You're listening to the teaching ministry of Harvest Fellowship Church in Boyertown, Pennsylvania. You can find out more about us on the web at www.harvestfellowshipchurch.org. We pray that through our teaching, we may present everyone mature in Christ. Blessed Lord, we thank you, praise you, Father, For your ever-loving kindness and the grace that you show each one of us each and every day, Lord, we're so very grateful that we can, for this gift of being able to freely gather to study your word. And Lord, we truly ask that, or truly desire you to be honored and glorified this night through our efforts and our time together. And may each and every one of us be edified. By your word, Lord, we thank you and praise you for this evening. You be glorified in all ways in Christ's name, amen. All right, we'll do a little bit of review from last week. Last week, we dealt with Acts 2230 through 2311. This section takes place after Paul had been arrested in Jerusalem. The Roman commander, concerned about an uproar caused by this Jewish mob, wants to understand the reason for Paul's arrest and the accusations that have been brought against him. The commander brings Paul before the Sanhedrin, and that's the Jewish council. He brings them there to investigate the matter further, and he hopes to find clarity about why the Jews are so hostile toward Paul. As Paul stands before the council, he declares that he has lived a life with a clear conscience before God. And this statement really triggers a reaction from Ananias, who is the high priest, and he orders that Paul be struck on the mouth. In response, he sharply rebukes Ananias, and he calls him a whitewashed wall, and that's really implying hypocrisy. Paul does not recognize Ananias as the high priest, if you remember, and because of his actions, he's accused of reviling the high priest. So when informed that Ananias is the high priest, Paul apologizes by citing Exodus 22, 28, which forbids cursing a ruler of God's people. And this demonstrates his respect for the law, even in the face of unjust treatment. So Paul, recognizing that the council is divided between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, he cleverly declares that he is a Pharisee and that the hope of the resurrection from the dead is the reason that he's on trial. And his statement incites a fierce debate between the two factions, leading to chaos. And the Pharisees, who believe in the resurrection, start to defend Paul, while the Sadducees, who do not, they oppose him. And this uproar becomes so intense that the commander fears for Paul's safety and orders the soldiers to take him back to the barracks. That night, the Lord stands by Paul and tells him to take courage, assuring him that he will testify in Rome, just as he has in Jerusalem. And this encouragement fortifies Paul, reinforcing his mission and purpose despite the challenges that lie ahead. Now tonight, we'll be continuing on in Acts 23, it'll be 12 through 35. It's a lot of verses we're gonna cover tonight. And we can really call tonight's study, Rescue from Death, again. Now, just a small outline for the text we're covering. We're really gonna be in three different scenes. First, we're gonna see hatching of the plot. That'll be like verses 12 through 15. So there'll be a hatching of the plot, then the exposing of the plot, verses 16 through 22, and then preventing the plot. That'll finish this up, 23 through 35. And if you like points that all start with the same letter, we could do formulated, found out, and foiled. So if you can turn in your Bibles with me and read along. beginning at, it's Acts 23, beginning in verse 12. Hear now the word of the Lord. When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath, neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. And there were more than 40 who made this conspiracy. They went to the chief priests and elders and said, we have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you as though you were going to determine his case more exactly, and we are ready to kill him before he comes near. Now the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. Paul called one of the centurions and said, take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell you. So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, Paul, the prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you. And as he has something to say to you, the tribune took him by the hand and going aside, asked him privately, what is it that you have to tell me? And he said, the Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. But do not be persuaded by them, for more than 40 of their men are lying in ambush for him, who have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. and now they are ready waiting for your consent. So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, tell no one that you have informed me of these things. Then he called two of the centurions and said, get ready 200 soldiers with 70 horsemen and 200 spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night. Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to Felix the governor. And he wrote a letter to this effect. Claudius Lysias, to His Excellency, the Governor Felix, greetings. This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them when I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman citizen. And desiring to know the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their council. I found that he was being accused about questions of their law, but charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. And when it was disclosed to me that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, ordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him. So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipetrus. Antipatris. On the next day, they returned to the barracks, leading the horsemen, letting the horsemen go on with him. And when they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also to him. On the reading of the letter, he asked what province he was from. And when he had learned that he was from Cilicia, he said, I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive. And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod's praetorium. God richly blessed the reading of his word. Isn't it always when there's like a word that you have to say, and it's not really a hard word to say, but you practice it a few times, and then when you hit it, it's like, ugh. Yeah, well, we're going to try it again a few times. So questions from the class. What do we have? Any questions? Bob? Okay. Good question. Okay. Good question. Very good question. Yes. Yeah. Anymore? Yeah, I'm not sure if we'll answer that. If it's favorable, unfavorable, but we will discuss the the relevancy of that. I have a silly question. Is this the first time that we see Paul riding on a horse? Could possibly be. Gary? Why did he transfer him rather than just having Felix come here? OK. I think that's probably a lower to the higher kind of thing. I don't know if you could summons the governor. But yeah, good question. Yes, good question. So yeah, we hit some of the questions that I'd written down here, like what would become of these men who took the oath since they weren't able to fulfill it? And was the plan to kill Paul presented to the whole Sanhedrin or only to a few members? And what else do we know about Paul's family in Jerusalem? And then really, why does Lysias decide to send Paul to the governor? Who is Felix? What's the nature of their law that Claudius Lysias was referring to? And I did have, why did Felix ask what province he's from? And then what about Herod's Praetorium? What is that? But anyhow, let's get into the text. Hatching the plot, beginning of verse 12. When it was day, the Jews made a plot, or a conspiracy, and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. So when morning came, and this is the day after Jesus appears to Paul, and following Paul's testimony before the council, So some of the Jews conspired together and they took an oath saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they killed Paul. This reveals their intentions. Frustrated at having missed their chance to capture Paul, a group of Jews decide to devise a plan to ensure death. They were determined to succeed this time. Their seriousness is underscored by the commitment to bind themselves under what would be a curse. So this verb means to invoke divine harm if what was said was not true. But in our context, it's to invoke divine harm if one does not carry out what has been promised. So by placing themselves under divine judgment, they were essentially invoking God's vengeance. Their vow could be expressed like, may God do to us and more if we eat or drink until Paul's dead. So they were serious about their intentions to kill this man, and the most extreme measures they knew were to take an oath, which signified their determination to do this to everyone. And they called upon God's vengeance if they failed to carry it out. In a way, it seems as though they wanted God to be part of their murder plot. And for those of you, which is just about everybody that's been with us in Sunday school over the last month, we've examined oaths as they're presented in the 1689 in chapter 23. And although we do see that there are, we learn there that there are lawful oaths that can be made, in our best course of action in most situations is outlined by Christ in Matthew 5, 33 through 37, where he says, again, you have heard that it was said of old, you shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn. But I say to you, do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem. for it is the city of the great king. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black." And this is the important words here. Let what you say be simply yes or no, anything more than that. But then this comes from evil. So we do know one thing for sure, though. They want Paul dead. And they're dead set on making it happen. For there were more than 40 who made this conspiracy. And you might wonder, why so many? Apparently, they believed that the Romans wouldn't carry out Paul's execution. They couldn't rely on Rome to do their job. They also recognized that having Paul speak publicly again could possibly sway too many people in his favor. Thus, they felt that they just needed to eliminate him. But they didn't want any one single person to take the blame. They figured that if they gathered 40 or more individuals, and this perhaps could be an arbitrary number, it could have likely been they rallied whoever was willing to join in, but it was so that no one would be singled out for the responsibility. And a group this large would ensure Paul's death without the risk of him escaping. So then this group then bind themselves with a blood oath swearing to God that they would assassinate Paul, fully aware that they could just later distance themselves from this whole thing. See, Jerusalem now was a very dangerous place for Paul to be. A number of conspirators and their devout commitment, binding themselves with an oath to kill him, showed how much hatred that had arisen there for him. They were perversely religious in their determination to destroy Paul and dedicated themselves through fasting to end his life by violent means. Prophet Isaiah describes them perfectly in Isaiah 58, four, says, behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice be heard on high. So take notice how many times their oath to kill Paul is mentioned in our text tonight. It's mentioned three times. We see it in verse 12, in verse 14, and in verse 21. I think Luke does