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Acts 23:12-35  PAUL RESCUED FROM  NEW DANGER

Introduction:

	Before Paul’s arrival at Jerusalem he had been repeatedly warned that if 
he went to Jerusalem his life would be in danger.  When he arrived at Jerusalem 
the dangers proved to be real.  He was attacked by a mob of angry Jews at that 
the temple who would have beat him to death had he not been rescued by Roman 
soldiers.  The chief captain of the Roman army carried him before the Jewish 
Sanhedrin Council in an effort to find out what he was accused of doing.  The 
council meeting ended in another riot and the Roman soldiers had to rescue him 
again from the Sadducee element within the membership of the Sanhedrin.    
	In our previous text the Lord Himself appeared to Paul in the night and 
assured him that in spite of the dangers which he faced he would live to carry 
the gospel at Rome.  
	In our text today a new threat arises and God is put to the test to keep 
His promise to Paul and to rescue him so that he can go to Rome.      

I.  A plot to murder Paul

	V. 12, “And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and 
bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink 
till they had killed Paul.  And they were more than forty which had made this 
conspiracy.”  While God had plans for Paul to go to Rome the Devil had plans to 
keep him from going there.  .  
	Very early the next morning after the Lord had promised Paul that he would 
go to Rome, a group of forty men met to devise a plan whereby they might kill 
him.    They came up with a plan that to them must have seemed certain to work.  
They were so certain that they would kill Paul that they swore that they would 
neither eat nor drink until they did kill him.  In effect they swore that if 
they failed to kill Paul they would starve themselves to death.   	
	These forty men must have all been Sadducees and all most of them had been 
present at the meeting of the Sanhedrin Council on the previous day.  They had 
been present when Paul had announced that he was a Pharisee and that this was 
the reason he had been called in question .  He said that he had been called in 
question because he believed in a resurrection of the dead.  This tactic had led 
to the Pharisee members of the Council speaking in favor of releasing Paul, but 
it also stirred the anger of the Sadducees all the more against him.  The 
Sadducees had long argued with the Pharisees about the resurrection with the 
Pharisees saying that the dead would be resurrected and the Sadducees denying 
that anyone would rise from the dead. It seems that all of the pent-up anger 
against the Pharisees which the Sadducees had accumulated over a period of many 
years was now suddenly directed against this one Pharisee by the name of Paul.  
	V. 13, “And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have 
bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have 
slain Paul.”  It seems almost impossible for such a thing could happen.  These 
forty men plotted to murder Paul and they came to the top religious leaders of 
the land and revealed their plan to those religious leaders.  It seems 
impossible for such a thing to happen.  But it did.  
	They not only revealed their murderous intent to the top religious leaders 
of Israel, but they requested that those top religious leaders assist them in 
their plan.  V. 15, “Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief 
captain that he bring him down unto you to morrow, as though ye would enquire 
something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near, are ready 
to kill him.”  They said to the chief priests and elders of the Council, “What 
we want you to do is to send  a message to the chief captain, who is in charge 
of the Roman army, and ask him to send Paul back to the Sanhedrin Council for 
further questioning.  You can pretend that you have thought of some questions 
that you want answered.”  They said plainly to the chief priests and elders, 
“Before he reaches the council hall, we will be waiting along the route that the 
soldiers will take bringing him to the Council meeting and we will kill him.”  
They knew that there would be Roman soldiers with Paul, but they felt that forty 
of them could overpower the few soldiers and murder their prisoner.   
	Luke does not tell us whether the chief priests and elders agreed to help 
those men to carry out their plot, but by his silence he seems to imply that 
they did agree to do as they were asked to do.  

