When a great argument arose, the commanding officer, fearing that Paul would be torn in pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks.
The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, “Cheer up, Paul, for as you have testified about me at Jerusalem, so you must testify also at Rome.”
When it was day, some of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. There were more than forty people who had made this conspiracy. They came to the chief priests and the elders, and said, “We have bound ourselves under a great curse to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. Now therefore, you with the council inform the commanding officer that he should bring him down to you tomorrow, as though you were going to judge his case more exactly. We are ready to kill him before he comes near.”
But Paul’s sister’s son heard they were lying in wait, and he came and entered into the barracks and told Paul. Paul summoned one of the centurions, and said, “Bring this young man to the commanding officer, for he has something to tell him.”
So he took him, and brought him to the commanding officer, and said, “Paul, the prisoner, summoned me and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to tell you.”
The commanding officer took him by the hand, and going aside, asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?”
He said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though intending to inquire somewhat more accurately concerning him. Therefore don’t yield to them, for more than forty men lie in wait for him, who have bound themselves under a curse to neither eat nor drink until they have killed him. Now they are ready, looking for the promise from you.”
So the commanding officer let the young man go, charging him, “Tell no one that you have revealed these things to me.” He called to himself two of the centurions, and said, “Prepare two hundred soldiers to go as far as Caesarea, with seventy horsemen, and two hundred men armed with spears, at the third hour of the night.” He asked them to provide animals, that they might set Paul on one, and bring him safely to Felix the governor. He wrote a letter like this:
“Claudius Lysias to the most excellent governor Felix: Greetings.
“This man was seized by the Jews, and was about to be killed by them, when I came with the soldiers and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman. Desiring to know the cause why they accused him, I brought him down to their council. I found him to be accused about questions of their law, but not to be charged with anything worthy of death or of imprisonment. When I was told that the Jews lay in wait for the man, I sent him to you immediately, charging his accusers also to bring their accusations against him before you. Farewell.”
So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. But on the next day they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the barracks. When they came to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him. When the governor had read it, he asked what province he was from. When he understood that he was from Cilicia, he said, “I will hear you fully when your accusers also arrive.” He commanded that he be kept in Herod’s palace.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17, 19, 25, 27, 29, 30, 32 10. We see again what a cruel mischief contention…
10. We see again what a cruel mischief contention is, which so soon as it doth once wax hot, hath such violent motions, that even most wise men are not well in their wits. Therefore, so soon as any beginning shall show itself, let us study to prevent it in time, lest the remedy be too late in bridling it when it is in the middle, because no fire is so swift as it. As for the chief captain, as he was appointed to be the minister of God’s providence to save Paul’s life, so he delivereth him now the second time by his soldiers from death. For though the chief captain defend him so diligently, for no other purpose save only that he may prevent uproars and murder; yet the Lord, who from heaven provided and appointed help for his servant, doth direct his blind hands thither.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv10, 12, 15, 17, 22, 26 God will not forsake his to the end.
God will not forsake his to the end.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv10–35 10 And when there arose a great dissension, the…
10 And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle.
Ver. 10. To take him by force] This the soldiers did, for none other end than to prevent sedition and man slaughter; but God had a further end in it, viz. to preserve his servant for further noble employment; ideoque caecas manus illuc dirigit, saith Calvin, and therefore he directeth their blind hands thereunto. The truth is, every creature walks blindfold. Only he that dwells in light sees whither they go.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv10–35 A great dissension: feuds about pretended religion are usually…
A great dissension: feuds about pretended religion are usually among all men very sharp, because their opinions, being the issues of their own brains, are more beloved than their children, the fruit of their bodies.
Commanded the soldiers to go down; from the fort or castle, unto which there was an ascent or stair, to go up and down by.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv10, 12, 16, 22, 25, 31 St. Paul was now in the midst of difficulty…
St. Paul was now in the midst of difficulty and danger; but observe how seasonably God steps in for his succour and deliverance: First, he stirs up that heathen tribune, the chief captain Lysias, who was present at the trial, to see his prisoner have fair play; the Lord stirs up this man to rescue the apostle from the hands of violence, by which he was in danger of being pulled in pieces, and he is returned safe unto the castle again.
O how God’s encouragements evermore accompany his commands! His faithful servants, when they suffer for him, shall certainly be delivered by him, either in trouble or out of trouble.
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Secondly, God comforts the suffering apostle with his own presence, and with the gracious manifestations of his special favour; The Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul.--
Where note, That if the Lord stand by, and be graciously present with his servants, in a suffering hour, it is no matter how many and how mighty they be that do withstand them, and appear against them. No doubt these words, Be of good cheer, Paul, turned the apostle’s prison into a palace, and enabled him to bid a bold defiance to all the devilish designs of the Jews in Jerusalem against him; having got such good security for his safety, even from God himself, in the faith of which our apostle holily triumphs, saying, If God be for us, who can be against us: Rom 8:31. That is, none can be against us, either safely or successfully. The presence of God with his suffering servants outweighs all their discouragements.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v12 We have here the story of a plot against…
We have here the story of a plot against the life of Paul; how it was laid, how it was discovered, and how it was defeated.
I. How this plot was laid. They found they could gain nothing by popular tumult, or legal process, and therefore have a recourse to the barbarous method of assassination; they will come upon him suddenly, and stab him, if they can but get him within their reach. So restless is their malice against this good man that, when one design fails, they will turn another stone. Now observe here,
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1. Who they were that formed this conspiracy. They were certain Jews that had the utmost degree of indignation against him because he was the apostle of the Gentiles, Act 23:12. And they were more than forty that were in the design, Act 23:13. Lord, how are they increased that trouble me!
2. When the conspiracy was formed: When it was day. Satan had filled their hearts in the night to purpose it, and, as soon as it was day, they got together to prosecute it; answering to the account which the prophet gives of some who work evil upon their beds, and when the morning is light they practise it, and are laid under a woe for it, Mic 2:1. In the night Christ appeared to Paul to protect him, and, when it was day, here were forty men appearing against him to destroy him; they were not up so soon but Christ was up before them God shall help her, and that right early, Psa 46:5.
3. What the conspiracy was. These men banded together in a league, perhaps they called it a holy league; they engaged to stand by one another, and every one, to his power, to be aiding and assisting to murder Paul. It was strange that so many could so soon be got together, and that in Jerusalem too, who were so perfectly lost to all sense of humanity and honour as to engage in so bloody a design. Well might the prophet's complaint be renewed concerning Jerusalem (Isa 1:21): Righteousness has lodged in it, but now murderers. What a monstrous idea must these men have formed of Paul, before they could be capable of forming such a monstrous design against him; they must be made to believe that he was the worst of men, an enemy to God and religion, and the curse and plague of his generation; when really his character was the reverse of all this! What laws of truth and justice so sacred, so strong which malice and bigotry will not break through!
4. How firm they made it, as they thought, that none of them might fly off, upon conscience of the horror of the fact, at second thoughts: They bound themselves under an anathema, imprecating the heaviest curses upon themselves, their souls, bodies, and families, if they did not kill Paul, and so quickly that they would not eat nor drink till they had done it. What a complication of wickedness is here! To design to kill an innocent man, a good man, a useful man, a man that had done them no harm, but was willing to do them all the good he could, was going in the way of Cain, and proved them to be of their father the devil, who was a murderer from the beginning; yet, as if this had been a small matter, (1.) They bound themselves to it. To incline to do evil, and intend to do it, is bad; but to engage to do it is much worse. This is entering into covenant with the devil; it is swearing allegiance to the prince of darkness; it is leaving no room for repentance; nay, it is bidding defiance to it. (2.) They bound one another to it, and did all they could, not only to secure the damnation of their own souls, but of theirs whom they drew into the association. (3.) They showed a great contempt of the providence of God, and a presumption upon it, in that they bound themselves to do such a thing within so short a time as they could continue fasting, without any proviso or reserve for the disposal of an overruling Providence. When we say, Tomorrow we will do this or that, be it ever so lawful and good, forasmuch as we know not what shall be on the morrow, we must add, If the Lord will. But with what face could they insert a proviso for the permission of God's providence when they knew that what they were about was directly against the prohibitions of God's work? (4.) They showed a great contempt of their own souls and bodies; of their own souls in imprecating a curse upon them if they did not proceed in this desperate enterprise (what a woeful dilemma did they throw themselves upon! God certainly meets them with his curse if they do go on in it, and they desire he would if they do not! - nd of their own bodies too (for wilful sinners are the destroyers of both) in tying themselves out from the necessary supports of life till they had accomplished a thing which they could never lawfully do, and perhaps not possibly do. Such language of hell those speak that wish God to damn them, and the devil to take them, if they do not do so and so. As they love cursing, so shall it come unto them. Some think the meaning of this curse was, they would either kill Paul, as an Achan, an accursed thing, a troubler of the camp; or, if they did not do it, they would make themselves accursed before God in his stead. (5.) They showed a most eager desire to compass this matter, and an impatience till was done: not only like David's enemies, that were mad against him, and sworn against him (Psa 102:8), but like the servants of Job against his enemy: O that we had of this flesh! we cannot be satisfied, Job 31:31. Persecutors are said to eat up God's people as they eat bread; it is as much a gratification to them as meat to one that is hungry, Psa 14:4.
5. What method they took to bring it about. There is no getting near Paul in the castle. He is there under the particular protection of the government, and is imprisoned, not, as others are, lest he should do harm, but lest he should have harm done him; and therefore the contrivance is that the chief priests and elders must desire the governor of the castle to let Paul come to them to the council-chamber, to be further examined (they have some questions to ask him, or something to say to him), and the, in his passage from the castle to the council, they would put an end to all disputes about Paul by killing him; thus the plot was laid, Act 23:14, Act 23:15. Having been all day employed in engaging one another to this wickedness, towards evening they come to the principal members of the great sanhedrim, and, though they might have concealed their mean design and yet might have moved them upon some other pretence to send for Paul, they are so confident of their approbation of this villainy, that they are not ashamed nor afraid to own to them that they have bound themselves under a great curse, without consulting the priests first whether they might lawfully do it, that they will eat nothing the next day till they have killed Paul. They design to breakfast the next morning upon his blood. They doubt not but the chief priests will not only countenance them in the design, but will lend them a helping hand, and be their tools to get them an opportunity of killing Paul; nay, and tell a lie for them too, pretending to the chief captain that they would enquire something more perfectly concerning him, when they meant no such thing. What a mean, what an ill opinion had they of their priests, when they could apply to them on such an errand as this! And yet, vile as the proposal was which was made to them (for aught that appears), the priests and elders consented to it, and at the first work, without boggling at it in the least, promised to gratify them. Instead of reproving them, as they ought, for their wicked conspiracy, they bolstered them up in it, because it was against Paul whom they hated; and thus they made themselves partakers of the crime as much as if they had been the first in the conspiracy.
II. How the plot was discovered. We do not find that the plotters, though they took an oath of fidelity, took an oath of secrecy, either because they thought it did not need it (they would every one keep his own counsel) or because they thought they could accomplish it, though it should take wind and be known; but Providence so ordered it that it was brought to light, and so as effectually to be brought to nought. See here,
1. How it was discovered to Paul, Act 23:16. There was a youth that was related to Paul, his sister's son, whose mother probably lived in Jerusalem; and some how or other, we are not told how, he heard of their lying in wait, either overheard them talking of it among themselves, or got intelligence from some that were in the ploy: and he went into the castle, probably, as he used to do, to attend on his uncle, and bring him what he wanted, which gave him a free access to him and he told Paul what he heard. Note, God has many ways of bringing to light the hidden works of darkness; though the contrivers of them dig deep to hide them from the Lord, he can made a bird of the air to carry the voice (Ecc 10:20), or the conspirators' own tongues to betray them.
2. How it was discovered to the chief captain by the young man that told it to Paul. This part of the story is related very particularly, perhaps because the penman was an eye-witness of the prudent and successful management of this affair, and remembered it with a great deal of pleasure. (1.) Paul had got a good interest in the officers that attended, by his prudent peaceable deportment. He could call one of the centurions to him, though a centurion was one in authority, that had soldiers under him, and used to call, not to be called to, and he was ready to come at his call (Act 23:17); and he desired that he would introduce this young man to the chief captain, to give in an information of something that concerned the honour of the government. (2.) The centurion very readily gratified him, Act 23:18. He did not send a common soldier with him, but went himself to keep the young man in countenance, to recommend his errand to the chief captain, and to show his respect to Paul: "Paul the prisoner (this was his title now) called me to him, and prayed me to bring this young man to thee; what his business is I know not, but he has something to say to thee." Note, It is true charity to poor prisoners to act for them as well as to give to them. "I was sick and in prison, and you went on an errand for me," will pass as well in the account as, "I was sick and in prison, and you came unto me, to visit me, or sent me a token." Those that have acquaintance and interest should be ready to use them for the assistance of those that are in distress. This centurion helped to save Paul's life by this piece of civility, which should engage us to be ready to do the like when there is occasion. Open thy mouth for the dumb, Pro 31:8. Those that cannot give a good gift to God's prisoners may yet speak a good word for them. (3.) The chief captain received the information with a great deal of condescension and tenderness, Act 23:19. He took the young man by the hand, as a friend or father, to encourage him, that he might not be put out of countenance, but might be assured of a favourable audience. The notice that is taken of this circumstance should encourage great men to take themselves easy of access to the meanest, upon any errand which may give them an opportunity of doing good - to condescend to those of low estate. This familiarity to which this Roman tribune or colonel admitted Paul's nephew is here upon record to his honour. Let no man think he disparages himself by his humility or charity. He went with him aside privately, that none might hear his business, and asked him, "What is it that thou hast to tell me? Tell me wherein I can be serviceable to Paul." It is probable that the chief captain was the more obliging in this case because he was sensible he had run himself into a premunire in binding Paul, against his privilege as a Roman citizen, which he was willing now to atone for. (4.) The young man delivered his errand to the chief captain very readily and handsomely (Act 23:20, Act 23:21). "The Jews" (he does not say who, lest he should invidiously reflect upon the chief priests and the elders; and his business was to save his uncle's life, not to accuse his enemies) "have agreed to desire thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul tomorrow into the council, presuming that, being so short a distance, thou wilt send him without a guard; but do not thou yield unto them, we have reason to believe thou wilt not when thou knowest the truth; for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty me, who have sworn to be the death of him, and now are they ready looking for a promised from thee, but I have happily got the start of them." (5.) The captain dismissed the young man with a charge of secrecy: See that thou tell no man that thou hast shown these things unto me, Act 23:22. The favours of great men are not always to be boasted of; and not fit to be employed in business. If it should be known that the chief captain had this information brought to him, perhaps they would compass and imagine the death of Paul some other way; "therefore keep it private."
