Some time later, a highway patrol officer came on the scene. An animal lover, he saw the horse first. Realising the serious nature of its injuries, he drew his service revolver and put the animal out of its misery. He walked around the accident and found the dog, also hurt critically. He couldn’t bear to hear it whine in pain, so he ended the dog’s suffering as well.
Finally he located the cowboy – who had suffered multiple injuries – off in the weeds. "Are you okay?" the cop asked. The cowboy took one look at the smoking revolver in the trooper’s hand and quickly replied, "Never felt better!"
About a century earlier, there had been a great battle outside the walls of the city. Brutus and Cassius, the murderers of Julius Caesar, had been defeated by the combined forces of Anthony and Octavian. When Octavian became Emperor Augustus, he showed his thanks for the help of the Philippians by granting them Roman citizenship.
There were not enough Jews to form a synagogue there – there needed to be at least ten men. So they made their way to the river on the sabbath day and began a small but effective work among the small group of Jewish women who gathered there to pray.
They were on their way to the place of prayer one day when they were met by a slave-girl "who had an evil spirit that enabled her to predict the future". The slave-girl began following them shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God! They announce to you how you can be saved!" (v. 17)
Her words were quite true, and we recall occasions when evil spirits gave true testimony about Jesus (as in Lk. 8.28). The response of Jesus was always to cast out the evil spirit – this person needed to be healed. We are told that Paul became "so upset" that he ordered the spirit to come out of her "in the name of Jesus Christ" (v. 18).
Everyone should surely have been happy that a person sick in mind had been healed. But not so. She was a slave who "earned a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes" (v. 16) and now "their chance of making money was gone" (v. 19).
Paul and Silas were brought to the public square before the Roman officials and charged with disturbing the peace and "teaching customs that are against our law; we are Roman citizens, and we cannot accept these customs or practise them" (v. 21). The people of Rome’s colonies were permitted to have their own religions, but not to proselytise Roman citizens. The preaching of Paul and Silas was a breach of Roman law.
The officials didn’t check the charges. The backs of Paul and Silas were bared and they were beaten with rods and handed over to the jailer as dangerous men who had to be locked up tight. The jailer took no chances – he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in stocks. In the darkness they couldn’t even turn over.
"About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them" (v. 25). Philippi was strategic to the whole region. This strong opposition to their work was evidence to them that they were at the right place – at a key point for their mission. The small work among the Jewish women and the healing of the slave-girl were cause for thanks – but how would she now be treated by her owners? They had confidence in the Lord, were thankful to him for what had been achieved so far, but were much in prayer for the next step forward.
"Suddenly there was a violent earthquake, which shook the prison to its foundations. At once all the doors opened, and the chains fell off all the prisoners" (v. 26). There was nothing unusual about an earthquake in this region – but the timing and results are striking. The jailer, knowing that his life would be forfeit if the prisoners had escaped, was about to end it all. "Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!" – a sign, by the way, of the very deep impression that Paul and Silas had made on the other prisoners.
"The jailer called for a light, rushed in, and fell trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas. Then he led them out and asked, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They answered, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your family’ "(v. 29-30).
The question has nothing to do with fear of reprisal from his Roman bosses for loss of prisoners. After all, every prisoner was still there. No, he was aware of need at a more profound level of his life.
In some churches people talk about "the unsaved". The Bible knows no such term. In the teaching of Jesus, people who haven’t received salvation are "the lost" and those who persist in refusing to believe in him are "the damned". The Lord, Peter tells us, "is patient with you, because he does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins" (2 Pet. 3.9). However, the Christian good news recognises clearly our responsibility to respond. "For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life" (Jn 3.16).
In our story, the cowboy feared for his life and believed that the only way to be safe was to deny his critical injuries. In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, the wounded man is removed from danger and placed in care so that he will recover. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost.
Lostness can be a very deep feeling of unease and uncertainty – a deep feeling that all is not well, a profound fear in facing life here and now and in contemplating the future. But lostness is more than a feeling. Some continue to have that deep uncertain fear even though they have received the offered salvation. There are others who ignore God and go on their own way, sensing no peril.
It is possible to be lost (and to remain lost) by deliberate rebellious choice – the prodigal son wanted to get away from the restrictions of home and chose the far country (Lk. 15.11ff). It is also possible to be unintentionally lost – by our own small choices and by circumstances to get far away from God. The lost coin in Jesus’ parable certainly had no choice in the matter (Lk. 15.8-10)! The lost sheep simply went from tuft to tuft (Lk. 15.4-7)!
The Lord looks at the heart. He knows the thoughts and feelings and responses of each one of us. He looks at us with understanding and with love. He knows if we are continuing to live in lostness – needing to be found. He knows if we have been saved, but still not reaching out to others.
The Lord is reaching out in love. Jesus Christ died on the cross for all your sins – rebellion and failure. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life (Jn 14.6) – the only way to come to the Father. As Peter said to the Jewish council, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4.12).
Turn from your sin to the one who is the Saviour. Turn from your doubt and confusion to the one who is the Truth. Welcome him – he stands knocking at the door! "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (16.31).
Now for all of us who have believed, there is the responsibility and challenge of the community in which we live. Only Jesus can save people. But he told his disciples, "You are my witnesses" (Lk. 24.48; Acts 1.8). It will be through our life and actions and words that others too will come to believe.
Do you really think the cowboy had "never felt better"? He didn’t feel safe in talking about his real condition. It will take a lot of genuine caring love and integrity on our part for many of the folk out there to come to the point of openness where they are ready to hear and receive the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. May each one of us daily grow in faith, in love and in availability to our Lord – that others may come to believe in him too and be saved.