II.  The plot overheard

	The whole bunch must have felt that they were very smart.  The chief 
priests and elders could sent to the chief captain and request that Paul be sent 
to their Council meeting for question and the forty men would lay in wait ready 
to kill Paul and nobody would be the wiser.  
	But God had already outsmarted them.  God knew about their plan and God 
had already arranged for a young man to overhear their plot when the men spoke 
to the chief priests and elders of the Council. The young man whom God had 
arranged to be there to overhear them was Paul’s nephew.  He was Paul’s sister’s 
son.  V. 16, “And when Paul's sister's son heard of their lying in wait..” 
	 It appears that just as Paul, himself, had once been in training to 
become a member of the Sanhedrin Council, now Paul’s nephew was in training.  
He, along with other young trainees, were present in all of the Council meetings 
to see and hear and learn what goes on in such Council meetings.  He had almost 
certainly been present in the meeting on the previous day when Paul had been 
brought before the Council. Now he is present again.  He sees the men come and 
speak to the chief priests and elders and he hears their plot and their request 
for the assistance of the chief priests and elders.   
	(V. 16), “...he went and entered into the castle, and told Paul.”  As soon 
as Paul’s nephew had opportunity to leave the council hall he went right 
straight to the barracks where Paul was being held prisoner.  Judging from the 
following verses it must have been late afternoon before he got to leave the 
council hall and go to tell Paul about the plot.  But when he did get to go to 
the barracks building he was granted permission to visit with Paul.  
	Paul wasted no time in sending his nephew to the chief captain to inform 
of what he had overheard.  V. 17-21, “Then Paul called one of the centurions 
unto [him], and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain: for he hath a 
certain thing to tell him.  So he took him, and brought [him] to the chief 
captain, and said, Paul the prisoner called me unto [him], and prayed me to 
bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto thee.  Then the 
chief captain took him by the hand, and went [with him] aside privately, and 
asked [him], What is that thou hast to tell me? 
And he said, The Jews have agreed to desire thee that thou wouldest bring down 
Paul to morrow into the council, as though they would enquire somewhat of him 
more perfectly.   But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him 
of them more than forty men, which have bound themselves with an oath, that they 
will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are they ready, 
looking for a promise from thee.”

III.  The action which the chief captain took to save Paul’s life

	The chief captain was responsible for the safety of his prisoner and did 
not want to see him murdered.  He was especially interested in protecting Paul 
since he learned that Paul was a Roman citizen.  He, himself, might be in 
trouble if he allowed a Roman citizen to be murdered while in his keeping.  So 
he very quickly gave orders to ensure the protection of Paul.  
	The first thing that he did was to tell Paul’s nephew not to tell another 
soul about what he had overheard.  V. 22, “So the chief captain [then] let the 
young man depart, and charged [him, See thou] tell no man that thou hast shewed 
these things to me.”  The reason for this order is obvious.  As long as the 
villains thought that their plot was unknown, they would take no immediate 
action.  They would wait for the chief priests and elders to request that Paul 
be sent to the Council hall and they would lie in wait.  But Paul would never 
arrive and their plan to would fail.  But if they knew that their plot was 
discovered, then they might act before the chief captain had time to put his own 
plan into action and get Paul out of town.  In that case, the villains just 
might succeed.  So the captain wanted the nephew not to say a word to anybody 
about what he had overheard.  
	The second thing that the chief captain did was to make provisions to get 
an escort quickly and send Paul out of town in the darkness of the night.  V. 
23-24, “And he called unto [him] two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred 
soldiers to go to Caesarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two 
hundred, at the third hour of the night;  And provide [them] beasts, that they 
may set Paul on, and bring [him] safe unto Felix the governor.”  He sent an 
escort of two hundred foot soldier, seventy calvarymen on horses and two-hundred 
soldiers with spears.  Paul was really well guarded even from the human point of 
view.  But his greater guards were the unseen angels which, God, no doubt 
provided to accompany them.  The escorts were to make certain that Paul safely 
reached the city of Caesarea, where the Governor had his office.  
	In addition to the guard, the chief captain sent a letter to Governor 
Felix, explaining why he was sending this man was a prisoner and why he was 
sending him under guard to Felix.  V. 25-30, “And he wrote a letter after this 
manner:  Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix [sendeth] 
greeting.  This man was taken of the Jews, and should have been killed of them: 
then came I with an army, and rescued him, having understood that he was a 
Roman.  And when I would have known the cause wherefore they accused him, I 
brought him forth into their council:  Whom I perceived to be accused of 
questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death 
or of bonds.  And when it was told me how that the Jews laid wait for the man, I 
sent straightway to thee, and gave commandment to his accusers also to say 
before thee what [they had] against him. Farewell.”  
	V. 31, “Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul, and 
brought [him] by night to Antipatris.”  Antripatris was a city about 38 miles 
from Jerusalem.  He had an escort of 470 soldiers on this part of the journey.  
They spent the night there.  
	V. 32, “On the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned 
to the castle.”  At this point, it was considered safe for the foot soldiers to 
return to Jerusalem and for the 70 calvarymen to escort Paul on to Caesarea 
where he would be turned over to Governor Felix.  
	V. 33-35, “Who, when they came to Caesarea, and delivered the epistle to 
the governor, presented Paul also before him.   And when the governor had read 
[the letter], he asked of what province he was. And when he understood that [he 
was] of Cilicia; I will hear thee, and said he, when thine accusers are also 
dome.  And he commanded him to be kept Herod’s judgment hall.”

