Acts 16:30-32 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.

This is an exceedingly famous story, and for good reason. Every believer with a hint of evangelistic motivation longs to hear what the jailer said to Paul and Silas, and countless people with unbelieving family members have clung to what Paul and Silas said to the jailer. However, we must not forget what happened immediately after that brief reply: they spoke the Word of the Lord to the jailer’s whole household. We need to understand the context of all of this. Paul and Silas had been in Phillipi for “many days,” and had been proclaiming the Gospel the whole time. What had gotten them into jail was their deliverance of the slave girl who had been following them, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” (Acts 16:17) That was the background of the jailer’s question. He was certainly shaken, and not just by the earthquake, because by Roman law, his life would have been forfeit if the prisoners had escaped, and he was about to fall on his sword to avoid the torture that would have accompanied his execution. “Salvation” was an immediate, urgent topic for him! The tone of the response to his question echoes what Peter said at Pentecost: “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:39) Each individual has to make a commitment, but the invitation is never just to the one individual. We don’t really understand salvation, because we need it and can accept it but can’t accomplish it ourselves. The jailer’s household wasn’t saved automatically, but because they heard the Gospel along with the jailer and believed it for themselves. We are indeed to pray for and work for whole households entering the family of God together, but that still doesn’t eliminate the need for individual repentance and faith. We are to proclaim the invitation, and then give people the information they need to accept it.

I have wrestled with this story for much of my life. American culture tends to be focused on the individual, and Japanese culture tends to be focused on the group. I think one reason for the extreme success of the early efforts of Xavier and those with him was that they weren’t overly fixated on the individual, so when people like Lord Sumitada Omura became Christian, their retainers who accepted this new religion out of loyalty to their lord were received as believers as well. Some were doubtless performative, but a major proportion were entirely genuine, to the point that they and their descendants accepted banishment or even martyrdom rather than discard their faith. Group cohesion isn’t nearly as strong today, but it’s still strong, and evangelism aimed at leaders and heads of households has great potential, I think. Today I will be meeting with someone who hasn’t yet made a commitment to Christ, and I believe I am to challenge him to make that commitment. He has no household, and I only know about one sister, whom I haven’t met, but the offer of salvation by faith is certainly applicable to him.

Father, thank You for the way You have clearly been working in Kazunari’s heart. I pray that today would indeed be the day of salvation for him, and that I would be faithful to mentor him as Your child so that he will grow strong in You, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!