Not for the first time Paul found himself engulfed by an uproar. On previous occasions it had arisen through disputes with other Jews who then stirred up mobs ( see 14 v 19 for example ), but now Paul came into head-on collision with economic forces – some enterprising businessman saw his business slipping away. The result is just the same however; he was arrested, flogged and jailed.
If you visit the ruins of Philippi today you will have pointed out to you the remains of a small building believed to have been the jailhouse used at that time. It is on the main Roman road running through the town, but there is nothing grand about it – it has thick walls and part of it is below ground level. It is little more than a subterranean black hole – just the place for an interfering Christian missionary! What a destination for a visitor to the town.
And who is the beneficiary of all this? The jailer!
What a massive turnaround we see in his life. The brutal jailer becomes a joyful and gentle host, feeding his prisoners and tending their wounds. And what made the difference? Quite simply, we read ‘he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God.’ Nothing less than the power of God can change a man’s life like that. There was little time for preaching and teaching; the jailer had no discipleship or baptismal class; this outcome was a demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit working in the life of a very ordinary, rough, soldier-turned-jailer.

For reflection: What a motley collection of new Christians we see being formed as a Church in Philippi – first a smart, well-organised business woman named Lydia, then a once demon-possessed slave girl, and now the town jailer! Yet these are the people of whom Paul writes ‘for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. (Phil 4 v 16)