And it came to pass as we were going to prayer that a certain female slave, having a spirit of Python, met us, who brought much profit to her masters by prophesying.
The gospel's first days in Europe move from Lydia's conversion straight to a very different meeting on the same road. A slave girl meets Paul's group on the way to prayer, and the spirit in her earns good money for her owners.
Was the group going to a place, or to an act of prayer? One writer weighs the manuscripts, then names the tactic that followed:
The better manuscripts put "the" with "prayer" in verse 16, so "the place of prayer" is the more likely meaning. ... Satan tried a new way of doing harm. He did not attack the gospel; he publicly backed it — and this went on for many days.
Why does the place matter? One writer connects it to what the enemy is set against:
Paul and his companion entered that city because the Lord had called them there. They were soon found at the place of prayer, where Lydia's heart was opened to receive the things of the Lord. There is no doubt the enemy knows the power of prayer among believers, and he does everything he can to hinder it.
What kind of spirit was this? The word behind "divination" is Python, and that name had a history:
In Acts we find a girl controlled by a spirit of divination, or of Python. This was the prophetic oracle at Delphi, held to be the centre and focus of pagan divination. An evil spirit connected with that oracle had taken hold of this young woman.
This trade did not need a temple or a sacrifice behind it:
From the passage in Acts 16:16, it would also appear that people were employed in this way apart from any temple or sacrifice.
Her reputation and her real condition were opposites. One writer sets them side by side, then shows how the contest ended:
It was an astonishing testimony. The crowd accepted her as a true prophetess, yet her whole condition spoke of dreadful bondage to an evil spirit — to anyone who could see it! ... If Satan will testify, he shall testify by being cast out. For a time the apostle simply ignored his effort to attach himself like a parasite to the tree of life. At last he brings to bear on him the power of the Name of Jesus Christ.
Her words sounded like support for the mission. That is what makes Paul's grief hard to explain:
Most men would have welcomed such words from the lips of this girl as an encouraging testimony to the work. Why then was Paul grieved? ... Because it was of Satan; and the apostle was certainly not going to receive testimony from him. He could not allow Satan to help him in his work.
Another writer points to what the spirit never said:
Here Satan tries to tamper with the work by bearing testimony to the ministers of the word. Not that this spirit acknowledged Jesus — he would not then have been an evil spirit... He speaks of the agents, to have a share of the glory.
Why does the verse mention her owners' profit? What happened next answers it:
At once there was a great uproar, and why? Because the owners of this poor girl saw that their money-making had stopped. When you touch a man's pocket he begins to wince. Nothing shows sooner where a man is.
- Prayer — It starts on the road to the place of prayer. The enemy knows what prayer among believers can do, and he works to hinder it.
- Python — Her "spirit of divination" was a spirit of Python. The name came from the oracle at Delphi, the recognised centre of pagan fortune-telling.
- Prisoner — The crowd treated her as a prophetess. In fact she was held twice over: owned by men, and bound by an evil spirit.
- Patronage — Satan does not attack the work here. He backs it, praising the messengers and never naming Jesus, so that he can share the glory.
- Pocket — Her owners' "much gain" shows what really drove them. When the spirit went out, the profit went with it, and their rage followed at once.
She, having followed Paul and us, cried saying, These men are bondmen of the Most High God, who announce to you [the] way of salvation.
In Philippi a slave girl began shouting after Paul and his companions. A spirit controlled her, and her owners made money from it. What she shouted was true — and Paul refused it. Why can true words still be dangerous?
Her words sound like free publicity for the mission. One writer asks why they were unwelcome.
Here, then, was a case perfectly suited to test the spirituality and integrity of the evangelist. Most men would have welcomed such words from the lips of this girl as an encouraging testimony to the work. Why then was Paul grieved? Why did he not allow her to keep bearing witness to the object of his mission? Was she not saying the truth? Were they not the servants of the Most High God? And were they not showing the way of salvation? Why be grieved with — why silence such a witness? Because it was of Satan; and the apostle was certainly not going to receive testimony from him. He could not allow Satan to help him in his work.
The title she used has a settled meaning across Scripture. It names God as Ruler over the kingdom of men, and even evil spirits must bow to His Son.
The "Most High," then, throughout the whole range of Scripture, is an expressive title of God as the Sovereign Ruler in the kingdom of men (Dan. 4:17). The demon-possessed man confessed Jesus as the Son of the absolute Lord of the universe. In the same way, the fortune-telling girl owned Paul and Silas as the servants of the Most High God (Acts 16:17). They anticipate in this way the divine decree that all infernal beings shall bow the knee to Jesus and confess Him Lord to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:9-10).
Notice where the cry points: at the preachers, not at their Lord. Commentators differ on her exact words — one reads them as offering only "a way" of salvation, not "the way".
A girl possessed by a satanic spirit of divination followed Paul and his companions. Greedy promoters were taking advantage of her. She advertised the men as servants of the Most High God, come to show the people "a way of salvation," not the way. It is always Satan's method to draw attention to the servants rather than to their Lord. Paul put up with this improper activity for many days. Then at last he commanded the evil spirit, in the name of Jesus Christ, to come out of the girl, and it happened that same hour.
There is a boundary the cry never crosses. It praises the messengers and names God in general terms, but it says nothing of Jesus.