III. How the plot was defeated: The chief captain, finding how implacable and inveterate the malice of the Jews was against Paul, how restless they were in their designs to do him a mischief, and how near he was to become himself accessory to it as a minister, resolves to send him away with all speed out of their reach. He received the intelligence with horror and indignation at the baseness and bloody-mindedness of these Jews; and seemed afraid lest, if he should detain Paul in his castle here, under ever so strong a guard, they would find some way or other to compass their end notwithstanding, either beating the guards or burning the castle; and, whatever came of it, he would, if possible, protect Paul, because he looked upon it that he did not deserve such treatment. What a melancholy observation is it, that the Jewish chief priests, when they knew of this assassination-plot, should countenance it, and assist in it, while a Roman chief captain, purely from a natural sense of justice and humanity, when he knows it, sets himself to baffle it, and puts himself to a great deal of trouble to do it effectually!
1. He orders a considerable detachment of the Roman forces under his command to get ready to go to Caesarea with all expedition, and to bring Paul thither to Felix the governor, where he might sooner expect to have justice done him than by the great sanhedrim at Jerusalem. I see not but the chief captain might, without any unfaithfulness to the duty of his place, have set Paul at liberty, and given him leave to shift for his own safety, for he was never legally committed to his custody as a criminal, he himself owns that nothing was laid to his charge worthy of bonds (Act 23:29), and he ought to have had the same tenderness for his liberty that he had for his life; but he feared that this would have incensed the Jews too much against him. Or perhaps, finding Paul to be a very extraordinary man, he was proud to have him his prisoner, and under his protection; and the mighty parade with which he sent him off intimates as much. Two centurions, or captains of the hundreds, are employed in this business, Act 23:23, Act 23:24. They must get ready two hundred soldiers, probably those under their own command, to go to Caesarea; and with these seventy horse, and two hundred spearmen besides, which some think were the chief captain's guards; whether they were horse or foot is not certain, most probably foot, as pikemen for the protection of the horse. See how justly God brought the Jewish nation under the Roman yoke, when such a party of the Roman army was necessary to restrain them from the most execrable villanies! There needed not all this force, there needed not any of it, to keep Paul from being rescued by his friends; ten times this force would not have kept him from being rescued by an angel, if it had pleased God to work his deliverance that way, as he had sometimes done; but, (1.) The chief captain designed hereby to expose the Jews, as a headstrong tumultuous people, that would not be kept within the bounds of duty and decency by the ordinary ministers of justice, but needed to be awed by such a train as this; and, hearing how many were in the conspiracy against Paul, he thought less would not serve to defeat their attempt. (2.) God designed hereby to encourage Paul; for, being thus attended, he was not only kept safely in the hands of his friends, but out of the hands of his enemies. Yet Paul did not desire such a guard, any more than Ezra did (Ezr 8:22), and for the same reason, because he trusted in God's all-sufficiency; it was owing, however, to the governor's own care. But he was also made considerable; thus his bonds in Christ were made manifest all the country over (Phi 1:13); and, son great an honour having been put upon them before by the prediction of them, it was agreeable enough that they should be thus honourably attended, that the brethren in the Lord might wax the more confident by his bonds, when they same him rather guarded as the patriot of his country than guarded against as the pest of his country, and so great a preacher made so great a prisoner. When his enemies hate him, and I doubt his friends neglect him, then does a Roman tribune patronise him, and carefully provide, [1.] For his ease: Let them provide beasts, that they may set Paul on. Had his Jewish persecutors ordered his removal by habeas corpus to Caesarea, they would have made him run on foot, or dragged him thither in a cart, or on a sledge, or have horsed him behind one of the troopers; but the chief captain treats him like a gentleman, though he was his prisoner, and orders him a good horse to ride upon, not at all afraid that he should ride away. Nay, the order being that they should provide, not a beast, but beasts, to set Paul on, we must either suppose that he was allowed so great a piece of state as to have a led horse, or more, that if he did not like one he might take to another; or (as some expositors conjecture) that he had beasts assigned him for his friends and companions, as many as pleased to go along with him, to divert him in his journey, and to minister to him. [2.] For his security. They have a strict charge given them by their commander in chief to bring him safely to Felix the governor, to whom he is consigned, and who was supreme in all civil affairs among the Jews, as this chief captain was in military affairs. The Roman historians speak much of this Felix, as a man of mean extraction, but that raised himself by his shifts to be governor of Judea, in the execution of which office, Tacitus, Hist. 5, says this of him: Per omnem saevitiam ac libidinem jus regium servili ingenio exercui - He used royal power with a servile genius, and in connection with all the varieties of cruelty and lust. To the judgement of such a man as this is poor Paul turned over; and yet better so than in the hands of Ananias the high priest! Now, a prisoner, thus upon his deliverance by course of law, ought to be protected as well as a prince.
2. The chief captain orders, for the greater security of Paul, that he be taken away at the third hour of the night, which some understand of three hours after sun-set, that, it being now after the feast of pentecost (that is, in the midst of summer), they might have the cool of the night to march in. Others understand it of three hours after midnight, in the third watch, about three in the morning, that they might have the day before them, and might get out of Jerusalem before Paul's enemies were stirring, and so might prevent any popular tumult, and leave them to roar when they rose, like a lion disappointed of his prey.
3. He writes a letter to Felix the governor of this province, by which he discharges himself from any further care about Paul, and leaves the whole matter with Felix. This letter is here inserted totidem verbi - erbatim, Act 23:25. It is probable that Luke the historian had a copy of it by him, having attended Paul in this remove. Now in this epistle we may observe,
(1.) The compliments he passes upon the governor, Act 23:26. He is the most excellent governor Felix, this title being given him of course, his excellency, etc. He sends him greeting, wishes him all health and prosperity; may he rejoice, may he ever rejoice.
(2.) The just and fair account which he gives him of Paul's case: [1.] That he was one that the Jews had a pique against: They had taken him, and would have killed him; and perhaps Felix knew the temper of the Jews so well that he did not think much the worse of him for that, Act 23:27. [2.] That he had protected him because he was a Roman: "When they were about to kill him, I came with an army, a considerable body of men, and rescued him;" which action for a citizen of Rome would recommend him to the Roman governor. [3.] That he could not understand the merits of his cause, nor what it was that made him so odious to the Jews, and obnoxious to their ill-will. He took the proper method to know: he brought him forth into their council (Act 23:28), to be examined there, hoping that, either from their complaints or his own confession, he would learn something of the ground of all this clamour, but he found that he was accused of questions of their law (Act 23:29), about the hope of the resurrection of the dead, Act 23:6. This chief captain was a man of sense and honour, and had good principles in him of justice and humanity; and yet see how slightly he speaks of another world, and the great things of that world, as if that were a question, which is of undoubted certainty, and which both sides agreed in, except the Sadducees; and as if that were a question only of their law, which is of the utmost concern to all mankind! Or perhaps he refers rather to the question about their rituals than about their doctrinals, and the quarrel he perceived they had with him was for lessening the credit and obligation of their ceremonial law, which he looked upon as a thing not worth speaking of. The Romans allowed the nations they conquered the exercise of their own religion, and never offered to impose theirs upon them; yet, as conservators of the public peace, they wound not suffer them, under colour of their religion, to abuse their neighbours. [4.] That thus far he understood that there was nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds, much less proved or made out against him. The Jews had, by their wickedness, made themselves odious to the world, had polluted their own honour and profaned their own crown, had brought disgrace upon their church, their law, and their holy place, and then they cry out against Paul, as having diminished the reputation of them; and was this a crime worthy of death or bonds?
(3.) His referring Paul's case to Felix (Act 23:30): "When it was told me that the Jews laid wait for the man, to kill him, without any legal process against him, I sent straightaway to thee, who art the most proper person to head the cause, and give judgment upon it, and let his accusers go after him, if they please, and say before thee what they have against him, for, being bred a soldier, I will never pretend to be a judge, and so farewell."
4. Paul was accordingly conducted to Caesarea; the soldiers got him safely out of Jerusalem by night, and left the conspirators to consider whether they should east and drink or no before they had killed Paul; and, if they would not repent of the wickedness of their oath as it was against Paul, they were now at leisure to repent of the rashness of it as it was against themselves; if any of them did starve themselves to death, in consequence of their oath and vexation at their disappointment, they fell unpitied. Paul was conducted to Antipatris, which was seventeen miles from Jerusalem, and about the mid-way to Caesarea, Act 23:31. Thence the two hundred foot-soldiers, and the two hundred spearmen, returned back to Jerusalem, to their quarters in the castle; for, having conducted Paul out of danger, there needed not strong a guard, but the horsemen might serve to bring him to Caesarea, and would do it with more expedition; this they did, not only to save their own labour, but their master's charge; and it is an example to servants, not only to act obediently according to their masters' orders, but to act prudently, so as may be most for their masters' interest.
5. He was delivered into the hands of Felix, as his prisoner, Act 23:33. The officers presented the letter, and Paul with it, to Felix, and so discharged themselves of their trust. Paul had never affected acquaintance or society with great men, but with the disciples, wherever he came; yet Providence overrules his sufferings so as by them to give him an opportunity of witnessing to Christ before great men; and so Christ had foretold concerning his disciples, that they should be brought before rulers and kings for his sake, for a testimony against them, Mar 13:9. The governor enquired of what province of the empire the prisoner originally was, and was told that he was a native of Cilicia, Mar 13:34; and, (1.) He promises him a speedy trial (Act 23:35): "I will hear thee when thing accusers have come, and will have an ear open to both sides, as becomes a judge." (2.) He ordered him into custody, that he should be kept a prisoner in Herod's judgment-hall, in some apartment belonging to that palace which was denominated from Herod the Great, who built it. There he had opportunity of acquainting himself with great men that attended the governor's court, and, no doubt, he improved what acquaintance he got there to the best purposes.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv10–33 And when there arose a great dissension,.... When that…
And when there arose a great dissension,.... When that was come to a very great height, hot words were spoken, and they were ready to come to blows, and there was like to be a riot and tumult among them:
the chief captain fearing lest Paul should be pulled in pieces of them; either of the Sadducees, whom he had greatly offended and provoked, or of both Sadducees and Pharisees, the one laying hold on him to preserve him from the fury of the other, and the other endeavouring to pluck him out of their hands; and the fears of the chief captain were not so much out of affection to Paul, but lest there should be an uproar, which might issue in sedition, and rebellion against the Roman government, of which the Roman officers were always jealous; and because that Paul was a Roman, and should he suffer him to be destroyed in an illegal manner, he must be accountable for it: wherefore he
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commanded the soldiers to go down: either from the castle of Antonia, or from a superior part of the temple, where he with his guards were, to hear this cause before the sanhedrim, to that part where it sat, and Paul was: and
take him by force from among them; if they refused to deliver him up, to make use of their arms:
and bring him into the castle; of Antonia, where he was before.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv11, 12, 15, 17, 19, 24, 27, 31, 35 And the night following, the Lord Jesus - What…
And the night following, the Lord Jesus - What Paul had before purposed in spirit, chap. xix, 21, God now in due time confirms. Another declaration to the same effect is made by an angel of God, chap. xxvii, 23. And from the 23rd chapter the sum of this book turns on the testimony of Paul to the Romans. How would the defenders of St. Peter's supremacy triumph, could they find out half as much ascribed to him! Be of good courage, Paul - As he laboured under singular distresses and persecutions, so he was favoured with extraordinary assurances of the Divine assistance. Thou must testify - Particular promises are usually given when all things appear desperate. At Rome also - Danger is nothing in the eyes of God: all hindrances farther his work. A promise of what is afar off, implies all that necessarily lies between. Paul shall testify at Rome: therefore he shall come to Rome; therefore he shall escape the Jews, the sea, the viper.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 23, 24, 25, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35 Verse 10. The chief captain - commanded the soldiers…
Verse 10. The chief captain - commanded the soldiers to go down] It appears that the chief captain was present during these transactions, and that he had a body of soldiers in readiness in the castle of Antonia; and it was from this that he commanded them to come down; for the rescue and preservation of Paul.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv10, 12, 14, 16, 23, 31 Act 23:10-11. And when there arose a great dissension…
Act 23:10-11. And when there arose a great dissension — Some of them urging that he ought to be set at liberty, while others eagerly insisted on his condemnation; the chief captain, fearing — On being informed of their disorderly proceedings; lest he should be pulled in pieces of them — Amidst the tumult; commanded a party of soldiers to go down — From the garrison; to take him by force from among them — Out of that apartment in the temple where he had ordered them to meet; and to bring him into the castle Antonia — “What must this heathen have thought of the worshippers of JEHOVAH, when he saw this assembly of chief priests, learned scribes, and rulers of Israel, forgetful of what became their rank, profession, and sacred character; and carried away by such unbridled rage, in their religious contests, as the Roman senators and magistrates, or principal persons, would have been ashamed of, even in their eager competition for authority and pre-eminence?” — Scott. And the night following the Lord stood by him — Appeared to him in a vision; And said, Be of good cheer, Paul — As he laboured under singular distresses and persecutions, so he was favoured with extraordinary assurances of the divine assistance. For as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem — And all the malice of the Jews has not prevented thee from faithfully discharging thy commission; so must thou bear witness also at Rome — Thus God now, in due time, confirms what Paul had before purposed in spirit, Act 19:21. Another declaration to the same effect is made by an angel of God, Act 27:23; particular promises being usually given when all things appear dark and desperate. For difficulties and dangers are nothing in the eyes of God; all hinderances only further his work; and a promise of what is afar off, implies all that necessarily lies between. Paul shall testify at Rome; therefore he shall come to Rome; therefore he shall escape the Jews, the sea, and the viper. He shall be brought safe through all intervening obstacles, dangers, and distresses, that he may bear testimony to the Romans. How would the defenders of Peter’s supremacy triumph, could they find but half as much ascribed to him!
