Persecution

“But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was suddenly gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities, and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said…” (1) The slave woman’s masters were furious because she had regained her sanity, meaning they could no longer profit from her. They valued money over her life. (2) They seized Paul and Silas and brought them to court. Previously, persecution had come from the Jews, driven by opposition to the preaching of the gospel. However, the persecution in Philippi was different. Since there were no Jews in this town, the persecution came from Gentiles. The reason was anger over economic loss. (3) The trial was held in the marketplace (agora). In Roman colonies, there were typically two magistrates, referred to here as “authorities” and “magistrates,” though they are the same individuals. The Greek term for magistrates is “strategoi”, translated as “rulers” in some versions. These two magistrates were the judges in the city of Philippi.

The detail of the accusation

“These men, Jews as they are, are causing our city trouble, and they are proclaiming customs that are not lawful for us to accept or to practice, since we are Romans.” (1) The slave woman’s masters concealed their true motives and presented their accusation in a different light. They shifted the theme from economic loss to one of patriotism. (2) This accusation contains anti-Semitic elements. (a) “These men are Jews” – this statement reflects prejudice against Jews. (b) “They are disturbing our city.” (c) “They are promoting an illegal religion despite Rome’s official religion.” At that time, Judaism was recognized as a legal religion, meaning Jews were permitted to preach to other Jews, but it was illegal to encourage Roman citizens to convert. (d) Both the slave owners and the magistrates made no distinction between Judaism and Christianity at this stage. They considered the religion Paul was preaching as a sect of Judaism. Let’s draw a spiritual lesson from this passage. The slave owners did not realize that those who accept the gospel gain citizenship in heaven. The residents of Philippi took pride in their Roman citizenship. In contrast, we Christians take pride in our citizenship in heaven. For Christians, the earth is like a colony of heaven, and we eagerly await the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ from heaven.