Acts 16:19-24 19But when her owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, after seizing Paul and Silas, they dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers, 20and after bringing them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are disturbing our city, being Jews, 21and they advocate customs that are not permitted for us to do as Romans.” 22And the crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and commanded them to be beaten with rods. 23And after many blows were beaten upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24After receiving this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
The story of Paul’s and his colleagues’ experience in Philippi took a bad turn in the next episode. Something remarkable and miraculous happened to the slave girl when the evil spirit giving her divination left at the command of Paul. When Jesus touches a person, that person is always changed. In this case, Jesus used the instrument of Paul, who invoked Jesus’ name, representing his power and presence. Satan often attacks God’s people at points of victory. Although Satan is not mentioned in the passage, how the owners responded when their profit from abusing the slave girl vanished implies an evil nature to what happened next. Their greed showed their sinful and selfish hearts. They expressed the evil within them by seizing Paul and Silas and dragging them to the public market where people gathered. No other names are mentioned. The first person narrative ends and does not pick up again until 20:6, suggesting that Luke was not with Paul and Silas at that time. Timothy is also not mentioned. He may have been viewed as not part of the problem since he was young, or perhaps was able to slip past the commotion.
The accusation of the slave owners bent the truth to fit their agenda of making money. First, they criticized the Jewish religion, with an implied racial slur. Second, they accused the pair of causing problems in the city. Those who oppose God’s people often accuse them of racism, bigotry, homophobia, and other things that go against the prevailing immoral, materialistic, and idolatrous culture. Third, the slave owners accused the pair of going against cultural practices and not being Roman. They defined culture, being Roman, and acceptable behavior based on their own interpretation and selfish practices. The slave owners did not tell the truth about the girl being freed from an evil spirit. The cultural bias of the crowd gathered in the marketplace also came through in how they attacked Paul and Silas. The agora of Philippi has been discovered. On one end, a raised podium has been found, which was likely where the magistrates sat and gave orders to have Paul and Silas stripped, beaten, and thrown in jail. Another implication of these verses is the corrupt and unjust nature of the community leaders who tolerated and gave in to the demands of the slave owners and crowd.
Paul and Silas were heavily beaten with rods or scourges, which would have been debilitating and painful. They were put in a place of high security in the inner prison with their feet fastened to stocks. The immobilization caused by having their feet in stocks would have additional pain and torture. Verse 24 ends in a dire way, with the missionaries beaten with no escape possible. Most people would be at a point of deep discouragement, anger at the injustice, and questioning why they even came to this city. The complete helplessness, rejection, security, and pain of this situation highlight what happened next.