A Plot Foiled
TRANSLATION
(12) The next day, some of the 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 the plot. (14) They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves with an oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul. (15) Now then, you and the Sanhedrin ask the commander to bring Paul back before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here.”
(16) When Paul’s sister’s son heard about their plot, he came, entered the barracks, and told Paul. (17) Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander, for he has something to tell him.” (18) So he brought him to the commander and said, “Paul, the prisoner, called me over 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, drawing him aside, and asked him privately, “What is it that you wish to tell me?” (20) And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. (21) Do not yield to their petition, for more than forty men who have bound themselves with oath not to eat or drink anything until they have killed Paul will be lying in wait for him. They are now ready, expecting that you will grant their request.” (22) So the commander dismissed the young man with this warning: “Tell no one that you have reported this to me.”
(23) He then called two of the centurions and said, “Prepare a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy cavalry, and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at nine tonight.” (24) He told them to provide horses for Paul to ride to bring him safely to Felix, the governor. (25) He then wrote a letter as follows: (26) “Claudius Lysias to the most excellent Governor Felix, Greeting. (27) This man was seized by the Jews, and they were about to kill him when I arrived with the soldiers and rescued him after learning that he is a Roman citizen. (28) Since I wanted to know the reasons for their accusations, I brought him before their Sanhedrin. (29) I found that their accusations had to do with questions about their Law, but I could not discover any charge against him that merited death or imprisonment. (30) When I was informed of a plot to kill this man, I immediately decided to send him to you, ordering his accusers to present their case against him to you.” (31) So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, brought Paul by night as far as Antipatris. (32) The next day they returned to the barracks, entrusting him to the calvary for the rest of the journey. (33) When they came to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him. (34) When he had read the letter, he asked Paul what province he hailed from. When he learned that he was from Cilicia, (35) he said, “I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive.” He then ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.
OBSERVATIONS
In this segment Luke related how God preserved Paul from death in Jerusalem. More than forty Jews formed a conspiracy to kill Paul in an ambush, a plot that was disclosed to Paul and then to the Roman commander by Paul’s nephew who had overheard their plans. Knowing how dangerous the situation might become, the commander immediately decided to transfer Paul to Caesarea under a strongly armed Roman escort for his safety. In addition to Paul’s name (ten times in vss. 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20, 24, 31, & 33), repetitions in this segment included “the Jews” (vss. 12, 20, & 27), “plot” (vss. 13 & 30), “oath” (vss. 12, 14, & 21), “forty” (vss. 13 & 21), “kill/killed” (vss. 14, 15, 21, & 27), “commander” (vss. 15, 17, 18, 19, & 22). “young man” (vss. 17, 18, & 22), “soldiers” (vss. 23, 27, & 31), “cavalry” (vss. 23 & 32), “Felix” (vss. 24 & 26), “governor” (vss. 24, 25, & 33), and “letter” (vss. 25, 33, & 34).
OUTLINE
I. A group of more than forty Jews plotted to kill Paul on his way to the Sanhedrin. (12-15)
II. Paul’s nephew reported this plot to Paul who in turn sent him to the Roman commander. (16-23)
III. The commander arranged for an armed escort to conduct Paul to Caesarea to keep him safe. (24-30)
IV. Paul arrived in Caesarea to be kept by the governor until a hearing could be arranged. (31-35)
IDEA STATEMENT
When Paul’s nephew informed him of the Jews’ plot to kill him, Paul told the Roman commander who then had him safely transferred to Caesarea, far from danger in Jerusalem.
APPLICATION
Immediately after Paul had met the risen Lord, Ananias had been commanded by the Lord to go to him and lay hands on him in order to restore his sight. When Ananias hesitated because of Paul’s reputation as a persecutor of the church, the Lord told him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine…for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name” (Acts 9:15 & 16). Paul’s unique calling would include an unusual amount of physical and emotional affliction throughout the rest of his life.
In the last verse of the previous segment, the Lord had promised Paul in a night vision that his goal of traveling to Rome to bear witness to his faith would be fulfilled (Acts 23:11). No matter what might happen to him along the way, an arduous journey of some 1500 miles which would take him several years to complete, he could count on arriving safely despite any obstacles along the way. Later in writing to the Corinthians, Paul shared another of the assurances God had given him to enable him to cope with the pain and suffering that filled his life. After receiving no relief from his “thorn in the flesh” after praying three times, the Lord had told him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). None of us is likely to suffer as much as Paul did, but we can be sure that in whatever situation we find ourselves, the Lord’s promise holds true for us just as it did for Paul.