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, 31, 32, 34, 35 A great dissension - A great tumult, excitement, or…
A great dissension - A great tumult, excitement, or controversy.
Into the castle - See the notes on Act 21:34.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv11, 12, 13, 19, 23, 24, 25, 27, 35 Be constant...so must thou bear witness also at Rome;…
Be constant...so must thou bear witness also at Rome; and so needest not fear to be killed by them. (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v12 Act_23:12 to Act_26:32
SECTION III
PAUL IS CONVEYED FROM JERUSALEM TO CESAREA, AND THERE SPEAKS IN DEFENCE OF HIMSELF BEFORE THE ROMAN PROCURATOR FELIX, AND, SUBSEQUENTLY, BEFORE HIS SUCCESSOR FESTUS, AS WELL AS BEFORE KING AGRIPPA II
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Act_23:12 to Act_26:32
A.—A CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE LIFE OF PAUL HAVING BEEN DISCOVERED, HE IS SENT, FOR THE SAFETY OF HIS PERSON, TO CESAREA, WHERE HE IS PLACED IN THE CHARGE OF FELIX, THE ROMAN PROCURATOR
Act_23:12-35
12 And [But] when it was day, certain of the Jews [day, the Jews6] banded together [combined], and bound themselves under a curse [themselves by an oath7], saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had [should have] killed Paul. 13And they [But there] were more than forty which had [forty men who] made this conspiracy. 14And they [These] came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great [solemn] curse, that we will eat [taste] nothing until we have slain Paul. 15Now therefore ye with the council signify [give notice] to the chief captain [the tribune] that he [should] bring him down unto you to morrow [om. to morrow8], as though ye would inquire something more perfectly [as if ye were about to inquire more thoroughly] concerning him [into his case]: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him [but we are ready to kill him, before he comes near.] 16And when [However (δὲ),] Paul’s sister’s son heard of their lying in wait, he [of the plot, and] went and entered into the castle [barracks], and told Paul. 17Then [But] Paul called one of the centurions unto him, and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain [tribune]: for he hath a certain thing [something] to tell him. 18So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain [tribune], and said, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and prayed [asked] me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto thee. 19Then [But] the chief captain [tribune] took him by the hand, and went with him aside privately [withdrew to a private place], and asked him, What is [it] that thou hast to tell me? 20And [But] he said, The [That the] Jews have agreed [together] to desire thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul to morrow into [before] the council [chief council, τὸ συνέδριον], as though they would inquire somewhat of him more perfectly [as if the council would9 institute a more thorough investigation concerning him]. 21But do not thou yield unto [thou be persuaded thereto by] them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, which [who] have bound themselves with an oath [as in Act_23:12], that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee [waiting for thy promise]. 22So the chief captain then let the young man depart [Then (ὁ μὲν οὖν χ.) the tribune dismissed the young man], and charged him, See thou tell no man that thou hast shewed these things to me [charged him to tell no one, that he had disclosed this to him, πρός με]. And he called unto him two [of the, δύο τινὰς τῶν ἐχ.] centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Cesarea, and horsemen three score and ten [seventy horsemen], and spearmen [and of light-armed men] two hundred, at the third hour of the night; 24And provide them, [And they were also to provide] beasts, that they may [might] set Paul on, and [to] bring him safe [in safety] unto Felix the governor. 25And he wrote a letter after this manner: 26Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent [the noble] governor Felix sendeth greeting. 27This man was taken of [seized by] the Jews, and should have been killed of [and was on the point of being killed by] them: then came I with an army [with the soldiery (τῷ στρατεύματι, as in Act_23:10)], and rescued him, having understood [learned] that he was a Roman [citizen]. 28And when I would have known the cause wherefore [And as I wished to ascertain the grounds on which] they accused him, I brought him forth [down, κατήγαγον] into their council: 29Whom I perceived to be accused [only on account] of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds [imprisonment]. 30And [But] when it was told me how [om. how] that the Jews laid [that they10 would lay] wait for the man, I sent [him] straightway to thee, and gave commandment to his [gave notice to the] accusers also to say before thee what they had against him. Farewell [that they should speak before thee (om. what they … … Farewell)11].
31Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul, and brought him by [during the, διὰ τῆς ν.] night to Antipatris. 32[But] On the morrow [next day] they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the castle [barracks]: 33Who [But these], when they came to Cesarea, and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him. 34And when the governor [But when he12] had read the letter, he asked of what province he was. And when he understood [learned] that he was of Cilicia; 35I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come [also here]. And he commanded13 him to be kept in Herod’s judgment hall [in Herod’s palace].
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Act_23:12-13. And when it was day.—Οἱ Ιουδαῖοιi.e., the Jewish party; the details are given in Act_23:13. Συστροφή is, here, an unauthorized and lawless combination, a conspiracy. Ἀναθεματίζειν ἑαυτ., they pronounced a curse, an imprecation on themselves (חֵרֶם) if they should taste any thing before they had slain Paul. [See ἀνάθεμα, etc., in Schleusner: Thes. sive Lex. in LXX. I. 221.—“Bound themselves under a curse, in Greek, anathematized themselves … Anathema—among the Jews seems to have been used to represent a Hebrew word denoting an irrevocable vow, or something consecrated either to God’s special service or to irremissible destruction .… These Jews invoked the curse upon themselves if they should prove false to the pledge which they had given.” (Alex).—Tr.]. It may, at the same time, be remarked that the Talmud provided a loop-hole, that is, furnished the means for releasing an individual from the vow and the curse, if the performance of the former became impossible; the wise Jewish teachers could free him from his vow. Lightfoot has quoted the passage from Abodah Zarah [in Horæ Hebr. et. Talm. ad loc., where he gives the following version: Homini qui vovit se abstenturum a cibo, væ si edat, væ si non edat. Si edat, peccat in votum suum: si non edat, peccat in vitam suam. Quid ei hic faciendum? Adeat sapientes, et illi solvent ei votum suum. Sicut scribitur: Lingua sapientum est sanitas, Pro_12:18.Tr.]. Ἕως οὖ with the subjunctive [Winer, § 41. 3] indicates their belief that the result which they desired, would inevitably follow.
Act_23:14-15. And they came to the chief priests.—The conspirators, in order to gain their object, applied to the authorities—doubtless, primarily, to the chief priests and members of the Great Council who entertained Sadducean views. It was their wish that the whole Sanhedrin (ὑμεῖς σὺν τῷ συνεδρίῳ) would request the Roman commander to bring the prisoner before them, so that they themselves might way-lay him, and thus find an opportunity to assassinate him before he could reach the assembly (πρὸ τοῦ ἐγγίσαι). [Ἔτοιμοί—τοῦ ἀνελεῖν—for the genitive of the design and the result (τοῦ with the infin.) see Winer, § 44. 4.—Tr.]
Act_23:16. And when Paul’s sister’s son heard.—We have no other information respecting this young man; Bengel explains his discovery of the murderous design, by assuming that strict secrecy had not been observed, as none suspected that tidings of it could possibly reach Paul or the Roman tribune. [Alford supposes that the young man was, like Paul himself at an earlier period, receiving instruction in the schools in Jerusalem, and may there have heard the scheme mentioned.—Tr.]. The circumstance shows that the apostle was not so rigorously confined, as to prevent the approach of a third person. Still, he was a δέσμιος, Act_23:18, and was probably held, as at Rome, Act_28:16, in custodia militaris, chained to a soldier who guarded him.
Act_23:17-22. Paul called one of the centurions.—In order to keep the matter as secret as possible, Paul simply requests the centurion, without explaining his purpose, to conduct the young man to the tribune, to whom the information was to be given. The latter courteously received the young man, took him by the hand in a manner which inspired confidence, and led him to a spot where they could converse without witnesses (κατʼ ἰδίαν, confidentially). [“The English version changes the construction for the sake of uniformity, the Greek abruptly passing from the third to the first and second persons, (literally translated): charging him to tell no one, that thou hast disclosed these things unto me. The same end might have been secured by inserting saith he, as in Act_1:4.” (Alex.).—On this and other instances of a transition from the oratio obliqua to the recta, see Winer: Gram. § 63. II. 2.—Tr.]
Act_23:23-24. Make ready two hundred soldiers.—A military force, consisting of 470 men, was directed to escort the prisoner, in order to protect him not only against the plots of assassins, but also against any open attempt on his life. The force consisted of heavy-armed foot soldiers (which signification the context assigns to στρατιῶται), a small squadron of cavalry, and a body of light-armed foot-soldiers. Δεξιολάβοι is a word not found in any classic Greek writer [“perhaps frequently occurring at that period in the popular language, but not adopted by writers.” (Meyer).—Tr.], and occurs only in two passages of later writers [mentioned in Rob. Lex. ad verb.—Tr.], in one of which [quoted by Grotius, Meyer and Alford], the word is introduced in connection with bowmen and men armed with a light shield. The explanation that, the δεξιολάβοι were halberdiers, or life-guardsmen (protecting the right side of the commander), cannot be accepted; they were, on the contrary, soldiers who seized the weapon with the right hand, whether it was a javelin or sling, and who were, accordingly, either javelinmen or slingers. Ewald’s conjecture that the slingers were Arabian auxiliary troops, is, very probably, in accordance with the fact, as those regions had, from early times, been celebrated for their slingers. The reading in Cod. Alexand. [A.], which Lachmann preferred, viz., δεξιοβόλους, accords with this view, although that reading itself is doubtless a later correction. [Meyer also regards the latter (δεξιός and βάλλω), as a correct interpretation of the original word, δεξιολάβ. (δεξιός and λαμβάνω). The reading of the text. rec. is sustained by B (e sil). E. G. H., also Cod. Sin.—Tr.]. Ἀπὸ τρίτ ὥρ., at the third hour of the night, i.e., the men. were to be ready to march at nine o’clock in the evening, or as soon afterwards as the order that they should proceed, arrived; it was intended that their movements should be concealed by the darkness of the night. It was also ordered that several beasts of burden, i.e., horses or mules, should be in readiness, so that they might relieve one another. [They were not intended, as Kuinoel says, in usum Pauli et militis ipsius custodis, but solely in usum Pauli, as the words ἵνα ἐπιβ. τ. Παῦλ. plainly show (Meyer).—Tr.]. Διασώζειν is equivalent to: to conduct to a place of safety. Bengel makes an exceedingly ingenious and happy remark on the transition from the direct [oratio recta] to the indirect [or. obliqua—comp. Exeg. note on Act_23:17-22, ult.—Tr.] form of speech, Act_23:24 : παραστῆσαι, ἵνα … διασώσωσι: namely, this change of construction corresponds to the facts themselves, for the tribune did not at first announce that the object of the march was to furnish Paul with a military escort. Hence the design of the whole expedition, which was at first kept secret, is stated in ἵνα … διασώσωσι, and, in order to express this plainly, the transition already begins with παραστῆσαι.
Act_23:25-30. a. Felix.—[“Since the death of Herod Agrippa, recorded in Act_12:23, Judea had again become a part of the great Roman province of Syria, and was governed by deputies (or procurators) of the Syrian proconsul.” (Alex.).—Tr.]. He was at that time the procurator of Judea, and is mentioned by Josephus, Tacitus, and Suetonius. His full name was Antonius Felix. He was a freedman of the emperor Claudius (Tac. Hist. V. 9), and a brother of Pallas, one of the favorites of Nero, and was appointed procurator by Claudius in the year A. D. 53, after the deposition of Cumanus. But, as Tacitus says (loc. cit.), he exercised the power of a king in the spirit of a slave [jus regium servili ingenio exercuit], and was, hence, subsequently recalled, about A. D. 60 or 61; the imperial favor, however, which his brother Pallas enjoyed, protected him against the accusations of the Jews.—Grammatically, γράψας, in Act_23:25, belongs to εἶπεν in Act_23:23; but, as a matter of fact, the letter, which was intended to state the case to the procurator, may possibly have been written at a somewhat later period. Τύπος, exemplum, indicates that the contents of the letter are given in their original form and extent. [“Luke with his inquisitive habits (see his Gospel Act_1:1) would find an opportunity to copy the letter during his abode of two years at Cesarea.” (Hackett).—Tr.]
b. Having understood that he was a Roman.—Ἀυτόν after ἐξειλόμην, is pleonastic. Μαθών implies, in the connection in which it stands, that Claudius Lysias had ascertained, before Paul’s life was in danger, that he was a Roman citizen, and that it was precisely this circumstance which had induced him to interfere, in order to rescue him. But this statement is entirely inconsistent with the facts themselves, Act_21:31 ff., and comp. Act_22:25 ff. The attempt has, therefore, been made to reconcile the two by assuming that μαθών is used without any reference to a particular time (Grotius), or else, that the writer of the letter alludes to the second rescue, Act_23:10 (Du Bois). But all such explanations are instances of art perversely applied. The tribune undoubtedly intended, for the sake of exhibiting his zeal in the public service in a favorable light, to say that he had rescued the man from death, because he knew that he was a Roman citizen. Personal considerations induced him to give a distorted view of the facts that had occurred. And this comparatively trivial circumstance affords evidence, as Meyer correctly observes, of the genuineness of the letter. The words μηνυθείσης … μέλλειν ἔσεσθαι exhibit negligence in the arrangement of the terms of the sentence, as two different constructions are combined. [“He writes hastily, and mixes two constructions together: 1. μηνυθείσης δέ μοι ἐπιβουλῆς τῆς μελλούσης ἔσεσθαι, and, 2. μηνυθέντος δέ μοι ἐπιβουλὴν μέλλειν ἔσεσθαι.—See Winer, § 63. I. 1.” (Meyer).—Tr.]
