Acts 16:38

And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans. AND THE SERJEANTS TOLD THESE WORDS UNTO THE MAGISTRATES: AND THEY FEARED, WHEN THEY HEARD THAT THEY WERE ROMANS....

35-40 Paul, though willing to suffer for the cause of Christ, and without any desire to avenge himself, did not choose to depart under the charge of having deserved wrongful punishment, and therefore required to be dismissed in an honourable manner. It was not a mere point of honour that the apostle stood upon, but justice, and not to himself so much as to his cause. And when proper apology is made, Christians should never express personal anger, nor insist too strictly upon personal amends. The Lord will make them more than conquerors in every conflict; instead of being cast down by their sufferings, they will become comforters of their brethren....

Verse 38. _THEY FEARED WHEN THEY HEARD - THEY WERE ROMANS._] They feared, because the Roman law was so constituted that an insult offered to a citizen was deemed an insult to the whole Roman people. There is a remarkable addition here, both in the _Greek_ and _Latin_ of the _Codex Bezae_. It is as follows: "And when they were come with many of their friends to the prison, they besought them to go out, saying: We were ignorant of your circumstances, that ye were righteous men. And, leading them out, they besought them, saying, Depart from this city, lest they again make an insurrection against you, and clamour against you....

THEY FEARED WHEN THEY HEARD ... - They were apprehensive of punishment for having imprisoned them in violation of the laws of the empire. To punish unjustly a Roman citizen was deemed an offence to the majesty of the Roman people, and was severely punished by the laws. Dionysius Hal. (_Ant. Rom._, ii.) says, “The punishment appointed for those who abrogated or transgressed the Valerian law was death, and the confiscation of his property.” The emperor Claudius deprived the inhabitants of Rhodes of freedom for having crucified some Roman citizens (_Dio Cass._, lib. 60). See Kuinoel and Grotius....

EXPOSITION ACTS 16:1 _And he came also _for _then came he, _A.V._ _and T.R.; _to Lystra _for _Lystra, _A.V._; Timothy _for _Timotheus, _A.V._; of a Jewess _for _of a certain woman which was a Jewess, _A.V. and T.R.; _which _for _and, _A.V. For DERBE and LYSTRA, see Acts 14:1. and notes. This time St. Paul visited Derbe first, whereas before he came from Lystra to Derbe (Acts 14:6, Acts 14:8, Acts 14:21). WAS THERE; viz

AND THE SERGEANTS TOLD THESE WORDS UNTO THE MAGISTRATES,.... They returned to them, and acquainted them with what the prisoners said: AND THEY FEARED WHEN THEY HEARD THAT THEY WERE ROMANS; they were not concerned for the injury they had done them; nor for the injustice and cruelty they had been guilty of; nor did they fear the wrath of God, and a future judgment; but they were put into a panic, when they found the men they had so ill used were Romans; lest they should be called to an account by the Roman senate, and be found guilty, and have their places taken away from them, and their persons punished....

ACTS 16:36-38 Leaving nothing to the imagination of the reader, in ver. Acts 16:36 codex Bezae reads kai. eivselqw.n o` desmofu,lax avph,ggeilen, while syrp, still more circumstantial, reads kai. avkou,saj o` desmofu,lax eivselqw.n avph,ggeilen. Similarly in ver. Acts 16:38 codex Bezae is extremely pleonastic in reading avph,ggeilan de. auvtoi/soi [sic] strathgoi/j oi` r`abdou/coi ta. r`h,mata tau/ta ta. r`hqe,nta pro.j tou.j strathgou,j…(“And the police reported to the magistrates _themselves_ these words...

CHAPTER 16 _ 1. In Derbe and Lystra again. Timotheus (Acts 16:1)._ 2. The Preaching forbidden in Asia (Acts 16:6). 3. The Vision of the Man from Macedonia (Acts 16:9). 4. The Gospel in Europe (Acts 16:13). Read in connection with the first verses of this chapter 1 Timothy 1:18; 1Ti 4:14; 2 Timothy 1:5; 2 Timothy 3:15. The circumcision of Timothy, the offspri

RECKONING WITH THE MAGISTRATES. The legal proceedings are to go no further. But Paul has two grievances to clear up with the magistrates before he will leave the prison. The proceedings of the former day had no form of law; the accused were not properly tried; and the magistrates had no power to beat a Roman citizen. Many scholars infer that Silas also held this rank, but if one of the two held it the contention was justified. The magistrates have to come themselves and to make a personal appeal to the missionaries and request them to leave the town; it is not an expulsion, but the request could not be disregarded....

A SON IN THE FAITH (Acts 16:1-5)...