great concern, What must I do to be saved?
(4.) Paul and Silas have an immediate answer ready for his question. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house; the salvation which they preached being free for him, though an idolatrous Gentile and bitter persecutor; and his family also would be admitted to share his blessing. And they spoke unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in the house, who were assembled on this joyful occasion. Note, (1.) The gospel proposes a free salvation in Jesus Christ to the chief of sinners. (2.) Nothing but faith in a Redeemer can bring true peace to a guilty conscience, or obtain the salvation which a sinner needs. (3.) Masters of families, who know the Lord themselves, cannot but be desirous that all under their roof may share their blessings, and be brought with them to the knowledge of the truth.
(5.) Filled now with gratitude and love, the jailer, deeply affected with the blessed truths which he heard, took them, and washed their stripes, to supple and ease the wounds which the severe scourging had made in their backs, and was baptized, he and all his straightway, desirous to come under the bonds of the covenant with his family, and to make public profession of Christianity. Which done, he brought Paul and Silas into this house, and set meat before them, to refresh them after the fatigues and fasting which they had endured; and rejoiced, believing in God, with all his house, who rejoiced with him in the salvation which they had now embraced, or over all his house, going from one room to another in a transport of joy. Note, (1.) Believing in Christ is called believing in God, for he is very God: and on his being so, our everlasting hopes depend. (2.) Joy is the happy fruit of faith; they who see a reconciled God blotting out all their transgressions, cannot but rejoice in his salvation.