Act_23:31-33. Took Paul, and brought him.—Ἀναλαβόντες is descriptive of the act of placing Paul on a beast of burden. After a rapid night march, he and the escort reached Antipatris, a city which Herod the Great had built, and named after his father Antipater. It was situated in a plain, at a distance of 42 Roman, that Isaiah , 7 or 8 [German] geographical miles from Jerusalem. Hence the escort, which had commenced the march at 9 o’clock on the previous evening, must have reached this station in the course of the forenoon. The foot-soldiers proceeded no further than Antipatris, but returned to Jerusalem [where their aid might possibly be needed, if any tumult should occur, while the safety of Paul no longer required so strong a force (Meyer).—Tr.]. The horsemen continued to escort the prisoner until they reached Cesarea, which was 26 Roman miles distant from Antipatris. [See the full account of the road, etc., in Conyb. and Howson’s Life, etc., of St. Paul, Acts 21, where Mr. Howson says, in the text, and a note: “It is to the quick journey and energetic researches of an American traveller, that we owe the power of following the exact course of this night march from Jerusalem to Cesarea.—See ‘A visit to Antipatris,’ by the Rev. Eli Smith, missionary in Palestine, in the Bibliotheca Sacra, Vol. I. p. 478–496.” (Conyb., etc., II 275).—Tr.]
Act_23:34-35, And when the governor [when he] had read the letter.—Felix addressed only one question to Paul, which referred to the latter personally, as the epistle stated that he was a Roman citizen, without mentioning his residence. Διακούειν means ad finem usque audire, to give a full hearing, Τὸ πραιτώριον Ἡρώδου was the name which the palace, built by Herod the Great, received only after it was occupied by the Roman governors. The apostle was, as it here appears, not confined in a public prison [probably in consequence of the favorable statement made in the letter,—Tr.], but was placed in an apartment of the same palace in which the procurator resided.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. The promise of divine protection which was conveyed by the word θάρσει, Act_23:11, was very speedily fulfilled. The enemies of the apostle pursued him with a deadly hatred; the number of the conspirators was large, their plot was carefully arranged; and yet the almighty protection of the Redeemer secured His servant from harm. That which was concerted in secret, He made manifest; the designs of wicked men were frustrated by a superior military force. Thus the exalted Redeemer rules in the midst of His enemies [Psa_110:2.].
2. A body-guard, consisting of nearly 500 men, accompanies the apostle; he had never before been attended by such a force, or appeared with such a large retinue. For the consideration which was thus paid to him, he was, no doubt, primarily indebted to his Roman citizenship. Still, it is equally true that his personal safety required such a strong force. Christ not only protects, but also honor’s His people. And the unsought honor which a child of God in this manner often obtains, reflects its rays of glory on Him, by whose grace a converted sinner is what he is [1Co_15:10].
3. The personal innocence of Paul is attested by the Roman tribune; the latter, however, at the same time employs language which shows that he regarded the whole case, and the faith, with very little respect, Act_23:29. He was a man of the world, and looked on religion and its concerns as matters of secondary importance. And yet he is influenced to employ a considerable part of the military force which he commanded, in the service of Paul. Thus the world, even when entertaining designs of an opposite nature, is so controlled as to serve the kingdom of God, and exalt the honor of Christ.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Act_23:12. Bound themselves … that they would neither eat nor drink.—What burdens men are willing to assume, for the purpose of opposing the kingdom of God! What happy results would have already followed, if its friends were equally willing to make sacrifices in promoting its interests, and were as firmly united together!
Act_23:13. And they were more than forty.—What a bundle [Mtt. Act_13:30] these tares will hereafter make, when they shall be bound together! (Rieger).
Act_23:14. And they came to the chief priests.—The high priest, who, when he performed the duties of his office, exhibited on his mitre the words: ‘Holiness to the Lord,’ and on his breastplate ‘Lights and Perfections’ [Exo_28:30-36], allows himself to be made the leader of a band of sworn assassins. Such is the result of a false religious zeal, and such the fruit of an unrenewed heart. O that it had been the only example of this kind! (Ap. Past.).
Act_23:15. As though ye would inquire … and we are ready.—These are Cain’s saints, who conceal the murderer’s club behind the veil of the law. (Starke).
Act_23:16. And when Paul’s sister’s son heard.—We know not whether this youth was already a Christian, or still a Jew, nor do we know the means by which he discovered the plot; it is enough for us that God was pleased to employ him as the guardian angel of the apostle.—The Lord, who rules over the angels, and can command the earthquake, employs a lad on this occasion, in executing His purpose, so that the words in Psa_7:14-16 might be fulfilled. (Besser).
Act_23:17. Then Paul called one of the centurions.—He had received Christ’s own promise of protection, Act_23:11, but he did not on that account neglect to avail himself of ordinary means of protecting himself; these means were, on the contrary, in his eyes the stretched-out saving hand of the Lord.—Observe that, while Paul trusts in God, he does not neglect the use of ordinary means.—Here, too, Luther resembles him. He submitted to the circumstances after his interview with Cajetan, escaped from the city of Augsburg by night, and rode eight [German, nearly forty English] miles, until he reached a place of safety. (Besser).
Act_23:19. Then the chief captain took him by the hand, etc.—Thus heaven gave additional signs; for these men had the time and the inclination to listen to the young man kindly, which was not their usual manner. (Williger).—Even pagans exhibit a certain natural uprightness and fidelity; but, alas! how rare have such qualities become among Christians! Hos_4:1. (Starke).
Act_23:23. Make ready two hundred soldiers, etc.—Here Paul travels in state, like a great lord; he is now great in the eyes of God, for he that feareth the Lord, is greater than he that taketh a city [Pro_16:32], At other times he travelled wearily on foot, but now he rides. He doubtless reflected on the truth that all things, even the beasts of the field, are the Lord’s, and are bound to serve Him. (Bogatzky).—This escort of pagan soldiers is a striking emblem of the soldiers of the Lord, who “encamp round about them that fear him” [Psa_34:7]. God is the God of hosts in the kingdom of spirits and of men, and he employs them, according to His own good pleasure, in protecting His people. By his providential care, five hundred men protect His apostle against forty bandits. (Ap. Past.).
Act_23:24. And bring him safe unto Felix.—Who that reads of Paul, attended by his military guard, does not at once think of Luther, his brother in spirit, his successor in office, the partner of his fortunes—how he was taken by armed men, and safely conducted to the castle of Wart-burg?
Act_23:25. Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent, etc.—Lysias does not, in the faintest manner, conceive of the value of the present which he bestows on Felix, when he sends Paul to him. It is true that Felix did not appreciate the gift, Acts 24. Still, Paul’s countenance presented another letter of commendation, for it was there written ‘Governor Felix! God saluteth thee with salvation and peace!’ O that he had understood this letter! (Williger).
Act_23:27. This man was taken of the Jews, etc.—When we examine this letter, we perceive that the pagan writes with more honesty and equity than the orthodox Jews speak. And even in our day, Paul fares better with Lysias and Felix, than he does with those who profess to adhere to the letter, but who deny the spirit. (Gossner).
Act_23:29. Accused of questions of the law.—This is the language of a heathen, who thinks that the religious disputes of the Jews are entitled to no consideration. But this opinion was the means, in the providence of God, of rescuing Paul from the hands of murderers. (Starke).
Act_23:35. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s judgment hall.—We have here another instance of God’s tender care for his servant, in granting him repose, and a favorable season for prayer, so that he might be strengthened in the Lord, and prepare himself for the witness which he was to bear in Jerusalem. He was protected not only by the guard of the governor, but also by the good hand of his faithful Lord and Saviour. He was thus enabled, after escaping the perils of the road, to perceive the evidence of the divine protection which he enjoyed, and he saw that he was conducted more and more nearly to Rome, his point of destination, and, indeed, to his own happy end. He was strong in faith, and glorified God. He became more and more firm in his resolution to deliver his apostolical testimony, and he was well prepared for any future event. The pauses which the Lord sometimes allows us in our labors and sufferings, are intended to render us similar services. (Ap. Past.).
ON THE WHOLE SECTION, Act_23:12-35—The Lord protects his people: I. They need His protection against the insidious designs of enemies; (a) these enemies form combinations against righteous men, Act_23:12-13; (b) and, at the same time, often assume the mask of religion, Act_23:14-15. II. The protection of the Lord is extended to them; (a) He exposes the malice of their enemies, Act_23:16; (b) and influences the hearts of men with a view to the welfare of His people, Act_23:17-22. (Lisco).
The murderous plot of Paul’s enemies, and the gracious covenant of his Lord: I. Those enemies were powerful, in consequence of (a) their number—forty against one; (b) their ultimate design—they were bound by an oath to kill him; (c) the means which they employed—cunning and deceit. But, II. The Lord, who made a covenant with His servant, was far more powerful (“Be of good cheer, etc.,” Act_23:11); (a) He exposed the plot formed by those enemies; (b) He raised up for the apostle protectors, who were more powerful than his enemies—against the high priest, the Roman commander; against the 40 conspirators, more than 400 soldiers; (c) He led him forth, unharmed, out of the toils of his enemies.
Rejoice, ye righteous, for the Lord is with His people! I. He gives them inward strength by the assurance of His grace, Act_23:14; II. He exposes the devices of his enemies, Act_23:16; III. He raises up for them active friends (Paul’s sister’s son), and powerful protectors (Lysias);. IV. He conducts them safely through the midst of their enemies (Paul’s military escort on leaving the city); V. He furnishes them with honorable credentials (the letter of Lysias to Felix);
‘The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them,’ Psa_34:7. The protecting angel approaches the apostle in a threefold form: I. As a comforting vision, in the prison, Act_23:11; II. As a tender friend, in the person of his sister’s son, Act_23:16 ff.; III. As a powerful body-guard, in the form of Roman soldiers, Act_23:23 ff.(Comp. 2Ki_6:17 : “Behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”).
Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. Psa_34:19 : I. The afflictions of the righteous; II. The divine deliverance —‘Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.’ 2Ki_6:16 : I. With them are (a) wicked designs to commit murder, Act_23:12 : (b) numerous confederates, Act_23:13; (c) powerful assistants, Act_23:14-15. But, II. With us are (a) divine promises of peace, Act_23:11; (b) the hearts of praying friends, Act_23:16; (c) the protecting hosts of the Lord, Act_23:22 ff.
The hearts of men are in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water, and are turned unto the welfare of His people [Pro_21:1]: I. He smites artful foes with blindness, so that their murderous plot is divulged, Act_23:16. II. He arms the timid youth—Paul’s sister’s son—with resolution and firmness, so that he reaches the presence of the commanding officer; III. He touches the conscience of the Roman commander, so that he provides for the safety of the apostle, as if a crowned head were in danger.
Paul’s final departure from Jerusalem: viewed, I. As the mournful departure of a witness of the truth, whose message of salvation was rejected by his deluded people; II. As the brilliant triumphal march of an anointed servant of God, whom the Lord conducts as a victor through the midst of his enemies; III. As the solemn homeward journey of a soldier of Christ, who is drawing near to his last battle, his last victory, and his last reward.
Footnotes:
[6]Act_23:12. a. In the majority of the uncial manuscripts [A. B. C. E., also Cod. Sin., Syr.], we find the reading οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι; only the two latest, G. and H., read τινες τῶν Ἰουδ. [as in text. rec.], which is a correction, as it was assumed [by the copyists, in view of Act_23:13] that only some were engaged in the plot. [Vulg. quidam ex Judæis; recent editors generally read ποιήσ. συστ. οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι.—Tr.]
[7]Act_23:12. b. [In place of: under a curse (or: with an oath, as the same Greek words are rendered in Act_23:21), the translators of the Engl. Bible here propose in the margin: with an oath of execration; literally, anathematized themselves; see the Exeg. note.—Tr.]
[8]Act_23:15. αὔριον [of text. rec.] after ὅπως is attested only by the two latest manuscripts [G. H.]; it must be regarded as a gloss from Act_23:20, as it is wanting alike in the greater number, and in the best, of the manuscripts [A. B. C. E. Cod. Sin., Vulg.—Tr.]
[9]Act_23:20. ὡς μέλλων is undoubtedly the original reading, and is also sustained by external testimony [A. B. E.], whereas μέλλοντες [of text. rec., with some minuscules, but derived from Act_23:15 (Meyer)], μέλλοντα [in G. H.], and μελλόντων, [in some minuscules], are merely attempts to correct the original. [Μέλλων is adopted by Lach., Tisch., Born., and Alf.—Cod. Sin., (original) exhibits μέλλον which was afterwards corrected by C to μέλλοντων.—Tr.]
[10]Act_23:30. a. The words ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰουδαίων, after ἔσεσθαι, are wanting in the Vatican manuscript [B.], and in several minuscules: they are, without doubt, a later addition. [They are found in G. H., Syr. but not in Vulg., nor Cod. Sin.—For ἐξαυτῆς A. and E. substitute ἐξ αὐτῶν, which reading is adopted by Lach., and has since been found in Cod. Sin.—Tisch. and Alf. cancel ὑπο τ. Ἰ.—Ἐξαυτῆς, of text. rec., found in B. G. H., is omitted in A. E. Cod. Sin. Vulg., and is dropped by Lach., but retained by Tisch. and Alf.—Tr.]
[11]Act_23:30. b. τὰ πρὸς αὐτὸν, and ἔῤῥωσο [of text. rec.], are also to be suspected, on critical grounds, and must be regarded as glosses. [The words τὰ πρὸς αὐτὸν are found, with some variations (B. omitting τὰ; E.G. adding αὐτοὺς) in B. E. G. H.; they are retained by Alf.—Lach. and Tisch., with A., read simply αὐτοὺς after λεγειν, which is also the reading of Cod. Sin.—Ἔῤῥωσο is found in E. G. and Cod. Sin.; ἐῤῥώσθε in H.; the word is omitted in A. B., and is dropped by Lach., Tisch., and Alt. The Vulg. has Vale in the common printed editions, but Cod. Amiatinus omits the word.—Tr.]
