Paul Must Die

Text: Acts 23:12-35

Central Idea of the Text: Though some violent Jews plot to take Paul’s life, God has other plans.

Proposition: When it comes to the opposition we face, we must control what we can control, stay faithful and leave the rest in God’s hands.

Purpose: All who hear should respond to answer the question affirmatively: “If the Christians were being hunted, would they be hunting for me?”

[ 5 minutes for Kevin Goertzen w/ Gideons International)

It was a quiet morning on campus in the early hours of September 10, but the air was filled with a tension and a buzz. At noon that day on the Utah Valley University campus quad, a controversial speaker would set up a white tent and a microphone and seek to engage in debate with students. Charlie Kirk believed in free speech, and he desired that there would be an open discourse with those who disagreed with him. So there were two microphones: one for him and one for those whom he would debate. Those who disagreed with him would be welcomed to the front of the line, and Charlie would hear and rebut their strongest arguments against both his biblical stand on ethical issues and his conservative viewpoints.

Charlie had done literally thousands of these events the 13 years he had be leading his TPUSA team. It was run of the mill stuff that day, with part of the crowd opposed, and part of the crowd cheering Charlie on. It was inherent with risks, but ripe with the rewards of changing hearts and minds. And that was Charlie’s aim each and every day. But at the core of Charlie, it became clear that there was one factor that motivated everything he did and said. It was his faith in his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Charlie posted to his 13 million Instagram followers: “I believe in the Bible, and I believe that Christ rose from the dead on the third day. This is the foundation of my faith and guides my actions."

Charlie spoke at a church event in 2023 and clearly stated: "The cross is where my hope lies. Jesus paid it all, and because of Him, I am redeemed."

On his X account in months before, he posted: "In a world that bows to many idols, I bow only to Jesus Christ, my King and my Savior."

And at his TPUSA Faith Conference in 2024, he declared his motivation from the stage: "I don’t do this work for fame or power. I do it because Jesus Christ called me to stand for truth and fight for what honors Him."

Little did Charlie realize that, as he fielded a question about mass shootings and transgender shooters, a plan, a gun and a bullet had been prepared for end Charlie’s life. On the trigger was 22 year old Tyler Robinson. and at 12:23 PM, Charlie would be struck in the neck, mortally wounded. To hear Christian Apologist Frank Turek recount the story, they tried to save Charlie, but there was little hope of that as they rushed him to the hospital. In the days and weeks following, there were mass outpourings of grief and celebrations of Charlie’s life, faith, words and influence. There were also others who celebrated the fact that he was dead.

But why did the shooter and those who shared his sentiments want Charlie dead? Because of free speech and expression. Because of open debate. And because the work that Charlie was doing was effective. It was changing hearts and minds. And it was easier to put a bullet in him and to try to shut him up in an open debate.

It’s just been a month since this even happened, but I think it is an even that has amplified Charlie’s words even louder in his death than in his life. And it is a event that has made me reflect A LOT on our Acts Series, and the events that take place there … especially the events that happens in today’s text, as there are some assassins who want to ensure that Paul finds his way to a tomb rather than to Rome. Let’s read today’s text, found in Acts 23:12-35.

Read Text:

Acts 23:12–35 ESV

12 When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. 15 Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.” 16 Now the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.” 18 So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, “Paul the prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.” 19 The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” 20 And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. 21 But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” 22 So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, “Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.” 23 Then he called two of the centurions and said, “Get ready two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night. 24 Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to Felix the governor.” 25 And he wrote a letter to this effect: 26 “Claudius Lysias, to his Excellency the governor Felix, greetings. 27 This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them when I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman citizen. 28 And desiring to know the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their council. 29 I found that he was being accused about questions of their law, but charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. 30 And when it was disclosed to me that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, ordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him.” 31 So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32 And on the next day they returned to the barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him. 33 When they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. 34 On reading the letter, he asked what province he was from. And when he learned that he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive.” And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod’s praetorium.

This is the word of the Lord.

