The Greek eispēdaō means to spring or rush in. It appears twice in Acts. In Acts 14:14, when the crowd at Lystra tries to sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas as gods, 'the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this and tore their clothes and rushed out (exepēdēsan).' The related eispēdaō appears in Acts 16:29 when the Philippian jailer, having heard the earthquake and thinking the prisoners had escaped, 'rushed in (eispēdēsas) and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.'
The jailer's eispēdaō into the inner prison (Acts 16:29) is one of the great conversion moments in Acts. He came in trembling, ready for death (his own), and left a baptized man with joy. What drove him from a sword raised against himself to kneeling before prisoners? The earthquake, the open doors, the prisoners who had not fled — all of it pointed to a Power beyond Rome. 'What must I do to be saved?' (Acts 16:30) is the question that eispēdaō produced. Urgency in entering the presence of those who have the word leads to urgency in receiving the word.