Acts 16 explained: Paul Crosses Into Europe

Timothy joins Paul (vv. 1-5)

Timothy had a Jewish mother and a Greek father, so Paul had him circumcised (the ritual cutting that marked Jewish males) so that Jewish communities would accept him, not because it was needed to be saved. They also passed on the Jerusalem leaders' ruling, which freed non-Jewish believers from circumcision but asked them to avoid a few things, such as food offered to idols and sexual immorality.

Guided to Macedonia (vv. 6-12)

After being blocked from two regions in what is now Turkey, Paul sees a man from Macedonia asking for help, and the group sails west into Europe. The story suddenly says "we" here, which most readers take to mean the writer, traditionally Luke, joined the group at this point.

Lydia by the river (vv. 13-15)

Philippi likely had no synagogue, so a group of women met to pray by the river, where Paul met Lydia, a trader in costly purple cloth. She is called a "worshiper of God," usually understood to mean a non-Jew who already worshiped Israel's God, and after her household was baptized her home became the believers' base.

Freeing the enslaved girl (vv. 16-24)

Paul drove out a spirit from a slave girl whose fortune-telling earned money for her owners, and they took revenge by stirring up a crowd against these "Jews" with foreign customs. Paul and Silas were stripped, severely beaten with rods, and locked with their feet clamped in wooden stocks.

Earthquake and the jailer (vv. 25-34)

A Roman jailer could be put to death if his prisoners escaped, which is why he was ready to kill himself when the doors flew open. Instead he asked how to be saved, washed the wounds of the men he had locked up, and was baptized with his household.

A public release (vv. 35-40)

Beating Roman citizens without a trial broke Roman law, so the officials were alarmed to learn Paul and Silas were citizens. Paul's demand for a public escort was likely meant in part to protect the new believers left behind in the city.

Key verse: Acts 16:31

Something to think about

When a plan falls apart or a door closes on you, how do you decide whether to push harder or change direction?