Plot to Kill Paul

We have a rather short passage to cover this morning,

‌We left off with Paul being encouraged by the presence of the Lord himself, telling him to bear witness in Rome, as he did solemnly in Jerusalem:

11 But on that very night, the Lord stood at his side and said, “Take courage; for as you have solemnly borne witness to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must bear witness at Rome also.”

‌So one harrowing day ends for Paul with this remarkable encouragement, and the next verse introduces a new day:

‌12 Now when it was day, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.

‌13 And there were more than forty who formed this scheme.

‌Let us take a moment to just pause and think about how wrong this is.

‌My initial reaction is to just think about how dumb or stupid this seems to me, though I don’t necessarily want to insult their intelligence. Nor do I want to completely dismiss their religious zeal, as easy as it is for us to conclude by their actions that at some point their passions had become misguided.

‌It’s easy for us to judge them, but how common is that easy tendency for any of us to allow our own zealous passions, even those rooted in righteous desires, to overwhelm us to the point of making wrong decisions?

‌As Chrysostom put it:

Behold fasting, the mother of murder! Just as Herod imposed that necessity by oath upon himself, likewise do these men [see Mt 14:6–11]. For these are the devil’s ways. Under the pretext of piety itself he sets his traps. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 49

‌However else we may characterize the actions of these men, we can certainly judge them as wrong, while, even as did those who crucified Jesus, they surely thought themselves to be doing right at the time.

‌In their attempts to be Godly and righteous, and to please God, they conspired murderous, ungodly plans against one of their own, and held each other accountable to extreme measures in committing to this plan against a Godly man!

‌Of course, we’ve seen this before, perhaps without such poignant details of their zeal, as we observe in this self-imposed curse.

By the way, you might think that they would want to keep such a dark curse a secret, but no, apparently their intentions, at least in their view, aligned with the mainstream momentum of the temple enough that they felt confident in sharing their plans with the chief priests and elders!

‌14 They came to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have bound ourselves under a curse to taste nothing until we have killed Paul.

‌15 “So now you, along with the Sanhedrin, notify the commander to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more carefully; and we for our part are ready to slay him before he comes near.”

‌Their audacity is baffling to me!

‌Before we find out anything further about what happens to the men who cursed themselves, the narrative is interrupted by an unnamed hero, who thwarts their plans!

‌16 But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, he came and entered the barracks and reported it to Paul.

‌In most of the commentary I’ve read, scholars seem rather puzzled by this mention of Paul’s having family in Jerusalem, as it’s a rather isolated reference. But Paul’s nephew … the son of his sister … for whatever reason he was in the area at this time, and for whatever reason he heard of this plot to kill Paul, and if for no other reason than to save Paul’s life, what a significant role to play for a nephew with no name!

‌I suppose I’d want my name left out of it if I were him, too.

‌So, what does Paul do?

‌17 And Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, “Lead this young man to the commander, for he has something to report to him.”

‌So, Paul does what he can to reach out to the Roman military for protection against this group of forty-plus, of his own people, who have sworn, on their lives, to kill him. He just needs to get word to the commander, who will be able to protect him.

‌On, the nephew carries the message of warning, to the commander:

‌18 So he took him and led him to the commander and said, “Paul the prisoner called me to him and asked me to lead this young man to you since he has something to tell you.”

‌19 And the commander took him by the hand and stepping aside, began to inquire of him privately, “What is it that you have to report to me?”

‌He goes on to explain:

‌20 And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down tomorrow to the Sanhedrin, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more carefully about him.

‌21 “So do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of them—who have bound themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they slay him—are lying in wait for him and now they are ready and waiting for the promise from you.”

‌So, the nephew has just recounted the whole situation to the commander, who does then take actions to protect Paul, and move him away to somewhere a little safer, but first sends the messenger away with a strict non-disclosure agreement:

‌22 So the commander let the young man go, instructing him, “Tell no one that you have notified me of these things.”

‌I suppose this young man didn’t really have any guarantee of how this would turn out for him, so I can imagine he would have been somewhat relieved when they let him go! We don’t hear anything more from him, so hopefully that means he went on his way without much trouble.

‌But as for Paul, from there, Claudius summons hundreds of men to accompany Paul safely out of the city, under the cover of night.

23 And when he called to him two of the centurions, he said, “Make ready two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to proceed to Caesarea by the third hour of the night, 24 and provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to Felix the governor.”