this really to highlight its significance. Luke does not indicate which punishment they asked God to punish them with in case they failed to kill Paul. The resolve not to eat or drink anything suggests that they were really determined to kill him pretty quickly, within a day or two. The severity of the oath may suggest that the conspirators were willing to risk their lives even in an attempt to kill Paul because they were doing this right under the nose of the Roman troops that were stationed here in the city. So here's one of the questions, since we know that these men failed in their attempt to kill Paul, thus failing to uphold the oaths taken, it really begs the question, what would have happened to them? What's funny, that Jewish law actually made allowances for vows that could not be fulfilled because of things beyond the control of the one who made the vow. So the rabbis very simply could have just absolved these men of the oath. So even as, you know, heavy this oath seemed upon these men, they could have just easily been taken away. So it really wasn't, you know, as crazy as it seemed. So then they went to the chief priests and the elders and they said, we have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste new food till we have killed all. So they weren't done with their plot. They sought more support and they approached the chief priests and elders. The chief priests and elders of the Sanhedrin were primarily Sadducees. If you remember from last week they were most opposed to Paul because of his teachings on the resurrection and this was a concept that they rejected. But also from last week who remembers the three groups now we said two of them that make up the Sanhedrin? No. Scribes, chief priests, and elders. But if you notice from our text, the scribes aren't mentioned. So there's chief priests and the elders. Yeah. But to answer your question, you didn't really ask, but I heard you say it. The Pharisees and Sadducees were like our Republicans and Democrats kind of thing. Think of it that way. The chief priests, elders, and scribes were positions within. So maybe if we would think senator, congressman, kind of that. So that's the thing with the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The chief priests and elders were primarily Sadducees, which they were like, They really opposed Paul. So they were the ones that these guys went to. They didn't go to the scribes who would have been more sympathetic to Paul. So these conspirators, they went to the Sanhedrin leaders and they declared, we have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. But why inform the Sadducees? See they knew that they could find a sympathetic ear among them and they hoped to gain the council's backing. It's worth noting that these 40 plus conspirators understood how morally corrupt Israel's leadership was to the extent that they actually felt comfortable to go before them with a murder plot. Imagine us approaching like a court or even going to the Supreme Court to solicit their cooperation in a murder. That's really what this was. See, these leaders were not only the judicial heads of the nation, they were also its spiritual leaders. The justice was corrupted, the spiritual truth had eroded to the point where they were actually complicit in an assassination. And the conspirators believed that they would find a receptive audience and they felt no fear of facing charges for attempted murder or anything similar. But now, therefore, you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you as though you were going to determine his case more exactly and were ready to kill him before he comes near. See, the conspirators' plan is straightforward. And since they can't reach Paul inside Antonia Fortress, they need to create a situation that compels the Roman commander to bring him into the city where they can ambush him. The plan consists of several key steps. So we have the chief priests and elders who are going to be then leading the scheme. They'll reach out to the other Sanhedrin to request a council meeting. So we don't know if they probably didn't inform the rest of the Sanhedrin. They had enough of them to call a meeting together. The Sanhedrin would then send a request to Lycius, the tribune, So yeah, we sent a message to Lysias the Tribune asking for another hearing before the Jewish Council for a more detailed review. And this hearing will require Paul to be presented as the Sanhedrin continue to evaluate his case. So Lysias will have no choice but to escort Paul from the Antonia Fortress. to the Sanhedrin's council hall, either through the outer court of the temple to one of its gates on the western side of the temple mount, or on a path directly from the fortress into the city. The conspirators would position themselves along the route taken by the Roman soldiers escorting Paul, possibly blending in with the crowds and preparing to attack him presumably with daggers or something before he reached the council hall. And maybe that was the reason for the 40 that there was multiple routes so that they wanted to have all their bases covered. We don't know exactly how they're going to bring Paul so we're going to station at different places but 40 or more people could probably easily take care of this. Luke does not tell us whether the chief priests and the elders agree to participate in the plot, though the report that we'll see in a little while in verse 20 suggests that everything is gonna proceed as planned. So that's hatching the plot. Now we're going to be exposing the plot. And we begin to see the wheels of providence start to turn as the plot is exposed. We see that God fulfills his promise of bringing Paul safely to Rome. He made it in verse 11 through the actions of various human agents. And in verse 16, now the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. This