11. READ: ACTS 16:16-40
[Acts 16:16] "Once when we were going to the place of
prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she
predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her
owners by fortune-telling. [17] This girl followed Paul and the
rest of us, shouting, 'These men are servants of the Most
High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.' [18] She
kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he
turned around and said to the spirit, 'In the Name of Jesus
Christ I command you to come out of her!' At that moment the
spirit left her.
[19] "When the owners of the slave girl realized that
their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and
dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. [20]
They brought them before the magistrates and said, 'These men
are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar [21] by
advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or
practice.'
[22] "The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and
Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten.
[23] After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into
prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. [24]
Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and
fastened their feet in the stocks.
[25] "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and
singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to
them. [26] Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the
foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors
flew open, and everybody's chains came loose. [27] The jailer
woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword
and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had
escaped. [28] But Paul shouted, 'Don't harm yourself!
We are all here!'
[29] "The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell
trembling before Paul and Silas. [30] He then brought them out and
asked, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?'
[31] "They replied, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus,
and you will be saved--you and your household.' [32]
Then they spoke the Word of the Lord to him and to all the others
in his house. [33] At that hour of the night the jailer took them
and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family
were baptized. [34] The jailer brought them into his house and set
a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to
believe in God--he and his whole family.
[35] "When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their
officers to the jailer with the order: 'Release those
men.' [36] The jailer told Paul, 'The magistrates have
ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in
peace.'
[37] "But Paul said to the officers: 'They beat
us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and
threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us
quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us
out.'
[38] "The officers reported this to the magistrates,
and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they
were alarmed. [39] They came to appease them and escorted them from
the prison, requesting them to leave the city. [40] After Paul and
Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia's house,
where they met with the brothers and encouraged them. Then they
left."
a. What did the slave girl shout about Paul's group?
b. What did the jailer ask Paul and Silas?
c. What did they reply?
d. Then what did they speak to the jailer and his household?
e. How did the jailer and his family respond to the Word of the Lord?
