The jailer,Leon Phillip, was having a restful dinner with his family when the servant came with a note from the town officials. Leon’s family wondered what this meant. Would their dad be required to work at night again?
James, a rambunctious twelve-year-old, already knew that his dad always needed to go to work when the town officials called him. James’ older brother, Leon II, was home for a few days, and heard the message for their dad. Both were frustrated that their dad again would need to work at that awful jail instead of spending time with the family. But work was work, and the family always needed money!
Leon Phillip left for the jail to take care of the prisoners. Once there, he found out that the job would be harder than usual. The town officials had imprisoned two men, Paul and Silas. The other officials had already stripped and severely beaten the two strangers, and now clearly wanted them out of the way. They demanded that Leon put the men into the worst section of the jail, if it could be called a jail. It was a dungeon, with wet floors from some underground stream. Leon might not have felt this necessary, but maybe these men really were rabble rousers and needed to be put into the dungeon with their feet and hands in stocks and chains..
Leon’s wife, Hannah, did not like these demanding utterances, but knew she had no option. She worried every day that something drastic would happen. She breathed a sigh of relief each time her jailer husband walked into their humble abode. But this night was different. She heard tremendous thunder and then felt the earthquake. Whatever was happening? Hannah checked on her boys and then settled down worriedly in her small kitchen. A few dishes had fallen and cracked. Hannah was scared. She called the family together so they could wait out the rumbling ground.
Meanwhile, Leon had tossed the prisoners into the dungeon as he had been instructed.. As he sat in the crowded room, next to the usual prison cells, he was shocked when he heard singing coming from the depth of the dungeon. Who were these men? Normally the prisoners just yelled and screamed, always complaining about being incarcerated. While mulling over the situation, Leon was tossed against the wall as a massive earthquake occurred. He heard lots of rumbling coming from the jail cells.
“Oh no”, he muttered in fear. “The prisoners!. What if they will use this confusion as a means of escape? I will not only lose my job, but maybe my head as well. Someone will need to tell my family. I just can’t bear the thought of Hannah and the boys left alone, but I surely don’t want my negligence to impact their lives. It’s best that I end my life; maybe I will give them a chance of a better life away from this horrible place.” Leon the grabbed a knife and sought to cut his throat.
“No, don’t do that,” Paul cried out. “We are still all here. None of us have fled.”
“Who are you?” Leon yelled as he shook in fear. “And why have you not run? “What power do you possess that all have stayed in this awful hole? Please tell me what I need to do to also have this assurance.
Leon took the two hated prisoners and washed their sores, put on some salve and then gave them their clothes. He then took them home.
“What are you doing, Leon? Why are you bringing these men into our home? I am scared.” Hannah cried out in anguish. “You were told to put them in that awful dungeon, what possessed you to bring them into our home?
“Just listen to their story. They bring a message of love and peace” a smiling Leon declared. This is so amazing. They bring joy and love, not disruption and hate.” Leon excitedly cried out.
Paul and Silas were ushered into the small sitting room, and then spent the next hour telling the family what Christ had done for them. Leon, Hannah, Leon II and James listened, spellbound. All realized that this was what they had been missing from their lives. After committing to following the Christ revealed to them by Paul and Silas, the family members were baptized.
Instead of losing his job, Leon was told to release the prisoners.