GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
ACTS 16:14-15
14 A certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple cloth, and she worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 15 She and her household were baptized, and then she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
We don’t know whether Lydia was a Jew or a Gentile, but she was the first convert to Christianity in Europe. Her name comes from her home, since Thyatira in the southwest of Asia Minor was in the old region of Lydia or Lud (their history might go all the way back to Genesis 10:22). The purple dye industry produced a lot of wealth for certain families in Thyatira. It drew the dye from a shellfish. Cheap versions were made by crushing the shellfish, but the Thyatirans drew the creature’s single drop of the substance from a vessel in its throat.
Lydia must have been pretty well-off. Since Philippi was a Roman colony, she would have had plenty of good business from the Romans who showed their wealth by using purple and scarlet for the trimwork on their tunics and togas.
What do we learn about this woman in these few words? She had a house that could easily accommodate four men without any real inconvenience. She had a “household,” which is to say, a family. Most likely, she was married to a man who was not a believer (like Timothy’s mother), and there is no reason to suspect that she didn’t have a number of children. There would also have been servants, but servants alone would not make her home a household.
Her faith was such that after she and at least her servants and children were baptized, she compelled the travelers to stay in her home while they were in Philippi. Her generosity must have been an inspiration to the whole congregation. Paul rarely accepted gifts on his travels, but the Philippians were a notable exception, even after he left them: “Not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only, for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need” (Philippians 4:15-16).
Let’s go back to the miracle of Lydia’s baptism, together with her immediate family. Baptism is a washing of the human body for the forgiveness of sins. Baptism “delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this” (Luther’s Small Catechism). “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16).
There is no passage in the Bible that forbids children or infants from baptism. Those who object to infant baptism usually do so because they reject the sacrament’s power. They tend to see baptism as a work of man, a response to God rather than a gift from God. Yet the Scriptures are clear: “Baptism saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21).
Jesus said: “No one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5). Those who deny baptism’s power to save don’t know what to do with that verse. Jesus also said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mark 10:14). Infants and children ought to have baptism since it is the only ordinary way of coming to faith and receiving salvation that’s open to them, and Christ wants them to be saved.
Baptism was prefigured in the Old Testament by things like circumcision (Colossians 2:11-12), the various ceremonial washings (Leviticus 14:8), Noah’s flood (1 Peter 3:21), and even the journey of the Israelites through the waters of the Red Sea (1 Corinthians 10:1-2). Jesus gave us baptism personally for the purpose of forgiving sins: “Make disciples… by baptizing in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). He did this as Savior of the World, something Paul told the Philippians: “God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of ‘Jesus’ every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth, and under the earth” (Philippians 2:9-10). What does baptism give us? “All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Galatians 3:26). It is the righteousness of Jesus that we are sealed with as we stand before God, sealed over us in our baptism. This is what Lydia and her family received, and this is what you received as well. Praise God for your baptism. Stand confidently in God’s light, basking in his forgiveness and love. You, baptized child of God, you are redeemed and made clean, presented to God the Father in the name of Jesus his Son, fit for entrance and everlasting life in heaven. All in your baptism.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
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Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Word for You – Acts 16:14-15 Lydia’s baptism and yours