Untitled Sermon (2)

When we left Paul last Sunday he had just stood before the Sanhedrin council and watched them devolve into infighting over what should be done with him. The commander of the Roman regiment sent soldiers in to save Paul once again and the next night in his cell back at the Roman barracks he had a vision of Christ standing there next to him telling him, “Have courage! Far as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so it is necessary for you to testify in Rome.” And Paul’s ready to go. Remember all the way back to Jerusalem on his last missionary journey he was saying that once he got there, he would be going on to Rome. Paul is ready to bring the gospel to what at that time was the center of the world, the center of cultural and political influence. But he’s still got a few hurdles to get over before he can get there. Let’s pick up reading where we left off last Sunday. We’ll begin with verse 12 of Acts chapter 23.

Acts 23:12–15 CSB

12 When it was morning, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who had formed this plot. 14 These men went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves under a solemn curse that we won’t eat anything until we have killed Paul. 15 So now you, along with the Sanhedrin, make a request to the commander that he bring him down to you as if you were going to investigate his case more thoroughly. But, before he gets near, we are ready to kill him.”

OK. So now the Jews who have been falsely accusing Paul have decided, “You know what? We tried doing this the Roman way. Now we’re just going to take care of it ourselves.” They hatch this plot to have the chief priests and the Sanhedrin request that Paul appear before them again and they plan to ambush the Roman soldiers as they are escorting him and kill Paul. Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t think this plan is very well thought out. Remember a couple of weeks ago when we first saw the Roman commander enter the story with his soldiers? There was a riot going on that basically involved the entire city of Jerusalem. The soldiers came in and broke up the riot and rescued Paul and brought him back to their barracks. Now we’ve got a group of a little over 40 men planning to ambush these same soldiers and kill Paul. The whole city couldn’t it, but these 40 men are going to be able to. Riiiight.

But let’s continue reading and see how things play out.

Acts 23:16–22 CSB

16 But the son of Paul’s sister, hearing about their ambush, came and entered the barracks and reported it to Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander, because he has something to report to him.” 18 So he took him, brought him to the commander, and said, “The prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, because he has something to tell you.” 19 The commander took him by the hand, led him aside, and inquired privately, “What is it you have to report to me?” 20 “The Jews,” he said, “have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the Sanhedrin tomorrow, as though they are going to hold a somewhat more careful inquiry about him. 21 Don’t let them persuade you, because there are more than forty of them lying in ambush—men who have bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they have killed him. Now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” 22 So the commander dismissed the young man and instructed him, “Don’t tell anyone that you have informed me about this.”

Paul’s nephew gets word of the impending ambush and he goes to the Roman barracks to warn Paul about it. As we just read, Paul calls one of the centurions and tells him to bring his nephew to the commander. The commander listens to the young man’s warning and dismisses him telling him not to let anyone else know that he has told the Romans about the ambush.

Now I want to pause here for just a moment to look at something. Do you notice the way that the Romans treat Paul? The centurion specifically says that Paul is a prisoner, but this is a very strange prison. First, his nephew is able to come and visit him in the Roman barracks with no problem. Then, once his nephew gives him the news Paul summons a centurion and tells him to take the boy to the commander. And the really surprising thing is, he does. To put this situation in Navy terms it would be like a prisoner summoning a Department Head, giving him a message, and telling him to bring it to the CO. Just sounds a little off doesn’t it? So yeah, Paul is a prisoner, but this is a different kind of prison.

So what does the Roman commander do? There’s a plot to kill Paul, who you’ll remember is a Roman citizen. How does he handle this situation? Well, like any good military leader, when faced with a situation that is beyond his ability and resources to solve, the commander goes up the chain of command. Let’s keep reading.

Acts 23:23–24 CSB

23 He summoned two of his centurions and said, “Get two hundred soldiers ready with seventy cavalry and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight. 24 Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to Felix the governor.”

