Soothsayer - Acts 16:16-24

Like we discussed yesterday, Paul and his group of missionaries probably stayed with Lydia in Philippi for several weeks, and while they had good success with some of the women who already ascribed to Judaism, not everyone was so supportive. For several days a woman followed the group who was “possessed with a spirit of divination… which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying.” It appears that this woman was indentured in some form and was incredibly profitable to those who held her. We have to remember that this was a predominantly pagan community, so communication with spirits would have been an important spiritual position to have.

There are a couple of reasons that I can think of why this woman would have latched on to the missionaries and followed them saying, “These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.” The first reason that came to mind was that she wanted to maintain her position in her household. As a slave, decent jobs were probably pretty hard to come by and her working in the view of the public probably would have made her free from beatings or other disfigurement. It also probably made her feel good to be held in high esteem and viewed as important. She might have already known that the Jewish God did not approve of “soothsayers” and didn’t want that movement to gain any traction and take away her power or position.
The second reason that I thought might explain why she was so interested in the missionaries is because the “evil spirit” that was in her recognized the disciples of Jesus Christ and their power and tried to usurp that power for itself. The IM quotes Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explaining why the Lord and His servants reject the testimony of evil spirits: ‘The testimony of the devil-led damsel was true. Paul and Silas were prophets; they had the words and power of salvation. But true testimony from Satan’s servants does not lead to salvation.
In effect the damsel was saying: ‘Go ahead and believe in Paul and Silas and this Jesus whom they preach. I agree they and their Master are of God; and since we are now united on that point, you can also continue to follow me and enjoy the fruits of my diviniation.’ And how many other practitioners of false religions there are who give lip service to Jesus and his doctrines so that people will the more readily follow them and their special brand of ‘saving’ grace. It was for the very reason here involved that Jesus himself forbade the devils whom he cast out to testify that he was the Son of God.’” By attaching herself to the missionary movement she is establishing her connection as a leader in the church and giving herself legitimacy to the people who accept the gospel.
It appears that Paul and the missionaries endured several days of this woman following them when finally “Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.” Now that this woman was free of the evil spirit, “her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone” and they were super mad. They took Paul and Silas into the “marketplace unto the rulers” and accused them “these men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, and teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.” Basically they are saying that these Jewish tributes are trying to corrupt the Roman system of law in their city. This is wrong in two ways, first, they are not trying to force anyone to do anything, only opening an invitation to those who are receptive to their message. And secondly, Paul and I believe Silas are both Roman citizens, so they have as much right to be there as anyone else.
The people join in to the mob and “the multitude rose up together against them” and beat them, and whipped them, then cast them into prison, “charging the jailor to keep them safely: who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.” Pretty rough treatment, and it makes me wonder why they didn’t set the record straight on their citizenship status. Their ordeal was pretty bad and is cross referenced with 1 Thessalonians 2:2 which says, “But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, as Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention.” This incident was brutal enough to apparently become relatively widely known among the Christian population. So here Paul and Silas sit in prison, beaten up, whipped, and their feet locked into the stocks.