Please pray with me. Lord, we thank you for protecting Paul and his message. Without your deliverance, we would not be blessed by the later portions of Paul’s writings and ministry. Books like Philippians, that we take so much hope and joy in, would not belong to us. You had a plan for Paul, and you would bring it to completion. Lord, with whatever time we have, we pray that you would use every moment to guide us toward you, and to aid us in pointing people toward Jesus. Lord, we pray today these words would find good soil in our ears, minds and hearts. We pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.

We’ve been in Acts this year. The book has picked up from the ascension of Jesus, and tells of the beginnings and first few decades of the church. The first half of the book focused in on Peter’s life and ministry, but the second half becomes laser focused on Paul’s life, travels and work. He has taken three missionary journeys, and is nearly embarking on his fourth. But before he can do that, he must run the gauntlet of Jerusalem. He got warned of it, and now he has experienced it: being roughhoused and punched, put on trial before the Jewish leaders and the Roman Tribune, faced with a near riot, and needing to be put under lock and key for his own safety by the Romans.

It was there last week that we left Paul, with Jesus appearing to him and a promise that won’t be broken: Paul will see Rome. Paul’s survival to this point has been based on his status, his wisdom and his words that have been used to forge a path forward. But if Paul is going to survive, there are things that are out of his control that will need to align. And that is what we see happening in today’s text, and it is a reason that preaching Acts is hard.

In today’s text, there is no “Thus saith the Lord”. There is no great sermon being preached. No great quote to latch to. But Paul reminds us: “All scripture is God-breathed and useful.” So is this passage. I want us to look closer to this narrative and see three nuggets of truth that popped out, and we will cross that bridge of interpretation to see how Paul’s story might help inform and guide our story.

Truth #1: If you follow Jesus faithfully, Someone somewhere wants to kill you. (v 12-15)

To see the first truth, we examine more closely vs 12-15. Here we see the some assassins, with more than 40 of them desiring not to eat or drink until Paul is dead. The type of intensity is the type of full on hate we rarely see in real life. They will do nothing else until they have done the deed of killing Paul by their own hands. The text says in verse 14 that when they went to the Jewish leaders, they had put themselves under an oath. The Greek word is anathematizo. They had placed themselves literally under a curse. They were saying: either we will kill him and send him to hell, or we will ourselves be sent to hell if we are unsuccessful. It was not a godly pledge. I was a dark pledge. Dark arts. And note that they felt so sure that the Jewish leaders would support it, that they could just go and tell them to their faces. This says something about the sin of hatred giving way to the sin of murder that was lurking in everyone’s heart as they opposed Paul.

Now, sometimes we read passages like this and we file it under “cool story bro” without understanding there may be implications for you and me. Is this detail irrelevant to us? No way. Persecution, as we see throughout the New Testament is never far from the church. John the Baptist. Jesus. Stephen. James. Others both named and unnamed are bold witnesses who speak only truth and pay the price with their lives.

Some of you may have wondered why I mentioned Charlie Kirk to begin this message. It’s he political? Shouldn’t we not talk about him? Separation of Church and State? Etc? Friends, we should talk about him because it was his core message that grounded him which his opponents found so disturbing. So much of the work that he did: going to college campuses, speaking on truth, calling those opposed to reason with him. Paul did this. Paul modeled it in Athens, in Corinth and in Ephesus. He went to both the synagogues, and the public gathering places, and he sought to reason with people about what truth is, what sin is, who Jesus is, and how Christ is Lord and all are called to hear and respond to life offered in his name. In many ways, what Charlie Kirk did was closer to what Paul did than what I do at points. Yes, I know Paul preached to inform and encourage the church. But there was and is also a time and place where the sword of the Word meets the sword of the world.

I am not using hyperbole when I say that what was true for Paul is true for us today: If you follow Jesus faithfully, someone somewhere wants to kill you. I know this is not the daily encouragement that you’re going to hear from Positive Encouraging KLove, but it is nonetheless true. We don’t think of it often, because we live in a nation of relative peace compared to other nations with regard to faith and violence. According to Pew research in 2022 and Open Doors, Christians are the religion most under threat, with 380 million (or one in 7) facing high or extreme levels of persecution. We are not among them, but we also note many who have faced threat in our own country and place of worship attacks by lone gunmen and armed lunatics, that have become enflamed in their radical ideologies. As we speak truth, and as they cannot win either arguments or appeals, they will grow increasingly desperate as we see today.