is the first mention of any family that we see, any family connections for Paul, other than indirect references to his parents in the previous chapter. Almost nothing else is known of his family other than what's reported here. And in Philippians 3.8, Paul mentions that due to his faith in Christ, he experienced the loss of all things. Many of the commentators who read believe that this loss included being cut off from his Jewish family, as there's no further mention of them afterwards. So how does Paul's sister's son suddenly come to his aid? There's many questions that could be asked about that. What was he doing in Jerusalem? Did he live there? Was he studying to become a rabbi, just as Paul? Did Paul's sister still care about him despite his disinheritance, if that was the case? And could she have become a believer? It's really intriguing to consider, and I can't imagine that Paul never tried to convert his family. So I'm sure he put forth every effort. But the boy hears of this ambush, and how did he hear about the plan of the ambush? Luke gives us no indication as how the young man came upon this knowledge. And one possibility is that with a conspiracy of this size, that with so many people involved, keeping it fully under wraps may have been difficult. Another could be that one of Paul's relatives were some of his bitterest opponents and were connected in some way with the conspirators. One more possibility and rather interesting to take note that the verb tense here allows for the translation of having been present. So that there's a possibility that he was actually present when the plot was hatched. And this would explain how he knew the plot so quickly. But one thing is for certain that we know that God sees every secret plot. And here you have an example how the counsel of the godless does not remain secret or hidden, but rather comes to light right at the right time. Even if people plot together an absolute secrecy, God in his omniscience knows all. Daniel 2.22 states, he reveals deep and hidden things. He knows what is in the darkness. Luke 12, two and three, nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetop. See, God rules and he overrules. Proverbs 21, 30, no wisdom, no understanding, and no counsel can avail against the Lord. We can clearly see the demonstration of God's providential care here. So the boy then went, he entered the barracks and he told Paul. So he quickly went to the Antonia Fortress and he entered the barracks where Paul was being kept in custody. And there he told Paul all that he knew of the plot to take his life. And we're not told how this young man had such free access to Paul, but possibly being that he was related to Paul or maybe that and combined with his youth. But it does appear also that Paul had a bit of liberty within the barracks. I think we can assume that he wasn't chained this time. And since he's allowed visitors the conversation with his nephew probably occurred in private. So with this information now Paul called one of the centurions and said take this young man to the tribune for he has something to tell him. So Paul reacts immediately to the news and he calls for one of the centurions. And here we see really Paul's only role in his own rescue. He just calls the centurion over. We also see Paul's authority and stature in this setting illustrated by his ability to summon and direct the centurion in this way. Remember the centurion, while not at the level of the tribune, he's still a commander of men in his own right. He's not just a simple prison guard. And the centurion also would have had direct access to the tribune. So Paul said to him, take this young man to the tribune for he has something to tell him. Now we see the term young man, and young man is usually one that describes a person, in scripture, describes a person from about age 18 to 30 years. And if we see Paul, say Paul would possibly be in his late 50s, his nephew would have most likely been somewhere in the middle of that range. But with that said, we see a statement in verse 19 that leads us to believe that the boy is even younger. The fact that the Tribune, and we'll see this shortly, that the Tribune takes him by the hand and gives us a distinct impression that it's a boy, not even a teenager, because no officer would take a teenager or an adult by the hand. But unfortunately, Luke doesn't tell us anything more. So then Paul immediately told the centurion to take the young man to the Tribune so that he might be told an important message. So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, Paul, the prisoner, called me and asked me to bring this young man to you as he has something to say to you. The centurion agreed to Paul's request and brought Paul's nephew to the commander of the garrison. And Paul is referenced here as the prisoner, and this indicates that he was not in protective custody, but he was actually being held as a prisoner until serious charges against him could be thoroughly examined, either dismissed or confirmed. The centurion informed the commander that Paul had asked him to bring the young man, interpreting Paul's words in verse 17 as a request rather than a command. So he didn't command the centurion to do this, he asked him to. The tribune then took him by the hand and going aside asked him privately, what is it that you have to tell me? And again, this taking him by the hand is a little intriguing. As I mentioned a moment ago, for a chief commander to take a young man by the hand, it really gives a distinct impression that he's rather young. We wouldn't assume that a captain would take a young boy by the hand, also unless he needed to reassure him of something. So possibly the boy was maybe intimidated by being in this fortress around all these commanders and thinking he's probably