Acts 16
16:1. Timothy’s mother was Eunice (2 Tim.1:5).
16:3. It is stumbling blocks to faith in Christ that Paul opposes, not circumcision in itself, which cannot save or exclude from salvation (1 Cor.7:19; Gal.5:6; 6:15). Jews considered a man born of a Jewish mother to be a Jew, and Timothy was raised as a Jew, but uncircumcised due to his Greek father. This was a stumbling block to the evangelizing of the Jews, and so Paul had him circumcised for the sake of the Jews. In the case of the Gentile Titus (Gal.2:3), he was not circumcised for the same reason, that is, in order not to create a needless stumbling block to the evangelization of the Gentiles. See 1 Cor.9:19-22 (“I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some” 1 Cor.9:22).
16:6. The exclusion from the province of Asia was temporary (19:10; Rev.1:4).
16:8-10. As they prepare to enter Europe with the gospel for the first time, they apparently add Luke to the company at Troas, as indicated by the switch from “they” to “we” (10).
16:11-15. The Holy Spirit directed them to Philippi, a Roman colony on a major road, a good place to plant the first European church. As usual, they went to the Jews first (13). There was no synagogue, but only a place of prayer by the river. It required ten Jewish men to start a synagogue.
16:14. The Lord opened Lydia’s heart. Being born again is an act of God’s creative power. It is a real and free decision, but one that is only made by an opened heart.
16:16-18. The girl with ESP (extra spirit perception) was subtly undermining the gospel, making it appear to be just another mystery religion, all of which promised some sort of salvation in the name of the Most High God. If a person were to come to hear Paul because of what the demon said, he would be apt to associate the girl as the source of truth rather than the Holy Spirit, and so return to her for more answers. This would enrich her handlers (and no doubt amuse the devil). Those who accept what appears to be good from an evil source play a game they can’t win. Paul could not allow this kind of assistance.
In v.17, the Greek actually quotes the girl as saying, “These men…are proclaiming to you a way of salvation” (see margin). For some reason, most translators change this to the definite article, “the way of salvation,” which nicely cleans up the devil’s little suggestion that there is more than one way. Whether the devil is pleased with their correction of his theology, who can say?
16:21. Cf.17:6-7.
16:22. These rods were carried in bundles (fasces), and were carried by the magistrate’s attendants as a symbol of Roman authority. A Roman citizen was exempt from all forms of degrading punishment, and of course could not be forced to leave a Roman town (see 39).
16:25-26. The “hymns” were undoubtedly from the Psalms. Such praise raises the spirits of the oppressed (see such passages as Ps.116:16, or Ps.119:62). V.26 has many reminders of the events of resurrection morning.
16:31-34. “You and your household,” means all the family and servants of the jailer. It is an expression of the idea of headship that many cannot comprehend in our individualistic culture, but was very strong then. Like circumcision, infant baptism is an expression of this. One is born with a heritage. If you are a covenant child, you have a right to the privileges of the covenant through the family unit, represented by the head of the family. This is a right, and therefore can be lost only by failure to claim it as your own–by repudiating it. When the head of the house became a Christian, it was assumed that all in the household would follow. See Cornelius (11:14); Lydia (16:15); Crispus (18:8).
From the pronoun “they”, used rather than “we” in 17:1, it is likely that Luke remained behind in Philippi. This may help explain why the church there became so exemplary.