Acts 16:16-24
16 One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a demon-possessed slave girl. She was a fortune-teller who earned a lot of money for her masters. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.”
18 This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her.
19 Her masters’ hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace. 20 “The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!” they shouted to the city officials. 21 “They are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice.”
22 A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. 23 They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. 24 So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.
As we learned in last week’s lesson, each step of Paul and Silas’ path to Macedonia contained ministry. In Acts 16:13-15 this ministry led them to Lydia, a “worshiper of God” (v. 14) who opened her heart and was baptized. In verses 16-24, they come across a more sinister and unpleasant audience, but one that resulted in the same outcome as Lydia, a woman who was freed from sin.
Today’s scripture passage contains a story about spiritual warfare. In this instance a demon possessed slave girl and her masters began a series of events that led to the imprisonment of Paul and Silas. In the process the girl, who was a slave both physically and spiritually, was freed from the evil that inhabited her. Satan was willing to “sacrifice” this demon so that he could incite a mob against Paul and Silas and put them in jail. “She followed along behind us shouting, ‘These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved’” (v. 17). God is completely sovereign to the point that even the demons know the truth. But Satan is so evil that he would use this truth against God’s apostles.
Isn’t it odd that we live in a society that is increasingly more tolerant to cults, false teaching and any other religion, but has become more prejudiced towards Christianity? It shouldn’t be. This passage demonstrates Philippi’s tolerance for fortune-tellers and the demon-possessed but hatred, to the point of physical punishment and imprisonment, of those who were followers of Jesus Christ. Satan, the great deceiver, is constantly at work, trying to enslave anyone he can. We must not underestimate just how deceptive Satan can be, attempting to poison the minds of an entire generation. We must be willing to stand up for what we believe in even though it may cost us our freedom.
Youth Department