But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing
hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening, when suddenly a great
earthquake shook the prison's foundations; and that was how all the doors
opened and all the fetters unfastened. The jailor woke and seeing the prison
doors open, drew his sword for he was about to kill himself. After all, he
thought, that all the prisoners had escaped. Paul cried out loudly, "Do
not harm yourself; we are all here." The jailor called for lights, and rushed
in trembling with fear falling down before Paul and Silas. Bringing them out he
said, "Men, what must I do to be saved?" And they replied,
"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your
household." That's how they came to speak the word of the Lord to him and
to all his house. He took them that same hour of the night, and washed their
wounds. With all his family he was baptized then and there. He brought them up
into his house, and set food before them; rejoicing with his household that he
had believed in God. But when it was day, the magistrates sent their police,
saying, "Let those men go." The jailor reported these words to Paul,
saying, "The magistrates have sent to let you go; therefore you can now
come out and go in peace." But Paul said to them, "They have beaten
us publicly, uncondemned men who are Roman citizens, throwing us into prison.
Do they want to dispose of us in secret? No way! Let them come here and take us
out." Those police reported these words back to the magistrates, and when
they heard they were Roman citizens they were alarmed. So that is how they came
and apologized. They took them out and then asked them to leave the city. So
they went out of the prison, and visited Lydia; and when they had seen the
brethren, they exhorted them and departed.
In a Nutshell
After an earth-quake, Paul takes command. The prisoners remain in prison. The jailor and his family are converted. Paul and Silas leave after the judges have apologised.
Questions
What does "saved" mean?
This story is often used to discuss the process of becoming a Christian. "What must I do to be saved?" asked the jailor when Paul had shouted to him to put away his sword. He thought all his prisoners had escaped in the earthquake. This was a fate worse than death. How was he to explain an empty prison to the city's judges? But his prison was not empty. Paul and Silas saw to it that all the prisoners remained where they were. There was to be no jail break-out. And when the jailor saw that Paul and Silas had kept the group together he realised he was in their debt. It was then that he engaged Paul and Silas in earnest conversation.
"What must I do to be saved?" What did the jailor mean by "saved"? What did Paul and Silas mean by their answer? Did they mean the same thing? What's going on here? What is Luke trying to tell us by recounting this exchange?
For the jailor, Paul and Silas saved his life at a crucial moment. He had been asleep, waking to find the cells doors open, the prisoners' fetters unlocked. That was why the jailor and his family saw Paul and Silas as God's instruments to keep them safe. It was these two who brought them the news of Jesus. Paul showed that in proclaiming the gospel he respected the work of the jailor. His was an honoured profession in God's Kingdom. It was an important contribution to establish justice in public life, even if the city's officials did not always act justly.
"What must I do to be saved?" he had asked. The
answer of Paul and Silas was that belief in Jesus Christ opens the door to the
full meaning of our life and our death. God's Kingdom demands justice. And so
it was quite consistent with his message that Paul would require the judges to
come to the prison and apologise. Only this kind of openness by the city's
rulers would ensure jailor's position was safeguarded with a measure of public
and legal recognition. At the same time the small church also was protected.