Acts 23:11-35 Who’s Hands?
Good morning! Turn with me to Acts 23:11, page 932 in the pew Bibles.
We are going to backtrack a little bit in our text from last week and join up with Paul in the custody of the Roman Tribune in Jerusalem after being tried before the Sanhedrin and almost being torn to pieces by the mob.
11 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.”
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.
Let’s pray.
I know at times it is challenging to see any clear instructions on the surface of a simple reading of a given text. I also know that, as humans, we tend to need to see ourselves reflected in a given text to think that it might actually have anything to say to us individually or as a group.
This may be the case for you this morning as we read the text of Acts 23. I’m not going to discount that feeling. My hope is that by the end of this sermon, if in fact you were wondering where you fit in this text, or how this text applies to you, it won’t be a mystery at all and you will be encouraged by the truth and the instruction of the Holy Spirit.
It may seem like cheating but as I considered this text this week I was reminded of our Tuesday morning Bible study on the Lord’s Prayer.
As an aside, if you have not yet availed yourself of the weekly Bible studies that meet Tuesday morning and Wednesday evening I would highly encourage you to do so.
At Bible study we looked at the Lord’s Prayer recorded in Luke 11 and considered the themes of each phrase Jesus used when He gave this wonderful model for prayer to His disciples.
And as it relates to Acts 23, the phrase, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” rings loud and clear.
The theme of the phrase is simple: submission to the will of the Father.
Jesus taught the disciples to pray this way, He modeled praying this way before He was arrested in the Garden. He said, “If it’s possible, may this cup pass from my lips, yet not my will but yours be done.”
Now fast forward to Paul in the Roman barracks in Jerusalem in Acts 23:11.
11 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.”
It was the will of God for Paul to preach the gospel in Rome. It was also Paul’s desire to go to Rome. I’m not sure it was his idea to get an all-expense paid trip there courtesy of the Romans themselves but here we are.
Now because of the plot that some of the Jews were hatching, forty of them vowing to murder Paul, Paul’s nephew went to the Tribune and told them what was going on in order to preserve the life of his Uncle Pauly. This again, is the hand of God at work to preserve the life of His servant.
There has been a lot of speculation about why the tribune would care anything about this case, why he would want to preserve Paul’s life other than it was the Father’s special intervention.
The Father clearly did intervene to preserve Paul’s life, but it was through the Roman’s desire to keep things under control and to safeguard his own reputation as a ruler. Paul, after all, was their prisoner and if they couldn’t keep the rabble from murdering people in their custody, did they really have control over the province or not?
What was really happening was the words of Jesus in Mark 13:9-13 were being fulfilled: 9 “But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them. 10 And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. 11 And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. 12 And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. 13 And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Back to Acts 23:23.
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.”
What we can see is that the tribune was a politician and took credit for rescuing Paul in order to make himself look good before the governor Felix. In truth he had no idea who Paul was, he though he was an Egyptian insurrectionist and bound him and was going to have him scourged when he found out that he was actually a Roman citizen.
The tribune sent Paul to Felix the governor under the guard of 470 men, under the cover of darkness. They left Jerusalem around nine o’clock at night and marched over halfway to Caesarea to Antipatris. The next day they arrived at Caesarea and Paul was presented to the Roman governor Felix along with the letter from the tribune.
So what is really happening here, and how does it relate to the Father’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven?
Simply put, God was at work behind the scenes to deliver Paul to Rome just as He said.
Simple, right?
Maybe what makes it seem simple in the life of Paul as we read about it is that the story has already been written. It was written 2000 years ago. Hindsight being 20/20 of course we can see that the Father’s will was being done on earth.
Paul wasn’t in the hands of the Romans, he was in the hands of the Almighty God!
That’s nice. Good for him. Paul is Paul, not me. What’s this got to do with me?
I would suggest three things.
The same God that watched over Paul watches over you.
Paul trusted the Lord and still used ordinary means such as these literal trials to accomplish God’s will.
We are no different than Paul in the sense that his overarching goal was to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. That is the chief end of mankind, the whole goal of His whole church.
Charles Spurgeon said, “Let us trust in God, and be very courageous for the gospel, and the Lord will screen us from all harm.”
Warren Wiersbe said, “God’s people can afford to be daring, in the will of God, because they know their Savior will be dependable and work out His perfect will. Paul was alone but not alone! The Lord was with him, and he had nothing to fear.”
And finally, Saint Augustine wrote, “trust the past to the mercy of God, the present to His love, and the future to His providence.”
Amen.
Listen to the words of Psalm 34 and see if you can’t hear Paul’s story and even your own story in it.
I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
Amen.