Acts 23:23–35 CSB

23 He summoned two of his centurions and said, “Get two hundred soldiers ready with seventy cavalry and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight. 24 Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to Felix the governor.” 25 He wrote the following letter: 26 Claudius Lysias, To the most excellent governor Felix: Greetings. 27 When this man had been seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them, I arrived with my troops and rescued him because I learned that he is a Roman citizen. 28 Wanting to know the charge they were accusing him of, I brought him down before their Sanhedrin. 29 I found out that the accusations were concerning questions of their law, and that there was no charge that merited death or imprisonment. 30 When I was informed that there was a plot against the man, I sent him to you right away. I also ordered his accusers to state their case against him in your presence. 31 So the soldiers took Paul during the night and brought him to Antipatris as they were ordered. 32 The next day, they returned to the barracks, allowing the cavalry to go on with him. 33 When these men entered Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him. 34 After he read it, he asked what province he was from. When he learned he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing whenever your accusers also get here.” He ordered that he be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.

Acts 23:23-

Maybe this planned ambush worried the commander more than it seemed. I mentioned earlier that it was around 40 men who had made this pact to kill Paul. The soldiers had broken up a riot that encompassed the whole city so 40 men shouldn’t be a big deal to them right? But look at the commander’s reaction to the news. He immediately makes plans to have Paul transferred. And he’s taking no chances on the Jews carrying through with this ambush plan. The escort that the commander details to bring Paul to the Roman governor of the area is made up of almost 500 men. 200 regular soldiers, 200 spearmen, 70 cavalry, plus the centurions and whatever leadership there would be over the spearmen and cavalry. We’ve talked before about the fact that this commander was in command of the Jerusalem regiment, but just what does that mean? The Greek word used to describe the commander throughout Acts is χιλίαρχος (chiliarchos), which is commonly used to name a commander of a unit that would have been made up of anywhere from 600 to 1000 men. Now I seriously doubt that this commander would send 5/6 of his command out on escort duty, so I assume that his command was closer to the 1000 number, but that’s still a huge percentage of your command to send out to escort 1 man.

When we were in Hawaii we were stationed on the base near where President Obama would go on vacation every Christmas. He would come on base just about every day to play golf or go to the gym so we saw his motorcade driving around quite a bit. It always amazed me at how many people it took to get the President to the gym to run on the treadmill. I counted 28 vehicles in the motorcade one time as they were leaving the gym. I always thought, “Wouldn’t it be cheaper to just buy a treadmill and bring it to the house he’s renting?” But that was for the President of the United States. 28 vehicles. In the passage we just read we see almost 500 men detailed to escort one prisoner. Once again, this is either a very strange prison or a very special prisoner.

But the commander couldn’t just send Paul up the chain of command with no explanation. So he sends a message on to Felix the governor. Let’s continue reading to see what he said.

Acts 23:25–30 CSB

25 He wrote the following letter: 26 Claudius Lysias, To the most excellent governor Felix: Greetings. 27 When this man had been seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them, I arrived with my troops and rescued him because I learned that he is a Roman citizen. 28 Wanting to know the charge they were accusing him of, I brought him down before their Sanhedrin. 29 I found out that the accusations were concerning questions of their law, and that there was no charge that merited death or imprisonment. 30 When I was informed that there was a plot against the man, I sent him to you right away. I also ordered his accusers to state their case against him in your presence.

Acts 23:25-

So we finally have a name for this Roman commander, Claudius Lysias. He writes to Felix and tells him everything that has happened, how Paul came to be in his custody and why he is being transferred to Felix. Now some people at this point balk and say, “How could Luke possibly have known the content of private and official correspondence between a Roman commander and the governor of Roman governor of the region?” And the answer is, he couldn’t. Luke is giving us an example of what he assumes was in the letter. Luke also spoke with Paul later in his travels so some of this came from Paul’s interaction with Felix. We’ll see in the next chapter that Felix questions Paul, and maybe they had more conversations than are recorded here, so maybe Felix told Paul what was in the letter. Or he might even have let Paul read it. We just don’t know. But regardless, we know that Lysias sent Paul to Felix, and he sent a letter that likely said something along these lines.

