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The conversion of the jailer:
v. 29. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
v. 30. and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
v. 31. And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved and thy house.
v. 32. And they spake unto him the Word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
v. 33. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
v. 34. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
In the excess of his first terror, the keeper of the prison had not even thought of a torch, being concerned only about the prevention of any escape on the part of the prisoners. But now he called to the guards to provide lights, and rushed into the inner prison, and in a state of the greatest emotion and terror, from anguish of conscience and the fear of the supernatural, fell down before Paul and Silas. He probably remembered now that Paul, who had called to him, had been preaching salvation in the name of Jesus, and he assumed that there must be some connection between the rocking of the earth and the calm assurance of the apostle. The jailer therefore led Paul and Barnabas outside and asked them what he must do to be saved, the most important question which a man may possibly think of in his whole life. And this question of troubled and terrified souls must always be met with the answer as here: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved and thy house. Paul and Silas did not accept the title "lords," but pointed the inquirer to the one true Lord and Master over all, in whom alone there is salvation. Faith in Jesus Christ delivers from death, hell, wrath, and judgment, and brings eternal salvation. Having given the jailer the great central thought and doctrine of the entire Christian religion, the missionaries now explained the way of salvation more fully, telling him and proclaiming to him the Word of the Lord, together with all those that belonged to his household, children and servants, freedmen and slaves. It was a brief, but comprehensive instruction preceding baptism. And so deeply was the man's heart moved by the events of the night and by the voice of God in these events that he took the two prisoners in that same hour of the night,—for he could not wait to fulfill this necessary duty till morning, -and washed off their stripes, both to remove the clotted blood and to ease the smarting of the blows. And Paul and Silas, in turn, gave to both the jailer and all the members of his household a washing to remove all the stains on their souls, by baptizing them all without delay. This Sacrament assured to the poor, harrowed man the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, which he needed so greatly on account of the feeling of guilt and damnableness which had come upon him with the realization of his sin. Now the jailer took both Paul and Silas into his house as honored guests; the table was set for them and a meal served altogether unlike that which they had gotten in prison. And the jailer rejoiced greatly, with intense, exulting gladness, in which all the members of his household joined him, that faith in God had been worked in their hearts. The fact that the Lord works faith in the heart of any person, and also makes him willing to give evidence of such faith in deeds of kindness and brotherly love, is a source of continual rejoicing to every Christian.