Charles Ellicott Commentary Acts 16:17

"The same following after Paul and us cried out, saying, These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim unto you the way of salvation." — Acts 16:17 (ASV)

The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying.—Better, kept on crying. Assuming that the case before us now presented phenomena analogous to those in cases of demoniac possession, we can refer to what has been said in the Excursus on that subject, appended to Saint Matthew’s Gospel, for general views on the question.

Here it will be enough to note the same symptom of a divided consciousness. We lose much of the human interest of the narrative if we merely think of a demon bearing, as if in mockery, his witness to the work of Christ, so that he might thwart that work.

That continual cry spoke, we may well believe, of the girl’s mind longing for deliverance, peace, and calm. She saw in the preachers those whom she recognized as able to deliver her, as completely unlike the masters who traded on her maddened misery. Yet the bondage in which she found herself led her to utter cries that simply impeded their work.

We note, as characteristic, the recurrence of the name of the Most High God, which we encounter from the lips of the demoniac in the Gospels. (See Note on Mark 5:7.) Since this name was often on the lips of exorcists, it became familiar to those who were regarded as subjects for their treatment.

Since she seems to have gone to the riverside oratory day by day, it is probable that she also had some points of contact with the faith of those who worshipped there and had listened to the preaching of the Apostles. Might she not claim a share in the way of salvation that was proclaimed to them?