"What must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16)

“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30)

The Holy Spirit continues to lead the Church in Acts 16. The Spirit does not allow Paul and Silas to enter the cities of Asia, but directs them through a dream to share the Good News in Macedonia. 

Paul and his companions (including Luke, who begins writing in the first person plural in this section) travel to Philippi, a leading city of Macedonia. Paul's preaching follows a familiar pattern in Philippi: he has success in gaining converts, but the attention he garners rouses the suspicion of the authorities and leads to attacks against him. In Philippi, a female slave "who had a spirit by which she predicted the future" follows Paul and Silas shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved" (Acts 16:16-17). Paul casts the spirit out of the slave, only to be dragged before the magistrates by the slave owners, who had been exploiting her for their personal gain. The magistrates have Paul and Silas beaten with rods and thrown into prison.

How do Paul and Silas react to this situation? The way anyone would who had been beaten with rods and was filled with the Holy Spirit: "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them" (Acts 16:25). Such is the trust of Paul and Silas that they praise God even in the face of great trials, knowing (as Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans) "that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). One is reminded of Maximilian Kolbe nineteen centuries later, in the starvation bunker at Auschwitz, hearing confessions and leading prayers with his fellow prisoners. 

At midnight God causes a mighty earthquake to strike the prison, opening all of the prison doors. The prison guard assumes the prisoners have all escaped, and that as a result he will face a cruel punishment from the magistrates. In his despair he intends to kill himself. But incredibly neither Paul nor Silas nor any of the prisoners have left their cells! Why did Paul stay? With the grace of the Holy Spirit, he must have understood that it was not time to flee. The Holy Spirit had sent him to Macedonia for the salvation of many souls, including this prison guard and his household. 

How did the prison guard react when he heard Paul proclaim, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!" (Acts 16:28)? Here is a man who has been rescued at the moment of death and despair. He has been given a second chance at life. While he sounds utterly bewildered and confused, he has grasped there is something special about Paul, that this man who has been beaten and imprisoned might have the answer he needs. He knows he needs a savior. 

The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household” (Acts 16:29-31).

The jailer listened to Paul and Silas preach the Good News, and he and his whole household were baptized that night. He had escaped from his despair, and was "filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household" (Acts 16:34). 

The alternative to fear is trust, exemplified by Paul and his companions throughout their missionary journeys, and the holy men and women throughout the ages. The alternative to despair is joy. Serving the magistrates of this world, the jailer lived a life of despair - a despair that reached a fever pitch when he thought the prisoners escaped, but a despair that was surely lying just below the surface throughout his everyday life. By placing his faith in Jesus Christ, he was liberated from his despair and was able to live the joy of the gospel. In the small hours of the night he found his savior. 

Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet every day for the salvation of souls.