scared. Picture a small child feeling anxious in the midst of this Roman fort and to calm him down, the captain gently took him by the hand and let him aside for a private conversation. And he asked him, what is it that you have to tell me? You figure at this point, the captain is overwhelmed with information about Paul and he's struggling to make sense of it all. So anything related to Paul really piques his interest. We really must describe it to the grace of God that the Tribune showed so much courtesy and kindness to this youth. that he took him by the hand and let him aside, and he heard him willingly and patiently." The young man's message to the commander reiterates the details we already know. This is really, again, increasing the tension in this narrative. And he said, the Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. And Paul's nephew adds an urgent plea for help and then provides further details to emphasize the gravity of the situation. He said, but do not be persuaded by them for more than 40 men are lying in ambush for him who have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready waiting for your consent. The report that Paul's nephew provides regarding the conspiracy agrees with what was given in verses 14 and 15. It includes the following details. The Jews have reached an agreement. They plan to approach the commander with a request and this request calls for a meeting of the Sanhedrin the following day. They expected the commander to bring Paul down to the council hall where the Sanhedrin convene. They will claim that they want to examine Paul more closely, but this is merely a pretext. The conspiracy involves over 40 Jews, and these men will lie in ambush waiting for a chance to kill Paul. They have bound themselves with an oath, and as a condition of the oath, they have resolved not to eat or drink until Paul is killed. They are prepared, that is. They have made all necessary arrangements, and they are waiting for the commander's approval of the request to bring Paul from the Antonia Fortress to the Sanhedrin Council Hall the next morning. Paul's nephew urgently warns the commander not to be swayed by the Jews when they come to him the next morning with the request to bring Paul before them. The plot is in place and the conspirators are ready. Now the entire plan depends upon the Tribune to promise to deliver the prisoner. So the Tribune dismisses the young man, charging him, tell no one that you have informed me of these things. So the Tribune, Lysias, continues to show both justice and concern for Paul's safety. And he then allows the young man to leave, instructing him, make sure you do not tell anyone that you have shared these things with me. And why did he say that? Seems to be two obvious reasons. First, he wanted to keep it quiet because if the conspirators had discovered that their plan was known, they might devise another scheme, especially if they were so determined to kill Paul. But second, the commander likely wanted to avoid any confrontation with the Jews. If they knew that he was aware of their plot and then prevented it from happening, it could lead to further unrest and rebellion. You got to remember, at this time in Jerusalem and Judea, the whole area was very unstable already. And it's neat to consider that the narrative, well this narrative probably took place around 57 AD, so they're only 13 years away from the complete destruction of Jerusalem. There was constant friction between those 13 years. There was rebellion and unrest, just constant battling of friction between the Romans and the Jews. So it was a pretty tense situation for all. And Lysias was aware of the challenges previous leaders had faced in the area and he didn't want to provoke the Jews to any unrest. So he probably figured the best approach was to keep the knowledge to himself and to get Paul out of town discreetly. This way the conspirators wouldn't suspect that he had intervened because of their plot and they would see it just as a routine procedure instead of a personal affront against them. He was wise in his judgment and thus the plot was ultimately foiled. So preventing the plot, final scene, the plot is thwarted. This is a fitting term and it highlights really the providence of God. Determined to outsmart the assassins, Lysias feels the weight of Roman justice and doesn't want to be responsible for the assassination of a Roman citizen which could cost him both his job and or his life. I guess if you lose your life you also would have no need of the job. But he also wants to avoid conflict within the Jewish community as tensions, like I said, are already high. He recognizes that he's dealing with an important figure given just the chaos surrounding Paul. So the only sensible option is to get Paul out of town and escalate the matter to the governor. So he refers him to a higher authority. In this case, it means transferring Paul to Caesarea to appear before the governor. You know, this situation is really reminiscent of how Jesus was treated. If you remember, Jesus was first brought before Pilate, who then sent him to Herod. And similarly, Lysias wants to avoid taking sides. He aims to protect Paul's life as well as his own position by handing him over to Felix for further examination. So then he calls two centurions and said, get ready 200 soldiers with 70 horsemen and 200 spearmen and go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night. So transporting Paul to Caesarea was about a 60 mile journey out to the coast. It was really a strategic move in a way because it went through, he was going to a Gentile dominated city. So that means that there's a lower likelihood of any serious unrest, revolution, or even assassination attempts. So he summons his troops. He calls two centurions. If you recall, a centurion is a commander