GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
ACTS 16:35-36
35 But when it was day, the chief magistrates sent their bodyguards, saying, “Let those men go.” 36 Then the jailer told Paul, “The chief magistrates have given orders to set you free. Come out, now, and go in peace.”
The bodyguards of the chief magistrates of Philippi were lictors, strong, capable men who carried out the sentence passed by the magistrates. Their symbol was a bundle of sticks (rods) such as the very rods they had used to beat Paul and Barnabas. Outside of Rome, including here at Philippi, the symbol was modified by adding an axe to show that they were responsible for carrying out capital punishment as well as inflicting a beating. The Latin word for this bundle of rods, fasces, was adopted in Italy in the 20th century as the basis for terms like fascist and fascism.
We see that to be beaten up was a regular punishment for Christian missionaries in the New Testament. Even Pilate only wanted to have Jesus beaten or whipped and then let him go (John 19:1; 19:12). When the order came to release the prisoners, the jailer was happy about it. In the eyes of the government, they had been beaten for the crime they committed, and they had time in prison to think about what they had done. They had known fear without knowing their fate or how long they might be in jail. With this government that was the point. Fear inspires obedience.
The jailer was now both a civil servant and a Christian. He couldn’t, as a Christian, take the law into his own hands. He had to obey the government and its laws, even if he did not like those laws. A government must have laws. A Christian who works within the government must abide by those laws. In this way, the jailer is an excellent example for anyone working in government, or in another national office, such as in the military, the police force, or other branches of local or national service.
Think of a prison guard who does good service. He is fair, never cruel, and is well respected among the staff, the other guards, and all of the prisoners. He is an example for the new guards to follow. He is so well trusted that when an execution is scheduled, he is assigned to be the man to actually carry out the final act, to throw the switch for the electric chair. His conscience troubles him. He knows that God permits execution as an exception to the Fifth Commandment, and that there are examples in the Bible of this happening, like Phinehas the priest (Numbers 25:7-8), and that the Law of Moses even commanded capital punishment in certain conditions, such as murder and kidnapping (Exodus 21:12, 14, 16) and idolatry (Leviticus 20:2-4). But the guard is troubled. Could he do it? Could he, if it feels wrong to him to be the man to throw the switch? Should he?
Or take another kind of civil servant, a man who holds an office in local or state government. Maybe he doesn’t agree with all of the policies in his political party. In matters of handling money and helping the population, he sides with one party. In certain moral or social issues, he might side with another party. Perhaps several of the leaders on both sides have shown that they are unrepentant sinners with no interest in this local leader’s religious beliefs. Can he find a way in his conscience to still do good public service?
Neither of these is a question that can truly be answered by us as we read, since they are questions for those individuals and what is in each conscience.
In the Old Testament, Israel was governed under a theocracy, a government under God. The Romans had no such government, and neither do we. We must be careful not to perceive a false fellowship because of the words “one nation under God,” or “in God we trust,” since we would not be in religious fellowship with the men who adopted those words. But God can and has blessed our nation, just as he blessed hundred of nations over the centuries that had civil governments or monarchies but had Christians who worked and labored in those governments. Look at how the presence of Joseph in the government of Egypt blessed that country while he was there. His advice and wisdom and the blessing of God made him second only to Pharaoh (Genesis 41:41-44). Look at how the presence of Daniel blessed the government of Babylon while he was there, rising to the position of third highest in Babylon after the king and his son (Daniel 5:29). Look at how God blessed the Persians by raising up Esther to become their queen, and even uncovering a plot to destroy the Jews (Esther 7:3-10). Look at how God blessed his people by giving them the wisdom of Nehemiah, an administrator trained in Persia who oversaw the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls (Nehemiah 2:17-20).
Pray for our civil servants, like the jailer in our text, and men and women like Joseph, Daniel, Esther, and Nehemiah. Whether in a monarchy or in a democracy, civil service is a matter of compromise every day. When did King David ever have a moment just to relax? But God blessed his people through his service. It is an easy thing, maybe an inevitable thing, for citizens to be critical of our leaders. With any government is based on compromise, no one will ever be truly happy. But pray for those who do the work. Pray that the compromises they make will benefit the nation in ways that are truly good and that please God. No political party in America is “God’s choice” or “God’s party.” The Evangelical preachers on the radio and on TV that make those claims have no real understanding of the true way of salvation. How can we take religious advice from those who make faith into a choice, a good work, and ignore the words and the work of Jesus, even his sacrifice on the cross? Trust your conscience, and do not be bullied about voting or about giving contributions to certain candidates. It may well be that some Americans feel strongly that they cannot in good conscience vote for any candidate in a political race. Even choosing not to vote can therefore be a matter of good conscience and civic duty. We must never criticize another Christian for the way that they vote, or even whether they choose to cast a ballot. A pastor must never influence his Christian flock about how or whether to vote. Individual Christians, of course, have the right to talk and to try to reason with one another. But finally, we must not criticize one another about how our votes are cast. May God bless us, whether we might happen to vote with Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Green Party, Hawaiian Nationalists, Whigs or Tories. May God bless our leaders, and may God bless the guidance of the Christian conscience. May each of us be able to confess with Job, no matter what our position on a matter of politics: “I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live” (Job 27:6).
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 16:35-36 Our civic leaders