Daily Lesson for November 20, 2020

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Acts chapter 16 verses 35 through 39:

35 When morning came, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” 36 And the jailer reported the message to Paul, saying, “The magistrates sent word to let you go; therefore come out now and go in peace.” 37 But Paul replied, “They have beaten us in public, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they going to discharge us in secret? Certainly not! Let them come and take us out themselves.” 38 The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens; 39 so they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city.

Read this chapter.

At first the apostles are content to preach the Gospel, even while the work of a slave-girl is abusively taken advantage of.

But the slave-girl compels the apostles to get involved. They cast out an evil spirit from her and her masters then conspire to have the apostles arrested and flogged. Their charges against the apostles are disturbing the peace and being Jews. That's right, the charges were racism and being "outside agitators".

The apostles are beaten and arrested. But that night while singing freedom songs and sharing the Gospel with the other prisoners, an earthquake strikes the prison, flinging open the prison doors. It is a sign of the shaking of the very foundation of the city's justice system.

Thinking the prisoners will riot and kill him, the guard almost kills himself, but is instead met with love and prospect of change. Soon he and his whole household are converted.

And at the end of the story, realizing the wrong, the magistrates want to send the apostles away quietly. But the apostles won't go quietly. They demand a public apology and public redress before they leave. They are not only content to themselves be set free; they demand that the whole city take responsibility and change.

This is a story for our times, friends; and it was in the Bible this whole time.

NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. Over the weekend we'll read the book of Galatians, Acts 17, and 1 and 2 Thessalonians.