So, what does all that mean, Nate? Well, I will give it to you in a nutshell.

We should pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters, in places like Sudan, Somalia, Iran, North Korea, and everywhere the church stares down the barrel or the sword of their attacker. May God keep them faithful unto death, and may their blood speak and be the seed of the church.

We should have discussions about security. Just this past week, we had a team of people from our church who met to discuss, plan and pray. It is good and right for our shepherds to appoint people who would keep vigilant eyes to protect our sheep.

We do as Jesus said in Luke 9:23: ““If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Daily, the Christian walk is to be a dying to self so that we might live for Christ. And it is both a readiness and a willingness to lay down our lives for the sake of Christ at any moment he would call our name. We have hope for life eternal. And that is a hope that drives us past the fear of death.

Truth #2: God, in his mercy, may grant that you live. (v 16-22)

We touched on this a bit last week, but I want to note it again. It is truly by God’s hand that Paul is spared. God’s provision is that Paul’s nephew is the one who overhears of this plot about to be deployed against Paul. There’s been alot of speculation about Paul’s relationship with his sister and his nephew, perhaps that much of Paul’s family had disowned him. Some speculate that Paul is writing of this when he says in Philippians 3:8 “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” They may have disinherited him when they felt he turned his back on Judaism by turning to Christ. Some Jews to this day even hold funerals for family members who become Christians. Yet, for whatever reason, Paul’s nephew was sympathetic to his uncle. But he goes to visit Paul in the barracks, and Paul sends the young man to relay the message to the Tribune, which in turn changes the course of action of the Tribune because he knows of the threat.

I simply want to point out what is happening here to spare Paul. There are several things that are out of his control which lead to his survival. There is the circumstance where the assassins are speaking outloud their plans to Jewish leaders. Where some young man just happens to overhear. Where that young man just happens to be Paul’s nephew. Where that young man just happens to be sympathetic to his uncle. Where the young man when the message is willing to risk going to both Paul and the Tribune to warn of the plot. Where the tribune is willing to listen and act accordingly. What I hope you see here is the providence of God at work. It was not God’s will or God’s plan that this plan of these wicked men would succeed. Thus, providence and the hand of God prevailed. And Paul could thank God for another day of life and ministry.

It would not be hard to think in our earlier example of Mr. Kirk: The bullet met its mark. The wicked plan succeeded, and his life was ripped away from his wife and children. And yet, there was another attempted assassination that happened in Butler, Pennsylvania. That day, Donald Trump was shot by an assassins bullet, which grazed his ear, but killed a man behind him. Now this is not about Trump. You may love him, you may hate him, you may have questions. But by now you are certain to have seen the video that illustrates: the gun shot came from a rooftop in a specific direction. Trump had turned to look at a chart on a video screen next to him. The moment just previous he had been looking at the crowd. The movement of his head by millimeters was the difference between whether he lived or died in that moment. You may see this as simple chance or luck, but I believe that it is a real life example of providence. The Lord mercy in a moment for a man to live rather than die. And I do believe that moment was a grace to our country.

Again, we should hear the words of Romans 14:8, which we noted last week: “For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” Paul knew that either way, he would belong to the Lord; both in life and in death. This is the healthy resolve of the believer. It is what helps us live daily with joy, and helps us to grieve in facing death with hope. Tomorrow, as we grieve together at the Family Life Center the passing of Ren Avery, we will grieve as those who have hope. And though that place will be filled with great sorrow, it will be filled with great joy of celebration of what is to come.

Truth #3: The Government is God’s Servant. (v 23-35)

In the last portion of the text, verses 23-35, we see a portion of the text that might be translated into a good movie: 200 soldiers armed, 70 Horsemen saddled, 200 spearmen equipped. A message inscribed from the Tribune to Governor Felix in Caesarea: “Get this man a trial. I don’t see anything he is done that is deserving of death or imprisonment. He’s a Roman citizen. Please give him a just trial.” Then Paul is smuggled at night from Jerusalem, west to Antipatris, and finally to the coast and Governor Felix at Caesarea, where he will be held for trial. Of course, if this was made into a movie, it would probably dress up the 40+ assassins as some kind of Jewish ninjas and add in a bunch of gratuitous fight scenes we aren’t told happened. And that movie getting made here would probably distract us from the important issue that the text is illustrating here: God’s use of the government for our good. This is law and order defined.

