On the Sabbath day, Luke writes in verse 13, the mission team went outside the gate to a river side, supposing that there would be a place of prayer there. We have found no remains of a Jewish synagogue in Philippi. The mission team sat down and engaged the women in conversation, in Bible study, as they assembled.
There was a woman there named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics. The main source of purple dye was marine shells and the body of a female scale insect. The pigment was a rich red. The most highly prized was a sea purple, obtained from the snail Murex brandaris. These pigments were highly prized because of their brilliance and their colorfastness. There was a “Tyrian double-dipped” garment which cost 1,000 denarii per pound (remember, a denarius was 1 day’s salary!). It is estimated that it would take 12,000 snails to produce 1.4 g of crude dye. So this was a labor-intensive process.
Now, there were also cheaper imitations made from vegetables or minerals. We do not know if Lydia dealt in the luxurious dyes or the cheaper imitations.
Luke notes (ver. 14) that Lydia was a “worshipper of God.” This is a designation for Gentiles who worshipped God according to the Jewish law. That shows that Lydia was moving toward a relationship with God already. Luke also writes that Lydia was “listening” to what Paul, Luke, and Silas were teaching her. In that way, the text says the “Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.” Those who believe that the Holy Spirit operates directly on our hearts will use Lydia as an example; but, as always, if you read the text itself, you will come to a better understanding of what the Bible teaches. She was already worshipping God; she was already listening to the message of the gospel – that’s how the Holy Spirit works, correct? Through His word – then the Lord opened her heart to respond to what the missionaries were teaching.
We must open our hearts to the teaching of the word of God. That is the fundamental requirement for anyone to be saved from their sins – you’ve got to open your heart to the teaching of the Gospel message and submit your heart to God’s will.
So in verse 15, we see the result of Lydia opening her heart to the teaching of the Gospel. She and her household was baptized. They were baptized because Peter had said back in Acts 2:38: “Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Therefore, Lydia did not actually receive the Holy Spirit until after she was baptized. But it was at that point that she was saved. And, whether she was currently married or not, she and her household were all baptized and saved. Households at that time – like in Romania today – could easily include multiple generations; we’re not necessarily talking about babies or small children because they would not be old enough to believe in Christ. But, we could be talking about grandparents, uncles or aunts, nephews or nieces, even servants or slaves. Lydia had an important influence on those around her. As we would expect from a business woman.
Once Lydia was baptized, she prevailed on Paul and his mission team to stay at her house, suggesting wealth, a house large enough to house visitors. And the mission team stayed there. In fact, after Paul and Silas were arrested and then released, we notice at 16:40 that they left the prison and entered Lydia’s house and saw the brethren there – which suggests that the church, perhaps even the jailer and his whole household (16:34) were worshipping in Lydia’s house. This was a young congregation of the Lord’s church.
Everyone needs to hear and respond to the gospel of Christ. Every person can contribute to the health and growth of the church, if they will open their hearts to the teaching of the Lord.
Paul Holland