IV.  Some things to observe from this passage

	We should learn that there are always evil men who will oppose the truth 
of God.  The Sadducees not only opposed the Pharisees because they believed in a 
resurrection of the dead, but they especially opposed the Apostle Paul who 
believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  It should come as 
no surprise to us that there are still a lot of people in the world today who 
are bitterly opposed to the many truths of God’s Holy word.  
	They not only refuse to believe the truth of God, themselves, but they 
seek to persecute those who do hold to the truths of God.  The Apostle Paul was 
persecuted because he contended for the truths of God and God’s people today 
will be persecuted because they stand for the truths of God.  
	We should learn that God always watches over His people.  He did not 
prevent the mob of people at the temple from beating Paul.  He did not prevent 
the Sadducees of the Sanhedrin Council from persecuting Paul.  But there was not 
one moment that God failed to watch over Paul and to protect him from the evil 
forces that sought to kill him.  
	When we are in trouble God is always our source of help.  God used Paul’s 
nephew to come to Paul’s assistance.  God used the chief captain of the Roman 
soldiers to come to his aid.  God used the 200 foot soldiers and the 200 
spearmen and the 70 calvarymen to provide help and protection for Paul.  God was 
always looking out for Paul.  	Likewise He always has help available for 
His people today.  God may allow evil men to work against His faithful servants, 
but He always draws a line beyond which He will not allow the enemy to go in 
doing harm to His people.  
	Furthermore, we should learn that when God does allow harm to be done to 
His people, He always uses that harm to the of benefit to His people.  In Romans 
8:28 Paul himself said, “And we know that all things work together for good to 
them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”  When 
God allowed the Sadducees to mob Paul in that Council meeting and when He 
allowed those 40 men to plot to murder Paul God used that to Paul’s advantage.  
God used it to get him out of Jerusalem and on his way to Rome, where Paul 
wanted to go and where he had prayed to go.  
	We should especially learn that God always keeps His promises.  God 
promised Paul that He would enable him to go to Rome and God kept his word.  
There was no way in the world that those 40 men could have killed Paul until God 
was finished with him.  There was no way in the world that a thousand men nor a 
hundred-thousand men could have killed Paul until his ministry was finished and 
his work for God on this earth was done.  There is no way in this world that the 
meanest and most powerful enemy in the world can do kill one of God’s faithful 
servants until God is through with that person and ready for him to go on to 
glory.  God has promised His people, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” 
and God will keep that promise to all of His people.  God will keep every 
promise that He has ever made to His people.  It does not get too hard for God 
to protect His people.  It does not get too hard for God to provide for His 
people.  
	Let us learn to be busy doing the work where we are and trust in God to 
get us where He wants us to be tomorrow.  It was not in Paul’s power to protect 
himself from the enemy.  It was not Paul’s business to get himself to Rome.  It 
was Paul’s business to serve the Lord in Jerusalem in the temple, in the counsel 
hall of the Sanhedrin Council, in the prison or wherever he might happen to be.  
It was God’s business to open up the way for him to go to Rome if that is where 
God wanted him to go.  
	May we learn this lesson well in our day.  Let us witness for the Lord 
where we are.  Let us stand for His truth.  Let us support His cause in whatever 
way we can.  Let us be willing to sacrifice in order to serve the Lord.  Let us 
even be willing to suffer for the Lord if need be.  But let us dedicate our 
lives to serve the Lord who was willing to die for us that we might be spared 
the terrible suffering of hell fire.  Let then surrender to do the work that God 
wants us to do.