The Pain of Paul

In Syrian Antioch Paul began his second missionary journey speaking to Barnabas: "Come, let us make a return visit to see how the brothers are getting on in all the cities where we proclaimed the word of the Lord," (Acts 15:36) referring to the communities he visited and established during his previous journey, the one discussed on the page about stoning. It seems the original plan was to retrace Paul's steps. But when Paul had a vision during the night at Troas, plans changed. According to Luke, the writer of Acts, "During the night Paul had a vision. A Macedonian stood before him and implored him with these words, 'Come over to Macedonia and help us.' ... We sought passage to Macedonia at once" (Acts 16:9-10). And so, they headed west.

 

This detour lengthened their journey. The entire trip would eventually encompass over fifteen stops across 2,000 miles. All of those miles were covered either on foot or in ancient Roman boats. The expedition most likely took three or four years to complete (Puskas 26).

Eventually their travels led them to Philippi, "a leading city in that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony" (Acts 16:11). Paul and his traveling companions remained there for a while, praying and working for the conversion of the people.

 

They soon attracted the attention of a slave girl who an "oracular spirit," a spirit which allowed her to tell fortunes. The girl followed them around for days, shouting "These people are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation." Eventually, this got on Paul's nerves and he said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her," and the spirit left (Acts 16:16-18). As it turned out, the slave's owners made a great deal of profit from the girl's possession and the associated fortune-telling ability. With that ability gone, the owners became upset:

 

When her owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them to the public square before the local authorities. They brought them before the magistrates and said, "These people are Jews and are disturbing our city and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us Romans to adopt or practice." The crowd joined in the attack on them, and the magistrates had them stripped and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After inflicting many blows on them, they threw them into prison and instructed the jailer to guard them securely. When he received these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and secured their feet to a stake. (Acts 16:19-24)

By the grace of God, their stay in prison was very brief. At midnight, they were freed from prison by an earthquake: "About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God as the prisoners listened, there was suddenly such a severe earthquake that the foundations of the jail shook; all the doors flew open, and the chains of all were pulled loose" (Acts 16:25-26). Pictured here are the ruins of an ancient prison cell in Philippi. These ruins have long been believed to be the cell from which Paul and Silas escaped after the earthquake. After this incident, the men understandably left Philippi and continued their journey.

The event described above is just one of several that landed Paul in a prison cell. He spent years in captivity for various reasons. It seems that Paul was imprisoned at several locations:

• Paul was arrested in Jerusalem (Acts 21:27-22:30)

• Imprisoned in Caesarea for two years (Acts 23:23-26:32)

• Under guard aboard the ship that crashed on Malta (Acts 27:1-28: 16)
• Imprisoned at Philippi, though only briefly (Acts 16:16-40)

• First imprisonment in Rome (Acts 28:16-31)

• Second imprisonment in Rome and his execution (2nd Timothy 4:6-8)

There is some debate about the order and duration of the events in Paul's life, but it is thought he spent about seven years in various prisons.

 

To continue and read about one of Paul's shipwreck experiences, click here.