A plot to kill Paul (3)

Rev. Andrew Hunt, III

Walking through the Book of Acts • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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A plot to kill Paul

A Plot to Kill Paul

, 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. There were more than forty 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 him.” 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 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 forty 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.”

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. There were more than forty 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 him.” 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 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 forty 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.”

Our God is a God of rescue, He is a present help in the time of trouble. When God rescued the nation Israel from their bondage in Egypt, He led them into the wilderness, where the “menu” was a miraculous provision of manna. But the Israelites began to grumble because they could not enjoy the variety of foods they had eaten in Egypt. In response to their grumbling, God promised to give this great congregation a diet of meat for an entire month. If the feeding of the 5,000 seems difficult, imagine feeding this huge congregation. Moses had the same thoughts and expressed his concerns to God. Look at .

, , “But Moses said, “The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!’ Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and be enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and be enough for them?”

But God asked another question in response to Moses, a question vitally important to every Christian today:

, “And the LORD said to Moses, “Is the LORD's hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.”

The answer to this question is crucial, and the answer of the Bible is clear and unequivocal:

, But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.

In it says, ‘Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.’”

, And looking upon [them] Jesus said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible”

And , to break Assyria in My land, and I will trample him on My mountains. Then his yoke will be removed from them, and his burden removed from their shoulder. 26 This is the plan devised against the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out against all the nations. 27 For the LORD of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate [it]? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?”.

In all of these instances we see that the power of God always prevails and in our text this morning we also see that the will of God always prevails. Even when evil forces plot mayhem, mischief, and murder, God’s will still prevail.

, In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you. If anyone stirs up strife, it is not from me; whoever stirs up strife with you shall fall because of you.

you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you. If anyone stirs up strife, it is not from me; whoever stirs up strife with you shall fall because of you.

Behold, I have created the smith who blows the fire of coals and produces a weapon for its purpose. I have also created the ravager to destroy; no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.

and produces a weapon for its purpose. I have also created the ravager to destroy; no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,

and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.

This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD.”

This text teaches us that the city of God is secure because (1) all the powers of evil are under God’s control whether we recognize it or not and (2) God will defend his people. The text says, ‘Behold, it is I, God alone accomplishes the promised victory.’ This is promise is our heritage as servants to the most high God. All the promises of this chapter were for those saints them and for us saints right now.

No weapon that is fashioned against us shall succeed. Yes, our enemies continue to fashion, to form and to try to figure out, plans, predicaments, and plot to harm us, to hinder us, and to even hurt us. But God will protect his people and defeat every enemy, no matter how powerful. Our text this morning further illustrates the extent to which Paul’s Jewish opponents were prepared to go in order to eliminate him. It shows the extent to which he was dependent on Roman justice and protection to erase their efforts. Yet more importantly it shows to extent God’s power would go to eradicate the threat and turn certain death into deliverance.

Here we are in this text faced with another threat to Paul’s life, in the form of an ambush by 40 Jewish assassins. The Roman commander will make every effort to bring Paul safely before the governor in Caesarea, that Paul may keep his appointment with destiny. I want you to take notice of the use of repetition and detail which are used to extend and vivify this story and set up this conspiracy. The oath taken by the conspirators is mentioned three times (vv. 12, 14, 21), and the involvement of the Jewish authorities is suggested twice (vv. 15, 20).

We see here that Luke wants to heighten the sense of danger encompassing Paul, that we might feel the tension as well.

The Lord’s promise to Paul, that if he would just take courage, as he has testified of Jesus in Jerusalem, he will testify of Jesus in Rome. Yes, the Jews have a plot, but God has a plan.

Let us pray…

1. Preparing the Plot (23:12–15)

Paul’s life has been in danger from the very beginning of his ministry, when he first witnessed for Christ in Damascus,

, But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.”

For the outset, Saul, soon to become Paul, lifts up the name of Jesus and immediately persecution follows, but the threat does not deter Paul. Yes, the Jews wanted to kill him, but mercy said NO!

Next, during his first visit to Jerusalem after his conversion, the Hellenistic Jews tried to kill him, , And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. The Jews drove him out of Antioch in Pisidia, , But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. Paul was stoned in Lystra,

, But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. In Ephesus, the Jews had a plot to kill him, Yes, the Jews wanted to kill him, but mercy said NO!

, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house.” And they even planned to kill him at sea, , There he spent three months, and when a plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. It was the Asian Jew who conspired to kill Paul in , So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.” So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him. Now even the chief priests and elders agreed to cooperate with them and try to influence Claudius. It was a natural thing for the council to want further information from Paul. Yes, the Jews wanted to kill him, but mercy said NO!

Now we stand that the threshold of yet another attempt to kill Paul, yes the Jews have a plot, but our God has a plan.

These Jewish conspirators united with the religious authorities in a plot to kill Paul. The danger of the situation is revealed by the fact that more than forty men make a solemn oath—presumably to God—either to end Paul’s life or their own! Although some Pharisees were more sympathetic to Paul (v. 9), other members of the Sanhedrin were apparently antagonistic enough to be drawn into this conspiracy. The plan was to ask the commander to bring Paul before the Council again and to assassinate him on the way (v. 15). What a paradox, the very people who accuse Paul of violating the law of Moses are the same people contemplating and conspiring to murdering him. However, ‘despite their numbers and their rage, the mob is powerless because of God’s plan. A plan that involves God intervention by the overhearing of their plot that leads to God circumventing their plot with His plan. After all God has promised Paul a date for his testimony of Him in Rome.

But most of all, and more fundamentally, Paul’s life belongs to God and no one can snatch him out of His hands.

The next morning the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. More than forty men were involved in this plot.

As for this oath they took, as a Christian I would see this as swearing and swearing and oath taking is not what Christians should involve themselves. , But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth of by any other oath, but let you “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under comdenation.

I believe that the word Conspiracy is a good rendering of synedrion, which means an assembly of Jewish leaders and others with the power to pass judgment upon people. Jerusalem was now an extremely dangerous place for Paul to be. The number of the conspirators and their devout commitment—binding themselves with an oath to kill him—showed how much hatred he had aroused there. They were perversely religious in their determination to destroy Paul, dedicating themselves through fasting to end his life by violent means This was the wrong ‘fast” say, .

, 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 to be heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the LORD?”

In this text we see that their unacknowledged attempt to gain advantage with God is exposed in their overbearing use of people: oppress all your workers … hit with a wicked fist. God called his people to show humanity in their social life, but they failed to do this. , Isaiah uses sarcasm to dismiss false piety. Then he challenges them to what establishes true religion. A religion that is not what is acceptable to man; but what is acceptable to the LORD. This oath though acceptable to men was not acceptable to God whom that they make it to. Their oath to destroy Paul is mentioned three times in the narrative, to highlight its significance (vv. 12, 14, 21). The involvement of the religious leaders in the plot was necessary if Paul was to be lured into a place where he could not be protected by the Romans. So here we have the conspirators approaching the religious and so-called righteous assembly of the chief priests and the elders. It seems that they approached the groups in the Sanhedrin most likely to favor their proposal. They invited them to petition the commander to bring Paul before them on the pre-text of wanting more accurate information about his case. The chief priests and the elders were counting on the fact that they would be free from any appearance of complicity if the assassins killed Paul before he reached the Sanhedrin.

There is a satirical irony in their suggestion that they might obtain more accurate information about his case, while they were in the process of attempting to lynch him! Luke does not tell us whether the chief priests and elders agreed to participate in the plot at that moment, though the report in v. 20 suggests that everything proceeded according to plan. But the forty fasting men and the scheming religious leaders had forgotten that Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ, and that the exalted Lord was watching from heaven. Remember, what Paul was told on the day of his conversion. , But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” Paul held on to that promise all of his life, and God was faithful. Though the Jews were preparing a plot, God was preparing an intervention to inform Paul of their trethgity

2. Proclaiming the Plot (23:16–22)

The rest of the narrative is about how this plot is proclaiming and exposed and how Paul’s escapes from this life-threatening situation and his safe transfer to Caesarea.