of 100. So he said, get ready 200 soldiers and go to Caesarea. Each centurion would take his contingent of heavily armed infantry. And the Roman army was structured really in three parts. So first you have the heavy infantry. Those were the ones that were equipped with the swords and the shields. They were in the front. They were the ones you ever see in any of the battles where they get the shields down and can really form a protective barrier. Next, we have the 70 horsemen. That's the cavalry. They would do some reconnaissance work. They would flank. And then lastly, you had the 200 spearmen. And these were designated as javelin throwers. They were the light infantry that would stay in the back. So this is like a fighting force that he has assembled. As the army moved, the cavalry would act as reconnaissance, I already said that, flanking troops. Heavy infantry would be at the front, spearmen in the back. So here we have 470 military troops fully armed, ready to escort one apostle out of town. So it's really hard to miss God's providence coming into play with this. Interesting note. If the garrison stationed at Antonia was a normal Roman cohort with a single commander, the total force would have been not much more than 400 soldiers. Now, when they classify that, that would be 400 heavy infantry. That's not including the horsemen and the spearmen, which could vary. So this contingent that he was sending out was likely half of his available personnel. And if you remember the situation that's going on in Jerusalem already, this is a real risk, losing half of his force to get Paul out. But the entire Roman force then, this Roman force, assembled to ensure Paul's safe departure, and they planned to do so at 9 p.m., as noted, the third hour of the night. Paul must have been astonished by all the commotion just to get him out. Let's not forget that it's a real turbulent province, there's tensions simmering, tensions that would eventually, like I said, boil over nine years later into a revolution that would lead then into 1870 for the total destruction of Jerusalem. But Lysias here understood that he really needed a significant force. He knew that the crowd in the temple grounds had rioted against Paul, and he recognized the gravity of the situation. He was concerned. He knew that getting Paul to Caesarea would provide the protection he needed if he could just get him there. And in the text also, he provides mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to Felix the governor. I thought this was interesting. If you notice that mounts is plural. So we don't know why. He may have provided two horses so that Paul could have a change of animals so they could continue and move more rapidly. Maybe the second one was to carry his baggage. Another possibility is that maybe he had a traveling companion that went with him. We're not told. But the combined forces, well, one thing also to think, Paul was a beaten guy. He was already, I don't, I can't imagine just on a good day that he would get anywhere quickly. So he wasn't marching for sure. And that would be another reason possibly that the necessity to have a horse for him. But the combined forces of infantry, cavalry, and light armed troops were 12 times larger than this group of 40 conspirators. And while the dangers on the route might justify such a substantial military presence, the primary motivation appears to be the commander's desire to protect Paul from any further threats posed by his adversaries. And he really wanted to ensure that he could deliver him safely to Felix. And then he wrote this letter to the effect, as we examine the letter, take special note of its construction. It's a very typical letter where a guy is writing to a superior and makes himself look like the hero. The purpose of the letter is for Lysias to explain to Felix why he's sending Paul. The way Luke presents the letter is in the form of direct citation. That begs the question as to how Luke would have been able to attain a copy of the letter. Few possibilities. If the letter was read aloud by the governor, and we'll see that in verse 34, and that was almost a universal practice in antiquity, Paul may have been able to just recall the message for Luke. Luke could have possibly had access to Roman archives, whether in Jerusalem or in Caesarea. Luke occasionally includes apparently private information in the text without disclosing his sources. But also we can see this is a really great illustration of divine inspiration. You know, we know the words are the inspired words of Scripture and that they were made available to Luke by the Holy Spirit. But the letter starts out, Claudius Laetius, to his excellency, the governor Felix, greetings. Claudius Lysias. And although we've mentioned his name a lot in the past month or so, this is really the first time in Scripture that we see his name. The name Lysias would have been his original Greek name. It indicates that he was a Gentile by birth. And Claudius would have been the Roman name that he adopted upon becoming a citizen. And it would have been taken most likely from the Caesar who was reigning at the time. He may have received his citizenship under the Emperor Claudius. So Claudius Lysias, if you recall back in chapter 22 verse 28, he actually purchased his citizenship for a large sum of money. So it's Claudius Lysias, to His Excellency the Governor Felix, greetings. Lysias starts his letter with a standard formal greeting. The title, His Excellency, is a title of honor. This title was generally reserved for the Roman upper class or nobility. But it's kind of strange. Felix was actually a former slave that was freed. So he would not have been part of the upper class. So he's given the title, Excellency, by virtue of him just being the governor. I don't want to talk too much about Felix. There's