‌So, Claudius Lysias, the commander, makes considerable arrangements to protect Paul, and transport him safely to Felix, the governor. And he’s going to send him with a letter, which is included in the next few verses, and which explains the whole situation to Felix.

‌God’s hand of providence is quite visible throughout the situation, in making sure Paul’s nephew just so happens to hear of the plot to kill Paul, ultimately leading to actions which almost certainly save Paul’s life.

In some ways, this is going to escalate the situation, legally, as far as the Romans are concerns, but it physically removes Paul from the most imminent threat of danger, by getting him out of the city of Jerusalem.

Where’d They Derail?

‌I just want to pause and reflect for a few minutes on just how viciously and how quickly Paul was effectively expelled from the social and religious center of his own people, and his own religion, his own temple.

‌We’ve seen Paul get chased out of cities before, but it seems especially dramatic here in Jerusalem, doesn’t it? And I think it’s worth asking, specifically, with this group of assassins, how could these well-meaning, would-be-murderers have gone so wrong, in their zeal for God?

‌It’s worth spending a few minutes thinking about, how can we avoid spiraling into “the dark side” of religious zeal, and yet without being “lukewarm” or apathetic about righteousness?

‌We see Paul warning against rash, anger-fueled behavior in Ephesians:

‌Ephesians 4:26–27 (LSB)
Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity.

‌Paul knew something about anger about passion, about zeal, which in and of itself is not wrong! “BE angry,” he says, in a reference to Psalm 4:4. It’s unavoidable, really, we are emotional beings, created emotional in God’s image. And, whatever we say about Paul or his enemies, they certainly weren’t lukewarm, were they?

‌Jesus reveals, in Revelation, that he’s not fond of lukewarm churches, so as much as anger can give opportunity to the devil, being lukewarm is not the solution! Listen to what he says about the lukewarm church in Laodicea at the time:

‌Revelation 3:13–16 (LSB)
‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ 14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: This is what the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says: 15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.

‌We can see that the solution, the way to avoid misdirected religious zeal is not to lose our salt completely, to become tepid, timid, unwilling to stand boldly and courageously for the truth in the face of opposition.

‌Spiritual worthlessness is nauseating to Christ.

‌Romans 12:11 (ESV)
Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

‌Romans 12:11 (NLT)
Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

‌The question, then, is how can we be spiritually worthwhile, and live spiritually ablaze with passion, while making sure not to lose our way, not to do more harm than good in all our desperate excitement to serve God?

‌‌The Curse of Sin

‌That this group of Jews, more than forty strong, would bind themselves under a curse to kill Paul, is really just an echo and a symptom of Adam and Eve’s original decision to subject themselves, and the rest of humanity, to the curse of sin. That is, the consequences of rebellion against God.

‌When God placed humans in their original home, a garden sanctuary, he gave them some basic guidelines, and He was their only source of defining right and wrong, good and bad. Tragically, they chose to instead define those values for themselves, in direct disobedience to God. They took something for themselves that was good in their own eyes, instead of trusting God’s definition of what was good for them. As a result, God exiled them from the garden of Eden, into a cursed world with adverse effects for them and all their descendants.

Romans 5:12 (LSB)
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—

Romans 3:23 (LSB)
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

‌We see all throughout scripture the destructive effects of humanity’s corrupted sense of morality, and selfish jealousy, which even causes a brother to rise up against his own brother.

‌Jeremiah 17:9 (LSB)
“The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can know it?

‌And it truly affects us all, not just those upon whom it is so easy for us to cast judgment, when they conspire to commit murder. Even when the sin is less obvious, we are all afflicted by sin.

‌1 John 1:8 (LSB)
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

‌Role of Law

‌The law can shine light on our sin, but it can’t save us from our sin. It can point us toward God, and yes help us understand how we can glorify him by how we live, but ultimately it’s not adherence to the law that makes anyone righteous before God, which is why Paul could claim a clean conscience before the sanhedrin, while also wrestling through his own shortcomings before God, as he does in Romans:

‌Romans 7:14–25 (LSB)
For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, having been sold into bondage under sin. 15 For what I am working out, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16 But if I do the very thing I do not want, I agree with the Law, that it is good. 17 So now, no longer am I the one working it out, but sin which dwells in me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the working out of the good is not. 19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one working it out, but sin which dwells in me. 21 I find then the principle that in me evil is present—in me who wants to do good. 22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23 but I see a different law in my members, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a captive to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

‌Paul is very much aware of this conflict within him, and we all must be alert to our own tendency to sin, and all the more appreciate the relentless nature of God’s mercy towards us.

