The apostle was evidently not being held under tight security, for the young man had no trouble gaining access to him. NJB Acts 23:35 'I will hear your case as soon as your accusers are here too.' Provide mounts to set Paul on, and bring him safely to Felix the governor: Not did Paul escape Jerusalem alive, he did so riding a horse – actually, several mounts were made available to Paul. Thou O Lord—are a shield for me— my glory and the lifter of my head. God has not promised us care-free living without pain! First, he suffered all the rejection and adversity and all the loss of freedom to serve God that God predicted would come upon him if he persevered in his foolhardy attempt to save the Jews from destruction. But it was far from that. . What did they vow to do? a. Taken together with travel time, the next five years of Paul’s life were lived in Roman custody. The change in his conduct must have reflected a change in his heart. Justice was on his side. 4:21â22),23 that Paul throughout these two years enjoyed ongoing communication with friends and supporters, even some in the governorâs household. How then can we doubt that He will fulfill His promises to us? Moral principle was on his side. You can be sure that one by one, they conveniently forgot the vow. “Paul might well appeal to the testimony of conscience as he stood before the supreme court of Israel; it was on no righteousness of his own, however, that he relied for justification in the heavenly court. Or we may even withhold forgiveness until we have made him squirm under our words of censure. The Gospels
David Thompson - I have wondered what happened to the zealots who took the vow. How could the captain have known whether Paul was a Roman? Yet, in this plan, God has established secondary causes as surely as He has established the plan. You might think that things are bad right now, but you may not even know the half of it. Yet Paul excused himself, claiming that he did not know that the man who commanded the punch was Ananias, the high priest. Yet he also had to trust the promises of Jesus in his years of little freedom – and to know that God could work just as powerfully through those more difficult circumstances. This lesson continues the journey through Acts as a plot to murder Paul is thwarted. (Sermon), John MacArthur- God's providential protection of His servant demonstrates His faithfulness. The Pentateuch also mentions evil spirits (Lev. © 2012 David Guzik – No distribution beyond personal use without permission That was Chapter 21. iii. iv. God Himself later verified that the angel bore God's name (Exod. The men of the council were supposed to be example of the Law of Moses. i. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Select an Ending Point
(Act 23:23-24) Paul escapes to Caesarea, with a full military escort and a letter referring his case to the provincial governor. a. And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod's praetorium. To vow only to kill him had, as we showed, no motivating force if the goal became elusive. c. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s Praetorium: This began a two-year period of confinement for Paul in Caesarea. His intent in this sarcastic comparison was to scold his adversary for authorizing abusive treatment contrary to the law that he was obliged to uphold. But now, after failure and defeat had brought him to a complete change of heart, fellowship with the Lord was possible again. Previously, they rioted over the one word “Gentiles,” now the distinguished men of the council fought over the one word “resurrection.”. Here he spoke to the council, with the opportunity to preach Jesus to these influential men. They remembered that after Samuel died, a bodily manifestation of his spirit visited Saul and spoke to him (1 Sam. We must remember that both the Pharisees and, even more, the Sadducees had a habit of glossing over texts at odds with their prejudices. --------------------
The Lord was making it clear that whereas His blessing did not shine on Paulâs journey to Jerusalem, his journey to Rome would be different. The law was on his side. Therefore, in this court that prided itself on being a bastion of the law of God, he should have been acquitted of any wrongdoing. 20:27). i. Jesus would not have said be of good cheer unless Paul needed to hear those words. The day before, in his aborted speech before the crowd in the Temple, he had implied that he knew the high priest (Acts 22:5), but perhaps well more than twenty years had gone by since he last saw the man, and in such a long span of the aging process, someone may change to the extent of being no longer recognizable. He readily assented to hear the information brought by Paul's nephew. His life would be spared so that he might serve as the Lordâs witness in Rome. Two hundred soldiers needed two hundred horses. When Paul’s sister’s son heard of their ambush: It was no accident that this happened. How did the forty handle their failure? Another factor bearing on his attitude was that he had initially mistreated Paul. 34:7, NKJV). The captainâs first object was clear. Notice especially Jesus' comeback when the Sadducees challenged His teaching of a future resurrection (Matt. He lashed out at the man who ordered the blow and called him a whitewashed wall. God, based on His own character, promises to save every man who will by an act of his will trust Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. a. In all his finery as he occupied a commanding place before the Sanhedrin, he looked good on the outside, but inside he was full of corruption. But Jesus promised every believer to always be with them (Matthew 28:20). Also, Paul occasionally suffered from poor eyesight (Gal. 2. Paul said that God would smite the high priest. The plot of the 40 assassins failed. Then the governor ordered him kept in the prison at Herod's headquarters. For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law? God has not promised us bright days without storms. Sherwin-White, 56; Bock, 684; Polhill, 324; Marshall, 393. NKJ Acts 23:35 he said, "I will hear you when your accusers also have come." A better translation of the comment is "a letter that went like this," referring to a verbatim copy.22 Perhaps in some fashion during Paulâs imprisonment in Caesarea during the next two years, Luke came into actual possession of the letter, or heard from someone what it stated. He anticipated correctly what the result would be. Today, when he addressed the Sanhedrin, he managed to say only a few words before he suffered another scornful attack. God's people can afford to be daring, in the will of God, because they know their Saviour will be dependable and work out His perfect will. Paul didn’t know this would happen, but Jesus did. We may be … It was not the first blow that Paul ever received, but it was the first to inflame him as this one did. ii. The Whole Bible
Stephen wanted to show that he admired Moses very much. Perhaps long observation of the commanding officer as he moved about the city led them to doubt that the escort would be a large force of soldiers, and for this reason they were confident that they could overpower the Romans and kill Paul. This verb indicates Paul was kept under guard meaning he was closely watched but not necessarily locked in a cell or chained to a soldier (because he had not been charged with any crime). Twice he had tried to give his personal testimony, but without success. They were willing to declare him free of any great evil. Especially consider Christâs conduct at His trial before the Sanhedrin many years earlier. Even the heart of one of His enemies is a tool in His hand. Of course, this was an essentially true claim.