AP

Studies in Acts

Plots and Plans! (Acts 23:12-35)

The attack planned.

Several fanatical Jews were enraged that their attempt to kill Paul had failed, and that the Council had not condemned him to die. According to them, Paul had to be gotten rid of as quickly as possible. Presumably this group included Zealots, fierce anti-Roman terrorists and ultra-nationalists who hated Paul with all their being, because he had proclaimed to Gentiles that they could be saved apart from becoming Jews. In acting like this, they were opposing the world-redeeming work of the Lord Jesus Christ. At dawn they forged a plot and made the rash vow: “May God curse us, and worse, if we eat or drink anything until we have killed Paul!” So, they were assuming that they would enjoy quick success.

More than forty men were involved in taking this vow! Thereby the oath-taking would be harder to keep secret, as we see from what follows. They turned to the Sadducean high priests and elders because the day before, they had urged Paul’s death, in contrast to the Pharisees. The conspirators made their intentions clear: “We have sworn a solemn oath that we will eat nothing until we have killed Paul.” To get Paul out of prison, however, they needed the cooperation of the Sanhedrin. Therefore, they proposed: ‘Bring a request on behalf of the entire Council to the tribune that Paul be brought to you from the barracks, under the pretext that you want to investigate more accurately than was possible yesterday the accusations brought against him. We will be ready to get rid of him before he gets here.’

With this, the Sanhedrin was being drawn into yet another murderous attack, one that involved the very same issue (cf. Matthew 26:47; Acts 4:23; 25:2, 15). These men and their accomplices took for granted the prospect that soldiers of the Roman escort could also die, as well as the angry vengeance that the Romans would mete out in response. Not even the loss of their own lives held the oath-takers back, even though they would not die of hunger if their attack failed. The scribes who busied themselves every day with quibbles would surely find a solution whereby they could find exemption from their self-cursing oath.

The attack foiled.

The conspirators had taken everything into account, except God, who did not want Paul to perish, but to testify in Rome of Christ’s resurrection and glory. At that point the truth was proved once more: “No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD” (Proverbs 21:30; cf. Psalm 33:10-11; Isaiah 8:10; 54:17). Apparently, information had leaked out. A son of Paul’s sister, who lived in Jerusalem, heard about it, and took the information seriously and went immediately to the barracks. Because friends and family members often had to provide food and clothing to prisoners, they could visit them (Matthew 11:2, 4; 25:36; Hebrews 10:34; 13:3). Moreover, until this point, no valid complaint had been registered against Paul, and he was being treated with respect as a Roman citizen.

When the lad had gained access to his uncle, he brought him up to speed about the conspiracy. Paul, who had several experiences with Jewish attempts on his life, called a centurion to him and said: ‘Take this boy to the tribune, for he has something important to tell him.’ The centurion took him to the tribune and said: ‘The prisoner, Paul, asked me to come to him, with the request to bring this lad to you, because he has something to tell you.’ With a friendly paternal gesture, Claudius Lysias took the lad to a place where nobody else could overhear, and asked: “What is it you have to tell me?”

The boy answered: “The Jews have agreed to request you to bring Paul tomorrow morning before the Sanhedrin, allegedly because they want to investigate his case more carefully.”

Afraid that the commander would allow the Jews to pull the wool over his eyes, he added: “But you must not let them mislead you. For more than forty men have conspired to ambush him along the way to the meeting place and kill him. They have sworn an oath together that they will eat and drink nothing until they have killed him. All the preparations have been arranged. They are ready to execute their plan. They are waiting only for your consent.”

The tribune took seriously the lad’s information. Before letting him go, he insisted: “Tell no one that you have informed me about this.” To have done that could have cost the boy his own life. Moreover, Lysias’ own plan—to transfer Paul immediately to Caesarea—had to be kept in the strictest confidence, to prevent the Jews from changing their plan.

Paul transferred to Caesarea (Acts 23:23-25)

Claudius Lysias had been thoroughly warned. The day before yesterday, a raging mob had almost lynched Paul. Yesterday the members of the Supreme Council had fought over him. And now at least forty Jews stood ready to kill him. He himself, however, was still convinced of Paul’s innocence. Therefore, he decided to hand over the prisoner that very day to Governor Felix in Caesarea. Then the conspirators would be confronted with a fait accompli.

