Safe Passages

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on April 8, 2009 under PM Bible Study |

PM Home Bible Study Group; April 8, 2009
The Book of Acts

Theme: This portion of Acts shows the Lord’s sovereign hand on Paul as He moves him into ever greater places of witness.

Jesus makes a promise to Paul in this section of Acts; “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome” (Acts 23:11). Jesus would keep His promise to Paul; and until the time that he finally came to Rome, Paul would prove to be a ‘divinely indestructible’ man. The remainder of the book of Acts outlines the story of how Paul was delivered safely to Rome as the Lord’s witness—in spite of the seemingly-insurmountable obstacles that were put in his way.

This passage helps us to remember that the safest place for us to be is in God’s will. When He calls us to a task, our mighty God is able to truly cause all things to “work together” unto the completion of it (Romans 8:28).

Note God’s mighty hand at work as we see . . .

I. PAUL BROUGHT BEFORE THE SANHEDRIN (22:30-23:11).

A. Paul had been in Jerusalem; and had been brought under the custody of the Roman commander Claudius Lysias. The Jews were outraged at Paul and wanted to kill him; but once the commander found that Paul was a Roman citizen, he was obliged to protect him. So; on “the next day” (22:30)—that is, on the day after Paul was discovered to be a Roman citizen (see 22:22-29)—the commander took steps to determine why Paul was being accused so viciously by the Jews. He released Paul from his bonds; and commanded the chief priests of the Jews and their councils to gather so that Paul could be brought before them; and so that he could learn from them what the nature of their accusation was. It would not have the ordinary course of things for a Roman commander to order such a gathering of the Jewish councils (that is, the Sanhedrin; which meant “the seating together”); but as a commander charged with keeping the peace, he felt compelled to do so.

B. Having been brought before the Jewish leaders, Paul looked “earnestly” at the council and said, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day” (23:1). Paul had, of course, lived as “the chief of sinners” from the standpoint of Christ (1 Timothy 1:15); but from the perspective of the Jewish law, he had lived blamelessly (Philippians 3:6). Even in respect to the conduct of his Christian life, he was able to say that he lived with a clear conscience (1 Corinthians 4:4; 1 Timothy 1:3). But from the standpoint of these Jewish leaders, Paul was suspected of speaking against the law and the temple (see Acts 21:21, 28-29; 24:5-6). The chief priests so thought him guilty that they were later willing to accept a plot on his life (see 23:14). So; when Paul made the claim to be innocent, it motivated the high priest to order Paul struck on the mouth (v. 2; see also John 18:22). This was contrary to the law (see Leviticus 19:15); and thus moved Paul, probably in a heat of anger, to unwittingly slander the high priest (v. 3). He called him a “whitewashed wall”, which would suggest the high priest’s hypocrisy; said that God would judge him, and pointed out that he was pretending to defend the law while disobeying it. Paul was rebuked for this outburst (v. 4); and Paul defended that he didn’t know that it was the high priest that he had slandered (v. 5; see Exodus 22:28). It could be that Paul’s eyesight was bad enough that he really couldn’t tell that it was the high priest who had ordered this (which may be why he began by looking “earnestly” at the counsel). In any event, it seems to be something Paul regretted. The Bible doesn’t glamorize its heroes; but lets us see their faults too.

C. Paul was in something of a fix. Having aroused the ire of the high priest in this way may also put him in bad standing with the Roman commander. So, he acted shrewdly. He looked over the gathering and saw that it was half-Sadducee and half-Pharisee. Luke explains to us that the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, or in angels or spirits; but that the Pharisees believe in both (v. 8; see also Matthew 22:23). He then cried out, “Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee . . .” (v. 6). Paul did not compromise his stand as a Christian, of course; but his theological sympathies lied more with the Pharisees than with the Sadducees; and clearly, he had a history being among the Pharisees. Paul doesn’t seem to be afraid to put his pedigree to work for the cause of Christ when he needs to (see 22:28). He went on to say, “. . . concerning the hope resurrection of the dead I am being judged!” (which, of course was true!). This had the affect of dividing the room (v. 7); and it even moved the Pharisees to come to Paul’s defense (v. 9). They spoke of him in much the same way that Gamaliel (Paul’s former teacher) spoke with regard to the preaching of the apostles in Acts 4:33-39.

