23 Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight. 24 Provide horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”
25 He wrote a letter as follows:
26 Claudius Lysias,
To His Excellency, Governor Felix:
Greetings.
27 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. 28 I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin. 29 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. 30 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.
31 So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipatris. 32 The next day they let the cavalry go on with him, while they returned to the barracks. 33 When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him. 34 The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will hear your case when your accusers get here.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.
- Acts 23: 23-35
From yesterday’s passage, we read that some Jews had made an oath to themselves and planned to ambush Paul and kill him. His sister’s son heard about this and told the Tribune. From today’s passage, we then read how they prevented Paul from being ambushed and how the tribune has sent over 400 men to protect Paul.
Isn’t it amazing how God can deliver us from such great danger? Since becoming a follower of Jesus, Paul has been spreading His good news and held on to His truth. He was really bold at proclaiming the word of God and did not fear judgement from people. He continued to speak about God and His truth even though many are starting to accuse him and wanted to kill him.
But our God is so good that He can deliver us from any great danger. He allowed for Paul’s nephew to over hear about the plot to kill Paul so that he could give a warning to the tribune. Not only that, but God made way for hundreds of men to protect a single person. How amazing is it that our God would do that for one person.
God had a plan and purpose for Paul. He delivered him for the sake of the gospel. Being a Christian is not always going to be easy. We will face many trials and many are going to judge and persecute us. But God is greater than any of this. He can and will deliver us from the evils that we will face. He is faithful!
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