A Zealous Plot, Sovereign Protection, and a Framing Promise
The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.” Acts 23:11
Acts 23:12–35– The Story of the Church: Living Into This Drama in the 21st Century
Baptism of the Lord (Observed) – January 16, 2022 (am)
Two weeks ago, as we began this chapter, we encountered, in the midst of quite a brouhaha, Paul experiencing a personal appearing of the Lord. And in that appearing, our Lord communicated two things:
1. That Paul should take courage—the same word used by Jesus when his terrified disciples see Him walking on water, and the same word Jesus used used in John 16:32-33,
“ Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”—in each of those uses, Jesus is saying that to those experiencing fear (in light of a prophecy {in this world you’ll have tribulation} or an experience that truly would be terrifying {someone walking on top of the water}). We could infer that Paul was a bit fearful after what he had just experienced. He was human. An incredible man of God, a man incredibly used by God, but human. And the Lord tells him to be courageous.
2. The Lord assures Paul with a promise, a promise that God has a purpose and plan for Paul and nothing anyone (Jew, Gentile, or otherwise) might do will change that. I call such things a “Framing Promise”. Think of a picture frame—everything you see within the frame needs to be seen in light of the frame. The picture is contained, bordered by, the frame. The promise: That Paul will be a witness to Christ at the seat of the earthly empire of Rome. So in what Paul is about to encounter…he needed to keep that framing promise in his mind as he encounters what is before him.
What is before him?
I think our outline can give us a framework of an answer
I. The Plot (12-15)
II. The Plant (16-22)
III. The Protection (23-35)
I. The Plot
So the morning after the Roman Tribune (whose name we learn in Verse 26 is Claudius Lysias) plucks Paul out of the fray, the morning after the Lord appears to Paul: A group of Jews (over 40 to them) make an (what ESV translates as) “oath”—literally to bind one’s self under a curse, to declare or invoke anathema. These dudes were serious. They bring their plot to the “Chief Priests and elders”—one commentator notes: “Since the scribes (who mostly belonged to the Pharisaic party) are not mentioned, it seems that they approached the groups in the Sanhedrin most likely to favour their proposal” 1—the zealots bring their plot to the religious leaders because they need their help, to lure Paul into the trap. “So you guys reach out to the Tribune and say you want to do a bit more of an exact examination of Paul. And we’ll ambush him along the way.”
I think it is really important that we do not disconnect the book of Acts from the Gospels. Acts records much of what Jesus said coming to fruition. Two weeks ago, we saw how Paul was experiencing certain things that Christ foretold would happen to His disciples. Here we see another…Turn to John 16, Christ had just finished telling His disciples that they will be hated because of Him but He would send them a Helper (the Holy Spirit) to help them bear witness about Him in the face of trouble. And beginning in Verse 1, “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues. (S) Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.”
So Christ tells His disciples that they will experience a particular type of persecution… persecution that comes from those who think they are being zealous for, being faithful to, God, that they are defending God’s honor. It’s a persecution born of religion (BACK TO ACTS 23) That is happening right here to Paul. If you were to interview these men after they made this oath and asked, “Why are you doing this?”, you could bet that part of their answer would be “Out of faithfulness to God”. The problem? Their “faithfulness” was being expressed in godlessness.
Hatred. Murder. Here is a Kingdom truth. Faithfulness to God always expresses itself in godliness, not godlessness. Why do I write that? Doesn’t that seem too elementary. Maybe. But I know I often have to check my own heart…I will often cross a boundary (whether in language, or imputing a motive to somebody, or in attitude) and write it off that I am defending God’s honor.
This brings us to Point 2 on the outlines II. The Plant. Verse 16 tells us, “Now the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul”. This verse tells us a lot. First, Paul had a sister…we don’t hear much about Paul’s family. Second, she had a son. Third, they lived in Jerusalem. Fourth, Paul’s status as a Roman citizen allowed the freedom of people visiting him in his barracks. Think God knew all that stuff? Of course! Think it was an accident that Paul’s nephew would just “happen upon” this information about the plot? Of course not! I call him “God’s plant”, planted there by God to assure God’s plan for Paul to get out of this and to Rome would continue. God places people in our lives—even those with whom we disagree or find unpleasant—to accomplish His purposes for us. You wonder if Paul ever imagined that this nephew, who he may have held as a little baby, would one day be used by God to spare his life. Or, think of this Roman Tribune. and the way he acts, as revealed in the upcoming verses. Sometimes God’s greatest work in our lives is accomplished through the most-unexpected of people. Stop and consider all of the people in your life…not their by accident…all part of your story, God’s plan for your life. Appreciate them. Even the “hard to handle” ones.
