God is Near and God is Good

1. Trust God’s Presence (22:22-23:11)

A. Paul was in the process of testifying to the gospel of Christ when he mentioned the Gentiles

The crowd became upset and began calling for Paul’s death

The commander ordered Paul to be brought into the barracks and “examined”

This is the process by which prisoners were interrogated for information

They would be scourged with a “cat of nine tails”

Many would not survive this level of torture

The Message of Acts a. The Rescue from Lynching (22:23–24)

This ghastly ordeal was the standard way of extracting information from prisoners. ‘The scourge (Latin flagellum) was a fearful instrument of torture, consisting of leather thongs, weighted with rough pieces of metal or bone, and attached to a stout wooden handle. If a man did not actually die under the scourge (which frequently happened), he would certainly be crippled for life.’

Paul mentioned his Roman citizenship just before his “examination” began

The commander paid a substantial bribe in order to gain his citizenship

Paul was born a Roman citizen; Cilicia in Tarsus

The commander ordered Paul to be released until they could convene the whole council

B. Paul began testifying in front of the chief priests and the Council

Paul said he had a clear conscience before God; the high priest had him hit in the mouth

Paul responded to the high priest with very strong language

When he was reprimanded for speaking rudely to the high priest he said he didn’t know

He then used the makeup of the Council to his advantage; Pharisees and Sadducees

All Paul had to do was mention the resurrection and they started arguing

Sadducees do not believe in the resurrection, angels or spirits

Pharisees believe in all of these things (resurrection, angels, spirits)

Once again the commander worried Paul would be injured by the members of the council

He ordered the troops to take Paul and bring him into the barracks

The Lord Jesus stood at Paul’s side on the next evening to encourage him

Jesus said, “You have testified to the gospel at Jerusalem; you will also testify at Rome.”

The Message of Acts c. Paul and the Lord Jesus (23:11)

After the confrontation between Paul and Ananias, and the heated argument between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, it is a relief to read that during the following night the Lord Jesus came and stood near Paul and spoke to him. The violence of the last two days, and especially the enmity of the Jews, must have made him wonder anxiously about the future. There seemed little prospect of his leaving Jerusalem alive, let alone of his travelling on to Rome. So in this moment of discouragement Jesus comforted him with the straightforward promise that, as he had borne witness to him in Jerusalem, so he must also bear witness to him in Rome. It would be hard to exaggerate the calm courage which this assurance must have brought to Paul during his three further trials, his two years’ imprisonment and his hazardous voyage to Rome.

Acts: An Introduction and Commentary e. Paul Is Transferred to Caesarea (23:11–35)

The vision makes it clear that what is to happen will follow a divinely initiated plan; the hand of God will guide the course of events until Paul stands before the Roman emperor. Nothing is said about the outcome of the trial before Caesar, a topic which is outside the horizon of Acts. What is significant is that the appearance of Paul before the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem is described as witness, and that Paul’s appearance before the emperor will also be for the purpose of witnessing to Jesus. This, rather than defending himself against specific charges, is Paul’s task in court.

Think about the current circumstances in our world today. There is uncertainty and anxiety everywhere. People are worried about COVID-19. People are worried about politics and the government. People are worried about riots and violence. People are worried about whether or not it is safe to go to work, go to the grocery store, or even to come to church gatherings. I’m not saying these concerns are not valid or not real. I know they are. But I am saying a Christian should have a very distinctive way of processing all this information. The Christian’s perspective must look different than that of the world or else there is a serious problem. It’s almost as if some Christians have forgotten the fact that Jesus promised to be with us ALWAYS, TO THE END OF THE AGE. I could be wrong, but that seems awfully important to me…seems like we should remember that and act accordingly.

2. Trust God’s Goodness / Sovereignty (23:12-35)

A. The Jews form a conspiracy to kill Paul

They bound themselves under an oath, not to eat or drink until Paul was dead

There were more than 4o men who were involved in this plot

The Message of Acts a. The Plot Is Hatched (23:12–22)

It seemed that everybody was now involved in the conspiracy and that Paul was in extreme danger.

But even the most careful and cunning of human plans cannot succeed if God opposes them. No weapon forged against him will prevail.

Reference to Isaiah 54:17 here

They told the chief priests and the elders about their plot and their oath

The Jews tried to involve the Council in their plot but Paul’s nephew foiled their plan

The young man entered the barracks and delivered the message to Paul

Paul called a centurion, asking him to send his nephew to the commander.

Paul’s nephew then delivered the message about the plot to the commander

The commander told Paul’s nephew to keep their conversation a secret

B. Paul is transported to Caesarea

The commander gathered 200 hundred soldiers, 70 horsemen, & 200 spearmen

They were going to transport Paul in the middle of the night to avoid the ambush

He also wrote a letter to Felix the governor to explain what was going on

The soldiers carried out the plan and took Paul safely to Felix in Caesarea

Felix agreed to hear Paul once his accusers had arrived also

In the meantime, Paul was kept in Herod’s Praetorium

The Message of Acts b. The Plot Is Foiled (23:23–35)

The future of the gospel was at stake, as powerful forces ranged themselves for and against it. On the one hand, the Jewish persecutors were prejudiced and violent. On the other, the Romans were open-minded and went out of their way to maintain the standards of law, justice and order of which their best leaders were understandably proud.

The Message of Acts b. The Plot Is Foiled (23:23–35)

The source of his courage was his serene confidence in the truth. He was well aware that the Romans had no case against him. He was convinced that the Jews had no case either, because his faith was the faith of his fathers, and the gospel was the fulfilment of the law. And above all he knew that his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was with him and would keep his promise that he would bear witness, some day, somehow, in Rome.

So Paul was in yet another predicament and God rescued him from it. There was a legitimate threat on his life and he was being held prisoner by the government. However, just as we recalled in the first portion of this message, God was with Paul every moment. He also showed himself to be good in all his ways. He rescued Paul from certain death by using his captors to deliver him safely to his next destination.

Do your circumstances seem insurmountable? Do you feel like there is no way forward? It is usually in times like these when God does some of his best work. God is good in all his ways. Everything he does has purpose and he always acts in our best interest whether we understand it or not. God’s character never changes and he is perfect in all his ways. We must always remember this simple truth: God is good. He is good to us.