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Acts 16:16-18
New Catholic Bible
Acts 16:16-18
New Catholic Bible
16 Paul Imprisoned at Philippi.[a]On one occasion, as we were on our way to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who was possessed by a spirit of divination and brought large profits to her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She began to follow Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to proclaim to you a way of salvation.” 18 She kept doing this for many days, until Paul became very greatly troubled. He turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And the spirit came out of her instantly.
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- Acts 16:16 Even when it is not stirred up by the reaction of the Jews, opposition to the Gospel arises out of a desire for ill-gotten gain. Some Jews at Ephesus claim Christianity advocates customs that as Roman citizens they cannot legally tolerate in the cities of the Empire.
The account of Paul’s deliverance is centered above all on the transformation that takes place in the jailer. It is an account of conversion. Paul makes good use of his Roman citizenship to keep the field open for his future missionary activity (see Acts 22:19).