‌Trust God

‌Ultimately, as we were reminded last week, no matter how hard we try to live righteously, we trust not in our ability to be good, but in God’s perfect justice and the grace that he lavishes on us.

‌Jeremiah 17:9–10 (LSB)
“The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can know it? 10 “I, Yahweh, search the heart; I test the inmost being, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his deeds.

‌The fact that God searches our hearts should be, I suppose, both intimidating and comforting at the same time. Because, he can see just how sick we are, and it’s uncomfortable at times to have the dirty corners of our hearts illuminated. But it’s because he loves us that he searches us, because he sees us with such love and compassion, that he wants to heal us, and that he rewards all those who truly seek him, and offers redemption for even the most corrupted of hearts, through his son Jesus Christ.

‌John 3:16–21 (LSB)
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 “And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light lest his deeds be exposed. 21 “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been done by God.”

‌Let us practice the truth.

‌This is not possible in our own wisdom, which is well documented by the colossal failure of humans to live rightly in their own eyes, by our own failure to live rightly in our own eyes.

‌How, then is it possible? How can we practice truth? What is truth?

‌Truth is an attribute of God himself, who has revealed himself to us through his word. As Jesus himself prayed:

‌John 17:17 (LSB)
“Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.

‌Of course, this is coming from Jesus, who John introduces AS the word of God made manifest in the flesh:

‌John 1:14 (LSB)
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

‌Live in Christ

‌Christ, quite simply, is the answer. Christ Jesus IS truth, and following Him IS the practice of truth.

‌1 Corinthians 15:21–22 (LSB)
For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

‌We are condemned through Adam, and redeemed through Christ.

‌As Jesus says to Thomas, in John 14:6

John 14:6 (LSB)
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.

‌Compassionate Passion

‌These men had passion, but seemed to lack compassion, if you’ll forgive the play on words. Passion without compassion often leads to destruction. Passion, without humility and gentleness, seems to lead all too easily to prideful, arrogant, selfish behavior. I think we can all relate to this, even if we’ve never been part of a plot to kill an apostle.

‌Jesus demonstrated a way that is bold and radical, but ultimately motivated by deep love and compassion, even in the most heated of moments. He is himself a demonstration and proof of God’s many, repeated claims to be compassionate and abundant in mercy.

‌Psalm 116:5 (LSB)
Gracious is Yahweh, and righteous; And our God is compassionate.

‌Psalm 103:13 (LSB)
As a father has compassion on his children, So Yahweh has compassion on those who fear Him.

‌Even the spiritually reborn at times succumb to the temptations and habits of their innate depravity. However, the promise we have is of an eternal life that extends beyond the eventual death and decay of our current bodies, and into a new body that will not be tarnished by sin.

‌This hope is critical, especially during times when it may feel wearisome, this constant struggle against sin.

‌Philippians 1:6 (LSB)
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Once again I have to quote from Galatians, where Paul offers this encouragement to those who may feel tired, from choosing to do the right thing even when it doesn’t seem to be as immediately rewarding as doing the wrong thing:

‌Galatians 6:9 (LSB)
And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.

‌As we saw in today’s passage, God often works even through seemingly random nephews, in the day-to-day, arranging for conversations to be had to be heard, and using all kind of people whether they even know it or not, in service of the kingdom.

And for those of us who do, willingly and intentionally submit ourselves in service to the king, we have such encouragement as Paul writes in Romans 8:

‌Romans 8:26–39 (LSB)
And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. 29 Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers; 30 and those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified; and those whom He justified, He also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who indeed did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will affliction, or turmoil, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were counted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

‌THIS is the truth that keeps us going even when we feel weary, and why Isaiah, even with all the suffering he witnessed, can write this:

‌Isaiah 49:13 (LSB) 
Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth! Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains! For Yahweh has comforted His people And will have compassion on His afflicted.

Prayer

‌Lord, we thank you for your compassion and your love for us.

We praise you for the abundant grace with which you have showered us.

‌Help us to be gracious in return, and to be generous to those around us with what we’ve been given, not stingy, rather help us to learn to delight in helping others. To learn what it means to be humble, and compassionate, and to find good, holy passion and zeal, not in making ourselves greater, but in simply serving each other, and listening to each other, and learning from each other.

‌Let us discover ever more richly the vast depths of your mercy, and draw others to you, not away from you, by the way that we live, and treat each other.