Now let’s finish out reading this chapter.

Acts 23:31–35 CSB

31 So the soldiers took Paul during the night and brought him to Antipatris as they were ordered. 32 The next day, they returned to the barracks, allowing the cavalry to go on with him. 33 When these men entered Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him. 34 After he read it, he asked what province he was from. When he learned he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing whenever your accusers also get here.” He ordered that he be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.

I have a map so you can get a visual of what occurred here. The Roman commander sends Paul off at 9 PM with an escort of almost 500 men. They march overnight to Anitpatris which was about 35 miles away from Jerusalem and about the halfway point. At that point the foot soldiers, 400 of them, turn back and the cavalry continue on with Paul to Caesarea. Felix, the governor places Paul under guard in Herod’s palace while they wait for the Jewish leaders to come and bring their accusations against Paul. And that’s where we’ll leave Paul for this week. He’s still a “prisoner” of the Roman government. But I think it’s a protective custody to keep the people who want to kill Paul away from him, more than it is to keep Paul from escaping. Remember, Paul wants to go to Rome. He’s been saying for months that he’s heading there, and that’s exactly where this whole situation seems to be leading so he’s in no hurry to get away. The Romans are taking him right where God has told him to go.

So that’s where we leave Paul for now, but the question is, “What does this chapter say to us today?” Everything in the Bible is there for a reason. It’s not just a collection of stories. It’s not just a history book. Everything is there to show us how much God loves us, and what lengths he has gone to to offer us salvation from our sin. And this story is no different. Yes, this is a historical account of what happened to Paul in Jerusalem and how it led to him beginning his journey to Rome. But more than that, it shows us how God can intervene in our lives. God controls all the circumstances of our lives. Even when we think things are totally out of control and there is no possible way out of whatever situation we find ourselves in, God is still in control. When Paul was in the middle of a riot God sent in the soldiers of what was essentially and enemy force to save him. We need to remember that when we find ourselves in hard circumstances. God can even turn the wrath of our enemies into a safe trip to exactly where he wants us to go.

In a world that is under the control of a sovereign God, things don’t “just happen.” At least not things which represent life and death deliverance. Now we have to be careful to not push the point too far. Some people see God’s hand guiding them in every little decision they make or every little thing that happens. If they drop a can of Coke and it cracks open they’ll say, “That’s God telling me that I need to change the way I eat and drink and be more healthy.” Yeah, maybe. Or maybe it’s just butterfingers and gravity. But when it comes to life and death, to salvation, to God’s direction for our lives, things don’t “just happen.”

I’ve told the story in here before of how God led me into Chaplaincy. I won’t go through the whole thing because it would take much more time than we have left, but I want to give just a quick snapshot of how God orchestrates circumstances. We had started thinking about Chaplaincy again after a few years of discounting it. I had talked to a recruiter, but I still had to go to seminary to get my Master’s degree before I could come in. I got home on a Thursday afternoon and there was a postcard in the mail from a seminary in Louisville, KY announcing their preview conference for prospective students. I had contacted this seminary once before but it had been years ago. The card was sent to the wrong address but made it into my box anyway. The deadline to sign up for the conference was the next day. We signed up and went and while we were there I told the director of admissions that series of events. He said, “I’ve got another one for you. That postcard was sent out 6 weeks before the deadline and didn’t get to your box until then.” You may ask, why does that matter? Well if it had gotten to me 6 weeks previously, I would have thrown it away, because I wasn’t looking at going to school at that time. I fully believe that God held that card up in the mail, and had it delivered to me at just the right time so that I would end up standing here in front of you today. And he does the same type of thing for each and every one of us. God is in control, and he can use postcards, or Roman soldiers, or whatever he needs to use to accomplish his will.

Would you pray with me?