D. Such a dissension grew between the two groups that the Roman commander decided that Paul needed to be taken by force from them and put back into the barracks—”fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them” (v. 10). This could have been a time of great doubt and fear for Paul; but later that night, the Lord Jesus Himself stood by Paul and made the promise to him that we find in verse 12. God’s hand of providence was clearly at work—taking Paul from the troubles of the Jews into the safe-keeping of the Roman military. And Paul would be brought to Rome! Jesus promised it would be so!

II. PAUL CARRIED PAST THE PLOTTERS (23:12-30).

A. This word of encouragement from the Lord came at just the right time. By the time the sun had risen, a group of over forty Jewish men banded together to place themselves under an oath—evoking God to punish them if they didn’t fulfill their plan—to neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul (v. 12). They brought this plan to the high priests and elders (who already saw Paul as a grievous threat), told them of their oath, and urged them to request that the commander bring Paul once again before them under the pretense of gaining further information from him. On their part, they promised to sit in ambush and kill Paul before he arrived (vv. 13-15). Imagine men being so outwardly committed to the letter of the law of God that they would plot murder in order to defend an ungodly commitment to it!

B. Then, in the providence of God—in a set of circumstances that might have been a lot like Jim Hawkins in the apple-barrel from Treasure Island—Paul’s young nephew heard of this plot, goes into the barracks, and informs Paul (v. 16). Paul then, calls for one of the centurions to take his nephew to the commander and inform him (vv. 17-20). The commander tells the youngster not to say that he had revealed any of these things. (What a great adventure this must have been for this boy!)

C. The commander immediately called for two centurions and arranged for two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearman to place Paul on mounts and escort him to Caesarea at the third hour of the night (that is, approximately 9:00 pm) and bring him directly to the Roman governor Felix (vv. 23-24). Luke provides us with a copy of the letter that he wrote to the governor (vv. 26-30). There is a little fudging of the facts in the letter—specifically that Lysias ‘rescued’ the Roman citizen Paul from the Jews; when in reality Paul stopped Lysias from beating him himself by announcing that he was a Roman (compare v. 27 with 22:22-29). But the point of the letter was that Lysias couldn’t determine the nature of the accusation brought against Paul; and therefore, he sent him to the governor for protection and for a formal hearing. Again, we see the providence of God—delivering Paul from certain death, and bringing him closer to Rome through the aid of a 470-man army of Roman soldiers!

III. PAUL SAFELY DELIVERED TO THE GOVERNOR (23:31-35).

A. The first leg of the journey was about twenty-five to thirty miles in length—much of it through terrain that would have been easy for murderous attackers to plunge on Paul. We’re told that they arrived by night to Anipatris (v. 31); and that the two-hundred spearmen and the two-hundred foot-soldiers left to return to the barracks while the remaining seventy horsemen escorted Paul the rest of the way to Caesarea (v. 32). (This would probably be because the others were not needed due to the daylight hours, and because of the greater security that would have characterized Caesarea—a center of Roman government in the area.)

B. They arrived in Caesarea and brought both Paul and the letter from Lysias to Governor Felix (v. 33). The governor read the letter, and asked Paul what province he was from (v. 34). Learning that Paul was from Cilicia (see Acts 21:39), Felix said, “I will hear you when your accusers also have come” (v. 35). And thus, we end this passage with Paul kept safely and securely in Herod’s Praetorium (or “headquarters”)—well on his way to Rome, as the Lord promised.

* * * * * * * * * *

Tracing the providential hand of God, then, we see that the disturbance in Jerusalem led to Paul being taken back into the barracks and met by the Lord Jesus—who gave him assurance that he would be able to testify in Rome. And then, the plot against Paul led to his being brought safely to Governor Felix by the escort of a 470-man army! From Caesarea, Paul would be sent on to Rome (25:12).

Our God works His will in wondrous ways!