16:34
The jailer then gave them food to eat. The jailer has taken an enormous risk in taking Paul and Silas out of the jail, and nothing is said of the other prisoners. Hospitality was considered very important. The man was full of joy because he and his household had believed in the Lord. as a side issue, note that the food is most unlikely to have been kosher, yet Paul and Silas apparently ate it without question.
16:35
The magistrates decided to let the prisoners go. They had been jailed, but no formal sentence had been passed. They had just been thrown into prison in order to control order. Or they may have recognised the earthquake as divine intervention, or because of the damage it had caused to the prison it may just have been a pragmatic decision on their part.
16:36,37
So the keeper of the prison informed Paul of the decision. Note that Paul and Silas had stayed at the prison. One might have thought that Paul would heave a sigh of relief and got out while the going was good, but no! Instead, Paul made use of his Roman citizenship, this gave him various rights throughout the empire, and that included the right not to be beaten. So Paul demanded that the city leaders come and inform him personally, rather than trying to sweep things quietly under the carpet.
16:38-40
Roman citizenship was a valuable thing, and mistreating a Roman citizen was a serious misdemeanour. Apparently the magistrates had not realised that Paul was a Roman citizen.So they went along grovelling and asked them to leave. Paul complied with this, but only after visiting the believers, presumably to tell them what had happened, and to encourage them. Then they left.
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