all kinds of need information he could bring into it, but I'm sure we'll be talking to him, talking about him in the coming weeks. But one thing that's worth taking note is he's not mentioned favorably in the history books. According to the Roman historian Tactus, he says, Felix exercised royal authority with a slave's mentality and appeared to remain entrenched in his low class origins. characterized Felix as a master of cruelty showing little understanding of the Jewish people that he governed. And he dealt harshly with political and religious unrest. His ruthless suppression of Jewish uprisings only led to more unrest. So there's no doubt that he would have been well known within the Jewish community. It doesn't really seem like he's going to be doing our brother Paul any favors. But the letter continues. He says, This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them when I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman citizen. See, Lysias asserts that he has done everything he can to address this situation. We can see by his frequent use of the pronoun I, he tells Felix that as the military commander, he instructed his soldiers to rescue Paul from the Jews who were about to kill him. And he claimed he acted immediately upon learning of Paul's Roman citizenship. Here, Lysias portrays himself in a positive light, despite the fact that he only discovered Paul's citizenship when he was ordering him to be whipped. So it's obvious that he omits details that reflect poorly on himself, and it's also clear that he presents a condensed version of the events. So he continues, and desiring to know the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their counsel. I found that he was being accused about questions of their law, but charged with nothing deserving of death or imprisonment. So Ulysses details his next steps, He brings Paul before the Sanhedrin to understand the reason behind the accusations against him. He wisely avoids mentioning the chaotic events that took place in the assembly hall. Instead, he summarizes the legal matter by stating that it revolved around disputes regarding Jewish law. Considering Paul's status as a Roman citizen, Lysias concludes that the accusations from the Jews do not justify either death or imprisonment. In fact, the commander tells Felix that he believes Paul is not a criminal, really, and should be released. Take note of the parallel between this and Jesus. Five times Pilate said, I find no fault in him. And here it is for Paul. He hadn't done anything either. But isn't this the pattern of Israel? In Matthew 23, 37, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who were sent to it. So he says, I have nothing to lay to his charge. There's no accusation. I haven't been able to get one. And here is a prisoner without accusation. So he's got to deal with this carefully. So he concludes a letter. And the way he deals with it is key. Note, Paul wouldn't have been able to travel from Jerusalem to Caesarea without a valid reason. And typically, such a move would stem from an actual accusation against the person. However, since there's no accusation, Lysias stated, I'm sending him for protection, which was his rationale. And that's really significant. He couldn't just toss him off to the governor. There had to be a real reason why he was moving him. So he said, And when it was disclosed to me that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him at once to you, ordering his accuser also to state for you what they have against him. So Lysias simply mentions that he had heard about a plot to kill Paul, expecting Felix to grasp that implication. He then reveals that he instructed Paul's accusers to go to Caesarea to present their case directly to the governor himself. And with this action, Lysias is appealing to the governor to act as judge on behalf of a Roman citizen who he is legally bound to protect. So Paul is taken. to be brought before the governor, to be accused by the Jews, and to be tried. And this departure then will mark the last time that Paul is in Jerusalem. So the soldiers, according to their instructions, they get ready, 200 soldiers with 70 horsemen, 200 spearmen, to go as far as Caesarea. They leave at the third night, the third hour of the night, and they took Paul by night to Antipatrus. See how easy that was? Following orders, the soldiers took Paul and escorted him by night to Antipetrus. It was about 60 miles from Jerusalem to Caesarea, but Intrepidus was the first stop, and it was only about 35 miles. So this would have really necessitated a forced march by the infantry in order to arrive the next day. And if we figure, typically, a Roman army could move about three and a half miles per hour. So to cover 35 miles in one night, they would have had to been operating at maximum pace throughout the night and then to hurry back the following day. And that would have took a minimum of 20 hours round trip. So on the next day, they returned to the barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him. So with the conspirators now far behind, Paul was no longer in need of such a heavy escort. Consequently, the infantry turned back at Antripetus to return to Jerusalem, leaving the cavalry to accompany Paul the final 25 miles of the journey to Caesarea. In this section of the journey, again, passed through open country, primarily inhabited by Gentiles, so there was little fear of a Jewish threat. I'm sure they believed that the 70 horsemen could manage Paul. So the remaining 400 returned to Jerusalem. And this was also a wise decision as they needed to have their forces positioned really in the city. Additionally, their quick return really helped mask this excessive caution that may or may not have been necessary. But when they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. So