Safe Passage

Acts 23:12-23

I enjoy a good mystery, and I like the hero to win so the author can use them in the next book, that is why I’ve read all the Vince Flynn novels, and his key character is Mitch Rapp.   Before Mitch was considered a CIA super agent, before he was thought of as a
terrorists worse nightmare, and before he was both loathed and admired by
the politicians on Capitol Hill, Mitch Rapp was a gifted college athlete without
a care in the world . . . and then tragedy struck.  As you can see I can get almost consumed in a good who done it.  Have you ever looked at the Scriptures to find a good mystery, if not, let me introduce you to “A Plot to Kill Paul.”

Some of the main characters in the plot are, the crowd, the Jewish council, made up of Pharisees and Sadducees, and the Chief priest and other priests, then you have the Roman Tribune, Paul, a centurion, the elders, and the son of Paul’s sister.  But sometimes a little history of events are needed to help the reader understand the plot, so lets go back to a young man, who much like the character Mitch Rapp, in this way he was a serious student of the great teacher Gamaliel and was very zealous for God and the traditions of his fathers.  Then one day these followers of Christ began to talk about Jesus as if He was the Son of God and that caused the leaders to become concerned about this movement inside the Jewish faith. 

So Saul got permission and a letter from the high priest and the council of elders to arrest and bring in all the followers of this Jesus in chains to Jerusalem.  And in that Saul had been given information on many of them who were now in Damascus, he was on the way there, but God, (I so enjoy that statement) but God, had other plans for Saul, and so Jesus confronted him with a light so bright that Saul was blinded and he heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he answered, ‘Who are you, Lord, And he said, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’

What happen next is quite amazing because those with him saw the light but could not understand the voice that spoke to Saul, and they led him to a house of Judas on the street called Straight where Jesus had told Saul to have them take him.  And Jesus spoke to a man whom would have been one of Saul’s targets for arrest and told him to go to Saul and lay hands on him and this is doctor Luke’s account of that conversation; “So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus.” (Acts 9:17-19 ESV)

So with that information it becomes clear that from a Jewish worldview, Saul who God has renamed Paul has become a turncoat, an enemy, the politicians and chief priest no longer admire him, and he is no longer feared by the Christians as the assassin of this new movement.  In fact, he is now in the hands of the Romans, he is being held without bond in their barracks, he is safe, but he is not free to go.  So a group of Jews who were very religious made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they killed Paul.  Now this was not a small number of men, for over forty took this oath before the high priest and elders. 

But how do you a Jew get to a person being kept safe in a barracks full of soldiers, and it seemed like the only way was to trick them into bringing Paul out of the barracks so they could kill him.  We have been told that if a person is willing to die in order to kill the subject, and that was the intent of these Jewish men, then it is hard to stop.  All they had to do was come up with a plan to get the Roman tribune to bring Paul for one more session with the chief priest and the rulers of the people.  Now they were playing nice to the tribune and made it clear that they just wanted to get this behind them so they set up a meeting, and all was looking good.

But God, now I know some of you prefer “luck” but luck does not enter into the equation, with God, for He is all knowing, and not a sparrow falls without His knowledge.  So a son of Paul’s sister, did you know Paul had a sister?   He did, and she had a son who must have been trusted by the rulers and chief priest, because he over heard the plan to ambush and kill Paul.  So he went to Paul and was told to share all of the plans with the tribune.  There was still a big problem, it would require a centurion to do as Paul ask and take the young man to the tribune, and it would require the tribune to believe the young man’s story.  Now after listening to the young man in private about the plan to kill Paul, he charged him to tell no one of their talk and then he called two of his centurions and told them to get ready two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of night.  And also to provide a mount for Paul to ride and they would take him to Felix the governor.

It’s such a great story of the protection of our Lord, and sometimes He stops the plans of men with His unseen hand, and at other times He uses the concurring army to provide safe passage, but God!

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice