Acts 23
Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.” 2 At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!”
4 Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high priest!”
5 Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.”
6 Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” 7 When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.)
9 There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this man,” they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 10 The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.
11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”
The Plot to Kill Paul
12 The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. 13 More than forty men were involved in this plot. 14 They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul. 15 Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here.”
16 But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul.
17 Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.” 18 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.”
19 The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, “What is it you want to tell me?”
20 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. 21 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.”
22 The commander dismissed the young man with this warning: “Don’t tell anyone that you have reported this to me.”
Paul Transferred to Caesarea
23 Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen[b] to go to Caesarea at nine tonight. 24 Provide horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”
25 He wrote a letter as follows:
26 Claudius Lysias,
To His Excellency, Governor Felix:
Greetings.
27 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. 28 I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin. 29 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. 30 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.
31 So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipatris. 32 The next day they let the cavalry go on with him, while they returned to the barracks. 33 When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him. 34 The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia, 35 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.
Prepared in Advance
How do you feel in new situations with uncertain circumstances? Are you happy, excited, scared, nervous, in-shock? Do you wonder how God will work through you in this new environment?
We can see the process of how God works in Acts 23.
When my wife and I first arrived in Arviat, we were at a loss, wondering what God wanted us to do and how God would work through us in such a place. We had left our jobs and our ministry to see what could be done in a place with such a fledgling church, without a pastor for fifteen years. How would we be able to live in this new place? We didn’t have a house to live in. We didn’t know anybody. Our friends and family were thousands of miles and thousands of dollars away. We wondered how God would work and care for us and how he would work through us.
I’m sure Paul asked the same questions after his arrest by commander Claudius Lysias in the Jerusalem temple (Acts 21:33). Many people had heard about Paul, and rumors about him spread (Acts 21:21-22, 27-29). At the beginning of Acts 23, Paul faced the Jewish council of judges, the Sanhedrin. They were supposed to investigate Paul the rumors about what Paul had been doing. I’m sure Paul wondered how God was going to work? What was he going to do?
Paul tried to speak to them about his good conscience, but the High Priest Ananias ordered him to be smacked on the mouth. Paul saw that his trial in front of his people was not going to be a fair one, so he changed tactics (Bridgeway Bible Commentary). Paul understood the debate between Pharisees and Sadducees because he had grown up as a Pharisee. God used Paul’s knowledge to get him out of the unfair trial.
Now Paul was able to pit the Pharisees against the Sadducees by declaring to be a Pharisee who believed in the resurrection. God used something from Paul’s past to help him work through the problem at hand. He had already prepared him for the situation he was going through. The Pharisees and Sadducees began to argue and couldn’t come to a decision about Paul. The Roman commander, Lysias, even removed Paul from the trial before he got hurt.
Paul was also protected because of his citizenship. As a Roman citizen, Paul had rights under the law. One of his rights was a right to a fair trial. God used Paul’s citizenship to protect him from the Sanhedrin’s injustice.
As we began ministering in Arviat, we felt similarly. God had already been preparing us for this new ministry. 50% of the town’s population was under 15, and we had been part of the volunteer team working with youth at our previous church. Our landlord had allowed us to renovate our former house, and the new place we were living in definitely needed a lot of work. God used our past experiences to help us be ready for the challenges ahead. However, God also brought the right people into our lives to help at the right time.
God had put Claudius Lysius as commander to keep Paul safe and make sure Paul was going to get a fair trial. He kept Paul safe at his arrest at the temple, and then from the Sanhedrin trial. He continued to keep Paul safe when some of the Jews in Jerusalem took an oath not to eat or drink anything until they had killed Paul. I always wondered if these men kept their oath and died. Luke doesn’t tell us, but instead shows us God’s protection.
God allowed Paul’s sister’s son to hear about the assassination plot. He told Paul, who passed the warning up the chain of command to commander Lysias. God provided the right people at the right time to save Paul’s life, so his plan for Paul could continue. What was his plan for Paul?
Thankfully in Arviat, we haven’t been arrested yet, and we haven’t had anyone plan to kill us. However, when we got our first ATV here in Arviat, we traveled “out on the land” (outside of town), and of course, promptly got stuck in some seaweed close to the ocean coast. We weren’t in as much danger as Paul was, but polar bears do move around on the land and in town. They could have come close to us and put us in danger. Thankfully, two ladies who worked with the Catholic church in Arviat came to help us out of the seaweed. It was a good first connection and my wife later worked with these ladies to share the good news about Jesus. God brought these ladies, and other people over the years, into our lives at the right time for His purpose and plan.
While sitting in prison after speaking to the Sanhedrin, Jesus himself appeared to Paul and told him his plan. He said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” Paul was transferred under guard to Caesarea. While there, he appealed to have his case brought before the Caesar as is his right as a Roman citizen (Acts 25:12).
Paul was able to share his testimony on the way to Rome and as he waited for his trial. He told the good news about Jesus to many people: government leaders, ship captains, soldiers, and more. The good news continued to be spread through Paul and through those turning to the Lord.
In Acts, and especially Acts 23, we can see how God put his plan into action. He brought people together and worked through them to continue spreading the good news about Jesus.
Like an Inuit wall-hanging, God sews everything together and the design will come out just like he wants. Like Paul, we are all a part of that wall hanging.
We are all a part of God’s plan and he calls us to join him in making Jesus famous where we are and around the world. God helped Paul as he went from situation to situation and place to place, sharing the good news about Jesus. In the same way, God leads us from situation to situation and place to place to share the good news about Jesus.
How are you fitting into God’s plan? Acts 23 shows us that he will help us and take care of us as he did for Paul, and as he has for all of us until today. Think about how God has brought people into your life to help prepare you and guide you, even today. What experiences have you faced that helped you later on in life?
Day by day, new experience after new experience, we can trust that God has prepared us already, or will bring people into our lives to help us keep sharing about Jesus. What will God allow you to experience tomorrow that will prepare you for His plan? Who will God bring into your life to help? Take time to pray and ask God to prepare you for His plan. He will help us and care for us along the way.
Author Bio
Rev. Bradley Williams and his wife Jackie grew up near Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, south of Moose Jaw. They grew up attending Assiniboia Alliance Church. They attended university in Saskatoon and were involved with Avalon Alliance Church youth programs. Bradley attended Bethany College in Hepburn, Saskatchewan. God has led them to pastor at Arviat Alliance Church in Arviat, the C&MA’s only church in Nunavut.
https://arviatalliancechur.wixsite.com/arviat-alliance-chur
Luke and Acts taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
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