What does Acts 16:36 mean?
Resentful men of the Roman outpost of Philippi charged Paul and Silas with promoting the worship of Jesus, something not legally sanctioned by the Roman Empire. The magistrates follow standard procedure for crimes committed by non-citizens when the offense does not call for execution: they beat and imprison the men for one night, intending to force them into a quiet exile away from the city (Acts 16:19–24, 35).The magistrates send the message to the jailer. They don't know that Paul and Silas recently saved the jailer's life. When an earthquake opened the doors and shackles of the jail, apparently the two convinced the other prisoners to stay—protecting the jailer from a capital offense (Acts 12:19). The jailer knew Paul and Silas had been arrested for teaching about what the Romans assumed was a "new" deity who offered salvation—he wanted that salvation. He and his entire family put their trust in Jesus for reconciliation with the Creator God and were baptized into new life (Acts 16:25–34).
The police arrive with the message that it's time for Paul and Silas to leave town. What they don't realize—because they never asked—is that Paul and Silas are Roman citizens (Acts 16:37). At most, they should have been held under house arrest until a legal trial. Not only were the abuse and the imprisonment illegal, but also no one can force a Roman citizen out of a Roman city.
In Romans 13:1–7, Paul tells the Christians in Rome to obey the government authorities. God has established government to enforce good conduct and a peaceful society. Obviously, governments don't always do this. As Christians, we should obey any law that does not contradict what God tells us in the Bible. But when the government breaks its own laws, we should feel free to point this out to them and expect justice. Paul and Silas do this. They will leave peacefully, but not in secret. They demand the magistrates publicly acknowledge their own injustice and apologize first.
Acts 16:25–40 records Paul's first imprisonment. The Philippian magistrates arrested Paul and Silas and had them beaten for spreading the news about Jesus. The two are now chained in a cell, praying and singing to God. An earthquake shakes the prison, releasing all the doors and chains. Paul assures the jailer no one has left, and the jailer tends to the pair's wounds. They share Jesus' offer of forgiveness of sins, and the jailer and his household accept Christ. In the morning, the magistrates attempt to release Paul and Silas, only to be confronted with their own crime: they have illegally punished two Roman citizens. After apologizing, the magistrates ask Paul and Silas to leave town.
Acts 16 follows Paul and Silas as they take the letter of Acts 15 into modern-day Asia Minor and Macedonia. They collect Timothy in Lystra and Luke in Troas. In Philippi, they meet Lydia and baptize her family. After expelling a demon from a fortune-telling girl, city officials illegally beat and imprison Paul and Silas. An earthquake frees them of their chains, but they stay and bring the jailer and his family to Christ. The next morning, Paul and Silas refuse to leave quietly, politely insisting that their civil rights have been violated. The officials apologize, and Paul, Silas, and Timothy go to Thessalonica.
