130 Acts 23:11 A GREAT PROMISE FROM THE LORD Introduction: In this text the Apostle Paul receives a great promise from the Lord. He promises Paul that he will live through the trouble that he is in at Jerusalem and that he will live to go to the city of Rome, which is the capital city of the vast Roman empire. I. The predicament that Paul was in While Paul was worshipping God within the temple grounds at Jerusalem someone yelled out with a loud voice making false accusations against him. Paul was accused of teaching all men everywhere against the Jewish people. He was accused of speaking against the Law of Moses. He was accused of speaking against the Jewish temple at Jerusalem. Furthermore he was accused of bringing Gentiles into the Jewish courtyard of the temple, which as an unlawful thing to do. Immediately Paul was seized and drug out of the temple courtyard where the mob proceeded to beat him, intending to beat him to death. Roman soldiers had rescued the Paul from the mob. The chief captain, who was in charge of the soldiers, assumed that Paul had been guilty of some terrible crime, but he was unable to learn from the people in the mob what he was accused of doing. So he intended to do some beating on Paul himself. That is, he ordered it to be done by one of the soldiers. He ordered that Paul be beaten with a whip until he revealed what crime he had done and confessed his guilt. But when he learned that Paul was a Roman citizen he did not dare to go through with the beating. Instead, the chief captain called for the Jewish Sanhedrin Council to come before him for a hearing. He hoped that they would be able to tell him what Paul was accused of doing so that he could present a charge against Paul before a Roman court. However, at that hearing Paul was given an opportunity to speak and Paul stated that the thing that the Jews really had against him was that he believed in a resurrection from the dead. He meant, of course, that he believed that Jesus had risen from the grave. This was the truth. This was indeed what they really had against him. It was because he believed that Jesus is the Son of God and that Jesus had arisen from the dead after His crucifixion that Paul was hated. He just did not mention Jesus specifically this hearing before the Council. At that point the members of the Council who were Pharisees spoke out in favor of releasing Paul because they, too believed in a resurrection. They would not have favored releasing him if they had known that he meant that he believed that Jesus had arisen from the dead, but they did not know because he did not mention that in the hearing. However, the members of the Council who were Sadducees were not in favor of releasing Paul because he believed in a resurrection which they did not believe in. The result was that the Council members who were Pharisees grabbed Paul and sought to pull him to them and to freedom, and the members of the Council who were Sadducees grabbed Paul and pulled in the opposite direction. The Roman chief captain again had to come to Paul’s rescue to keep them from literally tearing Paul apart. II. A great promise from the Lord Paul had not faired too badly that day. He had come before the chief captain and before the Sanhedrin Council with no man to speak for him. Yet by bringing up the issue of the resurrection, he had been able to entice the Pharisees who were on the Council to speak on his behalf and to do so emphatically. This was most certainly better than having no one to speak on his behalf. But he was still a prisoner and by speaking out in favor of a resurrection he had stirred the anger of the Sadducees against him almost to the point of hysteria. So at the close of the day when he was locked back in his cell there must have been a sad lonely feeling to come over him. V. 11, “And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul...” I take this to mean that there was some kind of visible presence of the Lord standing by Paul in that prison cell. Let me tell you that when you are feeling down and out there is nothing like the presence of the Lord with you to cheer you up. I have never actually seen the presence of the Lord with me, and His presence alone was a great comfort to me. I suspect that many of you have had similar experiences. But there was more than just the presence of the Lord to comfort and cheer Paul. The Lord spoke to Paul and gave him a promise. (V. 11), “...for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.” This promise was especially good news to Paul. It was good news because it meant that his enemies there at Jerusalem would not be successful in their efforts to put him to death. Those who had cried out against him within the temple grounds and had stirred up the mob against him wanted to put Paul to death. The mob had tried to beat him to death and would have done so if he had not been rescued by the Roman soldiers. Then after Paul was rescued and spoke to the mob they interrupted his speech saying that he was not worthy to live. In the hearing before the Roman chief captain the Sadducees of the Sanhedrin Council almost pulled Paul apart trying to take him away so that they could put him to death. Even the Pharisees who spoke for him in the hearing before the chief captain would have wanted to put him to death if they had understood that Paul’s belief in a resurrection included a belief that Jesus of Nazareth, whom they had crucified, is the Son of God and that God had raised Him from the dead. Looking at his situation from the human point of view there was no reason for Paul to think that he would leave Jerusalem alive. There was good reason to believe that within a very few days he would be brutally killed. But that one promise from the Lord assured Paul that his enemies would not be able to kill him. He would leave Jerusalem alive. He would go to Rome. It was also especially good news because Paul had long desired to go to Rome and to preach. As an apostle to the Gentiles he had longed to go to the church in that Gentile city, a church which had both Jews and Gentiles as members, and to strengthen the members