[12]Act_23:34. ὁ ἡγεμών after ἀναγνοὺς δὲ is a spurious addition. [It is found in G. H., but omitted in A. B. E. Cod. Sin. Vulg., and is dropped by recent editors generally.—Tr.]
[13]Act_23:35. κελεύσας [without τε, found in A. B. E. Syr., and adopted by Lach., Tisch., Born., and Alf.] is better attested than ἐκέλευσέ τε [of text. rec., with G. H.—Cod. Sin. originally read κελεύσαντος, which was afterwards corrected by C to κελεύσας.—Vulg. jussitque.—Tr.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35 the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been…
the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled to pieces . . . commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force, &c.--This shows that the commandant was not himself present, and further, that instead of the Sanhedrim trying the cause, the proceedings quickly consisted in the one party attempting to seize the prisoner, and the other to protect him.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 31, 32, 34, 35 6. Paul Rescued and sent to Cesarea, Act_23:10-35.
6. Paul Rescued and sent to Cesarea, Act_23:10-35.
10. Great dissension—Paul is imminently likely to be divided between the divided assembly. But Lysias is fully satisfied that Paul’s only offence is a religious dissent from the Sanhedric doctrines, which, as a Greek-Roman, he considers but a fancy crime, and he thereupon evidently purposes that their designs to murder him shall not be of easy accomplishment. (Act_23:29.) A second time does unconscious Gentilism rescue her great apostle from fallen Judaism.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv10–35 10. the chief captain] He must have been in…
10. the chief captain] He must have been in some position where he could watch all the proceedings, though we can hardly think that he was presiding in the Sanhedrin.
pulled in pieces of them] The Pharisees had constituted themselves protectors of the Apostle, and so the possession of his person had become the object of a struggle between them and their opponents.
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commanded the soldiers] They were in the tower of Antonia, overlooking the Temple-precincts, and so were ready to interfere in the struggle as soon as they were bidden. They were in considerable numbers, for below (Act_23:27) the A. V. renders this word by “army.” Jerusalem was at this time in such an excited state that the presence of a large Roman force was necessary.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 34, 35 (10) The chief captain, fearing . . .—We may…
(10) The chief captain, fearing . . .—We may well believe that the priest who had been rebuked as a “whited wall” would not willingly forego his revenge. He, and the Sadducees generally, would now be able to assume the position of being more devoted defenders of the Law and of the Temple than the Pharisees themselves. The fear of the chiliarch was naturally heightened by his knowledge that he was responsible for the life of a Roman citizen. In the barracks of the fortress, as before, probably in the self-same guardroom as that which had witnessed our Lord’s sufferings at the hands of Pilate’s soldiers, the prisoner would at least be in safety.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv10–35 Be torn for have been pulled, A.V.; by for…
Be torn for have been pulled, A.V.; by for of, A.V.; take for to take, A.V.; bring for to bring, A.V. A great dissension; stasewv, as in Act_15:2. and above, ver. 7. The state of things here described is exactly what the pages of Josephus and of Tacitus disclose as to the combustible state of the Jewish mind generally just before the commencement of the Jewish war. The Roman power was the one element of quiet and order. The tower of Antonia was the one place of safety in Jerusalem.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv11, 16, 22, 31 And the night following the Lord stood by him,…
Act_23:11-35
And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul.
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Paul in the castle at Jerusalem
On two other occasions a special Divine encouragement was given to Paul similar to the one here (Act_18:9-10; Act_27:23-24). At other times he acted under the general promises which God makes to all His people; but in these instances, special difficulties made a special promise appropriate. Note--
I. The difficulties and dangers which surrounded Paul.
1. The conspiracy which had been secretly formed against his life. Of this it may be remarked--
(1) That it was made sufficiently strong to render success morally certain. More than forty men who bound themselves over to destruction--to the wrath of God--if they did not succeed.
(2) It might be presumed that Lysias would readily grant a request which would relieve him of embarrassment.
(3) Had the request been granted, it would have been an easy matter to have carried their purpose into execution, for it is not probable that a strong guard would have been sent on an errand apparently so peaceful. In the vision Paul was assured of protection from this danger; and he was rescued in a most remarkable manner (Act_23:16-24).
2. The trials before the Roman governors of Syria. The character of Felix (chap. 24); a man corrupt in heart and life (Act_23:25); ready to be bribed (Act_23:26); disposed to do anything to gratify the Jews (Act_23:27); afforded little reason to hope for justice. The probability that Paul would be delivered up to the Jews, and life again endangered, was not less in the trial before Festus who (chap. 25) was equally disposed to conciliate the Jews (Act_23:9); which led Paul to appeal to Caesar, and secure what had been promised him in the vision. It is easy to see how, when brought before Felix and Festus, the promise that he should bear witness at Rome was necessary to sustain him.
3. The voyage to Rome. In the storm, and shipwreck, all human probability of reaching Rome would fail entirely. Amidst these scenes, Paul could not but fall back on this Divine assurance.
II. The assurance given is the vision, as an illustration of the arrangements which God has made to keep us from despondency.
1. There is need of such an arrangement. We are often surrounded with perils, and are disappointed in our plans. We see no egress from our difficulties; no way of escape from our danger. Obviously we need some arrangement that will inspire hope.
2. We are secretly conscious to ourselves that there is such an arrangement. The world, though full of disappointment and trouble, is not inactive or despairing. There is a conscious something--which inspirits the mariner, the warrior, the farmer, the merchant, the traveller, the Christian. What is this arrangement? How does it appear that it is of Divine origin, and marked by Divine benevolence? In reply to these questions I shall advert--
(1) To the records of the past. We have unconsciously before us, in our difficulties, the memory of the general success which crowns the conflicts of life. The arrangements of God show that the general tendency of things is favourable to effort and to virtue, and preserve the world from idleness and despair.
(2) To the general promises of the Bible. In reference to temporal matters, the promises in regard to success in this life (Isa_33:15-16; Psa_37:25; 1Ti_4:8; Psa_84:11; Php_4:19; Psa_23:1; Heb_13:5), and temporal good (Lev_19:25; Lev_26:4; Deu_7:13; Deu_16:15; Deu_28:4; Psa_67:6) are of a general character; but in reference to the future life they are absolute (Mat_4:7-8; Mar_16:16; Joh_6:37; Rev_22:17). That there are dangers and enemies in the way of our salvation, and that it requires a struggle is certain; but the promise of victory is positive.
(3) To what may be designated an internal confidence of success and safety. How much of hope there is in the young man, the mariner, the merchant, the farmer, etc. God has created the mind buoyant, elastic, hopeful. He leads men to think of recovery and success, rather than to anticipate disaster and defeat. He has thus said to every man, not in distinct vision, yet really, Be of good cheer! (A. Barnes, D. D.)
Good cheer from past and future service
From the midnight whisper of the Lord to Paul we may draw forth sweet encouragement. Paul was like the rest of us, made of flesh and blood, and therefore liable to be cast down: he had kept himself calm at first; but, still, the strong excitement of the day no doubt operated upon his mind, and when he was lying in prison all alone, thinking upon the perils which surrounded him, he needed good cheer, and he received it.
1. This consisted, first, in his Masters presence: The Lord stood by him. If all else forsook him, Jesus was company enough; if all despised him, Jesus smile was patronage enough; if the good cause seemed in danger, in the presence of his Master victory was sure. The Lord stood by him. This shall be said of all who diligently serve God. Dear friend, if you are a worker of the Lord Jesus, depend upon it He will not desert you. Did you ever forsake a friend who was spending his strength for you? If you have done so, you ought to be ashamed of yourself; but I think I hear you say, indignantly, No, I have always been faithful to my faithful friend. Do not, therefore, suspect your Lord of treating you ungenerously, for He is faithful and true.
2. The next comfort for Paul was the reflection that the Lords standing by him proved that He knew where he was, and was aware of his condition. One is reminded of the Quaker who came to see John Bunyan in prison, and said to him, Friend, the Lord sent me to thee, and I have been seeking thee in half the prisons in England. Nay, verily, said John, that cannot be; for if the Lord had sent thee to me, thou wouldst have come here at once, for He knows I have been here for years. God has not a single jewel laid by and forgotten. Thou God seest me is a great consolation to one who delights himself in the Lord. The Lord stood by Paul despite doors and locks: he asked no warders leave to enter, nor did He stir bolt or bar; but there He was, She Companion of His humble servant. If we come into such a peculiar position that no friend knows our experience, none having been tempted as we are, yet the Lord Jesus can enter into our special trial and sympathise in our peculiar grief. Jesus can stand side by side with us, for He has been afflicted in all our afflictions. What is more, that part of our circumstances which we do not know ourselves, Jesus knows, and in these He stands by us; for Paul was not aware of the danger to which he was exposed, he did not know that certain Jews, to the number of forty, had banded together to kill him; but He who was his shield and his exceeding great reward had heard the cruel oath, and arranged to disappoint the bloodthirsty ones. Before Satan can draw the bow the Preserver of men will pus His beloved beyond the reach of the arrow. Before the weapon is forged in the furnace, and fashioned on the anvil, He knows how to provide us with armour of proof which shall turn the edge of She sword and break the point of the spear.
3. When the Lord Jesus came to Paul He gave him a third reason for courage. He said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for thou hast testified of Me in Jerusalem. There was much comfort in this assurance that his work was accepted of his Master. We dare not look for much joy in anything that we have done, for our poor works are all imperfect; and yet the Lord sometimes gives His servants honey in the carcasses of lions which they have themselves slain by pouring into their souls a sweet sense of having walked in integrity before Him. Herein is good cheer; for if the Lord accepts, it is a small matter if men condemn. The Lord says to Paul, Thou hast testified of Me in Jerusalem. The apostle had done so, but he was too humble to console himself with that fact till his Lord gave him leave to do so by acknowledging the brave deed. It may be that your conscience makes you more familiar with your faults than with your services, and you rather sigh than sing as you look back upon your Christian career; yet your loving Lord rovers all your failures, and commends you for what His grace has enabled you to do in the way of witness bearing. It must be sweet to you to hear Him say, I know thy works; for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept My word, and hast not denied My name.
4. A fourth comfort remained for Paul in the words, As thou hast testified of Me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. The Lord would have us take comfort from the prospect of future service and usefulness. We are not done with yet, and thrown aside as vessels in which the Lord hath no more. This is the chief point of comfort in our Lords word to the apostle. Be of good courage, there is more for you to do, Paul; they cannot kill you at Jerusalem, for you must bear witness also at Rome. Wycliffe could not die though the malicious monks favoured him with their best wishes in that direction. Nay, said the reformer, I shall not die, but live, and declare all the evil deeds of the friars. The sight of rogues to be exposed roused his flickering life, and revived its flame. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Pauls vision
1. Christ is constantly with His followers, and He often manifests Himself at the very moment when the future looks darkest to human eyes.
2. Christ manifests Himself with a cheering message: Be of good cheer. The poor persecuted disciple, whom apparently only his enemys mutual jealousies preserve from instant death, is made to feel that the power of Omnipotence is behind him.
3. Christ manifests Himself with words of cheer for His followers, but He does not assure them that their troubles are yet over. Paul has testified in Jerusalem, and must go on to bear witness at Rome.
4. Christ gives no furloughs until the conflict is over. All Paul could look forward to in this world was a mere change of battlefields.
5. Christ gives no furloughs here, but gives the assurance of a final honourable discharge to those who fight the battle out. Paul testified for Christ in Jerusalem and Rome; Christ testifies for Paul in the New Jerusalem of God. (S. S. Times.)
The vision in the castle of Antonia
Learn that--
I. Faithful service in the past is rewarded by the comfort of Christs manifest and marked encouragement. Rewards of Christian service are not all kept for heaven. We may not have the crown here, but we may feel the grasp of the hand that shall presently put it on (Isa_41:13). We may not, while on earth, see the Saviour as He is; we may nevertheless feel His presence.
1. The Lords way of comforting His servants is by His presence. When a little child is in great sorrow, only a mothers comfort suffices. Servants, and sisters, and even a fathers comfort are not enough. So we want the mighty volume of His sympathy who alone is sufficiently touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
2. The Lords words of comfort are words of direct encouragement. How characteristic of the Saviour this language is. Fear not, and Be of good cheer, are words constantly on His lips. To Abraham, to Moses, through Isaiah, God whispers, Fear not. To Mary, Joseph, the women, Zacharias, Jairus, the little flock, the daughter of Sion, John in Patmos, etc., Christ and His angels say, Fear not. Christ spake it to the man sick of the palsy, to the frightened disciples in the storm, and to the suffering Church which in the world must have tribulation.
II. The faithful service of the past is a qualification and commission for the difficult duties of the future. As thou hast testified of Me in Jerusalem, so must, etc.
1. The past had qualified Paul for the future. Jerusalem, and all that went before, would help him to preach at Rome. The trials here would make him strong before Nero, and his hearers would look on this well-tried servant, and become stronger in his past fidelity and deliverances.
2. His past was also his commission for the future. This new service was the reward of the old fidelity; this new battle the honour conferred for the past victory. Marlboroughs minor victories in 1702 make way for Blenheim in 1704 and Blenheim in turn makes way, later on, for Ramillies. So Talavera, and Salamanca, and Vittoria are but Wellingtons preface and commission for Waterloo. Nelson fought St. Vincent and the Nile only to go on to Trafalgar. So our Lord is wont to say to His servants: Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many; Thou hast been faithful at Jerusalem, reward is to testify at Rome. They who fight their smaller battles well, will find larger field s and nobler victories.
III. The words which Christ speaks as to the faithful past, guide and strengthen His servants in trials get to come. Christs words--
1. Guided Paul as to his after appeal to Rome. When Festus asked, Wilt thou go up to Jerusalem (Act_25:9), Paul replied, I appeal unto Caesar. Some good men have accused Paul of weakness and error here. No! Paul felt clear about his duty, and had no regret when Agrippa said, This man might have been set at liberty if he had not appealed unto Caesar. The Saviour Himself had said, Thou shalt bear witness at Rome.
