Godbey's Commentary - Acts - Romans - Enter His Rest

upon Paul and Silas as black with crime, notwithstanding their street preaching had rung in his ears
and left upon his memory their attitude as the avowed heralds of the most high God. The awful
earthquake and the utter indisposition of the apostles to escape now send a lightning bolt of
conviction to the bottom of his heart, precipitating him into a radical, true and hearty repentance,
putting him on believing ground as a penitent sinner, where he has nothing to do but receive
justification by faith. Therefore Paul commands him, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou and thy
family shall be saved.” Here you see clearly and unequivocally that faith is the only condition
necessary to the justification of a sinner, the exercise of this faith being utterly impossible till he gets
on believing ground, which can only be reached by a genuine repentance wrought in the heart by the
Holy Ghost. Here we see that Paul assures the jailer that not only himself but his family shall be
saved on condition of his faith. Parents, take courage, if you are truly faithful to God; here is a
promise for the salvation of your families. It does not follow that they will be saved without personal
faith, which God in due time will confer on them, pursuant to your faith. Now the jailer is converted
and baptized that very hour, along with his family.
34. “And leading them into his house he placed a table by them and rejoiced all over the house,
believing in God.” Here we see that the jailer, having received a glorious old-style jumping
conversion, leaped round all over the house, shouting uproariously, while Paul and Silas sat at the
table enjoying his kind hospitality, feeling much refreshed and relieved physically, because the jailer
had not only diligently washed away the clotted blood from the gashes of their lacerated backs, thus
expediting convalescence, but has kindly supplied them with a sumptuous meal, which they much
needed. The earthquake, the miraculous excarceration of the prisoners and the conversion of the
jailer, borne on rumor’s flying pinion, reaches the magistrates, so alarming them that they send the
lictors who would thrash them, to request Paul and Silas to depart immediately. This they refuse to
do till the magistrates come in person and take them out, which they do, now tremulous with fear,
because of their notification that Paul is a Roman citizen, and they are liable to prosecution,
dethronement, and punishment for their illegal flagellation of a Roman citizen, amid the impetuosity
of the cruel mob. Hence alarmed and deeply penitent for their illegal and precipitant cruelty to the
apostles, taking them out of prison with their own hands, they beg them to depart from the city.
40. Paul and Silas now come to the house of Lydia, where they find Timothy and Luke, who,
along with the few disciples converted in the woman’s meeting, have spent a night of agonizing
prayer and solitude, and now are much delighted to receive them and hear all the good news.