16 It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.” 18 She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment. 19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place before the authorities,20 and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews, 21 and are proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans.”
Acts 16:16–21
It wasn’t the message, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation,” that was the issue, but the messenger through whom it came, and the manner in which it was delivered.
This servant girl, known to be a diviner, was controlled by money-grubbing handlers. More importantly, she was controlled by an evil spirit. Day in, day out on cue she’d scream out these words. Looking through the New Testament for the use of the Greek word krazo, which alludes to the shriek of a raven, you find it coming mostly from the mouths of the demon possessed.
Not only was it disrupting the communication of the gospel, it was greatly annoying Paul. Certainly he didn’t want to be interrupted or talked over, but being well taught in the law, divination was strictly forbidden and needed to be expunged. (Deuteronomy 18:9-13) He basically had reached the end of his seemingly long rope and turned to her (the spirit) and said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment.
Her handlers were not at all pleased and complained to the chief magistrates of the city. This was a big turning point in the European outreach. Paul would again be shown how much he’d have to suffer for Christ (Acts 9:16), and Silas would have his baptism under fire.
What appears axiomatic here is to fully expect the spread of the gospel to be opposed by the enemy. This resistance in all its forms must be patiently endured at all times and fought against if necessary, in the Lord’s strength. The nature of this opposition at the start was particularly annoying and distracting, but not physically threatening. Satan chooses his methodology for the occasion and the personalities of those involved. When this first approach failed, he turned up the heat. It’s a sign of certain success, but is not for the faint of heart. That’s why those on the front lines always ask for prayer.
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