A Plot To Kill Paul
A PLOT TO KILL PAUL
ACTS 23:11-22
God always gets his way but often uses ordinary people to bring it about.
Verse 11. Paul must have wondered what the issue would be. His life seemed to hang on a fragile thread, with three serious attempts made upon it in two days (21:31; 22:22; 23:10). “often near death” (2 Corinthians 11:23) was no poetic expression! The Lord’s encouragement was, therefore, timely and to the point.
23:12-15 give the “inside” story of a plot to put Paul out of the way once and for good. Fanatical Jews had made this compact to kill him. They had taken an oath on the matter (23:14), and sought the ready co-operation of the religious authority (23:15).
23:16-22. The conspiracy was discovered by Paul’s nephew—one of the rare sidelights on his family connections. The following scene, set in the Roman garrison-house, is a drama of suspense and mystery, with hurried exchanges of information, quick decisions and sworn secrecy (23:22). The name of God doesn’t appear in the swift-flowing narrative; no moral is drawn from the drama, and the characters act and speak like “men of the world” who might be found in any modern spy tale. The Bible doesn’t moralize unnecessarily, nor is it tediously “pious” (as though every character in its story is constantly talking about religion). Yet the undertone of divine providence runs throughout; and God is there, if unseen and unrecognized, in the plans and counter-plans of enemies and friends. Of which Old Testament book does all this remind you?
Notes 23:11: “take courage”—the Greek word is that used of Jesus’ concern for his disciples’ needs, in the Gospels (eg Mark 6:50). Paul’s own desire to visit Rome (19:21; Romans 1:10-11) blends with the Lord’s will for his servant. Such a combination has irresistible force (Psalm 37:4-5). 23:12: abstinence from food and drink was a mark of earnestness in carrying out a purpose. Evil men can be thorough-going in their designs and often display a zeal which shames the Christian’s half-heartedness (see, for illustration, Luke 16:1-9). 23:18: “Paul the prisoner”—a state in which he later rejoiced to be (Ephesians 3:1; 4:1; Colossians 1:24).
Thought “All who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Matthew 26:52). The irony is that the assassins whom Ananias abetted (23:14-16) ten years later claimed him as a victim.