2. Gave Paul patience during a long and tedious course of waiting. The apostles heart had long been set on visiting Rome. His enemies were playing into his hands and were undertaking the charges of his journey. But for two whole years Festus kept Paul bound. But the Saviour had promised Rome, and that was enough. Thus patience was born of former faithfulness.
3. Afforded assurance to Paul amidst the terrific dangers of the journey.
4. Was strength to Paul in Rome. (F. G. Marchant.)
Pauls final departure from Jerusalem
Was marked by--
I. A visit from Christ (verse 11). This advent was--
1. Opportune. We may well suppose that Pauls sensitive nature would be subject to many painful memories, gloomy thoughts, boding anxieties, and perhaps sceptical thoughts.
2. Cheering: What a contrast to the words of falsehood, cursing, blasphemy, which during the previous days had been addressed to him! Christs words were words of--
(1) Commendation. Had Paul been allowed the mental agony of questioning whether he had done the right thing in Jerusalem? If so, here is a scattering of the dark thought: Thou hast testified of Me--well done.
(2) Information. Paul had long been intensely anxious to visit Rome (Act_19:21; Rom_1:10; Rom_15:23-24). Perhaps he had given up this long-cherished purpose, and had wept bitter tears of disappointment on the wreck of the loved hope. Christs words now assured him.
3. Suggestive that great trials in duty--
(1) Are no evidence of unfaithfulness.
(2) Are all known to Christ.
(3) Do not release us from the obligation to persevere.
II. A conspiracy of enemies (verses 12-16). This conspiracy was--
1. Malignant. The sufferings to which he was already subject did not satisfy them. Like wild beasts they thirsted for his blood.
2. Determined. They bound themselves under a curse.
3. Strong. More than forty.
4. Cunning (verse 14). Being in the charge of the Roman officer, he could only be got at through the Sanhedrin. The fact that these wretches could make such a request demonstrates the immorality that prevailed amongst the rulers.
III. An interposition of providence. In the verses that follow (16-35) we find Divine Providence--
1. Thwarting the evil. In the method here recorded we find three things which generally characterise the procedure of Providence.
(1) Simplicity. The agency employed was Pauls sisters son. This is all we know of the family of Paul. Here is a young man, probably uninfluential and obscure, who does the work. It has ever been Heavens plan to employ insignificant means for the accomplishment of great ends.
(2) Unexpectedness. Little did the conspirators expect that their plan would be defeated by an obscure youth; little did Paul expect that deliverance would come for him from such a quarter. Means often most unlikely are employed to accomplish important results.
(3) Naturalness. It was natural
(a) for Pauls nephew, having heard of the malignant plot, to seek access to his uncle, and to warn him of it.
(b) For his uncle to despatch him to the chief captain.
(c) For the chief captain, as a man of honour, to act as he did.
2. Delivering the good.
(1) Paul secured a safe journey to Caesarea. Gods resources are greater than the devils. There were forty murderers in quest of Pauls life, but God raised nearly five hundred brave soldiers to protect him. More are they that are for us than they that are against us.
(2) Paul secured a good introduction to the Roman judge, in the letter that was written by Lysias to Felix. So far Paul is safe, and on his way to the imperial city he long desired to visit. Truly, many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
The call from heaven, Be of good cheer, is for all Christs faithful servants
1. To comfort them at the unrighteous judgment of the world.
2. To indemnify them for the reproach of their ministry.
3. To allay their doubts as to their procedure.
4. To strengthen them for future contests. (K. Gerok.)
And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse.--
The plot of the Jews
Note that hatred--
I. Rises early, but love rises earlier. When morning came the Jews sought Pauls life, but the Lord had stood by Paul long before the morning dawned.
II. Always binds men with a curse, and the curse is on the haters, not on the hated. Curses, like chickens, come home to roost.
III. Demands satisfaction, though bodily wants go unsatisfied. But no soul can live long on hatreds poison.
IV. Demands satisfaction, but it does not secure it, when love appoints otherwise. These plotting Jews died of thirst and starvation if they were faithful to their murderous vow.
V. Is injudicious. It confides its murderous designs to forty men, half of whom are probably constitutionally unable to keep a secret.
VI. Is prompt and energetic. It were well if more of Christs followers had a little of the fiery zeal for Christ that His enemies display against Christ.
VII. Is lying, deceitful, underhanded, unscrupulous, mean. Under the pretence of sending for Paul to question, it makes ready to stab him. (K. Gerok.)
The assassins
One fancies they were chiefly young men, such as are usually foremost in daring and reckless deeds of violence. Probably many of them were students in the rabbinical schools, just as many Nihilists now in Russia are students of the universities. Paul could hardly wonder that some of them should be wrought up to this desperate and cruel undertaking, when he remembered how, a little over twenty years before, he himself had persecuted the Christians in Jerusalem, dragging men and women to prison, and, like some fierce monster, breathing threatening and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord. (J. A. Broadus, D. D.)
Confederacy in evil
In union there is strength--strength for evil as well as strength for good; and many a man will consent to wrong-doing in a ring, or in a corporation, or in a society of which he is a member, when he would never think of consenting to that same evil if he were all by himself in action. We have no need to go back to the days of the apostles for illustrations of this evil spirit. Instances of it abound in the European Nihilists, and the international dynamiters, and the gangs of robbers for both political and material plunder, in our American cities and in our American borders; all of whom exhibit everything that was evil in the course of the Jewish zealots, without the mitigating feature of an honest conviction, or of an accord with the prevalent spirit of the age. There is a timeliness in this Bible illustration of this accursed spirit of secret conspiring in an unholy brotherhood against law and religion, and against life and decency. (H. C. Trumbull, D. D.)
The conspiracy against Paul
In the story of the sack of Troy, Virgil has told us of the coming of Venus to AEneas to persuade him to abandon the useless defence of the city. She dispels the cloud which dims his vision, and enables him to see invisible deities who assist the Greeks in their work of conquest and destruction. AEneas now learns that he has done battle, not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces mightier than all the powers of earth. The classic story clearly pictures the natural blindness of men to the spiritual forces which overrule their lives, and the special favour bestowed upon him whose eyes are opened to see events in the light of the unseen world. And this is the great lesson here.
I. God is ever present and active in human affairs. Not always manifestly. The young man who stood by the side of Elisha at Dothan saw nothing at first to persuade him that God was present. But when his eyes were opened he saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire. The forty conspirators here sought no help and feared no hindrance from the hand of God, although their design was made in the name of their religion. But when the fruits of religion are hatred and wrath and thirst for blood, God is not in it. The help to which these men turned was their own cunning. If we can manage Claudius Lysias, they said, nothing shall save Paul. And yet God was present and active, giving them freedom to make their plans, and some degree of freedom in executing them, but keeping results in His own hand. So, let us believe, He always works.
II. Gods agents in these events were blind to this transcendent fact.
1. Claudius Lysias was unconscious of anything of the sort. He was only a shrewd man, bent upon extricating himself from perplexing difficulties. Alarmed by the, to him unaccountable, violence of the Jews, and disturbed by his non-recognition of a Roman citizen, he fixed upon the plan of sending Paul to Caesarea, as a safe way of relieving himself from further responsibility.
2. More culpable was the blindness of the chief priests and elders and conspirators. How came it that they, belonging to the nation chosen of God to receive the special revelation of His will, were so blind to His purposes? The answer is: Their moral blindness was a result of past sins. We can see God in His plans and wishes only along the line of a sincere and holy purpose.
III. The apostle was the one man of open vision. Nothing in his outward condition had power to obliterate or to disturb his sense of Gods nearness, and of His infinite grace. The Roman barracks had been to him a Bethel.
1. To find the reason for this vision we must go back to the very beginning of Pauls Christian life. In the saying, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, is to be found the reason why at critical moments in his life the Lord stood by him to reassure his heart. There is a wonder working instrument of science, by the aid of which one may hear the voice of a friend who is in the heart of a distant city. So upon devoutly attentive ears there may fall, distinct and musical, the still small voice of God, which not all earths many voices can drown.
2. The apostles assurance of Gods presence led him not to a passive reliance, but to cooperation. As he saw the power of the Roman soldiery enlisted in his behalf, he gladly availed himself of their protecting care. When the young man came into his presence to reveal the plot of the conspirators, be immediately availed himself of this information, and laid claim to the help of the chief captain. (W. G. Sperry.)
Divine assistance
1. God strengthens His servants internally by the promise of His grace (verse 14).
2. He reveals the designs of their enemies (verse 16).
3. He stirs up for them active friends (Pauls nephew) and powerful protectors (Lysias).
4. He brings them uninjured through the midst of their enemies (verse 23).
5. He gives them an honourable testimony on the way (verse 25, etc.). (K. Gerok.)
Divine protection
I. Required against the crafty designs of enemies who--
1. Unite against the righteous (verses 12, 13).
2. Disguise themselves under a pious appearance (verses 14, 15).
II. Experienced. God--
1. Brings the wickedness to light (verse 16).
2. Directs the hearts of men for the good of the righteous (verses 17-22). (Lisco.)
And they came to the chief priests and elders and said … signify to the chief captain.--
Evil-doing by proxy
Many persons who would not themselves commit a crime can be induced to have a share in the results of crime. There are railroad stockholders who would not themselves attempt bribery, who will accept a dividend on stock which has been made profitable through a bribery of the Legislature for its advantage. There are bank stockholders who will share without a protest the proceeds of a guilty compromise made by the bank officials with bank robbers for the recovery of stolen funds. And there are Christian voters who will vote for a corrupt man in city councils or in the Legislature, because his corrupt ways increase the value of real estate, or improve the health and comfort of the community. Those Jewish conspirators knew something about human nature when they went to the chief priests and elders, and said, All we ask of you is to get Paul into the open street; then well see to it that he never troubles you again. (H. C. Trumbull, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv11, 12, 19, 25, 31 11. The night following. Paul's conditions seemed most forlorn.…
11. The night following. Paul's conditions seemed most forlorn. He was even suspected by the church in Jerusalem. He was a prisoner to the Romans. His own nation was thirsting for his life. He had twice, within two days, narrowly escaped death. He needed comfort, and hence the Lord stood by him, cheered him, and gave him encouragement concerning his future work. It not doubt was like a ray of light, as he passed a sleepless night in his prison cell, to learn that the dear Lord still had work for him.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv12, 23 Act_23:12. The Jews (rather than certain of the Jews)…
CRITICAL REMARKS
Act_23:12. The Jews (rather than certain of the Jews) who banded themselves together under a curse to kill Paul were not the members of the Sanhedrim, who had forgotten their opinions in the council (Act_23:6-9), and were again united as one man against the apostle (Holtzmann), but the Jewish populace, or at least forty of them (Act_23:13), who came to the chief priests and the elders (Act_23:14)—i.e., to the Sadducean members of the council (De Wette, Meyer), who were hostile to Paul—with the information that they had bound themselves under a great curse to take him off. Josephus (Ant., XV. viii. 3, 4) mentions a similar conspiracy of ten Jews, who bound themselves by a solemn oath to assassinate Herod the Great, and relates (Ant., XII. vi. 2) the story of Matthias, the founder of the Maccabean dynasty, who slew an apostate Jew who offered sacrifice at Modin.
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Act_23:15. Ye with the council signify.—i.e., with the consent of the council or Sanhedrim. As though ye would inquire something more perfectly.—Better, as intending to investigate wore accurately (than on the former trial) the things concerning him—i.e., the charges against him. The words on the morrow are omitted by the best MSS.
Act_23:16. Whether Paul’s sister’s son resided in Jerusalem, or had accompanied him thither, cannot be determined. Against the former supposition stands the fact that Paul lodged with Mnason (Act_21:16). Plumptre suggests he may have been one of Paul’s Roman kinsmen (Rom_16:7; Rom_16:11) who had come to Jerusalem to attend the feast, and had heard the plot talked of in the caravanserai where he and the other pilgrims lodged. Alford thinks he may have been a young man domiciled in Jerusalem, as Paul himself had formerly been, for the purpose of attending school.
Act_23:17. Bring this young man unto the chief captain.—Though Paul had a promise of Divine protection, he did not neglect the use of ordinary means.
Act_23:18. The words Paul the prisoner show that the apostle was still chained to a soldier.
Act_23:21. A, or the—i.e., the expected promise rather than “order” (Rosenmüller) or “message” (Grotins).
HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS.—Act_23:12-22
The Conspiracy of the (more than) Forty; or, Paul’s Life Endangered
I. The plotters.—
1. Their persons. Jews; not members of the council, but zealots among the outside crowd who had been disappointed at the seeming failure of proceedings against Paul.
2. Their number. Over forty. Nothing symbolic in the number, which might have been any other. The conspirators having been so many were a formidable band as to strength, but a weak conclave as to secrecy. When two have possession of a secret it becomes liable to escape into publicity; how much more when it is shared in by nearly half a hundred?
3. Their aim. To kill Paul—which probably they considered could not be compassed in any other way than by secret assassination, since the Sanhedrim had lost the power of inflicting capital punishment, and to all appearance Rome had thrown her shield over the apostle’s person.
4. Their oath. Not to eat or drink anything until they had accomplished their purpose. To this course they had bound themselves by a solemn imprecation before God. A rash experiment it might have turned out for them had not a loophole been provided for escaping from their vow, in case it should prove unsuccessful or impossible to be fulfilled. But, according to the Talmud, one who had taken on himself a rash vow might be released from it on application to the wise men of the time. “He that hath a vow not to eat,” said the Jewish doctors, “woe to him if he eat, and woe to him if he eat not; if he eat he sinneth against his vow; if he eat not, he sinneth against his life. What must one do in such a case? Let him approach the wise ones, and they will release him from his vow, as it is written, ‘The tongue of the wise is health’ (Pro_12:18).” (From the Talmud; quoted by Lightfoot, Horæ Hebraicœ et Talmudicœ).
