16:38 {21} And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans.
(21) The wicked are not moved with the fear of God, but with the fear of men: and by that means also God provides for his, when it is needed.
16:38,39 They feared. Had Paul insisted, the magistrates could have been severely punished. They might abuse aliens, but to be a Roman was greater than to be a king. Hence, they humbled themselves, and came, and besought them, and desired them to depart out of that city.
16:35-40 Paul, though willing to suffer for the cause of Christ, and without any desire to avenge himself, did not choose to depart under the charge of having deserved wrongful punishment, and therefore required to be dismissed in an honourable manner. It was not a mere point of honour that the apostle stood upon, but justice, and not to himself so much as to his cause. And when proper apology is made, Christians should never express personal anger, nor insist too strictly upon personal amends. The Lord will make them more than conquerors in every conflict; instead of being cast down by their sufferings, they will become comforters of their brethren.
