The keeper of the prison waited in anxiety for the final decision of the magistrates, for he had released the two prisoners and entertained them without their permission. He was so glad to hear that the magistrates had decided to release them that he immediately ran joyfully to Paul to inform him. He asked them to go in peace so that they might not be harmed.
Paul, however, stood up and refused to go, pointing to his legal rights as a Roman citizen, rights that had been flagrantly violated. He complained not only for his own sake, but also for the sake of the newly established church. He and Silas were not thieves, but Roman citizens who had three times suffered wrongfully. They had been beaten, an act contrary to Roman law, for beating was a punishment practiced on slaves only. Roman citizens were immune from such form of punishment. Furthermore, they had been beaten publicly. They had been punished without proper legal procedure, and such injustice was considered a serious mistake in the justly deemed Roman Empire. Gross negligence as had been practiced on the part of the magistrates merited severe punishment from the law. In addition, they had been illegally imprisoned, even while innocent and uncondemned. All this gave Paul the right to bring a lawsuit against the magistrates.
Thus Paul insisted that the magistrates now come personally to apologize to them in prison. Equally, they should accompany them as honored guests in the midst of the streets of their city. Paul´s aim was not aim to take revenge, for as a true believer he had forgiven the magistrates all their faults. He took this position to justify the small Christian community in Philippi, where they had laid the foundation of a flourishing church. He wanted this church to be seen as an honest movement, which had no need to hide itself in caves and vaults.
As a result the magistrates fearfully hurried to him. They spoke imploringly and gently to the apostle of the Gentiles, begging him to depart peaceably and quietly out of their city. They wanted to avoid any potential problems that might be raised by the masters of the fortuneteller, who had in the mean time been dispossessed of their money-making asset by the working of grace.
Paul did not take much interest in their words. He went back to the house of Lydia, the seller of purple, where the church members met for prayer. She was surrounded by believing brothers in her house, which indicates there had been a long period between the conversion of the first European and the salvation of the keeper of the prison. During this time the apostle had preached to the Philippians and a living church had been planted. When they later met in Lydia’s house, those who had suffered comforted their brothers, and confirmed to them Christ´s presence with them during all their troubles. Following this Paul and Silas departed, and Timothy accompanied them, leaving Luke the Physician in Philippi to minister in the church there. This explains why Luke now spoke of them in the third person, implying he was not with them.