II. The plot.—
1. Its disclosure to the chief priests and the elders. These were manifestly the Sadducean members of the Sanhedrim, who were hostile to Paul. The plan discovered to these, was
(1) cleverly contrived by the would-be assassins. It possessed at least one mark of sagacity—it was simple and not difficult to understand. The chief priests and elders should call a second meeting of the council, propose to amicably forget their yesterday’s bickerings, lay aside their mutual jealousies and recriminations, unite against their common foe and request the military tribune to fetch down his prisoner a second time into their council chamber, when they would promise with due care and becoming seriousness to make an accurate investigation into the charges which had been preferred against him. If they did this, the military tribune would hardly refuse their request; and then they, the confederates, the “Invincibles” of Jerusalem, would be in readiness, as the apostle was being conducted back to their chamber, most likely under a small escort, to fall upon him by the way and despatch him with their knives. It appears to have been told out, as well as contrived, in cold blood. The conspirators seemingly were not troubled with qualms of conscience, or secret fears, but talked about their infernal project like a matter of common business. The plan, moreover, appears to have been
(2) complacently listened to by those “holy scoundrels” into whose ears it was poured. Not one of all these venerable priests and elders expressed themselves as shocked at the proposal. Had they but “shook their heads” and “made a pause” when those villains told their tale, or “turned an eye of doubt” upon their faces, “deep shame had struck “them “dumb,” wrought in them fears, and caused them to break off their purposed deed of blood. But no! the dark communication whispered into their ears made secret joy within their guilty bosoms. When, having assented to the project, they laid it before the full council, it was
(3) silently accepted by all, probably also by the Pharisees, who may have felt that they had gone too far in throwing their shield over a prisoner so hateful as Paul. “The miserable rulers, who scruple neither to smile nor slay contrary to the law, accept this bold proposal just as willingly as they embraced Judas’s offer against Jesus” (Stier).
2. Its detection by Paul’s nephew. How he came to be in Jerusalem, and how he obtained a knowledge of the conspiracy against his uncle, are points that have not been reported by Luke. But he may have lived in Jerusalem with his mother, Paul’s sister, or been a student at some Rabbinical school in the city, as Paul himself had formerly been, or arrived in the Metropolis from Rome as a feast pilgrim; while it is scarcely necessary to inquire how a secret got out which was first shared in by forty unprincipled ruffians like the conspirators, and then told to a circle of bloodthirsty hypocrites like the Sanhedrists (see “Critical Remarks”). Anyhow, the diabolical project having come to his ears, he carried it to his uncle (to whom he appears to have found easy access), who, calling to him one of the centurions, requested that the youth might be conducted to the chief captain, for whom he had a communication of importance. This done, the chief captain having taken him aside, listened to the story—which possibly did not startle him, knowing, as he must have done, the characters of both the Sanhedrists and of the lawless zealots, with which the city at the time was full, but which he cautioned the young man to keep to himself, along with the fact that he had discovered it to him the chief captain.
3. Its defeat by the chief captain. With a promptitude which showed he regarded the young man’s story as antecedently probable, and intrinsically credible, and the situation as highly critical both for his prisoner, who might lose his life, and for himself who might be punished for neglect of duty in allowing a prisoner under his charge to be assassinated, he issued instant orders for the preparation of an escort of two hundred heavy armed soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen (see “Critical Remarks”), to start at the third hour of the night—i.e., about 9 p.m., to convey Paul to Cæsarea, which order was executed and by which Paul was rescued.
Learn—
1. The depths of Satan which exist in the hearts of men—not always excepting those who profess to be religious (Rev_2:24).
2. The ease with which God can bring secret things to light, and disappoint the devices of the crafty.
3. The safety of those whom Christ shields.
4. The duty of those whom God has promised to protect not to neglect the use of ordinary means.
5. The great service—to God, Christ and men—which may be rendered by a youth.
HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Act_23:11-12. The Two Covenants against Paul and For Him.
I. The murderous covenant of Paul’s enemies.—Powerful.
1. By their number—forty against one.
2. By their design—sworn to kill him.
3. By their craft and dissimulation.
II. The gracious covenant of Paul’s Lord.—More powerful.
1. He discloses the designs of the conspirators.
2. Against powerful enemies He stirs up yet more powerful protectors.
3. He brings Paul uninjured out of the den of murderers.—Gerok.
Act_23:12-23. The Foes and the Friends of Paul.
I. The foes stirred up by Satan.—
1. The forty, and more, conspirators sworn to kill Paul.
2. The chief priests and elders aiders and abetters of their murderous scheme.
3. The high priest and the Sanhedrim who gave it their co-operation.
II. The friends raised up by God.—
1. Paul’s sister’s son, who happened to hear of the plot.
2. The chief captain, who took measures for Paul’s transportation to Cæsarea.
3. The soldiers—footmen, horsemen, and spearmen—who escorted him on the way.
The Hand of Providence, as seen in the circumstances that led to the defeat of the conspiracy and the rescue of Paul.
I. The number of the conspirators.—This made its secrecy practically impossible.
II. The discovery of the plot almost immediately after it was made.—This gave time for counterplans.
III. The presence in Jerusalem of Paul’s sister’s son.—Had he not got to hear of the conspiracy, access might not have been so easily found to the apostle’s presence.
IV. The kindness of the chief captain.—Otherwise he might either not have listened to or not believed in the young man’s story.
V. The credence given to the tale.—This led the military tribune to take instant measures for the apostle’s safety, probably before the Sanhedrim had approached him with a request for the re-hearing of Paul’s case.
VI. The strength of the escort.—This rendered it certain that no surprise attack upon the road would succeed in doing hurt to the apostle.
How the Lord Laughed at Paul’s Enemies.—By delivering Paul—
I. From the heart of a powerful, determined, and promising conspiracy.
II. At the moment when his destruction seemed imminent and inevitable.
III. By means of a boy, whose promptitude of action did more for Paul than all the plotting of the zealots and Sanhedrists did against him.
IV. With the aid of the instrument they hoped to employ for his destruction.—viz., the chief captain.
Act_23:12-24. A Defeated Plot.
I. The formation of the plot.—The depths of Satan.
1. The conspirators.
(1) The Jews, or the Jewish party, in particular forty of them, hot-headed zealots, “the Orangemen of Judaism.”
(2) The chief priests and the elders, the leaders of the party who were supposed to have influence with the Sanhedrim.
(3) The council, or Sanhedrim, who, without question, acquiesced in the diabolical project.
2. The conspiracy.
(1) Its object: to kill Paul. So ten zealots conspired to assassinate Herod the Great because he had built a theatre and held gladiatorial shows in the Holy City.
(2) Its motive. Partly chagrin at being defeated in the council on the previous day, but chiefly hatred of Paul as an apostate. So Matthias slew a Jew who had offered sacrifice at Modin (See “Critical Remarks”).
(3) Its bond. An oath neither to eat nor drink until their project should be realised.
(4) Its plan. To persuade the captain to fetch down Paul to the council, so that he might be stabbed on the road.
II. The discovery of the plot.—The folly of sin. Clever people frequently outwit themselves.
1. The conspirators were too many. Moral: when you want a secret to be kept, tell it to no one.
2. The plan was too good. The conspirators were so captivated with the ingenuity of their scheme that they could not refrain from talking about it.
3. The result was too sure. So certain were the plotters of success that they omitted the most ordinary precautions for safety. They paid no attention to who was listening while they were talking; and so it came to pass that Paul’s nephew came to hear of it.
III. The defeat of the plot—the counsel of the Most High.—
1. The young man conveyed the information to his uncle. A proper and courageous thing to do. Indicated presence of mind and promptitude of action.
2. Paul requested a centurion to take the lad to the captain. A mark of the influence which Paul had acquired, even over his keepers. Superiority of character will shine forth, even in a prison.
3. The captain heard the story, and charged the lad to hold his tongue. Remark upon the captain’s courtesy and prudence. Even heathens may exhibit some virtues.
4. Lysias arranges for Paul’s transmission to Cæsarea. Thus defeating the devices of the apostle’s foes.
Act_23:18. Paul the Prisoner.
I. In the mouth of the centurion a colourless designation of condition.
II. In the lips of his enemies an angry speech of degradation.
III. In the language of Paul a boasted title of honour.—Eph_3:1; Eph_4:1; Php_1:9; 2Ti_1:8. “Paul the prisoner; but therein happier than any potentate with all his chains of gold. Said Ignatius, ‘My chain is my honour, my links pearls.’ One hour changed Joseph’s fetters into gold chains, his stocks into a chariot, his gaol into a palace, Potiphar’s captive into his master’s lord, the noise of his gyves into abrech. So, and much more than so, will it be with all Christ’s prisoners at His coming.… This made Chrysostom say that he had rather be Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ, than Paul rapt up into the third heaven” (Trapp).
This Young Man; or, What a Youth may Be and Do.—Discovered in the characteristics and conduct of Paul’s sister’s son.
I. Characteristics.—Five noble qualities in any, but specially in a youth.
1. Intelligence. Paul’s nephew walked not through the world or the city of Jerusalem sleeping or dreaming, but kept his eyes and ears open, and picked up the plot which had been formed against his uncle.
2. Affection. On what footing religiously he stood with his uncle cannot be told. Perhaps, like his uncle, he was a Christian disciple, though just as likely he was not. Yet in the sudden peril which confronted his mother’s brother, he forgot not his blood relationship, and felt imperilled to make a bold stroke for his rescue.
3. Promptitude. Much depended on the swiftness of his action. Had he delayed in making known his discovery, his uncle’s life might have been lost. But the instant he became acquainted with the gruesome plot he took measures for its frustration.
4. Courage. Had he been timid he would have shrunk from the difficulties that opposed his forward movement. But animated by a holy affection he brought to the execution of his purpose a lofty and undaunted fortitude. First, he found or forced his way into the castle to see his uncle, and next he boldly proceeded to the governor’s presence; and finally he told out his story, seemingly without pausing to inquire whether it would be believed.
5. Discretion. Counselled to keep his secret to himself and to reveal to no one the communication he had—made to the governor, he did so, and thus both escaped the danger to which his own life would have been exposed, had it got abroad that he had foiled the plans of the conspirators, and enabled the governor to carry out his scheme for the safety of Paul.
II. Conduct.—
1. He frustrated a wicked plot. Rendered futile and vain the murderous designs which had been formed against Paul. By being shrewd and wide-awake, prompt and decisive, loving and considerate, courageous and fearless, prudent and cautious, he defeated forty villains who had plotted together, and bound themselves under a curse, to commit a dark deed of blood, and delivered the Sanhedrim from being partakers of the awful crime.
2. He saved a noble life. The noblest life that that day existed in Jerusalem; the life of the greatest man that bad arisen within the Christian Church; the life of one who under God had proved himself one of the grandest benefactors of his nation and of the world.
3. He furthered a Divine purpose. How little men know when they serve as instruments in God’s hands. It was in the Divine purpose and plan that Paul should preach at Rome, and consequently that he should escape from this peril. Yet neither of these facts were known to the youth, who simply carried out his own thoughts, and in so doing advanced the Divine design.
4. He secured for the Church and the world a rich legacy of religious literature. Had Paul’s life been taken as the result of that conspiracy, both the Church and the world would have been poorer to-day by the lack of those immortal letters which were written from Cæsarea and from Rome.
Learn—
1. That young men may be used by God for the loftiest purposes; and
2. That in order to be so used they should cultivate for themselves the noblest qualities of mind and heart.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On v11 11-35. That mighty vision was the secret of Paul’s…
THE CONSPIRACY AND DELIVERANCE
11-35. That mighty vision was the secret of Paul’s redoubtable courage and sanctified versatility. He knew he was to “see Rome.” God’s heroes are immortal until the last battle is fought. What a formidable conspiracy! Forty stalwarts, oath-bound never to eat nor drink until they kill Paul. God quickens the acute ears of Paul’s little nephew, unnoticed by the conspirators. Lysias here shows up a noble character, as well as true loyalty in the protection of a Roman citizen. When Martin Cozta, an Americanized Hungarian, was condemned by the Austrian General at Smyrna, on the Mediterranean, to die, Captain Ingram, with only one hundred men, in command of the United States warship St. Louis, delivered him out of the hands of one hundred thousand Austrian soldiers. Lysias sends two hundred infantry and seventy cavalry to take Paul, at nine o’clock that night, and carry him safe to Governor Felix, at Caesarea, with an explanatory letter stating how he had interposed and rescued Paul, regardless of expense and labor, because he was a Roman citizen. Here we see Paul’s old Lictorian Pharisaical identity and his political rights are all laid under contribution to save his life. God works by means. Some things He can do through wicked, worldly people, like the Roman soldiers, and other things He can do through dead church members, like the Pharisees.
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God help us to appreciate His providence as well as His grace. Herod had a palace at Caesarea and a judgment-hall in it, which, we find, becomes the comfortable quarters of Paul.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On vv11–12
Acts
CHRIST’S WITNESSES
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Act 23:11.
It had long been Paul’s ambition to ‘preach the Gospel to you that are at Rome also.’ His settled policy, as shown by this Book of the Acts, was to fly at the head, to attack the great centres of population. We trace him from Antioch to Philippi, Thessalonica, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus; and of course Rome was the goal, where a blow struck at the heart might reverberate through the empire. So he had planned for it, and prayed about it, and thought about it, and spoken about it. But his wish was accomplished, as our prayers and purposes so often are, in a manner very strange to him. A popular riot in Jerusalem, a half-friendly arrest by the contemptuous impartiality of a Roman officer, a final rejection by the Sanhedrim, a prison in Caesarea, an appeal to Caesar, a weary voyage, a shipwreck: this was the chain of circumstances which fulfilled his desire, and brought him to the imperial city.
My text comes at the crisis of his fate. He has just been rejected by his people, and for the moment is in safety in the castle under the charge of the Roman garrison. One can fancy how, as he lay there in the barrack that night, he felt that he had come to a turning-point; and the thoughts were busy in his mind, ‘Is this for life or for death? Am I to do any more work for Christ, or am I silenced for ever?’-’And the Lord stood by him and said, Be of good cheer, Paul!’ The divine message assured him that he should live; it testified of Christ’s approbation of his past, and promised him that, in recompense for that past, he should have wider work to do. So he passed to the unknown future quietly; and went on his way with the Master by his side.
