35 And day having come, the magistrates sent the rod-bearers, saying, 'Let those men go;' 36 and the jailor told these words unto Paul—'The magistrates have sent, that ye may be let go; now, therefore, having gone forth go on in peace;' 37 and Paul said to them, 'Having beaten us publicly uncondemned—men, Romans being—they did cast 'us' to prison, and now privately do they cast us forth! why no! but having come themselves, let them bring us forth.' 38 And the rod-bearers told to the magistrates these sayings, and they were afraid, having heard that they are Romans, 39 and having come, they besought them, and having brought 'them' forth, they were asking 'them' to go forth from the city; 40 and they, having gone forth out of the prison, entered into 'the house of' Lydia, and having seen the brethren, they comforted them, and went forth.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Acts 16:35-40
Commentary on Acts 16:35-40
(Read Acts 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.