It is also fundamentally about that God steps into the process to protect what belongs to Him, which is Paul. The account is detailed and somewhat repetitive because Luke is interested in the characters and their dramatic interaction. This story slows down and effectively heightens the sense of danger for Paul. As in , Luke is also keen to show how God’s fulfillment of the promise to bring Paul safely to Rome (v. 11) is implemented through various human agents. In both chapters, ‘the danger of the situation is vividly depicted, and suspense centers on finding a means of rescue’. Paul’s nephew is introduced as a significant figure in Paul’s deliverance, perhaps acting as a representative of the Jerusalem church in caring for Paul. He proclaims, presents, and reveals the plot to the centurion, who then gains him access to the commander.

16–19 In this episode, the focus is first on the initiative taken by Paul’s nephew: when the son of Paul’s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul. This is the first mention of any family connections for Paul, other than indirect references to his parents in the preceding chapter (22:3, 28). Paul and his sister were apparently brought together up in Jerusalem, and his sister remained there to marry and have children. Now Luke often introduces new characters with little identification, so this is not usual. Here he gives no information about the way Paul’s nephew was informed of the plot or had access to the prisoner. While we know nothing about Paul’s sister and nephew except what is recorded here.

, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” This passage suggest that Paul also lost his family when he became a Christian, but we do not know if any of his relatives were converted later. Since Paul’s family had long been connected with the Pharisees, his sister was no doubt in touch with “powers that be” and able to pick up the news that was passed along. Wives do chat with each other, and a secret is something you tell one person at a time. It is not likely that that either the sister of the nephew were believers, for that certainly would have shut them out of the official religious circle in Jerusalem. But they were devout Jews and knew that the plot was evil.

, You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice.” It was in the providence of God that they were able to hear the news and convey it privately to Claudius. St. Augustine said, “Trust the past to the mercy of God, the present to His love, and the future to His providence”

Perhaps Paul’s nephew’s personal link to Paul, combined with his youth, made him less of a security risk within the prison complex. Paul’s only role in the process of rescue is to call one of the centurions and say, ‘Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him’. Paul’s authority and stature in this setting is illustrated by his ability to summon and direct a centurion in this way. The commander’s respect for Paul is also once more demonstrated in his response ([he] took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, ‘What is it you want to tell me?’) ‘Despite his youth, anonymity and apparent lack of special social status, Paul’s nephew surprisingly enjoys a certain intimacy and assumes a certain authority with the high-ranking Roman tribune.’

20–22 The young man’s message to the commander involves a repetition of the details already made known to us, thus heightening the tension in the narrative (‘The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about him’). Paul’s nephew adds his urgent plea for help (‘Don’t give in to them’), before giving more detail to emphasize the seriousness of the situation. He informs the commander that ‘more than forty of them are waiting in ambush for him’, that ‘they have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him’, and that ‘they are ready now, waiting for your consent to their request’.

Do we as Christians truly understand that Satan is the chief conspirator of our lives? That Satan has others demoniac conspirators who are setting up traps and lying in wait to ambush us? That these demoniac conspirators have taken a satanic oath disrupt, disturb, and disable our lives?

Satan wants to arrest our spirits, apprehend and jail our hope, and assassinate or kill our witness.

The commander once more appears to be both just and considerate of Paul’s welfare. Realizing that rumor of the assassination was clearly spreading and that a surprise deliverance of the prisoner would be necessary, he dismissed the young man with this warning: ‘Don’t tell anyone that you have reported this to me’. We certainly must admire the integrity and courage of Claudius Lysias, the captain. How did he know that the boy was even telling the truth? Did our Lord speak to his heart, or mind, or his very soul? Paul had already caused Claudius so much trouble that it might have been a relief to get rid of him! But God had different idea of relief and it was rescue! All we need to do is go to the Psalms to verify this promise, , He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.

They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support. , who rescued me from my enemies; yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me; you delivered me from the man of violence. , But I trust in you, O LORD; say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors! Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love!

I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors! Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love!

As Vice President, George Bush represented the U.S. at the funeral of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Bush was deeply moved by a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev's widow. She stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed. Then, just as the soldiers touched the lid, Brezhnev's wife performed an act of great courage and hope, a gesture that must surely rank as one of the most profound acts of civil disobedience ever committed: She reached down and made the sign of the cross on her husband's chest.

There in the citadel of secular, atheistic power, the wife of the man who had run it all hoped that her husband was wrong. She hoped that there was another life, and that that life was best represented by Jesus who died on the cross, and that the same Jesus might yet have mercy on her husband.