During the night, the prisoners who were confined in another part of the prison heard voices singing—singing God's praises from the miserable dungeon. Suddenly, while the Apostles sang, an earthquake shook the prison to its very foundations, every door burst open, and the bands of every captive were loosed.
The keeper of the prison awoke from sleep, and when he saw what had happened, and that the doors were open, he trembled with fear, for he naturally believed that all the prisoners would have escaped, and knew that his own life would be the forfeit.
Drawing his sword, he was about to kill himself. Death was inevitable, so by his own hand he would die; but in this moment of despair, the voice of St. Paul reached him. "Do thyself no harm," said the Apostle, "for we are all here."
Calling for a light, the gaoler entered the dungeon. Yes, there indeed were his prisoners; and falling down trembling and tearful at their feet, he said, "Masters, what must I do to be saved?" It was given him in that moment to know that the scourged, imprisoned men before him were the servants and messengers of Almighty God.
"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved and thy house." That was what they had to tell him; and the gaoler took them out of the dungeon and washed their wounds, and bringing them to his own house, set food before them, and begged for instruction in the Christian faith. Then, with all his family, this man received the grace of Baptism; and when morning came, a message was brought from the magistrates bidding the gaoler release his prisoners.
But St. Paul said that they would not thus depart. They had been scourged, they had been thrust into the dungeon without an opportunity of proving their innocence, and he then declared himself a citizen of Rome, requiring the magistrates to make known that they had been wrongfully punished.
The authorities of the city were afraid when the Apostle's words were repeated to them. To scourge a Roman citizen publicly and uncondemned was a serious offence against Roman law. So, coming to St. Paul and Silas, they acknowledged they had acted unlawfully and entreated them to depart, which the Apostles did after bidding farewell to their Christian friends in the house of Lydia.