At midnight the missionaries follow their Lord's example, now embodied in the church and especially its leadership (Lk 6:12; 9:18; Acts 2:42; 3:1; 6:4; 9:11; compare Lk 18:1). They lift hymns of praise as they pray. This joy in the midst of undeserved suffering manifests again the power of true salvation, which is victorious whatever the circumstances (compare Acts 5:41; Phil 4:4). As a result their fellow prisoners—most if not all with a polytheistic mindset—are listening to a praise service exalting the excellencies of the one true God, whose word alone can show the way of salvation (compare Acts 16:17, 32).

The Lord "made his praise glorious" when suddenly (compare 2:2) "the rocks cried out" as the foundations of the prison were shaken by a powerful earthquake, a phenomenon common in that region. The prison doors flew open (12:10) and the chains came loose, literally "came unfastened."

Though not responsible for escapes resulting from "acts of God" (Haenchen 1971:497), the suddenly aroused jailer takes drastic personal measures. Either to expiate for the disgrace of having failed in his duty or to administer to himself, before his superiors did, the penalty for having let any escape (Code of Justinian 9.4.4), the jailer draws his short sword, a dagger, and is about to plunge it into his neck or heart when Paul calls out, Don't harm yourself! We are all here! It is interesting that other than physical healings and exorcisms, this is the first time in Acts that a temporal need of a non-Christian is met. From it we learn that the gospel must be preached within the context of concern for the whole person.

The urgency, shakenness and respect, if not worship, shown in the jailer's demeanor are matched by his question: Sirs, what must I do to be saved? The earthquake and the prisoners' willingness to remain have vindicated the message and the messengers (16:17). Temporal salvation is not the issue, since the prisoners are reported present; clearly, then, this seismic event has shaken loose from the jailer's heart the key religious question of his age (Harnack 1961:104-19). Today, too, often our personal world has to be shaken up by the onset of a life-threatening disease, a divorce, a vocational or financial reversal, before we consider the really important questions in life.

Paul's answer is the gospel in one simple command: Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household. In almost every city evangelized on this second missionary journey the positive response to the gospel is described as saving faith (16:34; 17:12, 34; 18:8; compare 17:4). But it is belief in the Lord Jesus that brings salvation. Paul knows no separation between receiving Jesus as Savior and following him as Lord, as some contemporary theologians may argue (Hodges 1981; Ryrie 1989).

As with Lydia (16:15), personal salvation for the head of the household has spiritual implications for the rest of the members. It does not mean automatic salvation for all household members, for true salvation is grounded in a proper understanding of the gospel. So Paul takes time with the jailer and his household to explain to them the way of salvation. Each individual is responsible for what he or she will do with the gospel.

The care the jailer and the missionaries have for each other is captured beautifully in Chrysostom's words, "He washed and was washed, he washed them from their stripes, and was himself washed from his sins" (Homilies on Acts 36). Through baptism the missionaries confirm the jailer and his household in their faith. The jailer manifests the grace of Christ by gracious hospitality (compare 2:42, 46; 16:15; 17:5; 18:7). Those soundly converted (note the perfect participle "having believed," denoting complete action with continuing results) rejoice around the table (16:34). Filled with joy means "a state of great joy and gladness, often involving verbal expression and bodily movement, e.g., jumping, leaping, dancing" (Louw and Nida 1988:1:303; compare 2:46).

The jailer and his household are the quintessential converts. They come to faith through hearing the Word, confess that faith in baptism, experience the eschatological joy of their new vertical relationship, and live out their new life of grace through physical help and hospitality in their horizontal relationships (Krodel 1986:313). What must I do to be saved? . . . Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.