Title: The Book of Acts
Contents
Act 69 Conspiracy to kill Paul 06.6.28 (Wednesday Prayer Meeting)
Acts 23:12-35
A Jewish syndicate was organized to kill Paul. They asked the high priests and elders to create an opportunity for them to kill Paul. However, this plan was discovered in advance, and Paul was taken to a safe place. Let's look at the grace of God who protected Paul in this process.
I. There are 40 foolish men who have sworn to kill Paul.
“At the dawn of the day, the Jews formed a party and swore, saying, “I will neither eat nor drink until he has killed Paul.” And there were about forty men who made this alliance.
This vow is called Kerem, and he said, “If I fail, God will curse me.”
1. They are people who do not know the difference between good and bad.
2. They are the ones who never thought about the future.
“I swore that I would neither eat nor drink until I had killed Paul ”
They said they would not eat until they killed Paul, but they did not starve.
3. They are people who judged and acted rashly in matters of life and death.
The same is true of saying that he would kill Paul, and that he would neither eat nor drink until the fulfillment was accomplished.
Because they did not value the lives of others, they did not value their own lives either.
Ⅱ. Shows the high priests and elders who are sympathetic to the plot to kill Paul.
“We went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have sworn to eat nothing until we have killed Paul” (verse 14).
1. The high priests and elders sympathized with the people who were supposed to stop the mob's actions or their conspiracies.
The mob's request for their help is a sign of their usual attitude.
I wouldn't have asked them for help if I had thought that talking to them was useless.
2. The fact that the high priests and elders did not stop after hearing the mob's plans was a sign of sympathy with their plot.
“Now, pretending to inquire of him in more detail, ask the commander with the council to bring Paul down to you, for we are ready to kill him before he comes near” (verse 15).
Those who were supposed to be taught to obey the law became involved in the conspiracy.
3. The fact that the high priests and elders learned of the mob's conspiracy and did not do anything to stop it indicates that they were actively involved in the conspiracy.
1).They could inform Chief Cheon about the conspiracy, but they did not.
They may not have given up the mob's conspiracy, but they could have prevented it from coming to fruition.
2).They did not even discuss the conspiracy with the council.
It indicates that they are actively sympathizing with the conspiracy to be executed.
Ⅲ. A plot to kill Paul was heard.
“When Paul’s brother-in-law heard that they were lying in an ambush, he came and went into the camp and told Paul” (verse 16).
1. Even if a person makes a plan, we must know that it is God who makes it happen.
Psalm 127:1 “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.”
Proverbs 16:9 “A man plans his way in his heart, but the Lord directs his steps.”
2. In the presence of God, a 40-member group is not a problem.
It is difficult for Paul to personally face 40, but human power is inevitably powerless in the sight of God.
The mob had persuaded the 40 men and the high priests and elders to be on their side, but their plans were thwarted.
3. Evil plans are easily destroyed because God blocks them.
Proverbs 20:24 “A man's steps come from the LORD; how can a man know his way?”
Jeremiah 10:23 "I know, O LORD, that the way of a man is not in him; it is not in him who walks to direct his steps."
Ⅳ. There is a captain who protects Paul safely.
1. God uses everyone and everything.
1). The commander heard the words of Paul's brother-in-law, who announced the Jewish conspiracy.
The reason that Captain Cheon did not ignore this report was because of God's work of protecting Paul.
2).Chief Cheon took measures quickly and perfectly.
2. God mobilized many things to keep Paul safe.
“He called the two centurions and said, ‘Prepare two hundred infantry, seventy cavalry, and two hundred spearmen, to go to Caesarea at the third hour of the night.
1). Paul was a prisoner, but he was a Roman, so he took all measures so that he could safely go to Caesarea and be tried.
a). Moving at 3 o'clock at night was a safe way to leave Jerusalem.
b). Caesarea had the governor's office and it was a palace built by Herod the Great.
The distance from Jerusalem to Caesarea was 96 km.
C). The mobilized personnel were two hundred infantry men, seventy cavalry men, and two hundred spearmen.
There is no clear explanation for the spearmen. Commonly known as the border guard.
D). Unknown beasts were also mobilized, including the beast that Paul was riding on.
E). The troops that escorted Paul withdrew from Antibadri, with only the cavalry remaining.
“As the infantrymen had been commanded, they took Paul by night to Antibadri, and the next day they had cavalry escorted him back to the camp” (verses 31-32).
Antibadri is located 40km from Caesarea, and there were no Jews living in this area, and the area up to Caesarea was also a plain area, so it was not easy for Jews to ambush, so only cavalry could escort them, so the infantry withdrew.
3. Shows that Chief Cheon sent a letter to the governor.
“Claudius Lucia greets you, Governor Felix” (verse 26).
1). The name of Chief Cheon and the governor at the time are being revealed.
2).Bujang Cheon had a fair trial in front of the governor.
“But someone told me that there was a scheme to harm this man, that I sent it to you right away, and the accusers told you to speak about him before you” (verse 30).
3). Governor Felix was a slave, but became a free man and then governor.
a).He was the first to become a Roman provincial minister as a slave.
b).He was a very ruthless person.
c). The Roman historian Tacitus said, "He exercised the royal prerogatives in the spirit of a slave."
Lessons learned and application
God used a commander of the heavens to protect Paul.
1. Chief Cheon tried to thoroughly protect Paul, who had Roman citizenship.
2. Chief Cheon judged wisely and acted promptly.
3. The commander of heaven became God's instrument and made Paul go to Rome.