CHAPTER 16 is about Paul and Silas embarking on Paul's second missionary journey. Along the way they find Timothy and train him up in the Gospel. Then they receive the “Macedonian Call.” Timothy joins Paul and Silas, and their work continues. Paul actually circumcises Timothy to prevent difficulties in preaching to older Jews as the boy grows into church leadership. The missionaries cast an evil spirit out of a young woman, and as a result, those who had profited monetarily from her fortune-telling accuse Paul and Silas of promoting the worship of an unauthorized deity. The crowd attacks Paul and Silas, the city leaders tear their clothes, law enforcement beats the missionaries, and a jailer chains the two in a prison cell. The example of Paul and Silas shows that Christians should prepare to accept persecution, but it is still proper to insist on our legal rights. When the city leaders ask Paul and Silas to leave quietly, the two refuse. They are Roman citizens, and the city leaders are afraid of the consequences of their mistreatment. The jailer tends to Paul's and Silas's wounds and asks how he can be saved. He and his household believe and are baptized.
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