Now, dear friends, it seems to me that in these great words there lie lessons applying to all Christian people as truly, though in different fashion, as they did to the Apostle, and having an especial bearing on that great enterprise of Christian missions, with which I would connect them in this sermon. I desire, then, to draw out the lessons which seem to me to lie under the surface of this great promise.
I. To live ought to be, for a Christian, to witness.
The promise in form is a promise of continued testimony-bearing; in its substance, one might say, it is a promise of continued life. Paul is cheered, not by being told that the wrath of the enemy will launch itself at his head in vain, and that he will bear a charmed life through it all, but by being told that there is work for him to do yet. That is the shape in which the promise of life is held out to him. So it always ought to be; a Christian man’s life ought to be one continuous witnessing for that Lord Christ who stood by the Apostle in the castle at Jerusalem.
Let me just urge this upon you for a few moments. It seems to me that to raise up witnesses for Himself is, in one aspect, the very purpose of all Christ’s work. You and I, dear brethren, if we have any living hold of that Lord, have received Him into our hearts, not only in order that for ourselves we may rejoice in Him, but in order that, for ourselves rejoicing in Him, we may ‘show forth the virtues of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvellous light.’ There is no creature so great as that he is not regarded as a means to a further end; and there is no creature so small but that he has the right to claim happiness and blessing from the Hand that made him. Jesus Christ has drawn us to Himself, that we may know the sweetness of His presence, the cleansing of His blood, the stirring and impulse of His indwelling life in us for our own joy and our own completion, but also that we may be His witnesses and weapons, according to that great word: ‘This people have I formed for Myself. They shall shew forth My praise.’
God has ‘shined into our hearts in order that we may give,’ reflecting the beams that fall upon them, ‘the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ.’ Brother and sister, if you have the Christian life in your souls, one purpose of your possessing it is that you may bear witness for Him.
Again, such witness-bearing is the result of all true, deep, Christian life. All life longs to manifest itself in action. Every conviction that a man has seeks for utterance; especially so do the beliefs that go deepest and touch the moral and spiritual nature and relationships of a man. He that perceives them is thereby impelled to desire to utter them. There can be no real, deep possession of that great truth of the Gospel which we profess to be the foundation of our personal lives, unless we have felt the impulse to spread the name and to declare the sweetness of the Lord. The very same impulse that makes the loving heart carve the beloved name on the smooth rind of the tree makes it sweet to one who is in real touch and living fellowship with Jesus Christ to speak about Him. O brother! there is a very sharp test for us. I know that there are hundreds of professing Christians-decent, respectable sort of people, with a tepid, average amount of Christian faith and principle in them-who never felt that overmastering desire, ‘I must let this thing out through my lips.’ Why? Why do they not feel it? Because their own possession of Christ is so superficial and partial. Jeremiah’s experience will be repeated where there is vigorous Christian life: ‘Thy word shut up in my bones was like a fire’-that burned itself through all the mass that was laid upon it, and ate its way victoriously into the light-’and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.’ Christian men and women, do you know anything of that o’er-mastering impulse? If you do not, look to the depth and reality of your Christian profession.
Again, this witnessing is the condition of all strong life. If you keep nipping the buds off a plant you will kill it. If you never say a word to a human soul about your Christianity, your Christianity will tend to evaporate. Action confirms and strengthens convictions; speech deepens conviction; and although it is possible for any one- and some of us ministers are in great danger of making the possibility a reality-to talk away his religion, for one of us who loses it by speaking too much about it, there are twenty that damage it by speaking too little. Shut it up, and it will be like some wild creature put into a cellar, fast locked and unventilated; when you open the door it will be dead. Shut it up, as so many of our average Christian professors and members of our congregations and churches do, and when you come to take it out, it will be like some volatile perfume that has been put into a vial and locked away in a drawer and forgotten; there will be nothing left but an empty bottle, and a rotten cork. Speak your faith if you would have your faith strengthened. Muzzle it, and you go a long way to kill it. You are witnesses, and you cannot blink the obligation nor shirk the duties without damaging that in yourselves to which you are to witness.
Further, this task of witnessing for Christ can be done by all kinds of life. I do not need to dwell upon the distinction between the two great methods which open themselves out before every one of us. They do so; for direct work in speaking the name of Jesus Christ is possible for every Christian, whoever he or she is, however weak, ignorant, uninfluential, with howsoever narrow a circle. There is always somebody that God means to be the audience of His servant whenever that servant speaks of Christ. Do you not know that there are people in this world, as wives, children, parents, friends of different sorts, who would listen to you more readily than they would listen to any one else speaking about Jesus Christ? Friend, have you utilised these relationships in the interests of that great Name, and in the highest interests of the persons that sustain them to you, and of yourselves who sustain these to them?
And then there is indirect work that we can all do in various ways, I do not mean only by giving money, though of course that is important, but I mean all the manifold ways in which Christian people can show their sympathy with, and their interest in, the various forms in which adventurous, chivalrous, enterprising Christian benevolence expresses itself. It was an old law in Israel that ‘as his part was that went down into the battle, so should his part be that tarried by the stuff.’ When victory was won and the spoil came to be shared, the men who had stopped behind and looked after the base of operations and kept open the communications received the same portion as the man that, in the front rank of the battle, had rushed upon the spears of the Amalekites. Why? Because from the same motive they had been co-operant to the same great end. The Master has taken up that very thought, and has applied it in relation to the indirect work of His people, when He says, ‘He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward.’ The motive is the same; therefore the essential character of the act is the same; therefore the recompense is identical. You can witness for Christ directly, if you can say-and you can all say if you like-’We have found the Messias,’ and you can witness for Christ by casting yourselves earnestly into sympathy with and, so far as possible, help to the work that your brethren are doing. Dear friends, I beseech you to remember that we are all of us, if we are His followers, bound in our humble measure and degree, and with a reverent apprehension of the gulf between us and Him, still to take up His words and say, ‘To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I might bear witness to the truth.’
II. There is a second thought that I would suggest from these words, and that is that secular events are ordered with a view to this witnessing.
Take the case before us. Here are two independent and hostile powers; on the one hand the bigoted Jewish Sanhedrim, hating the Roman yoke; and on the other hand the haughty and cruel pressure of that yoke on a recalcitrant and reluctant people: and these two internecine enemies are working on their own lines, each very willing to thwart the other, Mechanicians talk of the ‘composition of forces,’ by which two pressures acting at right angles to each other on a given object, impart to it a diagonal motion. The Sanhedrim on the one side, representing Judaism, and the captain of the castle on the other, representing the Roman power, work into each other’s hands, although neither of them knows it; and work out the fulfilment of a purpose that is hidden from them both.
No doubt it would be a miserably inadequate account of things to say that the Roman Empire came into existence for the sake of propagating Christianity. No doubt it is always dangerous to account for any phenomenon by the ends which, to our apprehension, it serves. But at the same time the study of the purposes which a given thing, being in existence, serves, and the study of the forces which brought it into existence, ought to be combined, and when combined, they present a double reason for adoring that great Providence which ‘makes the wrath of men to praise’ it, and uses for moral and spiritual ends the creatures that exist, the events that emerge, and even the godless doings of godless men.
So here we have a standing example of the way in which, like silk-worms that are spinning threads for a web that they have no notion of, the deeds of men that think not so are yet grasped and twined together by Jesus Christ, the Lord of providence, so as to bring about the realisation of His great purposes. And that is always so, more or less clearly.
For instance, if we wish to understand our own lives, do not let us dwell upon the superficialities of joy or sorrow, gain or loss, but let us get down to the depth, and see that all these externals have two great purposes in view-first, that we may be made like our Lord, as the Scripture itself says, ‘That we may be partakers of His holiness,’ and then that we may bear our testimony to His grace and love. Oh, if we would only look at life from that point of view, we should be brought to a stand less often at what we choose to call the mysteries of providence! Not enjoyment, not sorrow, but our perfecting in godliness and of the increase of our power and opportunities to bear witness to Him, are the intention of all that befalls us.
I need not speak about how this same principle must be applied, by every man who believes in a divine providence, to the wider events of the world’s history, I need not dwell upon that, nor will your time allow me to do it, but one word I should like to say, and that is that surely the two facts that we, as Christians, possess, as we believe, the pure faith, and that we, as Englishmen, are members of a community whose influence is world-wide, do not come together for nothing, or only that some of you might make fortunes out of the East Indian and China trade, but in order that all we English Christians might feel that, our speaking as we do the language which is destined, as it would appear, to run round the whole world, and our having, as we have, the faith which we believe brings salvation to every man of every race and tongue who accepts it, and our having this responsible necessary contact with the heathen races, lay upon us English Christians obligations the pressure and solemnity of which we have yet failed to appreciate.
Paul was immortal till his work was done. ‘Be of good cheer, Paul; thou must bear witness at Rome.’ And so, for ourselves and for the Gospel that we profess, the same divine Providence which orders events so that His servants may have the opportunities of witnessing to it, will take care that it shall not perish-notwithstanding all the premature jubilation of anti-Christian literature and thought in this day-until it has done its work. We need have no fear for ourselves, for though our blind eyes often fail to see, and our bleeding hearts often fail to accept, the conviction that there are no unfinished lives for His servants, yet we may be sure that He will watch over each of His children till they have finished the work that He gives them to do. And we may be sure, in regard to His great Gospel, that nothing can sink the ship that carries Christ and His fortunes. ‘Be of good cheer . . . thou hast borne witness . . . thou must bear witness.’
III. Lastly, we have here another principle-namely that faithful witnessing is rewarded by further witnessing.
‘Thou hast . . . in Jerusalem,’ the little city perched upon its crag; ‘Thou must . . . in Rome,’ the great capital seated on its seven hills. The reward for work is more work. Jesus Christ did not say to the Apostle, though he was ‘wearied with that which came upon him daily, the care of all the churches,’ ‘Thou hast borne witness, and now come apart and rest’; but He said to him, ‘Thou hast filled the smaller sphere; for recompense I put thee into a larger.’
That is the law for life and everywhere, the tools to the hand that can use them. The man that can do a thing gets it to do in too large a measure, as he sometimes thinks; but he gets it, and it is all right that he should. ‘To him that hath shall be given.’ And it is the law for heaven. ‘Thou hast borne witness down on the little dark earth; come up higher and witness for Me here, amid the blaze.’
It is the law for this Christian work of ours. If you have shone faithfully in your ‘little corner,’ as the child’s hymn says, you will be taken out and set upon the lamp-stand, that you ‘may give light to all that are in the house.’ And it is the law for this great enterprise of Christian missions, as we all know. We are overwhelmed with our success. Doors are opening around us on every side. There is no limit to the work that English Churches can do, except their inclination to do it. But the opportunities open to us require a far deeper consecration and a far closer dwelling beside our Master than we have ever realised. We are half asleep yet; we do not know our resources in men, in money, in activity, in prayer.
Surely there can be no sadder sign of decadence and no surer precursor of extinction than to fall beneath the demands of our day; to have doors opening at which we are too lazy or selfish to go in; to be so sound asleep that we never hear the man of Macedonia when he stands by us and cries, ‘Come over and help us!’ We are members of a Church that God has appointed to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth. We are citizens of a nation whose influence is ubiquitous and felt in every land. By both characters, God summons us to tasks which will tax all our resources worthily to do. We inherit a work from our fathers which God has shown that He owns by giving us these golden opportunities. He summons us: ‘Lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy stakes. Come out of Jerusalem; come into Rome.’ Shall we respond? God give us grace to fill the sphere in which He has set us, till He lifts us to the wider one, where the faithfulness of the steward is exchanged for the authority of the ruler, and the toil of the servant for the joy of the Lord!
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv10–35 See notes on verse 6
See notes on verse 6
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv10, 12, 16, 23, 31 Paul reassured by the Lord:
Paul reassured by the Lord:
v. 10. And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle.
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v. 11. And the night following the Lord stood by him and said, be of good cheer, Paul; for as thou hast testified of Me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.
As the uproar of the Jews concerning Paul became greater and more violent with every minute, the chiliarch, more of an interested spectator of the scene than an active participant, became apprehensive, began to fear that Paul would actually be torn to pieces by them. Those that took his part held him in order to protect him, others laid violent hands upon him to jerk him away, and thus he was dragged to and fro. Lysias therefore gave command by an orderly that the body of soldiers which was always in readiness should march down to the Temple area from the level of Antonia and tear the prisoner out of their midst, and then lead him to the barracks. So Lysias was once more disappointed in his attempts to find out the facts in Paul’s case; but he must certainly have concluded that the Jews had no charge of a political nature against him which they could or would formulate. But at this point the Lord came to the assistance of His servant. In the night following the arraignment before the Sanhedrin the Lord Himself, in a vision, stood by or over him as he slept, and reassured him, telling him that just as he had borne confident witness of the facts concerning Him in Jerusalem, had preached the Gospel of His grace openly and fearlessly, so it would be necessary for him, according to God’s will, to bear witness also in Rome. Paul had planned to visit Rome at the first opportunity; he had written the Christians of Rome an epistle containing a full exposition of Christian doctrine; and he would yet see the city, though probably not as he had planned. The fortunes of the Church are in the hands of the exalted Christ. He it is that is near to His faithful confessors on earth at all times, who strengthens and confirms them and directs the course of the Gospel according to His mill.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34 The following night
The following night
This means the night after the day Paul went before the council. AT: "That night"
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bear witness in Rome
The words "about me" are understood. AT: "bear witness about me in Rome" or "testify about me in Rome" (See: Ellipsis)
translationWords
lord
testimony
Jerusalem
testimony
Rome
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv11, 12, 16, 23, 24, 26, 31, 35 23:11 At this critical juncture, Jesus encouraged Paul to…
23:11 At this critical juncture, Jesus encouraged Paul to continue as his faithful witness by assuring him that he would go to Rome (see 19:21).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.