Paul hears of this plot and he calls for a guard and tells him to take the young man to the Tribune. The Tribune takes the young man by the hand (which seems to speak of his youth) and the young man tells him all that he has heard about the plot. Which brings us to Point 3,
III. The (Sovereign) Protection
Boy, does the Tribune respond! He tells the centurions to ready 200 soldiers, 70 horsemen, and 200 spearman (do the math in your head!). Almost half of the available manpower going with Paul. They are going to do the first leg—to Antipatris (about 36 of the 75 miles, the most-dangerous part), then some will return to Jerusalem and a portion will continue on with Paul to Caesarea. This is sovereign protection! God, is using a Roman Tribune to ensure Paul get out of Jerusalem on his way to Rome! Which brings us to another Kingdom Truth: As God carries out His plans and purposes, He has every option available to Him. Even using governments that work in ways that seem against Him, against His Word, against His Christ!
Hear this 21st Century Americans! God is sovereign. God is almighty. He isn’t limited to using those who are His, who are in agreement with Him. He is in the heavens and He does all He pleases (Psalm 115:3). I love what Charles Spurgeon said, “There is not a single lock of which God has not the key. You shall never be placed in a difficulty without some provision being made for that difficulty, which God foresaw, and for which his heavenly wisdom had devised a way of escape.”
Now the Tribune (Claudius Lysias) had some very good reasons for assigning so many men to the case. He saw this as a serious threat—over 40 men seeking a murderous ambush. He knew that such an ambush happening under his watch could have disastrous consequences. Some of his soldiers may have even been killed!
So what’s the goal: get this into the hands of the Governor, Felix in Caesarea. Antonius Felix was the Governor (or procurator) of Judea from 52-59 AD. His was the same office once occupied by Pontius Pilate. Felix had risen from a poor and lowly background. Tacitus, a great historian of Rome notes, Antonius Felix, practiced every kind of cruelty and lust, wielding the power of [a] king with all the instincts of a slave” 2 He was a freed man, who had received his freedom because of the actions of the Emperor Claudius’ mother. He was the first slave to ever hold the office of Governor in the Roman Empire. He was known for brutal responses to any who were a threat to the rule of the Romans.
Lysias sends a letter with the soldiers to deliver to Felix. Luke communicates the content (“to this effect”) of the lettering Verses 26-30. And like all political actions, it paints the writer in the best possible light—failing to mention that Lysias had commanded Paul to be examined by flogging (cut short by the revelation that Paul was a Roman citizen). But the key point is found in Verse 29, “ I found that he was being accused about questions of their law, but charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment”. Lysias notes he doesn’t see Paul as a lawbreaker by Roman standards. He closes his letter by expressing that he, indeed, is a good soldier—getting it into the hands of his superior.
So Paul goes to Antipatris. Then on to Caesarea. They present the letter and Paul to Felix. Felix, after checking that Paul, indeed, was in his jurisdiction, says “once the other side arrives, I’ll hear you”, and he was kept guarded in Herod’s praetorium. He will, eventually, go to Rome.
What are some further things we may learn from the story of Paul’s evacuation from Jerusalem?
I’m calling this “Putting The Passage Into Practice” Word Picture: Find Your Phylactery!
We must constantly refresh ourselves with God’s framing promises.
We must be aware of all the promises made to us, secured by Christ, and make sure those frame our days. We cannot let the days frame our days.
Those promises include the fact that
—He is with us
—He is for us
—He has a plan for our lives
—All things work for our good w/i that plan
—Our future is incredibly bright
These promises can also be part of our evangelism
As we invite people into these glorious promises Available through the reconciliation that comes from repenting and trusting in Christ
Word Picture: Windshield and Rearview Mirror
One way to fuel our faith walking forward is to look back and behold God’s unfailing faithfulness to us in the past
Word Picture: Mountaintops and Valleys
We must understand that the road we walk as we realize those promises is full of high mountaintops and low valleys, and yet God’s person and promises never change. Anchor yourself in Him.
Word Picture: Beware of Perception Issues
We must never limit God. He has every tool at His disposal as He seeks to carry out His plans and purposes—part of which are the promises that He is with us, His is for us, He has a plan for our lives, and all things work for our good within that plan.
Imagine talking to Paul before all that we’ve covered today. You say to Paul, “Okay, you’re going to Rome, but some folks here are going to try to kill you. How do you see that working out?
Do you think he could have imagined
1. A nephew happening upon the plot and coming to him?
2. A Roman Tribune who would believe the nephew and commit half of his soldiers to escorting him out of town?
I’m guessing the answer is “No”. It does not matter what is before us…God can use ways, people, means that we cannot even fathom to accomplish His purposes. Never, ever give up hope. God is sovereign. God is almighty. And God loves His children.
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1 David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, England: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009), 620
2 Tacitus, The Histories, 5:9
NEXT WEEK: I Worship the God of Our Fathers, Acts 24:1–27