The Bible is not silent about government or its role, and it is not silent about the role of the Christian within and under the authority of the government. We have little time to fully treat this issue today, but we should hear Paul’s words, when he wrote Romans 13:1-7

Romans 13:1–7 ESV

1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

I want to call attention to a few important words that Paul uses there with regard to the government. Verse 2 says that the authorities are those which “God has appointed”. He says in verse 4 that the governing authorities are “God’s servant for your good.” He says that the government in verse 4 is the one who “carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” He says in verse 6 that we pay taxes (stepping on libertarian toes this morning) to the authorities who are ministers of God. Those are strong words that we don’t often associate with government. But they fall in line with both the idea from Daniel 2:21, that God is the one who both raises and deposes kings; and the idea of Joel 3:2, that God will judge the nations. Now Paul, writing to the Romans ahead of his defense and delivery to Felix, most definitely sees the work of government as necessary.

I want to bring this forward to a very specific example connected to today’s message. 10 days after the death of Charlie Kirk, his wife Erica spoke to the stadium filling crowd of Charlie’s memorial. There, as she addressed the loss of her husband and her attitude toward the shooter, she laid down a Christian example for us all when she said: “That young man … I forgive him.” This was good and right for her to do, and in Christ, she should. To live in hate and unforgiveness is to live in bitterness, and she was making a conscious choice a few days later to display to the world Christian love and forgive as Christ forgave. At the same time, the young man, Tyler Robinson, had been arrested, given his initial hearing in court, and was informed that the state would be seeking the death penalty. This is also well and good, and not contradictory. The state, as Paul said, is the one who bears the sword. Murder must be punished under the law. Tyler Robinson should have the Gospel preached to him, with an opportunity to turn to Christ. He must face a swift trial, and if found guilty, must face the penalty of law, meaning the death penalty. There is space for both forgiveness on the part of individuals and just punishment on the part of the state.

Friends, we need governments that will know what is true, establish laws that are just, give defense to the innocent and execute the law against those who practice wickedness. It is good and right for us to support, engage with and pray for those who govern us: our mayor and city council, our local law enforcement, our state legislators and judges, our national leaders, our military and our president. They are God’s servants & ministers, and they serve at his will. If they do what is wicked and unjust, they will be judged. As they do what is right, true and moral, they must be supported. Paul received their arms and defenses toward the saving of his life, and so should we.

Summary/Invite

There has been a lot here to unpack this morning, but I hope these three nuggets of truth have been helpful to you this morning. First, If you follow Jesus faithfully, there is someone somewhere who wants to kill you. Will you choose to take up your cross and follow in the way of the witnesses & martyrs who loved Jesus to the end? Second, that Christ may give mercy today and allow us life. Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. Are you prepared to stand with him and take joy in the life you have this day? Third, the government is God’s servant. We can therefore be free to forgive, and place justice in God’s hands to work thru his way and his servants.

Today, I simply want to ask two questions:

For those who are here that follow Christ this morning: If there were people coming to hunt the Christians, would they be targeting me? Would there be anything that I do or say by which people would identify me as a follower of Jesus. If there is anything that we as believers must take from the Example of Charlie Kirk, it is this: now is the hour for boldness, not for timidity. What do you need to say to stand up for Christ: at work, at home, in you marriage, with your children, at your school. Our life lived for Christ, even in an early or unexpected death, matters eternally and stands as witness of our faith in what is to come.

For those who as I’m speaking today do not know Jesus Christ: Come to Jesus. Simply say to him: “Jesus I am a sinner. I turn from it all, and I take you as my savior and Lord.” Then make it known. Fill out a connect card. Make steps toward being baptized in obedience to Christ, and joining with His church. Come and follow King Jesus.