of this church in doctrinal, moral and spiritual matters. Furthermore, he had a desire to preach the gospel to both unsaved Jews and Gentiles in that city. Back in Acts 19:21 we learn that he had already made plans to go to Rome once he had completed his task of carrying aid to the Jerusalem Christians. Acts 19:21 reads, “After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” In Romans 1:10 we learn that he had already written to the brethren of the church at Rome informing them of his plans to come and that he had been earnestly praying for God to make it possible for him to go there. “Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.” In Romans 1:15 Paul expressed a desire to go there and to preach the gospel to the unsaved there at Rome. He said, “So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.” In Romans 15:23-24 Paul said to the Roman Christians, “But now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you; Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your [company].” So after his hearing before the chief Roman captain and before the Sanhedrin Council where he was almost bodily torn apart with the Pharisees pulling on one arm and the Sadducees pulling on the other and after being once again locked in his cell it must have bee especially reassuring to Paul to have Jesus, Himself, appear to him in that cell and promise him that he would live to go to Rome. IV. The predicament that we were in The predicament that Paul was in on that day was not really as bad as the predicament that we were in before we got saved. Paul knew that he was not guilty of speaking against the Jewish people. He knew that he was not guilty of teaching against the Law of Moses. Paul knew that he was not guilty of speaking against the temple at Jerusalem. Nor was he guilty of bringing Gentiles into the Jewish courtyard of the temple where they were not supposed to be. Paul was not guilty before that mob of people. He was not guilty before the chief captain of that Roman army. Paul was not guilty before the Jewish Sanhedrin Council. But we all know that we stood guilty. We stood guilty before our family and friends. We stood guilty before our own conscience. We stood guilty before the Lord God of heaven who knew all about us. He knew our every sin. He knew that in our hearts we did not give Him first place in our hearts and lives. He knew that we put our own will above His will. He knew about every time that we took His name in vain. He knew about every time that we could have been in church worshipping Him, but didn’t. He knew about all those times that we spoke disrespectfully to our parents or spoke about them to somebody else. He knew about all of the times that we failed to obey our parents. He knew about every time that we took something that did not belong to us. He knew about every time that we hated and despised someone. He knew about every time that we told a lie. He knew about every time that we coveted in our hearts for something that belonged to somebody else. We were guilty of many many sins and we knew it in our own hearts. But worst of all we were guilty of rejecting Jesus Christ as our Savior. We heard the gospel message, but time after time we refused at least for that moment to call upon Jesus and ask Him to save our soul. We not only stood guilty, but we stood condemned. We were already condemned to be shut out of heaven. We were already condemned to be imprisoned in a place where we would never get out. We were already condemned to suffer forever and ever in everlasting fire. But thanks be to God He did not give up on us. He sent person after person to us to present the gospel message to us. He sent even one of the Holy Trinity to us to convict us of our sinfulness and of the fact that we were unworthy to go to heaven. He sent the Holy Spirit to us to urge us to turn to Jesus and to place our eternal destiny in His hands. Through the Holy Spirit the Lord Jesus Himself came to us and made us the promise that if we would place our faith in Him to be our Savior, He would save us and keep us out of the fires of hell. He promised us that if we would trust Him to save us He would cleanse us from all of our sin and that He would take us to heaven. In that prison cell Jesus promised Paul that he would go to Rome. When we were lost in our sins Jesus promised us that if we would trust Him He would take us to heaven. Let me tell you that I had a lot rather go to heaven than to go to Rome. I had rather go to heaven than any place than any other place under the sun. I think that when Paul laid his head down to rest that night that he did so with joy in his heart and soul. The Lord had heard his prayers. The Lord had granted him the answer to his prayers. He would not die there in the city of Jerusalem. He would go to Rome. No matter what might happen to him in the following days, he would live to go to Rome. I think that Paul was already rejoicing that he would some day go to heaven. In I Timothy 1:12 Paul said, “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” How good it is to join with Paul in that great assurance of heaven. It is good to rest upon the promise of the Lord who said, “He that heareth my word and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life.” I think that every person here who has trusted Jesus for salvation has a peace that passes all understanding. We have a joy in the heart that passes all understanding. No matter what happens to us in this life, we have a sure promise that we will go to heaven. But I want to sound out a warning to the unsaved. The promise of the Lord concerning those who neglect to repent of their sins and trust Him for salvation is just as sure. John 3:18 says, “He that believeth on Him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the Only Begotten Son of God.” Every person who will not believe in Jesus will spend eternity in an awful, awful place. They will never get out. Conclusion: How good it is to rest upon the promise of the Lord. If you have not already trusted Jesus as your Savior, please do not waste another day. Come now and get right with God.