Ultimately, Claudius Lysias was responsible for the public order in the perpetually restless Jerusalem, a city that, so shortly after Pentecost, was still packed with pilgrims. If he were to approach this matter wrongly, this could have dire consequences. Therefore, he decided to transfer the prisoner to Caesarea that same night, protected by a large contingent of soldiers. Moreover, Paul was a Roman citizen, so Claudius Lysias did not want to get into trouble on his account.

In the foiling of the planned attack and the powerful measures of the commander, we see especially the leading of the Lord Jesus, who was thereby already beginning to provide the promised protection of Paul for the first leg of his journey to Rome. Immediately after Paul’s nephew had left, the tribune called two centurions (commanders over 100 soldiers each) and said: “See to it that tonight, three hours after sunset (about 9:00 p.m.), two hundred sword-bearing soldiers are ready for a trip to Caesarea, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen.” The 400 foot soldiers would have to protect the cavalry with Paul in the dangerous mountainous terrain, against possible terrorist attack. “And also provide some riding horses to bring Paul safely to Governor Felix.” In total, 470 men would guard Paul en route to Antipatris.

The tribune wrote a type of police report to bring Governor Felix up to date with the case. The writing displayed the ancient style of letter-writing that we encounter in Paul’s letters as well. Beginning with the sender, followed by the addressees, and then the greeting (cf. Acts 15:23). Governor Felix is addressed with the same title as the one Luke used in the dedication of his Gospel to Theophilus (Luke 1:3). The commander tells him that he had discovered no capital crime on Paul’s part. It has become evident to him that this involved an internal Jewish religious dispute, and the Romans never became involved in those (cf. Acts 18:14-15). The moment at which he discovered the citizenship of his arrestee, he turned it to his own advantage. That he had Paul bound already to be flogged was a fact he wisely omitted.

The text of the letter:

 Claudius Lysias,

To His Excellency, Governor Felix:

Greetings.

This man was seized by the Jews, and they were about to kill him, but I came with my troops and rescued him, for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen. I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin. I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment. When I was informed of a plot to be carried out against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him.

Arrival in Caesarea.

The soldiers—unwittingly in the service of Jesus Christ—went to fetch Paul according to their instructions, and brought him by night to Antipatris, about 60 km from Jerusalem, partway to Caesarea. For the infantrymen this was a long march. They possibly arrived the next morning around 7 o’clock. Not two weeks earlier Paul had travelled the same route in the opposite direction.

Here the conspirators could no longer overtake the transport. Therefore, the foot soldiers returned the next day to their barracks in Jerusalem and allowed the seventy horsemen to continue with Paul. At this point they could travel a bit more quickly. Upon arriving in Caesarea, they delivered the letter and the apostle Paul to the procurator. Although Claudius Lysias had put a horse at his disposal, the apostle must have been exhausted.

After the procurator had read the letter, he asked what province Paul was from, just as Pilate had inquired in connection with the Lord Jesus (Luke 23:6). This was to learn whether Paul fell under his jurisdiction. When he heard that Paul came from Cilicia, he knew that he did indeed fall under his jurisdiction. He said: “I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive.” From the letter of Claudius Lysias, he had already discerned that he was not dealing with a dangerous man. Should he not, based on Lysias’ report and Roman jurisprudence, have set him free? Instead, he had him put in prison in the so-called praetorium of Herod until the Jews arrived. This was the gigantic palace that Herod the Great had built for himself and where the Roman governors now resided.

Presumably Paul did not need to wear wrist- and ankle-chains. He was a Roman citizen and no official accusation had yet been registered against him. Therefore, he was merely under military guard, although this was certainly unpleasant. Five days later, Felix decided to hold him in “protective custody,” such that “none of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs” (24:23). The Caesarean believers could visit him.

With this, Paul’s testimony in Jerusalem came to an end. He was in Caesarea once again, where two weeks earlier, Agabus had predicted this imprisonment. But to die for the name of the Lord Jesus in Jerusalem, something for which he had declared himself to be ready, was not required of him. He was indeed “rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea,” whereby the prayers of the Roman Christians were also heard (Romans 15:30-31).

How would the Lord lead him to Rome now? Would he still be allowed to visit the churches there being “filled with joy,” and would he “find rest in [their] company” (Romans 15:32), as he had desired for such a long time and had attempted so often? (Romans 1:10-13). How earnestly he must have hoped, prayed, and yearned for this as he sat in his cell.

Questions:

What is our view of oath-taking? What does the Bible say about taking oaths?

The Roman Imperium was powerful, authoritarian, and cruel. Yet it had a place in the purposes of God. How are we to understand this?

– Alida Sewell