One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a demon-possessed slave girl. She was a fortune-teller who earned a lot of money for her masters. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.” This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her. Her masters’ hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace. “The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!” they shouted to the city officials. “They are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice.” A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. (Acts 16:16-24)Sometimes things you think are good backfire on you.
This woman was following along behind Paul and Silas proclaiming them to be from God. The only problem was, she was demon-possessed and she was the last person they wanted to have advertising for her.
It would be the same as having convicted felons handing out advertisements for you as you ran for office. They are not the people you want to be identified with.
It makes you wonder why she did this. The demon side of her would not want the gospel of Jesus to be preached. Maybe that was why she did it: just to spite the apostles, knowing how they would hate it, having a demon advertise for them.
Maybe the human side came out and she thought that if she would make enough fuss, maybe the apostles could do something to free her. She would, of course, not want to have this thing in her.
Whatever the reason behind what she did, two things were accomplished. One was that the woman was set free from her demonic tormentor and two, Paul and Silas fell into a world of hurt.
The smallest thing can lead to ramifications like you wouldn’t believe. You help a stranded motorist on a lonely road and they end up robbing you. You give some money to a street person and then you get in a real emergency and need it. You give away an extra guitar and then yours breaks and you need it.
Paul did something that was a combination help thing/get off my back thing when he delivered this woman of her demon possession. He helped her and he got her to shut up about him.
But it backfired. Her owners/keepers/masters made a lot of money off her fortune telling abilities that came with that demon possession. When Paul healed her, he took that money – a lot of money the text says – away from them and they were mad. They trumped up some charges against him and had them whipped and jailed.
You wonder what Paul thought the next time something like this happened. That deliverance from demon possession was the catalyst that caused him to be whipped and jailed. A favor gone bad.
But ultimately, he probably – it doesn’t say so, but I would imagine – brought this girl to Jesus. And later on, he also brought the jailer and his family to Jesus. Good things came of this.
But that is a rough way to evangelize.
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