Observation: Paul and Silas have just successfully evangelized to "Europeans" for the very first time in history, and while staying there to raise up the church they cast a 'spirit' out of a slave girl, whose owners have them publicly beaten. The officials know they have done wrong and attempt to convince Paul and Silas to simply leave, but they refuse to go in secret since they were punished publicly. The officials will, in fact, yield, fearful because Paul and Silas are Roman citizens with rights, and do in fact publicly release them.
The question must be, why did the city officials violate Roman rights and beat/imprison Paul and Silas without trial? And the answer must be ... because the issue in question was about commerce and money. The public charge against them was that their teachings were opposed to Roman "customs", but this accusation wasn't made in a government or court setting, but in the marketplace. It was, in fact, to the marketplace where the accusers "dragged" them (v19), and Philippi actually had a very impressive forum-style market given its size. Furthermore, the 'real' issue is money related, as casting out the spirit from the slave girl has impacted the revenue stream for her owners.
This perspective is reenforced by the nature of Philippi itself. It is a city exceptionally rich for its size due to local mining. It is considered the most important city in the region or Macedonia, though it is not the capital, and it included a large theater for both shows and games ... leisure activities. In general, it is assumed that people here lived far better than in most places in the Roman empire. Therefore, acts that disrupt commercial operations likely are viewed as a higher 'crime' than acts like speaking about worship practices or just violating Roman "customs".
Of course Paul and Silas are brave in their public acts. However, they were also brave in setting an example, and in this case the example was that their preaching was not illegal, and therefore the people of Philippi needed to see they were released and forgiven for it, instead of just being punished. This was necessary to give the new church security.
Application: As I write this, I see parallels between Philippi and Seattle. Both are cities where residents have far more wealth than is average. Both are the major economic centers of their regions. Both are not the capitals. And both have values that ignore the larger laws of their countries and instead place greater importance on a local cultural system of behavior and life. And yes, that is the only way to characterize Seattle. This is a place that has 'legalized' so many problematic issues, refuses to enforce property crime laws, funds infrastructure to assist in the use of illegal drugs, and promotes violent protests against the central rulers of the land.
When the time comes ... when Christians are publicly oppressed and our basic actions are unjustly punished by government leaders, then those leaders ask us to simply go away ... will we have the courage to demand public acknowledgment of the evil that caused the oppression? Or will we just leave?
Prayer: Lord, despite the fact I am not as active as I should be in the church, we are still here. We are angry that others don't come to help, but we haven't left. You know better than I, of course, that the oppression has begun, and it will become worse, and it will eventually become violent, and it will eventually become endorsed by the local government. May we have the strength of Paul and Silas to continue to sing in the midst of it. Amen.
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