# Acts Chapter 16
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## Summarrium
Paul has Timothy circumcised because his father was Greek and this would appease the Jews in Lystra and Iconium. Paul is forbidden by the Holy spirit to speak the word in Asia and the spirit of Jesus does not allow them to travel to Bithynia. Paul has a vision of a Macedonian man calling for assistance, and so they travel to Macedonian to preach the gospel. In Philippi they meet Lydia, who believes and is baptised along with her household.

In Philipi Paul is arrested for delivering a slave girl of a demonic spirit resulting in financial loss for the slaves owners. They are beaten and imprisoned. During the night there was a great earthquake and all the doors were thrown open. Fearing all the prisons had escaped the Jailer intends to kill himself but is prevented by Paul who confirms no one has left. The Jailer converts and is baptised alongside all his family.

The magistrates and police advise Paul and Silas are free to leave, but Paul wishes to make a point given he is a Roman citizen. The authorities are fearful given they were unaware of this fact and apologize to Paul asking them to leave the city. They leave the prison visit Lydia, encourage the believers and depart.

## Meditatio
You would think that the dispute around circumcision of males was settled in Acts 15. We have had the first council of Jerusalem confirm that there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile and there is no expectation that gentiles will be circumcised. Yet we find Paul seemingly doing the precise opposite at the beginning  of Chapter 16. Paul has Timothy circumcised which is an act that seems to stand in contrast of the defence he offered on behalf of the Gentiles.

My best guess here is that Paul is being winsome[^1]. Timothy is the son of a Jewish woman that married a Greek man. This is precisely the reason that Samaritans faced significant discrimination in ancient Israel. For Israel was, by ancestry, the chosen people. As such to 'dilute' Jewish blood was essentially equivalent to what Christian Fundamentalists would consider 'going liberal'. As such Timothy would in the eyes of the Jewish leadership be less than Jewish particularly if he '*wasn't even circumcised*'.

This for me makes the most sense but we are actually not offered any clear explanation for Pauls actions beyond verse 3 where it states '...*because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek*'. Prejudices within the Church amongst believers die hard it seems; to this day we still haven't learned to love the lord God and our neighbour.

A curiosity to me is why Lydia is mentioned explicitly. The first and most obvious reason is likely that her conversion demonstrates the inclusively of the Christian message; it reaches beyond the Jewish community to encompass Gentiles as well. Secondly her role as a successful businesswoman suggests that Christianity was appealing to people from various social and economic backgrounds. We might conclude that Lydia wasn't married. Yet the text offers us no clues as to her marital status, with the exception making mention of her 'household'. 

It is possible this might have been extended family members, but it is not beyond the realms of possibility that this may refer to her immediate family. Nevertheless it's interesting that Lydia is mentioned and her husband is not (given the common accusation of patriarchal bias within scripture).

[^1]: Paul explicitly makes clear in [1 Corinthians 9:19-23](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+9%3A19-23&version=ESV) his desire to win others for the sake of the gospel.