arriving at Caesarea, the 70 calvarymen delivered the letter from Lycius explaining the case along with handing Paul over to Felix the governor. And on reading the letter, he asked what province he was from. And when he learned that he was from Cilicia, and when he learned he was from Cilicia, He said, I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive. So why did Felix ask Paul what province he was from? That was a question that was asked. Well, he needed to know if Paul's case came under his jurisdiction. See, depending on the region from which Paul was from, it would have been necessary to consult the ruler of that state before legal proceedings could begin. So Felix was mostly seeking probably an easy way to pass the matter on to somebody else. But when Paul replied that he was from Cilicia, he said, I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive. And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod's Praetorium. The governor read the letter. inquired about the province from which Paul hailed to ensure that the case fell under his jurisdiction. Finding out that he did, he decided he'd hear the case but when the accusers arrived. But in the meantime he ordered Paul to be held in the custody of Herod's praetorium. And what's a praetorium? A praetorium originally refers to the official residence or headquarters of a Roman praetor, a high ranking magistrate or a military commander. In the context of Roman governance and military operations, the praetorium was often the central building that is centrally located from which the praetor or another high-ranking official would oversee all the legal matters, administrative duties, and even the military command. In our context here in Caesarea, the Praetorium refers to the governor's official residence as well. So essentially the Praetorium was the place of official authority often associated with legal proceedings or military command. But it's called Herod's Praetorium in our text. It was actually the very impressive palace that Herod the Great had originally built for himself. So Paul was actually being held in what amounts to be a king's palace. The palace itself was located on the waterfront overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. It's a very luxurious structure built to be Herod's primary residence there. However now it's served as a praetorium. It was the governor's official residence and will be Paul's residence for the next two years. Now while Luke doesn't specify what kept under guard entails We see in our text we're confident that as a Roman citizen with no criminal charges against him, Paul was not mistreated while he was here. So in closing, Paul's in prison and occupies the rest of the book of Acts. As Paul stands in the midst of his trials and dangers, facing conspiracies and threats, we see his unwavering faith in God's promise. Promises remain his anchor. Despite the opposition, God continues to work out his plan, assuring Paul that he will testify in Rome just as he has in Jerusalem. And even in the midst of uncertainty and danger, God's providence is evident, guiding Paul through each challenge, protecting him when needed, and fulfilling his promises in ways that no one could really have anticipated. Here's the hard thing we should really try to place ourselves within this story. Taking time to imagine what it must have been like for these early Christians especially those who tearfully pleaded with Paul not to go to Jerusalem and then to hear what has happened to him. You know as we're here as modern readers you know we know the outcome. So you know as we as we read through it we don't feel that gravity or that weight of what what's really going on and you know we really need to work hard to to recover and to maintain a sense of all as we read through these stories. Of course, Paul had Jesus' promises and trusted in them. And one of Luke's key objectives here is to highlight God's unwavering faithfulness to his promises and mission. You know, we rightly focus on that. But we should also reflect on the unsearchable wisdom of God. whose plan and acts unfolds in ways that we could have never devised, and likely probably surprised the early believers as they were finding out these things that were occurring. For the early church and for us today, the message is clear. No matter the trials we face, God's purpose will prevail. He is faithful to the end. As Paul's journey to Rome begins to take shape here, we are reminded that God's ways are mysterious. They're not our ways. But we do know that they're always right. So next week, next week we're in chapter 24, I think verses 1 through 23, I think. We'll see Paul before Felix at Caesarea. If you have any questions, I'm up here when you're afterwards. But let us pray. Most blessed Lord, we thank you once again. Thank you for your grace and mercy. We thank you so much for your word and the way that you speak to us. Lord we saw some great great acts of providence and your promises unfolding and Lord we ask that you would just help us to see your providence in our lives each day. to cling to your promises, knowing that they're all true. And Lord, as we walk down paths sometimes that don't seem right and we question them, Lord, what's going on? Lord, let us know that all that you ordain is right. Lord, that you surely work all things for our good. So Lord, we thank you and we praise you. We thank you once again for this time that we can gather and study in your word. Lord as we depart from this place Lord we ask that you for traveling mercies to our homes and Lord carry us throughout this week Lord that our lives would honor and glorify you in all that we do and as we look forward to gathering together this coming Lord's Day. Lord we thank you and praise you may you be glorified in all things in Christ's name. Amen.