A HOLY WARNING

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul.

Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.” So he took him to the commander.

The centurion said, “Paul, the prisoner, sent for me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.”

The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, “What is it you want to tell me?”

He said: “Some Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about him. Don’t give in to them, because more than forty of them are waiting in ambush for him. They have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready now, waiting for your consent to their request.”

The commander dismissed the young man with this warning: “Don’t tell anyone that you have reported this to me.”

Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight. Provide horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”

He wrote a letter as follows:

Claudius Lysias,

To His Excellency, Governor Felix:

Greetings.

This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, but I came with my troops and rescued him, for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen. I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin. I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment. When I was informed of a plot to be carried out against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him.

So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipatris. The next day they let the cavalry go on with him, while they returned to the barracks. When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him. The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia, he said, “I will hear your case when your accusers get here.”

Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.

Acts 23 :16-35

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

More than forty Jews had hatched a plot to assassinate Paul. They were so obsessed with sinful rage that they all committed to stop eating and drinking until they had carried out the killing.

To help the effort, the highest ruling body of Jewish religious leaders, the Sanhedrin, had agreed to be part and parcel to the plan. They were to ask the Roman commander, who was harboring Paul for protection, to send him back to answer some more questions so they could gain additional information in regard to his case. As he moved to that hearing, the forty Jews would murder Paul.

It seemed like a scheme that would easily work but the conspirators forgot one important factor.

God was with Paul, the same God they were sinning against, and we know the Lord still had things for Paul to do. Go back to verse 11 of this chapter and you’ll find Him telling Paul he would eventually testify in Rome as he did in Jerusalem. Paul couldn’t do that if he was dead.

And so the assassination efforts of the Jerusalem Jews were a waste of time and never had a chance of success from the beginning. The forty men who took the oath would end up dying from starvation before they would be able to kill Paul.

So how would the plot be exposed so that Paul could be saved?

As we see in today’s passage, it came by way of a holy warning.

Yes, it was a young boy, the son of Paul’s sister, who heard about the assassination plan but rest assured that God was the one behind him finding out. The young boy was just an instrument of God’s overall plan to keep Paul protected as He moved him to Rome as He said He would.

Back to the scriptures, where we find the young boy alert Paul to the looming threat. In turn, Paul then shares the news with one of the centurions who takes the boy to the Roman commander to inform him. Of interest, the Roman commander never questions whether or not the young boy is telling the truth or not. Rather, he immediately presses the “I believe” button and makes immediate arrangements for Paul to me moved north to Caesarea into the custody of the Roman governor Felix.

As we read the protection detail that would go with Paul, it immediately appears to be excessive. Only forty men were involved in trying to kill Paul but you would think it was a whole army based on the number of Roman soldiers that were sent with Paul as he moved toward Caesarea under the cloak of darkness.

The detachment was impressive. It included two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen along with horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix. The Roman guard escorted Paul with a letter from the Roman commander, who we see is named Cladius Lysias, to the Roman Governor Felix, explaining why Paul had been sent to him.

And so the armed Roman cavalry traveled to Caesarea with Paul in tow and delivered the letter to Felix before leaving Paul with him. After asking what province Paul was from, Felix agrees to hear his case after Paul’s accusers arrived. Until that time, we read where Paul was kept under guard in Herod’s palace.

Paul was indeed out of Jerusalem and safe, all because of a holy warning. God’s plan for his life continued to be revealed and no one, not even the Jewish religious authorities, was going to get in the way of that plan, God’s plan, from being perfectly carried out.

As we consider our own lives, let us all remember that our God is always with us and in control, no matter what life brings. And when our enemies might try to rise up against us, let’s keep in mind these words from Paul’s letter to the Romans:

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31

He was with Paul and provided protection when danger loomed. He’ll do the same with us in accordance with His will.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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