Here Satan tries to tamper with the work by bearing testimony to the ministers of the word. Not that this spirit acknowledged Jesus — he would not then have been an evil spirit, he would not have possessed the girl in this way. He speaks of the agents, in order to have a share of the glory, and of the Most High God... The testimony of Satan could not go so far as to own Him Lord; and if Paul had not been faithful, it would have mixed the work of the enemy with that of the Lord.
True words are not by themselves proof of a good source. Demons can speak them for their own ends.
Demons can adopt a pleasant appearance as well as a repulsive one... They can also tell the truth when it suits them. The demon who said to the Lord, "I know who you are—the Holy One of God," spoke the truth (Mark 1:24). So did the demon-possessed girl who cried after Paul and Silas through the streets of Philippi, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation" (Acts 16:17). But when these evil beings speak the truth, they do it to win their victims' trust and so make sure of their everlasting ruin.
Paul let the shouting go on for days. When he finally acted, the trouble began.
An act of such uncompromising decision as well as power roused the enemy working through human greed. But it is well to note that the apostle did not act in divine energy until Satan's persistence made it a duty.
- Flattery — Satan's first move at Philippi was not attack. He offered to advertise the preachers instead of silencing them.
- Silence — the cry named the servants and the Most High God. It never owned Jesus as Lord. That was the line the spirit could not cross.
- Discernment — words can be true and still come from a source no servant of God may accept.
- Refusal — Paul waited many days. He acted only when the spirit's persistence made it a duty, and then spoke in the name of Jesus Christ.
- Freedom — the spirit that praised the way of salvation was driven out that same hour, and the girl was free of it.
And this she did many days. And Paul, being distressed, turned, and said to the spirit, I enjoin thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And it came out the same hour.
In Philippi a slave girl with a spirit of fortune-telling trailed the preachers for days. She shouted words that sounded like praise, which raises a hard question: why silence a witness whose words were true?
The enemy changed method at Philippi. Instead of contradicting the message, he advertised it.
Satan tried a new way of doing harm, not attacking the gospel but supporting it, and this went on for many days. Distressed by it, the apostle at last turned and ordered the evil spirit to leave her, which happened in the name of Jesus.
One writer raises the objection, then answers it.
Why then was Paul grieved? Why did he not allow her to keep bearing witness to the object of his mission? Was she not telling the truth? Were they not the servants of the most high God? And were they not showing the way of salvation? Why be grieved by such a witness — why silence her? Because it was of Satan; and the apostle was certainly not going to accept testimony from him. He could not allow Satan to help him in his work.
The girl's cry named God and named the preachers. It never named Jesus. That silence gives away its source, and shows what the enemy stood to gain.
There was no testimony to Christ in these words. Later the apostle wrote to the assembly at Corinth, to help the believers there tell when evil spirits were at work among them: "no one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except in the Holy Spirit." So all Satan could hope for was to frustrate the preaching of Paul and his companions. He would act as their sponsor, and then claim the results. The Spirit of God is all the power a servant needs. To seek or accept any other influence or help from the world is to corrupt the work and limit the action of God's Word.
Many days passed before Paul acted. That delay was not weakness.
Such a firm and powerful act stirred up the enemy, who worked through human greed. But it is worth noting that the apostle did not act in divine energy until Satan's persistence made it a duty.
Paul does not argue with the girl. He speaks to the spirit, and the authority he uses is not his own. The instant result showed what had held her.
Would Paul accept help in the work from such a source? The Lord would not when He was on earth (Luke 4:35, 41). Nor would His servant. So, grieved by her behaviour, Paul at last turned round and drove the demon out: "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her," he said. "And it came out that very hour" is the historian's account (16:18). The girl was set free from the demon. The power of the name of Christ was displayed... That it was a demon and not divine power everyone could see; for when commanded in the name of Jesus Christ, it at once obeyed and left its victim.
Her words were true. She herself was still unsaved. (The writer quotes verse 17 in an older wording.)
What she said was true enough, but she was not true in saying it. This was the serious point in the case. It is one thing to say, or agree with, what is true, and another thing to be true in saying it. What use was it to repeat the formula day after day: "They show to us the way of salvation"? All the while she stayed unsaved and unblessed.
Rejected, the enemy did not give up. One writer traces two methods that run through Scripture.
There are two principles you find all through Scripture — corruption and violence. In the garden of Eden the devil corrupts Eve; and what comes next? Cain kills Abel, that is, violence. It is the same in the scene before us. Satan tries to corrupt God's work before Paul can develop it. When Paul refuses the devil's help, notice the change in his tactics. Satan tries to crush the servants of God, and violence comes out.
- Flattery. The attack at Philippi came as praise, not opposition. Satan offered help so that he could claim the results.
- Detection. The tell-tale mark was the missing name: she spoke of God and of the preachers, never of Jesus as Lord.
- Patience. Paul let it run for many days and acted only when the enemy's persistence made it a duty, not a convenience.
- Power. Paul spoke to the spirit, not to the girl. It obeyed the name of Jesus Christ that very hour — proof of what held her, and of Who is stronger.
- Backlash. Refused flattery turns into open attack. The devil corrupts first; when that fails, he uses violence — the pattern runs from Eden onward.